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I'm a carnivore and I wear leather. I own a horse that I purchased. It's a choice. I've also been a very active animal rescue volunteer for over 30 years. I can vouch that dog and cat rescue are much easier than horse rescue. My housepets have always been rescues (my dogs had been puppymill adult breeding stock). I've lived all over the globe and have personally witnessed both humane and inhumane animal treatment. I'm over-qualified by far too many professional certificates and university degrees. These are my sole credentials for my opinion basis.

Humanitarian efforts towards living creatures is as much a polarizing topic as religion or politics or child-rearing. But what we are facing, per Anne's blog here, is commentary on spin-doctoring. CCF has been a spin-doctor tank all its existence, no matter who the target for their attacks. That's their bread and butter. They make great money irking people on behalf of the CCF contributors -- who much prefer staying anonymous.

The US Postal Service is issuing stamps as of the end of April to raise awareness of the millions of pets in shelters. CCF is behind an email campaign sent to all volunteer animal rescue groups to counter this effort. Here's the body of that email:

< A new stamp is coming out the end of April called "Animal Rescue: Adopt A Shelter Pet Stamp" featuring shelter dogs and cats. The purpose of the stamp is to raise awareness to the millions of dogs and cats in shelters across the U.S. To launch the stamp Ellen DeGeneres is giving one million meals to shelters when people buy the stamps. The cost is the same as a regular stamp - 44 cents.

Money from these stamps is going to HSUS. Ellen has not been shy about her support of HSUS. Money given there will not go to animals in shelters. HSUS's 2008 tax returns revealed that less than 1/2 of 1 percent of their budget funds a
traditional (dog/cat) shelter. Money given to HSUS goes instead toward lobbying, anti-animal ownership legislation and attorneys.

Please DO NOT BUY these stamps and advise your friends to do the same. The agenda of the HSUS is ANTI-ANIMAL OWNERSHIP!!! >>

First, test the assumption made here. A celebrity is sending one million meals of food to shelters (she co-owns a pet food company) to launch these stamps. What's the problem with that? It's her money; she can do whatever she wants with it.

That same celebrity endorses the non-profit HSUS. She can do that too. It's her choice.

"Money given there will not go to animals in shelters" Now there's a real logical gap here. The celebrity is giving meals( pet food) to animal shelters. So, I ask, WHAT MONEY? The donation is in the form of pet food.

Neither the celebrity nor HSUS are garnering any cash from the USPS issued stamps.

Ah, yes, spin-doctoring...it's actually an example of required discretionary reading and hearing skills, isn't it? It's word play for the penultimate goal of getting an emotional reaction to trigger behaviors. Suddenly, donated pet food is magically being transmuted to monetary funds going to HSUS. Did you notice that transition? It's like one of those visual perception puzzles. What did you REALLY see and comprehend?

But after broadcasting this CCF originated email, the small (a couple hundred members) rescue group to which I belong had our group website deluged with responses from members pledging not to buy the stamps. However, we actually have some members who have a strong nose for propaganda. One such posted:

<

Here's a link to the USPS and you can see all the sponsors, none of whom get any money from the sale of the stamps. This goes back several years when the HSUS bought rights to post their advertising on stamps from a company who works with the Post Office. I don't know all the details of how it worked, but this particular campaign will not put any money into the HSUS's pockets.

http://stampstotherescue.com/ thecampaign. asp>>

Ah, the joys of critical reading skills and the ever-questioning mind.