Thursday, January 21, 2010

Aftershocks


Regrettably here in the US of A we are still feeling the political aftershocks of the corrupt, right wing dictatorship that reigned for eight years straight. The Supreme Court has just ruled in favor of corporate funding of political candidates. Yet, one more victory for the massive corporate monster that continues to invade the already weakened immune system of the country.

So, here is what I am going to do and suggest we all empower ourselves and our voice. Discontinue supporting the mega conglomerates that fund money hungry politicians. Have you heard that the former Monsanto VP is adviser for FDA?? Even with a democratic President we have corporate monkeys moving forward their agendas of greed and devastation. Thus, get your voice heard and support indie businesses as well as those corporations that act responsibly and with a vision toward a supporting truth, nature and our basic freedoms.

I will begin by evaluating each large corporation that I currently fund...like my bank, phone company, grocery store etc. Where I see something I do not like that does not support a truly holistic paradigm I will withdraw my patronage.

What does this have to do with perfume, specifically botanical or natural perfume? Well, I started off in the eighties creating illustrative content for magazines such as the Progressive. Now, instead of creating visual commentary I use my creative freedom to make botanical perfumes that come from plant based materials. I enjoy the freedom to express myself, in fact I feel it is the right of every sentient being to have that freedom. The honey bee is in danger due to the use of agrochemicals. In my opinion the large corporations are the enemy of nature of freedom as we know it.

Think outside the box, think circular and know that you have power...use it!
Remember who you are.

Here is a list of companies that support conservative politics from the website Buy Blue
which means these are companies I will no longer patronize. I got the list from a website promoting conservatives to buy from these companies.
  • Ace Hardware Corporation 100%
  • Advance Auto Parts, Inc. 100%
  • Best Buy Co., Inc. 100%
  • California Pizza Kitchen, Inc. 100%
  • Cintas Corporation 100%
  • Citgo (Petroleos de Venezuela S.A.) 100%
  • CSS Industries, Inc. 100%
  • Curves International Inc 100%
  • Dollar General Corporation 100%
  • Dollar Tree Stores, Inc. 100%
  • Domino's Pizza, Inc. 100%
  • Fruit of the Loom 100%
  • In-N-Out Burgers, Inc 100%
  • Kohl's Corporation 100%
  • Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. 100%
  • Lowe's Companies, Inc. 100%
  • Michaels Stores, Inc. 100%
  • Nordstrom, Inc. 100%
  • PETsMART, Inc. 100%
  • RE/MAX International, Inc. 100%
  • Russell Stover Candies Inc. 100%
  • The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, Inc. 100%
  • WinCo Foods, Inc 100%
  • Bob Evans Farms, Inc. 99%
  • Chick-fil-A, Inc 99%
  • Huffy Corporation 99%
  • Pier 1 Imports, Inc. 99%
  • Raley's Inc. 99%
  • Gold's Gym International, Inc 98%
  • Outback Steakhouse, Inc. 98%
  • Kelly Services, Inc. 97%
  • Williams-Sonoma, Inc 97%
  • CBRL Group, Inc. 96%
  • McDonald's Corporation 96%
  • Exxon Mobil Corporation 95%
  • Geico 95%
  • Hershey Foods Corporation 95%
  • TJX Companies Inc., The 95%
  • Applebee's International, Inc. 94%
  • AutoNation, Inc. 94%
  • Urban Outfitters, Inc. 94%
  • Wendy's International, Inc. 94%
  • 24 Hour Fitness Worldwide, Inc. 93%
  • Darden Restaurants, Inc. 91%
  • PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc 91%
  • AirTran Holdings, Inc 90%
  • Circuit City Stores, Inc. 90%
  • International House of Pancakes (IHOP Corp.) 90%
  • Panda Restaurant Group, Inc 90%
  • Chevron Corporation 89%
  • Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, The 89%
  • Saks Incorporated 89%
  • Activision, Inc. 88%
  • Dell Inc. 88%
  • J. C. Penney Company, Inc. 88%
  • Kroger Co. 88%
  • Meijer, Inc. 88%
  • Office Depot, Inc. 88%
  • OfficeMax Incorporated 88%
  • Publix Super Markets, Inc. 88%
  • Zale Corporation 88%
  • Ahold USA, Inc. 87%
  • ConocoPhillips 87%
  • TIAA-CREF 87%
  • Hallmark Cards, Inc. 86%
  • America West Holdings Corporation 85%
  • American Greetings Corporation 85%
  • Oracle Corporation 85%
  • Brinker International, Inc. 84%
  • EarthLink, Inc. 84%
  • Helzberg Diamonds 84%
  • Limited Brands, Inc. 84%
  • Molson Coors Brewing Company 84%
  • Papa John's International, Inc 84%
  • Staples, Inc. 84%
  • USAA 84%
  • Marriott International, Inc. 83%
  • Menard, Inc. 83%
  • Shell Oil Company 83%
  • Target Corporation 83%
  • Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. 83%
  • Home Depot, Inc. 82%
  • Southwest Airlines Co. 82%
  • SUPERVALU INC 82%
  • Campbell Soup Company 80%
  • YUM! Brands, Inc. 79%
  • Longs Drug Stores Corporation 78%
  • May Department Stores Company 78%
  • Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. 78%
  • Heineken N.V. 77%
  • Procter & Gamble Company 77%
  • Weyerhaeuser Company 76%
  • Albertson's, Inc. 75%
  • Continental Airlines, Inc. 75%
  • Intel Corporation 75%
  • InterContinental Hotels Group PLC 75%
  • Nestle S.A. 75%
  • General Motors Corporation 74%
  • Georgia-Pacific Corporation 73%
  • Guess?, Inc 73%
  • MBNA Corporation 73%
  • US Airways Group, Inc 73%
  • Family Dollar Stores, Inc. 72%
  • Ford Motor Company 72%
  • Harley-Davidson, Inc. 72%
  • Motorola, Inc. 72%
  • T-Mobile International AG & Co. KG 72%
  • United Parcel Service, Inc 72%
  • Allstate Corporation, The 70%
  • Clear Channel Communications, Inc. 70%
  • Safeway Inc. 70%
  • Qwest Communications International Inc. 69%
  • Covad Communications Group, Inc 68%
  • Federated Department Stores, Inc. 68%
  • Northwest Airlines Corporation 68%
  • Bank of New York Company Inc., The 67%
  • Sears, Roebuck and Co. 66%
  • Verizon Communications Inc. 66%
  • Burger King Corporation 65%
  • SBC Communications Inc. 65%
  • Sprint Corporation 65%
  • Walgreen Co. 65%
  • Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. 64%
  • Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company 64%
  • Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. 64%
  • State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company 64%
  • Books-A-Million, Inc. 63%
  • BP PLC 62%
  • Coca-Cola Company, The 62%
  • Goldman Sachs Group Inc, The 62%
  • Bank of America Corporation 61%
  • Capital One Financial Corporation 61%
  • Constellation Brands, Inc. 61%
  • Rite Aid Corporation 61%
  • Xerox Corporation 61%
  • Blockbuster Inc. 60%
  • Amazon.com, Inc. 59%
  • Hewlett-Packard Company 59%
  • Sirius Satellite Radio Inc 59%
  • International Business Machines Corporation 58%
  • Jones Apparel Group, Inc 58%
  • MetLife, Inc. 58%
  • Wells Fargo & Company 58%
  • Carnival Corporation 57%
  • Countrywide Financial Corporation 57%
  • Delta Air Lines, Inc. 57%
  • Microsoft Corporation 57%
  • Wet Seal Inc, The 57%
  • AT&T Corp. 56%
Images © Greg Spalenka, used with permission, see more at his website: http://spalenka.com


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

This vote has deeply disheartened me.. As one friend of mine responded, "What's left of the good ship America is now sailing down the tubes."

But this is such a hopeful and wise response. Thank you SO much for posting it.

Might I quote you this weekend (when I share the views and voices of other people I like on my blog)?

In any case, thanks SO much for offering a way to keep from being paralyzed by despair.

Blessings,
- Beth

Illuminated Perfume said...

Thanks for visiting and leaving a comment Beth. I don't like going into despair, much prefer action. By all means, quote me and pass the information along. It's too bad BuyBlue no longer exists. I'd love to find another website like it.

Flora said...

Good grief, with a list like that, where CAN we shop?! I had better do some research!

Very surprised to see Williams-Sonoma on there, and some others.

The Supreme Court decision was so awful I still can't believe they actually did it. Almost makes you think those 5 conservative judges are bought and paid for, Hmmm.....