DrugSense FOCUS Alert #150 December 18. 1996 Magazines Mistakenly Find Judge Judy "Intriguing" TO SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, DONATE, VOLUNTEER TO HELP OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS PLEASE SEE THE INFORMATION AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS FOCUS ALERT PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE DrugSense FOCUS Alert #150 December 18. 1996 As many are already aware, Judy "Judge Judy" Sheindlin has been embroiled in a controversy over her remarks about injection drug users. According to the Australia Courier-Mail, Sheindlin made an appearance in November where she said the debate about clean needle supplies for heroin addicts is an indulgence lead by "liberal morons." The solution is simple, she said. "Give 'em dirty needles and let 'em die. . .I don't understand why we think it's important to keep them alive." To read longer accounts, see http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99/n1245/a07.html and http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99/n1245/a06.html Activists have been complaining to her producers and sponsors, and at least one sponsor has already dropped its support for Sheindlin's show. Unfortunately, Sheindlin still hasn't retracted or apologized for her statements. At the same time, the popularity of the Judge Judy TV show has led to year-end kudos from two publications. New York Magazine cited Sheindlin as a recipient of the New York Awards, which singles out prominent New Yorkers "leading the city into the next millennium." And, Sheindlin is also expected to be named as one of People Magazine's "most intriguing people" of the year. It is likely that neither publication was aware of Sheindlin's "let 'em die" comments when they decided to pay tribute to her, so please write a letter both New York Magazine and People Magazine to say that Sheindlin needs a lesson in basic humanity much more than any award. Thanks for your effort and support. WRITE A LETTER TODAY It's not what others do it's what YOU do PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER OR TELL US WHAT YOU DID (Letter, Phone, fax etc.) Please post a copy your letter or report your action to the sent letter list () if you are subscribed, or by E-mailing a copy directly to Your letter will then be forwarded to the list with so others can learn from your efforts and be motivated to follow suit This is VERY IMPORTANT as it is the only way we have of gauging our impact and effectiveness. CONTACT INFO Source: New York Magazine Contact: NOTE: An alternate email address for NY Magazine has been reported but it appears that the one above is correct. You may want to BCC the address below as a failsafe to insure delivery of your letter EXTRA CREDIT - Dateline NBC recently announced that People Magazine has chosen Judge Judy as one of its "25 most intriguing people of the year." Let's tell them what she is really about. Here is a link to tell People Magazine about Judge Judy. Please write your letter and then cut and paste it into this web page. http://www.pathfinder.com/people/web/write_to_us.html Pubdate: Dec. 20, 1999 Source: New York Magazine Copyright: 1999 New York Magazine Contact: Website: http://www.newyorkmag.com/ Author: Eric Konigsberg NEW YORK AWARD WINNER: TELEVISION Judge Judy Justice, no peace. Her mother, legend has it, wanted her to marry well and took the family on holidays in the Borscht Belt so she could meet someone nice. But Judith Sheindlin has never been one to settle. Judge Judy, as we know from her daily appearances presiding over real-life legal disputes on her television show, is a case study in the art of the second act. Now in her second marriage (to Judge Jerry Sheindlin, who recently replaced Ed Koch as the centerpiece of The People's Court), she is a long way from her previous jobs settling cases for a cosmetics concern and prosecuting juvenile delinquents in Bronx Family Court. Wearing a lace collar and the demeanor of someone who perhaps drinks lemon juice by the glass, Judge Judy handles her litigants with skepticism and impatience. "My sense is," she warns a man whose wife had previously been involved with his brother, "that your wife is still flaky." She's the cold and rational mother we never had. And that is what lifts Judge Judy miles above the rest of daytime television's bottom-scrapers: Where Messrs. Jerry and Montel permit their guests the verbal space to make fools of themselves, Judge Judy cuts them off and spares them (and us) the embarrassment. So it's no surprise that Judge Judy, currently in its fourth season, is the highest-rated show in daytime syndication. (Them's the breaks, Oprah.) Only Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! can boast of higher day or night syndication ratings -- but if they did, Judge Judy would just tell them to shut up. SAMPLE LETTER (sent) The inclusion of "Judge Judy" in your list of New Yorkers "who are leading the city into the next millennium" shows the climate that exists today in Guilianni's New York. Judge Judy recently suggested that drug users be given infected needles and said "let them die". When criticized she called her critics "liberal morons", and has since come out with other statements confirming her ignorance or callous disregard of all the studies by the Institute of Medicine , the Center for Disease Control, ReconsiDer, and others that say the availability of clean syringes reduces the spread of HIV and Hepatitis among IV drug users by 50% with no risk of an increase in drug use. Her show has already lost sponsors as a result of her incredibly cruel and dangerous remarks. I hope that New Yorkers will not follow this 1990's media version of Typhoid Mary into the new millennium. Nicolas Eyle, executive director ReconsiDer: Forum on Drug Policy IMPORTANT: Always include your address and telephone number Please note: If you choose to use this letter as a model please modify it at least somewhat so that the paper does not receive numerous copies of the same letter and so that the original author receives credit for his/her work. ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing efforts 3 Tips for Letter Writers http://www.mapinc.org/3tips.htm Letter Writers Style Guide http://www.mapinc.org/style.htm Prepared by Stephen Young - http://home.att.net/~theyoungfamily Focus Alert Specialist

Focus Alert Archive