Monday, September 28, 2009
R.I.P.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
is it really so riduculous?
Friday, September 25, 2009
I recently signed up for Twitter and have been having fun finding people to follow and reading some tweets. I thought it kind of weird to have people following me, as I am tweetless, but eh, maybe they want to sell me something (like the hookers-- who knew HOOKERS twittered??) I haven’t twittered myself yet because it really freaks me out that I have no idea what all those hash marks and symbols mean so I’ve been too skeerd. So this morning this is in my email:
And I realized that the very first tweet I ever twit will go to none other than “The Architect”.
No
Pressure
at
all.
NBC Nightly News Sponsor list
Traveler's Insurance
Brian W. MacLean
President & Chief Operating Officer
Travelers
One Tower Square, 5MS
Hartford, CT 06183
Ford
Alan Mulally
President and Chief Executive Officer
Ford Motor Company
World Headquarters
One American Road, Suite 1026
Dearborn, MI 48126-2798
Telephone: 800-555-5259 (Within the U.S. and Canada)
313-845-8540 (Outside the U.S. and Canada
Theraflu (Made by Novartis)
Robert E. Pelzer
President and Chief Executive Officer
Novartis Corporation
608 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10020
Sheldon Jones
Vice President, Communications
Novartis Corporation
608 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10020
Novartis Product list:
Benefiber/Benefibre
Buckley’s (Cough/cold)
Bufferin
Calcium Sandoz (Mineral supplement)
Denavir/Vectavir Cold-sore treatment
Desenex
Excedrin
Ex-Lax
Fenistil (Skin-irritation treatment)
Gas-X
Keri Skin care
Lamisil AT
Maalox
Nicotinell/Thrive (Smoking cessation)
Habitrol (Smoking cessation)
Otrivin (Nasal decongestant)
Perdiem/Prodiem (Laxative)
Slow Fe (Iron supplement)
Theraflu/Neocitran
Triaminic
4-Way (Nasal decongestant)
Ascriptin
Comtrex
Doan’s
Lamisilk
Mineral Ice (Topical analgesic)
Myoflex (Topical analgesic)
No-Doz
Tavist
Vagistat
Lipactin (Cold sores)
Wanchai Ferry (A General Mills Product)
Mark W. Addicks
Senior Vice President;
Chief Marketing Officer
General Mills, Inc.
P.O. Box 9452
Minneapolis, MN 55440
By Telephone: Please call us at 1-800-248-7310 between (7:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. CT, weekdays
Online email submission form:
The list of General Mills products is too long to copy here so here is a link to their product page
boycott letter #1
This is the letter I am sending to sponsors of NBC news telling them I will not be purchasing their products while they support irresponsible, opinionated "journalism". Feel free to copy (don't forget to change the name!) I will be adding contact info for each sponsor as I get the addresses.
Dear (News Sponsor):
NBC News habitually substitutes political opinion for "news," misleading the American public with disregard for national well being and our nation's vital need for fair and unbiased reporting.
Your company provides them with ad revenue from your sponsorship. As a concerned and loyal American citizen, I will no longer purchase products advertised on NBC News which supports NBC News providing biased news coverage.
During a time when biases and political agendas are dividing our nation and citizenry, NBC News' partisan coverage attempts to marginalize many consumers with different political views. Recent examples are lack of coverage of tea party protests, and of ACORN’S corrupt actions. NBC News has consistently ignored, dismissed or belittled the ideals of a large number of Americans and has even at times shown outward scorn for differing opinions. This has viewers changing the channel, as evidenced by NBC News steeply declining ratings.
Until NBC News starts factual reporting, and stops promoting their obvious political bias and agenda as “news”, I will not watch NBC News programs and I will not support NBC News sponsors nor purchase NBC News sponsors' products.
When your company discontinues sponsorship and support of NBC News unethical practices, I will consider purchase of your company's products again.
I hope your company will join me in the support and pursuit of a stronger, better
Sincerely,
Name
City, State
Thursday, September 24, 2009
facebook quote of the day
If Obama has put an end to torture, then why is he on my television every day?
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
IT is done
Dear Senator ( ),
The direction our country is heading is causing deep concern.
The Federal Government has taken ownership of several major areas of the economy at great taxpayer expense, such as the auto industry and financial services. The Federal Government is not a capitalistic endeavor and was never structured to be so. It will be a costly endeavor for us taxpayers
And now we are looking at major government participation in the most personal of areas which touches everyone – health care. This extensive involvement in managing our economy will stifle growth and opportunity.
On top of this we will have “Cap and Trade” and no one, absolutely no one knows what this will do. Except add more cost to every product and hit our pocketbooks even more, stifling growth.
Please help return the Government to a capitalistic economy and stop us from sliding into socialism.
Sincerely,
Me
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
quote of the day
did we just find Jimmy Hoffa?
Because everything I need to know to change the world, I learned in elementary school:
I attended an *interesting* elementary school. It was a private, open classroom school (read: hippie). Just outside of Detroit. All colors, creeds etc. Race was never an issue.
The school was very… . relaxed. No schedules. Work at your own pace. The classrooms were full of lounge pits and reading nooks. Kids kept their gear in cubbies and freely arranged their work areas to suit the need of the moment. Our school assemblies consisted of student performances of rock bands, bongos, interpretive dance, impromptu dramatic performances and mimes. Yes, MIMES. On occasion we had outside speakers whose message was always consistent: One person can make lasting change. I remember two speakers clearly from my 5th grade year.
First was Sammy Cahn. He played piano, told jokes and ended by singing “High Hopes”:
His jovial, high-spirited performance left us energized and full of vigor. I’ll never forget that little ol' ant.
The other speaker that year, Rosa Parks, left a quieter, deeper impression. I don’t remember what words she spoke, just that she spoke them with thoughtfulness and humility. She disliked the spotlight and seemed almost embarrassed by the throng of children waiting patiently for her autograph. After watching her, I understood what the ant was trying to tell us.
Our class championed two causes during that 5th grade year (no, I'm not taking credit for the Monkees MTV reunion-- DON'T BLAME ME) We (successfully) petitioned the state to name the dragonfly the Michigan state insect, and we helped increase awareness of the plight of the United Farm Workers Union, by taking on the Teamsters Union.
Monday, September 21, 2009
New, new math?
The financials of cash for clunkers in a nutshell..
Let me see if I understand this correctly…
A vehicle at 15 mpg and 12,000 miles per year uses 800 gallons a year of gasoline. A vehicle at 25 mpg and 12,000 miles per year uses 480 gallons a year.
So, the average "Cash for Clunkers" transaction will reduce US gasoline consumption by 320 gallons per year. They claim 700,000 vehicles – so that's 224 million gallons / year.
That equates to a bit over 5 million barrels of oil. 5 million barrels of oil is about ¼ of one day's US consumption. And, 5 million barrels of oil costs about $350 million dollars at $70/bbl.
Facebook Frenzy
I’m addicted to Sarah Palin’s Facebook page.
When I heard about the raucous she caused by posting about the death panels, I stopped by to see what it was all about, and have been mesmerized since. I check her wall several times each day and find it to be a continuous feed of news, conservative links, well whishes and complaints from across the nation.
It’s fun to watch the number of Palin fans grow, but even better is to read the discussions between ordinary citizens. I’ve started saving some of my favorite quotes and will share them here. I’ll leave the posters anonymous unless they specifically wish to be identified.
Friend me HereFriday, September 18, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Dear Mr. Gable,
I don’t claim to be a letter writer. I’ve tried, but the many steps involved in getting a thought onto a piece of paper and into a mailbox means most letters end up abandoned along the way.
First, you have to write the letter, find an envelope, find a stamp, and find the address. And you have to put it someplace where you will remember to take it to the mailbox (like in my purse) and THEN remember to take it out of that place (my purse) and actually put it in a mailbox.
There have been a few times when I’ve managed to complete the process. I think.
Like the time I got my first census form and relished in the grownup-ness of filling in the boxes and putting it into the preprinted return envelope. I became quite indignant when they actually LOST my form—after I had gone to extensive trouble to fill it out, put it in the envelope, put it on the dashboard of my car because everyone knows that if the really important mail is sitting right in front of you when you drive by a mailbox, you will pull right over and mail it. And I made my displeasure clear to the nice census taker who had the NERVE to call me months later to ask for my data. And the very next week I was looking for something in my car and I reached into the junk-in-the-trunk box
and
there
was
the
envelope.
Shoved in with a pile of magazines and a school fundraiser catalog, still waiting to be dropped in the mailbox. Maybe that isn’t the right example.
There is the time my mom sent me off to camp with a stack of note cards—the envelopes preaddressed AND stamped. I know she hoped I would write to her each day, and I did, sort of. Once.
Dear Mom, I lost an earring in the lake. Please bring another to the bus,
Love, Lib
I handed her the note when I got off that bus, and I guess she knew she wouldn’t be getting any more letters from me because she has kept it to this day.
There was also the time in fifth grade when my best friend Molly convinced me to help her with a letter writing campaign to get the Monkees albums rereleased so she could meet and marry Davy Jones. And instead of getting lots of people to write the letters, we wrote them ourselves, trying to change our handwriting and making up fake names and addresses.
And before I confess to a felony, I’m going to say that it doesn’t count anyway because Molly gave me a sample letter and all I did was copy it over and over, and over, and over. Plus I didn’t mail them because Molly said her dad would do that, which is good because it means an adult actually committed the felony so I’m not responsible for mail fraud, or the Monkees MTV tour. And if I’m wrong, and the statute of limitations hasn’t run out on whatever fraud we were trying to perpetrate, if this goes to court, I’m taking the fifth. They’ll never be able to prove it was me. And what were my parents thinking, letting me hang around with CRIMINALS?
Do you see a pattern here? I have good intentions, but they usually fizzle. But I recently decided to become a letter writer anyway-- because I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore.
Specifically, I decided to start writing to my elected officials so they know how I expect them to vote on the upcoming all important bills. Politicians are like children—you have to TELL them how you expect them to behave, or be prepared for the inevitable “how was I supposed to know I wasn’t supposed to put the cat in the dryer! You never told me that! It’s not my fault!” I also decided to tell the money behind the network news that I don’t appreciate their biased opinions passed off as journalism.
Because I’m such a stellar letter writer, as we’ve learned from previous examples, I began by doing some research. Research which involved googling to find something pre-written to save some of the pain of the process, because as much as I agonize over finding a stamp, it is nothing compared to the angst of finding that exact right word which is always just out of reach. So I type in “Sample Boycott letter” and of course, the top results are letters to boycott sponsors of Fox news, because the far left and right fringes are full of people who are doers and they’re way ahead of everyone else when it comes to letter writing campaigns. And I know this from experience because my 4th, 5th and 6th grade teacher marched with Cesar Chavez and our class actively boycotted Gallo Wine and the Teamsters union to protest the treatment of migrant workers. I know my grass roots organizing, and there are a lot of people like me who are too disorganized to take action unless it’s made really really easy.
And I came across a website which I’m not going to name because I don’t want to give it even one little boost in Google’s rankings, but it is brilliant. And simple. It’s just a website with a web form for you to fill in your name, address and email and they will send it to all the sponsors of the offending program for you. On your behalf. All of them. No mailboxes necessary. Click to biggify the screen shot.
And if I didn’t find this so creepy, I’d be tripping over myself trying to put something similar together. Creepy? What could possibly be creepy about an auto boycott letter writing organization? Well, first of all, not only is it so easy it requires very little thought or foresight to join a big angry email mob, but the boycott-er doesn’t even have to know who they’re threatening. It’s always easier to bully when you don’t see the effects. And what happens in the future? By filling out this form how do you know that letters, written on your behalf, won’t be sent to other organizations, to promote causes you don’t even agree with? You’ve just given an anonymous bully permission to use you as a virtual battering ram and it’s too late to change your mind.
And now I’m kinda freaked out and have totally lost track of where I was going with this. So, even though people like me could really use an auto boycott letter writing organization, I won’t be building one tonight. And I still haven’t found a sample letter, but I do know a couple of prolific letter writers (hi Mom, hi Dad!) who have agreed to help me draft some. And once we get some written, I’ll post them here for other postal-ly challenged individuals. Which I think was supposed to be my point all along.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
House GOP to call for total cutoff of federal funds to ACORN | Washington Examiner
House GOP to call for total cutoff of federal funds to ACORN
By: BYRON YORK Chief Political Correspondent 09/15/09 8:54 AM EDT
Shared via AddThis
Let your State Rep. know how you want them to vote!
Find their contact info here: https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
