Dear TAL222,

Yes that is me on the Break.com July 4th spoof. It was called America Rules, England Sucks. I was at my weekly anti-war vigil and the camera crew from Break.com came by, recognized me, figured from the sign that I was carrying that I had the same view of life, and asked me to do a bumper for them. I thought the video (and others that they have produced: I Hate the Earth Day for example) was very clever and funny, and I was proud to be a part of it. Also pleasantly surprised to see it go viral!

If the last time you saw me was just after American Flyers, then you haven’t seen me since I was 21! I am now 45 years old. From your comments on alt fuels, it sounds like you might enjoy a more recent movie I was in, Who Killed the Electric Car?

Thank you for writing. I am glad to hear that I am back on your radar screen after so long.

Best wishes,

Alexandra

Hi Cari,

Good for you! It is very important to use non-toxic products not tested on animals, even if they are harder to find and might be a tad more expensive. They are less costly to the planet and the animals! I use mostly products from the health food store, but there is a lot of information on the web:

I keep a list of products not tested on animals from www.caringconsumer.com. The Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics ( http://www.leapingbunny.org/) has a more specific list of products that have no ingredients tested on animals also. Keep this lists in your purse and refer to them when you shop!

Go to the Environmental Working Group site ( www.ewg.org) to learn about the toxins in cleaners and makeup. These people totally rock, and you will learn a ton.

I use products by companies on these lists. For skin care: Dermalogica. I also use Epicuren, but I cannot confirm their ingredients havent been tested on animals (the company says not, but I havent seen their name on the lists I really trust). For hair care, I choose Giovanni. For body moisturizer, I like Burt’s Bees, especially because I can pronounce all the ingredients! This is a really good rule of thumb when buying products: if the ingredients look like science lab worksheet, put the product back on the shelf! For soaps I use bars (less packaging than the soap from a container) from the health food store and my household cleaners are from there too – Ecover etc. My friend Jessica uses vinegar and water to clean her house, but my housekeeper laid down the law when I tried to do that.

Best of luck in this new endeavor of yours! I hope this has been helpful.

Alexandra

Don’t wait to write to your senators and representatives! Just because you work for the government, doesn’t mean you cannot state your views. You do not say what state you live in, although it sounds like you may work in Washington, DC. To find your congressperson, go to https://forms.house.gov/wyr/welcome.shtml, put in your zip code and you will get their address, phone and fax. To write to your senator, go to http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm and put in your home state. To call the president, call 310-456-1111 during business hours and follow the prompts.

Writing to your own representatives as a constituent is the most effective, as they depend on your votes and they took an oath to represent you. Sending letters by mail has the most impact on a politician, because you took more time and effort to do that, but faxing and calling is also effective. For 18 months during 2006 and 2007, I called the offices of my Congressman, my 2 Senators and the White House every weekday unless I was out of the country on location. Sometimes I called their local offices, sometime their DC offices. Each time, I stated that that holding the prisoners in Guantanamo was a travesty and I believed they should be released. I assure you I never once got an impolite person on the other end of the line. So don’t be intimidated! It only took me 3 minutes to make all 4 calls each day.

There is a wrinkle here: if you live in Washington DC, you do not have a Senator who represents you. You have a delegate in the House of Representatives, but it is a non-voting position. DC residents vote for a mayor and for President, but have no one at the legislative level to turn to. Ironic, I know, since Washington DC is the seat of government yet the citizens who live there don’t have representation on the federal level! The district (District of Columbia is what the DC stands for – named after Christopher Columbus) was formed in 1790 so no particular state could claim the nation’s capital. Apparently, there has been an argument from some that Washingon, DC should become its own state, but that hasn’t happened yet (http://www.dcvote.org/). So, if you live in Washington, DC, just contact the president and your delegate in the House with your comments.

Each office will ask the state from which you are calling, and maybe your name and zip code. They will log your statement, question or request so it does have an effect. This is how politicians learn how their constituents feel on an issue, and it is very important to contact them. Once in a blue moon, you will get a written response from the office.

Best of luck! I hope you don’t wait until you leave your Department of Defense job to make the calls and write to your representatives.

Alexandra