>From: "Peter McWilliams" >Subject: I am so PROUD of you all! >Date: Thu, 30 Dec 1999 04:28:42 -0800 >X-Mozilla-Status: 8001 >X-Mozilla-Status2: 00000000 > > >Here are some more letters to Britannica. I can't WAIT to see how EB >responds! > >I am so PROUD of you all! I am so happy you are my friends! > >With minds such as this writing for peace, those fighting for the War on >Drugs are finished!' > >Thank you! > >Enjoy, > >Peter > >---------- > >Please, as an institution devoted to truth and learning, I urge you not >to support the DARE program in any way. DARE is propaganda. DARE is not >keeping kids off drugs, DARE keeps children ignorant of the truth >concerning drugs. When you tell a child that marijuana is a hard drug, >they will conclude that hard drugs are like marijuana > >------ > >Dear Editor; > >I have heard that your corporation is considering making a substantial >donation to the D.A.R.E. program. I think you should reconsider this. >D.A.R.E. is a convenient excuse for politicians to posture and police >organizations to get ever more funding, but when it comes to actually >preventing drug use amongst the young, it is a counterproductive fraud. >D.A.R.E. consists of telling the most outrageous, outlandish lies about >drugs (especially marijuana) in the hopes of scaring kids completely >off them. But, when kids find out that they've been lied to, they >are less inclined to listen to authorities when they are given accurate >information (about inhalants, heroin, cocaine...) > >As a graduate student and scientist-in-training, having factually >incorrect information being taught strikes me as being terribly >wrong. I would hope that your organization would also stand up for >truth and accuracy. Supporting D.A.R.E. is absolutely not the way >to work towards that goal. > >Thank you, and I look forward to your reply. > >------- > >Two million dollars for mis-education & brainwashing....! >2 mil to teach unscientific nonsense contradicted in your >OWN pages!!? > >Two million for a State-cult that encourages children to >distrust, spy & inform on their parents...!!? > >2 mil for the closest current approximation >of the Hitlerjugend!!! > >JESUS XT, what's wrong with you people? >Why not invest in the production of humanoid zombies?? > >-------- > >THIS IS FROM AN M.D.: > >I am forwarding to you an e-mail I sent to the editor of Britannica. >Although I don't suppose it will make much difference with the proposed DARE >donation, there is a considerable history at Britannica of being found out >for accepting "influence" in slanting articles. At one point the CIA actually >admitted having editorial oversight in some Cold Britannica articles, but >I imagine that may be already long forgotten. And they do have to pay for >that web site somehow. If you want to find more out about this online >Britannica, it might well be quite interesting to compare some of those >Applets and boots to US Government database managers. I'm not merely trying >to be oracular, but.... > >(hint)Didn't Larry Ellison recently make DARE one of his own projects, too? > >Dear Sir or Madam: > >Although your web site is a great advance in the dissemination of human >knowledge, I was shocked to learn of your intentions to make a US$2 M >donation to DARE. Especially because you have taken on a great >responsibility in offering to provide accurate information to children! You >will be taking an enormous risk with them if you dare to publicize this >donation on the basis of any known knowledge. > >The entire history of the past one thousand years could be well written >around the unfounded prohibitions extant in the various civilizations that >have crumbled so sadly. Or, the bad "propaganda" information written to >prop them up temporarily. > >If you absolutely must do this, and give the seal of contemporary knowledge >to this drug war madness, please do so carefully. With much candor about>you >reasons for doing so. The greatest need that contemporary children have for >knowledge must include truth. I will happily volunteer to write a codicil to >your support of DARE, for the next edition of Brittannica. But, it will>have >to be written in blood of children who have been criminalized with false >hopes of abstinence and prohibition, and still become addicts despite DARE>or >any other simplistic solution that does not include a charge to find medical >solutions to the effects of the biological predisposition standing behind >drug cravings. > >I my own mind, I am already seeing revisionist Britannica articles being >written, and wondering who is paying for them. > >------- > >Dear Editor, > >I understand that Britannica is going to donate money to DARE. I beg you >to reconsider. At best DARE is a feel good program for parents that doesn't >work. At worst DARE is a counterproductive fraud that leads students to >dangerous experimentation. > >Let me give you an example. All drug use by students is wrong. However, it >is also wrong to lie to kids and demonize marijuana. When they find out >how safe and enjoyable pot is, it is very hard to get them to listen to us >when we tell them that meth, pcp, heroin and other nasty drugs are indeed >nasty. > >---- > >To an educated person your donation was a mindless prohibitionist act of >stupidity. > >------- > >Dear Editor: > >Oh, my. I'm sure you can find a more worthy recipient for your charity than >the D.A.R.E. program. > >This sort of program evangelizes the type of mythology, concerning drugs, >which has made entire generations grow up with little or no respect for >authority, especially the police. D.A.R.E. disseminates lies concerning >marijuana - telling children that it is much more dangerous than it is, and >that it has no therapeutic value. It is an easy logical leap from there to >assume (once the child finds out the truth, which is readily available from >many sources - including your own fine volumes) that everything he or she>has >been told regarding other drugs may also be false. A real shame, and one I >would hate to see a fine publication like the Britannica contribute towards >perpetuating. > >----- > >Dear Sirs, > >For as long as I can remember, Britannica has been *the* >encyclopedia to have, proudly displayed on the bookshelf for all to >see, evidence that one takes one's research seriously. > >I have just been informed that you are about to donate a large sum >of money to DARE, and have to wonder if you somehow failed to do >*your* research in this case. Study upon study has shown DARE to be >totally ineffective, and some studies have actually found DARE to >lead to increased drug use in the later grades of school. > >Please reconsider your donation to this fraudulent group and >instead donate to an organization worthy of the attention of your >fine company. > >-------- > > >Sir: >I have heard that your company has decided to contribute two million dollars >to DARE. I don't think that this is a good idea and I will tell you why. >My son, 14 years old, was in DARE. On a test that had a question that said >"all drugs are bad, true or false" my son answered false. The police >officer asked him why all drugs aren't bad and my son gave the example of >aspirin. The officer asked him what if he took 30 at one time? As if that >proved that drugs are bad. Another time my son was asked if anyone in his >family did drugs and my son replied that his father was diabetic and the >officer told him that I was an IV drug addict. Diabetics don't inject >insulin into veins. I can stop using insulin without withdrawal symptoms >except that I can die from the shock to my body. I had a hard time >explaining that I wasn't a drug addict. I called the officer and found out >that all the time he had for training was two weeks. Not a very well >informed officer. DARE is there not to help kids keep off drugs but rather >to arrest parents. I removed my son from the DARE influence directly. > Britannica is making a very bad mistake supporting this DARE project. I >will not support Britannica if this procedes. I will not spend one dime for >the use of Britannica dot com. I will tell all my friends and relatives >about what you are going to do. Truth in education is what you should >promise the kids, not the lies of DARE (Dishonest And Reprehensible >Education). Your company is making a terrible mistake. > >------ > > >Dear Sir/Madam: > > > >As a professional librarian, I consult your > >encyclopedia regularly and in my cases consult it as > >the ultimate authority on a given subject. It is with > >a sense of horror, then, that I heard of the $2 > >million donation your organization has given to DARE, > >a program of organized disinformation. I can think of > >no organization more opposed to the ostensible goals > >of the Britannica than the one you have chosen to > >support. In the future, I shall be consulting the > >World Book and even the Americana with greater > >frequency. > >------- > >I understand Encyclopedia Britannica is about to donate $2 million to DARE. >While I praise your intent to give charitably, DARE is not worthy of >support. > >No peer-reviewed scientific study has ever demonstrated the effectiveness of >this police public relations tactic masquerading as drug education. > >Long-term studies of students graduating from DARE curriculum >have demonstrated that >DARE graduates who used marijuana and experienced few adverse effects >were MORE likely to try heroine and cocaine than their non-DARE >counterparts. >It is assumed that once these students discovered that they were lied to >about marijuana, they believed they had been lied to regarding hard drugs >as well. > >Other methods of drug education have been proven to be more effective, yet >unfortunately a donation from you would not confer upon you the same kinds >of political and social brownie points (or bad marks, as the case may be). > >I'd like to send you hypertext links to research examining the effectiveness >of DARE, but I'm almost embarrassed to do this since I know your resources >at Britannica are so much greater than mine. > >DARE is an evil organization which must be stopped, and I urge you to learn >more about this corrupt group before you knuckle under only-god-knows what >kind of pressure and cave in. They are not what they represent themselves to >be. > >Thank you for your consideration, and reply. > >----- > >Hello, > >I understand Britannica is considering a large donation to the DARE >project. Can this really be true? > >DARE is a program dedicated to the dissemination of naive propaganda. >Their approach to drug education is similar to the approach of the >Christian right to sex education: just say no under any circumstances. >Are you planning a donation to the Billy Graham crusade next? > >You don't have to be a clear thinker to see that the party line >promulgated by DARE is not based upon reasonable approaches to a >complex problem. Regardless of one's views on drugs, it should be >self-evident to anyone with a brain that our society's approach to >substances such as marijuana and tobacco don't make sense. The former >is an inebriant that clearly has medical utility. The same cannot be >said of tobacco. > >DARE is simplistic to the extent of being simpleminded. They are an >organization dedicated to the continuance of the immoral, futile War >on Drugs. Furthermore, it has been well documented in recent times >that the program is ineffective. > >I find it hard to believe that intelligent people at Britannica are >unaware of all this. Presumably you believe that this move will get >you public approval? > >Not from this quarter. > >------- > >THANKS AGAIN. > >ENJOY, > >PETER > > > > >================================================================ > >This message is sent to you because you are subscribed to > the mailing list . >To unsubscribe, E-mail to: