DU is inspiring me to speak out in public! (and embarrass my wife)

I'm not saying that DU is causing my behavior; I just feel inspired to start speaking up.

For instance: As you may not know, Chicago requires its public school teachers to live in the city. This creates a huge problem: how do we afford the average $300,000 home on a $36,000 salary? Last night, we went to a seminar for teachers that was meant to explain all of the programs that the various local banks and realtors have set up to help us buy a home.

There were many interesting opportunities to consider, but I was jolted out of my homeowner daydreams when the speaker said, "Also, if you apply by the end of the year, Home Depot will give you a $50 credit for every $100 dollars that you spend."

At that moment, I felt my arm shoot into the air. What was I doing, I wondered. When the presenter called on me, I said very calmly, "Just remember that Home Depot contributes large amounts of money to the Republican party."

Everyone looked at me; some muttered to one another, and my wife looked like she didn't know whether she should laugh or be horrified. The presenter blinked a few times and said, "Uh, I don't know anything about that."

After we left, my wife totally avoided the subject, moving on to the topic of what I planned to cook for dinner. I felt a little like a freak, but in a way, free.

This is what it is all about - spreading the truth in every conversation, every meeting etc.

Give them hell...the only way to affect change is to let them know you won't stand for it anymore.

I just don't understand why people would vote or support politicians/policies/corporations that are against their own interests? I wish I had said, "Rod Paige called you terrorists, people! Don't give him money!"

all kinds of give a ways at the financial institution i used to work for.faxes coming in by the Republican party addressed to the branch managers. promoting their products.

Keep up the good work and lets get our country back
:donut:

It's hard to find small hardware stores almost anywhere. A friend told me that the giant whosales houses like Wal-Mart, Sams, Home Depot, etc. threaten major distributors and supplies to cancel contracts unless they deal strictly with them and offer huge discount prices. This is how they squeeze out the small business people. Capitalizm at work.

i tel you, i too have gained terret syndrome with this administration. at least you raised hand and waited to be called. that is the cutest. thanks for sharing. cool stuff

I've been a lot more vocal about politics in the last year than I had been in my entire life up to then, and sometimes to strangers! And yes, it's funny to see your spouse or friends or family get those saucer eyes and horrified face as they look at you like "What the hell are you doing?"

However, more often than not, I've noticed that if I casually mention something like "Thanks Bush!" at the pump, or "Wow, the Republicans say no inflation...but look at that bill would ya?" at the grocery store...the response is "I know what you mean" "Yeah, another lie" or just a knowing smile and nod.

Keep it up! :hi:

I think DU has helped a lot of us find our voices. With all of the information you have at your disposal, it's hard NOT to speak up. Keep speaking truth to power!

:yourock:

according to recent freeper/RW logic on "stockpiles" found in Iraq:

"warehouses full of commercial and agricultural chemicals," which, if mixed and packaged properly, "could quickly become chemical weapons."


Check the garden center and the main store - it's a terrorist mecca!!

Don't back down - the RW won't!

regardless of what political party you feel this large company may support.

I know where you are coming from, but you are setting yourself up for alot of work, & alot of heartburn, if you only do business with companies whose politics matches your own

Will you go without life or car insurance if you cannot find a politically suitable insurer?

What about a doctor or hospital group? Will you let yourself or a child get sicker & sicker because you don't see eye to eye about the doc's politics? How would you find out the doc's politics?

If your home is burning, will you question who the fireman is planning to vote for, before accepting assistance?

Furthermore, regarding home depot, how do you balance the ceo's politics (& he is a huge republican) with thousands or rank & file apron wearers who will vote democratic this election?

Even though I would have appreciated your statement, I may have also thought you were a freak . . . . Its one thing to be political in a political forum such as this . . . .Quite another to do so in a forum where people were taking there own time to get some completely non-political info. To the average person (who is ambivalent if not annoyed by politics)your statement may have had the same effect if you said "Freemasons run the world", in terms of how much they cared.

And anyway, you could have encouraged some republicans in the room to get the word out to shop at the depot & not lowes!

he is just better off shutting up?

freepers/fundies use many venues to spew their bile.

it's called communication. one way we do this is by speaking. that's so other people can understand what we are thinking.

i am continually repulsed by the public conversations i hear about "blowing iraq off the planet" and other such bile.

i think it'd be great to hear somebody saying something that makes sense somewhere in public for once.

to uphold the standards of social justice. Hell, every teacher in that room was required to read Pedagogy of the Oppressed in their undergraduate education program (at least if the went to school in the last ten years), and Freire's work was originally meant to inspire democratic reforms from the classrooms of the socially exploited. Most of us also read bell hook's "Teaching to Transgress," which takes our mission a step further.

So, what is the middle way?

In fact, I have, for many years, spent quite a bit of time each week researching the most socially responsible routes for my money. That probably has more impact than what I did last night.

The point is this is AMERICA. People are entitled to speak up. I am sick and tired of people saying - its not the place, not the time.

It is important to let HD and its chairman know that just as many of his employees and customers support democrats as support republicans.

BTW You call the proud men and women who work for HD "apron wearers" - as if they aren't even human.

After rebating 50% HD is losing money on each & every product that one of the chicago teachers buys.

If someone that can get that 50% rebate really hates HD, they should build an entire house with the 50% off coupons & rake HD over the coals!

Avg profit on most stuff they sell is less than 10%.

I need to look at the documentation we were given to see what the catch is. Hold on.

Still, I could use that $500.
No! Bad! Evil temptation!

http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0716/p15s02-lihc.html

A bit dated, and last night they billed it as a "teacher's perk."
Also, we were told that this is also for lofts/2-flats/etc.

I love bungalows, Just got done renovating mine (built in 1911)

That's why these incentives are so easy to jump at without considering the whole "butterfly's wings" aspect.

Do you really think they ain't writing this off somehow? This is the same excuse given for Billionaires who donate computers to poor schools. They wouldn't do it if they aren't coming out ahead in the long run.

I believe it's called marketing. Once they've done their good deed for a few dozen teachers...they've spread their seeds of "good-will" to the teachers friends and family. Let's all go shop at Home Depot cause they're nice people!! Wah-la. More customers.

It does sound like a great deal tho. I would probably jump on it if I were a teacher in Chicago. But to act as tho they are the Salvation Army or something is quite disingenuous.

they probably are writing it off, or getting somekind of good pr on it, hoping they will get the $ back in the long run by making the teachers loyal customers.

Not too different than your local pizza joint giving out free slices to a little league team or something, I guess

And maybe it seemed "out of left field" that this DUer noted Home Depot contributes enormously to the R's. However, your statement that he isn't balancing the CEO's politics with the thousands of rank and file apron wearers who will vote D is erroneous. How do you know how they will vote? A minimum wage employee has absolutely no political clout compared to HD's CEO.

The reason people should know this is because they are one more corporation that is getting away with murder because they donate to Smirk. Do you recall the huge loophole in a bill on trade with China? That loophole was written by HDepot....allowing them to import ceiling fans and other Chinese products without trade tariffs! That undercuts American manufacturers and is blatant BRIBERY.

Why would you assume he encouraged republicans to get the word out and not encourage POOR ABUSED SCHOOLTEACHERS to get the word out NOT TO SHOP THERE?

I get your point, but teachers are no more poor and abused than anyone else . . . . & they get summers off.

Poor abused child rug-making sweatshop slaves in pakistan, yes. Poor abused teachers in Chicago? . . . . No

then called "terrorists" by the Republicans. Did you even read other posts in this thread?

Where did I compare them to child laborers?

Context, dude.

in fact it's pretty close to average in this country (may even be higher than average)

teachers are no more or less "abused" than anyone else . . . . and they get alot more time off

And as the original poster said...they HAVE to live in the city limits. 35K may be high to you or higher than average...but is it high in a large metropolitan area where people are forced to live in high-rent zones?

Just because they get summers off...I know lots of teachers who have summer jobs, just to make ends meet.

One more time....the abuse comment is in response to the teachers being called terrorists by Smirk's Education Czar. Got it?

#1: NYC
#2: San Fran
#3: Chicago

Too many teachers think of themselves that way--under siege and disrespected. They begin to see themselves as impotent.

You are definitely right about the money; 36K isn't bad, considering that my copywriter and Web designer friends haven't worked in months. My point about that salary is that it is very had to support a family and pay a regular mortgage in Chicago on less than 90K.

has a lot of cheap and shoddy products. You end up paying more in the long run because you have to replace cheap products more often, so the discount isn't all that great in the end. I would rather look for decent quality stuff that will last longer, you might pay a little more up front, but you save money in the long run.

Good for you for speaking out. I have been speaking out about Krispy Kreme because all their money goes to Repukes. I love Krispys and they are coming to our town but I will not eat one more of their Repuke donuts.

Why? Because you spend money everyday and it has an effect way
beyond the occasional trip to the votiong booth

It is vitally important to think about how you spend your money.

I myself have found a nice little locally owned hardware store
that is actually closer than home depot. The owner has become
a friend of mine at this point and he knows a hell of alot more
about what he sells than do hourly workers at the big box.

I try to shop locally, too. My point was only that unless you know the personal politics of each & every business owner you deal with its hard to know where your $$ goes after it leaves your pocket.

businesses to support? I mean, sure I hear about them through the grapevine, but I'd really like to find somewhere that I can look up insurance companies or whatever, and see some suggested companies to do business with.

www.opensecrets.org

to find corparate pac money (as well as who your neighbors like to donate to, as well)

I'm sure there are lots of other good resources, too

Appears to be the most reliably democratic insurer (or at least their employees have been)

check it out, I love this site
http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/contrib.asp?Ind=F09

I wish there was a site that was geared towards the consumer, though.