Archive for the Boycott Series Category

Boycott DuckDuckGo (July 11, 2022)

Posted in Boycott Series, Internet on July 11, 2022 by e-commentary.org

[DuckDuckGo is completely blocking www.e-commentary.org.]

. . .

J          “Not a surprise.  Everything involving or affiliated with the Internet has been and is being used for evil.  When I started hearing ads on the radio for the Duck and then heard that the search engine was censoring speech, I knew it was on the dark side.” 

K          “Another search engine will come along . . . and be used for evil.”

J          “And then another.”

. . .

[See the “The DuckDuckGo Controversy” reprinted in “Peak Prosperity” dated May 29, 2022 by Terence Kam.]

Bumper sticker of the week:

“Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket.”  Eric Hoffer

Tulsi, MSM, NYT, CNN, FOX, MSNBC, Real News, Fake News, Neo-McCarthyism.  Oh, And Happy Halloween! (October 28, 2019)

Posted in Awards / Incentives, Boycott Series, Journalism, Newspapers, Press/Media, War and Wall Street Party on October 28, 2019 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K          “She is a direct threat to the Ruling Class and the War and Wall Street Party.”

J          “They absolutely will not tolerate her threat under any circumstances.”

. . .

K          “Defining the MSM as they dub it – this Main Stream Media gang – takes some finesse, yet ‘The New York Times’ is certainly a charter member.  Tulsi spoke truth and sincerity and had to be taken down and out.  The NYT assigned one of their journalist assassins to do the hit job and draft the hatchet report.”

J          “And for her obedient efforts, Lisa Lerer will be given a Pulitzer in 2025 if not in 2020.”

. . .

K          “The corporate mouthpiece MSNBC engages girls and boys who sound like a cackle of envious nerds.  The politicians are trapped in high school; the faux journalists are the wannabees trapped in junior high school willing to conform and perform at any and all costs to be accepted by the high school kids.”

J          “And for their obedient efforts, Kimberly Atkins and Jonathan Allen will be given Emmys in 2030 if not in 2020.”

. . .

K          “I try not to buy any product advertised on the Clinton News Network or Fox or MSNBC.  True to agenda, the Clinton Network also decided that Tulsi represented a threat to CNN’s corporate masters and did not challenge a slanderous comment by one of their mouth pieces that was implicitly endorsed by the others.”

J          “And for his obedient efforts, Bakari Sellers will be given a Kennedy Award for Cowardice in 2035 if not in 2020.”

K          “Anything said or read on CNN, Fox or MSNBC is presumptively false and misleading.  However, the presumption is rebuttable.”

. . .

K          “In the past, the psychopaths and sociopaths congregated in politics, yet now they are finding a haven and a refuge in faux journalism.”

J          “No rational and emotionally health person with a modicum of integrity and courage would enter politics or conventional journalism today.”

. . .

K          “Even one of America’s worst and most vicious and deplorable war criminals, Ms. Hillary, is terrified that the concerns expressed by Tulsi reflect the concerns of the average American and threaten the interests of the War and Wall Street Party.”

J          “Lock her up.  Hillary.  After a fair trial.”

K          “Lock her up.  Lock him up.  After fair trials.”

J          “How about co-ed prisons for politicians whose greatest punishment is seeing each other every day in and every day out for decades out in the Yard.”

. . . 

K          “One of the many problems, both a cause and a symptom, in a failing Empire is the lack of an Elite.  The American Empire is sans an Elite.”

. . .

[See “Everyone Is a Russian Asset” in “Rolling Stone” by Matt Taibbi dated October 21, 2019, “This MSNBC Clip Is Everything Ugly About Russia Smears” in “Caitlin Johnston.com” by Caitlin Johnston, the recipient of the Fourth Annual Pushitzer Prize In Commentary For 2019, dated October 20, 2019, “Green Party Torches Hillary Clinton For Claiming Jill Stein Is ‘Totally’ a Russian Asset” in “Rolling Stone” by Tessa Stuart dated October 18, 2019, “Tulsi Nails it on National TV … US Regime-Change Wars” in “Strategic Culture Foundation” by Finian Cunningham dated October 18, 2019, “The Media War On Truthful Reporting And Legitimate Opinions – A Documentary” in “Moon of Alabama” dated April 21, 2018 and “What You Think Is Controlled By What You Watch, And What You Watch Is Controlled By The Elite” in “The Economic Collapse” by Michael Snyder dated October 24, 2019.]

[See the e-commentary at “The Medium Mandates The Message.  Analog v. Digital: Monopolization & Monetization. Oh, And Happy World Press Freedom Day! (May 7, 2018)”, “A ‘Journalist’ Declares War On Journalists . . . And Journalism (November 28, 2016)”, “Dispatches From The War On Journalism:  The New ‘Nixon’s Enemies List’ (December 5, 2016)”, “DNC:  ‘We’re Losers.  Vote for Us.’ (February 27, 2017)” and “Pulitzers Are Pro-War? Pressing The Pushitzers. (April 22, 2013)”.]

Bumper stickers of the week:

ABCNNBCBS does not have many answers; Faux/Fox does not even ask the right questions

“You may think you know what you’re dealing with, but, believe me, you don’t.”  Noah Cross (John Huston), “Chinatown”

Psychopaths and Sociopaths for Hillary

Please comment here

[Don’t] Support Public Media? (June 10, 2019)

Posted in Boycott Series, Journalism, NPR, Press/Media, Radio on June 10, 2019 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K          “Not really a boycott, rather a commitment to make a more specific allocation of resources.”

J          “No one cares.”

K          “I could not agree more.”

. . .

K          “Remember our conversation a year ago when I raised the question.  Now I have my answer.  I am supporting programs not stations.  I only contribute to stations in America that broadcast enlightened programs but am not contributing to my local station.  And then I listen to podcasts rather than the local station on my own time.  I will send money to ‘Alternative Radio’ and ‘Counterspin’ and ‘Democracy Now’ and ‘51 percent’.  That is the benchmark of commitment.”

J          “And the one you canonized as Saint Terry Gross.”

. . .

J          “No one cares.”

K          “I could not agree more.”

. . .

[The Raytheon Company and United Technologies Corporation are merging to create United Ray Guns Corporation.]

[See the e-commentary at “National People’s Radio?; National Public Radio?; National Petroleum Radio?; National Propaganda Radio? (June 11, 2018)”.]

Bumper stickers of the week:

No one cares.  I could not agree more.

Attempting to Care . . . Loading Please Wait

Fraudulent Frequent Flying Fiascos.  Oh, And Happy Canada Day and Independence Day! (July 2, 2018)

Posted in Airlines, Aviation, Boycott Series, Less Government Regulation Series, Price, Transportation on July 2, 2018 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K          “In the past, an airline descending into bankruptcy protection did everything to pull out its frequent flyer program.  Now, many of the programs are a fraud and a ruse and . . . morally bankrupt.  United Airlines and Delta Airlines are among the worst offenders.  By contrast, Alaska Airlines still believes that a mile is a mile is a mile is a mile.”

J          “I suffered a stall and spin in March.  After an almost 6000 mile trip in a sardine can in the air, I was iron fistedly begrudged about 1500 ‘miles’ on the ground.  For each 21,120 feet I endured in the air, I ended up with a ‘mile’ in the program.  The new calculation of ‘ground speed’ today is perplexing and vexing.  Some byzantine formula discounts the actual mileage based on purchase price, whether you had a middle seat, whether you ate peanuts, whether the flight was delayed, sun spot activity and other irrelevant factors first foisted on impressionable ‘b’ school students to foist on the public.”

K          “At least the observant traveler who missed the form letter that starts ‘For your convenience . . . ’ becomes aware of the fraud and the ruse each month and can shift loyalty accordingly.  If each consumer acts diligently, the market works adequately.  If consumers are involved, the government does not need to get involved.”

J          “Most of the statements are electronic and not likely reviewed by the consumer with any care.  We are tolerating far, far, far too many M.B.A.s flying around the country.”

. . .

[See the e-ssay at “An Airline (Partial) Survival Guide (January 24, 2005)” discussing the absurd and inefficient pricing scheme for tickets and “Going The Extra Mile:  Today’s Airline Mileage Programs (August 19, 2013)” and “Close the Harvard Business School (February 23, 2009)”.]

Bumper stickers of the week:

21,120 feet in the air = 1 mile on the ground

Fly the unfriendly skies

The first thing we do, let’s imprison the M.B.A.s

National People’s Radio?; National Public Radio?; National Petroleum Radio?; National Propaganda Radio? (June 11, 2018)

Posted in Boycott Series, Journalism, Neoconservatives, Newspapers, NPR, Press/Media, Radio, Technology, Television on June 11, 2018 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K          “As long as they broadcast Saint Terry Gross, I will support them.”

J          “Too often they are really just a house organ for the neo-liberals in domestic policy and the neo-conservatives in foreign policy.  National Propaganda Radio, I once broadcast.”

K          “Their message is fundamentally ‘analog journalism’ rather than ‘digital journalism’ even if the transmissions are in a digital format.”  

. . .

K          “They are caught in a sticky dilemma.  They cannot get too far ahead of the listeners or they could lose listeners.  But if they get too far behind the listeners, who will lead the listeners.”

J          “I asked an NPR fund raiser in a red state if they change their advertising strategy after they receive a donation from one listener in an effort to attract the other two listeners in the state.  Tough sell.”  

. . .

J          “Do they broadcast ‘Alternative Radio’ or ‘Counterspin’ or ‘Democracy Now’ or ‘51 percent’ on the play list?  That is the benchmark of commitment.”

K          “One option is to support programs not stations.  Contribute to stations in America that broadcast enlightened programs not necessarily to one’s local station.  And then listen to podcasts rather than the local station on your own time.”

. . .

[See the e-commentary at “The Medium Mandates The Message.  Analog v. Digital: Monopolization & Monetization. Oh, And Happy World Press Freedom Day! (May 7, 2018)”.)

Bumper stickers of the week:

The ‘narrative’ is the story

The medium mandates the message

Deliberating Gun Control Delicately (March 19, 2018)

Posted in Boycott Series, Guns, Law, Second Amendment on March 19, 2018 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K(GO) “No psychos.”

GO1     “No psychos.  They give responsible gun owners a bad name.”

K          “Most folks implement the ‘No Psychos’ idea with universal background checks equally for every gun transfer including at gun shows.”

GO2     “That may not work.”

K          “Work with me on this one.  Remember that every psycho who gets a gun takes a gun away from a responsible gun owner.”

GO3     “Hard to argue with that.”

K          “A twenty-one year old male today has a life expectancy of about 61 plus years.  At one gun a month, he will acquire 736 guns, give or take.”

GO1     “There you go.”

K          “So we adopt a minimum purchase age of twenty-one.  On one’s twenty-first birthday, give her or him a gun.  Skip going to the bar and go to the range.  Home on the range, they say.”

GO2     “I hear you.”

K          “One purchase a month is the way to go.  Purchasing a gun without reading a few magazine reviews first may result in you buying the wrong magazine . . . and attached gun.  Buying a gun is not like buying a burger on the drive home.”   

GO3     “That is the difference between a ‘collection of guns’ and a ‘gun collection,’ if you know what I mean.”

. . .

[See the e-commentary at “The ‘Gun Show Loophole’:  A Dialogue Among Gun Owners.  Oh, And Happy Presidents’ Day (February 19, 2018)” and “Get A Gun; Practice Gun Safety (January 25, 2016)”.]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Fe & Pb > ETOH

Gun control means non-psychos hitting their target.

A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.

If you haven’t connected emotionally, you won’t connect intellectually.

Boycott the NRA

Boycott the National Rifle Association

The “Gun Show Loophole”: A Dialogue Among Gun Owners.  Oh, And Happy Presidents’ Day! (February 19, 2018)

Posted in Boycott Series, Guns, Law, Second Amendment on February 19, 2018 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K(GO) “Here’s another perspective.  Psychos have rights.  Right?  What we need is a law that allows every confirmed psycho to purchase one rifle or pistol a month.”

GO1     “A confirmed psycho?”

K          “Multiple convictions for domestic violence, wife beating, violent outbursts, assault charges.  The usual.”

GO2     “No question that the person is a psycho?”

K          “No question.  While we are at it, how about allowing every confirmed psycho to purchase one rifle or pistol a week.”

GO3     “Now hold on there . . . .  I’m not so sure.  You say he is a confirmed psycho.  Well, if he is a confirmed psycho, he is the type of person who probably should not have a gun.  But only if he is truly a confirmed psycho.”

GO2     “That is where I draw the line.”

. . .

K          “Great Americans like me can buy a gun.  Great Americans like you can buy a gun.  Psycho Americans like the psycho Americans . . . maybe not.”

GO1     “Sounds about right.”

K          “The only solution is to require a background check as part of every purchase from a dealer or from a private purchaser.”

GO2     “That makes some sense.”

. . .      

. . .

K          “In about five minutes after the meeting that night, I moved the three of them off a position they have never even allowed anyone ever to challenge.”  

J          “They may be willing to listen to someone who has a few guns.  Always structure an argument so that they convince themselves.”

K          “The half-life of the message may be two weeks.  I stayed on message and tabled asking them if they were troubled that the Russians appear to have funded the National Rifle Association’s (NRA’s) bombardment of them almost daily with propaganda during the months before the 2016 election.”

J          “Next meeting.  Next month.”

. . .  

[GO:  Gun Owner]

[See the e-commentary at “Get A Gun; Practice Gun Safety (January 25, 2016)”.]

Bumper stickers of the week:

A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.

If you haven’t connected emotionally, you won’t connect intellectually.

Boycott the NRA

Boycott the National Rifle Association

Dear Costco:  Please Pull Plastic Bottles (June 12, 2017)

Posted in Boycott Series, Consumerism, Environment, Oceans, Plastic, Water on June 12, 2017 by e-commentary.org

Costco Wholesale Corporation

P.O. Box 34331

Seattle, Washington 98124

Dear sir or madam:

          Costco impacts the lives and livelihoods of your customers and other citizens.  Plastic threatens the lives and livelihoods of your customers and other citizens.  As part of your “Sustainability Commitment,” would you do your part to reduce the threat of plastic to the lives and livelihoods of your customers and other citizens?

          Using plastic bottles to transport water creates pollution and public health problems that often are unseen and threaten the very water they fleetingly transport.  Plastic bottles roam and range the seas.  The bottles break down into little particles and shards ingested by birds, whales and other critters.  Lead shot in birds is discernible via x-ray, yet plastic particles go undetected except by chemical analysis.

          Issue a major public statement that you will no longer carry bottled water.  For ninety days, post a statement in the area of each of your stores that otherwise would house the bottles above a palette intentionally left empty.  You will perforce lose business and make fewer profits.

          Thank you for your attention to this request.  Best wishes.

. . .

[June 8 was World Oceans Day.]

[See the e-commentary at “Playa Plastica / Plastic Beach (September 13, 2010)” and “Plastic Pirates (August 6, 2012)” and in the category “Plastic.”]

Bumper sticker of the week:

Boycott bottled water

Get A Gun; Practice Gun Safety (January 25, 2016)

Posted in Boycott Series, Guns, Law on January 25, 2016 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K          “Get a gun.”

J          “Or two.”

. . .

K          “When there is no rule of law, you are compelled to get a gun.  And there is so little rule of law in America.”

J          “You are on your own.  Me too.”

. . .

K          “Guns are high-tech hole punches that punch holes in paper and clay, and in four-legged animals, and in two-legged animals.  Target shooting, and hunting, and personal protection.  I now encourage everyone to acquire and learn how to use a gun responsibly for personal protection.”

J          “An owner must be willing to use it and know how to use it.  I regard a gun as our last stand and our last statement.  A pistol to protect your person and a shotgun to protect your property and family.  Go with a revolver.  Less chance of failure and you don’t litter the landscape with brass or leave your fingerprints.”    

K          “Semi-autos have their place.  By your side.”

J          “A 12 gauge pump is indisputably the way to go for the castle and family.  Three inch shells, double-aught buck attract attention.”

. . .

J          “Once that lead is unleashed, getting it back in the barrel is problematic.”

K          “Everyone should be forced to stare at a few gunshot wounds as part of the safety training.  It ain’t television.”

. . .

J          “I lived without background checks at gun shows and estate sales for decades.  The state background checks instituted recently are a nuisance, yet they are necessary and tolerable.”

. . .

[See the e-commentary under the Category Guns and at Punt, Pass and Kick:  The End Is Far (February 24, 2014).]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Keep calm and carry a gun

Boycott the NRA

Gun nut who favors keeping guns out of the hands of nuts

USA, FDIC, Or NCUA? LCU? SPCU? (October 19, 2015)

Posted in Bail In, Bailout/Bribe, Banks and Banking System, Boycott Series, Collapse, Credit Unions, Debt/Deficits, Depression, Dollar - World's Reserve Currency, Federal Reserve, Gold, International Finance, Kleptocracy, Money, SDR - Special Drawing Rights, Silver on October 19, 2015 by e-commentary.org

. . .

B          “I want out of the Racket – the stock market Racket.  I want to hold my deferred compensation in the form of dollars, for what they are worth.  As I see it, Treasury Bills and Treasury Bonds are allegedly protected by the ‘full faith and credit’ of the United States.  What is that worth?  When the Big Jolt hits, what is Uncle Sam’s telephone number?  Or e-mail address?  unclesam@unclesam.gov?  A general promise by the Uncle when I have full faith that the credit of the United States is sketchy, provisional and conditional at best.  I won’t touch Treasury Bills or Treasury Bonds.”

C          “Another hollow and worthless promise.  I won’t touch Treasuries and refuse to deposit money in a bank.  The FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) allegedly provides insurance for banks, yet the agency is ‘stressed’ to put it mildly and will not pay all claims in the event of a significant bank run.  The NCUA (National Credit Union Association) allegedly provides insurance for credit unions and may provide some insurance protection for some time for some depositors.  I am willing to make a tentative commitment to the system and keep some of my funds in my Local Credit Union (LCU).”

B          “Depositing a healthy chunk of money in the Sealy Posturepedic Credit Union (SPCU) involves little counterparty risk and allows me to sleep peacefully at night.  When the Big Jolt hits, there will not be enough physical dollars.  Regular folks may accept regular dollars for two related reasons – inertia and habit – until the shock triggers them to do something and change their habits.  Regular folks will accept the few available physical dollars for four or six or eight weeks for transactions as long as other citizens accept dollars for transactions.  Then regular folks will only accept Sacagawea dollars and some coins for a few weeks, although coins like dollars of any kind are in short supply today.  After a few more weeks, some informed folks will accept silver coins minted before 1964 at a premium.”

C          “In the end, the Depression is our guide.  Twelve gauge shot gun shells may be another medium of exchange and twenty-two rounds may be used as change to support the emerging barter economy.  Cash of any kind is the threat to the those who run System.  The government now requires banks to obtain and record the identity of anyone making a cash deposit and are refusing to accept cash for some payments.”

B          “Banks do not need deposits to be able to loan money.  Yet today many banks are offering gimmicks and gewgaws to attract funds that they will be able to retain during a ‘bail in’ without any obligation to the depositor.”

. . .

C          “Junior’s paper route money stored in his piggy bank may be our only available liquid asset.”

B          “She may not stand for us withdrawing some of the Standing Liberty quarters from the collection she has accumulated with her baby sitting money.”

C          “We may need a bushel basket of Wheat Pennies to buy a pocketful of wheat.”

B          “When the banks are maneuvering to avoid a haircut, we may be required to go to our Barbers.”

. . . 

[See the e-commentary at Preserve Cash; Preserve (Some) Privacy (May 4, 2015), “Bail Ins” Are Globalized; “Bail Outs” Are Bailed Back In; No Bail For Bankers (December 29, 2014), Globalizing The Bail In (July 8, 2013), Bailouts: Out; Bail Ins: In; Slowly Boilin’ The Frog (April 15, 2013), Money “In The Bank” Or “Under The Mattress” (October 8, 2012), Boycott Big Banks – Vote Your Dollars (November 21, 2011), and Boycott Big Banks (February 1, 2010).]

Bumper stickers of the week:

The U.S. government is pursuing an international currency war and a domestic war on currency.

SPCU/You > LCU/NCUA > Bank/FDIC > Uncle Sam/FF&C