Joybell, maybe one of the PETA people will splash them with paint for wearing a fur coat. (Yeah, I know: stupid comment)

I once took a 'risk management' class. It's not what it sounds like -- it's about how to manage near-panic situations. I watched Brown NOT do it during Katrina, but then, it's about how to tell folks the truth when they're already pissed off or about to be. Truths are eventually proven but lies will just... well, we know what happens.

What is important to be aware of is that, when you're dealing with public opinion and emotion, perception EQUALS reality. It doesn't matter if a thing is true, people will behave as if it's true and that's what drives them. The bottom line is, when enough people believe something, whether it's true or not doesn't matter. Usually the untruth is more interesting and so is what gets passed around. Witness how many people have said that ring-around-the-rosie is thousands of years old, despite the fact it hasn't been around that long, and is about the black plague. Come to think of it, if you come up with the right story, you could probably convince enough folks that baa-baa was about the black plague