Latest from USARK - Bill Nelson Lied

S373: Sen. Nelson Won't Honor Commitment
USARK has received letters from Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Democratic majority Environment & Public Works (EPW) Committee Staff indicating that they will not honor commitments to work with us in regards to S373 aka ‘The Python Ban’. USARK has offered up a number of amendments to mitigate the effects of S373 on the captive bred reptile industry, including a moratorium on import until more definitive science can determine weather a Lacey Act listing is actually necessary. This would have amounted to what is known as a “sunset clause”. Apparently Democrats on the Committee feel they have the political momentum to ignore science in favor of political expediency. Justification for these draconian measures is predicated on the discredited USGS report on 9 large constricting snakes.
Democrat Staff are working on an amendment for tomorrows ‘Mark Up’ hearing that would “amend S373 to include the 9 snakes addressed in the USGS report”. It will be offered tomorrow. What is unclear is whether that means the bill will be ‘limited’ to the 9, or ‘include’ the 9. If it is ‘limited’ to the 9 it would target the large snakes including Boa Constrictor. If it ‘includes’ the 9, that could mean all of the large snakes, but also ALL the other pythons. As of yet there has been no language shared to clarify what they will actually attempt.
This utter disregard for good science in favor of political expediency continues to be pushed by the Humane Society of the United States. They see this as an opportunity to destroy the Reptile Nation. They have had unfettered access to Senator Nelson’s (D-FL) and Senator Cardin’s (D-MD) offices through sympathetic staff members.
EPW Committee Ranking Member Jim Inhofe (R-OK) is working hard with USARK to build a coalition Opposing S373 for a fight on the Senate Floor. He is concerned with the obvious “railroading” that is being attempted with a viable sector of the economy to satisfy powerful special interests invested in destroying the captive bred reptile industry. He is also concerned with the lack of evidence to support such drastic and damaging measures. The USGS report has many problems which have been pointed out by scientists with far more acclaim than the authors, but one of the most glaring flaws is the aggressive climate model that the entire report is based on. In addition there have been no provisions made to account for more than 4 million snakes already in captivity that will become valueless overnight if S373 becomes law. S373 is an economic and ecologic disaster in the making.
USARK is doing everything possible to protect the Reptile Nation. Andrew Wyatt has been in Las Vegas raising money and awareness across the country. Todd Willens will be representing USARK in Florida at the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commissioners meeting. Frank Vitello continues his vigilance on ‘The Hill’ and will attend the Senate Mark Up Hearing tomorrow in Washington, DC. We have the back of the Reptile Nation and will continue to do everything in our power to protect our members.
ACTION STEPS:
1. Contact The Media; Pythons Politics & Destruction of the American Dream Campaign. Click on this link to send a hard hitting email to all the big media outlets: http://usark.org/campaign.php?id=9
2. Contact President Obama. Click on this link to let the President know you oppose S373 and the destruction of American jobs: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
3. Call & Fax the Senate EPW Committee Today!
Obama Sample Letter: cut and paste in whitehouse contact portal above
President Obama,
S373 aka the Python Ban is being considered in the Senate right now. It will destroy thousands of jobs and bankrupt thousands of American families. The bill has been sensationalized and politicized and has no basis in real science. In fact a report generated by USGS to justify this bill has been called unscientific by an independent panel of scientists. It is being pushed by powerful special interest groups and it will hurt me financially. It is a confiscation of my personal property rights and will not solve the problems proponents claim it addresses. This is clearly a situation that has become politically driven and ignores science that does not support S373. Please do not allow politics to trump good science and sound policy. This is wrong and you promised in your election campaign not to allow situations like this to occur. Please stop S373.

***Join the Reptile Nation!

1. Click the 'Donate Button' at the top of the page to donate to USARK. Your donation will be matched dollar for dollar by Zoo Med.

2. Click the 'Become a Member' link at the bottom of the page to Join the Reptile Nation. These battles are costly we need your support!

3. Click the 'Twitter Button' at the top of the page to follow USARK for fast breaking updates.

Forward this Alert to everyone you know... your friends, email lists, forums, social networking sites... everyone! This will only work if EVERYONE participates!! We must generate 10's of thousands of responses. Do it now! Go, GO, GO!!!!!

CALL IN DAY:
Sample:
My name is _____. I oppose S373. Although I support and appreciate efforts to preserve the Everglades, there is NO evidence to show this bill will have any conservation effect on the Everglades. This bill will hurt American families in our state. It would Ban the captive bred trade in 40 species of pythons and destroy thousands of jobs in our state and across the country. Scientists have questioned the USGS report being used to justify this extreme proposal. Science should trump political expediency. Please oppose S373.
Contact: Full Senate EPW Committee
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), (Sponsor S373)
Phone: 202-224-5274
Fax: 202-228-2183
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), (Chair EPW)
Phone: 202-224-3553
Fax: 202-224-0454
Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), (Ranking Member EPW)
Phone: 202-224-4721
Fax: 202-228-0380
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), (Chair Water & Wildlife)
Phone: 202-224-4524
Fax: 202-224-1651
Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID), (Ranking Member Water & Wildlife)
Phone: 202-224-6142
Fax: 202-228-1375
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
Phone: 202-224-4944
Fax: 202-228-3398
Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY)
Phone: 202-224-6441
Fax: 202-224-1724
Sen. Max Baucus [D-MT]
Phone: 202-224-2651
Fax: 202-224-9412
Sen. Christopher (Kit) Bond [R-MO]
Phone: 202-224-5721
Sen. Thomas Carper [D-DE]
Phone: 202-224-2441
Fax: 202-228-2190
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand [D-NY]
Phone: 202-224-4451
Fax: 202-228-0282
Sen. Amy Klobuchar [D-MN]
Phone: 202-224-3244
fax: 202-228-2186
Sen. Frank Lautenberg [D-NJ]
Phone: 202-224-3224
Fax: 202-228-4054
Sen. Jeff Merkley [D-OR]
Phone: 202-224-3753
Fax: 202-228-3997
Sen. Bernard (Bernie) Sanders [I-VT]
Phone: 202-224-5141
Fax: 202-228-0776
Sen. Arlen Specter [D-PA]
Phone: 202-224-4254
Fax: 202-228-1229
Sen. Tom Udall [D-NM]
Phone: 202-224-6621
Sen. David Vitter [R-LA]
Phone: 202-224-4623
Fax: 202-228-5061
Sen. George Voinovich [R-OH]
Phone: 202-224-3353
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse [D-RI]
Phone: 202-224-2921
Fax: 202-228-6362

Yeah, I just got this myself. This is exactly why hell will freeze over before I will ever vote for a Democrat. Not that the Republicans are honest but the Democratic party is on the verge of becoming the Communist party.

imo usark should of never trusted his word in the first place. If we had been fighting this full on for the past few months instead of the past few weeks this wouldnt be going anywhere. The humane society of america has so much more money and is more orginzed then the reptile nation is and it seems they want us gone very badly and they have enough money to get that done. Everyone needs to call,email, fax, try to make meetings if possible and we should of been doing this for months not just a couple of weeks.

like i said before if its not written in there its not official

oh yea not to mention all the morons on the Committee.

It saddens me to think that I spent 20 years of my life supporting, defending, and fighting wars for this government... I am ashamed...

the way it is, the GOV, will control everything, the world we know will die, sorry not to sound hopeful, money is the root, of all coruption. I DO NOT support this country, but hey i live her so yea

I love how people are so shocked when politicians lie. My favorite quote about politicians comes from the Hunt From Red October. "Son I'm a politician, which means when I'm not kissing babies I'm stealing their lolly pops"

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Originally Posted by Freakie_frog

I love how people are so shocked when politicians lie. My favorite quote about politicians comes from the Hunt From Red October. "Son I'm a politician, which means when I'm not kissing babies I'm stealing their lolly pops"

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HA! :gj:

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Originally Posted by Hypnotic Exotic

Yeah, I just got this myself. This is exactly why hell will freeze over before I will ever vote for a Democrat. Not that the Republicans are honest but the Democratic party is on the verge of becoming the Communist party.

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Very True

I wonder if I should send a pic of our city right now and ask them about the climate concern and these animals taking over the country lol.......

New Mexico Blizzard
Texas Gets Cold

And im sure they can find a place under my tree in this 50 mile an hour wind....-40 degree windchill weather...........

HSUS: Yes we know that the lakes in minnesota freeze over.....but if they dig down far enough and get close to the molten lava core then they will be safe until spring thaw.......

Government: Duhhuuuuurrrrrrrrr K sounds right to me!

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Originally Posted by Kysenia

I wonder if I should send a pic of our city right now and ask them about the climate concern and these animals taking over the country lol.......

New Mexico Blizzard
Texas Gets Cold

And im sure they can find a place under my tree in this 50 mile an hour wind....-40 degree windchill weather...........

HSUS: Yes we know that the lakes in minnesota freeze over.....but if they dig down far enough and get close to the molten lava core then they will be safe until spring thaw.......

Government: Duhhuuuuurrrrrrrrr K sounds right to me!

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Houston just had a pretty heavy snow storm last Friday. From what I heard, the environmental wack jobs kept it off some media networks for 9 hours. It was snowing so heavy that in my building (26th floor) you couldn't see past 1 city block at times. And it remained cold enough where it didn't melt until Sunday.

How do you all like that change that was promised!!!!! Wake up now america your rights are going away!call call call call!!

Canada is starting to look better and better every time I see a USARK email.

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Originally Posted by Hypnotic Exotic

Yeah, I just got this myself. This is exactly why hell will freeze over before I will ever vote for a Democrat. Not that the Republicans are honest but the Democratic party is on the verge of becoming the Communist party.

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i disagree with your statement here, and i dont think this thread is a forum to publisize your political views.
your being stereotypical, and thats your business, but i highly disagree with a political party favoring your opposing position.

i think this is a case of one guy, who will say what he needs to say to gain support, all politicians do it, and if you ask me, republicans are 10 times more full of it than democrats.

i think we should not forget the goal here, which is to ban together to show our congress that there is a scientific point here that needs to be seen, before things get out of hand.
Just MO, thanks for reading.

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Originally Posted by Hulihzack

Canada is starting to look better and better every time I see a USARK email.

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pick me up on ur way out.... i got some extra jackets

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kysenia

I wonder if I should send a pic of our city right now and ask them about the climate concern and these animals taking over the country lol.......

New Mexico Blizzard
Texas Gets Cold

And im sure they can find a place under my tree in this 50 mile an hour wind....-40 degree windchill weather...........

HSUS: Yes we know that the lakes in minnesota freeze over.....but if they dig down far enough and get close to the molten lava core then they will be safe until spring thaw.......

Government: Duhhuuuuurrrrrrrrr K sounds right to me!

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Climate change can be warm or cold. Colder temperatures also mean that the climate is changing, just not necessarily 'global warming' even though warming can cause overly cold weather just as much as warm weather.

Dang I hate liars, :mad:

Has it even occurred to these mental midgets that if they accept the arguments for banning these animals it will be all but impossible to refute them when they get trotted out next time HSUS sees vulnerability?

If you ban large constrictors because they can eat wildlife and survive outside exactly how are you going to argue against it when HSUS and PETA make exactly the same claim against exotic birds and then cats and dogs?

If anything the arguments are intrinsically more valid against those species and all of a sudden the muppet in office finds himself with less and less options to doing something that will cost him a lot of votes and thus his cushy job.

I guess enlightened self intrest involves the brain not the grasping reflex. :rolleyes:

When the stated aim of an organization is to destroy a whole industry worth billions of dollars that has a history dating back to the caveman era you would think some dull flicker of intuhlekt might make you actually think about any proposed legislation originating from that group. :slamhead:

Still painting yourself into a corner through greed and short sightedness seems to be a universal trait in politicians.

I just hope Bill Nelson remembers this when PETA rescues his families dog and puts it to sleep to spare it the indignity of living.


dr del

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Originally Posted by Joey'D

i disagree with your statement here, and i dont think this thread is a forum to publisize your political views.
your being stereotypical, and thats your business, but i highly disagree with a political party favoring your opposing position.

i think this is a case of one guy, who will say what he needs to say to gain support, all politicians do it, and if you ask me, republicans are 10 times more full of it than democrats.

i think we should not forget the goal here, which is to ban together to show our congress that there is a scientific point here that needs to be seen, before things get out of hand.
Just MO, thanks for reading.

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No no no, if we all stick together, if we are not divided by stupid lines made by greedy people only to keep them in positions of money and power, then we would be able to change things.

After all, if you're a dem and a rep says something, it must be wrong and if you're a rep and a dem says something, it must be wrong and if everyone is wrong, and all that is done to correct it is to see who can yell the loudest, the guys pitting us against each other win.

SCREW the 2 party system. Support the person, not the party. If someone, like this dillhole from Fla. is a lying sack of crap today, he'll be a lying sack of crap tomorrow. Treat him like a sack of crap and find an honest person to support. If you can't find an honest person in politics, join a group you TRUST to be honest. NOT peta or hsus.

All this bullsnot picking on party affiliations is EXACTLY what they count on to keep us from uniting.

Come on people, if I can see it, surely you can too.

Many of the numbers on the list both phone and fax have been busy for over an hour now, I hope this is working .......

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Originally Posted by wilomn

No no no, if we all stick together, if we are not divided by stupid lines made by greedy people only to keep them in positions of money and power, then we would be able to change things.

After all, if you're a dem and a rep says something, it must be wrong and if you're a rep and a dem says something, it must be wrong and if everyone is wrong, and all that is done to correct it is to see who can yell the loudest, the guys pitting us against each other win.

SCREW the 2 party system. Support the person, not the party. If someone, like this dillhole from Fla. is a lying sack of crap today, he'll be a lying sack of crap tomorrow. Treat him like a sack of crap and find an honest person to support. If you can't find an honest person in politics, join a group you TRUST to be honest. NOT peta or hsus.

All this bullsnot picking on party affiliations is EXACTLY what they count on to keep us from uniting.

Come on people, if I can see it, surely you can too.

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Yes! That is why I never partake in political conversations here. Everyone picks a 'side' and doesn't listen to opinion and reason from the actual person without putting them in a party or stereotype. Instead of generalizing people into groups, why don't you all try to focus on how to fix the problem and judging the person, not the damn party.

Man Wes, I could have never said it better.

If I ever find a Democrat that actually stands for what I do, then okay, I'll vote for him/her. That has yet to ever be true. I'll also let the facts speak for themselves. A Republican was our only ally on HR669 and that is also the case with this bill.

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Originally Posted by Hulihzack

Canada is starting to look better and better every time I see a USARK email.

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Here is the Canada immigration information.
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/index.asp

Now what would happen if Canada Immigration got a few thousand e-mails asking about immigrating because of the proposed ban of pythons. That just might make the international news on every channel.

By the way, I'm really not trying to be divisive here, just stating some facts that need to be paid attention to. I'm not exactly enamored with the Republican party either. As much as the Democratic party is not the party of JFK anymore, the Republican party is not the party of Reagan anymore either. I do agree that regardless of our political views, we do need to unite on this issue so hopefully I didn't ruffle feathers too much. I normally don't like debating politics on here.

well then stop voting for extremists if you guys dont like it.

what we need is businesses in those states start creating a major stir on this.

"Extremists" are not bound to Republicans or Democrats, Christians or Buddhists, African Americans or Angolo saxons....Extremists are found in every group and denomination. Extremists like evil are also a point of view , yo some degree. We must remember this as we fight this bill. We can say to people that it is wrong and evil to take our right to own reptiles, but in there views owning and selling reps might be as bad as selling meth or the ever sooo harmful "Marijuana" lol. The only way to fight this is with science and human compassion, which is impossible for America has sold both of those to fuel its greed. Our Gov is broken, once people see that than maybe we can rise up and change it but until then...Canada seems like the place I want to be....too bad I'm unemployed and lost my scholorships...all do to the economy..and stuck here.

just my two cents.

But on the real subject at hand ...will calling in, faxing ect. really do anything? If politicians don't care about science and human compassion will they really care about us? I think not...I think the only thing that will kill this bill is ironically its passing. Once people see how much money will be lost and how many Reptile owners are out there , they will have no choice but to fix it ( kind of like prohibition). So i say we call all these numbers and fight it all the way, however, we should prepare for the real fight, to keep buying and selling Reptiles after they have been banned. They will threatin us with prison yes, but many great men and women have served jail time to fight for the rights of the people.

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Originally Posted by nixer

well then stop voting for extremists if you guys dont like it.

what we need is businesses in those states start creating a major stir on this.

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We need some celebrities to start making some Public Service Announcements or commercials for USARK on Animal Planet, just like HSUS does...

Good idea,

Someone call that guy from flashforward and lost and see if he would show of his mojo on more chatshows.

Anyone know what Slash and Alice Cooper are doing these days?

Is Jake the snake still around?

My celeb knowledge is, as you can see, somewhat out of date. :oops:


dr del

That is NOT a bad idea at all, Del! There are celebrities who would hop on board with this cause for nothing, because they own snakes as well. Alice Cooper would definitely be on board, and Slash from Guns N Roses. We need to alert them personally that all this is going on.

As for all the partisan arguing, give it up--both parties are trash. Democrats want to ban everything, and Republicans are a bunch of religious fanatics who want to turn the country into a theocracy. You CANNOT win. I usually side with the Democrats because they aren't trying to shove a Bible down my throat, and generally side with protecting the environment. But they ALL suck. The two party system created this mess we're living in. Blaming it on one party or the other is pointless.

Kerry King from Slayer is another. Big carpet python fan. He was featured on a chat on Kingsnake a long time ago.

Made all my calls and emails again.

Kind of reminds me of that old joke....

Q: how can you tell when a politician is lying???

A: His/Her lips are moving...

I called the liar's office in Washington and the phone rang forever to no aval. I will call again tomorrow. I'm going to do my best here in Fla to make sure this arse does not get re- elected. Lets keep the pressure on are so called representatives.

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Originally Posted by Emilio

I called the liar's office in Washington and the phone rang forever to no aval. I will call again tomorrow. I'm going to do my best here in Fla to make sure this arse does not get re- elected. Lets keep the pressure on are so called representatives.

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I know I will be voting against him next time he is up.

that is a great idea. Im sure slash would help out if he was asked although Im pretty sure he sold his collection.

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Originally Posted by WingedWolfPsion

That is NOT a bad idea at all, Del! There are celebrities who would hop on board with this cause for nothing, because they own snakes as well. Alice Cooper would definitely be on board, and Slash from Guns N Roses. We need to alert them personally that all this is going on.

As for all the partisan arguing, give it up--both parties are trash. Democrats want to ban everything, and Republicans are a bunch of religious fanatics who want to turn the country into a theocracy. You CANNOT win. I usually side with the Democrats because they aren't trying to shove a Bible down my throat, and generally side with protecting the environment. But they ALL suck. The two party system created this mess we're living in. Blaming it on one party or the other is pointless.

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hence why i said extremists

million snake march ?

I did'nt see it but there was a big rectic on the late show with conan the other night whoever brought that snake there Im sure was informed about our fight would have been a great oppertunity to voice our oppsition.

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Originally Posted by greghall

I did'nt see it but there was a big rectic on the late show with conan the other night whoever brought that snake there Im sure was informed about our fight would have been a great oppertunity to voice our oppsition.

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The person who had that retic was Jay from prehistoric pets... IMO he cares about one thing only and that is money. He is a moron and I have statd as much to his face.

On to the real problem. Neither political party matters. What actually matters is us. We are the ones that need to fight. No one is going to do it for us. I do agree that we need some more faces on TV that will help us and give real advice but the biggest problem with that is no matter how much we pay them someone else will be willing to pay double to talk against us. That is the real problem in our country everything is about money.

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Originally Posted by Hypnotic Exotic

Kerry King from Slayer is another. Big carpet python fan. He was featured on a chat on Kingsnake a long time ago.

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I'm sure Kerry King is aware of this - he's good friends with Kevin McCurley.

heavy metal guys probley arent good spokes people. i just hope it comes to a conclusion soon one way or another.If it goes through bring on the lawsuits!I will donate to the legal fund!

I sent Mr.Nelson a nice e-mail through his website I warned him of real repurcusions if this bill is passed. I'm not joking when I say that we would decend on washington to protest this govt intrusion. A messed up economy and 2 wars and they are preoccupied with our pets ridiculous!!!

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Originally Posted by Emilio

I sent Mr.Nelson a nice e-mail through his website I warned him of real repurcusions if this bill is passed. I'm not joking when I say that we would decend on washington to protest this govt intrusion. A messed up economy and 2 wars and they are preoccupied with our pets ridiculous!!!

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perhaps a nice protest in front of his office would shed some new light on him

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Emilio

I called the liar's office in Washington and the phone rang forever to no aval. I will call again tomorrow. I'm going to do my best here in Fla to make sure this arse does not get re- elected. Lets keep the pressure on are so called representatives.

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I called his office as well and voiced my opposition as a constituent, the aid was not rude, took my information and that was it. I also will be looking for a new representative next year, Mr. Nelson is too quick to strip rights in order to further his own agenda.

Reptile nation carpool to washington expect it Nelson!!

perhaps some questions should be asked here http://ethics.senate.gov/

it doesnt have to be in washington it can be at his office in FL. im sure he will see the news reports

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Originally Posted by nixer

perhaps some questions should be asked here http://ethics.senate.gov/

it doesnt have to be in washington it can be at his office in FL. im sure he will see the news reports

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How many people do you think the reptile nation can get up to the capitol to protest this bill if passed.

Ive emailed everyone and everything. Called, faxed.. Even HSUS.

They are the reason for the problem but hell, if we bombarded them with all this info you never know what might make an impact. I have also tried to stay away from the "letters" made for sending and have added my own personal touch. I hope everyone is doing the same because if we are sending the exact same letter over and over it shows we do not care enough to voice our own personal opinion and show how it really matters to us. So dont be a robot. Make it count!

I only hope everyone else is trying as hard.

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Originally Posted by Foschi Exotic Serpents

Ive emailed everyone and everything. Called, faxed.. Even HSUS.

They are the reason for the problem but hell, if we bombarded them with all this info you never know what might make an impact. I have also tried to stay away from the "letters" made for sending and have added my own personal touch. I hope everyone is doing the same because if we are sending the exact same letter over and over it shows we do not care enough to voice our own personal opinion and show how it really matters to us. So dont be a robot. Make it count!

I only hope everyone else is trying as hard.

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To go along with this please make sure you are doing all these things ( Call, Write, Email and Fax) to YOUR elected officials as well, even if they are not on the list, let them know how you feel (in a polite way) remember that YOU voted them into office (if you voted of course) and YOUR vote could remove them from office the next time around.

Dont stop at just the Congressional or Senate level make sure all of your representatives in DC know how you feel!

I would do the trip to DC for sure!! I sent letters to all our reps here in AZ and have thus far received two replies....pretty blanketed statments and of course not taking one side or the other.....wow...shocking! I wish I would of went to the town hall meeting out here with McCain...but we were out of town at the time. He has helped our family before when my Step Dad passed away...who was a Pearl Harbor survivor. I actually really like him...I talked to his secretary and he got back with us in regards to our situation within a day.

Regarding political views.....Im an independant...my hubby is a hardcore conservative republican. Neither of us are for big government which is exactly what we are getting right now....and not just with the issue at hand. In my opinion we need to get ready because this is just the beginning of our rights being at risk.

Don't forget Salma Hayek and that sweeeeet dance she did with the Albino Burm in From Dusk Till Dawn.

Maybe some of the members who are Facebook and Twitter savvy could track down some of these celebrity websites and post some warnings. There is also a female singer that a guy I work with listens to alot who is into Red Tail Boas. I'll see if I can find out who she is tomorrow...