Author Archives: bfiacarolinevernon

Growing Opposition Frowns on Wal-Mart

Posted on December 6, 2005 by bfiacarolinevernon

  Growing Opposition Frowns on Wal-Mart

by Stephanie Armour, USA Today

The following article is in yesterday's issue of USA Today and includes a couple comments from yours truly, Caroline Vernon.

When you finish reading this article, “Guess Who's Not Shopping at Wal-Mart This Christmas?”… Guess right and qualify to win! Get clues and details at: wakeupwalmart.com.


WASHINGTON – In a nondescript office blocks from the White House, Paul Blank chats with staffers near the start of another 12-hour workday. The beige walls are plastered with hand-lettered, cardboard signs bearing slogans “Always High Costs. Always” and “Buffy the Wal-Mart Slayer.”

The Ragin' Grannies sing their protests against Wal-Mart at a Tucson store on Nov. 13.
By Wal-Mart Watch

Despite his 80-hour workweeks, Blank settles into a chair looking energized.

This is more than a job to him, he explains. It's a crusade.

Blank is the campaign manager for the labor-union-backed
WakeUpWalMart.com. Behind the scenes at the headquarters office, staffers work at a dizzying pace. Their goal: to reform Wal-Mart, the biggest retailer in the world.

“There is a drumbeat every day that's building,” says Blank, who previously worked as political director for Howard Dean's presidential campaign. “The question of whether Wal-Mart is good for America is being pushed to the forefront of a national debate.”

As the holiday shopping season goes into full swing, Wal-Mart is facing the most formidable opposition to a retailer since the 1930s, when a campaign was waged against Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea (better known as A&P), which subsequently lost its domination of the retail market.


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Posted in Calls to Action, Corporate Greed, Main Page | 3 Comments

Commericalization of our National Parks

Posted on December 1, 2005 by bfiacarolinevernon

  Commercialization of our National Parks From Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). The National Park Service is getting ready to adopt new policies that would dramatically increase the commercialization of our National Parks. Under the new plan, the Park … Continue reading →

Posted in Big Government, Calls to Action, Corporate Greed, Environment, How You Can Help, Main Page, National News | Comments Off on Commericalization of our National Parks

Why the Campaign to Change Walmart is so Important

Posted on November 27, 2005 by bfiacarolinevernon

  Why the Campaign to change Walmart is so Important by Caroline Vernon The last time I shopped at Walmart was about a year ago. I remember thinking how wonderfully convenient it was that I could purchase my groceries, my … Continue reading →

Posted in Calls to Action, Corporate Greed, Health Care & Medicare, Jobs, Labor, Main Page, National News | Comments Off on Why the Campaign to Change Walmart is so Important

The Worst Speech Bush Ever Made

Posted on November 14, 2005 by bfiacarolinevernon

The Worst Speech Bush Ever Made by David Kusnet Published on Sunday, November 13, 2005 by The New Republic For speechwriters drafting a presidential address for a patriotic holiday such as Independence Day, Memorial Day, or Veterans Day, there are … Continue reading →

Posted in GOP, Main Page, National News | Comments Off on The Worst Speech Bush Ever Made

Worried Parents Turning To Organic Food

Posted on November 4, 2005 by bfiacarolinevernon

Worried Parents Turning to Organic Food 

by Libby Quaid, CommonDreams.org

Erin O'Neal has two daughters and a fridge stocked with organic cheese, milk, fruits and vegetables in her Annapolis, Md., home. She is among the increasing number of parents who buy organic to keep their children's diets free of food grown with pesticides, hormones, antibiotics or genetic engineering.

“The pesticide issue just scares me — it wigs me out to think about the amount of chemicals that might be going into my kid,” said O'Neal, 36.

Since last year, sales of organic baby food have jumped nearly 18 percent, double the overall growth of organic food sales, according to the marketing information company ACNielsen.

As demand has risen, organic food for children has popped up at more than just natural food stores.

For example, Earth's Best baby food, a mainstay in Whole Foods and Wild Oats markets, just reached a national distribution deal with Toys R Us and Babies R Us. Gerber is selling organic baby food under its Tender Harvest label. Stonyfield Farm's YoBaby yogurt can be found in supermarkets everywhere.

The concern about children is that they are more vulnerable to toxins in their diets, said Alan Greene, a pediatrician in northern California. As children grow rapidly, their brains and organs are forming and they eat more for their size than do grown-ups, Greene said.

“Pound for pound, they get higher concentrations of pesticides than adults do,” said Greene, who promotes organic food in his books and on his Web site, http://www.drgreene.com
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Posted in Big Government, Corporate Greed, Environment, Farming, Main Page, National News, Organic Foods & Farming, Progressive Community | Comments Off on Worried Parents Turning To Organic Food

COOL has been Killed

Posted on October 28, 2005 by bfiacarolinevernon

Politics and Money to Blame for Killing Consumer-Friendly Food Labeling Program. This is completely unacceptable! Note: The only silver lining is that the Larry Craig provision to exempt factory farms from Superfund and Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know … Continue reading →

Posted in Calls to Action, Corporate Greed, Farming, Main Page, National News, Organic Foods & Farming | 1 Comment

Ed Fallon’s Scary Money Tour Hits Iowa This Week

Posted on October 22, 2005 by bfiacarolinevernon

  Ed Fallon's Scary Money Tour Hits Iowa This Week From Fallon for Governor http://www.fallonforgovernor.com Halloween is right around the corner and over the next few days you’ll be confronted with more and more scary things. It’s the time of … Continue reading →

Posted in Candidates, Clean Elections, Corporate Greed, Ed Fallon, Local Events, Main Page, Progressive Community | Comments Off on Ed Fallon’s Scary Money Tour Hits Iowa This Week

GAO Report Finds Flaws In Electronic Voting

Posted on October 22, 2005 by bfiacarolinevernon

GAO Report Finds Flaws in Electronic Voting t r u t h o u t | Report Thank God! The truth comes out! I knew they cheated in the last election… was there ever really any doubt? GWB was never … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Liberties, Corporate Greed, DFQC, Main Page, National News, Progressive Community, Project Myth Breaker, Verified Voting, Vote Fraud | Comments Off on GAO Report Finds Flaws In Electronic Voting

Word-Up! DNA Can Be Reprogrammed By Words

Posted on October 21, 2005 by bfiacarolinevernon

Word-Up! DNA Can Be Influenced And Reprogrammed By Words And Frequencies From http://www.quantumbalancing.com This gives a whole new meaning to the power of “the word”. And to think of all the times I spoke to how lame I am! OK… … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Health Care & Medicare, Main Page, National News, Progressive Community | Comments Off on Word-Up! DNA Can Be Reprogrammed By Words

Nuclear Funding Accountability

Posted on October 14, 2005 by bfiacarolinevernon

Nuclear Funding Accountability Excerpts from nirs.org At a time when Congress is threatening to cut off hundreds of thousands of individuals from their life-lines by making drastic cuts to Medicaid in order to reduce the deficit, here is an opportunity … Continue reading →

Posted in Big Government, Calls to Action, Corporate Greed, DFQC, Environment, How You Can Help, Main Page, Media Bias, National News, Progressive Community | Comments Off on Nuclear Funding Accountability