Welcome to SWIVL

SWIVL 2015 GOALS

1. Rescue and rehabilitate dogs abandoned in the desert.
2. Expand land and build facilities for abused goats, hogs, and other farmed animals.
3. Increase cat and dog spade and neuter work and education programs.
4. Work with animal rescue organizations on the Arizona – Mexican border.
5. Organize school – community educational programs to reduce animal cruelty.
6. Advocate for an animal abuse registry to inform and educate the public about animal abuse.
7. Promote legislation with severe penalties for animal abusers.
8. Educate youth and community groups and organizations about the cycle of violence.
9. Register as a safe haven shelter for animals that come from abused homes.
10. Work with community and elected officials to protect animal victims of family violence.

Please click here if you would like to make a tax-deductible contribution to help SWIVL achieve its 2011 Goals.

SWIVL in the Community

SWIVL has been actively out in the community describing the relationships among animal cruelty, child abuse, and domestic violence.  While there are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of organizations that inform and educate the public regarding violence, SWIVL promotes the view that violence is indivisible; violence towards any feeling, being should be not be tolerated under any circumstance.  According to Dr. Kathleen Wishnick, Co-Founder of SWIVL, we must stop violence at all levels: animal cruelty, child abuse, and domestic violence.  Child abuse and domestic violence is on the increase because we have ignored the powerful relationship between animal cruelty and all other forms of violence.  When it comes to violence, it doesn’t matter if nonhuman animals speak or walk on two legs, all that matters is that they feel pain.  Your tax-deductible support will help SWIVL end violence through community action and legislative support.

Israel: Guilty Until Proven Guilty

For the month of June 2010, SWIVL enters the world of YouTube to show the media bias towards Israel even in the face of solid evidence.   SWIVL provides videos for your review that distinguish fact from fiction.  In a world where the media is more interested in theater than the truth, individuals are able to judge for themselves through primary video sources.   The result is that people are becoming more and more skeptical of the media as they are able to see events through their own eyes.

Media Unable to Ignore the Evidence: When confronted with compelling video evidence, many media outlets have been unable to contest the images of Israeli soldiers attacked with clubs, iron poles and knives.  The UK's Channel 4 News invited a British naval analyst and counter-terror expert to analyze IDF footage:

Facts Supporting the Videos: In the aftermath of Israel's raid on the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, during which Israeli naval commandos were attacked and several passengers were killed, the media provided non-stop coverage with both information and misinformation. The following backgrounder sorts out the facts from the falsehoods.  Continue reading.

The primary aim of the Gaza flotilla was not to provide humanitarian relief; it was to cause a provocation with Israel. Its top organizers and some of its participants are radicals with ties to terrorist groups that sought a violent confrontation.  Netanyahu: "Israel Is Guilty Until Proven Guilty"

 

  

Probably the best example of how the international community has and continues to be manipulated by the anti-Israel public relations machine is a parody on We are the World.

June Book of the Month - "The World Turned Upside Down" by Melanie Phillips

 

Is there a world-wide cultural collapse?  Is the United States no longer a culture of success?   Has England become a satellite for Moslem extremists?  Is multiculturalism a Trojan horse for cultural relativism and anything goes?  Have we lost our ideals that promote a strong work ethic, an independent spirit, and the primacy of the family? 

 

If these questions intrigue you or arouse your curiosity, you will want to read the SWIVL recommendation for June 2010, The World Turned Upside Down by Melanie Phillips.

According to Phillips, the West is losing both its rationality and its freedoms. The West is succumbing to a "soft totalitarianism," which not only is creating an ugly mood of intolerance but is undermining its ability to defend itself against Islamic aggression. While the Islamists are intent on returning the free world to the seventh century, the West no longer seems willing or able to defend the modernity and rationalism that it brought into being.

The basic cause of all this unreason is the erosion of the building blocks of western civilization. We tell ourselves that religion and reason are incompatible, but in fact the opposite is the case. It was Christianity and the Hebrew Bible that gave us our concepts of reason, progress and an orderly world-the foundations of science and modernity.

The loss of religious belief has meant the West has replaced reason and truth with ideology and prejudice, which it enforces in the manner of a secular inquisition. The result has been a kind of mass derangement, as truth and lies, right and wrong, victim and aggressor are all turned upside down. In medieval-style witch- hunts, scientists who are skeptical of global warming are hounded from their posts; Israel is ferociously demonized; and the United States is vilified over the war on terror-all on the basis of falsehoods and propaganda that are believed as truth.

Thus the West is losing both its rationality and its freedoms. It is succumbing to a "soft totalitarianism," which not only is creating an ugly mood of intolerance but is undermining its ability to defend itself against Islamic aggression. While the Islamists are intent on returning the free world to the seventh century, the West no longer seems willing or able to defend the modernity and rationalism that it brought into being.

With cold, perceptive, exhaustive and persistent passion, Melanie Phillips dissects the phenomenon among disparate movements, to reach disturbing but compelling conclusions about the erosion of modern progressive society – a society based on personal responsibility, independence, and self-reliance - by ideologies whose surprising interconnections are meticulously identified. One can only hope that her book will penetrate the information cocoon into which many of our intelligentsia have have sealed themselves."  Continue reading.

What Daniel Pearl's decapitation means to Barack Obama

Even given Obama’s ever more terrifying and lethal performance in office, his comments about the jihadi murder of Daniel Pearl, and in front of Daniel’s bereaved family, are simply astounding. This is what Obama said:  ‘Obviously, the loss of Daniel Pearl was one of those moments that captured the world’s imagination because it reminded us of how valuable a free press is.’

Daniel Pearl was not murdered because he was a journalist. He was decapitated because he was an American Jew. Khalid Sheikh Mohamed cut off his head in an act of unimaginable barbarism, which was videoed in order to incite other Muslims to similar acts of barbarism and to destroy the will of the west to defend itself.  Continue reading.

Volunteer with SWIVL

Become a Southwest Institute for ViolenceFree Learning (SWIVL) Volunteer. Become part of a growing movement for ending the cycle of violence.  Unlike other programs and strategies that focus only on animal abuse, child abuse, or domestic violence, SWIVL takes the approach that violence is indivisible and that animal, child, and domestic violence are cut from the same cloth.   Formed in 2003 as a 501(c)3, SWIVL is a nonprofit organization established to respond to the growing state of violence and discord in our families, communities, nation, and world.  SWIVL believes the first place to start is with the torture, abuse, and animal abandonment. 

SWIVL has no paid staff.  All contributions go directly to SWIVL programs and services.  Please contact SWIVL if you are interested in volunteering for any of the activities below:

• Volunteer and learn how to be a humane educator in the classroom.
• Volunteer to develop and maintain farmed animal habitats.
• Volunteer as a community organizer to help build a sanctuary for dogs that are abandoned in the desert.
• Volunteer as a veterinarian to provide free spade and neutering clinics in the Arivaca, AZ community.
• Volunteer as an intern to assist in the general health and welfare of farmed and companion animals.
• Volunteer as part of the SWIVL speaker’s bureau for community events and meetings.
• Volunteer as a guide for individuals and groups that visit SWIVL.

Please contact SWIVL if you are interested in volunteering for any of the above activities.

THE WITNESS – One Person’s Journey to Say No to Violence, Cruelty, and Fur

For the month of May, SWIVL is proud to recommend a film that portrays both the best and worst of the human spirit while offering hope, renewal and the miracle of transformation.  THE WITNESS, one person’s journey that can change the world, shows how each person has the power to do good things and change the living conditions for those among us that are abused, tortured and left to die alone and afraid.

In the award-winning documentary, THE WITNESS, Eddie Lama explains how he feared and avoided animals for most of his life, until the love of a kitten opened his heart, inspiring him to rescue abandoned animals and bring his message of compassion to the streets of New York. With humor and sincerity, Eddie tells the story of his remarkable change in consciousness.

THE WITNESS has been an official selection in 32 film festivals where it has received eight awards for Best Documentary and two for Best of Festival.  The film has been translated into 11 languages, including Russian and Chinese. 

Best of all, you do not need to go to your local video store to view THE WITNESS.  Click here to begin viewing.

The Obama Administration is Creating a Perfect Storm

The Obama Administration may not only be destroying the United States economy,  the current Administration may also be creating a perfect storm for the destruction of the social fabric that holds the American culture together.  Three key forces are at work: (1) Excessive debt, (2) Political division, and (3) Gratuitous entitlements.  Together, these forces are transforming the core values of the United States from a culture of success to a culture of dependency.  The exceptionality of the United States does not lie with the federal government – far from it.  Rather, our strength as a nation rests with its people.  From manifest destiny to our footprints on the moon, American ingenuity, creativity and independence have forged a national consciousness which is now being challenged.

Regardless of your economic theory or philosophy, no one could seriously have imagined the United States debt as 11 trillion dollars.  Eleven trillion dollars, divided by the U.S. population is over $36,000 in debt for every man, woman and child in the United States.  Such a debt loses all meaning and leads to a national state of confusion and chaos.  As a result, only the naïve would question why citizens are losing confidence in their government and its leaders.  Worse, a sobering assessment issued by Moody’s Investors Service, provided a reminder that even AAA-rated United States Treasury bonds, supposedly the safest of safe investments, could be downgraded if the Obama Administration continues to mismanage the federal debt.  “Growth alone will not resolve an increasingly complicated debt equation,” Moody’s said. “Preserving debt affordability” — the ratio of interest payments to government revenue — “at levels consistent with AAA ratings will invariably require fiscal adjustments of a magnitude that, in some cases, will test social cohesion.”   By cohesion, we can only conclude a breakdown in the social fabric that holds the United States together: in other words, violence.  Is the Obama Administration listening?

The second force behind this perfect storm is the growing division in the United States that has developed in one year since President Obama has taken office.  While division is certainly not unique in a free society, it was candidate Obama who promoted the view and campaigned on the position that he would unify and bring the country together.  Intentional or not, the Obama Administration has politicized the country in such a way as to make extremism the new normal.  Refusing to listen or even respect the majority viewpoint of Americans, the President has been combative, conflicting, and defensive in advocating for his legislative agenda.  The American people, benefiting from the individualist, entrepreneurial pathway carved out by the founding fathers, do not respond well when their elected leaders ignore their political will.  Nor, do Americans believe that European thinking should be imposed on their free spirited political culture.  More division – not less – is likely, if the President continues to argue for a political philosophy that is fundamentally at odds with the values and beliefs of most Americans.

Bridging the growing national debt and increasing political division is the expanding number of entitlements being legislated from Washington D.C.  While portrayed in a cloak of morality, elected officials have rejected the notion of personal responsibility and freedom and replaced them with a culture of dependency.   Simple common sense and good old fashion American logic are no longer part of the discussion.  Hard work, ingenuity, and accountability have been marginalized to the point where now a growing number of Americans are looking to their government for entitlements in the form of handouts, subsidies or employment – all to be paid for by someone else.  Policy makers seem to be more concerned with creating a constituency that is less informed and more beholden to them for what they can get or receive from their government.  This approach can only lead to greater alienation and anger on the part of most citizens.

Thus, a perfect storm for transforming American society is underway.  With little regard or concern for the values and beliefs held by Americans, too many elected officials have turned their back on the capacity and resilience of Americans to act on their own behalf.  What has made the United States exceptional is our political and economic culture where all individuals have the potential for greatness. The United States is exceptional because every citizen can use their personal strengths and experiences to be successful.  While there are no guarantees, America is a country where hard work and personal responsibility can propel you to success beyond your hopes and dreams.  This is not rhetorical commentary or simply a slogan to be placed on a bumper or pasted on a billboard.  It is part of our fabric that must be treated with respect and dignity.  If our elected officials – regardless of political party – forget or ignore this important part of our culture, there will be a breakdown of our basic institutions and we will surely see more violence and less civility within our communities and society.

Supremes Turn Their Back on Man’s Best Friend

Supreme Court rules animal torture videos as free speech.  Simply put our dogs and cats have little value according to the US Supreme Court and while it may be illegal to torture and murder them, individuals and businesses that electrocute, crush, drown, strangle, rape, and otherwise torture companion animals are protected by the US Constitution to produce, market, publicize, and distribute the video and material representation of these monstrous acts.   

Key media outlets joined forces to promote their right to publicize the torture of animals, claiming free speech as their defense, with the New York Times leading this unholy alliance.  Arguing their position, the New York Time, twisted the ugly truth about animal torture into the protection of animals.   Here is the 1984ish position of the NY Times:

The goal of preventing crush videos and other animal cruelty is certainly a worthy one.  It is this very interest in protecting animals from abuse that makes speech about their treatment so valuable. Press coverage serves the community by exposing animal cruelty such as crush videos, animal fighting and the mistreatment of animals at some puppy mills and slaughterhouses.

In other words, we should not prohibit the publicizing and marketing of these horrific videos – otherwise the New York Time and other media outlets could not publicize them.  

Only one Justice had the courage to tell the truth:  Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. dissented, saying the majority’s analysis was built on “fanciful hypotheticals” and would serve to protect “depraved entertainment.”

 

Chief Justice Roberts and other Supreme Court Justices should get out of their ivory tower to understand the connection between animal cruelty, child abuse and domestic violence.  Animal abusers are never satisfied with the torture of just animals.  More and more evidence shows that animal abuse leads to child abuse and domestic violence.

Does the majority of the Supreme Court really believe individuals who distribute videos that depict animal torture are not disposed to violent behaviors?  Do they believe that the Founding Fathers of our country would have given these horrific videos and merchandise the status of protected speech?  The Supreme Court’s decision to ignore the link between human and nonhuman animal abuse gives the animal torture industry a pass while endangering our children and families.  Like so many of our elected official, they are out of touch with everyday thinking Americans.

April Book of the Month - "Please Stop Laughing At Us" by Jodee Blanco

Each month SWIVL features a book that exemplifies the spirit of ViolenceFree.  For the month of April 2010, SWIVL recommends a wonderful author and advocate for ending violence.  

Don’t be a victim!  That’s the clear and simple message from Jodee Blanco, author of the best-selling book, PLEASE STOP LAUGHING AT US. 

Bullying, like animal cruelty, child abuse, and domestic violence is a disease that must be eradicated from society and Blanco describes a number of actions that children can take, including:

- Realize there’s nothing wrong with you

- Reacting to the moment, not later

- Reaching out to a parent or other individuals of authority

Ideas to stop the bully are promoted by Blanc through stories, examples, and most of all action.   Ignoring the abuser – the bully – will not make him or her go away.  SWIVL encourages schools officials, teachers, parents, and community leaders to review the work of Ms. Blanco and visit her web site.  

To end animal cruelty, child abuse, and domestic violence, we must focus on the act of violence and recognize that the abuser does not care who the victim is – it is the abusive act itself that gives pleasure and motivates the abuser. 

It’s time to get serious about the bully; an important first step to ending the cycle of violence.