THE OPEN BOOK

S outhwest Airlines glided onto the Baltimore runway on Saturday, January 31st, at five p.m. as four of the six board members of Freedom To Learn arrived to participate in the five day 55th National Religious Broadcasters convention. Al Marks waited outside the airport to take Board Members Susan Dragonette, Barb DeWilde, John Beasley, and Ray Fiedler to Washington. After a meal at a 50's style diner, the five went to the Sheraton Hotel on Connecticut Avenue to work on the booth.

THE CONVENTION ...
The convention is huge. It is like five gymnasiums packed together by tunnels. As Susan and Barbara did the hard work of creating an inviting booth, Al went to pick up Joseph Jolin at the Dulles National Airport. Everything started Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Joseph had set up a slide show on the laptop, complete with audio.

"I woke up at 2:45 in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. This song was running through my head and I got up and wrote it down. It's my favorite song but I never recorded it because I didn't know why that song came to me. Now I know. This song was written for Freedom To Learn." Tamara Comstock, Singer.

THE BOOTH ...
The booth was a great teaching tool. With a picture of a western movie set on the left, it had Justice Rehnquist's quote that "Roe had become like a storefront on a western movie set, a mere facade to give the illusion of reality." The middle panel was bedecked with a start picture of winter trees with the phrase, "Roe versus Wade Is Dead." Underneath was the quote from James Bopp, General Counsel of National Right to Life, that states that schools can now offer strong pro-life curriculums at all grade levels. On the far right panel, was a picture of a beautiful spring day with the quote, "It is a new day in the area of abortion education."

THE DAY ...
During the day, the booth was home base. Usually three people would be welcoming passers by while others would be going around to other booths conversing with officials of various organizations. The place was jammed with publishers and radio personalities bearing a national name. The response was strong and positive. Several examples come to mind.

Jean Dixon, who has a radio program in Missouri each day for one hour was receptive. Our Susan has already been on and the response was very positive. One man who has an organization for Constitutional law buffs, and who has a newsletter, said he has "waited five years for this to happen."

THE RECEPTION ...
The reception was fantastic. Within two hours of the first day we had all agreed that even if nothing more happened, it would have been worth the time and effort. We are still dealing with several of these people. Without counting, I would guess that on Tuesday night when we sat around and made our list of "to-do's", that approximately 50 names of organizations were to be contacted. Three weeks later we are still working on that long list. Much has been done ... but there is much more to do..

Norma McCorvey had a busy couple of hours signing a new book she has written. She then came to our booth ... we asked ... She is a gentle person, was in high spirits and supports our efforts.

Dr. Jack Willkie, former head of National Right-To-Life, and now President of Life Issues Institute, will feature Freedom To Learn in his March newsletter. We had a chance to visit with Dr. Willkie for an hour and appreciated his interest.

Pete Peters (real name) has an evening program out of Colorado that has a world-wide audience. He has FTL on his program. March 5th is our day. One hour, 9 PM their time, 11 PM ours. Pete has simply wanted to help as soon as he understood the message.

COMING:

This is the stark reality and hope. The mainline media is too involved in other topics to blare the news that abortion is no longer a fundamental right ... and then explain what that means.

With that in mind ... we have two choices. We can either remain passive and quiet and accept the old-style of censorship in our schools ... or we can work to end censorship by informing our communities of their legal rights.

Participation is easy. Write to Freedom To Learn and ask for an April Packet. If there is already a project coordinator in your area, you will be notified. The packets are self-explanatory. If you have questions, call us. Those delegations going to school boards have a respectful message to bring: Schools can show both sides of the abortion story; the U.S. Supreme Court supports informed choice; end one generation of censorship; and support the U.S. Supreme Court's recommended position that natural childbirth is preferable to abortion. Here is the point. The more people that participate, the more people learn of this important change in the abortion law. You are empowering communities to do what they have the legal right to do.

Currently, groups from 17 states are involved. If your community is not involved, please contact us by phone, fax machine, or e-mail and ask for your packet. If you have a local radio talk show, see if you can arrange an interview. One of our board members was on a Kansas City program for one hour ... and the response was fantastic. One man called and said, "Just send me one packet. I will copy it and guarantee ten coordinators." So get involved !

Snail Mail to:
FREEDOM TO LEARN
P.O. Box 511231
Punta Gorda, Fl. 33952-1231
E-MAIL:

BABIES IN CYBERSPACE
by Joseph Jolin
FTL Website Director
Isn't family life great ! Just imagine you just had your first baby, but your parents live thousands of miles away. You'd give anything for them to see that sweet little bundle of joy ... that little one you've been waiting for.

Well ... today, with a digital camera, computers and the Worl Wide Web you can have that dream come true. The only other things you need are a PC and a modem. Equipped with those few peripherals, you can e-mail your parents pictures of their new grandchild ... immediately !

Wow ! How simple life has become ! With a digital camera, one of the newest technological gadgets for the digital darkroom, all you need to do is point, shoot and download your sweet little offspring's photo to your PC, view it and off it goes into cyberspace and into your mom and dad's hands within a few seconds. No more film required ... no more developing to wait for. And in the event you don't like the first photo (maybe the baby isn't too photogenic yet), you just delete it and take more photos until satisfied.

As you can see, there are many things you can do with photos generated by a digital camera ... and have fun doing it ! All you have to do is let your creativity take charge.

And so ... no need letting the miles separate you from friends and family. A digital camera can bring you much closer to them. It's an immediate thing. It's almost like being there ! Isn't family life great ! __________

RISK AND REWARD:
JUST SAY "YES"

The JUST SAY 'YES' campaign initiates an important new phase of our effort. We have talked about it before. Some have been very generous. But we need to understand that if we are serious ... if we really want to reverse the silence of the Roe era ... then we have a choice. I am asking you to do the hard work ... to take a risk.

With $10.00 a month from 50 people, FTL could expand its efforts greatly. Yes, there is risk. Maybe FTL will fold up ... maybe ... maybe. Our cause is important. And you can help so much by giving 30 cents a day ... or ten bucks a month.

Say "yes" and you receive Norma McCorvey's amazing story of how her life was transformed. You pick the amount. You do the hard work.

THE JUST SAY "YES" CAMPAIGN IS UNDERWAY
To just say,
"YES, I can make a regular contribution for one year."

You pick the amount.

• Platinum Donors: $50 per month
• Gold Donors: $25 per month
• Silver Donors: $10 per month
  You do the hard work.

  When America was founded they had two categories of participants: The Venturers and the Planters. The Venturers were those who provided the financial support...who took the risks...for the planters.

  Say "Yes".
  Freedom To Learn accepts and acknowledges gifts:

  Say "Yes".
  I will be a donor for one year.
  __ Platinum(50)__ Gold(25)__ Silver(10)
  name_______________
  address_______________
  city_______________
  zip_______________

  ANNOUNCEMENT:
  Special offer:

• Newsletters ; 21 page document FREE
• Converting Roe, a powerful true story in video form: ...suggested, $25.00
• Links To Change: FTL'S booklet on creating positive change in the schools.... suggested, $10.00.

  E-mail your orner today, ... now!

We understand that people are naturally reluctant to change. But remember that to do nothing about what is known to be morally wrong can be very destructive. If you believe there are too many abortions in America, of if you believe some of our students should have a greater regard for the gift of life, or if you believe our students should have the freedom to learn about the most commonly performed medical procedure in America ... namely abortion, then you must come on board and get involved with Freedom To Learn.