"Please, no pig graphics!" Then how're you gonna illustrate stories about swine flu . . . er, about H1N1? We've got just the answer!

The new poster boy for H1N1?

In another Loop scoop, Al Kamen has the story in today's Washington Post of how "House Agriculture Committee communications director April Slayton sent an e-mail late Wednesday to all 'Democratic press secretaries'":

"If I could make a request, please avoid using a pig in any graphics for the current flu outbreak that you are creating for your website and other media," she wrote, noting that the current flu outbreak is most properly called "H1N1 flu." The moniker swine flu "suggests that people are getting sick through consumption of pork products, which is not correct." She attached [Agriculture Secretary Tom] Vilsack's statement.

"If you could please try to refrain from using 'swine flu' to refer to the outbreak (and please no pig graphics), this would be extremely helpful as the U.S. tries to maintain international trade and consumer confidence in our nation's swine industry," Slayton urged.

Good luck with that.

So, you need a graphic stand-in for swine? Don't even give it a second thought. (See above... or for those with less imagination, this.) -- Ken


UPDATE

Well, well... look what Ken (and George Harrison) inspired: