Anybody else see that the Bush regime is getting everything it wanted and

[hector459]

the media and the people don't seem to give a damn?

War in Iraq
RW corporate judges
Tax reductions for the wealthy
Deficits as far as the brain can figure
Control of the mainstream media
Free passes for ENRON, TYCO
No accountability for anything.

[Proud_Lefty]

1. Yes and I'm ready to scream

Something has to be done and soon, or we'll be done.

[mermaid]

5. A Lot Of Us ARE Screaming!!

And what good is it doing?

We need some ACTION. Screaming isn't going to help. No one hears us. The "damned liberal media" won't cover our screams. We gotta hit 'em where it hurts, and the only place we are ever likely to get them to notice us. We need to hit 'em in the wallet!

BuyBlue.org is a great start on doing something just like this, but we need even more of it.

We need to take the profit out of it for the big guys...we need to scream with our DOLLARS...not with our voices.

They will hear only when we scream with our DOLLARS. We need to realize that our dollars represent our votes. The choices we make, where we spend our money, is, in effect...a vote FOR whomever we are spending our money with. We need to withdraw those "votes" from those who advance policy that is detrimental to workers, the poor, and our country...and we need to start casting more of our "votes" with those who support the progressive ideals and fair play that we do.

Our DOLLARS are the only votes that Diebold cannot fuck with.

[Proud_Lefty]

7. Great idea!

I've talked about this option several times, but we need everyone to jump on board. If we all start cashing out our retirement plans and investing in gold or something, and boycotting all Republican owned corporations, we'd be on a great start, but we need enough people participating to make it worthwhile.

And people are just so comfy in their ignorant lives that they don't want to be told how our cushy RV is quickly headed towards being run off a cliff.

[hector459]

23. Here is another option to screaming

http://www.justicefornone.com/handbills/index.htm

[CrispyQ]

9. I agree that money is the only thing the corporate masters

understand & appreciate. But use your voice too!

Besides just boycotting a company, make sure you write a letter to both your local store & the corporate office. Tell them why you are taking your business elsewhere & if you have receipts of products/servies you purchased at blue companies, include copies of those too! The recipets make a difference! I always get call backs when I've included receipts.

[mermaid]

10. That's Good...But I Had Something Else In Mind

I'd like to start up a sort of "Workers' Scorecard" where corporations are rated according to how well they treat their workers.

What I am trying to work out are the logistics of arriving at a score that really means something.

What criteria ought to be considered, and how much weight should they be given in the overall score? Obviously some things should carry more weight than others, but here's a quick list of criteria I have thought of so far...

Do they pay employees a living wage for the area in which the employees live?

Do they offer medical/dental benefits? Other perks?

What is the gap between executive pay and worker pay?

Are they unionized? Do they allow a union?

Are they fully compliant with all OSHA regulations concerning a safe, healthful work environment?

Do they offer 401K, pension plans?

Do they offer paid holidays, sick days, vacation days, and how many? How does this compare with the national/world average?

Is there a lot of forced overtime? Or do they staff what they need so that too few people are not forced to carry too heavy a load of work, and sacrifice time with their families?

These are some of the initial ideas I had. Any other ideas for criteria would be welcomed...as well as what weight each item should carry. I think starting up a poll on DU (which I'll do later) would be a good way of determining what should carry what weight...based on what is most important to the American worker.

The point then, is...we could do the following with such a listing. We could use it as a list of companies with which to do business, and which to avoid, based on who treats their employees right and who doesn't...and we could use it as a job-resource listing, as in...a company that scores high is the kind of company you might want to work for yourself! So there's a dual benefit to a list such as what I am proposing.

And it allows us to "vote" with the companies that do things as WE WORKERS say they should be done. THAT is where we will have our voice. Our DOLLARS. We withhold them from companies that create so-called "McJobs" or who otherwise "Wal-martize" our economy. We reward those companies that do right by the American worker. And punish those who do not. there is no other way in which we can create change, because nothing else matters to the business moguls.

[CrispyQ]

11. Ok, I see.

You want to expand the boycott to include not just companies that finance republicans, but also companies that are not good corporate citizens, good community citizens. I think it's a great idea & in fact have been pondering a similar idea myself, although on a smaller, local scale.

I would love to exchange ideas with you & help in this endeavor.

Here are a couple of websites I have bookmarked that may be helpful:

Corporate Watch -- this page is especially helpful for how to do research on corporations: http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?list=type&type=170

The Stakeholder Alliance: http://www.stakeholderalliance.org/

Citizen Works: http://www.citizenworks.org/

AFLCIO - Eye on Corporate America: http://www.aflcio.org/corporateamerica/


POCLAD: http://www.poclad.org/

Reclaim Democracy: http://reclaimdemocracy.org/

[mermaid]

14. PM Me, And Let's Trade Some Ideas

n/t

[Nikki Stone 1]

13. How about these criteria??

--options for telecommuting
--how the corporation treats parents: maternity leave, family leave (paid or unpaid)
--are women treated fairly or put on a "mommy track" once they have children
--are there childcare facilities on site?
--what is their track record on minority hiring at all levels

[mermaid]

15. Good Ideas, Will Keep Them In Mind!

n/t

[earth mom]

17. Exactly! No one cares save a few good guys in Congress

like Kerry, Boxer and Conyers. The rest of em are too busy listening to and pleasing their corporate "sponsors".

So okay then. Let's fight fire with fire! :grr:

[endarkenment]

2. No we won a great victory!

We preserved the fillibuster!

YEAH!

:sarcasm:

[flordehinojos]

3. it is all so disheartening!

all of a sudden life doesn't seem to have the bounce it had just a few
four years ago ... it is kind of the same feeling it had when RR and PUPPU BUSH 41 had the power.

It just feels like feet are dragging, people've been slapped with a sack of weighty debt on their backs ...

war, bombs, dynamite is all that comes out of the bush boy's mouth.

it is all on downhill, out of control slope, it seems.

[atreides1]

4. But

The deal for judges was a win according to some here at DU, and one person even alluded that the Dems have had other wins.

By the way you forgot:

The Patriot Act
Giving Homeland Security the power to over rule local/state/federal
laws.
Free Speech Zones
Hand picked audiences paid for by the US tax payer.

I'm sure there are others.

[elizm]

22. Shouldn't stolen election be on the list?

[snacker]

6. So, what else is new?

No matter what, they ALWAYS seem to come out ahead. I'm getting more
depressed by the day....what has happened to this country?????

[Proud_Lefty]

8. It's horrible

It's amazing that people think a president lying to us is okay. Or his advisors lying deserves promotion. Or Christian advisors take away personal Constitutional freedom from American citizens. Crimes are going uninvestigated so more outrageous crimes keep occurring. Freedoms are being taken away. The rich get all the tax advantages while we got bankrupt ... oops sorry. Forgot that option doesn't exist anymore. We can just go somewhere and try to figure out how to survive. And so many people tell me they don't have time for politics! Amazing!

[Dr Fate]

12. Bush wants top Democrats to keep on being silent about the UK memo too.

And they are dutifully complying, apparently helping him keep this a secret.

Oh well, the Iraq war is "old news" anyway.

[FrenchieCat]

16. Oh, the Corporate media cares a damn alright.....

and is getting exactly what they ordained we'd end up with.

[davepc]

18. The administrating wanted a mutiny by moderates in its own party?

One that threatens pending legislation (see stem cell veto override threats by Senator Specter), and creates back door deals behind the backs of the Senate majority leadership that prevented the administration from nuking the Senate in order to push through SCOTUS judges without any ability to be stopped?

Because, wither they wanted it or not, thats what they're getting these past few days.

That is, I feel, a good thing.

[LuPeRcALiO]

19. yep

with a cherry on top.

[high density]

20. And Rick Santorum was on Joe Scarborough's show tonight...

He was practically in tears that the Democrats didn't let them confirm Bolton today. It was rather hilarious watching Santorum act as if the Republicans were poor victims while painting the Democrats as evil folks that aren't trustworthy and don't want to compromise on anything.

[Piperay]

21. Definitely

they have EVERYTHING their way, get EVERYTHING they want and still they play victim. :mad: