Balls and Walnuts
more than you ever wanted to know
Vote with your wallets
No, this isn’t a plea for money. Not exactly.
You can defeat the Neocon machine. Doesn’t even matter if you’re American. You buy from American companies, right? When was the last time you sent money to Amazon?
Yeah, baby. That’s right. Amazon is a rightwing tool.
I’d like you to check out a website called BuyBlue.org. Here’s their plan:
You may have voted blue, but every day you unknowingly help dump millions of dollars into the conservative war chest. By purchasing products and services from companies that donate heavily to conservatives, we have been compromising our own interests as liberals and progressives.
BuyBlue.org is a concerted effort to lift the veil of corporate patronage, so consumers can make informed buying decisions that coincide with their principles.
At the top of their home page, click on A-Z Company listings. That’s your base of operations. Look down the list and avoid those red dots like the plague! Ace Hardware, Amazon, Anheuser-Busch, and so forth.
But you’re not done yet. Sure, it helps if you withhold patronage, but it’s even better if you write the corporation to explain your reasons for doing so. Thus:
Dear Corporate Neocon Shill,
It has come to my attention that you contribute heavily to Republican candidates and causes. I believe that by doing so, you are speeding the fall of Western Civilization and earning yourself a place in the innermost bolgia of hell. You know, the one where Michelle Malkin whips your balls with razor wire while your head is shoved up Ann Coulter’s ass.
Henceforward, don’t expect a penny from me, jerk-offs.
Signed,
Concerned Customer
Or something like that.
Remember, if you’re spending money (and I know you are), YOU HAVE A VOTE. Use it.
And if you write a blog and agree with this cause, please hype it.
D.
PS: I mentioned the Baton Rouge Salvation Army the other day. At the time, they were accepting material donations for Hurricane Katrina refugees. Well, this is encouraging: one of my office staff called them today, and they’re swamped. Supplies are arriving by the truckload!
Two points:
Money contributions are still welcome.
When you are ready to contribute, call. Right now, they are overstocked with dry goods, but that may not be true a week from now. As items are distributed, new shortages will arise. Call first.
Lol, if I no longer could buy from Amazon, I would be cut off from the market of English books.
No way, sorry. 😉
It’s a well meaning idea, but it won’t have any effect as long as not at considerable number of people cease to buy from a company. Worldwide, in many cases. I’ll ask my father tomorrow, but I won’t wonder if it’s 50%; and you’ll never get that many.
The only time a boycot ever worked was in 1974 when a number of countries cut down on gas to force those oil producing guys to get down with the price by not driving on weekends, but that had to be organized by the governments.
Do you really believe in this BuyBlue “cause,” or is it just liberal whining?
If you really believe in it, why don’t you make the first move by pitching your Microsoft Windows PC (red) and switching to an Apple Macintosh (blue)?
Gabriele: Barnes and Noble is solid blue, and probably has a similar stock to Amazon, and ships overseas. As for your second point, I suspect it takes far, far less than you think to make an impact — provided it’s a vocal protest.
Anonymous, if that’s your real name: I’d love to switch to an Apple. Are you buying? As for me, I’m going to have to borrow money from my parents in order to afford volunteering my services in New Orleans. What are you doing to justify your oxygen consumption?
Make that ‘Louisiana’, since I don’t think they’re letting docs into NOLA.
I’ve made it a point to boycott Barnes & Noble. It’s a personal vendetta: they were rat-ass gouging bastards who way, way overcharged us for textbooks–they ran the bookstore at the University of Portland.
They took enough of my money over four years, and by gum, they’re not going to get any more.
It’s probably partially UP’s fault, too. Which is also why I haven’t donated any money to the alumni associations, either. Fuck ’em. They’re a filthy stinking rich private university, anyway.
As for the Amazon thing… Ah shit. Ignorance was bliss.
But B&N charges for shipping, Amazon.us ships for free via Amazon.de. And I’m unemployend, I don’t have the money to pay shipping – I haven’t the money to buy all the books I want to begin with.
Moreover, if Amazon supports the Republicans in the US, I suppose it supports the Conservatives here. In Germany it’s the left wing parties that have fucked up things and the Conservative/Liberal coalition would be the minor evil.
Btw, Amazon had charged shipping, too, until 2005. Since then, and with the Euro strong compared to the dollar, I’ve spend about every spare cent on books.
isn’t anonymous annoying? he or she keeps hitting my blog and email box too.
This is a first for me and I never knew how pissed off I’d get about someone who isn’t willing to sign their vitriol.
what a busy, cowardly creep, eh?
Yup. Anonymity is the heighth of cowardice. Shows you the courage of their convictions, eh? Here I am, folks. You know my name, and with very little effort (two or three clicks) you can find my address and phone number. Where the hell are you, Anonymous? Busy studying the latest Republican talking points, no doubt, on those rare occasions when your lips aren’t krazy-glued to Dubya’s starfish.
Wow did y’all take a look at that list? Marshalls, Saks, Nordstrom, Peets, Best Buy, Circuit City, Amazon, Outback Steak, Hersheys, Fruit Loom, Publix, Dollar Store Tree thing…TJ Max and Hallmark! Target! (And those are just the ones that are bright red.)
Where the hell are y’all gonna shop and eat at? Seriously. Starbucks and WholeFoods I guess.
I’m writing letters. “What are you THINKING when you support a party that blahblahblah…better to be apoliticalblahblahblah…you have lost myblahblahblah”
Remember Lazlo Toth? It’s clear I want to be him when I grow up.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1563052857/qid=1126397241/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-3789518-1319303?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
I think Kate has the right idea. Write the letters. It doesn’t take much effort, and how do they won’t necessarily know if you’re really cutting back on purchases. (I guess they could figure it out from your credit card record, but would they really bother?)
Kate, I don’t get the Laszlo Toth reference. He’s the guy who attacked the Pieta, right?
I could see a comparison to the protag of Confederacy of Dunces, though, with us constantly scribbling our letters to the editor ;o)
Ah well, the only one on the list that affects me is indeed Amazon.
Don’t get the rest of the lot over here.