Progressive Democrat Issue 68: ONGOING ACTIONS
Here are a series of actions that we have to persist with. Taking action once then forgetting about it doesn't really work. So, in the spirit of persistence, please take a moment to return to these efforts.
Targeting Bill O'Reilly:
As O'Reilly's ratings go down, the pressure on advertisers to stop advertising on his shows increases. So now is a good time to strike. I have discussed the reasons for this boycott before, but simply put O'Reilly's shows are scarcely more than lies, threats, hate-mongering and, occasionally, anti-Semitism and outright terrorist threats. The last is exemplified in his encouragement of blowing up Coit Tower in San Francisco.
Insure.com is one of O'Reilly's biggest and most enthusiasitic sponsors. Write their management team to express your disgust with O'Reilly's hate-mongering, lies and advocacy of terrorist attacks on America. Make sure you emphasize that you are BOYCOTTING the sponsors of O'Reilly's shows and that they fall into this category.
Eric Bergquist
Chief Information Officer
ebergquist@insure.com
Robert S. Bland, CLU
Chairman and Founder
bob@insure.com
Phillip Perillo
Chief Financial Officer
pperillo@insure.com
William V. Thoms
Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Director
bthoms@insure.com
For added pressure on Insure.com, one main anti-O'Reilly site, Ad Nausea.org, is recommending writing Esurance, one of the main companies that Insure.com represents, and let them know that Insure.com is making them look bad with their sponsorship of Bill O'Reilly's show. Ask them why they are doing business with insure.com, a company which actively defends O'Reilly's hate-mongering show. I should note that Esurance has been VERY kind and thoughtful in their responses. Be nice to them!
ESURANCE CONTACT: erin@esurance.com
Finally, contact WESTWOOD ONE, which airs O'Reilly's offensive radio show, the forum in which many of his most vile comments have been made. Tell Westwood One what you think of O'Reilly's offensive show and tell them that you are writing O'Reilly advertisers threatening a boycott.
Contact Westwood One at:
President & CEO, Westwood One:
peterj_kosann@westwoodone.com
You should also contact your broker and mutual fund companies and tell them that you hear that a boycott has been called on Insure.com and its parent company Quotesmith because of their support of right wing commentators who advocate terrorism and threaten violence. Express your concern that you might hold shares of their stock and want to dump that stock before the boycott takes hold. When we did this for Sinclair, my broker said that there was indeed a buzz about a boycott of Sinclair and that many people were concerned that it would affect the stock. The stock did tank shortly after, though later recovered. The net effect was that the Sinclair program we were boycotting over (a pack of lies about Kerry) was pulled and a much tamer piece put in its place. We sent a message when we did this to Sinclair. Some people even went so far as to short the Sinclair stock and made money off it. I won't advocate this because it is risky financially. But more power to those who do it! Let's send a second message by doing the same thing to Quotesmith. Contact your investment advisors, mutual fund companies, 401K companies, etc and express your desire to get out of Quotesmith. Write even if you have an indexed fund (which has no choice in what to invest in). The point is to create a stir like we created over Sinclair.
Targeting Chris Matthews:
Chris Matthews is slightly less offensive than Bill O'Reilly, but his show is still little more than lies and right wing propoganda. As such, his show is the target of another advertiser boycott. The site that started this seems down, but I have a Daily Kos diary covering the Matthews boycott and the value boycotts in general.
I should note that we are not just boycotting because we disagree with these people. I am not advocating a boycott of Lou Dobbs, who I disagree with but find well within acceptable debate. We are boycotting because these people are a source of lies and hate speech.
Three of the main advertisers targeted in this boycot are:
1. Verizon:
Tell Verizon you'll go to Sprint, T-Mobile, or Cingular if they don't do the right thing.
Ivan Seidenberg, Chmn & CEO, Verizon Corp. Branding
212-395-2121
ivan.g.seidenberg@verizon.com
Robert Engalls Jr, Pres. Retail Mtkg.
bob.ingalls@verizon.com
Robert Varetonni, ED External Comm.
robert.a.varettoni@verizon.com
Eric Rabe, VP External Comm.
eric.rabe@verizon.com
Judy Verses, Sr. VP Natl. Mktg.
703-390-7017
judy.verses@verizon.com
Jerri DeVard, Sr. VP Mktg.
jerri.devard@verizon.com
John Bonomo, PR
212-395-7756
john.j.bonomo@verizon.com
Sharon Cohen-Hagar, PR
972-718-6205
sharon.cohen-hagar@verizon.com
2. Bayer Asprin: they seem sympathetic to our complaints.
Heiner Springer, Head of Communications
heiner.springer.hs@bayer-ag.de
Michael Schade, Head of Media Relations
michael.schade.ms@bayer-ag.de
Gerard Smith, VP Mktg
973-254-4843
gerard.smith.b@bayer.com
Jay Kolpon, VP Mktg.
973-254-4797
jay.kolpon.b@bayer.com
and
3. Intuit/TurboTax: tell them you won't use their product this year at tax time because of their sponsorship of right wing hate-mongers like Chris Matthews who insult liberals on a routine basis.
Bill Campbell, Chmn. of the Board
Bill_Campbell@intuit.com
Scott Cook, Co-Founder & Exec. Committee Chairman
650-944-6000
scott_cook@intuit.com
Steve Bennett, Pres.
tel. 650-944-6000
fax 650-944-5295
Scott Gulbransen, Comm.
858-525-7594
scott_gulbransen@intuit.com
Exxon/Mobil boycott:
As the oil company that has been most active in global warming denial and with some of the worst corporate practices, Exxon/Mobil is the targe of boycotts by many environmental groups. Please, DO NOT PATRONIZE EXXON/MOBIL. Citco, BP, Sunoco and Chevron have been suggested as alternatives by various people, though each is problematic in their own right. Most are CHEAPER THAN EXXON/MOBILE as well. But none are as bad as Exxon/Mobil. For more info, go to Expose Exxon.
Exxon/Mobil has had some new leadership come in. Now is the time to pressure them. Please Write Exxon/Mobil asking them to change course.
If you want fliers explaining the Exxon/Mobil boycott to give out, please find them here.
Wal Mart boycott:
Wal Mart is being boycotted by a broad coalition of labor, environmental and neighborhood groups for their irresponsible practices and the way they ruin the neighborhoods they operate in by driving out small businesses and then raising prices when no competition is left. They are being sued by several states for violating state and local laws, they sell products from some of the worst sweat shops, and they are also major donors to Republicans. And their "low prices" are not always so low: their prescription drugs are HIGHER than local drug stores or CostCo. Where they do have lower prices it is usually due to creative tax breaks (so we're paying the cost anyway) and poor labor practices. Finally, they are refusing to sell legally-approved emergency contraceptive pills to women.
You can find local Wal Mart Boycott Groups here. Each one may have a different approach depending on whether they are trying to prevent a Wal-Mart from coming to their neighborhood, trying to boycott an existing Wal-Mart, or simply acting in solidarity with neighborhoods that are being ruined by Wal Mart.
Boycott Wal-Mart and take the actions outlined on this page. If Wal-Mart is coming to YOUR town, here is a tool kit for keeping them out.
Thank you for taking action on these issues and keeping up the pressure. There are many more going on, but for now, let's focus on these.
Targeting Bill O'Reilly:
As O'Reilly's ratings go down, the pressure on advertisers to stop advertising on his shows increases. So now is a good time to strike. I have discussed the reasons for this boycott before, but simply put O'Reilly's shows are scarcely more than lies, threats, hate-mongering and, occasionally, anti-Semitism and outright terrorist threats. The last is exemplified in his encouragement of blowing up Coit Tower in San Francisco.
Insure.com is one of O'Reilly's biggest and most enthusiasitic sponsors. Write their management team to express your disgust with O'Reilly's hate-mongering, lies and advocacy of terrorist attacks on America. Make sure you emphasize that you are BOYCOTTING the sponsors of O'Reilly's shows and that they fall into this category.
Eric Bergquist
Chief Information Officer
ebergquist@insure.com
Robert S. Bland, CLU
Chairman and Founder
bob@insure.com
Phillip Perillo
Chief Financial Officer
pperillo@insure.com
William V. Thoms
Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Director
bthoms@insure.com
For added pressure on Insure.com, one main anti-O'Reilly site, Ad Nausea.org, is recommending writing Esurance, one of the main companies that Insure.com represents, and let them know that Insure.com is making them look bad with their sponsorship of Bill O'Reilly's show. Ask them why they are doing business with insure.com, a company which actively defends O'Reilly's hate-mongering show. I should note that Esurance has been VERY kind and thoughtful in their responses. Be nice to them!
ESURANCE CONTACT: erin@esurance.com
Finally, contact WESTWOOD ONE, which airs O'Reilly's offensive radio show, the forum in which many of his most vile comments have been made. Tell Westwood One what you think of O'Reilly's offensive show and tell them that you are writing O'Reilly advertisers threatening a boycott.
Contact Westwood One at:
President & CEO, Westwood One:
peterj_kosann@westwoodone.com
You should also contact your broker and mutual fund companies and tell them that you hear that a boycott has been called on Insure.com and its parent company Quotesmith because of their support of right wing commentators who advocate terrorism and threaten violence. Express your concern that you might hold shares of their stock and want to dump that stock before the boycott takes hold. When we did this for Sinclair, my broker said that there was indeed a buzz about a boycott of Sinclair and that many people were concerned that it would affect the stock. The stock did tank shortly after, though later recovered. The net effect was that the Sinclair program we were boycotting over (a pack of lies about Kerry) was pulled and a much tamer piece put in its place. We sent a message when we did this to Sinclair. Some people even went so far as to short the Sinclair stock and made money off it. I won't advocate this because it is risky financially. But more power to those who do it! Let's send a second message by doing the same thing to Quotesmith. Contact your investment advisors, mutual fund companies, 401K companies, etc and express your desire to get out of Quotesmith. Write even if you have an indexed fund (which has no choice in what to invest in). The point is to create a stir like we created over Sinclair.
Targeting Chris Matthews:
Chris Matthews is slightly less offensive than Bill O'Reilly, but his show is still little more than lies and right wing propoganda. As such, his show is the target of another advertiser boycott. The site that started this seems down, but I have a Daily Kos diary covering the Matthews boycott and the value boycotts in general.
I should note that we are not just boycotting because we disagree with these people. I am not advocating a boycott of Lou Dobbs, who I disagree with but find well within acceptable debate. We are boycotting because these people are a source of lies and hate speech.
Three of the main advertisers targeted in this boycot are:
1. Verizon:
Tell Verizon you'll go to Sprint, T-Mobile, or Cingular if they don't do the right thing.
Ivan Seidenberg, Chmn & CEO, Verizon Corp. Branding
212-395-2121
ivan.g.seidenberg@verizon.com
Robert Engalls Jr, Pres. Retail Mtkg.
bob.ingalls@verizon.com
Robert Varetonni, ED External Comm.
robert.a.varettoni@verizon.com
Eric Rabe, VP External Comm.
eric.rabe@verizon.com
Judy Verses, Sr. VP Natl. Mktg.
703-390-7017
judy.verses@verizon.com
Jerri DeVard, Sr. VP Mktg.
jerri.devard@verizon.com
John Bonomo, PR
212-395-7756
john.j.bonomo@verizon.com
Sharon Cohen-Hagar, PR
972-718-6205
sharon.cohen-hagar@verizon.com
2. Bayer Asprin: they seem sympathetic to our complaints.
Heiner Springer, Head of Communications
heiner.springer.hs@bayer-ag.de
Michael Schade, Head of Media Relations
michael.schade.ms@bayer-ag.de
Gerard Smith, VP Mktg
973-254-4843
gerard.smith.b@bayer.com
Jay Kolpon, VP Mktg.
973-254-4797
jay.kolpon.b@bayer.com
and
3. Intuit/TurboTax: tell them you won't use their product this year at tax time because of their sponsorship of right wing hate-mongers like Chris Matthews who insult liberals on a routine basis.
Bill Campbell, Chmn. of the Board
Bill_Campbell@intuit.com
Scott Cook, Co-Founder & Exec. Committee Chairman
650-944-6000
scott_cook@intuit.com
Steve Bennett, Pres.
tel. 650-944-6000
fax 650-944-5295
Scott Gulbransen, Comm.
858-525-7594
scott_gulbransen@intuit.com
Exxon/Mobil boycott:
As the oil company that has been most active in global warming denial and with some of the worst corporate practices, Exxon/Mobil is the targe of boycotts by many environmental groups. Please, DO NOT PATRONIZE EXXON/MOBIL. Citco, BP, Sunoco and Chevron have been suggested as alternatives by various people, though each is problematic in their own right. Most are CHEAPER THAN EXXON/MOBILE as well. But none are as bad as Exxon/Mobil. For more info, go to Expose Exxon.
Exxon/Mobil has had some new leadership come in. Now is the time to pressure them. Please Write Exxon/Mobil asking them to change course.
If you want fliers explaining the Exxon/Mobil boycott to give out, please find them here.
Wal Mart boycott:
Wal Mart is being boycotted by a broad coalition of labor, environmental and neighborhood groups for their irresponsible practices and the way they ruin the neighborhoods they operate in by driving out small businesses and then raising prices when no competition is left. They are being sued by several states for violating state and local laws, they sell products from some of the worst sweat shops, and they are also major donors to Republicans. And their "low prices" are not always so low: their prescription drugs are HIGHER than local drug stores or CostCo. Where they do have lower prices it is usually due to creative tax breaks (so we're paying the cost anyway) and poor labor practices. Finally, they are refusing to sell legally-approved emergency contraceptive pills to women.
You can find local Wal Mart Boycott Groups here. Each one may have a different approach depending on whether they are trying to prevent a Wal-Mart from coming to their neighborhood, trying to boycott an existing Wal-Mart, or simply acting in solidarity with neighborhoods that are being ruined by Wal Mart.
Boycott Wal-Mart and take the actions outlined on this page. If Wal-Mart is coming to YOUR town, here is a tool kit for keeping them out.
Thank you for taking action on these issues and keeping up the pressure. There are many more going on, but for now, let's focus on these.
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