Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse (although the rats were quietly knocking back some soy nog).

I saw this in the mailroom outbox and couldn't resist sharing it with you.

I really hope that Santa gives us everything we're asking for. What would you ask Santa to do for animals?

Written by Amy Skylark Elizabeth

In fact, there are two Santas! Wearing little red numbers sure to make Old Saint Nick's heart skip a beat—and to make any other dude in the vicinity pretty darn jolly—a pair of PETA's Sexy Santas recently greeted Greenville, South Carolina, and Augusta, Georgia, grocery shoppers with free soy nog, kisses under the mistletoe, and copies of our "Vegetarian Starter Kit." Their merry mission? To urge shoppers to bring comfort and joy to animals by giving meat, milk, and eggs the old heave-ho-ho-ho this holiday season. After all, it's no "wonderful life" for animals who are raised, abused, and killed for Christmas dinner.

What is wonderful is a little (s)nog under the mistletoe. Just ask this dude:

Written by Amy Elizabeth

Some folks at our PETA headquarters were moved when they read that after spending the last few days packing up bags of food for needy families, a General Motors plant in Janesville, Wisconsin, has shut down, and thousands of workers have lost their jobs. So, we're extending the same offer that we gave to AT&T folks last week—because we still have bonus Tofurkeys left. So, if you're among the first 100 laid-off GM employees to contact us, we'll send you a healthy, hearty Tofurky roast to share with your family this holiday season.

Our best wishes and hopes for a brighter New Year to you and yours.

Written by Sarah King

This morning, PETA's Policy Department received a Scrooge-like phone call from someone purporting to be from Gov. Sarah Palin's office threatening legal action against us if we don't play ball—or, actually, stop playing ball. Why are Ms. Palin's peeps so mad at PETA? Well, if you've played our Holiday Snowball Fight game recently, you may know. The game asks players to pick up a virtual snowball and take aim at 2008's biggest animal foes, from Colonel Sanders to the Trollsen twins to Alaska's own Sarah Palin. But guess what, Sarah? We've checked with our legal team, and they say that it's "protected parody," or "fair game"—so the game stays! After all, we're throwing snowballs, not shoes.

In real life, the moose and other animals Ms. Palin blows to smithereens don't stand a chance. But, hey, our game is virtual and nonviolent. To be honest, I'm not quite sure why Sarah is so mad about the game anyways. Wielding a gun and decked out in a sexy bikini and pageant ribbon, I'd think she'd be quite proud of how PETA's portrayed her.

Though this game is just a bit of harmless payback, Palin's real-life hunting habit is no joke. Palin not only guns down big moose but also supports aerial hunting of wolves—she even proposed putting a bounty of $150 on their heads. Wolves aren't even overpopulated in Alaska. The sole reason for the bounty would be to boost the numbers of moose and elk so that hunters will have more living targets for their blood sport. Pathetic.

P.S. Governor Palin isn't the only fantastic figure in the game, so if you haven't had the chance to play, check it out!

Written by Liz Graffeo

Ugh …No, seriously. Ugh!OK, having turned *mumble* years old last Friday, I'm not really a member of this show's "target demographic." But even 'tweens must find the heartless use of a live baby chimpanzee in Nickelodeon's Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh offensive.Forget for a moment that this is a program with so little imagination that they named the lead characters—played by Drake Bell and Josh Peck—"Drake" and "Josh." Forget that their idea of family-appropriate humor is to depict a child on the receiving end of a stream of ape urine—and I'm not sure that qualifies as "humor" at all. Still, although these folks clearly aren't very smart or creative, nothing justifies exploiting an animal for supposed "entertainment."

Chubbs, who loved to blow kisses to our investigator at the Amarillio Wildlife Refuge, was often sad and depressed. He reportedly appeared in several episodes of Monkey Movies, on Animal Planet, and in the remake of Planet of the Apes.

So what's so wrong with using a chimpanzee? I'm glad you asked. You or I might have fantasies of thanking "the Academy" while clutching a statuette and dressed to the nines (wearing Stella or Marc, natch), but animals want to be left in peace—they don't want to be "stars." In fact, the chimps in movies and TV are still toddlers who need to be back with their families doing what they're meant to do. I mean, think about it: When you see documentaries about apes in nature, are they wearing clothes or riding unicycles? Do they have hidden restraints and shock collars?To get chimpanzees, orangutans, and other great apes to perform, "trainers" often beat and electro-shock them. The rest of the time, most of the animals live in tiny metal cages. And when they're no longer useful to producers, they're often dumped at horrible roadside zoos—usually when they're only about 8 years old and have about 50 years left to stare at the wall. There's no time like the holidays to remind Hollywood that we're not going to put up with any more "monkey" business. Please join us in telling Nickelodeon that there's nothing less Merry than a lonely, suffering chimpanzee forced to grimace and mug for a few chuckles.

Written by Jeff Mackey

While Santa's making his list and checking it twice, you'd better believe that KFC is getting nothing but coal, coal, and more coal—and PETA's "Sexy Santas" want to make sure that the world knows why! Check us out at our demos handing out info on Kentucky Fried Cruelty!

Santa's not the only one who objects to KFC cruelty, and rightfully so! These bikini-clad hotties certainly didn't get their sexy bods by downing greasy fried chicken loaded with cruelty and cholesterol. These chicks remind everyone to ditch KFC and have a very veggie holiday instead!

Written by Christine Doré

Last Friday, a New York City "carriage horse" slipped on the ice and fell into a split on 59th Street. Big surprise!

Filmmaker Donny Moss asked the following to the ASPCA—which is charged with enforcing the anti-cruelty code and regulations on horse-drawn carriages:

Well said, Mr. Moss. The New York horse-drawn carriage industry is an exploitive disgrace and a shame on the city, but the ASPCA could do something. It could take its enforcement role seriously and be pro-active—get out there when a storm is expected and advise drivers that anyone working a horse when it hits will be cited. The warning should come before the storm, not during it.

Oh, and while we're at it, remember the horses trying to drink from the empty troughs? That's a violation, too, as is going out without blankets in the cold. And we believe that it's a violation of the anti-cruelty code when horses are unable to lie down at night and get the weight off their feet, because it causes the horses to suffer needlessly.

Written by Joel Bartlett