There Are Two Types of Boycotts: The Elite-Supported and the Invisible
Then there’s Glenn Beck. The radio talker and Fox News show host drove the nutroots crazy in late July by expressing his belief that the president is a racist. Barack Obama’s attendance at and support of an objectively racist church run by an objectively racist pastor for 20 years, his characterization of his grandmother as a “typical white person,” and his more recent knee-jerk criticism of a white Cambridge police officer’s arrest of a black friend — while admitting to all that he didn’t even know the facts of the situation — apparently aren’t germane to the accuracy of Beck’s characterization.
The Associated Press’ David Bauder copied a press release — er, pretended to run a news story — claiming that 33 Fox News advertisers had directed that their commercials not air during Beck’s show. Bauder at least partially relied on information from ColorOfChange.org, “a group that promotes political action among blacks and launched a campaign to get advertisers to abandon him.” That group happens to have been founded by current “green jobs czar” Van Jones. Imagine that.
On Wednesday afternoon, I could not find a list of the companies Color of Change claims will not advertise on Beck’s show. Hot Air’s Ed Morrissey reported on August 19 that at least some of the companies supposedly moving their ads from Beck hadn’t been advertising on the show in the first place. It’s possible that Fox News won’t lose even a dime in all of the hubbub. Meanwhile, Beck’s audience continues to be greater than competing shows at MSNBC, CNN, and CNN Headline — combined. His Monday show’s audience nearly doubled the total of the other three. As with Whole Foods, the media coverage parade has been heavy, including the New York Times, Reuters, and a host of business news outlets.
Those same business news outlets and others “somehow” have entirely missed a boycott with at least 15 times more supporters than Whole Foods claimed above. That would be the American Family Association’s boycott of PepsiCo over what it claims is that company’s support of “the homosexual agenda,” homosexual publications, and corporate diversity training that borders on brainwashing.
The AFA’s boycott site claims over 350,000 signed-up supporters, about the same number as successfully boycotted the Ford Motor Company for over two years. Yet a Google News search on “Pepsi boycott” and a Google News Archive search from January 2008 to July 2009 on “Pepsi boycott American Family Association” (each string entered without quotes) show that there has been virtually no meaningful coverage of the AFA’s boycott since it began.
Luckily for Ford, it did what it had to in order to end its AFA boycott in early 2008 — just in time for it to refocus on its business while rivals General Motors and Chrysler slid into bankruptcy and government bailouts. The press also ignored that boycott. Although orchestrating an effective boycott of a company selling one-time big-ticket items is easier than doing it to a diverse corporate consumer-products conglomerate, Pepsi management would be well advised not to be complacent.
That leads me to cite the boycott that no one has organized, but which clearly exists.
It becomes more obvious with each passing month that General/Government Motors and Chrysler have permanently lost a large percentage of consumers who won’t buy a vehicle from a bailed-out and/or state-run company. Recent proof: Neither maker had an entry in the top 10 list of the most purchased vehicles under the cash-for-clunkers program (Toyota and Honda had three each, while Ford had two). GM’s share of sales from clunker trade-ins was only 17.6%, well below its already declining market share.
The press probably won’t recognize the informal GM-Chrysler boycott unless and until the doors shut for the final time at these companies, if even then. They’re too busy promoting usually ineffective boycotts with which they agree.
What about the 60,000 boycotting AARP?
Or the unboycott that continues to erode other formally important institutions -
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Newspaper-slump-deepens-as-2Q-apf-2724721970.html?x=0&.v=6
I feel like the GM boycott isn’t completely informal – I saw a billboard on highway 70 in Kansas last month that read in huge letters, “boycott GM- Government Motors.”
This is the first discussion I’ve seen about a Gov’t/UAW Motors (“GUM”) boycott. But I’d guess there are a lot of people who think that, if they’re involuntarily subsidizing the UAW with their tax dollars, they’re not going to pay twice by buying the cars. Plus, there’s the knowledge that gov’t czars and UAW bosses cannot possibly make cars that are worth the cost and will not support their products once sold.
Er… uh, Tom? I think it’s Van JONES, not Johnson. The guy who starred in ’30 Seconds Over Tokyo’ and wore red socks has been gone a while. He was also a patriot not a seditious s.o.b.
I thought about promoting a Keith Olberman boycott. But, ow would we know if it’s working? No one watchs him anyway.
Great post….this boycott argument could be extended to the entire private sector of the economy as small businesses and individuals refuse to go about their lives as if nothing is happening and are in fact not hiring for fear of Cap n Tax and obamaCare.
individuals are not spending in fear of the same and its ramifications on the nation.
Well, I’ve been to WF three times since the boycott was announced; it’s not apparently affecting things in, um, Boulder.
I did make a point of mentioning it to the store manager, saying that I was doing more shopping in WF because of Mackey’s Op Ed and the boycott, and she told me I wasn’t the first person to mention tell her that.
I suspect it won’t be a problem unless they revive the criminal charge of blasphemy.
Excellent. Here I thought I was the only one who had decided to drop my lifelong attachment to the new Government car companies (Chrysler in my case) as my personal protest against the socialization of America. Wonder how long the polling companies will take to start looking into this to see if there is some empirical evidence for it.
This revolution is not going to be televised.
That is unless the Corruptocrats, the 0bamamessiah and their MSM presstitutes can use or create something as a propaganda tool to discredit it. For an example of that just look at the incident at Colorado Democratic headquarters this week where a transgendered “anarchist” who goes by the name of Maurice Schwenkler was arrested for vandalizing it. “Maurice” has been arrested at the RNC protestest in St. Paul, worked as a campaign employee for democrats in 2008 and was bankrolled by the Colorado Citizens’ Coalition, a political 527 committee funded by the SEIU.
It is fairly obvious that this was the Corruptocrat’s attempt at their version of the Reichstag fire. Unfortunately for them it turned into a backfire. I would be willing to bet that we will see more of this kind of crap out of the Corruptocrats and their union/community organizer/race warrior/radical leftist allies.
I go to Whole Foods more so after the CEO had spoken.
A majority of my friends have said they’re visiting Whole Foods more often or make it their sole grocery store after reading of the CEO’s comments.
I’ve spoken with a few of the employees, checkers at Whole Foods and all have said they have excellent insurance coverage.
How I love the information in this article, especially the ending points about GM and Chrysler. As I stated regarding another article, I have stopped watching certain national TV stations except for some sports programs. I am not buying any MSM publications. There are some local business’ that I refuse to do business with because of their strident support of the current regime.
I am purchasing a new vehicle, a process that began in late May. When Chrysler and GM bankruptcies occured my wife and I removed them from any consideration. We currently own a Ford and would consider Ford again, although this time, because we expect petroleum’s price to go through the ceiling, we bought a German Diesal. I will never consider buying a GM or Chrysler product ever agian and will refuse to even rent one when I travel.I won’t be happy until both companies are subject to Chapter 7 liquidation.
Consumers have unrestrainable power in the market place. If Whole Foods did business in my state I would make a point to buy from them. If others engage the market place as my wife and I have business will start getting the message about which behaviors are acceptable and which aren’t
I trust other Americans are doing what we are, boycoting lousy products and offensive behavior.
That would be the American Family Association’s boycott of PepsiCo over what it claims is that company’s support of “the homosexual agenda,” homosexual publications, and corporate diversity training that borders on brainwashing.
Some free advice. First you presented proof that the boycotts you don’t like aren’t working. Then, you presented boycotts that you claim are working, but you offered no proof. Nor did you offer proof that Ford changed any of its policies as a result of the boycott; it didn’t and that’s exactly why, in an article full of easy-reader links, you didn’t offer one to show that Ford changed its policies. Indeed, the AFA has boycotted dozens of organizations in the past few years with almost absolutely no real effect:
It is currently calling for action against the Carl’s Jr. hamburger chain (to protest its racy ad featuring Paris Hilton), Kraft Foods (for its sponsorship of the 2006 Gay Games), Mary Kay Cosmetics and Old Navy stores (for advertising on ABC’s prime-time soap opera “Desperate Housewives”) and NutriSystem Inc., the weight-loss company (for airing its own salacious TV ad).
In more than 20 years of activism, the organization has also taken on Wal-Mart Stores Inc.; the Crest toothpaste, Tide detergent and Pampers diapers brands of Procter & Gamble Co.; Volkswagen AG; Clorox Co.; MTV Networks; Abercrombie & Fitch Co.; Kmart Co.; Burger King Corp.; American Airlines; and S.C. Johnson & Son, makers of the Windex, Ziploc, Pledge, Glade and Edge brands.
Lame stuff here, dude. Considering the low cognitive carrying capacity of the average reader here, I’m not surprised you think you’ll get away with it. But you and I know this crap would get you an F in a Freshman English Comp class.
The Left are such idiots.
Their answers to any situation or individual who they conceive as not in step with their tiny ideas…”hey, dood, let’s boycott”
John Mackey intelligently offered up some alternate ideas to the government’s power grab masquerading under the rubric of health care reform, or, rather, (after the focus group got together on the spin), “health insurance reform”.
I’d say the Left is about as interested in intelligent dialogue on improving delivery of health serivices/medical costs etc. as Barack Obama is interested in being a post-racial President.
that would be somewhere around zip, zilch, nada
great entry……
i know many who will not buy a gm or chrysler. on my last use of a rental i took a hyundai rather than the gm offered….
Well, since the leftists’ motivation in subsuming the automotive industry was to destroy it in the hopes of rebuilding it as a “Workers’ Enterprise”, a boycott of G/GM has only played to their strategy.
The only boycott that’s going to substantively help the Republic is the one aimed at the major advertisers who pump billion$ into support of the left’s Fifth Column media shills who made BHO’s candidacy and his election possible.
So far, I’m still waiting for our GOP “leadership” – which seems to be hiding in some undisclosed location, waiting as usual to see which way the political winds blow – to figure this out. Apparently, they’re waiting until the economy improves, just so they won’t be accused of kicking the poor media while they’re down. Barbarians at the gates – guarded by girly-men. WAF.
Whole Foods is not very convenient for me but I made it a point to go there and shop last week. Seemed busy enough to me.
If President Obama wasn’t just paying lip service to the idea of soliciting constructive ideas, he should come out and praise Mackey for taking him at his word and respectfully offering just that, even if he doesn’t agree.
“As we enter the eighth month of our punk presidency”
Regardless how you feel about the individual, respect must be given to the office of President. Maybe reading a bit of Political and World History will illuminate how lucky we are to have this system of Government.
The only boycott that’s going to substantively help the Republic is the one aimed at the major advertisers who pump billion$ into support of the left’s Fifth Column media shills who made BHO’s candidacy and his election possible.
The naturally occurring, unforced boycott of those networks/cable channels functioning as Obama shills is already well underway.
Which, it’s a given, affects advertisers on those stations.
”hey, dood, let’s boycott”
Yeah, because that Montgomery Bus Boycott, big failure.
Hey,
Thanks for reminding me to cancel my AARP membership.
Lessee…Google AARP…
Maybe reading a bit of Political and World History will illuminate how lucky we are to have this system of Government.
Even during Monica & bending and spreading ‘em for the Chinese etc., I always respected the office…However, I’m getting the impression that Barack, Eric Holder, Harold Koh, Mark Lloyd, Van Jones, Rahm (& Zeke) Emanuel, David Axelrod, John Holdren, Nancy Pelosi & other individuals currently in high places are more attuned to destroying this system of governance than preserving it.
Eric Holder’s Hidden Agenda
#18–
If this president had respect for the office, the Constitution, and America maybe we would feel a little more gracious toward him. But since he and his wifey have never been proud of this country until they began remaking it to their own socialistic vision, I think I’ll pass on your suggestion to be respectful until a real American graces the Office of the President.
The GM bankruptcy allowed them to dump my employer in favor of foreign suppliers: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/GM-drops-Mont-mine-in-favor-apf-3351792934.html?x=0&.v=1
I doubt any of us will be buying GM or Chrysler products.
The last day of Gov Schwartzenegger’s campaign for governor, the LT Times a.k.a. Pravda published an obscene and scurrilous attack on the candidate. The timing ofthis rotteness broke a long-standing understanding that any published attacks on a candidate must be made such that the candidate could reply beforetheelection date. But even the business reports in the LAT were interspersed with vicious ad hominem attacks on the candidate. That was the last day I ever bought an LAT, and that was a long time ago. I didn’t care for the candidate based on substantive issues, not character assasination, but that day the LAT lost a pair of eyes for its ads, which are far more important to a newspaper business than $0.50 or 1.00 purchase price. I also brought this truly rotten behavior to a lot of other people’s attention and suggested they join me. Some did pledge to never buy an LAT again. Opinion belongs on editorial pages, not ginned up as news or business “reporting”. Where do these creatures come from? The sewer or some madrassa (o.k. it’s called Columbia University).
Sometimes I pick up a copy that is left in the lunchroom, and if I haqve time send my standard note to a few major advertisers about the six year ineffectiveness of LAT in reaching my family with their expensive daily ads(although now cheaper(-:)
The message here is one it took me a long time to learn…if you are doing business with someone who is dispicable, the way you hurt them is by stopping. If you are doing business with someone who lies, cheats, carries out evil against others, stop. If they carry out attacks on reasonable people they disagree with, stop.
Major businesses like Disney (ABC news) at their center like the idea of totalitarianism. State-run societies provide predictability, crush competition out of existence, sanctify mediocrity and suffocate entreprenurs in their cribs. Big businesses loved Mussolini, were confidants of Hitler.
So lets all just take a determined position and stand on their air hoses. Encourage others to do so, too. Let them know what you are doing with the occasional email or note to a board member. Pickets last a week, a month, whatever. But the guys who feed this assault on reason and freedom will definitely notice it when their faces turn blue.
Don’t you all understand? To the sanctimonious Left, offering up an opposing opinion is a sin in-and-of itself, warranting one of their temper-tantrum boycotts. The very fact that Mackey dared express an opinion contrary to one which fits their agenda makes him worthy of abuse, protest and — if they had their druthers — ultimately destruction.
The bottom line is John Mackey was an idiot for publishing his op ed.
And if I was on the board of directors I’d fire his ass. Clearly his behaviour was not in the best interest of the shareholders.
He offended the very people who shop at his stores.
And what’s the big deal. If you disagree with him and don’t want to support his stores as a result that seems to be within your rights.
I was offended and have stopped shopping at Whole Foods. As I also do not and will not patronized Glenn Beck advertisers.
And you are right about Whole Foods share price. Very interesting. I’m all in the their quarterly numbers will suffer. Time will tell.
Opps! I meant LA Times…not LT times. Sorry.
“The press probably won’t recognize the informal GM-Chrysler boycott unless and until the doors shut for the final time at these companies, if even then. They’re too busy promoting usually ineffective boycotts with which they agree.”
Hmmmm….the press promoting boycotts with which they agree….now why does that ring a bell?
Oh, yeah…
Bill O’Reilly Calls for Boycott of France:
http://www.billoreilly.com/pg/jsp/general/boycottfrance.jsp
Bill O’Reilly Calls for Boycott of Canada:
http://www.boycottwatch.org/misc/OReillyVSCanada.htm
Bill O’Reilly Calls for boycott of Pepsi:
http://www.boycottwatch.org/misc/OReillyVSPepsi.htm
Lousy hypocrites, the lot of you.
jharp:
businesses do not operate in a vacuum and CEO’s have an obligation to act in the public interest as individuals.
There was absolutely nothing wrong with Mackey’s ideas and facts, except they offended the far left. You could be right that they will stop shopping at Whole Foods. I haven’t been in one until recently (heh) and it looks to me like the shoppers there are pretty much a cross-section there for the food, which is a little pricey but excellent, and not to bow and scrape to Leftist dogma. That’s a mis-characterization anyway, since the scrawny lentil-snapping buffoons of the outraged student left likely shop at co-ops and the like. As for the well- heeled leftists that are embedded largely in tax-inhaling “serving” occupations, I doubt very much they will put aside their personal wants for a principle; after all, that’s not the point of throwing your lot in with gangs.
Gee, get your shorts all up in a knot & boycott a grocery store whose CEO offers the following thoughts. It just doesn’t get any dumber than that.
• Equalize the tax laws so that employer-provided health insurance and individually owned health insurance have the same tax benefits. Now employer health insurance benefits are fully tax deductible, but individual health insurance is not. This is unfair.
• Repeal all state laws which prevent insurance companies from competing across state lines. We should all have the legal right to purchase health insurance from any insurance company in any state and we should be able use that insurance wherever we live. Health insurance should be portable.
• Repeal government mandates regarding what insurance companies must cover. These mandates have increased the cost of health insurance by billions of dollars. What is insured and what is not insured should be determined by individual customer preferences and not through special-interest lobbying.
• Enact tort reform to end the ruinous lawsuits that force doctors to pay insurance costs of hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. These costs are passed back to us through much higher prices for health care.
• Make costs transparent so that consumers understand what health-care treatments cost. How many people know the total cost of their last doctor’s visit and how that total breaks down? What other goods or services do we buy without knowing how much they will cost us?
• Enact Medicare reform. We need to face up to the actuarial fact that Medicare is heading towards bankruptcy and enact reforms that create greater patient empowerment, choice and responsibility.
• Finally, revise tax forms to make it easier for individuals to make a voluntary, tax-deductible donation to help the millions of people who have no insurance and aren’t covered by Medicare, Medicaid or the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.
The whole GM/Chrysler situation saddens me. Lately I’ve been having Jeep lust, but with the government bail-out I can’t really see my way clear to buying a new Wrangler. Would people think less of me if I bought used, I wonder. After all, if you actually want to go off road, the best bang for your buck is to find a 4×4 owned by one of those yuppies who don’t know what the dirt is all about and so who have never had the vehicle in 4 wheel drive except for the occasional snow storm.
As for Whole Foods, we shop there and will continue to shop there. The things Mackey said were spot-on, in my opinion. That the Left is going nuts over it is even more proof that he said something sensible.
I’ve never seen Beck’s show, but I see over at Daily Kos that they have a few threads serving as gleeful death watches on his show. I think I’ll have to tune in just to see what has the fuzzy thinkers all in an uproar these days. Someone else speaking the truth, I suppose. They really hate it when that happens, don’t they?
To Moho:
You really sound pissed off. You usually do. Keep stomping your feet and shaking your fists. My 3 year old has temper tantrums like that.
Why don’t you run along to Mother Jones… I’m sure they’d appreciate you there.
Ready for the truth ? It will set you free.
What’s really underlying this Whole Foods thing is that The Left has been conditioned to want to control anything & anyone it deems to be part of the Family. (this is worse than Mafia Family)
When the meme gets out in the Leftoid blogosphere & elsewhere that someone has crossed the line (true, valid, reasonable or not), then the word goes out…organization X, person X has violated the Party Line (the party line in O’care is unswerving allegiance to the boondoggle)
The dynamic of control probably extends to folks like George Soros & sundry organizations on the far left & their attitudes towards Obama…”hey $750 million dumped into your campaign isn’t chump change, you OWE us”
I shop at WF fromm time to time, and one son worked as a cashier at one while in college. The store carries many items not generally available in other stores, with a heavy emphasis on items which allegedly promote health, or are part of an alternative diet/medical lifestyle. I find it ironic that some portion (probably tiny) of WF shoppers who literally live their lives around the ability to exercise individual choice to care for their health would want government bureaucrats to shoe horn everyone in a “one-size-fits-all” medical care system that is not very likely going to accomodate their freedom of choice on health issues. Of course some of them may think that the government will start paying for their organic mega vitamins, tiger milk drinks, or magic crystals. The more likely result is a tragedy of the commons.
Whole Foods is pretty close to where I live and I’ve enjoyed shopping there from time to time. I am now going to go out of my way to shop there more, as I support Mackey’s views. It’s always good news to read about an employer that is not only looking out for the interests of the company, but of the employee as well. Also, they carry Organic Valley chocolate milk, which is my favorite!
As for cars, my husband and I have always bought from Chrysler in the past. We are going to be buying a new car in the next year, and we’ve already decided that any car we buy will be from a company NOT supported by government bailouts.
As for “petitioning”, I don’t need to sign any form. I boycott with my wallet.
I like WF!! I don’t care about your footstompin’ fits..
blahblahblah
Bulgron,
Yeah, Jeep lust is a major problem. Six years ago
I went into a dealership to get a wrangler but made the mistake of taking my wife, so we drove out in a Cherokee.
There have been a few minor glitches, but the 4.0 L has 170,565 miles on it as of this morning. Its not a four wheel drive either (I have a couple of vintage Isuszu’s for climbing trees, and bought the Cherokee for street use…little did I know) but the Jeep gets me anywhere in the West I want to go, point-to-point overland and I’ve even spanked crews of four-wheelers on inclines more than once.
At 7000 mi I took it in for a minor repair and got so upset at them for not being to pull it off after three tries I went home and took care of it myself. And for the next 163,000 (which according to Edmunds saved ~12,500 bucks). It’s really easy to service, and as long as you stay on top of maintenance that classic Jeep engine is a dream to work on (though I lust after the big eight holer). Also, dump a can of Berryman’s B10 Chemtool (3.50) into the tank every third tankful. This is a very old solvent mix but it keeps those 0.030 ports in the injectors completely clear. That stuff is awesome.
Damn fine cars. It’s a shame what’s happened to GUM (wasn’t that the name of the Soviet department store in Moscow exclusively for Party Members?).
Your idea of getting a recent one from some Yuppie “appearance-meister” sounds like a fair compromise, since the cash doesn’t flow back to the Zentral Apparat….so there is nothing to forgive.
Good luck.
P.S. I’m a new Whole Foods customer, too.
#27 – Since you don’t live in the U.S. (“behaviour”) you’re totally irrelevant; no one listens to Canadians or Brits, thank goodness.
I never went to WF before, but since the Op-Ed I’ve gone twice. I won’t buy a car from GM or Chrysler. I avoid all GE products if possible. I refuse to watch NBC/MSNBC shows. I quit watching all MSM news (including local) back in the 90′s and have not missed it one iota – actually I’ve become a happier and less stressed-out person since that decision. I quit subscribing to Newsweek and Chicago Tribune a few years ago, although we still pick up Sunday NYT each weekend.
All my personal boycotts add up to zilch but it would appear a lot of others are doing the same on their own. When you add up these little, individual invisible boycotts, companies, and even industries (media), do suffer.
1. I don’t know about anywhere else, but the WF stores here in liberal MoCo, MD seem to be doing the proverbial land-office business. I have begun to shop there more myself and have told the cashier about my reasons for doing so – thus far, no-one at the store I frequent has offered up any rebuttal.
FWIW: I’ve carried my cigarettes through the stores without incident (heh heh heh); I haven’t carried my Glock .40 yet.
2. GM and Chrysler products – even used ones – also are off my shopping list – which is kind of a shame since I would really like a K2500 Suburban with the 8.1L V-8 (that’s about 494 in^3 for those of us who like our engines measured in cubic inches). I’ll feel differently once they go through a proper re-org or buy-out, which they will, eventually – after burning through $1Tril of our money in the process of delaying the inevitable.
The dude what mentioned that the AFA boycotts didn’t really accomplish a whole hell of a lot, does have a point though. They really didn’t affect the bottom lines of any company involved.
Ditto that. Previously, I was reluctant to shop at Whole Foods, since it looked like a leftie-hippie commune. I also own Buick from GM and my wife drives Jeep Commander. I was quite satisfied with the Buick, and I was ready to buy a new one. After the bailout – o-ops, no GM or Chrysler for me anymore, Subaru Tribeca is now my new car.
I am sure a lot of people feel the same way. This is also why mainstream media is dying.
BTW, one of the libs here wrote that he was offended by the article published by the CEO of Whole Foods. Can you explain why? And what is the difference between “being offended” and disagreeing – I mean, were you possibly offended by the fact that he wrote something you merely disagreed with?
Now if we could just get some of those oh so principled lefties to boycott PJM, we’d really have something. How about it? Vivo le Revolucionee? Now and Thend? Blarty? Mohomud? Give it to us! We deserve nothing less than your complete scorn. Now here’s your chance to really show us a thing or two! Boycott!!!11!
BTW, talking about the boycottes – the liberals want to boycotte Traders’ Joe because it dares to sell goods from the Jewish State.
http://www.jewishjournal.com/community/article/anti-israel_group_boycotts_trader_joes_2_20090620/
Again, just like Whole Foods, Trader’s Joe felt like a hippie commune, but not anymore. I am proud to shop at Whole Foods and Trader’s Joe. Moreover, Whole Foods have excellent choice of beer and they got very tasty lamb sausages, while Trader’s Joe has a good selection of nice French wine – and at low cost too.
BTW, during Carter’s pathetic presidency and the ME oil embargo, there was a nice bumper sticker in Texas: “Drive Fast. Freeze a yankee.” This was because Texas did not have a problem buying the gas, since they were producing enough.
inchoate:
jharp:
“businesses do not operate in a vacuum and CEO’s have an obligation to act in the public interest as individuals.
There was absolutely nothing wrong with Mackey’s ideas and facts, except they offended the far left. You could be right that they will stop shopping at Whole Foods.”
The CEO’s primary obligation is to maximize shareholder wealth. Acting in the public interest in one way to get there, it’s true.
Publishing an op ed that offends most of your customers is not. Especially on an issue sensitive enough that some will stop doing business with you.
If this is some sinister plan to attract right wingers to the store Mackey has a point. I highly doubt that is the case.
There is no doubt quite a few will stop shopping Whole Foods. Only time will tell.
And I’d still fire Mackeys’s ass. It was a stupid move. Little to nothing to gain. And a lot to lose.
Hyphenated American:
“BTW, one of the libs here wrote that he was offended by the article published by the CEO of Whole Foods. Can you explain why?”
Yes. It was nothing but wingnut talking points… …Medicare is bankrupt blah, blah… … let insurers sell across state lines blah, blah, tort reform… let charities pcik up the slack.
Not one. Not one single point to address the outrageous cost of our health care system, not one.
And not one single point to get everyone covered.
Hyphenated American:
I’ve pretty much given up on Trader Joe’s as well. I just don’t see the value in either store.
I’m into the farm markets and my own vegetable garden these days. A stop at Kroger every now and again for the meats and dairy. And Sam’s Club a few times a year for the boxed and canned and bottled goods.
I, for one, intend to start buying more stuff at Whole Foods.
Not one single point to address the outrageous cost of our health care system, not one.
Gee, jharp, you truly are…
Reading Challenged
Or desperate…
Or ideologically bent…
Or…
Inchoate (#38): Thanks for the tip on Jeeps. There’s a whole sub-culture there who express and enthusiasm not much different from the passion that Macintosh users show. It’s always good to know that I’m not alone in my lust for toys.
My hope is that some how Jeep manages to transition these rough waters, even if they have to do it by teaming up with a non-US auto maker.
In any case, I’ve been thinking a lot about heading down to Tucson to see if I can’t find an old CJ-7 that’s in good enough shape to do a rebuild. I have a BIL there who’s heavily into Jeeps. Maybe I’ll get him to start looking around for me.
jharp (#44): “Publishing an op ed that offends most of your customers is not [the way to maximize shareholder wealth].”
Prove that what Mackey said is offensive to “most” of WF’s customers. See, you Lefties always assume that the majority of people agree with you. But I think you’re confusing volume with broad support. Most people don’t actually know or care what Mackey said. And of those who are paying attention, I believe that its a pretty slim majority that are so offended by what he said that they’d be willing to give up the store.
Let’s be clear about this: something like 90% of the nation understands that free speech means that you have to let people express their opinion even if you don’t agree with them. It’s only the lunatic Left and Right that attempts to shutdown all opposing points of view.
I strongly suggest you take a good hard look at just how supportive you are of core constitutional principles, especially those expressed in the first amendment.
bulgron:
“Let’s be clear about this: something like 90% of the nation understands that free speech means that you have to let people express their opinion even if you don’t agree with them.”
You obviously failed 7th grade civics class. It has nothing to do with free speech. Nothing at all.
Freedom of speech has to do with the government suppressing speech. That. Didn’t. Happen.
So I suppose if I call Fox News and ask to be a guest and they turn me down that Fox is denying me freedom of speech.
Good God, you folks are hopelesss.
I for one will not purchase a new GM or Chrysler product. This actually truly saddens me since I absolutely would love to own a new Camero, Challenger, or Charger. They are great looking cars that remind me of the old muscle cars of yore.
Also if the Libs are boycotting Whole Foods where are they going to get their Arugula?
“Prove that what Mackey said is offensive to “most” of WF’s customers. See, you Lefties always assume that the majority of people agree with you. But I think you’re confusing volume with broad support. Most people don’t actually know or care what Mackey said. And of those who are paying attention, I believe that its a pretty slim majority that are so offended by what he said that they’d be willing to give up the store.”
Only time will tell. Whether is most, some, or a few that he offended doesn’t impact the fact that it was a stupid move by Mackey.
I believe, can’t prove, that the majority of Whole Foods clients lean left.
And there are some obviously very unhappy about Mackey’s op ed.
The quarterly sales numbers should give us a pretty good idea of the impact.
jharp:
Clearly, you did not read Mr. Mackey’s op-ed if you could not find anything that would reduce healthcare costs. Tort reform alone would reduce the cost of malpractice insurance and minimize defensive medicine that each add a huge costs to medical costs. Of course, you must believe that our beloved Federal bureaucracy can do a better job of running healthcare. The only way they can do it cheaper is radical rationing which is what has happened in other state-run healthcare systems such as Britain’s NHS. Having said that, however,I realize that facts and common sense will not change your mind as most liberals cannot fairly debate issues and usually resort to name-calling instead.
Oh, how could I forget Jharm? Please feel free to join the PJM boycott.
I have started to read jharp and moho’s posts sadly as a comical relief. You have to wonder if he or she ever had a teacher/professor that was not a stalinist.
The Whole Foods near my office in Austin is a great place to stop for lunch. They have a new lunch special – sandwich, chips, and iced tea for $4.99.
Chattanooga Jim:
jharp:
” Of course, you must believe that our beloved Federal bureaucracy can do a better job of running healthcare. The only way they can do it cheaper is radical rationing”
Do you mean rationing like this.http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2009685301_harrop19.html
“Death panels”? I’ll tell you about death panels. My husband faced one some years ago, and it didn’t involve any government bureaucrat. It was run by our private insurer, the sort of corporate entity that foes of health-care reform say will give you anything you want.
My husband was diagnosed with liver cancer. We were “insured” by United Healthcare. The deal was as follows: You had to use doctors on its list, but if you needed specialized care outside the network, United’s health-maintenance organization would pay for it. Fair enough.
A liver expert within the network said point blank that for my husband’s case, there was but one place to go, a specialized chemotherapy program at Deaconess Hospital in Boston. Fortunately, it was only 50 minutes away.
But United Healthcare refused to pay for it. Instead, it directed us to a small, local hospital unequipped to deal with this kind of cancer. Our liver specialist warned, “Don’t waste your time.”
We naively tried to go through United Healthcare’s appeals process. We would call the number and speak to a handler who said our case would be reconsidered. Days later, a one-sentence letter would arrive by slow mail saying that we were being denied, but call this number to challenge the verdict.
Around and around we went. We could never speak to anyone making the decisions. No one would even talk to our doctor, who at one point whispered to us, “Mortgage the house.”
Right after WF announced that they were going to get ALL of their electricity from “renewables” like wind, they raised the price of a muffin 10%.
Coincidence? I think not.
It’s very crowded inside…
The socialist brain of a liberal democrat
Not much room for reading comprehension.
jharp: “You obviously failed 7th grade civics class. It has nothing to do with free speech. Nothing at all.”
Um, yes it does. Constitutional guarantees are there to prevent government from infringing on your rights. However, your rights always exist, even in the absence of government.
Freedom of speech, in particular, is a right that has become so embedded in American culture that for most people it transcends protections against government infringement. They accept that you have to let people express their opinion, so long as it is not spreading outright falsehoods or otherwise causing overt harm. Culturally, most of us accept that the debate has to be allowed to continue, even if we personally are offended by what the other guy is saying. At most, we might say, “Well, I don’t have to stand here and listen to this,” and then walk away, or change the channel, or go to another website. But we don’t attempt to coerce people into shutting up because we accept that they have a right to their opinions.
It’s only the lunatic fringe on the Left and the Right who split hairs about what our rights actually mean, and then cheerfully go on to willy-nilly deny those rights to people we don’t like.
What the Left is doing with their attempted boycott of Whole Foods is silence the opposition. You want to stop the debate. You want to violate someone else’s right to freedom of speech by demanding that he shut up, stop talking, stop publishing.
You can get away with your boorish behavior because you aren’t a government entity. That is, you can legally violate someone else’s right to free speech, or try to anyway, without legal repercussions. But the right still exists, and you’re still gleefully trying to violate it, which tells me everything I need to know about your character and just exactly how much you cherish America’s freedoms.
It seems that anytime you disagree with any Libs cause, they boycott you and rather unfair and cowardly.
Here is an example:
Please compare Keith Olberman’s clips in regards to President Bush with Glenn Beck clips about Obama. How come then companies didn’t / don’t stop advertising in Olberman show?
The companies must be identified and be asked about this one-sided decision. How come advertisers and companies are so afraid of liberals but don’t care about conservatives?
Now both ABC, and NBC have decided to air advertisement that are pro health care plan only. What kind of freedom of speech is this? This is abuse of freedom. Moreover, MovOn and similar organizations who follow “one government and world order” are already advertising against all Republican candidates and representatives, to prevent them to be elected in 2010. How come republican friends are not doing the same? The funny thing is MovOn gang, now are advertising against republicans in local FOX news channels.
You can search even youtube for 5 minutes and get 00s of clips showing Keith bad mouthing President Bush in the worse possible way.
Napperboy at 39,
Your personal boycott adds up to alot more than zilch when you have millions of unseen and unkown joining in. I’m with you all the way.
I am always glad to see Americans voicing their opinions, I may not always agree with them, but I enjoy it, so please keep boycotting Whole Foods Market, Inc., companies keep dropping sponsorship of the “Glenn Beck” BS, Astroturfers keep showing up at town hall meeting and get your shouts in (we all know you can’t articulate your position and are all about hate) they hate and can’t debate, sweet.
Back in 2008, this Whole Foods, CEO John Mackey (how old is this kid?), was caught posting negative comments (trash talk) about a competitor on Yahoo Finance message boards in an effort to push down the stock price. So now I am suppose to take this loser seriously? Please, snore, snore.
It’s funny we hear Republicans say that they do not want “faceless bureaucrats” making medical decisions but they have no problem with “private sector” “faceless bureaucrats” daily declining medical coverage and financially ruining good hard working people (honestly where can they go with a pre-condition). And who says that the “private sector” is always right, do we forget failures like Long-Term Capital, WorldCom, Global Crossing, Enron, Tyco, AIG and Lehman Brothers. Of course the federal government will destroy heathcare by getting involved, Oh but wait, Medicare and Medicaid and our military men and women and the Senate and Congress get the best heathcare in the world, and oh, that’s right, its run by our federal government. I can understand why some may think that the federal government will fail, if you look at the past eight years as a current history, with failures like the financial meltdown and Katrina but the facts is they can and if we support them they will succeed.
How does shouting down to stop the conversation of the healthcare debate at town hall meetings, endears them to anyone. Especially when the organizations that are telling them where to go and what to do and say are Republicans political operatives, not real grassroots. How does shouting someone down or chasing them out like a “lynch mob” advanced the debate, it does not. So I think the American people will see through all of this and know, like the teabagger, the birthers, these lynch mobs types AKA “screamers” are just the same, people who have to resort to these tactics because they have no leadership to articulate what they real want. It’s easy to pickup a bus load of people who hate, and that’s all I been seeing, they hate and can’t debate. Too bad.
Jharp: At it again with your projections, pig-headedness, rants and foul manners I see. Interrupting your “business day” again to spew moonbat talking points and assail the decent, are we? Best get back to that “business” of yours before the Democrats finally put you out of business. That is going to happen, you know. You may think that they care about you, but they do not. Probably you last shot at independence–best to savor it while it lasts. It was not much in the first place, but it was something. It will be tough out there for a middle-aged man, particularity with your, ah, “capabilities”, but you have kids, right? Best remember that. I guess you can live off your “wife”. Bet that would suit you just fine. You can be a stay-at-home dad, sort of a male wife. You will adapt well, no doubt.
Say, since you “know” so much, are such a “businessman” and all, and you are so enamored of sharing your “thoughts” with us, why don’t you tell us the name of your business so we can all check it out? It would be interesting to see the reaction of your “customers” to your consistent and constant foulness, and your contempt for decent Americans.
Do not have the courage of Mackey? Thought not. See, he is a real businessman, and a real man too. Ask your “wife” about the difference, she has to know. Do it soon, you may not have much time left.
It telling that you call the opinions someone like Mackey “wing nut talking points”. I rather doubt that he is a conservative or even a Republican, and they are obviously his own thoughts and hard won lessons from successfully running a real and profitable business, and honorably taking responsibility for his employees. By you own admissions, you have only had one employee in your entire “business career”, if we may use that term in your case, did not give her medical care, and shoved her out the door as soon as it was feasible. You heartless “businessman”, you. Too funny.
Yet again, you are reacting with narcissistic rage. You cannot handle anything that might for one second call into question your loopy little notions of superiority and your evasions of your reality. Yet again, you cannot rationally argue your positions. Tantrums and ad hominem fallacies are all you are capable of.
Let us get your rants, wrong-headedness and foul manners–oh, and your “thoughts” about healthcare–in front of of your “customers”. If you cannot do this, then i you should just keep your mouth shut about Mackey. Otherwise you would be a hypocrite of the lowest order.
Let us see, Harp? Is it Harper? Joe? James? John? Indiana, you say? hummm…..
based on the blatant robbery of the Chrysler bondholders by the Whitehouse and the auto union, purchasing a Chrysler would be, to me, the moral equivalent of receiving stolen property.
I’m sure I’m not the only one to come to this conclusion.
60. bulgron: “What the Left is doing with their attempted boycott of Whole Foods is silence the opposition. You want to stop the debate. You want to violate someone else’s right to freedom of speech by demanding that he shut up, stop talking, stop publishing.”
Even if every single person in the world stopped shopping at Whole Foods because of the boycott, the CEO of Whole Foods would still be able to say or write whatever he wants, so there is no freedom of speech issue here.
Telling someone to shut up is not a violation of free speech. If it were, Bill O’Reilly would have been locked up a long time ago.
Go back and read the First Amendment again, please. It’s very clear. Thanks.
This is a battle of Good vs Evil. Obama, Pelosi and the rest of Team Evil are on one side, and decent Americans with an actual soul are on the other.
Obama is a racist, leftist corrupt weasel. He has surrounded himself with anti-American traitors like Van Jones. Beck is right.
Constitutional guarantees are there to prevent government from infringing on your rights.
Political philosopher, Barack Obama, considers bars on government interference with personal liberties, laid out in the first 10 amendments, to be a citizen’s “negative rights”.
OTOH, Barack construes positive rights to be all those goodies flowing from the (newly co-opted) re-distributive powers of the federal government.
Something, somewhere (and it ain’t Denmark) is rotten.
Not to mention (again) the AG and that delightful transnationalist, Howard Koh…
Working hard in service to an agenda, as we speak
(and have a nice day, you, too, jharp, get off the computer and make some money in your small privately owned bizness)
jharpisajoke:
“Let us see, Harp? Is it Harper? Joe? James? John? Indiana, you say? hummm…..”
You can take your veiled threats and stick them you know where.
Or as one of our past leaders put so well.
Bring. It. On.
I’ve got nothing to hide. Nothing. I post the truth and call out ignorance when I see it. And we’re all better off for it.
61. Koroush:
“Here is an example:
Please compare Keith Olberman’s clips in regards to President Bush with Glenn Beck clips about Obama. How come then companies didn’t / don’t stop advertising in Olberman show? “
Very poor example.
1. Olbermann didn’t start attacking Bush until 2005, five years into his presidency, after the Katrina tragedy, for which Bush deserved legitimate criticism.
Beck, however, began the assault on President Obama on Day one, and had nothing to criticize the president about except for some baseless rumors that he made up, like that Obama was going to take people’s guns (didn’t happen) or that Obama was going to use FEMA camps to lock up conservatives (didn’t happen).
2. Olbermann never said anything remotely like “Bush is a racist…he is someone who I believe has a deep seated hatred of black people”, so there literally is no comparison here.
Olbermann is an award winning sportscaster and journalist with a degree from Cornell.
Beck is a former drug addict and alcoholic with no degree and no journalism credentials.
Again, no comparison.
“… unless and until the doors shut for the final time at these companies”
When has Amtrak ever made a profit? For that matter, has the Post Office ever? They are still here sucking the taxpayers’ blood.
Govt. Motor may be a zombie, but it’ll continue to suck the taxpayers dry. Their doors will not shut, even if the “govt.” has to buy all the cars they made.
61. Koroush: Googles owns youtube. Googles is known to censor bloggers who oppose Obama. Googles has acquired a mutltimillion contract from the Fed recently (I can’t remember what it was). Obama’s Justice dept. sues Apples on behalf og Googles…
Heck, when I was in Beijing in 2005, the only “impartial” reporting I saw on TV was from China National TV. The propagandist was CNN. If you think they are biased here, go overseas.
We’ve got one in my town. Never been to it ‘cuz it looked too snooty.
Today I will visit it (and shop there!) in celebration of yet another liberal failure (YALF).
We like WF!! We don’t care about your footstompin’ fits..
We will continue to shop at WF..
This is the America that we now live in…a man speaking for himself, not mentioning the co., and yet the left comes upglued..disgusting..
so much for “A Free America” You liblerals out there need to take a trip to North Korea, and live the the communist life for a while..bet you come back a changed person…that is if you made it out alive.
Anonymous (66): “Even if every single person in the world stopped shopping at Whole Foods because of the boycott, the CEO of Whole Foods would still be able to say or write whatever he wants, so there is no freedom of speech issue here.”
Yes there is. The Left is attempting to silence Mackey by trying to get him fired for saying what he said. This is an overt attempt to force Mackey to silence by threatening him with serious financial repercussions if he doesn’t toe the Leftist line.
The first amendment prevents government by doing something similar (“I’ll fine you if you don’t shut up,” or, “I’ll throw you in jail if you don’t shut up.”), which is as far as constitutional guarantees go.
Just because it is LEGAL for a non-government entity to infringe on Free Speech Rights doesn’t mean that Free Speech Rights aren’t being infringed upon. People don’t seem to get this fundamental point.
Remember that constitutional guarantees don’t exist because they’re written down in the Bill of Rights. On the contrary, they exist in the presence or absence of government. All the Bill of Rights does is tell the government that it can’t punish people for exercising these rights.
There are no legal ramifications if a non-government entity infringes on an inalienable right. However, I submit that there are moral and ethical issues surrounding these sorts of infringements.
What the Left is doing with their attempted boycott is trying to silence Mackey through a kind of force. This is an (attempted) infringement on his Free Speech Rights. Legally, they are in the right to do so. Morally and Ethically, I find their actions appalling.
BTW, simply telling someone to shut up isn’t an infringement of their rights. It’s when you add some measure of coercion to the “shut up” message that the line gets crossed.
jharp:
Is our current system perfect? Heck no, but if you want to turn away from heartless HMO’s and give our healthcare insurance system over to heartless Federal bureaucrats, you have not given it much thought. At least you or I can change health insurance companies if we desire, but once Obamacare is the law of the land that’s not an option. Free market solutions have their flaws, but they generally are self-correcting. Political/governmental solutions only make matters worse (e.g. public schools, postal system, Medicare, welfare, etc.). Do some research about Britain’s NHS if you don’t believe me. And re-read the Mackey article again and while you are at it, read HR 3200.
Go Whole Foods!
I had heard that Walmart was a part of the boycott against Glenn Beck. I wrote to Walmart and they responded, see the link below:
http://smartgirlpolitics.ning.com/profiles/blogs/my-letter-to-walmart-about
jharp, WF CEO did not alienate most of its patrons. That’s ridiculous. Most of their customer base is working professionals. Not philosophy majors who look at WF as a co-op you’re attempting to portray. Besides, that clientele spends far less than the regular shopper.
People will continue to shop at WF for the simple reason their variety is healthier than the alternative. Take a look at the ingredients in Safeway’s, King Sooper’s, Albertson’s et., hot ‘Fresh Baked Bread.’ – What the FDA considers ‘edible’ today is frightening. Take a look at your canned soups, salad dressings, crackers, chips etc., read up on EDTA and myriad of other 6, 7 syllable words you’re ingesting.
Also, Whole Foods meats and some of Trader Joe’s meats are hormone free, grass fed, et al. Again, look at the same products in the big supermarkets.
Yes, the price is higher on many items (except the bulk items – i.e. oats, whey, flax etc.,) though I had a crash course last year in Africa.
In Mali, Ghana and Benin last year I saw a pint of Haagen-Daz for ~ $26 American dollars at different grocery stores. I’m not kidding.
Bamako, Mali a farmer took his herd of cattle to graze in a garbage dump near the Sofitel Hotel numerous times. Suffice to say I was a vegetarian and lived by the utmost simple means during my work there.
P.S. – 14 oz. box Caramel Truffles on sale for $2.99 at WF. Not a big deal for me, but they’re organic and too good!
Chattanooga Jim:
jharp:
“but if you want to turn away from heartless HMO’s and give our healthcare insurance system over to heartless Federal bureaucrats, you have not given it much thought.”
No one is proposing turning our healthcare system over to the government. It it is wingnut lie.
How about this. Let’s provide a public option similar to Medicare and let people decide for themselves. Competition against the insurers is good.
“At least you or I can change health insurance companies if we desire, but once Obamacare is the law of the land that’s not an option.”
False in two ways. Most cannot change insurers. They get what their employer chooses for them.
And Obama Care increases choices and guarantees acceptance.
Jharp: Hahaha! and Ha! Well then post the name and address of your “business”, If you have nothing to hide.
See, you completely ignored the whole post. You are avoiding you own reality.
You say that you have nothing to hide; if this is true then why are you hiding it? Not man enough for it, right? Just like Daddy? Thought so.
Tell you what, just post your real name, and, say, your city. I mean, you do have a business license, right? You do pay business taxes, right? You “have nothing to hide”, right?
Seem to me that you are hiding a great deal. What a hypocritical little liar you are.
And it is interesting that you deem it a threat. Must have struck a nerve. Oh, and there is nothing veiled about it. I just want to give you the opportunity to have the same treatment that you want Beck and WF to receive. You are the one always whining about “equality”. “fairness” and “people’s rights” all the time. You mean you were being dishonest all along? You mean you did not really mean it? Shocking. No wonder your “business career” is flagging–your word means nothing. How richly amusing.
Why is it ok for Leftist to go after Mackey’s customer base, but not ok for those who find you opinions offense to go after your “customers”? Come on, what is your firms name> Man up.
Too funny.
Typical immoral and dishonest little commie. Typical sniveling Democrat. You can dish it out, but you cannot take it. Shame on you.
Thanks. I signed up for the Pepsi boycott. It’s interesting about the lack of coverage. I never heard antything about this, whereas I did about the Whole Foods almost immediately.
I really don’t have a dog in the “gay” fight. I’m just tired of the hullabaloo. You want to be homosexual? Fine. But what business is it of mine to know (and, more important to me, why do I HAVE to know, according to you) what you like to put in your mouth or anus or where you like to put your penis? I can tell you that my circle of acquaintances isn’t tuned in on whether or not I like doggie style.
Do I’m tired of it, and tired of being called names because I don’t think what a certain group of people insists I ought to.
I’m also tired of the whole thing being cast as a civil rights issue. Hello! Registering to vote and trekking down the old hershey highway aren’t comparable.
How much of the downturn in sales is due to the closing of local dealerships? Out here in flyover country, people tend to business with the local dealer. If the local GM or Chrysler dealership has had its franchise revoked, a lot of folks won’t drive to the next town out of brand loyalty. They will go to the next closest local dealer with a decent reputation. How likely is that to be a Ford dealership? (Many will buy American whenever possible.)
“Jharp: Hahaha! and Ha! Well then post the name and address of your “business”, If you have nothing to hide.”
Post yours. I’ll contact you.
Hey jharp/moho, and all the other leftist cultist; why don’t you give boycotting PJM a go? We will support you on that boycott.
Have a Chevy Tahoe coming off lease. For the record, I love the vehicle and would drive another in a heartbeat.
Which means I just bought a Lexus. BHO is more than welcome to take over the domestic auto sector, but I don’t have to buy one (at least not yet). Not sure if I would say it’s a boycott, just don’t want to buy a car from BHO or the government. I’m guessing I’m not the only one who thinks this way.
Jharp: Dodging it again, and for the third time, I see. Coward. More deflection. More narcissism. More juvenile rhetorical hustles and dodges. More Deceit More dishonor.
Put up or shut up, Mr Harper.
All the puerile chest heaving about “being a businessman”, Mackey’s “wingnut talking points”, and “you have nothing to hide”, but you cannot put up. Not a man at all are you? You should shut up, but you are not possessed of even that much decency. Must get it from your folks.
You cannot put it out there, and you try to make it my fault.
What a girlish little nancyboy. Typical Democrat metrosecual gelding!
The thing I cannot figure out is who is the most ashamed: You of Daddy, or Daddy of you. Both I guess. Must keep Mommy busy. Daddy too, for he must have a double load of shame.
Such rich entertainment.
You can dish it out, but you cannot take it. You should be ashamed of yourself. Bet your “wife” is.
There is a counter boycott going in regard to Glenn Beck. It seems to be mostly informal now, but several websites are posting the names of the companies that withdrew their ads from Beck. I’m boycotting the ones who didn’t also remove their ads from all other political talk shows.
74. bulgron: “Yes there is. The Left is attempting to silence Mackey by trying to get him fired for saying what he said. This is an overt attempt to force Mackey to silence by threatening him with serious financial repercussions if he doesn’t toe the Leftist line.
The first amendment prevents government by doing something similar (”I’ll fine you if you don’t shut up,” or, “I’ll throw you in jail if you don’t shut up.”), which is as far as constitutional guarantees go.
Just because it is LEGAL for a non-government entity to infringe on Free Speech Rights doesn’t mean that Free Speech Rights aren’t being infringed upon. People don’t seem to get this fundamental point.”
Okay, let me try this again.
Firing someone or pressuring for someone to get fired is not violating their freedom of speech.
The Law is the only thing that defines/protects your freedom of speech. Freedom of speech is not God-given. Without the 1st Amendment, you have no freedom of speech and therefore without a law on the books your “right” to free speech by definition cannot be violated because it does not exist. You don’t seem to get this fundamental point.
I worked on a construction site as supervisor a few years back and there was a moron who kept using racist language on the job.
Now, does this guy have a right to say what he wants?
Yes, on his own time, but not on my ****ing site!
I have a job to run, chief, and I’m not going to get my reputation sullied or face a lawsuit because of some stupid jackass who has difficulty respecting black people.
So I fired his racist behind.
Moral of the story?
Your right to freedom of speech does not include the right to keep your job if you are acting a fool and your acting a fool hurts the company.
Again, please go back and read the First Amendment and tell me where it says that you have the right to say whatever you want without any consequences.
Victor,
I’ve seen this freedom of speech nonsense come up in Wingnuttia time after time.
You spelled out bulgron errant thinking quite clearly. Well done.
I wonder if bulgron sees the errors of his reasonling. I really do.
How about it bulgron? It takes a man to admit he was wrong.
Are you going to man up?
Boycotting can go both ways. People always seem to forget that and get mad when their own tactics get turned on them.
Boycotting is fine, either way.
I wouldn’t have bought a GM or Chrysler product before the gov’t takeover so I certainly won’t now. I also will probably never buy another new car but I’m specifically looking for a quality used Ford in order to show support for them not taking handouts (my last three purchases: Honda, Nissan, Toyota). I figure over the year I’ll be supporting their suppliers with parts and service and I can add to the resale value of their used cars.
Looking at the companies that have pulled adv on Beck, they are all big companies that will benefit ..”GREATLY”.. if the Obama health plan goes through..
They’re not interested in what we think of seeing adv on Beck’s show…they’re afraid Beck DOES makes sense and would like to see him fired.
Mr Harper:
Hey Nancy boy, We are still waiting. Man up. Put your money were your mouth is.
Steveg–>I’ll go you one better by boycotting your party. Along with 70% of the nation’s electorate.
It is amusing to watch elite liberals(who are statistically notorious for being the least charitable people in the country) are protesting a man who is giving thousands of American workers health care, let alone his contributions to charity. Standing outside a Whole Foods most likely without ever giving one penny of their own money to another human being doesn’t exactly carry a lot of weight.
I know I’ll never buy another GM and I’ll never buy a Chrysler product. Ever. Not only is this out of protest for the fascist takeover but also to deny support to the UAW. That last item may make me avoid Ford as well but I do admire the company for not following GM and Chrysler into the loving arms of Marx.
jrharp (89): “I wonder if bulgron sees the errors of his reasonling. I really do.
How about it bulgron? It takes a man to admit he was wrong.”
When I think I’m wrong, I admit it. I don’t think I’m wrong.
Victor (88)’s biggest mistake is thinking that the right to Free Speech only exists because the law says it does. This is typical Liberal Think for “I can control you however I want, so long as I can get a judge to agree with me.” In face, Free Speech is god-given, does predate civilization, and will exist long after the United States has died and blown to dust.
That people frequently wave their Free Speech rights in exchange for a pay check is not relevant. You can wave your rights — that is, refuse to exercise them — but even then they continue to exist.
Victor (88)’s second big mistake is that Mackey wasn’t speaking on the company dime. He was speaking on his own time, and giving his own personal opinion on health care reform.
If Whole Foods was a company that was in the Health Care business, MAYBE some form of infringement of his Free Speech Rights is warranted. However, Whole Foods is in the grocery business. Therefore, he has the right to speak his mind on this subject, same as you and me.
When you attempt to use coercion to shut him up (“Don’t say things I disagree with on this subject or I will organize a massive effort to punish you” is a blatant form of coercion), you are attempting to infringe on his right to free speech. That you can legally do this and get away with it is not relevant. You are still attempting to forcefully shut him up — that is, infringing on his right to an opinion and to speak his opinion.
Our rights exist despite the existence of a government. The Bill of Rights is a limited document that only explains to government that these rights exist and that the government is not to infringe on them. Your apparent confusion is that you think 1st Amendment == Free Speech, and so the right begins and ends where the 1st Amendment does. If that’s truly how you see things, then you are flat-out wrong.
Folks…. Vivo, Moho, jharp, now and then, etc. are on every PJM thread. No sane person would spend this much time on a blog unless they are paid to do so. Most likely they are paid by some left-wing 527 to post their marxist garbage. You will recall it was a left-wing 527 that paid a lunatic trans-gender to bust up a Denver DNC office last week.
The american left has been organizing for decades, and I wouldn’t put anything past a wannabe ‘Che’.
It is so easy to scroll past their post. Give it a try.
Mr. Blumer,
The reason why so-called media hadn’t noticed some of the boycotts you mentioned could be simply that none of their acquaintances won’t be caught dead in a GM or Chrysler clunker, while all of them shop at some health/green food stores.
#27 jharp:
The bottom line is John Mackey was an idiot for publishing his op ed.
Since I live down the road from Whole Food’s World HQ and get to shop at WF throughout the country, I find the left’s latest tantrum amusing and its “boycott” defining of the narrow-minded intolerance of liberals.
John Mackey hit it on the head in his WSJ Op-Ed piece, and the folks in Washington need to be listening. For those that do not know, Mackey is a libertarian, free-market capitalist. As such, Whole Foods has been able to use its profits to benefit people throughout the world. Its “micro-loan” program helps single mothers begin their own business and become self-sufficient (instead of relying on the government). The program has a >99% repayment rate on its loans.
Not only will Whole Foods enjoy profits this coming quarter, it will do so because the left cannot grasp that their sociopathic behavior only encourages others to do the “right thing.” In this case, we now see, get this, conservatives shopping in our local Whole Foods! I’ve spoken with my family members throughout the country and they report the same thing others have stated: Whole Foods is as busy or busier than ever.
Frankly, I’m looking forward to this coming winter when Whole Food’s profits may allow them to keep the ice-skating rink on top of the Austin, Texas store open longer than the normal two weeks.
Oh, and just so we make sure nobody missed it, please note jharp’s use of the ad hominem “idiot” to describe a man who helped found one of the world’s most socially-conscience businesses. A business that is using its profits to invest in and help human beings across the planet.
#18 and #40, the AFA Ford boycott accomplished plenty. The link I provided in the column conservatively estimated that it cost the company pretty close to $1 billion in gross margin.
I didn’t want to over-clutter the column, so I’ll over-clutter this comment (:–>) —
Jan. 28, 2008 — “Ford’s PC March to the Brink Continues, as Does Media Enabling.”
The Pajamas version of the column generated 460 comments in 24 hours, the vast majority of them stridently pro-boycott. After this public tongue-lashing, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that AFA saw enough movement to justify ending the boycott about 1-1/2 months later (of course, AFA didn’t rub it in; remember, they’re Christians).
Oct. 2, 2007 — “Ford’s September Swoon; Reuters Errs, While the Biggest Boycott Never Reported Continues Taking Its Toll”
Sept. 10, 2007 — As Proof of Its Effect Mounts, Ford and Old Media Continue to Ignore AFA’s Boycott
May 2, 2007 — “April Vehicle Sales: Ford in Deep Denial Over AFA Boycott, with Old Media’s Help”
April 22, 2007 — Old Media Does Ford No Favors by Ignoring the American Family Association Boycott”
January 26, 2007 — “At Ford, Sounding Like a Broken Record — About a Broken Record”
Dec. 3, 2006 — “”
July 24, 2006 — “Somebody at Ford Had Better Look Into This”
You claim that there is little proof of the boycott having results. AFA’s goal was for Ford to be neutral in the culture wars. Given that Ford hasn’t been spouting off about much of anything besides selling cars and trucks since then — which is of course what Milton Friedman pointed out is the REAL social responsibility of businesses — meaning that AFA got what it was looking for.
Dear DADvocate…
“I thought about promoting a Keith Olberman boycott. But, ow would we know if it’s working? No one watches him anyway.”
I beg to differ. Katie Couric watches.
alex @ 18:
I will give the Left the exact amount of respect that they gave GWB = NONE!
8 years of lies, innuendo and loud disruption just kind of sours me for that meme, alex.
I see jharp, moho and other trolls are here hijacking things again. Why guys? If we are so stupid and so evil do you hang around? Please boycott PJM as all us posters here are such ???? wingnuts, teabaggers (jharp, you would not say THAT little insult to my face and survive, you wussy) etc.
Please send a note to Charles Johnsom re: Beck’s advertisers.
I’ve been wrong in the past, and this might just be adding to my string of errors, but it seems that the actual impact of “boycotts” appears to be about the same as the impact of “sanctions” in stopping nuclear proliferation.
Is there some genetic flaw at work here, or is it one of those “Psychosis is doing the same thing over and over, but expect a different result”?
I patronize grocery stores for high quality items, unique items, pricing and availability.
Never mix politics with my food.
Steveg at 98 and other nonmarxists,
First, Steveg. Right on and thank you. There is no need to converse with Vivo, Moho, BC, Now and Then, Jharp and the other lefty marxists who attempt to distract Pajamas readers. Their agenda is socialist at best and nazi or communist at worst. You can’t believe in the discredited theories of Marx, Engles, Mao, Che, Lenin, Hitler etc. and believe in a government such as ours that was founded on principals of capitalism, free enterprise, freedom and liberty, and limited government. Marxist’s believe in the elimination of these elements.
It is not worth even acknowldgeing these misguided cultists who follow their intelectual heros in spite of the irrefutable evidence of the evil and futility of Marxism. People who believe as they do are deeply resentful of the happiness and success of others and have difficulty acknowledging their own failed existences. These people are deeply flawed individuals who wish to ignore history’s verdict on Marxism.
Please stop engaging the lefty trollkins. Their oxogen is their need for the dialectic. All of the difficulties we face can be solved by avoiding socialist solutions. Most of our financial troubles can be traced to the wealth distortions created by the Marxists. Their ideas are unsustainable and do nothing but create misery. History proves what works and what does not.
Stop feeding the trollkins.
@Jim Yardley –
If there *has* been a successful boycott I can’t recall it. They lose momentum pretty fast – eventually convenience is going to trump anger. It’s just human nature.
I also have to say, both sides have played the boycott card way too often. Nobody can keep track of what all they’re supposed to boycott or support without some kind of a chart.
I can’t beleive Corporations have hung their hats on political correctness. Corporate CEO’s and boards making deals with the left socially and now, economically, are going to go the way of the newspapers.
There was no organized boycott of the newspapers; people just became tired of having that nasty group think garbage cluttering up their brains and houses. Natural boycotts operate like the hundreth monkey and once that has happened the offending business is dead. Some Corporations have joined the left to make themselves tormenters and haters of Americans and liberty. Another word for marketing controversy is insulting one’s consumers. Good luck with that business formula in the long term!
GM is done for. The “too big to fail” banksters have messed up big time since their business success rests on public trust. Walmart has decided the socialist formula of failure and ethnic division is a good idea for change from massive success to the newspaper formula for failure. And what genius decided it would be wise for Target to target Christian consumers at Christmas? Who are these retarded marketers?
Personally I have done a couple of things differently just as a means of not rewarding those who would threaten my liberties. I was looking for a discount broker and had signed up for Zecco when I read what their CEO had written in support of socializing health care. I never funded the account and had it closed when I found out what he had done. It is not possible to trust your money to someone who would advocate such wide scale confiscation of wealth. It is antithetical to the entire principle of investing.
GM and Chrysler will never get a dollar from me strictly due to the bailouts. I was an avid reader of the local newspaper until I saw how biased they were against Reagan and I haven’t bought one since.
I don’t feel the need to participate in a boycott because I know anyone with common sense is likely to act in the same manner that I am… as can be witnessed by the circulation figures of newspapers or Chrysler and GM sales.
We have one of those banana republic thugs in the White House and all we can do is husband our cash, lay low and wait for the craziness to blow over. Someone will have to be left to pick up the pieces.
Paul #63:
“Astroturfers keep showing up at town hall meeting and get your shouts in (we all know you can’t articulate your position and are all about hate) they hate and can’t debate, sweet blah blah blah”
This fool is a priceless example of the smug denial affecting most of the Left- convincing themselves that public anger over Obamacare couldn’t *possibly* be genuine, and prtending that asking Congresscritters questions thay don’t like is “disruption…”
Best of all is a Leftoid whining about “hate.” As if! The Left is nothing but concentrated, undilute hate!
Gotta love it. Keep it up, lefty dumbasses. Deny reality and keep your eyes closed….
Samizdat:
You are absolutely correct. All of the leftists that I know stopped engaging in critical thinking a long time ago. Since they “care” more than you do, you are nothing but a greedy capitalist philistine. Nevermind that virtually nothing from the left actually works as intended, they will not be dissuaded from their dogma. I am still trying to figure out why they go by the terms “liberal” or “progressive” since nothing about them is either. Oh, wait…they are liberal with other people’s money and whatever they espouse gets progressively worse. Now it makes sense.
I live far, far from the nearest WF….but was in Portland last week visiting my nephew and insisted that we shop his local WF. Just doing my part to support the cause.
I would shop at Whole Foods in Santa Fe, but it’s still to hard to find parking.
A number of Dallas Tea Party participants will be shopping enthusiastically at the big Preston & Forrest Whole Foods store next Tuesday in a counter-boycott. Mr. Mackey’s ideas sound pretty reasonable to a lot of us. But it’s the intolerance and vindictiveness of the left that grabs people’s attention even more, needless to say not in a good way. If they have no interest in a reasoned discussion of ideas to solve problems, then what on earth are they after? [That's rhetorical - of course we know, and it ain't gonna happen!]
We went across town today (in Phoenix that’s no short drive) to shop at Whole Foods. I was hoping we would get to cross a picket line, but here in the land of “open carry”, unions and leftists tend not to get in people’s faces.
Well, I have not bought an American car in, um… ever. But that is reluctantly, since I would buy an American product preferentially if it was of the same quality as the Japanses and German cars I have bought. But even though I look forward to the day I could buy an American car, if I do it could only be a Ford as things stand today.
There are no WF’s in Ohio where I live, and while I’d like to shop there to annoy the left, this whole organic thing is just a big scam. I heard recently a medical report came out saying there is no provable health benefit to buying organic over regular commercially grown food. I worked 31 years in grocery retail, Big Bear (now bankrupt regional chain), and for Kroger, and while I have no love for the corparation, the folks there are my friends.
Anyone is free to boycott whomever they like, and everyone else is equally free to…
break that boycott,
if they think you’re an irrational crank. I’ll never buy a GM car ever, as long as the government owns them, and I like Coke better anyway. Though, while I believe in live and let live, the so called gay lobby is nothing more than an adjunctant to the DNC hardcore left fringe. So they can live without our families cash. If they really were about gay rights, they’d protest outside every muslim nations embassy to stop the executions for being found gay in those countries.
I like Beck alot, as does my wife, a democrat by the way. I find him far closer to the truth than any of the lips glued to Obama’s a** dolts at MSNBC or CNN. My country is being stolen from us, or kids, by a closet radical, a fuax democrat. No rational observer can look at his past, and current associations and conclude with any credability that he’s not been lying to us all along. I never voted for him, and damn sure will join the legions that will give him the boot, in 2012.
Less he resigns in complete disgrace before then.
The crime, the worst one, the most heinous is that he managed to steel the place of the first black president, from a real public servant. He’s ensured, that the first time, will be perhaps the most corrupt and incompetent presidency in our history. A moment of American pride put on hold until a Steele, or a Blackwell can step forward. We can forgive an honestly tried best effort, if circumstance went against him, history would be kind.
There’s no way, this guy, who routinely lies as a default position, is going to be remembered fondly by any but the most pig eyed leftwing zealot. I served in the cold war, and I detest the hardleft, their lies, their distortions, and their power greedy thuggery. They lie, without any restraint at all.
Must be easier when they have no God, but a dead failed German philospher who managed to get a 100 million dead in his name.
I just wish there was some way we could boycott the government.
A way that we could get 30 or 40 million people or more (and I mean the folks who actually pay taxes, not the thieving parasites who don’t pay anything and sit around on their asses waiting for a handout) to be able to suddenly and completely stop paying all of their taxes for at least a year until every last member of Congress resigns and everyone who has served in elected national office in the last 20 years is banned forever by their replacements from serving or being a part of ANY government agency – elected or otherwise.
You say “but how will we run the country with nothing but amateurs?”.
No bunch of amateurs – or even a bunch of monkeys wearing cheap sunglasses and tutu’s – could be as incompetent, as corrupt, as venal as the pack of lying, treasonous, bottom-feeding, blood-sucking, scum that currently infests Washington DC like maggots on a ripe corpse (which is in fact a pretty good description FOR Washington D.C.).
Surely ANYONE could do better running this country and I just wish we could choke them all long enough for them to go away once and for all.
Agreed franklin. When I come in the vicinity of one, I will as well. I’m looking forward a more pleasant experience of shopping at WF when all the rabid lefties like jharp are not there.
Gadd:
Don’t you all understand? To the sanctimonious Left, offering up an opposing opinion is a sin in-and-of itself, warranting one of their temper-tantrum boycotts. The very fact that Mackey dared express an opinion contrary to one which fits their agenda makes him worthy of abuse, protest and — if they had their druthers — ultimately destruction.
Gadd STFU STFU STFU STFU!!
S/
Thought ya might need some examples
It is important to support those who speak the truth. Support FOXNews and Glenn..
For list of sell-outs go to http://www.defendglenn.com/
call, write and e-mail. Boycott all who caved in. Go shop at Whole foods…it is more of us then “them”.
Read American thinker and CanadaFreePress if you want to know the real truth.
This is a dangerous time for America. Dont count on next election. As it looks IT WILL BE NO NEXT ELECTIONS!!!
I’m one of those who’s decided never again to buy a GM or Chrysler. And I’m a Jeep fanatic, so that hurts. I guess I can buy used Jeeps made before 2009…
70. Will H.:
Olbermann is an award winning sportscaster and journalist with a degree from Cornell.
~~~~
Oblerman graduated from the Cornell AGRICULTURAL College (which offers degrees in far more than just agriculture), NOT Cornell the IVY (I do pay attention seeing as cornell’s my daughters alma mater’s chief rival). Of course, he would never deliberatly mislead his followers that he had an IVY education when he in fact didn’t. (oh, look, that bridge is for sale . . .).
Hmmmm! @_@
“18. alex:
“As we enter the eighth month of our punk presidency”
Regardless how you feel about the individual, respect must be given to the office of President. Maybe reading a bit of Political and World History will illuminate how lucky we are to have this system of Government.
Aug 28, 2009 – 7:46 am”
Alex,
Respect the office of the President, eh? o_O
By all means let us give doors, walls, floors, ceilings and the desk that they contain the respect that doors, walls, floors, ceilings and the desk that they contain are due, but the twit who works within them is another matter entirely. We are indeed lucky to remain a Republic with a high regard in which freedom is enshrined in spite of the best efforts of the Left but that does not require that we give to a mortal a respect that is better given to God. ^_^
Buy Whole Foods! Freedom of speech for everyone not just Obamabots!
“It becomes more obvious with each passing month that General/Government Motors and Chrysler have permanently lost a large percentage of consumers who won’t buy a vehicle from a bailed-out and/or state-run company.”
It is no longer “Chrysler” but UAW motors now because the government gave them 55% of the company. It seems the media and others have blow off this with the focus only on Government Motors instead.
Yes I am one of those silent boycotters who will not be buying a car from either Government Motors or UAW Motors now.
“It becomes more obvious with each passing month that General/Government Motors and Chrysler have permanently lost a large percentage of consumers who won’t buy a vehicle from a bailed-out and/or state-run company.”
It is no longer “Chrysler” but UAW motors now because the government gave them 55% of the company. It seems the media and others have blow off this with the focus only on Government Motors instead.
Yes I am one of those silent boycotters who will not be buying a car from either Government Motors or UAW Motors now.
The website http://www.DefendGlenn.com has tracked on Twitter (www.twitter.com/defendglenn) the number of its members who have canceled (or will cancel at expiration) their GEICO insurance policies as a result of their boycotting of the Glenn Beck program on Fox News. Their latest Tweet claims that over 10,000 policies are lost to GEICO, and that there is now a move among Vets to rid themselves of GEICO as well. All this has gotten very little media attention. But DefendGlenn’s wall of support for Beck now has almost 15,000 posts. I am amazed CNN and others haven’t covered this silent boycott. After all, Beck gets 2-3 million viewers every show.