So...looking for a company to boycot?

[WilliamPitt]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/12/31/national2152EST0654.DTL

Inauguration fund drive draws big corporate names

Friday, December 31, 2004

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Ford Motor Co., Time Warner Inc. and Home Depot Inc. are among the big corporations donating funds for President Bush's reinauguration ceremonies, according to a list released Friday.

More than $13 million has been donated by corporations and individuals to fund the festivities, the Presidential Inauguration Committee reported.

The committee announced almost 50 new contributors, including 12 who donated $250,000, the maximum amount sought.

Besides Ford, Time Warner and Home Depot, the big spenders include the National Association of Homebuilders, based in Washington; Hunt Consolidated Inc. of Dallas; UST Inc. of Greenwich, Conn.; and First Data Corp. of Greenwood Village, Colo.

Marriott International Inc., Marriott Vacation Club International and the Marriott-owned Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. each donated $250,000.

...more...

[Mira]

1. Home Depot and Sams are on my list

I will switch to Lowe's and Costco. I will do this with a letter to the company, telling them why.
I have remodeled three houses and spent a fortune at Home Depot.
I look forward to doing it.

[jmowreader]

20. The only thing blue about Lowe's is the racking.

As far as I can extract from opensecrets.org, Lowe's is even redder than Home Depot. We're something like 15-percent blue; Lowe's is zero-percent blue.

I recommend Ace/True Value/Do It Best lumberyards if you don't want to shop Home Depot. Those yards are all independently-owned.

[BurgherHoldtheLies]

2. Walmart? Or the Walton family? They must be on the donor list.

Or is it possible that Walmart felt the sting after Kerry supporters found they were the #1 Republican/W campaign supporters? Is it really possible they didn't give for the inauguration or did I miss it?

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

3. Found out my mortgage company, GMAC, also donated.

[AmandaRuth]

13. gmac is a big big outsourcer of mortgage

loan processing. just an FYI.

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

23. Figures. Had no idea when we bought the house three years ago.

[Turn CO Blue]

4. Home Depot - Yeeecccch!

I was so upset when I learned from buyblue.org that Home Depot donated over $640K to Repub candidates in 2004. Ugh. That used to be one of my favorite places to shop and plan projects ...but not anymore. They get the evil eye every time I drive right on by to go elsewhere.

Wal-mart is even worse, but there wasn't much chance they would have gotten any of my money anyway.


edited: spelling

[BurgherHoldtheLies]

5. Ya, Home Depot is a bummer. Walmart is easy to boycott. ...

They sell low quality crap that I would never buy anyway. Never shopped there before the election so my boycott isn't really felt there.

[Merlot]

8. Jim Hightower just did a great episode on home depot

It was about the state of Texas (who else) giving them tax breaks to build their new data site there. They end up not having to pay state taxes. Something like 6 million that should have gone to schools will now be given to home depot. Which means that taxpayers will be making up the difference.

It's great when Jim talks about the "$53,000 average salary" that HD will bring to the area. The average includes corporate brass salaries!

Check out his website.
http://www.jimhightower.com/

[Turn CO Blue]

12. Jim Hightower's always had cajones!

I'm a displaced Texas myself (born and raised there) -- and THIS is the kind of truthspeak I wish we could get now, such as we had from the old-fashioned Texas Dems. Yes, there used to be Dems in Texas. My grandmama was a dyed in the wool true-blue Dem.

[NoPasaran]

17. In the interests of accuracy

Home Despot isn't getting that sweetheart deal from the State but rather from the Austin Independent School District. But in any case, the taxpayers are being raped.

[JimmyJazz]

6. My question is this: Some of us live in places where the

closest place, by far, to shop are places on these lists. Is it better to shop in them or to drive miles out of our way not to - thereby contributing to gas consumption/pollution? I've been conflicted about this in the past and would love some input.

[Merlot]

11. My opinion would be to drive farther and shop blue

It's a tough call, to be sure. But I think since you're going to have to drive anyhow, go a little farther to shop the blue. Maybe you can do some internet shopping? I go out of my way to shop at local stores. I'd much rather pay a few cents more and give my money to a small business instead of a corporation.

[JimmyJazz]

14. I have small children - shopping online for immediate needs would

be tough, but somewhat possibe. And, I'm pretty much talking about driving A LOT further. Walmart is 10 miles and Target is 25. When you think about the difference between 20 miles of gas and 50 - it starts to add up.

I do appreciate your input though.

[Merlot]

18. Yes time and gas do add up quickly

Even though walmart is evil, target isn't much better. If it were a really blue store like Costco, I'd consider it, but walmart vs target may not be worth the extra effort.

One thing about shopping internet is you pay a little for delivery, but save a lot in gas and time spent in the car. It's great to have things delivered to your door - and habit forming. Some things you buy on a regular basis can be sent on a repeating order.

[noamnety]

21. If Target's the only other alternative

Don't bother with the extra drive, they are republican too. Not as bad as Walmart, but they still aren't so great. I started boycotting on Nov 3 (I was boycotting Walmart before), and I'm a bit shocked at how little I really need to buy. Any permanent (nonfood stuff) I need, I've been able to get at a thrift shop. I even bought used men's flannel shirts and made them into a king-sized quilt for my daughter's Christmas gift, and she's knitting me a stocking cap for my gift.

If you have a fruit market nearby, try that for a large part of your groceries. You can probably mail order a lot of your staples, if there isn't a bulk food place around. I don't use too many prepared foods, so it's a little easier for me. (But sometimes my family worries, as I try to find inventive uses for our leftovers. We have eggnog beet oatmeal cookies right now, and pinto bean chocolate fudge in the fridge. If your family rebels against that sort of nonsense and you make the odd run to the store for normal food, nobody would blame you.)

[Liberty Belle]

25. Order online from a blue co, if you can find one.

Then you don't need any gas at all!

[Bluzmann57]

7. Ford motor company?

Now that is just a damn shame because I own a Ford and it is a fine vehicle. I have no intention of trading it and I also have no intention of buying a foreign made vehicle. But I may look at GM vehicles. Are they on any boycott lists? Please keep in mind that the big three automakers are Union and we really should support Unions as well.

[Lefty48197]

9. Amen to that.

I wonder if Ford didn't sponsor Clinton's inaugural too?

[katinmn]

10. Thanks. Nice to know who the biggest partiers are.

[righteous woman]

15. Walgreen posts 31% sales increase this quarter!

Wal-mart only 3%.
We're doing it!!!  Keep buying Blue. Loving you all from
here!!

[Liberty Belle]

16. How 'bout a company to reward? Staples just dumped its Sinclair ads

specifically because of consumer complaints over Sinclair's biased media coverage! Media Matters reported this earlier today. (Newbies note: Sinclair Broadcasting, which owns TV stations nationwide, planned to run an anti-Kerry faux-documentary just before the election but backed down after Democratic activists flooded their advertisers with complaints.)

[BurgherHoldtheLies]

19. Good for Staples...They'll get my business now. nt

[I_Make_Mistakes]

22. COSTCO

Dear friends,

Please go to COSTCO.com, and e-mail the good news!! I E-Mailed them months ago, after reading DU"S evaluation of them.

I asked them to please, please open a store, in South Jersey.

I said, that there was a Walmart (soon to be super) and a SAM's that either, I wouldn't shop at, because their affiliations.

They did reply, twice. The first was, thank you, blah, blah...., The second was we have no CURRENT PLANS in the area BLAH...

I, only hope, that is enough people actually respond, they might actually over take Walmart, with all the +'s.

Please, look them up, and send a good message.

[Liberty Belle]

24. Be sure to let them know why you're shopping there...

and not at their competition. ;-)