From the July 2004 Idaho Observer:

Newspaper Mining

The following was excerpted from a letter sent to The IO from subscriber/supporter Bill Ivy from South Carolina. Aside from the nice comments he made about our work of late and his appreciation for the June edition's contents, he described a subtle avenue of activism that has worked well for him. We thought it would be a source of inspiration for others and, with Ivy's approval, decided to let you in on his efficient and effective public outreach program.

As an individual who works seven days a week for months on end (landscape maintenance) I have discovered an excellent way for taking our message to the public. I recommend this avenue to others, like myself, who have little or no time to themselves.

It is our responsibility to awaken our brothers and sisters to the truth. Our walk must be made using wisdom. We must give them milk and softer foods before we begin feeding them raw meat. Once we gain people's trust, the walls in their minds begin to crumble and doors begin to open.

Most local newspapers publish letters to the editor. People who submit letters really show who they are and how they think by what they write and the subjects they choose to write about.

The newspaper I commonly read provides the name and the address (minus the zip code) of those who write letters that get published. Even if the address is not published, if you see someone who may be leaning our direction, you can look their name up in the phone book and find most of them easy enough.

The next step is to applaud their letter and the insight it showed and add a couple of comments of your own. I have several pen pals now who responded to my letters -- giving me the sign I needed that indicated they wanted to learn.

In this way we can bring willing learners into the light. One of my pen pals, retired from the FAA, now stands firmly on his own two feet educating others because of the knowledge he gained from my extra little effort.

Others with whom I am corresponding are also feeding on the information I am giving to them (in measured doses) and their minds are beginning to come around as well.

Letters to the editor provide a most useful service if those of us who want to get the truth out there take advantage of it.

The 25 copies [of the June edition] I am ordering will go to my new pen pals as a way to further open their eyes and show them that there is a newspaper out there where they can find another side to the otherwise one-sided view of the news being hammered into their brains by the dominant media.

As the mind-controlling propaganda put out by mainstream sources intensifies, we simply have no choice but to intensify our efforts to bring people to the truth.

This is a true source avenue for IO readers and we should be using it to teach people what is really happening to our country and our world. Remember, practice wisdom, establish a level of trust with your students and watch the doors burst wide open displaying an immense appetite for education.