A Little Encouragemnt For The Weary Activist

The Difference He Made
by Randy Poole

Amidst the morning mist of the swift returning tide
I set out on my daily run, my walkman on my side.
Lost within my private world apart from cares and woes
I ran along the moistened shore, the sand between my toes.

In the distance, I saw a boy, as busy as can be.
He was running, stooping, picking up, and tossing in the sea.
Just what he threw, I couldn't tell, I looked as I drew near.
It seemed to be a rock or shell - as I approached him I could hear:

"Back you go, where you belong. Your safe now hurry home.
Your family's waiting for you little starfish, hurry on!"
It seemed the evening tide had washed the starfish on the shore,
And the swift receding water left a thousand there or more.

And this self-appointed savior, was trying one-by-one
To toss them back into the sea, against the racing sun.
I saw his plight was hopeless, that most of them would die.
I called out from my private world, "Hey Kid, why even try?"

"Must be at least a thousand here, strewn along the beach,
And even if you had the time, most you'll never reach.
You really think it makes a difference, to waste your time this way?"
And then I paused and waited, just to hear what he would say.

He stooped and took another, and looked me in the eye.
"It makes a difference to this one sir, this starfish will not die!"
With that, he tossed the little life, back where there was hope.
He stooped to take another. I could tell this was no joke.

The words that he spoke to me cut like a surgeon's knife.
Where I saw only numbers, he saw only life.
He didn't see the multitude of starfish on the sand.
He only saw the little life he held there in his hand.

He didn't stop to argue, to prove that he was right.
He just kept tossing starfish in the sea with all his might.
So I too stooped, and I picked up, and I tossed into the sea,
And I thought, just what a difference, that this boy has made in me.
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WHAT IS (AETA) THE ANIMAL ENTERPRISE TERRORISM ACT?

The (AETA) THE ANIMAL ENTERPRISE TERRORISM ACT was signed into law by President George W. Bush on November 27, 2006. Write your Representatives and tell then to repeal The AETA.

WHAT IS (AETA) THE ANIMAL ENTERPRISE TERRORISM ACT?

The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA) is a bill which sought to amend the 1992 Animal Enterprise Protection Act (AEPA - PL 102-346) - a section under Title 18 of the criminal code which protects animal enterprises from illegal acts comitted by animal activists.

The AETA bill (S 3880) was introduced by Mr. Inhofe (R-OK), Mrs. Feinstein (D-CA), Mr. Thune (R-SD), and Mr. Isakson (R-GA).It passed in the Senate Sept 30, 2006 and then was passed in the House on a voice vote with only six house members present. Finally it was signed into law by President Bush November 27, 2006. All this with almost no media attention admist public outcry.

WHY AETA IS NOT GOOD FOR US

• AETA risks having a chilling effect on First Amendment protected speech for everyone including law abiding citizens, who risk being tarnished a terrorist even if wrongfully charged. On the chance that a law-abiding citizen wins his/her case, the damage to their reputation will already be done. Appeals often take years.

• Anyone engaging in non-violent civil
disobedience causing at least $10,000 profit loss, will be considered a terrorist. If this were law at the turn of the 20th century, the suffragettes, notably Susan B. Anthony, as well as, civil rights leaders including Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, and Mahatma Gandhi, may have been labelled terrorists.

• AETA risks punishing content based speech.

• AETA would foster a slippery slope and a precedent by which to target other content-based speech as terrorism or target any unfavorable group as terrorists.

• AETA risks singling out animal advocates for
penalties that are harsher than for other felonies.

• Laws penalizing tort, harassment, etc. already exist and the bills' additional penalties are unnecessary.

• The bills' exemptions would not be an adequate defense against being wrongfully arrested or charged, and do not resolve ambiguities in the bills or the chilling effect on protected free speech.

• AETA risks further frustrating protected free speech rights that calls attention to the government's failure to enforce the Animal Welfare Act. There are no similarly harsh penalties against animal enterprises that are in gross violation of the AWA, or that act with depraved indifference or with intent to do harm.

SUMMARY

We believe that the true purpose of AETA , is to severely chill AR activism by intimidating those who would legally protest, and as such attempts to prevent the loss of profit to corporations and businesses -special interest groups (who see the ever swelling tsunami of Animal Rights and Animal Welfare consciousness) heading right their way.

We further believe that there are sufficient laws already on the books to accommodate any and all illegal activist activities. As an example, Surely, we do not advocate threat, vandalism, and bodily injury, but why should any sector of society receive special treatment and consideration under the law from threat, vandalism and bodily harm moreso than any other sector?

The justice system has already successfully prosecuted cases using existing law and we maintain that AETA is not only unnecessary but will have a stigmatic and chilling effect on our first amendment rights to free speech, preventing individuals from exercising their right to protest, under the constitution, for fear of being unjustly labeled and prosecuted as a terrorist.

The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act is in all likelihood not constitutional and needs to be repealed.

Don't sell out your rights to corporate America! Let your voice be heard! Send a message to Congress now.

Read More About The Animal Enterprise Protection Act At: Green Is The New Red

And At: Dissident Voice

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All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent. ~ Thomas Jefferson



"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." ...Margaret Mead

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