I neglected to mention yesterday that this smells like a SLAPP lawsuit to me. Does anyone else agree? If you are unaware of this acronym, it stands for 'Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation' and there are many websites and articles that explain the damage these lawsuits do (or try to do) to anyone who speaks out in opposition against an entity. Please check out www.casp.net/intro.html to read more about this.

Here is a paragraph from this site: "While most SLAPPs are legally meritless, they effectively achieve their principal purpose: to chill public debate on specific issues. Defending a SLAPP requires substantial money, time, and legal resources and thus diverts the defendant's attention away from the public issue. Equally important, however, a SLAPP also sends a message to others: you, too, can be sued if you speak up.

I urge everyone to NOT be silenced by these actions and to support the AAS through monetary donations and/or a writing campaign to newspapers and the SPCA.

Thank you.