Please Call Nancy Pelosi to ask her to help Korean cats and dogs

[Guest guest]

Hi fellow animal people,

 

I have been asked to forward this info on behalf of a coalition working

to end the torture and consumption of dogs and cats in Korea. Although

this is NOT a local issue, they are asking for phone calls to Nancy

Pelosi, our local Congresswoman (415.556.4862), and I'm assuming many

people here are as concerned about this issue as they are about

seal-clubbing in Canada, for example. One specific way to work on this

issue is to ask Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, to stop the Korean

Free Trade Agreement. (see below) I realize this is a lot of

information, but whatever you can do to help the animals will be

appreciated. This is an issue that local group, In Defense of Animals,

has also been working on for many years. (The language that follows is

not mine, and I hope no one will be offended by it; I've also done a

" cut and paste " so some of the info is redundant -- sorry about that.)

== Nadine

 

" I'm volunteering with a group called International Alliance Against

Animal Cruelty. On behalf of the dogs and cats living under horrific

conditions in Korea, thank you very much for your time. I'm working

with some other rescuers to create pressure on the US Ways and Means

committee members to vote against the proposed and soon upcoming Korean

Free Trade agreement. IF the South Korean Free Trade Agreement is

passed, the South Koreans will have everything they need, and there'll

be no way pressure can be put on South Korea to stop the dog and cat

slaughtering/eating atrocities.

 

My friend, Ed Wiacek, is working to end the consumption of dogs and cats

in Korea, as you have done for many years. I believe Ed has hit on a

wonderful idea. He is targeting the Ways and Means Committee members

and Nancy Pelosi, our Speaker of the House, by zip code. There is a

bill currently in this Committee - the Korean Free Trade Agreement. It

may be out of Committee and in Nancy Pelosi's hands in March. Ed has

years of political experience. He believes this Agreement can be held

up as a way to force a dialog regarding this horrific practice of

torturing, blending and eating dogs and cats. Korea is extremely

anxious to get this Agreement passed asap. Nancy Pelosi can

singlehandedly stop it in its tracks and force a dialog and corrective

action. Nancy is up for re-election this November. She will be

particularly sensitive to the desires of her constituents now,

especially during these turbulent times. Ed wants to target college and

university students in Pelosi's and the other Committee members'

districts. These young voters represent a voting block which,

presenting a united front, CANNOT BE STOPPED. I've worked on various

animal campaigns for about 40 years. I must say, this is the best idea

I've seen to date. What do you think? We need your help. Please give

us your input. The problem is, time is short. We need to start with

this first step, which is contacting congresspeople on the US Ways and

Means Committee AND Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi.

 

Here is Congresswoman Pelosi's contact information: district office,

415.556.4862. If you are a constituent in District 8, please call her.

If you are not a constituent of the 8th district of California, and

would like to e-mail Congresswoman Pelosi in her role as Speaker of the

House, please email her at AmericanVoices. The other

members of the Ways and Means Committee are listed below, with contact

info. Please contact as many of them as possible, asking them not to

vote for the Korean Free Trade Agreement. We all have limited time to

devote to our own lives, let alone issues outside. This is a very real,

tangible opportunity to help Korean animals. Please forward this email

to anyone else who is concerned about animal welfare.

 

Please provide any input, edits, call or email with questions, etc.

Thank you for animals everywhere, More information will follow.

 

" We want Nancy Pelosi to stop the agreement. She can do it. The

feeling is that if we garner calls, letters, requests to meet with her

and get some petitions circulating in her district 8 (colleges and

universities), she will stand up and take notice. She is running for

office this November, so she is especially vulnerable. After all, her

district is named for the patron saint of animals - St. Francis of

Assisi! I'm told she is an animal lover ... does that mean only those

she can see or who live in San Francisco? The colleges and universities

represent a huge potential voting block. We need someone to get the

word out among the student body. I just wrote to The Guardian. Do you

have any ideas? Time is of the essence. Thanks so much!

Trish (347-400-0006 c) "

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Patricia E. Knudsen

153 Division St.

Keyport, N.J. 07735

347-400-0006 cell

 

Here is the basic information; for more detailed info, please contact

Patricia/Trish at patricia.e.knudsen.

 

WAYS AND MEANS Committee Membership

Majority Members (Democrats)

Member Name DC Phone DC FAX Email

Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) [Chairman] 202-225-4365 202-225-0816

https://forms.house.gov/rangel/forms/contact.shtml

Pete Stark (D-CA) 202-225-5065 202-226-3805

https://forms.house.gov/stark/webforms/contact.htm

Sandy Levin (D-MI) 202-225-4961 202-226-1033

http://www.house.gov/levin/levin_home_email.shtml

Jim McDermott (D-WA) 202-225-3106 202-225-6197

http://www.house.gov/mcdermott/contact.shtml

John Lewis (D-GA) 202-225-3801 202-225-0351

http://www.house.gov/formjohnlewis/contact.html

Richard E. Neal (D-MA) 202-225-5601 202-225-8112

https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

John Tanner (D-TN) 202-225-4714 202-225-1765

https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

Xavier Becerra (D-CA) 202-225-6235 202-225-2202

http://becerra.house.gov/HoR/CA31/Hidden+Content/Email+Signup+Form.htm

Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) 202-225-4865 202-225-3073

http://forms.house.gov/doggett/webforms/issue_.htm

Earl Pomeroy (D-ND) 202-225-2611 202-226-0893

http://www.house.gov/formpomeroy/zipauth.htm

Mike Thompson (D-CA) 202-225-3311 202-225-4335

http://mikethompson.house.gov/contact/email.shtml

John Larson (D-CT) 202-225-2265 202-225-1031

http://forms.house.gov/larson/contact.html

Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) 202-225-4811 202-225-8941

http://blumenauer.house.gov/index.php?option=com_email_form & Itemid=206

Ron Kind (D-WI) 202-225-5506 202-225-5739

http://www.kind.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=18 & sectiontree=18

Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ) 202-225-5751 202-225-5782

http://pascrell.house.gov/contact/

Shelley Berkley (D-NV) 202-225-5965 202-225-3119

http://berkley.house.gov/contact/email.html

Joseph Crowley (D-NY) 202-225-3965 202-225-1909

https://forms.house.gov/crowley/contact.shtml

Chris Van Hollen, Jr. (D-MD) 202-225-5341 202-225-0375

http://vanhollen.house.gov/Contact/

Kendrick B. Meek (D-FL) 202-225-4506 202-226-0777

http://kendrickmeek.house.gov/contact1.shtml

Allyson Y. Schwartz (D-PA) 202-225-6111 202-226-0611

http://schwartz.house.gov/issue_.shtml

Artur Davis (D-AL) 202-225-2665 202-226-9567

http://arturdavis.house.gov/index.cfm?p=ContactCongressmanDavis

Danny Davis (D-IL) 202-225-5006 202-225-5641

https://forms.house.gov/davis/webforms/issue_.htm

Bob Etheridge (D-NC) 202-225-4531 202-225-5662

http://etheridge.house.gov/Contact/

Linda Sanchez (D-CA) 202-225-6676 202-226-1012

http://www.lindasanchez.house.gov/index.cfm?section=contact

Brian Higgins (D-NY) 202-225-3306 202-226-0347

http://higgins.house.gov/email.shtml

John Yarmuth (D-KY) 202-225-5401 202-225-5776

http://yarmuth.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=68 & sectiontree=62968

 

Minority Members (Republicans)

Member Name DC Phone DC FAX Email

Dave Camp (R-MI) [Ranking Member] 202-225-3561 202-225-9679

http://camp.house.gov/Contact/

Wally Herger (R-CA) 202-225-3076 202-226-0852

https://forms.house.gov/herger/webforms/landing.html

Sam Johnson (R-TX) 202-225-4201 202-225-1485

http://www.house.gov/formsamjohnson/IMA/issue.htm

Kevin Brady (R-TX) 202-225-4901 202-225-5524

http://www.house.gov/brady/contact_page.html

Paul Ryan (R-WI) 202-225-3031 202-225-3393

http://www.house.gov/ryan/email.htm

Eric Cantor (R-VA) 202-225-2815 202-225-0011

https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

John Linder (R-GA) 202-225-4272 202-225-4696

http://linder.house.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactJohn.ContactForm

Devin Nunes (R-CA) 202-225-2523 202-225-3404

http://www.nunes.house.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactUs.ContactForm

Patrick J. Tiberi (R-OH) 202-225-5355 202-226-4523

https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL) 202-225-1002 202-226-6559

https://brown-waite.house.gov/Contact/ContactForm.htm

Geoff Davis (R-KY) 202-225-3465 202-225-0003

http://geoffdavis.house.gov/Contact/

Dave Reichert (R-WA) 202-225-7761 202-225-4282

http://reichert.house.gov/Contact/ZipAuth.htm

Charles W. Boustany, Jr. (R-LA) 202-225-2031 202-225-5724

http://boustany.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=4 & sectiontree=4

Dean Heller (R-NV) 202-225-6155 202-225-5679

https://heller.house.gov/Contact/

Peter Roskam (R-IL) 202-225-4561 202-225-1166

http://www.house.gov/formroskam/email.html

 

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PETITION TO THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS

 

We the undersigned do hereby request that serious consideration be given

to the political ramifications of the Free Trade Agreement with South

Korea, based on their history of duplicity and corruption; we

furthermore ask you NOT to ratify this treaty for the following reasons:

 

1) In an arrangement made under pressure brought by the

International Fund for Animal Welfare ( " IFAW " ) in 1984, South Korea

passed a law abolishing dog meat eating. It was passed into law with the

intention of misleading the international community, as the law has

never been enforced. Similar to its northern neighbor, South Korea's

selective adherence to laws and agreements may not bode well for any

Free Trade Agreements.

 

2) Corruption in the South Korean government is rampant; former

Prime Minister Roh Moo-Hyun (2003-2008) committed suicide on May 23,

2009 due to accusations of having taken $6 million in bribes from a

businessman. Any agreement the US signs with South Korea is virtually

guaranteed to be ignored and misappropriated by corrupt parties within

the South Korean government, akin to the United Nations Oil for Food

Program and most foreign aid to third world nations. The United States

would thus be repeating the same mistakes, by pandering to a corrupt

government for the sake of its votes at the United Nations.

 

3) South Korea has not demonstrated itself to be a true ally of the

United States. For nine years it has failed to substantially support the

US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, that is, until now, when the US Free

Trade Agreement is under consideration. Despite repeated pleas from the

US to send soldiers for these wars, it had only sent 200 medics and

engineers to Afghanistan and withdrew all of them two years ago, as soon

as one South Korean citizen was taken hostage. On Oct. 30, 2009 South

Korea announced that it would send troops to Afghanistan to " protect its

civilian workers " which total just 130, who " will not take part in

combat operations. " Hardly the actions of a " true " ally, after 50,000

American lives were sacrificed against its enemies and billions of US

dollars of tax payer monies were spent to protect South Korea for the

past 60 years.

 

4) The world has changed in the past decade and the United States

cannot afford to be economically subsidizing nations with Free Trade

Agreements who are not true allies. Doing so at this time when US

unemployment is high and our economy is faltering would be tantamount to

committing economic suicide for the United States.

 

5) The preferential treatment of South Korea may instigate friction

with other, more economically and militarily formidable, southeast Asian

nations, at a time when our foreign policy is under duress.

 

6) The United States should no longer take lightly any association

with nations that utilize any form of torture.

 

Why the petition?

 

It is time to end the hideous torture and killing of cats and dogs for

food. Every year in July and August up to 2 million family pets are

first tortured and then killed with hammers, suffocation, blood-letting,

hanging and in other horrific ways. Dogs and cats are crammed into cages

like factory chickens, unable to stand, sit or turn; they are denied

food and not given water in 100 degree heat. This is " animal control " in

South Korea. Companion animals are intentionally tortured prior to being

killed for food, due to a myth fabricated by the dog meat dealers that

the secretion of adrenaline during slaughter results in the meat having

medicinal benefits, particularly as relates to virility.

 

One American soldier who fought for South Korea's independence

commented:

 

" This is not what my friends died to defend. "