A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing or Not? Who can say?

Normally, you won't find me writing much about politics. Even this blog is less about politics and more about people and groups falling into the old habits of providing severely unbalanced information during election times.

This is a source of endless frustration to me because everywhere I look I am finding examples of this behavior. Moments after I received the email and video below, my husband received a call from people working for Newt Gingrich regarding oil barrels in Colorado and gas prices. It was the same unbalanced information smearing that has created a haze over people in our country.

I suppose there is something in human nature that wants to divide things into two categories: "good vs evil". But this is not a comic book hero made into a Hollywood movie. This is real life and it's not so easy as good versus evil. This unbalanced propaganda is damaging the real purpose behind each cause so it ends up backfiring. If the political parties and lobby groups wonder why we, as a nation, have been growing more and more disillusioned they need to look no further than their own desks.

What follows is my email reply and request to an email I received from a wildlife interest group, which no doubt has a generally good heart at the center of the cause. The initial email from them follows my reply.
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Thank you for the video, but could you also please put together something that explains what Governor Palin's thought process or reasoning was for introducing the aerial hunting program?

I am a registered Independent voter and the reason I am such is so that I do not fall prey to one party's issue or the other. We should not make important decisions without balanced information. I fear this is coming off as strongly unbalanced currently, and if you could provide some of Governor Palin's reasonings, then perhaps the main focus of the effort you've worked so hard to put forward ---to protect wildlife--- will not appear to be simple and typical party politics. This is important due to the huge and growing amount of people who now consider themselves Independents largely because of being so disturbed by the overshadowing of party politics on the real needs of this country, environment, and the world. These are, just like myself, often younger people who are also supporters of your group and other groups like it.

This wildlife issue seems important enough that I am feeling the need to write to you and ask you to please protect your efforts before people just tune you out like they do with so many issues that are presented in this way.
Thank you so much.

Sincerely,
Lisa (i sent them my name but removed it here for posting)


----- Original Message ----From: "Rodger Schlickeisen, Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund" To: Sent: Wednesday, September 3, 2008 4:24:22 PMSubject: Video: Sarah Palin's Shameful Record on Wolves

Dear Lisa,
Tonight Alaska Governor Sarah Palin will accept the Republican nomination for Vice President, a position that would put her second in line to be President of the United States. But before she accepts, I need your help to let America know where she stands on the brutal and needless aerial hunting of wolves and bears.
Watch our new video on Palin's awful record and share it with everyone you know who cares abut wildlife.

Warning: This video is extremely disturbing. It contains graphic images of aerial hunting of wolves -- a brutal and needless practice that Governor Palin has fought hard to promote and expand.
Despite strong scientific, ethical and public opposition to aerial hunting, Governor Palin has…
Proposed paying a $150 bounty for the left foreleg of each dead wolf.
Approved a $400,000 state-funded propaganda campaign to promote aerial hunting.
Introduced legislation to make it even easier to use aircraft to hunt wolves and bears.
If you care about wildlife, please watch this video right now -- and then share it with every friend, neighbor, conservationist and wildlife lover you know.
Tonight, all eyes will be on Governor Sarah Palin. Let's make sure the whole nation knows about her awful record on aerial hunting and protecting wildlife.
Respectfully,

Rodger SchlickeisenPresidentDefenders of Wildlife Action Fund..TABLE>
P.S. Please also share our video on blogs, social networks and elsewhere. I've pasted the link to the video below to help you spread the word:
http://actionfund.defenders.org/palinvideo


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Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund provides a powerful voice in Washington to Americans who value our conservation heritage. Through grassroots lobbying, issue advocacy and political campaigns, the Action Fund champions those laws and lawmakers that protect wildlife and wild places while working against those that do them harm.
Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund can be contacted at: 1130 17th Street, NWWashington, DC 20036

Paid for by Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund at http://www.defendersactionfund.org/ and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee...