Marina Russman, MD

Please help our furry friends and share with others!

Black eyed Peas have got it right!

A few weeks ago, I was traveling to Lost Hills, Ca and saw the most horrifying sight to any animal lover! There are literally 30-40 cats and kittens right besid...e a busy freeway off ramp in a motel parking lot. No one seems to care except guests! They had no water, not food and the bigger ones were diving into the dumpster for food. I’ve tried to get rescue organizations to help out, but can’t find anyone willing to help. I even called animal control and was told that cats are free roaming so they won’t go help at all unless they are sick or hurt! I’m trying to make sure these babies can be fed until I can get a rescue to help! I didn’t get the greatest pictures in the world, but if you click and spread out the picture you can see some of these babies. Many are black which makes it harder. I’m still trying everything I can even though I live 3 hours away. I’ve created a go fund me for them as well. https://www.gofundme.com/f/2613cm3v6o Thank you VC for your donation! It will go a long way toward food and vetting for all of these babies. Please feel free to cross post this everywhere you can.

The president is spouting dangerous lies and misinformation about Covid!!!!

Many people have seen the video of a hiker’s encounter with a mountain lion on a trail in Utah that has recently gone viral. Unfortunately the news and social m...edia outlets sharing this footage have misinterpreted what this mother mountain lion was doing and, by their sensationalized headlines, they are doing more harm to an already maligned and imperiled species. If you chose to share the video or see it posted in other locations, please be sure to help politely educate other viewers by sharing this information: Beth Pratt is the Director of National Wildlife Federation, California and a mountain lion expert. Her assessment is that the video shows a mother cat protecting her kittens, not a person being "stalked" by the mountain lion. Mountain lions are stealth hunters, which means they ambush their prey. If the cat was stalking him, the hiker wouldn't know it until shortly before she pounced on him. In this video she is escorting him away from her kittens. Mountain lion attacks are incredibly rare-- you are more likely to be hit by lightning or win the lottery than you are to be attacked by a mountain lion (here's more information on that: https://www.mountainlion.org/newsstory.php?news_id=1670) In the very rare occurrence of an encounter with a big cat you want to yell, back away facing the cat and throw rocks. Make yourself look big and threatening, and don't run. Thank you to Lesley Sampson for this meme.

Friend lost her cat in West Hollywood. They're desperate to find her.

Shared from an earlier post. Dear American friends and family who support the Republicans right now. I want you to change your minds about who and what you hav...e been supporting. Please read this because I really want you to consider what is at stake here for millions of Americans. Mitch McConnell wants his legacy to include destroying the Affordable Care Act, also referred to as Obamacare, by having it struck down by the Supreme Court. It will be brought to the Supreme Court soon. Here is why the Affordable Care Act matters to us all, and I hope you see a parallel here with our story and those in your family who have lost their jobs and who will potentially be in the same position. This is our story: We are a couple who both worked, with one of us working the same job (that provided health insurance we never had to use for over forty years), paying taxes and buying our home. After all that, when the job was over after 41 years and our income reduced, we were able to sign up for the expensive COBRA (aptly named) insurance to bridge the gap until we could apply for health insurance we would have to pay for in full. That is when I developed symptoms of breast cancer. I did research online and everything indicated breast cancer. I had all the signs. I am intelligent, but I chose not to seek medical help even though I had health insurance at the time. This is because my health insurance was due to run out and I knew that if I was officially diagnosed and, since my current COBRA health insurance that we were paying $1000 a month for, was due to run out, I would not be able to get new health insurance, and we would have to pay in full for my treatments. I kept this all to myself. A miracle and hope and care happened. The A.C.A. was adopted into law. I signed up for and paid for health insurance, then went to the cancer center where I was diagnosed within a week and went into life-saving surgery to treat my breast cancer. I was paying for health insurance through the A.C.A. with a small supplement, which was fair because it was based on our income. The cancer surgery and recovery caused me to lose months of work and income, but we could weather that on the small income we had at the time. We paid the deductible which was in the thousands, but the health insurance paid the largest share of the cost and we kept our home. Each year I watched the cost of health insurance go up and paid it willingly because I am still at risk of having the cancer come back. It has been five years and I now have qualified and am covered by the Medicare that I contributed to for over forty-five years of working. Now the Republicans, led by Mitch McConnell, who openly says he wants to end the A.C.A, want to throw out the A.C.A. and force tens of millions of Americans out of being able to receive medical care, thus condemning many to die because they can't afford what the rich are able to get with hardly a concern. The Republicans have no adequate plan to replace the A.C.A.. In addition, the pandemic has forced millions more to have the A.C.A. as their only hope to be guaranteed health coverage at this time. Trump has been lying all along about putting together a health plan. States will not be able to take up the slack. This is all in a time when the pandemic has caused millions more Americans to lose their jobs and their health insurance coverage, too. Rather than to work out a way to help all Americans weather this health crisis, the Republicans are working to strangle our hard-working citizens who now need the A.C.A. more than ever. Wake up. Keep hollering about your freedom to not wear a mask while millions of your fellow Americans, members of your own family, will be put into danger of dying because they will not be able to seek medical treatment because they have "pre-existing conditions" that disqualify them from being able to afford health coverage and services. Are you prepared to help pay for their medical care yourself during this time when families are pulling together to afford even the basic necessities and their homes, or, are you like those who believe other Americans deserve to have these health conditions because they somehow aren't as deserving as you are? Are you going to rationalize that somehow these Americans somehow deserve to lose their homes in order to get life-saving treatments that are only available to those who can afford them. What will you say to your family members when your loved ones die because they were forced to sacrifice getting life-saving healthcare in order to save the family from bankruptcy!? This was our American reality before the A.C.A. was adopted into law, and now we are in the grips of this pandemic. We need the A.C.A. more than ever. Don't toss decency out along with your ability to see what is happening? Mitch McConnell does not care about you and your family or he would not be doing this. On the other hand, I care about your family and you and I know what I am talking about, so I am sincerely asking you to dig deep and make a choice to take a wider look and make the wiser choice. What can you do? That will be up to you, but you can write to your representatives and ask them to delay confirming a new justice. You could actually make a difference if you care to, in so many ways. Obviously, I care.

Say COVERUP!!!!!!!!

Horrible way to die!

This animal abuser needs to be prosecuted!!!

Nailed it as usual!!

Anyone interested in this beautiful pup??