HELP from friends & family (especially those in the CHICAGO AREA)

Please, oh please take a minute from your torture-free, confinement-free lives to help the victims of FOIE GRAS--a monstrous and barabaric food made from the livers of tortured geese. See the bulletin below that I received, and PLEASE take action. Take two minutes out of your pleasant day to help these poor, voiceless victims, who live every minute of their lives in torment, fear, and suffering!


Please take a moment to read the message below from Alderman Joe
Moore, the sponsor of Chicago's foie gras ban. We need to show our support for the ban by calling the numbers below, as well as our own aldermen, this
weekend for a possible last minute vote to try and repeal the ban this Monday
morning. With enough calls left over the weekend, the Aldermen's offices are
sure to let the aldermen know about our concerns before the vote.

Foie gras is made by force-feeding massive amounts of grain mush to
ducks and geese several times a day for a month, until their livers become
engorged up to ten times their normal size. These diseased livers sometimes
burst from the pressure and cause the birds immense suffering. You will
never see footage of the birds who have been force-fed for several weeks
played by any proponent of this cruelty. The birds' necks are sometimes
ripped through from the rigid pipes rammed down their throats, and the
birds can barely walk and gasp for breath.

The Chicago City Council banned the sale of foie gras after viewing
footage of the birds suffering. No animal deserves to be treated the way foie
gras production requires.

Visit the following webpages to learn more about foie gras and exactly
what happens to the animals. You can also view video footage on the sites.

http://nofoiegras.com/
and
http://banfoiegras.com/

No compassionate individual would knowingly support this practice
after learning the facts.

Below is a letter from Joe Moore explaining the situation and the need
for our calls. Please contact your representative, as well as the aldermen
who are considering repealing the ban and let them know that you oppose
animal cruelty.

Also, for clarities sake, please explain that you oppose animal
cruelty on the phone and say that you are in favor of this humane ban. We have found that the operators taking these messages are taking them incorrecty. We recommend asking the operator to read your message back to you.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Daniel Hauff
Director of Campaigns
Mercy For Animals
www.MercyForAnimals.org
(773) 991-7352

Dear Friend,

I got word late yesterday that Chicago Alderman Edward Burke has announced his intention to call for a City Council vote on to repeal Chicago's ban on the sale of foie gras. The vote is scheduled to take place early Monday morning.

As you may recall, Aldermen Bernard Stone and Burton Natarus introduced an ordinance a few months ago to repeal Chicago's historic ban on the sale of foie gras, which passed the City Council last year. The ordinance was referred to the City Council Committee on Health, chaired by Alderman Ed Smith. Alderman Smith has been a staunch supporter of the foie gras ban and has so far refused to hold a hearing on the repeal ordinance.

Alderman Burke confirmed that either he or a colleague may invoke a little-used City Council rule that permits an alderman to move to "discharge" from committee any proposed ordinance that has been in a City Council committee for more that sixty days. To be successful, a motion to discharge a matter from committee requires the support of a majority of those voting on the issue. If the motion is successful, the matter is brought to the floor of the City Council for a debate and vote. To become law, the repeal must obtain 26 votes, i.e., a majority of the City Council.

Mayor Daley's former chief-of-staff, Sheila O'Grady, just became the new Executive Director of the Illinois Restaurant Association and is pushing to have a vote taken on the foie gras ordinance before the new City Council takes over next week. She likely has Mayor Daley's support.

Alderman Ed Smith informed me he will strongly oppose any attempt to discharge the foie gras repeal ordinance from his committee. Alderman Stone, one of the co-sponsors of the repeal, also told me he will oppose the motion to discharge. As I indicated, a motion to discharge a matter from committee over the strong objections of the committee chair is almost unheard of. Alderman Smith is well-respected among his colleagues, and it is likely that a majority of the City Council will oppose the motion to discharge out of respect for Alderman Smith.

Nevertheless, we can't take anything for granted. We need to flood Mayor Daley, Alderman Ed Burke and other members of the City Council with calls opposing any effort to repeal the foie gras ban. The City Council meeting begins 8:30 Monday morning, so you need to call this weekend.

Call Mayor Daley at 312-744-5000.

Call Alderman Ed Burke at 773-471-1414.

If you live in Chicago, also call your Alderman's neighborhood office. If you don't have his or her phone number, call 311 and ask for your alderman's ward office phone number, or click on this link:

http://egov.cityofchicago.org/city/webportal/portalProgramAction.do?BV_Sessi
onID=@@@@1718765390.1179011486@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccceaddklmdllkicefecelldffhdf
gm.0&programId=536879154&channelId=-536879035&topChannelName=Government

Finally, if you are able to do so, please attend the City Council meeting on Monday at 8:30 a.m.

Please pass this e-mail on to others who may be interested in defeating this attempt to roll back the progress we have made.

I will continue to keep you informed.

Thanks for your continued support.

Alderman Joe Moore