The life of a Pig on a factory farm

Most people think of pigs as just farm animals, maybe even dirty or dumb, but honestly, that's not true at all. Pigs are actually gentle, smart creatures with their own personalities, just like dogs or cats. They can be curious, playful, affectionate, and they form real bonds with each other.

Every year in the US alone, around 120 to 130 million pigs are raised and killed for food. These aren't happy pigs rooting around in the mud or hanging out with their families like they would in nature. Instead, from the moment they're born, their lives are controlled for maximum profit, and that means a lot of suffering.

Female pigs, the sows are artificially inseminated over and over to keep having babies—litters of up to 12 piglets each time. During their whole pregnancy and even after giving birth, they're stuck in gestation crates. These are metal cages so tiny they can't even turn around or take more than a step or two. They cannot stretch out or move comfortably. They want to build nests for their babies, but there's no straw, no space. They just lie there on hard floors, sometimes chewing the bars out of frustration and boredom.

When the piglets are about 3 weeks old, they get taken away. In the wild, moms nurse their little ones for months.  Instead they are separated so the mom can be bred again soon.

Soon after birth, most male piglets get castrated, usually with just a knife or scalpel and no pain meds at all. They scream, they tremble, and some are left shaking alone for days. The reason? To stop something called "boar taint," which can make the meat smell or taste off when the pigs get older.

Then there's tail docking. Pigs in these crowded, stressful pens sometimes get so frustrated they start biting each other's tails. Instead of giving them more space, better environments, or anything to reduce the stress, farmers just chop off their tails—again, no pain relief.

There is also ear notching. With hundreds or thousands of pigs in one place, they cut chunks out of the piglets' ears to make codes for which litter they're from and which individual.

Pigs are bred to grow insanely fast—they hit market weight of about 250 pounds in just 6 months. Their bodies aren't built for that kind of rapid growth, so a lot develop painful arthritis or leg problems. They can barely walk, sometimes collapse in their own waste in dirty pens, which spreads diseases. But they're still loaded onto trucks for transport to slaughter. These trips can last over 28 hours—crowded, no food, no water, extreme heat or cold. Many die on the way from exhaustion, injury, or sickness. It's brutal.

Finally, at the slaughterhouse, they are killed.  Some places kill over 1,000 pigs an hour. They're supposed to be stunned first so they don't feel the throat slit, but with that speed, it's not always done right. Some pigs are still conscious when they're hung up, throats cut, bleeding out. Then they're dunked in scalding water to remove hair.

 #LetsBeTheChange

 

Part 2-How to get it started (a statewide animal abuse registry)

How do we get this started...How to get our state to hear us…

Let’s start a postcard campaign urging politicians to establish an animal abuse registry.

🎯 Key Goals for Your Postcard Campaign

1. Grab attention quickly — short, bold statements work best.
2. Make it personal — show why this matters to you and your community.
3. Offer a clear action — ask them to support or introduce legislation for an animal abuse registry.
4. Stay respectful — firm but courteous language increases the chance of being heard.

Who to contact:

The "Gatekeepers" (Top Priority)

​These are the two people with the most power over Tedisco's bill (S1563). They set the meeting agendas.

·         ​            Senator Michelle Hinchey (D)

​                        Role: Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee.

​                        Address: LOB Room 902, Albany, NY 12247

·         ​            Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo (D)

​                        Role: Chair of the Assembly Agriculture Committee.

​                        Address: LOB Room 829, Albany, NY 12248

The Committee "Influencers"

​These members sit on the committees and have the power to push the Chairs to hold a vote. If you have volunteers in their specific cities, their postcards are 10x more powerful.

Name Committee Location / District Address

·         Asm. Linda Rosenthal (D) Assembly Ag Manhattan (UWS) LOB Room 635, Albany 12248

·         Sen. Samra Brouk (D) Senate Ag Rochester LOB Room 307, Albany 12247

·         Asm. Carrie Woerner (D) Assembly Ag Saratoga/Washington LOB Room 502, Albany 12248

·         Sen. Patricia Fahy (D) Senate Ag Albany LOB Room 613, Albany 12247

·         Asm. Chris Tague (R) Assembly Ag Catskills/Hudson Valley

Your Representatives

​Use these official look-up tools. Just enter your home address:

​Find your State Senator - Find My Senator | NYSenate.gov

Assemblymember - Assembly Member Search | New York State Assembly

​​Once you have their names, you’ll see two addresses: a District Office (near your home) and an Albany Office.

​During Session (January–June): Send your postcards to the Albany Office. This is where they are physically sitting when they vote on committee bills.

​            Address Format:

​            Senator [Name]: Legislative Office Building, Albany, NY 12247

​            Asm. [Name]: Legislative Office Building, Albany, NY 12248

 🖋 Suggested Postcard Message Templates

Example 1: The "Public Safety" Angle

​Best for: Conservative or moderate committee members.

​Front: A photo of a German Shepherd or a "Working Dog."

Back:

​Dear [Senator/Assemblymember],

​Research shows that animal abuse is a "bridge crime" to domestic violence and other violent acts. By passing S1563 / A9024, you are protecting not just animals, but our families and neighborhoods. Please vote to move the Animal Abuse Registry bill out of the Agriculture Committee and onto the floor. Public safety cannot wait.

​Sincerely,

[Your Name]

[Your Zip Code]

 

​Example 2: The "Buster’s Law" Legacy

​Best for: Long-term legislators or those who champion animal rights.

​Front: A photo of a cat or a "rescued" animal.

Back:

​Dear [Senator/Assemblymember],

​New York led the way with Buster’s Law in 1999, but we haven't finished the job. Without a statewide registry, convicted abusers can simply move to a new county and adopt again. Please support S1563 / A9024 to close this loophole. It is time to hold animal abusers accountable across all of New York State.

​Sincerely,

[Your Name]

[Your Zip Code]

 

​Example 3: The Personal/Constituent Plea

​Best for: Your own local representatives.

​Front: A handwritten "Protect Our Pets" or a photo of your own pet.

Back:

​Dear [Senator/Assemblymember],

​As a voter in your district, animal welfare is a top priority for me. I am concerned that S1563 / A9024 has been stuck in committee for too long. I am asking you to personally reach out to the Agriculture Committee Chair and urge them to bring this to a vote. I’ll be watching the progress of this bill closely this session!

​Sincerely,

[Your Name]

[Your Address]

 

📌 Tips for Success

• Use bold, legible fonts and eye-catching images of animals (happy and safe, not graphic).
• Include your return address so they know you’re a constituent.
• Coordinate a postcard party with friends or local animal advocates to send them in batches for greater impact.
• Target multiple levels of government — local council, state legislators, and federal representatives.

 

🎯 Best Strategy: "The Rolling Wave"

​Since we're targeting local reps and committee chairs:

​Week 1: Have your core group of volunteers mail their postcards to Senator Hinchey and Asm. Lupardo (the Chairs).

​Week 2: Have the next group mail to the other members of the Agriculture Committee.

​Week 3: Have everyone mail their own local representative, regardless of what committee they are on.

​Ongoing: Send a "Thank You" postcard to Senator James Tedisco every time you finish a wave so he knows the pressure is being applied.

District Office: 636 Plank Rd, 2nd Floor, Clifton Park, NY 12065

Email - Contact James Tedisco's office | NYSenate.gov

 #Letsbethechange

It’s time for New York State to have a statewide animal abuse registry

 It’s time for New York State to have a statewide animal abuse registry and time for us to get involved.

Senator James Tedisco (R, representing parts of the Capital Region including Saratoga and Schenectady counties) has been advocating for a statewide animal abuser registry for over a decade, with roots tracing back to his key role in passing Buster's Law in 1999.

That legislation made aggravated cruelty to animals a felony in New York, inspired by the 1997 case of "Buster" the cat in Schenectady—where a man poured kerosene on the cat and set it on fire. The abuser was convicted, but Tedisco highlighted how that same individual later committed serious crimes against a child (attempted rape, sexual abuse, unlawful imprisonment), underscoring what he calls the "bridge crime" link: animal cruelty often signals or escalates to violence against people.

Tedisco's push for the registry specifically intensified in recent years due to what he describes as an "epidemic" of disturbing animal cruelty cases in New York (particularly in his district and surrounding areas), combined with the limitations of the existing patchwork of county-level registries.

Many counties (e.g., Saratoga, Fulton, Allegany adopting registries in 2025) have local ones, but abusers can simply move to a non-registry county to acquire animals.

Specific recent cases prompting renewed urgency in 2025:

July 2025: Death of "Gus" the French Bulldog at "A Time for Paws" doggy daycare/boarding in Halfmoon (Saratoga County area). The owner was charged with felony animal cruelty under Buster's Law for allegedly leaving the dog in extreme heat, plus neglect and criminal mischief. Tedisco reacted by calling for stronger laws, including the registry.

August 2025: Wilton mother and daughter charged with 37 counts of animal abuse/neglect (hoarding-related, involving unsanitary conditions and failure to provide sustenance). Tedisco linked this to potential mental illness and called for psych evaluations + ownership bans + registry.

August 2025: Canajoharie man deliberately hitting a kitten with his pickup truck (intentional cruelty).

September 2025 onward: Additional cases, like deaths of 21 dogs at a boarding facility in Argyle (Washington County) due to neglect/cruelty, and a pit bull "Diesel" dying at Meadowdale Acres in Altamont. These boarding/kennel horrors led Tedisco to advocate for oversight of facilities alongside the registry.

His advocacy is consistent: The registry would make convictions public/accessible to shelters, breeders, pet stores, and the public; require registration (name/address); prohibit ownership; and include penalties for non-compliance.

 

Here's a chronological timeline of the efforts to establish a statewide animal abuser registry. Note that no statewide registry has been enacted yet—all major bills remain in committee (primarily Agriculture in the Senate or Codes/Agriculture in the Assembly) as of early 2026, with no passage, votes, or governor approval.

Senator James Tedisco begins pushing versions of a statewide registry bill. These appear repeatedly across sessions (e.g., S3804 in 2011-12, S2305 in 2013-14, S2935 in 2015-16, S605/S4273 in 2017-18, S1526 in 2019-20, S1528 in 2021-22, S907 in 2023-24).

These bills typically require convicted abusers to register name/address with the Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS), make the registry public/accessible to shelters, breeders, pet stores, law enforcement, and humane societies, and prohibit abusers from owning animals.

They advance in some sessions but never pass both houses or become law. Tedisco has advocated for this since at least 2015, linking it to preventing repeat offenses and noting the "link" between animal cruelty and other violence.

As of February 2026, no statewide registry exists. All active bills (S1563, S8084, A2194, A9024) are stalled in committee.

What can we do?

Normal people can take several practical steps to help push for a statewide animal abuser registry in New York. Advocacy from constituents is key to building momentum—legislators often respond to public pressure, especially on issues like animal protection that have broad appeal.

Contact your state legislators directly —Tell them you support a statewide registry to close the patchwork gaps, prevent repeat offenders from getting animals, and protect both pets and people.

Find your State Senator - Find My Senator | NYSenate.gov

Assemblymember -  Assembly Member Search | New York State Assembly

Call, email, or write a short message: "As a resident, I urge you to support/co-sponsor [bill numbers like S.1563 or S.8084] for a statewide animal abuser registry. Local county registries aren't enough—abusers move counties. Please help get this out of committee and to a vote."

Be polite, personal (mention why it matters to you, e.g., pet owner, concerned about local cruelty cases), and persistent—follow up if no response.

Reach out to key sponsors/champions —

Senator James Tedisco (main driver behind S.1563 and related efforts):

District Office: 636 Plank Rd, 2nd Floor, Clifton Park, NY 12065

Phone: 518-885-1829

Fax: 518-371-2649

Email - Contact James Tedisco's office | NYSenate.gov

Thank him for his work (he's been pushing this for years, tied to Buster's Law) and urge him to keep pressing for hearings/votes.

Support or join advocacy groups — These organizations track bills, organize calls/emails, and sometimes host events or petitions:  New York State Humane Association — They maintain a list of county registries and advocate for statewide solutions. Check their site (nyshumane.org) for updates and contact them to get involved; Local humane societies/shelters — They often support these bills and may have action alerts, petitions, or ways to amplify your voice (e.g., sign/share their statements).

Raise awareness locally — Share info on social media (e.g., post about the bills, Tedisco's press releases, or recent cruelty cases, tagging @nysenate or @JamesTedisco); Talk to friends/family/pet owners—encourage them to contact legislators too.

These steps don't require special skills or money—just time and persistence. If enough people speak up, it can move bills out of committee.

#Letsbethechange

Time to Drop the 'Murderer' Rhetoric / Where is the outrage about Trump

 "All crimes matter. Enough with this DEI crap you grandma killer"

"Will any seniors be killed during the broadcast?"

I'm sick of this.  Every time Andrew Cuomo posts on social media, the unintelligent and uncaring come out of the woodwork to spread their hatred instead of just going about their business.  I will try to explain this in small words so that everyone understands. (And this will be gone over later in great detail.)

Nursing homes in this country have been a mess for decades—long before anyone ever heard of COVID. We're talking chronic understaffing, neglect, abuse, preventable falls and infections, overmedication, and residents living in places that feel more like warehouses than homes. Reports going back to the 1980s laid it all out: facilities cutting corners to save money, staff stretched too thin to provide basic care, and vulnerable people paying the price with their health and dignity. Those problems never really got fixed. Reforms came and went, but the core issues—profit-driven decisions, weak oversight, and not enough investment in better options—stayed the same.

When the pandemic hit, everything got exposed in the worst way. Hospitals were drowning, and they had to get stable patients out fast to make room for the sick ones. Nursing homes were the default place to send them, even when those facilities weren't ready—no proper isolation, short on PPE, already short-staffed. Sending recovering or positive patients there risked spreading the virus to the most fragile people imaginable. But keeping them in hospitals longer would have collapsed the whole system and cost even more lives. It was a brutal, no-good-choice situation.

People tried other ideas—field hospitals like Javits, the Comfort ship, designated COVID hubs in some states—but those were mostly downstate or in smaller places where geography made them workable. Up here in Rochester or Watertown, those options were hundreds of miles away and didn't help at all. Warehousing folks in some empty building or convention center? That would have been a nightmare too—dehumanizing, medically inadequate, and probably would have sparked huge outrage from families and advocates. Every path forward looked like a lose-lose.

The finger-pointing came hard, especially at Andrew Cuomo, with some people calling him a murderer over the nursing home policies and the messy data reporting. But that kind of label oversimplifies a chaotic crisis where nobody had perfect answers. The March 2020 directive to take patients back was rescinded later, and criticized undercounting by excluding hospital deaths of nursing home residents from facility-specific tallies (leading to initial figures appearing lower, with totals later revised upward significantly) was resolved.

No charges ever stuck because it wasn't that simple. The real story is systemic failure—decades of neglect in long-term care, rushed emergency decisions, and not enough planning or resources to handle a disaster like this without hurting vulnerable people.

Blaming one person lets the bigger problems off the hook. Nursing homes are still structurally broken today—still understaffed, still profit-focused in too many cases, still not set up to handle isolation or emergencies well. What we actually need is real change: more money and support for home- and community-based care so people can age in place safely, stronger staffing rules that stick, better oversight, and less reliance on institutions that have failed residents for generations. The crisis showed us how bad things were; it didn't create the problems—it just made them impossible to ignore.

Where is the outrage about this:

The life of a Cow on a Factory Farm

Instead of roaming in fields and lazing around in the sunshine, millions of cows spend a significant portion of their lives inside factory farms. There is some variation in what happens to cows in factory farms, depending on whether they are raised for beef, dairy, or veal. But they are all kept in unnatural conditions, denied basic freedoms, and ultimately killed. 

 

The United States is home to over 9 million dairy cows.  Cows, like humans, only make milk to feed their babies.  On factory farms, dairy cows are forcibly impregnated and then have their young taken from them soon after birth, so that the milk can be sold for human consumption.  Cows possess strong maternal instincts, and this traumatizing cycle is repeated continuously.  Some are bred to produce more milk and others are injected with growth hormones, which puts an immense strain on their bodies.

Rather than being allowed to graze on grass and other vegetation, dairy cows in factory farms are fed a diet high in processed cereal grains such as corn and wheat. These grains are cheap to buy and maximize the cows’ milk yield but, because they are high in starch and low in fiber, they can cause digestive illness. 

Despite having a natural lifespan of around 20 years, dairy cows are typically killed at between 4.5 and 6 years of age. At this point, their bodies are no longer able to produce enough milk to make it profitable to keep them alive. Their meat is sold as low-grade beef and may be added to pet food.

Cows who are too sick or injured to even move are killed on-farm. These animals are commonly shot with a captive bolt gun that fires out and then retracts a metal bolt. Others are sent to slaughterhouses on filthy, overcrowded trucks, without food and water.  At the slaughterhouse they are lined up, restrained, stunned and have their throats slit. Pre-slaughter stunning is supposed to render animals unconscious and unable to feel pain, but it does not always work and animals can suffer a slow, painful death.

 

Around 30 million cattle in the US are raised for beef.  Cattle raised for beef typically start their lives grazing in pastures, but while they have some freedom to live naturally during this time, they are not free from harm. Many are forced to undergo painful amputations such as dehorning and castration.  After around six or seven months of grazing outdoors, the majority of cattle are moved to facilities known as feedlots to be fattened up before slaughter.  In feedlots they are fed a high-calorie diet of processed grains to make them gain weight quickly.  Their feed contains added vitamins, minerals, antibiotics and hormones to get them to grow faster.

Cattle are usually killed for beef when they are between 15 and 28 months old.  When they reach market weight, cows are crowded onto trucks and taken to an auction or directly to the slaughterhouse. This often involves them being prodded with electric goads that deliver a shock to force them to move. 

At the slaughterhouse, they are typically shot in the head with a captive bolt gun, hoisted up by their legs, and then have the major blood vessels in their neck cut with a knife to cause a rapid loss of blood so that they die from a lack of oxygen to their brain. 

 

Veal calves are primarily young males who are unwanted by the dairy industry because only females produce milk.  They are taken from their mothers within their first 24 hours of life and transported to the farm where they will be raised for their flesh. In traditional veal production, calves are tethered inside tiny, individual stalls (known as veal crates) that are not much bigger than themselves, and that severely restrict their movement. The purpose of this is to keep them weak so that their flesh will be tender to consume.

Veal calves are slaughtered when they are only about 16 to 18 weeks old.  The calves are stunned, hoisted up by their legs and have blood vessels in their neck cut.

For more information or to help, go to

The humane league.org/

What goes up comes down

During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, public perception of Andrew Cuomo was overwhelmingly positive. A March 2020 Siena College poll found that 87% of New Yorkers approved of his performance. This included 70% of Republicans.

The New York Times - March 16, 2020

Andrew Cuomo Is the Control Freak We Need Right Now

Ben Smith wrote that Cuomo had emerged as the "executive best suited for the coronavirus crisis." He argued that Cuomo’s obsession with detail and "micromanagement"—traits often criticized in normal times—were perfect for a pandemic.

The Guardian - March 23, 2020

Cuomo wins praise for 'wisdom' amid coronavirus crisis as Trump blusters

Richard Luscombe wrote that Cuomo "has developed a reputation for forthright speaking, but also won praise for showing a personal and reassuring tone that has come to the fore in a series of briefings this week.  On Sunday, he devoted a segment of his press conference to the emotional impact that self-isolation was having on families, particularly being closeted together for long periods of time. “It’s complicated,” he conceded. “I live alone, I’m even getting annoyed with the dog.”"

Rolling Stone (cover) - April 13, 2020

Andrew Cuomo Is the Unlikely Hero of the Pandemic

The article discusses how he became a "source of comfort" for a nation that felt leaderless.

 

While Andrew Cuomo’s briefings were a hit with the general public in 2020, other politicians—both Republican and Democrat—were much more skeptical. Some found his "rockstar" status annoying, while others felt it was a carefully crafted distraction from policy failures.

Bill De Blasio accused Cuomo of using his briefings to announce city-wide school or business closures before the Mayor even knew about them.  De Blasio later remarked that Cuomo’s style was fundamentally "transactional" and that his popularity was built on a "projection of strength" rather than a collaborative spirit.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and state senator Julia Salazar, were vocal critics even when Cuomo was most popular.  They argued that the briefings were "performative." They felt the media was falling for his "dad jokes" and PowerPoint slides while he was ignoring the needs of the working class and incarcerated people.

Chris Cuomo warned on Anthony Scaramucci's podcast:

"During the pandemic I kept saying to him(Andrew) what goes up comes down ... people needed the humanity, they needed normal and to understand the dynamics that would help them.  I knew there would be trouble. Cause I knew if nothing else there was jealousy...there will be a period of accountability for what people in leadership did...I never expected the type of recoil or the depth."

Meanwhile in a chat room near you, New York state lawmakers on the app Clubhouse planned their takedown of Gov. Andrew Cuomo.  The question we are asking is how do we make it impossible for our governor to ever run again?” state Sen. Gustavo Rivera (D-Bronx) said. “If you abuse your power, it’s time to go,” said state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi (D-Westchester), proclaiming that to oust Cuomo they would need a “motherf---ing army.”

Democratic-insurgents-plot-against-cuomo-in-digital-space-

There's something scary about quickly his 'allies' went from clapping for him to plotting against him.  Cuomo’s "control freak" nature and his obsession with the fine details were exactly what the media and a scared public wanted to see, but that power was clearly building up a lot of quiet resentment.   The same "projection of strength" was eventually seen by his colleagues as a way to silence dissent. As Chris Cuomo noted, "what goes up comes down," and for Andrew, the descent was fueled by the very people who had been sidelined during his peak. One day you're the voice of the nation, and the next, your own people are making it impossible for you to survive.

Purple Poppies and Memorials

 The purple poppy was created by the charity Animal Aid in 2006 as a way to commemorate animals which served in wars that had been forgotten victims.

Animal Aid is a British animal rights organization that was founded in 1977.  The group campaigns peacefully against the consumption of animals as food and against animal cruelty such as their use for medical research—and promotes a cruelty-free lifestyle. It also investigates and exposes animal abuse.

Some of Animal Aids campaigns include UK slaughterhouses, commercial horse racing and game bird shooting.

The purple poppy is a symbol for The War Horse Museum in the UK.  It “pays tribute to the nobility, courage, unyielding loyalty and immeasurable contribution these animals played in giving us the freedom of democracy we all enjoy today, and signifies the last time the horse would be used on a mass scale in modern warfare.”

“The War Horse Memorial, which stands close to Ascot Racecourse, is the first national memorial dedicated to the millions of UK, Commonwealth & Allied horses, mules and donkeys lost during The Great War. As a legacy we use funds raised through our Animal Purple Poppy Fund to help animals in need today.”

This is their description of how they started:

“After four years of hard work and planning, Poppy, our war horse, was unveiled to the public on June 8, 2018.

Watching on were hundreds of well-wishers and families of old soldiers who fought in the Great War and who gave precious artefacts which have been buried at the feet of the national monument.

Brownie Jess Edwards and Guides Nisha Watson, Katherine Warner and Annice Anderson were chosen to remove Poppy’s giant purple mantle to reveal her majesty and magnificence. She was flanked by Chelsea Pensioners splendid in their scarlet coats, trumpeters from the Household Cavalry Band and flag bearers from the Royal Artillery and Life Guards.

Afterwards, the Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire, Mr James Puxley, laid a wreath on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen. Others were placed at the base of the memorial by many organizations and individuals, including representatives from America, Australia, Canada, France, New Zealand as well as the Royal British Legion.

The final wreath, made up of purple poppies, was laid by co-founders of the War Horse Memorial, Alan Carr and Susan Osborne, to signify the intention to use the flowers to raise monies for chosen equine and military charities. Poppy will stand for all time as a reminder of the service and sacrifice made in the First World War by millions of horses, mules and donkeys to help secure the freedom and democracy we all enjoy today.”

War Horse Museum

Also using the purple poppy is the Australian War Animal Memorial Organization.  It “was founded to honour the untold stories of animals who have served alongside humans throughout history.

From the 400,000 horses sent to World War I – of which only one, General Bridges’ horse Sandy, returned – to the 11 Military Working Dogs left behind after the Vietnam War, animals have carried burdens, delivered messages, provided protection, and offered companionship in times of conflict.

In more recent times, Military Working Dogs have served in Afghanistan detecting explosives, while equines continue to transport supplies in difficult terrain. Mascots, too, remain a vital part of regimental identity and morale within the Australian Defense Force (ADF).”

 Australian War Animal Memorial

Please check out both websites.  They have a great amount of information and photos.