The Achilles' heel of American corporate fascism is BOYCOTTS, BOYCOTTS, & MORE BOYCOTTS

[wcepler]

The Achilles’ heel of American corporate fascism is BOYCOTTS, BOYCOTTS, & MORE BOYCOTTS.

**********************************************************************
OK, we did the political thing. Progressives and liberals got the Congress back in 2006 and kudos’ to us!

But three desperately important (and related) things we also learned during these six horror show Bush/Republican years are:

(l.) Politics ain't enough! Indeed, wishful thinking notwithstanding, politics is now more part of the problem than the solution to our dying Constitutional Republic.

(2.) We've also realized with absolute certainty that the United States of America is a Dictatorship of the Rich. Time to stop all the lies, games, and propaganda crap. FACT: less of 2% of our country is making fools and servants out of all of the rest of us. However, Bush allowed the vampire rich to come too far out into the daylight, and now we can see blood on the lips of these astronomically rich elites, e.g., the Bush (alias Saudi) Royal Family.

(3.) The 3rd and logistically critical political realization is that America's dem centrists (e.g., the DLC, Carville/Clintons, Joe Lieberman, etc.) are mere lackeys of the pig, pig rich. In other words, the "centrists" (what a laugh!) constantly suck up to their multimillionaire and billionaire masters. To say it straight out, these collaborators with the vampire rich are the mortal enemies of the middle and lower classes. Hey, that's us, you know -- the 98 plus percent.

So, what to do, what to do?

One thing is to see dem centrists for what they are, i.e., revolting court jesters of the pig, pig rich.

Another thing is put on our thinking caps and find NON POLITICAL ways to save our country. Yes, the 2006 midterms went pretty well, so we do have a few political hand holds for a change, but that's not going to be nearly enough since the vampire rich are going to massively counter attack between now and 2008.

As we all know, they control the Judas media, so forget these pseudo "journalists". Fox Snooze, "Clear" Channel, etc. Barf bags aren't the solution anymore.

We need to build on our fragile political gains and to borrow a comic phrase: AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.

You know, we really do have a secret weapon (with a money back guarantee) which will absolutely bring down corporate fascism. We really do, but it will take colossal internet networking to make it work.

It's boycotts, my friends, boycotts, boycotts, and so help me God, still more boycotts. What's the soft underbelly of the Bush/Cheney energy companies? You know, the companies whose profits have gone up SEVERAL HUNDRED PERCENT. Frankly, I don't know anyone in the middle or lower classes (the 98 plus percent again) whose income has gone up several hundred percent. Do you?

Anyway, the exquisite irony is that these vampires need us! Clear Channel would tank if we got key advertisers to stop their accounts. And why would they do that? Because we had a nation wide network of American citizens who stopped using the products of anyone who advertised on Clear Channel (or Fox Snooze).

Yes, it would be gigantic mess to get this off the ground. Granted, it would be a virtual political moon shot. Very, very delicate and complicated at the beginning, but if enough of us keep hammering at this theme, and FOLLOWING THROUGH with the network agreed upon boycotts, I think the extent of the healing of America would be quasi miraculous.

We can bring this vampire oligarchy to its knees with a one/two punch of continued political gains AND a national, internet procedure for systematic boycotts.

Hey, my friends, I'm groping here, but I KNOW this would work, and I think most of you do too. The thing now is not to let this logistic flame go out. Some of you computer pros (who can certainly run circles around me), what do you think? If it was ever life and death time to collectively brainstorm about our beloved country, this may be it!

We can boycott these evil pigs at the same time we continue our political activism (e.g., politically work to tax the living shit out of them), and then maybe, for the first time, the American Dream will be a reality.

Thanks for listening to my SOS. To end on a terrible cliché, "If there's a will, there's a way".
*********************************************************************

wcproteus

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

1. Walmart is beginning to feel the pain of people staying away in droves. Excellent, K & R.

MKJ

[DeSwiss]

2. BOYCOTTS, BOYCOTTS, & MORE BOYCOTTS

AGREED, AGREED & MORE AGREED!!!!

"...crush in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country. Today, instead, the aristocracy of the corporation has grown to full maturity, wielding power over the state and its laws in the service of corporate aims." ~ Thomas Jefferson

[Manifestor_of_Light]

3. What if we can't find another choice?

[petgoat]

4. I've been boycotting for 30 years. I do all my shopping at

junkyards, thrift stores and, lately, on ebay.

When you value the time you spend on a shopping trip
at $10 an hour, home-brew repairs and improvisations
make economic sense.

So, sorry, I can't boycott what I'm not buying anyway.

[puebloknot]

5. This should take priority, not be looked at as a last resort.

I have been thinking this forever. We have power that we are not using. I keep remembering the scene in "Gandhi" when the streets are totally quiet, no buses running, no one reporting to jobs. Gandhi didn't have the Internet. We do.

There was a point, maybe in the last two years, where we did something like this, and got a television entity to back down from their refusal to run a political ad. I can't remember the details. Let me know if anyone does. (Addendum: Sinclair. Remember that?)

The thing, I think, is to choose *one* highly visible entity and go after it until it really begins to show up publicly. Just boycotting, say, one oil company, but buying our gasoline from another, won't do it. We need something that the public will be willing to do without (can really manage to do without), and try to get some of the political entities (like MoveOn) involved.

Unfortunately, I fear there will be a reluctance to see Dems turn too strident (what I'm calling the Pelosi Effect).

And...I don't know that America, even Democratic America, is desperate enough to bother with this. Some of us are really hurting, with loss of children in Iraq, loss of homes and jobs, lack of medical care. But most of us are still able to get along, without having to make a sacrifice. I am in that category. I'm watching what is happening, but I still am able to pay the rent every month. I'm aware that that could change in a heartbeat.

Too many people are willing to just wait it out, stuck in the fantasy that a Democratic president in 2008 will make all things right.

Just musing here, in response to your article.

[groovedaddy]

6. Boycotts worked against Nestle'

with the marketing of infant formula in Africa that led to many problems. The boycott against Nestle' caused them to rethink their position. As the boycott died down, Nestle' started doing the same shit again. Boycotts were used effectively on behalf of the United FarmWorkers Union too.
If we use boycotts consistently they can have a huge impact.

[OnionPatch]

7. I think you're spot on.

I believe the ONLY thing the corporations will repond to is the loss of profit.

We have the power of our votes, but we also have a power that is almost stronger than that....our buying power. The power of the consumer to reject a product or company. So far, we have not used this power effectively. If a movement could be started, this could bring about real change.