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The Yellowstone Grizzly is No Longer Endangered!

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The Yellowstone Grizzly is No Longer Endangered!

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Reign of God is present

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Cosmetic Brands are Choosing Not to Test on Animals

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Cosmetic Brands are Choosing Not to Test on Animals

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Reign of God is present

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In 2012, myself and many others in the cruelty-free community were heartbroken when Smashbox, a well-known cruelty-free brand, began to state that they were no longer cruelty-free and did test on animals when required by law. Since that time, one of the most common questions I would get from readers was, "Is Smashbox cruelty-free?". It's been a few years and I have been talking to Smashbox behind closed doors for months now.
I am so excited to share some exciting news about Smashbox to share with you - Smashbox has now been added to the Cruelty-Free Brand List!
Is Smashbox cruelty-free? The answer is yes! Smashbox is cruelty-free - there is no animal testing occurring anywhere. They are not selling in any markets that require animal testing and have updated the Smashbox cruelty-free policy to reflect this change. For those who are concerned, Smashbox is still owned by Esteé Lauder, which does test on animals.

In addition, Smashbox also wrote this statement for readers of Logical Harmony that I have permission to share here on Logical Harmony:

"Smashbox is cruelty-free and always has been. We are a PETA-certified, cruelty-free brand. We don't test our products or ingredients on animals, and we don't ask any other companies to test our products or ingredients on our behalf. We require our suppliers to certify that the raw materials used in the manufacturing of our products are not tested on animals. We also don't sell in China and never have. Our previous FAQ statement might have led to some confusion, so we have updated it now to state clearly that we only test our products on human volunteers, not animals. Additionally, we brought the PETA bunny back. Although nothing has changed and we stayed cruelty-free, we just weren't using the bunny the way we had been a few years back. Smashbox began with a commitment to end animal testing, and that commitment remains today. Thank you for letting us clear this up!"

Does Smashbox have any vegan products? Creating a list of their vegan products is something that Smashbox has expressed interested in and is currently working on. Once they are aware of what their vegan options are, they are going to let me know. Smashbox used to have a lot of vegan options, so I am very hopeful that they still do.

Does Smashbox use any ingredients that are tested on animals? No. Smashbox does not use ingredients that are tested on animals. This is something that they have always been able to clearly communicate, and I appreciate that from them.

Does Smashbox test on animals when required by law? No. After talking to them extensively, I feel that I can confidently say that Smashbox does not test on animals when required by law. Nor do they pay for any required by law testing to occur on their products.

Does Smashbox sell in China? No. Smashbox does not sell in China.

Does Smashbox sell in any markets that require animal testing per local or regional laws? No. Smashbox does not sell in any markets that require animal testing.

Even before I was cruelty-free, Smashbox was one of my favorite brands. When I became cruelty-free, I was so excited that Smashbox was not just cruelty-free but also had vegan options. I went through a countless number of tubes of the Photo Finish Foundation Primer over the years and tried nearly every vegan option they offered.

After being purchased by Esteé Lauder, Smashbox began sharing the following animal testing policy - " Smashbox has a longstanding policy to not test on animals, nor ask others to test on our behalf, except when required by law. " This led them to be removed from the go-to lists of many cruelty-free consumers.

Back in 2012 and 2013, several readers had sent me photos of Smashbox displays that they said were taken in stores located in China. When I discussed this with Smashbox, they were surprised as they said that despite the "required by law" stance they had at the time, they were never actually sold in stores in China. After talking about this, what is most likely is that these photos were of in-store displays in Hong Kong. While it is a part of China, Hong Kong is allowed to have many of its own laws still and animal testing is not required there. I apologize for any confusion that I may have caused in sharing the information that I received. This was not my intent, and I truly appreciate Smashbox having an open discussion with me about this.

In the summer of 2016, Smashbox updated their FAQ page and completely removed any "required by law" statements from their animal testing policy. This was a huge positive change and it was very encouraging to see it happen. The Smashbox FAQ page currently reads:

"We live for lipstick and are serious about primers-but we also really care about animals. That's why we are cruelty-free. We test our products on human volunteers, not animals."

I continued to reach out to Smashbox but had a hard time getting through to the correct people. This was concerning to me at the time and so Smashbox remained on the Brands to Avoid list until the fall of 2016. I was finally able to start talking to the right people at Smashbox to get to the bottom of things and am so thankful that I was able to connect with them. At this point, I moved Smashbox to the Grey Area list because they expressed a great interest in being known as a cruelty-free brand and talking about their animal testing status and policies.

It's been a long road with Smashbox over the years, but they have been amazing to work with to add them to the Cruelty-Free Brand List here on Logical Harmony. It's clear that Smashbox truly does care about their cruelty-free status, and I commend them for this. It's always wonderful to add additional brands to the Cruelty-Free Brand List, and especially great when it's one with such a huge cult following.

I am working on getting a list of the vegan options from Smashbox, so please sit tight and I will share that when I am able to. Smashbox has been amazing during this process. I really appreciate their understanding, communication, and how lovely they have been to work with. Please let them know that you appreciate them being cruelty-free!

Hi! I created Logical Harmony years ago when I could not find the cruelty-free resources I was looking for. Some of my favorite things are good skin serums, nude nail polish, and popcorn. I live and work with my best friend and our four cats, Penny, Bagheera, Juniper, and Applesauce.

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Is Smashbox Cruelty-Free? - Logical Harmony

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In 2012, myself and many others in the cruelty-free community were heartbroken when Smashbox, a well-known cruelty-free brand, began to state that they were no longer cruelty-free and did test on animals when required by law. Since that time, one of the most common questions I would get from readers was, "Is Smashbox cruelty-free?".

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Reign of God isn't present

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537,000: That's the number of Rohingya who have fled Myanmar for Bangladesh in the past seven weeks, according to the U.N.

It's the largest migration of people in Asia in decades. The Rohingya are fleeing a campaign of terror by the Myanmar military and Buddhist vigilantes, something the U.N. has called the world's "fastest developing refugee emergency" and a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing."

It's not the first time this has happened. Members of Myanmar's mostly Mulsim Rohingya minority have been fleeing military crackdowns for decades - as far back as 1978, and as recently as last October and November, when the military launched "clearance operations" after a series of attacks by Rohingya militants on security outposts in Rakhine State. Similar attacks in August prompted this latest wave of rape, murder and arson, entire villages torched by security forces and Buddhist vigilantes.

Bangladesh reckons about 800,000 Rohingya are now living on its side of the border. Most are in overcrowded, spontaneously erected camps, staying in shelters that amount to little more than bamboo poles strapped together with a bit of plastic sheeting for a roof.

Even before the latest wave of arrivals, Bangladesh was uneasy with the number of Rohingya in country. Now it's trying to do something about it.

"We need to know for accountability how many Rohingyas come to our country," says Maj. Kazi Obaidur Reza, with Bangadesh's border guards.

He supervises the registration effort at the Kutapalong camp, just a few miles from the border. Hundreds of Rohingya line up patiently in the hot sun, waiting for their temporary IDs. Inside, it's a flurry of activity.

"We are taking photographs, they are giving biometrics of all fingers and they are getting this card where all documents are written - from where they come, date of entry into country, date of birth, mother's name - so we can easily identify all of them," Reza says.

This procedure is not just for the new arrivals, he says, but for all the Rohingya who have come at one time or another from the other side.

Many Rohingya are getting something they never had in Myanmar - an official document that acknowledges their identity.

Rashid Ulla, a rail-thin 35-year-old from Myanmar's Maungdaw township, proudly shows me his. Under "Nationality," it says "Myanmar Rohingya."

"I'm happy to have an ID that says I am Rohingya," he says.

Back in Myanmar, the government doesn't use the word - it doesn't consider the Rohingya citizens.

But the Bangladeshi IDs aren't permanent. And the Rohingya aren't recognized officially as refugees. Bangladesh is wary of getting stuck with them permanently.

"And that matters," says Peter Bouckaert, emergencies director for Human Rights Watch. "They're being given a camp residency card, which basically gives them access to food rations. But Bangladesh is still very far away from recognizing them formally as refugees. And that matters, because if they're not registered refugees it means that they don't have access to education. They have very limited ability to move around."

That ability is getting more limited every day. At a checkpoint just down the road from the Kutupalong camp, about a dozen Bangladesh police, their rifles slung over their backs, are flagging down buses, cars and auto rickshaws, looking for Rohingya. Those they find get turned back to the informal camps where they came from on the Bangladeshi side of the border.

Police official Hasanuzzaman Mollah says this is one of 11 checkpoints on the road from the border to the Bangladeshi city of Cox's Bazar.

"Our purpose is to restrict their access into Cox's Bazar or beyond," he says, as one of his men boards a bus to check the passengers. "We cannot allow them to disperse throughout our country."

It's a security issue - and a political one as well. Some of the Rohingya who have been in Bangladesh for a long time have been accused of involvement in the smuggling and drug trades.

In this part of the country, it's an economic issue too. Though the Rohingya aren't allowed to work or go to school, some find jobs under the table - mostly in the construction or building trades, where their legally ambiguous status means employers can pay them less than they'd pay Bangladeshis.

This has created resentment among residents, though overall, there is public support and Bangladeshis - rich and poor - have greeted the latest influx of refugees with generosity.

Security officials and some independent analysts, however, do worry that Bangladesh's own Islamist extremists - some with ties to transnational terror groups - will try to exploit new arrivals.

"One of my big fears now is that a lot of these groups with ties come in and pick off recruits from these [Rohingya] communities," says security analyst Elliot Brennan, an Australia-based independent researcher who specializes in Myanmar and Southeast Asia. "Maybe not taking them to Myanmar, but taking them back to different areas and as a result, we have a general recruitment body as the situation deteriorates in the camps and the people become more desperate."

In the meantime, some religious hardliners in Muslim-majority Bangladesh are stirring the pot. Some are calling to arm the Rohingya. Others are even talking about war with the Buddhist majority neighbor.

That is creating more political problems for a government already overwhelmed by the sheer number of new arrivals. Bangladesh's preferred option is for the Rohingya to be repatriated, to live safely back in Myanmar. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told the U.N. General Assembly last month that the U.N. should set up and police "safe areas" inside Myanmar for that very purpose.

That doesn't look likely. And it's highly unlikely the Rohingya will even be allowed - or want - to return after the horrors they've been subjected to.

So for now, Bangladesh is hosting them. But there may be a limit to its patience. The government is setting up a new mega-camp that will encompass many of the existing informal camps that have sprung up in the past several weeks and decades. All the Rohingya in Bangladesh will be required to live there, and only there.

The U.N. resident coordinator in Bangladesh, Robert D. Watkins, told Agence France-Presse this will pose problems.

"When you concentrate too many people into a very small area, particularly the people who are very vulnerable to diseases, it is dangerous," Watkins warned. "It is much easier to manage people, manage the health situation and security situation if there are a number of different camps rather than one concentrated camp."

Bangladesh officials are adamant, however, that the new camp is the best solution to ensure its own security and the Rohingya's. Human Rights Watch's Bouckaert, like Watkins, is not convinced.

"If Bangladesh wants to contain people in camps, first of all they need to respect their rights," he says. "But secondly, they also have to provide the humanitarian assistance, the education, the health assistance that people need to survive. And that is simply not the reality we see today."

The reality today is more urgent for both Bangladesh and its humanitarian aid partners: simply finding enough food, water and adequate sanitation for the new arrivals.

How they're treated once that's sorted out is another matter. And Bangladesh is the only country that's taken in the Rohingya in. Nobody else has offered to share that burden.

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For Half A Million Rohingya Fleeing Myanmar, Bangladesh Is A Reluctant Host

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537,000: That's the number of Rohingya who have fled Myanmar for Bangladesh in the past seven weeks, according to the U.N. It's the largest migration of people in Asia in decades. The Rohingya are fleeing a campaign of terror by the Myanmar military and Buddhist vigilantes, something the U.N.

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Reign of God is not present in discrimination.

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Sarah Wasko / Media Matters

A sweeping, so-called "religious freedom" bill went into effect in Mississippi on October 10, and advocates are calling it the "worst anti-LGBTQ state law in the U.S." Mississippi's "Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act" claims to protect "sincerely held religious beliefs" but would in fact give religious organizations, businesses, and individuals broad license to legally discriminate against LGBTQ people. The law is a legislative embodiment of the right-wing media myth that LGBTQ equality has led to the persecution of Christians, and it was heavily influenced and crafted in part by anti-LGBTQ hate group Alliance Defending Freedom, a powerful legal organization that has been involved in pushing similar legislation across the country.

Mississippi's extreme anti-LGBTQ law HB 1523 went into effect on October 10

Mississippi's anti-LGBTQ "Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act" (HB 1523), which Mother Jones called "one of the nation's most sweeping religious exemption laws," went into effect on October 10. The law permits "widespread discrimination based on 'sincerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions.'" Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant (R) signed the bill into law in April 2016, but its implementation stalled after a court challenge led to a district judge issuing an injunction that blocked the bill. On June 22, a federal appeals court lifted the district court's injunction. According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the law allows "discrimination by individuals, businesses, religiously-affiliated organizations - including hospitals, schools, shelters and others - against LGBT people, single mothers, and vulnerable young people in Mississippi" based on religious beliefs. After the law took effect on October 10, Lambda Legal and the Mississippi Center For Justice filed an appeal asking that the U.S. Supreme Court strike it down.

Five things the media need to know about Mississippi's HB 1523, "the nation's worst anti-LGBTQ state law":

1. The bill codifies 3 "sincerely held religious beliefs," including opposition to both marriage equality and sex outside of marriage

According to the ACLU, HB 1523 is unique in that it makes Mississippi "the first state to codify discrimination based on a religious belief or moral conviction that members of the LGBTQ community do not matter." Indeed, the bill purports to be designed to protect people with three specific "sincerely held religious religious beliefs": that "marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and one woman," that "sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage," and that "male (man) or female (woman) refer to an individual's immutable biological sex as objectively determined by anatomy and genetics at time of birth." The law gives individuals, private associations, and religiously affiliated organizations license to legally make discriminatory actions against LGBTQ people and others under the guise of holding those three positions.

2. HB 1523 is the "broadest" anti-LGBTQ law enacted since same-sex marriage was legalized

According to The Associated Press, HB 1523 is "considered the broadest religious-objections state law enacted since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in 2015." The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has also spoken out against the law, calling it "the "worst anti-LGBTQ state law in the U.S." and "probably the worst religious freedom bill to date."

HRC wrote that "under this law, almost any individual or organization could justify discrimination againist LGBTQ people, single mothers, unwed couples, and others." The organization outlined examples of potential areas of discrimination, noting that "taxpayer funded faith-based organizations could: refuse to recognize the marriages of same-sex couples for provision of critical services including emergency shelter; deny children in need of loving homes placement with LGBTQ families including the child's own family member; and refuse to sell or rent a for-profit home to an LGBTQ person." It could also allow foster families to force LGBTQ children into dangerous " conversion therapy," a harmful practice that attempts to change sexual orientation or gender identity and that has been discredited by every mainstream medical group. The law also allows religious organizations to terminate or discipline an employee "for being gay, trans, or pro-gay, even if they have roles that have nothing to do with religion or education," according to The Daily Beast.

The law's text notes that the government cannot act against individuals who decline to treat, counsel, perform gender affirmation surgery, provide psychological services, or provide fertility services to LGBTQ individuals, single mothers, and others based on codified religious beliefs. According to The Daily Beast, HB 1523 would also give schools, businesses, and other organizations license to discriminate against transgender people, as this law could be used to force transgender individuals to use bathrooms that do not align with their gender identity or "to dress as their biological sex at birth." The law explicitly allows employers and schools to establish "sex-specific standards or policies concerning employee or student dress or grooming."

Under HB 1523, even government employees are given legal protections to discriminate against LGBTQ people. The Daily Beast wrote that state employees can "proselytize, condemn homosexuals as sinners, argue that gay people should be killed, or put up posters condemning homosexuality as a sin" at their jobs without fear of discipline. The law explicitly allows state employees and judges to recuse themselves "from authorizing or licensing lawful marriages." That means that county clerks, judges, and magistrates could refuse to authorize same-sex marriages without consequence.

3. HB 1523 is the legislative embodiment of the right-wing media myth that LGBTQ equality has led to the persecution of Christians

For years, right-wing media have peddled the myth that Christians are being persecuted by LGBTQ nondiscrimination laws, particularly focusing on anti-gay small-business owners who refuse to provide services for same-sex couples. Fox News has long touted stories of business owners -- including a photographer, baker, and florist -- who refused to provide services to same-sex couples and were then sued for violating nondiscrimination ordinances, and Fox News employees Todd Starnes and Erick Erickson have written books devoted to the anti-LGBTQ Christian persecution myth.

Other right-wing media outlets have adopted a similar myth that LGBTQ-inclusive protections will lead to the persecution of Christians. For example, Jonathon Van Maren of Life Site News claimed that there has been a "rapid rise of rainbow fascism" leading to the destruction of businesses owned by Christians. Van Maren continued, "Christian business owners saw the wages they needed to feed their families dry up because they were targeted by gay activists and labeled hateful, homophobic bigots simply for declining to assist in celebrating a gay union." A post in The Daily Caller listed examples of "LGBT anti-Christian bullying," arguing that "the fight for respect and equal rights for gays and lesbians has ... occasionally been co-opted by anti-Christian bigots who target individuals' businesses and threaten them with violence." Some right-wing websites, like RedState, have used the pejorative term "gay mafia" to describe activists fighting business discrimination against LGBTQ people. A post using the term in its headline asserted that LGBTQ activists' "primary objective is the complete and utter destruction of morality and Christianity in America-and in the end, the Constitutional rights of every American."

4. Anti-LGBTQ hate group Alliance Defending Freedom helped write, promote, and justify the law and fought for it in court

According to The Washington Post, anti-LGBTQ hate group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) was heavily involved in the creation of HB 1523, starting its work on the bill before the United States Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in 2015. The Post reported that ADF lawyer Austin R. Nimocks first emailed a lawyer in Gov. Bryant's office on June 24, 2015, and in one of his emails attached what he called a "model executive order that would prevent state governments from discriminating against their citizens because of their views or actions concerning marriage." Mississippi's bill "adopted many of the identical passages," according to a brief by an attorney leading challenges against the bill. In March 2016, ADF attorney Kellie Fiedorek sent Bryant two drafts of a signing statement, which is "the final step in the legislative process," saying, "We looked through a number of Gov. Bryant's signing statements and tried to use his voice. Please feel free to pull from either one that is most helpful to you and your boss ... we're here to serve."

ADF has also provided legal support to Bryant and other Mississippi officials. The group represented Bryant and John Davis, executive director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, after a federal judge blocked the entire bill from taking effect on June 30, 2016. When the case reached the U.S Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, ADF attorneys joined Bryant in issuing a brief in favor of the law and were a part of his legal team.

5. ADF has been involved in writing, promoting, and defending RFRAs in other states

ADF has been directly involved in the drafting of other state "religious freedom" or "religious freedom restoration acts" (RFRAs), including working quietly with a state senator in Iowa earlier this year. There, ADF worked on legislation modeled after Indiana's 2015 RFRA, signed by now-Vice President Mike Pence. The ACLU of Iowa successfully worked with partner groups and businesses to block its introduction. In 2014, ADF helped write Arizona's SB 1062 -- a vetoed bill that would have expanded legal protections for businesses refusing service to gay customers -- and in 2015, ADF " had a hand in " writing Georgia's tabled RFRA.

ADF lawyers have also testified on behalf of or directly promote so-called "religious freedom" bills; in fact, ADF's vice president of media communications, Greg Scott, characterized enacting RFRAs as "a legislator's most important duty." In 2013, ADF senior counsel Joel Oster testified in favor of Kansas' RFRA, which was signed into law that year, and in 2015, ADF senior counsel Michael J. Norton testified in defense of Colorado's failed "Freedom of Conscience Protection Act." The organization also promoted a RFRA in Arkansas and helped advise Indiana lawmakers during the debate over the state's RFRA. In 2016, ADF attorney Matt Sharp testified before the South Dakota legislature in support of a law promising to "ensure government nondiscrimination in matters of religious beliefs and moral convictions," and ADF counsel Kellie Fiedorek spoke about the so-called "benefits" of a RFRA proposed in West Virginia.

In addition, ADF's reach extends beyond its own representatives' support for enacting RFRAs to state legislatures where ADF alumni and "allied attorneys" introduce and sponsor similar legislation. North Carolina state Rep. Jacqueline Schaffer (R) sponsored a failed 2015 RFRA in her state after having proudly boasted of her continued "involvement in promoting religious freedom and other family values as an Allied Attorney" with ADF on her now-defunct campaign website. Similarly, in Louisiana, House Rep. Mike Johnson (R), who previously worked as an attorney for ADF, sponsored another anti-LGBTQ RFRA in 2015.

ADF's involvement in drafting and promoting state RFRAs should not come as a surprise, as the organization's president, Michael Farris, co-chaired a committee that lobbied Congress to pass a federal RFRA in 1993. More recently, ADF consulted Attorney General Jeff Sessions on his sweeping religious freedom guidance, released October 6, which makes "it easier for businesses to discriminate against LGBT people and women" and "legal for nearly any business to fire someone or deny a person services based on religious objections."

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A hate group's anti-LGBTQ law just went into effect in Mississippi. Here's what you need to know.

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A sweeping, so-called "religious freedom" bill went into effect in Mississippi on October 10, and advocates are calling it the "worst anti-LGBTQ state law in the U.S." Mississippi's "Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act" claims to protect "sincerely held religious beliefs" but would in fact give religious organizations, businesses, and individuals broad license to legally discriminate against LGBTQ people.

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Reign of God is not present as the orcas at SeaWorld continue to suffer.

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The last orca to be born in captivity at SeaWorld died Monday after just three months of life, the company announced. The calf, named Kyara, succumbed to "some very serious and progressive health issues over the last week" at SeaWorld's park in San Antonio.

"Kyara had a tremendous impact on each of her care staff, not to mention all of the guests that had the chance to see her," trainer Julie Sigman said in a statement. "From late nights to early morning, rain or shine, we dedicate our lives to these animals, and this loss will be felt throughout the entire SeaWorld family."

Though the company refrained from offering an official cause of death, pending a postmortem conducted by the veterinarian team, it noted "we know that Kyara had an infection, likely pneumonia."

SeaWorld welcomed Kyara into the world in April, heralding the calf's birth to 25-year-old Takara as "an exciting and emotional day for us."

It was also the end of an era - marking the last captive birth as part of the company's breeding program, which it formally shuttered last March after significant backlash from animal rights activists.

Partly impelled by the 2013 documentary Blackfish - which made the case that SeaWorld's cruel treatment of its marquee performers led to the orcas' aggressive behavior - protests against the program sunk the company's stock value and left its attendance tumbling.

Recently, the company has opted to change some of its procedures - including putting an end to orca theatrics at its park in San Diego and planning an end to them at other locations such as San Antonio. The company still has nearly two dozen killer whales between these two parks and its location in Orlando, Fla., a SeaWorld spokesman told NPR's Amy Held earlier this year.

These changes have left some people unconvinced - including former SeaWorld trainer John Hargrove, who appeared in Blackfish.

"I am grateful Tiki's calf only lived for 3 months in a concrete box deprived of all things natural," Hargrove tweeted Monday. "For Takara, my heart is broken in pieces."

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Last Orca Born In Captivity At SeaWorld Dies At Just 3 Months Old

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The last orca to be born in captivity at SeaWorld died Monday after just three months of life, the company announced. The calf, named Kyara, succumbed to "some very serious and progressive health issues over the last week" at SeaWorld's park in San Antonio.

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Shelters Protecting Animals During Natural Disasters

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Shelters Protecting Animals During Natural Disasters

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Reign of God is present in people caring for animals in the wake of disasters like Hurricane Harvey.

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After thousands of people were forced to leave their homes as a result of the flooding in Houston over the weekend, many have one thing on their minds: their pets.

As the water began to rise, Thomas Hayes, 73, stayed in his house in the neighborhood of Tidwell with his five dogs. He measured the water's climb by the height it hit on his car - first covering the tires, then the bumper, and it continued to rise. He didn't want to leave his home without his dogs.

"I wouldn't do it," he says. "I wouldn't leave without them."

When rescuers came to pick him up, he asked them to promise that he could keep his dogs. He loaded up his four small dogs, Shih Tzu mixes, in a metal trash can on top of a pile of dog food, so that he could float them on top of the water. His German shepherd mix had to swim.

Age slows Hayes' mobility, making it difficult for him to move, much less carry his dogs through thigh-deep water. He held onto all of the dogs on the long, uncomfortable ride in the back of a dump truck to the George R. Brown Convention Center, where they took him to temporary shelter.

When the convention center first opened its doors, pets weren't allowed. Some people sat outside during the deluge with their pets, unable to go home but unable to enter. Others tied their animals to street signs and lampposts so they could get some respite from the storm.

Late Sunday evening, the Bureau of Animal Regulation called Salise Shuttlesworth, the executive director of Friends For Life, a Houston no-kill shelter. By 11 p.m., she had gotten the Red Cross to let them turn one part of the convention center into a shelter for people and their pets.

"People are alive now because they can bring their animals," Shuttlesworth says.

Hayes was able to bring his dogs into Hall C, the section of the convention center that now allows pets. The volunteers there helped clean them up and dry them out. Now the dogs rest in a row of crates covered with blankets, and have plenty of food. In a corner, Hayes is set up with a cot and blankets, and sits in a chair sipping a steaming cup of coffee.

People have pulled their cots together to create their own spaces in the vast room. Some snuggle with their dogs under blankets, while others walk them on leashes throughout the space. A dog grooming business, Your Hipster Pet, sets up a bathing station where pet owners can wash the remnants of dirty water off the animals. There are dogs, from tiny toy breeds to pit bulls, numerous cats, ferrets, and even a bird.

Shuttlesworth says they've distributed more than 10,000 pounds of pet food. During the first few days, volunteer veterinarians and vet techs from Houston clinics were treating injuries, giving out warm towels to the soaking wet animals, and cleaning and disinfecting them from the dirty water. They're also giving vaccines, and heartworm and flea and tick medications. They have over 6,000 donated doses of vaccines that come from local clinics as well as manufacturers like Patterson and Merck.

The volunteers are also happy to just take dogs for walks, or keep an eye on them while their owners take care of other needs. As Chicquita and Gary Singletary pass their friendly pit bull, Blue, to the volunteers, Blue greets them with excitement and energy. Volunteers take Blue for a walk while the Singletarys go to fill out their FEMA applications at one of the assistance tables outside of the pet area.

"What is going on with Blue is that he is homeless, just like we are," Gary says.

Meanwhile, Salise Shuttlesworth is already looking towards the next steps for the pets of Houston. She's considering how some of the donated resources can be distributed to shelters in need, and expects that the local shelters that aren't flooded are going to start filling up with homeless pets. As people return - or don't - to damaged homes, they're going to have to continue to figure out how to hold onto their pets.

"I don't know what I'm going to do when I get out. I just don't know," Thomas Hayes says. "I don't have anyone to pick me up, and my car was flooded. How will I take them?"

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Houston Shelter Offers Respite For Pets And Their Owners Displaced By Harvey

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After thousands of people were forced to leave their homes as a result of the flooding in Houston over the weekend, many have one thing on their minds: their pets. As the water began to rise, Thomas Hayes, 73, stayed in his house in the neighborhood of Tidwell with his five dogs.

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Reign of God is not present in the strengthening and unifying of neo-Nazis uniting their efforts.

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White nationalist Richard Spencer says he first learned of "flash mobs" from a viral YouTube video that showed dozens of people twirling around Antwerp, Belgium's Central Station in a spontaneous, coordinated performance of the Sound of Music's "Do-Re-Mi."

He told TPM he's trying to adapt that absurdist concept for an entirely different purpose: unannounced public expressions of pro-Confederate, white nationalist sentiment, like Saturday's 15-minute long torch-lit rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Both the last-minute rally organizers and policing experts point out that this is one of the few types of events that white nationalists can expect to pull off after their 1500-person strong August rally in Charlottesville devolved into deadly chaos. With something like Saturday's flash mob, it's easier to control who participates and the counter-protesters who flocked to their previous events don't have any advance notice. Those conditions provide white nationalists with a less fraught, if inherently sillier, method of keeping their names in the headlines.

"If the goal is to get attention to bring a light to their antics on a small stage, I don't think there's any question that it's working," Seth Stoughton, a policing expert at the University of South Carolina School of Law, told TPM.

Stoughton pointed out that unlike the August "Unite the Right" rally, which was intended to bring different factions of the racist and neo-Confederate far-right together, a smaller event like Saturday's flash mob is "directed outward," at the media and at communities like Charlottesville.

But the attention these events draw is much more limited, and such rallies' small size serves as evidence to those who oppose white nationalists' message that mass public backlash is an effective protest tactic.

"It's a sign that as a physical presence they are not able to pull off the kind of thing they've done in the past," David Harris, a professor on policing and national security issues at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, told TPM of these smaller demonstrations.

"After Charlottesville, [Spencer] said 'We're going to be back; you haven't seen the last of us," Harris continued. "This fulfulls that pledge, if you like, but it also exposes the current weakness of their position in terms of what they're actually able to do."

The flash mob model is limited by various logistical constraints. Organizers can't use public social media accounts to attract participants; need attendees to live in close proximity to the chosen location so that they can travel there on relatively short notice; and only so many participants can be invited without word leaking out.

Spencer and Mike Enoch, the creator of a white nationalist blog who attended the Saturday event, both acknowledged those limitations. But they said the point of the demonstration was simply to get their message out without their opponents learning about the events and shutting them down.

"We want to show that we have the logistics and the apparatus to do these things on short notice and without any warning to the places where we're gonna show up," Enoch said, adding that "the statement we wanted to make didn't require 1500 people."

Spencer, Enoch, and Identity Evropa leader Eli Mosley were among the 40-something people that showed up on the University of Virginia's campus on Saturday evening after driving down from Washington, D.C.

The students they encountered there seemed uninterested in what the spontaneous ralliers had to say. Spencer said a group of undergraduates was having a house party right near the spot where they disembarked and lit up their tiki torches; realizing what was happening, the students immediately tipped off the police.

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Now Wary Of Holding Big Rallies, White Nationalists Resort To Tiny 'Flash Mobs'

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White nationalist Richard Spencer says he first learned of "flash mobs" from a viral YouTube video that showed dozens of people twirling around Antwerp, Belgium's Central Station in a spontaneous, coordinated performance of the Sound of Music's "Do-Re-Mi."

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Reign of God is present in people reconnecting with what they love after traumatic events.

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On that fateful Sunday night in Las Vegas, Elle Gargano was listening to country music at the Route 91 Harvest Festival when she was shot in the back of the head.

Her friend got her under the stage at the concert to protect her andfellow concertgoers helped get Elle over the fence and out of the festival grounds.

"They ran toward the street and they hailed somebody going by in a car, a man and a woman and they stopped them," Elle's father Mike Gargano said in the chapel of the Spring Valley Hospital where Elle is recovering. "They said 'this girl's been shot she needs to go to the hospital.' And they said, 'get her in we'll take here there.'"

Now that they know Elle, 23, will survive what could have been a fatal gunshot wound to the head, the Gargano family wants to find those strangers.

On the night of the mass shooting, there was a mad scramble to get away from the concert venue: people running, strangers pulling the wounded over fences and throwing them into cars and trucks. The drivers of those vehicles raced to hospitals. Now more than a week later, survivors have begun searching to find those unnamed heroes that saved them or their loved ones.

The Garganos are not the only ones searching for strangers they call heroes. Facebook pages are popping up to try to reunite people with the strangers that helped them. Pages like Finding My LV Hero and Reunite Route 91. The latter has some 160 members.

I would give them the biggest hug - a huge bear hug.

On that night Elle, who attended with friend Justine Walker, was dressed for the country festival. She had on cut-off jean shorts, a black tank top, Converse sneakers and a western belt buckle on her black belt.

When the gunfire started, Walker and others got Elle to the strangers' car.

But there was no space for Walker to ride with her.

Elle told her dad that she became very worried when she heard she'd have to go without Walker. Because of exhaustion from recovery, Elle's parents told her story on her behalf. "Because I couldn't see, I didn't know who these people were. Justine wasn't with me and they just drove off with me,'" Mike said.

The wound temporarily took her sight.

Mike was nervous too, knowing that his daughter was dependent on strangers.

"When I think about that - oh my god, putting my daughter in a strange car in Vegas," he said. He and his wife Katie were driving frantically from California to try and find Elle.

Now the family is searching for the couple who got Elle to the hospital. She was stabilized and transferred to Spring Valley Hospital where a neurosurgeon operated.

"We were about 30 minutes away from here. So the surgeon called and he said that he was going to be performing life-saving surgery" Elle's mom Katie said. "And that hit me like a rock. But he had a very calming voice and he said to me I've done hundreds of these, I know what I'm doing, I've done it before and I will take care of your daughter. "

She asked him to save her daughter, and he did.

Today, it's a miracle, Katie said - Elle is out of the ICU and doing physical therapy.

Katie imagines what it would be like to meet the people who got her daughter to the hospital.

"Oh gosh, I would give them the biggest hug, a huge bear hug," she said. "And I just want them to know how much their swift reactions probably saved my daughter's life."

A few more minutes, Katie said, and maybe the swelling and bleeding would've caused permanent damage.

For Mike, it's about making sure the strangers know how much this means to them. He was a paramedic and he always wondered about the people he helped. When they did thank him it meant everything.

"I'd like to give that back to somebody," he said. "Give that feeling that you really mattered to somebody. To us."

He tears up and stops speaking.
'Knowing you weren't there alone'
"I know that healing and closure make a difference in the outcome of a tragedy," said Charmaine Miano, who created the Reunite Route 91 Facebook group. "And sometimes by knowing you weren't there alone or knowing someone else can help take care of you can provide the utmost form of healing."

She works at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and was on maternity leave when the mass shooting happened. As a Las Vegas native, she thought this was the way she could help.

"Growing up here, I either know someone who knows someone or know them directly," she said. "I was just thinking with the type of connections I do have here we could spread the word faster within the valley and try to get people reunited."

Elle's photo is posted in Miano's Facebook group in hopes that the couple who helped her will somehow recognize her. So are many others. A person searching for the owner of a Black Chevrolet Avalanche that picked her and her fiancée up with her wounded sister. Her sister passed away, but the stranger did everything he could to get them to the hospital. A woman searching for the man who shielded her and her daughter from gunfire, those who helped wounded strangers and wondering what happened to them.

"Now Elle is going to live a beautiful life," Katie Gargano said. "The life she was destined to lead before this happened."

She wants the man and the woman who drove her to the hospital to know that.

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After Las Vegas Massacre, Victims Search For Their Heroes Of The Night

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On that fateful Sunday night in Las Vegas, Elle Gargano was listening to country music at the Route 91 Harvest Festival when she was shot in the back of the head. Her friend got her under the stage at the concert to protect her andfellow concertgoers helped get Elle over the fence and out of the festival grounds.

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Reign of God is not present in the hate groups everywhere in the U.S., many of which are in our own backyard.

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Subscribe to the https://soundslikehate.org/">Sounds Like Hate podcast to learn more about hate groups like the Proud Boys.​

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Reign of God is present in people fostering kittens and using videos on the internet so the kittens get adopted to a home where they are loved!

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Kitten Academy is where kittens learn to cat.