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from Boing Boing:
Cottonelle and Walmart have both recently produced social media video commercials starring gay men. Predictably, social conservatives flipped out, calling for boycotts and for their god to mete out punishment against the evil doers. According to Curtis Sparrer, Bospar PR principal, this is exactly what Cottonelle and Walmart were counting on.
“It looks like the marketers of both Walmart and Cottonelle were counting on social conservatives’ outrage to drive their business objectives,” said Curtis Sparrer, Bospar PR principal. “Neither video was a traditional broadcast segment, but rather produced for social media. So conservatives didn’t simply stumble across these segments, but rather they were alerted to them, likely by the companies themselves.”
"There’s a method behind the madness: marketers count on public reaction to their campaigns,” Sparrer continued. “Conservatives can be reliably counted on to provide an immediate reaction to any pro-LGBT storyline, creating a newsworthy controversy for a journalist to cover. That media coverage will not only feature both sides of the controversy but also provide top-of-mind brand recognition that research has found is more effective than traditional advertising. That means social conservatives have become useful tools for marketers and public relations. As a marketer myself I am loathe to reveal this tactic because social conservatives might get wise and not take the bait the next time a campaign features LGBT people. However since I’ve been gay longer than I’ve been in marketing I am eager for the day when LGBT people can be featured in media and people will simply react to the spot on the merits of its content.”
The American Family Association (AFA), which is listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, issued the following statement about the Walmart commercial:
We've seen many large corporations reject that in their marketing, but I honestly never thought Walmart would join the cultural revolution and reject the beliefs of its customer base.
The ad is part of a campaign called "Love is in the aisle: A dating show at Walmart." Episode 2 features Pat and Andy, two homosexual men on a "blind date" as they meet at the store and shop together. Through this process they discover whether or not they are compatible.
It's clear that Walmart is on the path of elevating homosexual relationships to the same level as the male-female model of marriage. We have no choice but to ask our supporters to let the company know how they, the customers, feel about Walmart's shift away from neutrality on this controversial issue to full support for same sex relationships.
from
Boing Boing:
California's Democratic Governor Jerry Brown repeatedly vetoed universal healthcare after the state legislature voted it through; Democratic state majorities in NY, CT and NJ refused to enact legislation to close the "carried interest" tax loophole that makes billions for hedge-fund managers; Rhode Island Democrats went on a slashing spree, taking down pensions for teachers, firefighters and other public servants while the finance-affiliated state treasurer funneled the pension funds into her pals' underperforming hedge funds; Democrats in NJ gutted the tax bill to give millionaires an easy ride; New York Democrat Governor Andrew Cuomo shut down the state anti-corruption commission, only to have his top aide busted for being horrifically corrupt.
These establishment Democrats all hold the safest of seats, and when that happens, they cozy up to industry at the expense of workers. After all, osculating captains of industry gets you invited to fancy parties where you can collect tons of campaign checks, plus those guys will give you awesome "consulting" work once you're out of office (think of this as the "Dan Lipinski effect".
All things being equal, robber-barons would rather give money to Republicans, but if a Republican can't get elected, they'll just buy themselves some Democrats.
But the 2018 Tsunami is changing that. By primarying these DINO's, progressive Democrats are offering a real challenge -- not just to Trump, but to the Trump-lites who aren't openly racist but who are just as happy as Trump is to hand the country over to looters.
The Democratic Establishment is running scared. After the New York Democratic Party libeled a progressive candidate for governor who is standing up to Andrew Cuomo, Cuomo claimed he had no idea what was going on.
Perhaps one of the dozens of Republican operatives he's hired to work for his government could explain it to him.
There, the administration of Democratic stalwart Rahm Emanuel has used that power to initiate one of American history’s largest mass closures of public schools and layoff hundreds of teachers. During Emanuel’s tenure, public workers’ retirement savings were invested with financial firms whose executives have bankrolled Emanuel’s political apparatus. Emanuel’s administration also reportedly oversaw a police dark site where suspects were allegedly imprisoned without charge – and the Democratic mayor’s appointees infamously blocked the release of a videotape of Chicago police gunning down an unarmed African American teenager.
With the city subsequently suffering an explosion of gun violence, racial strife and economic inequality, Democratic donors responded by lavishing Emanuel with massive campaign contributions and Democratic voters reelected him. When Hizzoner later announced his retirement amid the trial over the police shooting, Emanuel was immediately lauded as a great hero by the most famous face of the Democratic party, Barack Obama.
The former president’s move was a powerful reminder that Democrats’ let-them-eat-cake attitude and nothing-to-see-here complacency is a toxic gangrene afflicting not just the distant tips of the party’s local tendrils. The fish rots from the head down, and Democrats’ festering noggin is at the top of the national party, where Democratic states’ federal lawmakers have been helping Republicans ransack everything not nailed down to the floor.
Yes, let's wipe out Trump. But take neoliberal Democrats with him, too [David Sirota/The Guardian]
