Posted on 08/20/2005 2:49:51 PM PDT by atomic conspiracy
Ben and Jerry's founder pays for PR firm for mother of fallen son by Mark Hand PR Week Worldwire 19 Aug 2005
Bush: vigil outside President's ranch CRAWFORD, TX - The PR firm working for Cindy Sheehan as she protests outside President Bush's ranch in Texas campaigning over the death of her son killed in Iraq has been paid for by Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben and Jerry's ice cream.
The 24-hour media attention being lavished upon Sheehan owes as much to the professionals supporting her as it does to the emotional impact of her story.
Fenton Communications is assisting Sheehan, the mother of a US soldier killed in Iraq, to earn media coverage for her vigil. TrueMajority, a nonprofit advocacy group created by Cohen is paying Washington, DC-based Fenton from the $70,000 that the group has raised so far to support Sheehan's protest efforts.
"Fenton is helping her with straight-out media relations, such as interviews and juggling different requests," said Jason Salzman, president of Cause Communications, which handles media relations for TrueMajority. "She's tapped into feelings against the war that have yet to [be] widely disseminated in the media."
Soon after Sheehan began her vigil, she quickly realized she needed help handling the barrage of media requests, said Parker Blackman, deputy GM and MD at Fenton Communications. "We're just trying to help her create a little order out of the chaos and streamline the process for getting reporters to be able to ask her questions," he said.
TrueMajority has asked its members for donations twice to support Sheehan's protest. The first appeal in early August brought in $50,000, while the second appeal, which went out August 8, has generated $20,000 so far, Salzman said.
Sheehan, a resident of Vacaville, CA, plans to continue the protest until Bush agrees to meet with her to talk about her opposition to the war in Iraq or until his vacation ends on August 31. She founded Gold Star Families for Peace and first began her campaign against the war more than a year ago after her son was killed April 4, 2004 while serving in Baghdad.
Sheehan's action caught the media's attention because she traveled to Crawford "to confront the President on his front door," Blackman said. "And you have a White House press corps who is there. The president doesn't spend all day with them. And there's this very compelling story unfolding right there."
Fenton also worked with Sheehan to publicize candlelight vigils held on Wednesday in 1,672 US cities in sympathy with her action. When Fenton organized a press briefing on Tuesday to discuss the coming vigils, about 100 journalists participated in the teleconference, an unheard of number for a typical Fenton-managed press briefing.
Haven't eaten B&J's for years, even before the war started, because of their leftist shenanigans.
Blue Bell, uummmgh
Um, Ben and Jerry don't make Ben & Jerry's anymore. They sold the name to a big corporation for lots of money. =:-0
Yes, they sold out. And now they're using their wealth from corporate deals to fund their leftist causes.
If this PR guy believes so much in Cindy Sheehan's cause, why isn't he donating his services? Why is he the guy who gets to cash in on this noble cause?
We should be writing to ask this question.
Pinz
Rhetorical and linguistic clues suggest that "Conservative all the way" is not even an American, let alone a conservative. Phrases like "if America can bomb" represent a style of usage and extreme generalization that passed out of common use on this side of the pond some years ago, even on the far left. Nevertheless, they are a staple among the British left and its colonial offshoots in Canada and Australia, to say nothing of Helengrad (aka "New Zealand"). This exact phrase, "if America can bomb a small, weak country", was used many times by pro-Hanoi activists in Australia during the Vietnam war.
'cause Ben is a leftie, of course!
I'm guessing that this gentleman, Ben Cohen, is unaware that the enemy we are fighting would like to create a second Holacaust that would make the first one pale by comparison.
Why is anyone surprised?
I've never bought anything made by Ben and/or Jerry. I don't like hard ice cream. Fortunately.
Reason # 529 why I don't buy thier product.
Like totally!
What a leftie-nutball.
Reason #530 why I don't give them my money.
I was going to say the same thing---they sold out a few years ago. I never allowed my kids to bring B&J into this house, and they have continued doing that in their own homes.
We NEVER buy their ice cream.
There's another super rich brand that my family likes. I work hard not to notice that ice cream exists anymore. lol
But I support the notion of a boycott of B&J on general principle. ;-)
Pinz
iScream, youScream, we all scream for iScream!!! And for cIndy!!! Whack that bUsh girl! aBsolute mOral aUthority!!! pEace out.
Wonder in Sheehan will declare this on her taxes as payment-in-kind.
I was looking up info on ben cohen and ran across this site = "Soldiers Against Cindy Sheehan"
http://soldiersagainstcindysheehan.blogspot.com/2005/08/there-has-been-much-in-news-lately-on.html
Anyone else see this site?
Try Bluebell ice cream - made in Texas - their Homemade Vanilla is as close as you will get to what you could make at home.
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