Friday, May 19, 2006

Please don't shop at Wal-mart's - Part 10 (at least)


Would you believe the above billboard was censored by Clear Channel? Here's what Campaign for America's Future has to say:

We empowered our supporters to send a message of their choice to Wal-Mart -- through a prominent billboard that we reserved less than one mile from Wal-Mart's Bentonville, Ark., World Headquarters. We received thousands of excellent slogan submissions, and narrowed the field to ten finalists. Tens of thousands of our supporters voted on the finalists and a clear winner emerged, "Wal-Mart: Killing Local Businesses One Main Street at a Time."

After selecting the winning billboard slogan, supporters contributed enough money to publish it for one month. We designed the billboard artwork and submitted it to the billboard leasing company -- the Fort Smith, Ark., division of Clear Channel.

Unfortunately the division president, Bob Sadler, decided unilaterally -- and based on what we believe are partisan political grounds -- to censor and deny the posting of our slogan.

Nearly 12,000 Campaign for America's Future emailed Bob Sadler to demand that he not censor the truth about Wal-Mart, and publish our billboard. He has yet to deliver an official response, and we're currently exploring legal options to pressure him and Clear Channel to overturn the censor.

Simply outrageous.

And now read this found on Wal-mart Watch:

“America, as we know it, can’t afford Wal-Mart,” said Robert Borosage, president of the Institute for America’s Future. “People across America are starting to realize the stark reality: Wal-Mart’s triumph is the defeat of middle-class America. If Wal-Mart sets the pace, Americans will pay the price, in declining wages, rising health care costs, longer hours, worsening workplace conditions and rising personal taxes to offset soaring corporate subsidies."

Please don't shop there. Those low prices represent the exploitation of people all over the world and the destruction of local businesses. Be willing to pay a decent and appropriate price for the goods you buy. That willingness translates into a better quality of life for us all.

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