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Saturday, July 30, 2005
Cell Phone Bumper Sticker
Promote Cell Phone Driving Safety
Free Sign. Fast, free shipping.
I just observed a very near fatal car
crash. a driver of a very large SUV,
crossed over a lane of traffic, to turn
into a tire shop. This driver was
engaged in a cell phone conversation.
This happened in full view of a Fort
Worth patrol car. Why did the driver
not get a ticket? The officer had a cell
phone to his ear. This is getting scary
out here on the roads shoppers.
Shut up and drive! and don't shop
Wal-mart! ~MK
Danger lurks in work zones
Cincinnati.com - Cincinnati,OH,USA
... Two fatal accidents involving highway workers in Ohio happened this year ... I've seen a lot of road rage, people talking on cell phones, putting on makeup and just ...
posted by txpoollover, July 30, 2005 16:35 | link | comments
Thursday, July 28, 2005
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I know it's hard to believe, but it's 'Back to School' time again. And Wal-Mart just launched its new 'Back to School' ad campaign.
We were thinking 'Back to School' is the perfect time to present Wal-Mart with its report card. On every subject - worker pay, providing health insurance, and child labor (just to name a few) - Wal-Mart is failing America.
So, this 'Back to School' season, help us send Wal-Mart 'Back to School' by pledging to buy your school supplies somewhere other than Wal-Mart this year:
http://www.wakeupwalmart.com/feature/school/pledge.html
The American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association, and WakeUpWalMart.com have joined together to hold Wal-Mart accountable for its failing report card. Wal-Mart's failure not only hurts its workers, but it costs you, the American taxpayer, up to $2.5 billion a year!
With your help, we are building the largest grassroots campaign in history to change a corporation. But, we only have 5 weeks left to reach our goal of 150,000 supporters. Here's what you can do to help us reach our goal:
- Forward this email to everyone on your address list and ask them to sign the 'Back to School' pledge.
- Download 'Back to School' pledge cards and take them with you to sign people up at community events, your workplace and neighborhood gatherings and then send them in to the Wake-Up Wal-Mart team.
- Ask community groups for a few minutes to make a pitch on WakeUpWalMart's 'Back to School' campaign (ie. PTA meetings, church groups, environmental groups, worker rights' groups, neighborhood associations, etc.)
We are going to change Wal-Mart, but our movement begins with you. Please take a moment and sign the pledge to send Wal-Mart 'Back to School' and then join with us to get 150,000 supporters by Sept. 15th.
http://www.wakeupwalmart.com/feature/school/pledge.html
Thank you for all that you do. Your hard work is going to change Wal-Mart and change America.
Paul Blank
WakeUpWalMart.com
P.S. We just launched a new forum tool on the community fight section of our website. This will allow you to talk with other members of our community. You can access it here:
http://forum.wakeupwalmart.com
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WAL-MART'S SEMI-GREEN WEEK
Kelly Hearn, AlterNet
Last week, Wal-Mart opened an "eco-store" replete with wind
turbines and bio-fuel recycling. It also applied for a
banking license in Utah. Will the superstore never stop?
http://www.alternet.org/story/23711/
posted by txpoollover, July 28, 2005 14:48 | link | comments
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Indians Recover 200 Bodies From Monsoon
At least 200 bodies have been recovered in western India, after the heaviest rainfall ever recorded in the country shut down Bombay...
Less than half an inch of rain in Cowtown,
breaks draught. checkweatherhere
A heatwave in China They're skinny-
dipping! Go Chinese! ~MK
Skinny-dippers spark morality debate Wed Jul 27, 8:25 AM ET
BEIJING (Reuters) - A heatwave in China has led to a rash of nude swimming this summer, sparking a moral debate over whether such skinny-dips should be allowed, a newspaper reported Wednesday
This Day in History
WORST MODERN EARTHQUAKE:
July 28, 1976
At 3:42 a.m., an earthquake measuring between 7.8 and 8.2 magnitude on the
Richter scale flattens Tangshan, a Chinese industrial city with a population of
about one million people. As almost everyone was asleep in their beds, instead
of outside in the relative safety of the streets, the quake was especially
costly in terms of human life. An estimated 242,000 people in Tangshan and
surrounding areas were killed, making the earthquake one of the deadliest in
recorded history, surpassed only by the 300,000 who died in the Calcutta
earthquake in 1737, and the 830,000 thought to have perished in China's Shaanxi
province in 1556.Caught between the Indian and Pacific plates, China has been a
very active location for earthquakes throughout history. Earthquakes have also
played a significant part in China's culture and science, and the Chinese were
the first to develop functioning seismometers. The area of northern China hit by
the Tangshan earthquake is particularly prone to the westward movement of the
Pacific plate.In the days preceding the earthquake, people began to notice
strange phenomena in and around Tangshan. Well-water levels rose and fell. Rats
were seen running in panicked packs in broad daylight. Chickens refused to eat.
During the evening of July 27 and the early morning hours of July 28, people
reported flashes of colored light and roaring fireballs. Still, at 3:42 a.m.
most people were sleeping quietly when the earthquake struck. It lasted for 23
seconds and leveled 90 percent of Tangshan's buildings. At least a
quarter-of-a-million people were killed and 160,000 others injured.
posted by txpoollover, July 27, 2005 13:11 | link | comments
Monday, July 25, 2005
POLITICS
- Wal-Mart Comes To Washington: Store Lobby (The New Republic)
What's more, the Walton family, which still controls about 40 percent of the company, has quickly become a major force in Washington in its own right. The Waltons gave millions to conservative candidates and groups in 2004, including $2.6 million to Progress for America, a GOP 527 organization.
- More than a Feeling (The Nation)
Wal-Mart's support of the Voting Rights Act's renewal is important, given that when the Congressional Black Caucus first visited our president to discuss the VRA, he didn't even know what it was. But let's hope this shrewd public relations move doesn't convince too many people that Wal-Mart is a friend of civil rights, and that the CBC, the NAACP and other black organizations taking Wal-Mart's money don't turn a blind eye to the company's racism.
- Wal-Mart under siege (Milwaukee Jounral-Sentinel)
Wal-Mart, now the largest business corporation in the world, could hardly escape the activists' ire. The huge retailer has been charged with underpaying and mistreating its employees, destroying communities and oppressing workers in the Third World. |
posted by txpoollover, July 25, 2005 18:28 | link | comments
Sunday, July 24, 2005
very commendable that
Gallo donates heavily to the Democrats
here: BuyBlueRatesGallo
but with human rights violations,
Boycott Gallo Wines
Lately, Gallo Wines is worried about too much publicity. And more specifically, they're worried about the Internet. Why? Because they're doing something wrong.
The Gallos are one of America's wealthiest winemaking families, but their seasonal contract workers often endure miserable living conditions without health benefits. The Gallos are right about one thing--they should be very, very worried about the power of the Internet. By adding your name to the Gallo boycott, you'll send a message to Gallo confirming their worst fears--that exploiting workers can have a very high cost.
Join the Gallo boycott.
And of course, the Granddaddy of human rights violators:
PurpleOcean.org: Wal-Mart Fact Checker
 Early in 2005, Wal-Mart launched a million-dollar advertising campaign in an attempt to silence its critics. The company bought hundreds of television ads, newspaper ads, and more to tell you what to think.
Rather than fight back with more slick advertising and giant ad budgets, we think there’s a better way to get the real facts out about Wal-Mart— a grassroots way that depends on you for success. Invite your friends to view the facts about Wal-Mart, then see who accepted your invitations on an animated map that tracks your fact sheet as it spreads across the country.
posted by txpoollover, July 24, 2005 09:07 | link | comments
Friday, July 22, 2005
How Costco Became the Anti-Wal-Mart
Shop Costco.com ckick on warehouse locater
Stop Wal-mart!
TOP STORY
- Washington Wire (Wall Street Journal)
LIBERALS STRUGGLE for ammunition against Roberts, but claim progress in denting Wal-Mart's image. The activist group Wal-Mart Watch, which calls the retailer "an irresponsible corporate citizen," says its polling shows the company's favorable rating dropping to 50% from 59% in March.
- Click here to read more details from the Westhill Partners' Wal-Mart survey.
BUSINESS
- U.S. Stocks Decline on China Currency Decision; Wal-Mart Drops (Bloomberg)
We do import a lot, and imports will be a bit more expensive,'' said Jeff Kleintop, chief investment strategist at PNC Advisors, which oversees $50 billion in Philadelphia. "With retailers like Wal-Mart, it can have an impact." [...]
Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, fell 61 cents to $49.39. The company is responsible for 10 percent of the U.S. trade deficit with China. It purchased $18 billion of goods from the country last year, when the deficit totaled a record $162 billion.
posted by txpoollover, July 22, 2005 08:48 | link | comments
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Wal-Mart tests "green" techMcKinney, Texas - A Wal-Mart Supercenter opening today will provide a glimpse of what the world’s biggest retailer has in store for Aurora. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will open two experimental stores that test “green technologies” aimed at protecting the environment, saving energy and saving the company money.
-- Denver Post
"The only thing green about these
stores is the money that Wal-Mart
is spending to dress up its shoddy
environmental record,"
said Nu Wexler, spokesman of Wal-Mart Watch, a nonprofit group working to draw public awareness to the company's business practices. "While this is a small and important step toward achieving environmentally sustainable business practices, we think it's worth remembering what Wal-Mart has done before."
Shoppers what can you do to Stop Wal-mart?
Read all about Robert Greenwald's new documentary, Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price.
Visit the site to find out more!
It is at the heart of what is shaping up to be one of the largest -- and most important -- national grassroots efforts for social change in recent history. More importantly, this is an invitation for you to participate in this grassroots campaign by hosting a screening of the movie.
- Problem?: Wal-Mart, the world's wealthiest company.
- Solution: Millions coming together in opposition to the most egregious corporate abuses ever seen in America.
- How?: The formation of a grassroots coalition, across the political spectrum, to support and organize around the upcoming documentary, Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price, from director Robert Greenwald of Outfoxed and Uncovered.
Check out the Wal-Mart Movie site to find out more!
Every new Wal-Mart store creates a ripple effect -- family businesses close up shop, factories shut down, communities get squeezed, and fulfilling careers are turned into nightmare chores. Meanwhile, taxpayers are footing the bill for the healthcare of thousands of Wal-Mart's employees, while the company receives exorbitant tax breaks from the very same communities Wal-Mart will eventually discard. These are blatantly anti-family, anti-American practices.
We must demand change from Wal-Mart.
posted by txpoollover, July 21, 2005 15:32 | link | comments
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
George W. Bush has nominated extremist Judge John G. Roberts to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by the resignation of Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
As O'Connor's replacement, Roberts would cast the deciding vote on countless matters of individual rights where O'Connor had been a key vote, often in a 5-to-4 split-issues like abortion and birth control, affirmative action, privacy rights, disability rights, Title IX equal educational opportunity, family and medical leave, health care, environmental protection and dozens of other crucial issues for decades to come. For young women, Roberts' votes could determine their access to birth control and abortion for their entire reproductive lifetimes.
Action Needed:
- Contact your Senators immediately and demand their opposition to Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts, a staunch opponent of women's rights and civil rights.
- Forward this message to friends, family and colleagues. We need to flood the Senate with messages that our rights are on the line!
- Support our organizing to defeat this nominee - and ANY nominee who opposes our rights! Your contribution will help us get the word out in key states!
Background:
Throughout his 26-year career, John G. Roberts has continually supported and promoted an anti-woman, anti-civil rights, and anti-worker agenda. NOW opposed his nomination to U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in 2003 on these grounds and will continue to do so to protect the lives of all women and girls in the U.S.
Among our many concerns, Roberts actively opposes Roe v. Wade and wrote several amicus briefs while a Deputy Solicitor General. In one case where Roe was not even at issue, his brief offered gratuitously: "Roe was wrongly decided and should be overruled." He also wrote a brief in a case NOW brought against Operation Rescue in our effort to stop violent blockades at abortion clinics. His brief and oral argument supported Operation Rescue, and argued that the blockades were merely an _expression of opposition to abortion. The Court's failure to protect women and clinics from these attacks helped us pass the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act the following year. [Bray, et al. v. Alexandria Women's Health Clinic, et al.]
In 2001, Roberts filed an amicus brief in Adarand v. Mineta, supporting a challenge to federal affirmative action programs. He also argued against Title IX, the equal educational opportunity law for women and girls as applied to college athletic programs in NCAA v. Smith.
While in private law practice, Roberts served as lead counsel for Toyota in Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc. v. Williams, in which he argued to limit the protections of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The case involved a woman fired after asking Toyota for accommodations to do her job after being diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome. The court ruled that while this condition impaired her ability to work, it did not impair her ability to perform a major life activity, and thus was not protected by the ADA.
He is also member of the Federalist Society, an ultra-conservative organization committed to returning to a pre-Civil War era of unquestioned states' rights and rolling back legislation that has advanced women's rights, civil rights, environmental protections and health and safety standards. Federalist Society heroes and leaders you might recognize are Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah).
The character and record of anyone nominated to our nation's highest court must be thoroughly reviewed and considered by the Senate in their important "advice and consent" role. The Senate must be certain the nominee can discern between personal conviction and interpretation of the law as they balance the interpretation of our Constitution and our democracy's promise to protect and expand the civil liberties of all people, not just the privileged few. John Roberts does not meet those standards.
Again, take action NOW!
posted by txpoollover, July 20, 2005 16:33 | link | comments
Watch:
Comedy Central - Shows - The Daily Show
Real news? more so than what you are getting on Corporate media ~MK
Jon Stewart and his colleagues could have fashioned a Jay Leno style comedy hour filled with pabulum and lame jokes.
Instead, "The Daily Show" is designed to employ humor as a razor-edged scalpel to perform daily autopsies on the lies, deceptions and incompetence of our politicians, celebrities and the mainstream press. Stewart and his crew employ wit, satire and parody to pierce the veil of pomposity and hypocrisy. In doing so, they arrive on the other side of a laugh with an insight that is a million times closer to the truth than you'll ever read in the New York Times.
Ironically, in this Orwellian age, a comedy show that embraces the truth provides a life vest of sanity to those who still revere honesty and common sense.
A few months back, Jon Stewart blew CNN out of the water by assailing the sensationalism and irrelevance of what is called modern television "news." Stewart didn't get where he is by cowering before the false idols of the corrupt status quo. He blazed his own path by holding those with power accountable for their mendacity and idiocy.
More:
Drum Roll Please.... This Week's BuzzFlash "Wings of Justice" Award Goes to "The Daily Show"
posted by txpoollover, July 20, 2005 04:54 | link | comments
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Wal-Mart ads increasingly sound like Soviet propaganda, right before the empire's fall.
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/themix/23627/
Why should the world's largest corporation worry about friends gathering nationwide this weekend to?Grill Wal-Mart?? Why? Because friends tell friends -- these neighborhood and local networks do not only include Wal-Mart shoppers, they grow to include lawyers, citizen activists, investors, and even elected officials.
This is how changing the world's largest company all starts. It's starting with you. ?Have you signed up to Grill Wal-Mart yet?
Go to http://walmartwatch.com/bbq to learn how to host your BBQ.
The Wal-Mart Watch field team is now on the ground in 22 states and we're adding team members in more states each week.
I just got off the phone with a team member in Arizona, where dozens of communities are fighting to responsibly limit Wal-Mart's growth. ?She's found deep commitment on the ground, combined with an increased desire to take action.
This feeling isn't limited to the Southwest. ?We see signs that this movement is getting stronger every day. ?One measure is the number of new BBQ's popping up on our website.? From a rooftop party in New York City to a?backyard gathering in Salem, OR, groups large and small are coming together to express their concern, frustration and outrage over Wal-Mart's effect on their hometowns.? Most importantly, many guests will just come to learn.
- Anne?will host an party called "Welfare Avenue Against Corporate Welfare" in Cranston, Rhode Island.
- Lisa will host a WAL-MAZING BBQ in Salem, Oregon.
- Alanna will be playing her own version of Wal-Mart BINGO in Washington, DC.
Sign to to host your BBQ today and we'll send a host package out to you right away.? Your package will include some talking points, recent Wal-Mart Watch publications and even some BBQ tools.? This is a simple and fun way to welcome your friends to our cause.
Stay tuned for more news and local announcements from your area.? We're just getting started.
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On the week of July 23rd, Stand Up,
Speak Out and Cook Out with
Wal-Mart Watch.
That’s right, you can help “turn up the heat on Wal-Mart” with a simple summertime activity – the classic family barbeque. Use your backyard grill as an opportunity to inform your friends and family about this important cause.
To get started by setting up an event,
enter your zip-code below.
Wal-Mart Watch
www.walmartwatch.com
When Wal-Mart employees in Jacksonville, Texas, tried to form a union in their meat-cutting department, Wal-Mart responded by eliminating meat cutting in every single store.
Workers at a Wal-Mart store in Jonquìere, Quebec, successfully formed a union. But rather than negotiate with the employees for better wages and health care, Wal-Mart shut down the entire store.
One after another the scandals emerge revealing Wal-Mart's ruthless campaign to prevent workers from forming unions. Tell Wal-Mart enough is enough:
www.WalMartWorkersRights.org
posted by txpoollover, July 19, 2005 14:54 | link | comments
Monday, July 18, 2005
Taking aim at PBS
By KEN PARISH PERKINS / STAR-TELEGRAM TV CRITIC
When Pat Mitchell met with journalists one morning last week at the semiannual gathering of the television press in LA, she did so without notes and alone, sitting on a stool in the middle of an otherwise empty stage. The usual network grandstanding disguised as opening remarks was gone.
Corporate interests now control the content of PBS and NPR.
Let's put the public back in national public radio. ~ MK
Update:
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss, but maybe worse
DON'T GET FOOLED AGAIN
Rory O'Connor, AlterNet
The new public broadcasting boss is another GOP donor who
bragged about forcibly removing a journalist found
'editorializing.'
http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/23602/
Citizens for Independent Public Broadcasting Homepage
CIPB Citizens for Independent Public Broadcasting is a national membership
organization dedicated to putting the public back into public broadcasting.
posted by txpoollover, July 18, 2005 15:16 | link | comments
Sunday, July 17, 2005
TODAYS WORD:
Oligarchy : a small group of people who together govern a nation or control an organization, often for their own purposes
Corporate_Media_Deception_Dollars
See This Movie today in Fort Worth
The Corporation Film: Welcome
showing now 1919 Hemphill at 7 pm
Fascist Watch documentary screening
details here: 1919::seize the now!
Join the grassroots movement
host a screening.
You can help us! Join the House Party Campaign!
Take Back The Media! Who Owns The Media?
posted by txpoollover, July 17, 2005 10:46 | link | comments
Saturday, July 16, 2005
I have been blogging now, for nearly 2
years. This is still something new to
almost everyone I know. I am Mitch Kellam,
a pool service professional, a Democrat and
I lve in Fort Worth, Texas. It has been said,
that 64% of people in Tarrant County ,
voted against the Democrats in the last
election . I am working to change that.
I am not blogging to keep my family and
friends informed anymore. This is not
something, that interests most. I am a
proud and strong Democrat.
I can't believe anyone in the USA,
can be anything close to a Republican,
unless they are completely out of touch ,
brainwashed, and ignorant of what is
happening in this country.
I attend over 8 meetings monthly for the
Democrats, I attended a Taking Back Texas
meeting this morning.
This evening, I am going to a pool party for a
very prominant Texas Democrat. Everyone
who reads this needs to get involved.
We have to take our country back!
Back to the people, the grassroots.
~Mitch Kellam
Here is a good place to start:
Democracy For America
Democracy for America is dedicated to grassroots activism and supporting candidates at all levels of government.
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posted by txpoollover, July 16, 2005 14:39 | link | comments
Friday, July 15, 2005
The Freeway Blogger Anti-War Signs
Examples of anti-war signs seen on California's freeways and other cities.
Instructions on how to make your own.
Let's get the message out in Texas!
join Freeway Blogger get involved ~ MK
posted by txpoollover, July 15, 2005 08:06 | link | comments
"Great things are done when men and mountain meet;
This is not done by jostling in the street."
--William Blake, poet/artist
posted by txpoollover, July 15, 2005 07:42 | link | comments
Thursday, July 14, 2005
 
Protesters rally for 26th week
By Traci Shurley / Special to the Star-Telegram
Since Inauguration Day, protesters have gathered weekly to speak out against the war in Iraq and to call attention to the money Halliburton is making
Taking_Back_Texas here in Tarrant County
Texas. I attended a rally Wednesday to protest
at the Haliburton offices. Protesting the war
and the profiteering of the Iraq occupation.
This is my 1951 Ford truck that I want to use
as a campaign platform to begin to
"Take Back Texas".
My plan is to restore the truck that is mounted
on a mustang chasis. We will paint the truck
in the Texas state flag. 1951 is the perfect
year to take Texas back to.
Texas Democrats served as Governor,
(except ,after reconstruction 2 Republicans
served as governor.)
Democrats dominated state politics
until 1951 when Governor Allan Shivers,
In 1952, Shivers broke with the national
Democratic party over the issue of the
Tidelands and helped deliver
the state's electoral votes to
Dwight Eisenhower,
an event that in
1952,marked the rebirth of
the Republican party in Texas.
posted by txpoollover, July 14, 2005 15:05 | link | comments
Never Wal-Mart
In Yelm, Wash., the city council has banned all mention of "Wal-Mart" or "big-box stores" from council meetings. Speakers using the terms are asked to sit down.
Meet The
Evil Smiley AKA (Walmart):
Please allow me to introduce you to Evil Smiley, aka Wal-Mart. As you are all aware, we are making a movie about Evil Smiley, but I am sad to say that, well, all the attention has turned him into a bit of a diva.
First, he set up his own website where he "plots to destroy the world, research his targets, and generally just brag of his incredible accomplishments." Oy vey!
http://www.iheartwalmart.com/
He's also obsessing over all the local community groups that are fighting (and beating!) him day in and day out. He's catalogged a lot of them here, but wants to hear about any others:
http://www.iheartwalmart.com/destroy.php
posted by txpoollover, July 14, 2005 04:46 | link | comments
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Two weeks ago, a Supreme Court ruling
might allow the government to seize
your home in order to build
a Wal-Mart. Click here to read the article.
fight Wal-mart in your community: http://www.wakeupwalmart.com/community
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From Inglewood, CA to New York City, NY, thousands of concerned citizens and community leaders are uniting and standing up to Wal-Mart. In town after town, average Americans are coming together to stop Wal-Mart from destroying their way of life.
In one town, Yelm, Washington, opposition to Wal-Mart is so strong that the town council actually prohibits citizens from mentioning Wal-Mart in public meetings. (Note: The ACLU has challenged the Wal-Mart ban stating it is unconstitutional.) And Wal-Mart has made it clear it will do anything, even use Nazi images in their advertising, to bully their way into our communities.
Today, we are launching a new section on our website called "Community First." Our community campaign is about empowering you to protect your community against the negative impact of Wal-Mart. The site gives you 4 steps to keep your community 'Wal-Mart free.'
Now we need your help. Please visit the website today and register your community fight (or site fights as they have been called) and view the strategies, tactics and legislative tools that communities have successfully used to keep Wal-Mart out:
http://www.wakeupwalmart.com/community
The community campaign is your campaign. It is about fighting for your way of life, your jobs, your community and our America. By joining together, we have successfully stopped Wal-Mart in hundreds of communities across this country. In California, for example, despite Wal-Mart proposing 40 Supercenters, your grassroots support has held them to only 4. Now, we need you to fight even harder. Wal-Mart is proposing hundreds of new stores in every state. Only you have the power to join together, as a community, to stand up to Wal-Mart and win.
The "Community First" section of our website gives you the information and tools you need to start fighting Wal-Mart today. If you are currently involved in a community fight please register your fight with us, so we can connect you with the hundreds of communities that are already standing up to Wal-Mart. If you are not currently fighting Wal-Mart, you need to start organizing your community today to make sure your community stays 'Wal-Mart Free.'
Please go to the website today and register your community fight and learn about the strategies, tactics and tools people are using to defeat Wal-Mart:
http://www.wakeupwalmart.com/community
Community by community, we are building the largest grassroots campaign to change a corporation in U.S. history. Your efforts will not only make Wal-Mart more responsible but will help us build a better America.
Thank you for all that you do,
Paul Blank
WakeUpWalMart.com
P.S. Just two weeks ago, the Supreme Court put your community in danger. Their ruling might allow the government to seize your home in order to build a Wal-Mart. Click here to read the article.
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More Wal-mart news:
When Wal-Mart employees in Jacksonville, Texas, tried to form a union in their meat-cutting department, Wal-Mart responded by eliminating meat cutting in every single store.
Workers at a Wal-Mart store in Jonquìere, Quebec, successfully formed a union. But rather than negotiate with the employees for better wages and health care, Wal-Mart shut down the entire store.
One after another the scandals emerge revealing Wal-Mart's ruthless campaign to prevent workers from forming unions. Tell Wal-Mart enough is enough:
www.WalMartWorkersRights.org
posted by txpoollover, July 13, 2005 13:46 | link | comments
Freecycle.org is a website that links people who want to discard household belongings by donating them to people in their area who want or need them. The rule: everything offered must be free and legal. The desire to reduce waste at the grassroots has created this cyber flea market that now has 500,000 members in over 1,700 cities and towns around the globe.
Check out Freecycle.org, join and you will
get ride of unwanted junk
One mans junk is another mans treasure.
You may find something you need too.
Over 15,000 Freecyclers in DFW !
Freecycle
Freecycle is an email list where people give away things that they no longer need
for free.
posted by txpoollover, July 13, 2005 06:23 | link | comments
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Don't drive shoppers. Don't shop either.
Shop_Online_And_Save fuel, money, and
time. We have to conserve, and close up
the Wal-mart's , and Big_Box_Retailers .
If you must,buy your fuel from Costco, or Hess
Buy Your Gas at Citgo: Join the BUY-cott!
7-Eleven: Locate Any Store 7-11 sells Citgo fuel
Buy Your Gas at Citgo: Join the BUY-cott! by Jeff Cohen ... Money you pay to
Citgo goes primarily to Venezuela -- not Saudi Arabia or the Middle East. ...
www.commondreams.org/views05/0516-25.htm - 13k
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It hasn't been too long to forget the Valdez. And it's definitely not too early to worry about the future of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other endangered habitats.
Exxon's 1989 tanker spill dumped millions of gallons of crude oil into the waters of Alaska's pristine Prince William Sound, killing hundreds of thousands of seals, otters, birds, fish and whales. Unfortunately, sixteen years later ExxonMobil still hasn't cleaned up its act. It's still supporting policies that put wildlife and wildlife habitat at risk.
The time has come to hold this multibillion-dollar corporation accountable. Visit http://www.defenders.org/exxposeexxon/ to find out what you can do.
ExxonMobil is spearheading efforts to open America's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. It is sabotaging efforts to slow global warming and refusing to put its huge profits to good use developing clean, renewable energy or supporting fuel efficiency. The company is still trying to get out of paying the full amount it owes fishermen and Native Americans hurt by the 1989 Valdez spill -- despite raking in a historic $25 billion profit last year.
It's time to hold ExxonMobil responsible for putting corporate profits over protection of wildlife and wildlife habitat. That's why Defenders of Wildlife has joined with other leading environmental and public interest advocacy organizations to form the Exxpose Exxon Campaign. The Campaign works to educate and activate Americans about the corporation's efforts to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, prevent action on global warming, and encourage America's oil dependence.
Help us show ExxonMobil that profits and conservation can go hand in hand. Please visit http://www.defenders.org/exxposeexxon/ and fill out the form to tell the company's CEO Lee Raymond that you won't purchase the company's gasoline or products, invest in its stock, or work for the company until it changes its ways.
Thanks for supporting wildlife-friendly business practices.
Sincerely,
Rodger Schlickeisen
President
Defenders of Wildlife
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Defenders of Wildlife is a leading national conservation organization recognized as one of the nation's most progressive advocates for wildlife and habitat and known for its effective leadership on saving endangered species such as brown bears and gray wolves. Defenders advocates new approaches to wildlife conservation that protect species before they become endangered. Founded in 1947, Defenders is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization with more than 475,000 members and supporters. |
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posted by txpoollover, July 12, 2005 15:44 | link | comments
Monday, July 11, 2005
This weekend my mother chastised me for
being critical of the popular tv psychoanalyst
Dr.Phil. (Here I wrote: Kellogsblog)
Mom says Dr. Phil has helped alot of people.
I don't think he is for real, like almost all of
Corporate_TV, and especially Corporate_News.
I promised I would try to watch his
show once more, sans commercial inter-
ruptions. Get DISH Network with DVR.
(highly recommended)
On Dish we get Free Speech TV This is not
available on the Rupert Murdock owned
Direct TV.
Free Speech TV is available on limited cable
providers. Link TV is available,on Direct and
other cable providers, you can get
Democracy Now!: on Link TV .
Here is the latest on Al Gore TV ,
recently in San Francisco magazine
 The television will be revolutionized
Al Gore promises that Current TV will be as interactive and democratic as the Internet. But already his restless young audience is wondering whether the network will be another rerun.
By Farhad Manjoo
posted by txpoollover, July 11, 2005 06:14 | link | comments
Sunday, July 10, 2005
Here is what happens when you talk and drive,
Tragedy renews debate on teen drivers
Jackson Sun - Jackson,TN,USA
... On Tuesday, there were two wrecks involving teenage drivers ... to affect the number of accidents that involve ... license from using their cell phones while operating ...
SHUT UP AND DRIVE!
posted by txpoollover, July 10, 2005 18:12 | link | comments
Saturday, July 09, 2005
Friday night at a prominent Fort Worth
Democrat's home, we had a MoveOn.org,
movie night we saw Hijacking Catastrophe :: 9/11, Fear & the Selling of American Empire
| Hijacking Catastrophe: 9/11, Fear & the Selling of American Empire examines how a radical fringe of the Republican Party used the trauma of the 9/11 terror ... |
see the film here: Hijacking Catastrophe
The group was very diverse, all Democrats,
many were new to the Democratic party, and
most were new to getting involved politically.
The amount of people in NE Texas that votes
Republican is an incredible 63%.
We have a lot to overcome. This blog has
mostly, not been about politics. It is about
the life of a pool boy in Texas. Politics has
become my life. I 'd love to change the world.
Maybe I can try, it takes time. Time takes care
of itself, leave time alone. Just try , try ,
and keep trying ~ MK
News In the The Huffington Post :
Paramount Making 9/11 Movie Starring Nicholas Cage...
New9-11MovieStarringNicholasCage
posted by txpoollover, July 09, 2005 09:05 | link | comments
Friday, July 08, 2005
Tonight I am going to a MoveOn.org house party. (you should too)
We are organizing to make sure a right wing
extremist judge,is not chosen~ MK
New TV Ad on the Supreme Court vacancy
Protect Our Rights
Sandra Day O’Connor, a widely respected and moderate justice, has resigned from the Supreme Court. Now, in anywhere from a few hours to a few days President Bush will nominate a replacement—and what happens next will either destroy or protect our most basic rights for decades to come. This is an absolutely critical moment for our senators to hear directly from the people—and our message is clear: PROTECT OUR RIGHTS! We’ve launched an urgent petition to take your voice straight to your senators in this critical time to show Congress, the president and the media that the American people are engaged and ready to fight for our rights. Please sign today.
View the new TV ad | Read our press release | Help fund our Supreme Court campaign | Attend a house party
posted by txpoollover, July 08, 2005 15:28 | link | comments
Thursday, July 07, 2005
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Our strategy is simple - empower people to change Wal-Mart from the bottom-up. The American people are the only force powerful enough to change the largest corporation in the world.
It really is that simple. But how are we going to do it? We are going to build an army of grassroots supporters, like yourself, from every state in this country who believe in our vision for America - a vision that includes paying workers living wages, not poverty-level wages; providing workers affordable, comprehensive health insurance, not leaving 600,000 workers without company provided health care; respecting communities, not contributing to congestion and sprawl; respecting people, not discriminating against 2 million female workers or abusing child labor laws; and, sourcing products domestically, not purposefully shipping American jobs overseas.
The first step in building our movement for change is to sign up all of your friends, neighbors, and co-workers. The next step is to help us build community coalitions - a network of supporters and allies - in every community in America. With this localized volunteer organization at all 3,700 Wal-Mart locations, we will succeed in forcing Wal-Mart to become a responsible corporate citizen.
Help us build our grassroots supporters into a powerful force for change in every community in America. Please adopt a specific Wal-Mart store in your community today:
http://www.wakeupwalmart.com/finder/
In just a short amount of time, you have built our movement to more than 62,000 supporters in all 50 states. Now, we need to continue to grow our campaign and begin to organize our supporters around each Wal-Mart location.
No corporation, not even Wal-Mart, can defeat an organized army of volunteers in every community in America. You are helping us build the most powerful force for social change in American history.
Just last week, you held more than 124 house parties in 38 states to educate citizens about our “Make Wal-Mart Care About Health Care” campaign. The legislation you helped introduce in the U.S. Congress is gaining steam and even a leading Republican lawmaker in Idaho endorsed your legislation.
Your actions are beginning to shake the foundations of Wal-Mart, and elected officials, corporate CEO’s, Wall St. analysts and media outlets are taking notice. You are building a campaign not just to change Wal-Mart, but to build a better America.
To get more involved and learn about activities you can engage in on the ground in your community, please sign up to adopt a Wal-Mart today, and help us change Wal-Mart one community at a time:
http://www.wakeupwalmart.com/finder/
By joining together right now, we can Wake-Up Wal-Mart to our vision for America putting our people and our communities first.
Thank you for all you do,
Paul Blank
WakeUpWalMart.com
P.S. Yesterday, there was an excellent article analyzing the difference between Wal-Mart and Costco. Costco’s model proves you can be responsible and economically successful. Click here to read the article.
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Into the future, the question will be which model of employee compensation predominates in retail — the high road of Costco or the low road of Wal-Mart.
“When companies like Wal-Mart are setting the standard, we have to ask: Do we want to live in a country where the largest employer pays below poverty-level wages, whose workers cannot afford health care?” “Or do we want Americans to enjoy a decent income and a sense of security in return for their work?”
Costco.com
| Enter a Zip Code or Address to find a nearby Costco location. |
posted by txpoollover, July 07, 2005 16:46 | link | comments
Cell phone users should just be horsewhipped.
The use of these handheld devices now
come with cameras (video, still) and Mp3 players.
Shoppers need to pay attention and tend to
important matters, like driving that 5,000
pound vehicle.
Music to Your Cellphone
Cellphone makers and wireless operators are shifting
their attention to music, taking a swipe at the iPod
and other stand-alone MP3 players.
(Even the Bush has an iPod, I think it
contains instructions and marching orders
from Karl Rove. )
Shut up and drive, shoppers!
posted by txpoollover, July 07, 2005 02:05 | link | comments
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
CLOSE UP THE EVIL
WAL-MART'S
Check out the new blog about
the evil Wal-mart Smiley:
http://www.iheartwalmart.com/
See the riches I bestow on those willing to
give me their soul! Check out this
article from the Washington Post:
Wal-Mart hometown turns into Babylon
sign up to be a field producer:
WAL-MART: The High Cost of Low Price
Google Group :Brave New Films -- Field Producer Discussions
posted by txpoollover, July 06, 2005 15:43 | link | comments
Here in Old Cowtown and
everywhere! There is an
epidemic. Do you know a
Crank addict? ~ MK
The Crystal Meth Epidemic
"The problem is that you can get everything to start a meth lab at Wal Mart,"
(another good reason to boy-cott Walmart)
Ice. Crank. Glass. Meth. Chalk. Crystal. No matter what you call it, methamphetamine abuse is sweeping across the United States, leaving a devastating wake. Twelve million Americans have tried the drug; its effects are being felt in both urban and rural areas. Ten years ago, there were 912 meth lab seizures; last year there were nearly 16,000 seizures. More addictive than crack, crystal meth gives users a 12-hour euphoric high along with severe psychotic delusions, paranoia, random violence and extreme weight loss. Its side effects include upticks in violent crime, strained prison systems, and thousands children thrust into foster care. A new survey of the nation's sheriffs by the National Association of Counties found meth was "the nation's leading drug problem affecting local law enforcement agencies."
posted by txpoollover, July 06, 2005 15:00 | link | comments
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
This Day in History
BIKINI INTRODUCED:
July 5, 1946
On July 5, 1946, French designer Louis Reard unveils a daring two-piece swimsuit
at the Piscine_Molitor, a popular swimming pool in Paris. Parisian showgirl
Micheline Bernardini modeled the new fashion, which Reard dubbed "bikini,"
inspired by a news-making U.S. atomic test that took place off the Bikini Atoll
in the Pacific Ocean earlier that week.European women first began wearing
two-piece bathing suits that consisted of a halter top and shorts in the 1930s,
but only a sliver of the midriff was revealed and the navel was vigilantly
covered. In the United States, the modest two-piece made its appearance during
World War II, when wartime rationing of fabric saw the removal of the skirt
panel and other superfluous material. Meanwhile, in Europe, fortified coastlines
and Allied invasions curtailed beach life during the war, and swimsuit
development, like everything else non-military, came to a standstill.In 1946,
Western Europeans joyously greeted the first war-free summer in years, and
French designers came up with fashions to match the liberated mood of the
people. Two French designers, Jacques Heim and Louis Reard, developed competing
prototypes of the bikini. Heim called his the "atom" and advertised it as "the
world's smallest bathing suit." Reard's swimsuit, which was basically a bra top
and two inverted triangles of cloth connected by string, was in fact
significantly smaller. Made out of a scant 30 inches of fabric, Reard promoted
his creation as "smaller than the world's smallest bathing suit." Reard called
his creation the bikini, named after the Bikini Atoll.In planning the debut of
his new swimsuit, Reard had trouble finding a professional model who would deign
to wear the scandalously skimpy two-piece. So he turned to Micheline Bernardini,
an exotic dancer at the Casino de Paris, who had no qualms about appearing
nearly nude in public. As an allusion to the headlines that he knew his swimsuit
would generate, he printed newspaper type across the suit that Bernardini
modeled on July 5 at the Piscine Molitor. The bikini was a hit, especially among
men, and Bernardini received some 50,000 fan letters.Before long, bold young
women in bikinis were causing a sensation along the Mediterranean coast. Spain
and Italy passed measures prohibiting bikinis on public beaches but later
capitulated to the changing times when the swimsuit grew into a mainstay of
European beaches in the 1950s. Reard's business soared, and in advertisements he
kept the bikini mystique alive by declaring that a two-piece suit wasn't a
genuine bikini "unless it could be pulled through a wedding ring."In prudish
America, the bikini was successfully resisted until the early 1960s, when a new
emphasis on youthful liberation brought the swimsuit en masse to U.S. beaches.
It was immortalized by the pop singer Brian Hyland, who sang "Itsy Bitsy Teenie
Weenie Yellow Polka-Dot Bikini" in 1960, by the teenage "beach blanket" movies
of Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon, and by the California surfing culture
celebrated by rock groups like the Beach Boys. Since then, the popularity of the
bikini has hardly diminished; though on beaches in Brazil and the Mediterranean
today, many women favor the "monokini " a swimsuit style that consists solely of
a bikini bottom.
More: http://www.cnn.com/STYLE/9607/06/bikini.aniversary/
hasn't changed in nearly 60 years :firstbikini
posted by txpoollover, July 05, 2005 05:14 | link | comments
Monday, July 04, 2005
People are extra fat here in Texas .
The state of our (supersized) union
read:
Girth of a Nation
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Obesity plays an important role in health care costs, but fat is both a fiscal issue and a partisan issue.
For Overweight Children, Are 'Fat Camps' a Solution?
Weight-loss camps may work when the child is away, but the real challenge begins when the camper goes home.
Never too early to prevent eating disorders
Reinforcing good eating habits is one of the key tenets of "Girls in Motion," a program started last year at a Texas college to promote a healthy body image and prevent eating disorders in young girls
posted by txpoollover, July 04, 2005 16:01 | link | comments
WAL-MART HAS NO PLAN B
Liza Featherstone, Women's eNews
Wal-Mart continues to keep Plan B, the "morning-after pill,"
off its shelves. The megastore's policy, catering to its
rural base, complicates its pursuit of new markets.
http://www.alternet.org/rights/23220/
More Wal-mart news:
2005-07-04 ~ Bentonville, AR. Wal-Mart Fires Factory Inspector For Sexual Affair
posted by txpoollover, July 04, 2005 07:33 | link | comments
Saturday, July 02, 2005
Shoppers, it is soon the 4th of July
I have just thrown out 6 chicken breasts,
6 pork chops and 5 turkey wings.
I never got a chance to grill them.
The Texas heat has brought an onslought
of algae blooms in pools. I get emergency
calls all day every day. The first thing I hear is
"We're having a party" "Our pool is green".
Big deal swim, goddamn it! Pay your pool
bills! If your pool is so important, you need to
tend to it daily! Even if you have a pool service.
This is no gaurantee against a filthy pool ,
that only gets attention on one day a week service.
Now I have vented. I am sending contracts to
all my customers explaining my responsibilities.
Have a safe holiday shoppers, and do not shop
at Wal-mart and preferrably stay away from
big box retailers. ~ MK
posted by txpoollover, July 02, 2005 17:33 | link | comments
Friday, July 01, 2005
Fired Wal-Mart Executive Sues After Blowing the Whistle on Factory
Conditions in Central America *
Wal-Mart executive James Lynn, was fired from the company, he says,
after he
blew the whistle on factory conditions in Central America. Lynn
documented
forced pregnancy tests, 24-hour work shifts, extreme heat, pat-down
searches, locked exits and other labor law violations. He is now suing
the
retail giant. We speak with Lynn's attorney and a Wal-Mart
spokesperson.
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/07/01/1430233
A Call For Accountability At Wal-Mart
At Walmartfacts.com -- a website set up by the retail giant -- you'll learn the company had $285.2 billion in sales last year, opposes strengthening child labor laws in Connecticut and hides the cover of Marie Clair magazine with a sheet of plastic. One statistic you won't find: how many of its employees are forced to enroll in Medicaid for health coverage.
posted by txpoollover, July 01, 2005 13:16 | link | comments
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