I came across this interesting story!:>)

My five-year old students are learning to read.
Yesterday one of them pointed at a picture in a zoo book and said,'Look at this! It's a frickin' elephant!'

I took a deep breath, then asked...'What did you call it?

'It's a frickin' elephant! It says so on the picture!'

And so it does...


' A f r i c a n Elephant '

Hooked on phonics! Ain't it wonderful?

http://www.rense.com/general83/class.htm

http://www.shout.net/~bigred/Football2.html

http://ming.tv/flemming2.php/__show_article/_a000010-000923.htm

http://www.rense.com/general83/bac.htm

Befriending the Media

Some of the greatest Animal Rights activists used to be hunters. Some of the most powerful members of our movement used to work in the meat industry. Most of us used to eat meat. We changed our ways because somebody showed us a different way of looking at things, not because they insulted us. That must be top of mind as we write letters. If we insult and alienate somebody who may have eventually, even years down the line, become a supporter, we vent our anger at the expense of the animals.

If you are writing a complaint to a show or publication whose stories you have enjoyed in the past, do not lose the opportunity to pay a compliment. Then, gently point out the current problem, making sure you tackle the issue, not the person or organization. Try to do it in a friendly manner. It is human nature to care more about pleasing a friend who has been wronged than an adversary. The reader of your letter is only human.

The reader of your letter is also busy. Keep notes short. Do not get sidetracked from your main point; save other points for future notes.

Use your spell-checker. Rightly or wrongly, people who can spell are assumed to be more intelligent, more educated, and are taken more seriously.

This page is headed "Email Etiquette" because email is preferable to standard mail when communicating with major media. The media function in real time. By the time the US post delivers your letter to the editor or station, the topic about which you are writing will be yesterday's news.

When writing a letter to the editor, always include your full name, address, and daytime telephone number. Most papers will call you, before printing, to confirm that it was you who sent the letter.

Never borrow phrases from DawnWatch alerts for use in your letters. And do not include sample letters if you forward DawnWatch alerts. While legislators, wishing to appease strong lobby groups, count the number of responses they receive in favor of pieces of legislation, the media wish to please their viewers and readers, not lobbyists.  Some leading editors have stated that they avoid publishing letters that are clearly part of campaign. If you are tempted to include in your letter a phrase from an alert, you can be sure somebody else was attracted by the same phrase. The letters editor, having seen a phrase more than once, will spot a campaign and might decide to avoid the whole issue. Therefore please send short heartfelt notes written entirely in your own words. 

DawnWatch keeps an eye mostly on major media in huge markets. You will have the most impact with your local media. Please respond to DawnWatch alerts, but consider this a training ground -- a place where you get in the habit of contacting the media. Then practice that habit in your local media world; your ability to influence it will surprise you. 

Of foremost importance: be nice. Though the reputation of the Animal Rights community is improving, there is still some perception of Animal Right's activists as odd and angry. We need to change that perception for the sake of the animals. We must make sure that our letters are always rational, to the point, and preferably concerned rather than outraged. Anger tends to put people on the defensive whereas a friendly argument can get a decent hearing. We will be heard most clearly not when we are shouting loudest, but when we are communicating in such a way that people are willing to listen.

http://www.dawnwatch.com/index.htm

http://www.appetiteforprofit.com/

http://www.prwatch.org/node/5803

http://www.vegtv.com/AboutUs/michele.htm

http://fora.tv/2007/07/14/Michele_Simon_on_Appetite_For_Profit

http://www.alternet.org/authors/6568

Humane Declaration 
   

The public deserves to be told the full truth of who animals are and what is being done to them behind closed doors, as well as the catastrophic impact that the continuing consumption of meat, eggs, and dairy products will have on human health, wildlife and the environment. We will do all we can to uphold this public trust.

As animal advocates committed to compassion and justice, we will refuse to take part in the exploitation of others or to collaborate with those caught up in such injustice. We will do our best to present a clear and uncompromised message to the public, a sincere and respectful message that is free of cynicism and manipulation.
 

Recognizing that progress toward social justice is gradual and depends on more and more people becoming aware of the truth, we will do all we can to insure that each of the steps our culture takes is toward an accurate understanding of the ways animals are being harmed, and away from the false and misleading idea that the production of meat, eggs, and dairy products can be carried out without cruelty, violence, or injustice.
 

Recognizing that fostering cultural transformation requires a variety of creative approaches, we will support a broad range of nonviolent programs and initiatives that eliminate or reduce the use and killing of animals, as well as measures that reduce the level of abuse and agony experienced by animals being exploited for human purposes, provided such measures involve NONE of the following:
 

1. Offering a misleading or incomplete portrait of the confinement, social deprivation, mutilation, reproductive manipulation, indignity and premature death endured by animals being exploited for profit.

2. Minimizing or failing to reveal the full impact on human health, wildlife and our environment from the continuing production and consumption of animal-based foods.

3. Developing, endorsing, certifying and/or promoting any animal products, including those that are labeled as being "humane," "cruelty-free," "cage-free," "free range," "organic," "compassionate," etc.

4. Developing, endorsing, praising, applauding or promoting "new and improved" methods for using and killing animals.

5. Providing individuals or corporations with promotional or public relations benefits that have the effect of making the use and killing animals or the sale of any animal product more profitable or more socially acceptable.

http://www.humanemyth.org/index.htm

• Broadly eliminate the availability of many critical, commonly compounded medications that many patients rely on, such as bioidentical hormones for women, hospice care treatments for the terminally ill and customized medicines for children.
• Determine when compounded medicines are needed - a decision that has always been and should always be made by doctors.
• Restrict the compounded medications your doctor can prescribe even if he or she determines you need them.

"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony."

—Mahatma Gandhi

http://www.tribeofheart.org/

http://www.tribeofheart.org/tohhtml/hbspring07.htm