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I have a suggestion for letters to Newt and other Congressmen, as well. It seems to me that most people who go into politics crave power and want to be praised for their accomplishments (real or imagined). Why don't we approach them with those things in mind? For example, in Newt's case we could say how impressed we were with his championing the childhood diabetes issue, which tells us he is a man of compassion. Then tell him how much the PD community needs his help and how close we seem to be to a cure. We could close with something along this line... "If only Congress would appropriate the additional money for research that was promised in the Udall Bill, we could lick Parkinson's Disease and save the taxpayer billions of dollars. What a wonderful legacy you would be leaving to the world, if you could use your power and influence to end the suffering of all of us who struggle with PD! Please help. Approximately 50,000 Americans will be diagnosed with PD this year. One of them could be someone you love...or one of them could be you." If I were writing to President Clinton, instead of Newt, I would talk about my experience with PD and the impact it's had on my family (because Bill likes to insert personal vignettes into his speeches and it would help our cause a lot if he were to mention PD in that context). I guess what I'm saying is that we need to put the proper "spin" on our message to make the Congressman we are trying to enlist, sit up and listen and, ultimately ACT. (Just a thought) Mary