Re: note from NCSE

On Thu, Sep 3, 2009 at 9:23 PM, Barrett Brown <barriticus@gmail.com> wrote:

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Robert Luhn <luhn@ncseweb.org>
Date: Wed, Sep 2, 2009 at 6:35 PM
Subject: Re: note from NCSE
To: Barrett Brown <barriticus@gmail.com>

Sir: Feel free to contact us when the need arises. As for humorous slap downs...ooooh, you're on the list. (I loved Amazon's take as your book being "serenely offensive". God knows we could use more of that.)

Ah...and you're a fellow Dir. of Comm. (Before I got this gig last year, I was a journalist for mannnny years.) Well, you got Qs about promoting stuff? Let's talk. Gimme a ring someday and I'll share with ye what I know.

One resource I'd recommend you check out: "The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing and Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly" by David M. Scott. Some of his ideas are pretty obvious....but some aren't. and it's a good all around look at the trad and modern tools at one's disposal. I mean, I used to run tech pubs like PC World,Computer Currents and CNET...and even I found some gems in here. So worth a look.

Anyways, call when the mood strikes. My number is at the bottom of the page....

r

Hi, Robert-

Thanks for getting in touch. I'm very familiar with the NCSE and the work it does, and I may take you up on your offer of informational assistance in the future. Also, if the NCSE is in need of any humorous take-downs of anyone or any other written materials with which to promote the organization or get a particular point across, I'd be happy to provide them.

Incidentally, I also serve as director of communications for Enlighten the Vote, formerly GAMPAC; I'm barely 27 and not entirely well-versed in the particular mechanics of political advocacy or anything else other than writing, so if you have any general advice on how to go about promoting the PAC (for instance, sending out press releases), I'd love to hear them.

Don't hesitate to let me know if there's anything I can do for you and the NCSE.

Thanks again,

Barrett Brown
Brooklyn, NY
512-560-2302

On Wed, Sep 2, 2009 at 2:42 PM, Robert Luhn <luhn@ncseweb.org <mailto:luhn@ncseweb.org>> wrote:

Dear Mr. Brown:

Have been enjoying your posts on Huff and Vanity Fair. (And, of
course, your classic "Flock of Dodos"). Hence this note!

I work for the National Center for Science Education (NCSE), the
leading organization that promotes and defends the teaching of
evolution in the public schools. (You might have seen us covered
in the Nova documentary "Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on
Trial". Then again, you may have talked with Genie Scott, our
executive director, a dozen times. In which case, this note is moot!)

We've been involved in the issue for 25 years, and we're a ready
resource should you ever need background information, access to
independent experts (local and national), and more, for any future
jottings you might tackle on evolution, creationism/ID, science
denial, or related topics. There's a lot to talk about in this
realm, notably, the spread of "academic freedom" bills designed to
smuggle creationism back into the classroom (such as the one that
passed in Louisiana), and state boards of education fiddling with
science standards (as we've recently seen in Texas). Well...don't
hesitate to contact us!

Yours,

Robert Luhn
Director of Communications
National Center for Science Education, Inc.
420 40th Street, Suite 2
Oakland, CA 94609-2509
510-601-7203 x314
fax: 510-601-7204
800-290-6006
luhn@ncse.com <mailto:luhn@ncse.com>
www.ncse.com <http://www.ncse.com>

p.s. If you'd like to receive our weekly email newsletter, just
let me know and I can add you to our list.(Don't worry--this isn't
spam. It's our weekly tracking of the ongoing evolution vs.
creationist debate, from new state laws to local flare-ups of
anti-evolution activity.)

--

Robert Luhn
Director of Communications
National Center for Science Education, Inc.
420 40th Street, Suite 2
Oakland, CA 94609-2509
510-601-7203 x314
fax: 510-601-7204
800-290-6006
luhn@ncseweb.org
www.ncseweb.org