Targeting Target
Posted by Michelle Moquin on August 23rd, 2010
The Minneapolis-based retailer Target just gave over $150,000 to buy ads supporting state Rep. Tom Emmer, a far-right Republican candidate for governor. This makes Target one of the very first companies to take advantage of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision allowing unlimited corporate cash in elections.
That’s bad enough. But the stakes are much higher than one candidate and one company. If we don’t push back hard, this will just be the tip of the iceberg. Other corporations will learn that they can pour money into elections to buy the outcome they want. So we’re sending a message to Target’s CEO that we won’t shop there if Target continues spending money on elections.
A compiled petition with your individual comment will be presented to Target CEO Greg Steinhafel.
Target must think customers won’t care. They’re wrong: We do care, and we need to let them know that we want Target — and all corporations — out of our elections. Can you join me in sending a message to Target’s CEO? Click here.
-MoveOn
Readers: I went to Youtube to copy this video and as usual I scroll down to read the comments. Although there were a few comments applauding the video, I was appalled at how many negative comments were directed toward the appearance of the people who were in the video. Instead of applauding the fact that these people took their time to take a creative stance in telling Target that they were not happy with their shameless attempt to buy an election in Minnesota, people were making judgements about the quality of singing, the usage of the word “ain’t”, and they even sank low enough to criticize a woman for not shaving her armpits. These critics are probably the types that bitch and moan about our society, and sit on their butts doing nothing about it, but criticize others who are doing something about it.
It’s obvious from the video that shoppers in Target enjoyed it and who knows what kind of impact they had – perhaps Target shoppers will start thinking about the actions of corporations and take their money elsewhere. I’m happy to see that MoveOn thought their creative song and dance was cool and worthy of support. Enough for them to use it as a marketing tool to get us to sign a petition and send letters to Target’s CEO Greg Steinfahel. It got me to sign and send.
And really this is just the beginning – what we need to look at is the next step: Preventing corporations from being able to give unlimited corporate cash to the elections. We, the people, have the power to make the changes; we just have to do something, demand it…like these people in the video did.
As Frederick Douglass put it: “Power never concedes anything without a demand; it never has and it never will.”
Meanwhile those sitting on their butts bitching are doing more of the same same.
Hey Zen Lill: Who knows. That itself is sick enough. $5 a day toward cigarettes is a lot of money in Indo for many, and if he’s not willing to do what it takes to get his son to quit, then he’s going to have to earn money for his son’s nicotine addiction. It sound like he’s doing that because his son is now a tourist attraction; a money maker to support the habit. A vicious cycle – The whole thing is disgusting.
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my ‘loyal’(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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August 23rd, 2010 at 9:17 am
Signed! I simply refer to my comment (#14) on Friday, in response to Robert’s query…
http://blog.michellemoquin.com/2010/08/20/flap-your-lips-friday-18/
August 23rd, 2010 at 10:44 am
Sheissa…now where do we go to get stuff?…bc Im sure Best Buy (as stated, theyre next) as well as Walmart, Costco and all other very large retailers that have put mom and pop’s out of biz bc they undercut pricing are all doing what Target is doing….and who can afford to pay more for things right now?
I have stopped buying things, at least I should say I buy second hand (my pute is a 2 yr old refurbed model, excellent and I look on eBay and other sites for items first before thinking of retail) and I’m painting and fixing things as opposed to buying new, and clothes – well, I am selling off three fourths of my wardrobe lately, via eBay and resale store, I have enough to outfit 3 women and really I wear those hot pink pants every other day bc they are so freakin groovy, pics to come, just got a few good ones over the weekend, will send to Mischa asap….back to subject, except for food (which must be bought new : ), and hopefully I can count on Whole Foods w/their whole paycheck pricing Im at least getting good organic food and a socially conscious company…
I’ll click through and sign but how do we get to the root of it and reverse this supreme court nonsensical decision, probably cannot lah…and places like Target willl get away with it due to pricing and the everyday need for lower prices, and just another two – it has notoriously been the Bohemian fringe of US society to take up causes though methinks that bc everyone else who considers themselves ‘normal’ judges others based on ‘oh there just hippies’ and ‘shes got hairy pits so what’s she know’ and the fact that they caught attention with a show but was it inpactful – did anyone turn around and walk out after this show?
I had a heart to heart with a pal who is just brill at what she does but bc her demeanor suggests to ‘normal adults that she’s frivolous and Bohemian that she is often overlooked and judged as kooky and leaves herself open to $ negotiation for what she does, I say market THAT as her mark of brilliance, you cannot change the self but to make her point and this Bohemian groups point perhaps another more effective method would persuade the masses to do something without giving up the ‘self’ that went into this creative endeavor…just a thought…I always think of it in biz terms, if it doesn’t work to stimulate action (purchasing, signing a petition, boycotting, what have you, then take another tack that works, that’s just me and my sales mind thinking, you’ll have to excuse me : )
Ruth, there was definitely something in there, and it’s a point I reiterate everyday – positive vibes beget positive results, looking through your own dirty window brings you negativity (dirt), thanks for sharing.
I cannot remember who posted the info on acid reflux but thank you so much, that tid-bit of info helped me with some important marketing points for a product launch happening soon…
Luv, Zen Lill
August 23rd, 2010 at 10:48 am
total stream of consciouness there – sorry – meant that Bohemians can get their point their point across but if you really want to do that you must use a strategy that will work for the masses and not just work for you, bc sometimes just being yourself and presenting the way YOU want to only yield a nada result, why reinvent wheels, do what works…anyway, perhaps its a much longer convo and I’ve got to get on a call right now…caio, ZL
August 23rd, 2010 at 12:35 pm
Less you forget how evil and cruel men can be.
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Some 200 Women Gang-Raped Over 4 Days Near Congo U.N. Base
MICHELLE FAUL | 08/23/10 02:54 PM |
JOHANNESBURG — Rwandan and Congolese rebels gang-raped nearly 200 women and some baby boys over four days within miles of a U.N. peacekeepers’ base in an eastern Congo mining district, an American aid worker and a Congolese doctor said Monday.
Will F. Cragin of the International Medical Corps said aid and U.N. workers knew rebels had occupied Luvungi town and surrounding villages in eastern Congo the day after the attack began on July 30.
More than three weeks later, the U.N. mission has issued no statement about the atrocities and said Monday it still is investigating.
Cragin told The Associated Press by telephone that his organization was only able to get into the town, which he said is about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from a U.N. military camp, after rebels ended their brutal spree of raping and looting and withdrew of their own accord on Aug. 4.
Civil society leader Charles Masudi Kisa said there were only about 25 peacekeepers and that they did what they could against some 200 to 400 rebels who occupied the town of about 2,200 people and five nearby villages.
“When the peacekeepers approached a village, the rebels would run into the forest, but then the Blue Helmets had to move on to another area, and the rebels would just return,” Masudi said.
There was no fighting and no deaths, Cragin said, just “lots of pillaging and the systematic raping of women.”
Four young boys also were raped, said Dr. Kasimbo Charles Kacha, the district medical chief. Masudi said they were babies aged one month, six months, a year and 18 months.
“Many women said they were raped in their homes in front of their children and husbands, and many said they were raped repeatedly by three to six men,” Cragin said. Others were dragged into the nearby forest.
Story continues below
International and local health workers have treated 179 women but the number raped could be much higher as terrified civilians still are hiding, he said.
“We keep going back and identifying more and more cases,” he said. “Many of the women are returning from the forest naked, with no clothes.”
He said that by the time they got help it was too late to administer medication against AIDS and contraception to all but three of the survivors.
Spokeswoman Stefania Trassari said her U.N. Organization for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid was monitoring the situation but that access for humanitarian workers remains “very limited due to insecurity.”
Luvungi is a farming center on the main road between Goma, the eastern provincial capital, and the major mining town of Walikale.
Kacha said on one day during the rebel occupation Indian peacekeepers had provided a military escort against the rebels to a large commercial truck traveling from Kemba to Luvungi, which is near a cassiterite mine and about 88 miles (140 kilometers) south of Goma.
U.N. mission spokesman Madnodje Mounoubai promised to get military comment on the assumption that the peacekeepers were protecting commercial goods but not civilians, which is their primary mandate.
Survivors said their attackers were from the Rwandan rebel FDLR group that includes perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide who fled across the border to Congo in 1994 and have been terrorizing the population in eastern Congo ever since, according to Cragin. The Rwandans were accompanied by Congolese Mai-Mai rebels, he said, quoting survivors.
Masudi, the civil society leader, said the rebels arrived after Congolese army troops without explanation redeployed from Luvungi and its surroundings to Walikale. He said this happened after some soldiers deserted and joined rebels in the forest.
Rape as a weapon of war has become shockingly commononplace in eastern Congo, where at least 8,300 rapes were reported last year, according to the United Nations. It is believed that many more rapes go unreported.
Congo’s army and U.N. peacekeepers have been unable to defeat the many rebel groups responsible for the long drawn-out conflict in eastern Congo, which is fueled by the area’s massive mineral reserves.
Gold, cassiterite and coltan are some of the minerals mined in the area near Luvungi, with soldiers and rebels competing for control of lucrative mines that give them little incentive to end the fighting.
“The minerals are our curse with the FDLR looting on one side and the soldiers looting on the other,” said Masudi.
The Congolese government this year has demanded the withdrawal of the $1.35 billion-a-year U.N. mission, the largest peacekeeping force in the world with more than 20,000 soldiers, saying it has failed in its primary mandate to protect civilians.
Mission officials have said that the peacekeeping army is too small to police this sprawling nation the size of Western Europe, and that its peacekeepers are handicapped by rebels using civilians as shields and operating in rugged terrain where they are difficult to pursue.
The mission also has a difficult mandate of supporting the Congolese army, whose troops often also are accused of raping and pillaging.
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I want to be in Madaline. I need to believe in Madaline.
Hullanta
August 23rd, 2010 at 12:42 pm
Howie, Hafa Adai.
I wish you would tell us if the aliens are real. We had a really scary earthquake yesterday on the island. Are they going to get worse?
==================================
Guam – An earthquake that measured 5.5 in magnitude was felt on Guam just after 11am Monday morning, but there have been no reports of injury or damage and no tsunami warning has been issued.
The U.S. Geological Survey reports the quake was centered about 90 miles west south-west of the island. And it was deep, 75.6 miles. It struck at 11:08 am.
Read the USGS report of the quake
Buildings shook, and there have been numerous reports to K-57 and PNC News from people who felt the shaking which lasted about 8 seconds. But there are no reports of any injury or damage.
The USGS website reports receving 23 reports from people who felt it as of mid-day. Based on those reports, the USGS rates the quake as “light” to “weak.”
Read the reports of the quake made to the USGS
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has issued no alerts.
GPA’s Spokesman Art Perez called into the PNC News room to say that he has checked with all GPA substations and there are no reports of any intrruption in power service.
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If you know something, you should tell us.
Lea
August 23rd, 2010 at 12:48 pm
Michelle
Speaking of bigotry and racism. This book by a white man makes me ashamed to be white.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Barack Obama is the most destructive president in American history, argues New York Times bestselling author, David Limbaugh in his controversial new book, Crimes Against Liberty.
Skillfully unraveling the tangled web of Obama’s broken promises and blatant fabrications, Limbaugh constructs an air-tight indictment of Obama, charging him with ambitiously unraveling the Constitution and ultimately stripping of us our God-given freedoms.
Crimes Against Liberty uncovers the truth behind Obama’s political tactics and sweeping policies, while also revealing Obama’s calculated lies, personality flaws, and serious character lapses.
And listen to what other people are saying about this devastating book:
“Every liberty-loving American has a patriotic duty to read Crimes Against Liberty.”
—Sean Hannity
“Crimes Against Liberty is the most effective skewering of Obama’s contempt for the Constitution….Buy it.”
—Mark Levin
“Limbaugh offers a powerful indictment of this administration—its hypocrisy, dishonesty, and corruption….Read this book.”
—Ann Coulter
If there was ever a must read, this is it. Crimes Against Liberty is a stunning tour de force and a damning indictment of a president who is pursing an agenda at odds with the Constitution—and the American people.
==============================
Is there any level they won’t stoop to to scare us whites into hating President Obama? If there is, I haven’t seen it.
Mike
August 23rd, 2010 at 1:05 pm
Want to Be an Entrepreneur?
Michael Gerber
E-Myth Worldwide
You may think that you don’t have what it takes to be an entrepreneur, but maybe you do.
Whether you intend to strike out on your own or simply want to improve your entrepreneurial skills to advance your corporate career, here’s how to tell if you have what it takes to be a success….
Does the idea of working outside your current set of skills with your financial future at stake thrill you or scare you? Entrepreneurs must perform tasks and make choices that they have never encountered before, and they must do so with their own money on the line.
Most people shrink from these risks, but successful entrepreneurs are likely to consider it invigorating to stretch themselves and take calculated chances.
Does the rational side of your mind tend to shoot down your dreams, or does it seek ways to make those dreams more compelling and viable?
When entrepreneurs have ideas, their minds naturally ask the question, “How can I accomplish this?” They feel driven to push their dreams forward.
Do you see what’s missing? The best entrepreneurs do not choose to open businesses just because they happen to have talent or interest in the sector and a dream of working for themselves.
They open their businesses to provide something that they’ve noticed is missing, such as a service that no one else is providing.
When you picture yourself as a business owner, do you imagine buying a franchise… opening a business of a conventional type, such as a shop…
or creating a new business idea that could change the world? If your answer was either of the first two, you might not be perfectly suited to entrepreneurship.
New businesses are too uncertain and require too much work to have much of a chance unless the owner has a deep and unshakable belief that he/she is doing something of magnitude.
Are you more of a dreamer or a rational thinker? This is a trick question — an entrepreneur must be both.
Creative thinking is the most celebrated part of entrepreneurship, but creativity is valueless without the ability to rationally hash out the details of how to put creative notions into effect.
Can you quickly tell your business’s story in a way that makes others passionate about it? Your new business is not just about you.
You will need the trust and support of loyal customers, investors, suppliers, lenders, employees and family members. The fate of your new business will be determined in part by whether these people believe and want to live your business story.
Do people follow when you lead? Novice entrepreneurs might think that they are striking out on their own, but no one ever really sees a business through to success without help.
Even if you start small, eventually you may have to hire employees, and those employees must be committed to your goals.
Are you in it for the money, the glory or the good of the world?
There is nothing wrong with an entrepreneur wanting to become rich or make the world a better place, but for the greatest chance of success, an entrepreneur should also be in it for the glory. Most successful entrepreneurs love applause.
Wealth interviewed Michael Gerber, founder of the small-business consultancies E-Myth Worldwide and In the Dreaming Room. He has coached and trained more than 50,000 small-business owners in 145 countries. His latest book is Awakening the Entrepreneur Within (Collins Business). http://www.awakeningtheentrepreneur.com.
August 23rd, 2010 at 1:11 pm
It is so true what was said in one of your previous blogs about a certain faction of the US Supreme Court being bought and paid for.
The acronym KARTS. Has another meaning for me. It stands for the fact that when big business wants to screw the the American citizen it goes shopping with their KARTS at the US Supreme Court.
K – ennedy
A – lito
R – oberts
T – homas
S – calia
are more than willing to provide special bargains for the right price.
Target is just the beneficiary of the latest.
Ellen
August 23rd, 2010 at 1:20 pm
A little boy was overheard praying:
‘Lord, if you can’t make me a better boy, don’t worry about it. I’m having a real good time like I am.’
August 23rd, 2010 at 1:29 pm
Hafa Adai
This is something many Americans are not aware of.
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WWII’s ‘Last Mission’ started, ended on Guam
Posted 8/22/2010 Updated 8/23/2010 Email story Print story
by Airman 1st Class Anthony Jennings
36th Wing Public Affairs
8/22/2010 – ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam — – Guam’s history is one of bloodshed and celebration, hardship and prosperity. It’s also one of significant events that would later alter the course of history.
Sixty-five years ago, on August 14, 1945, Northwest Field saw the launch of 143 B-29 Superfortress aircraft assigned to the 315th Bombardment Wing for what would become the last combat mission of World War II.
The mission would be the longest continuous mission ever attempted by the Twentieth Air Force, logging more than 17 hours of flight and covering a distance of 3,760 miles to destroy the largest remaining oil reserves in Japan at Akita.
At a time when most servicemembers and Americans were hoping for a swift end to the war, an air raid seemed unavoidable.
“There was little doubt on the part of the 20th Air Force commanders, B-29 bomber crews, or even ordinary Americans that the bombing of the Japanese homeland was an inevitable part of the war,” said Dr. Andreas Fischer, 36th Wing historian. “Few on the Allied side doubted it was necessary.”
The Japanese situation during this period of time was desperate. The major cities were devastated by atomic or conventional attack while the casualties numbered in the millions.
Millions more were refugees, the Japanese fleet of naval vessels was lost and merchant shipping could not leave home waters without braving submarine or mine attacks.
Clearly the time to surrender had come. Incredibly, many in the military urged the Showa Emperor Hirohita to fight on, preferring death to capitulation.
The idea the Emperor would support surrender was inconceivable to many in both the Japanese Army and Navy.
Twenty minutes after midnight, the bombers from Guam reached their target of processed crude oil from the fields around Akita and released their payload.
The after-mission damage assessment on all structures averaged 86 percent with no part of the refinery complex untouched.
During their approach to the target, Japanese radars picked up the 315th BW B-29s as they neared Tokyo and the city went into a blackout.
This occurred as a number of militarists attempted to kidnap the Emperor and prevent him from recording a speech announcing Japan’s unconditional surrender.
Their plans were foiled and some attribute this to the blackout and utter darkness after the 315th BW aircraft were pinged on the Japanese radar.
Jim Smith, a member of the crew and writer of the post war narrative “The Last Mission,” was a proponent of the theory that the 315th BW’s mission thwarted the Japanese militarists’ plans.
After the blackout in Tokyo, “the B-29s continued north to Akita, but it seems that the blackout happened precisely at the moment when a number of militarists bent on keeping the war going were about to kidnap the emperor and put a stop to the effort of recording a surrender speech,” Smith said.
“With flashlights and candles, soldiers searched all night for the recordings, but were unsuccessful, and the speech aired on Aug. 15, 1945 as planned.”
Whether or not the theory is accurate will surely be debated for years. However, it is undeniable the 315th BW crew members from Northwest Field played a vital part in the Second World War.
“The crews of the 315th BW were on their way back to Guam when the bulletin [announcing Japan's surrender] was repeated over and over,” said Fischer. “They yelled, for they knew that they would not have to test their luck over Japan again.”
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Yes, we played our part in America’s victory
Peter
August 23rd, 2010 at 1:34 pm
Hullanta,
How awful!
All men aren’t like that though. Think of the risk Mr. Anonz has endured to protect women in Darfur.
I wish I had the courage to do the same. I am writing my state and federal Congressional representatives after I do this.
I will pray for all women. Especially those in the Congo.
Oscar
August 23rd, 2010 at 5:12 pm
Man, that earthquake. It was scary.
August 23rd, 2010 at 10:55 pm
What happened when I tuned in earlier. the were 14 comments. Now there are only 12.
August 23rd, 2010 at 10:58 pm
This is very scary. What is your opinion Zen Lill?
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Sitting on your own grave
If you’re spending too much time on your behind, you’re a sitting duck.
A new study finds that people who sit the most, die the earliest–and even a little exercise every day won’t do much to help.
Researchers looked at data on more than 123,216 healthy adults collected over a 14-year period as part of a cancer study. After adjusting for risk factors such as obesity and smoking, the researchers found that women who sat more than six hours a day had a 37 percent higher death risk than those who sat for three hours a day or less.
Men, on the other hand, had a 17 percent increased risk of death when they sat for more than six hours a day. Men and women who sat for between three and five hours also had an increased death risk over those who sat for shorter periods.
That’s good news for hairdressers, bartenders and landscapers… but not so good for office workers, bus drivers, and writers of health newsletters.
The researchers also found that people who engaged in regular exercise had a slightly lower death risk–but if they kept their meat in a seat most of the rest of the day, they were still far more likely to die than those who got more movement.
And people who sat the most and did no exercise at all were definitely not sitting pretty, because the study found those bad habits combined to increase the death risk in women by 94 percent, and in men by 48 percent, according to the study in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
Of course, this isn’t the first time sitting has been linked to poor health. Studies have found that people who move the least have an increased risk of diabetes, heart disease and obesity.
Seniors in particular should make sure they find ways to keep moving even after retirement. Many limit themselves because they fear falling or other forms of injury, or simply feel that the golden years are a time to ease off.
But while it’s OK to make sure you stay within your limits at any age, it’s not OK to limit yourself to the sofa: Studies have consistently found that steady movement is essential to senior health, and can help improve everything from your cardiovascular risk to arthritis pain.
Bottom line here: No matter how old you are or what you do for a living, don’t stop exercising… but don’t stop at exercising, either. Getting your blood pumping for 20-30 minutes a day isn’t a license to slouch on the couch the rest of the time.
There are simple, natural ways to get moving again throughout the day no matter what you do for a living: Park farther away. Take the stairs instead of the elevator (for higher floors, take the stairs part of the way). And just get up and stretch every now and then.
And if you work a desk job and really want to keep moving, try a treadmill desk. I’m not kidding–they really do exist. Use your favorite search engine, like Google, to find some examples (as well as plans to turn your own treadmill into a walking office).
Just tell your coworkers that you’ve found a new way to keep up with the rat race.
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Still loving and doing your exercises
Grace
August 23rd, 2010 at 10:59 pm
Night Hiking Can Be More Interesting Than Walking During the Day…
Scott Egy
Old Las Vegas Mormon State Historic Park
It offers a chance to see animals that hide during the day, such as owls, deer, coyotes, flying squirrels and bobcats. Contact your local parks department to find out about scheduled night hikes. If it does not have any, ask whether one can be added to activities. Or check “local” on the Sierra Club’s Web site, http://www.sierraclub.org, for hikes and other outings.
Note: Hikers should go with a guide at night and stay in groups to scare away animals that could be dangerous.
August 24th, 2010 at 6:38 am
[...] Doug: Thank you! [...]