Leonardo DiCaprio is my friend.

At least that's how the Actor, Environmentalist greets me in his letter personally addressed to me and paid for by the Natural Resources Defense Council "The Earth's Best Defense". In this beseeching letter, Mr. DiCaprio, who is not really my friend, urges me to protect the polar bears. And I quote, "I'm proud to be counted as one of the nearly one million Americans who have already told the Bush Administration that polar bears desperately need -- and deserve -- full protection now."

In the accompanying letter by the NRDC, I am reminded of "...The muffled cries of newborn polar bear cubs as they are buried alive when their snowy den collapses from unseasonable rains." (bold, theirs)

It ends urging me to sign the Citizen Petition and tell the Interior Secretary the I object "to putting polluter profits before polar bear survival".

Not to be crass or callous, but WTF?

I do belong to some historic preservation trusts (private land trusts) so I understand why I get this type of mail. I just have to wonder, does this appeal to emotions about the false plight of a man-killing bear really generate a lot of cash?

I think I'll tally my religious (thanks homeschooling organizations) and environmental junk mail and tack on an extra $5 per piece to Man's Best Defense, ARI.