Boycott THIS!

vanity | March 16, 2003 | southernnorthcarolina

[Drango]

Excellent! Everyone can help boycott France. The next time you are in a grocery store, ask the store manager not to purchase anymore French products.

[SamAdams76]

Out of curiosity, what is it about country music that "makes your skin crawl?" Perhaps you have mistaken what passes for "country" on FM radio or CMT these days as country music? There are a few good country songs hitting the charts these days but the vast majority of the good stuff will never be heard on any big commercial radio station or be seen on CMT.

Anyway, about the boycotts, there is a big difference between a "conservative" boycott and a "liberal" boycott. The liberals will boycott somebody because of their political views only. That is why they are usually unsuccessful. The recent campaigns to silence Rush Limbaugh, Dr. Laura and now Michael Savage are but a few examples.

But conservatives don't boycott somebody just because they are liberal or have a different point of view. They boycott for specific reasons. For example, some of us have decided to boycott the Dixie Chicks not because they (or she) disagrees with Bush's decision to remove Saddam Hussein from power but because they made a disgusting remark about our president on foreign soil. And many of us are boycotting France not just because they also disagree with us on the war, but because they have actively sought to undermine us and betray us on the world scene.

[Paleo Conservative]

(California wine tastes better - boycott French wine!)

Do California wines come from red counties or blue counties?

[null and void]

Hint: Blue counties are urban...

[Hotdog]

Grapes don't grow in Red areas...

[null and void]

Anyone have a map handy?

[XBob]

for french boycott

t-fal cooking pots
fina gasoline
michelin tires
TotalFinaElf gas
Lactalis, USA - Cheese
president cheese
Red Roof Inn
Motel 6

quote from:

http://money.cnn.com/2003/03/13/news/companies/sofitel/index.htm

"The French-owned hotel chain, part of the French hotel company Accor, whose units include U.S. motel chains Red Roof Inn and Motel 6, replaced the flags with the Stars and Stripes as a peace offering to its American guests."

[Atticus]

I wear a (French) Yema wristwatch, but I bought it second-hand for about $35.00. Now I see Yema is trying to make a major push into the U.S. market. Last week, I passed a Yema billboard. Some quick research reveals that Yema is the official watch of the Cincinnati Reds, the Cleveland Indians, the Anaheim Angels, the Minnesota Twins, the Seattle Seahawks and the L.A. Sparks. It is attempting to line up similar sponsorships as well as product placements in Hollywood films. Do not buy these watches.

[SamAdams76]

Wine country is mostly Reagan country. Unless things have changed drastically since I was last out there (in the mid 1980s).

[SamAdams76]

Looks like the wine is out in Bush country. Gore country is a concrete jungle.

[i_dont_chat]

I observed a quiet but effective boycott of a French restaurant in downtown Houston, TX, tonight.....

I am rarely in downtown Houston on a Saturday night. But tonight was an exception. I and a friend were looking for a place to have dinner; we noticed that 4 or 5 popular restaurants within walking distance were jammed, with 1-to-2 hour waiting lists.

Then we noticed a popular French nightspot in the same block, and we couldn't help but notice that the place seemed almost empty. We peered in and counted only about 10 tables out of 60 tables with customers.

There is no other way to account for this -- except that Houstonians tonight, in their own way, were showing their displeasure with ALL THINGS FRENCH.

[Mad Dawgg]

I am a stockholder of Pepsi (not large stockholder just a little under 2k shares.)

I called Pepsi and Identified myself as a stockholder and told them of my displeasure with Ms. Maines and her antics on foreign soil.

To date I have had two return phone calls from PR people in the company givng me a sort of "we're-sorry-and she-does-not-reprsent-our-views-on-the-situation" song and dance.

I am astonished at the attention I got! Usually when I call one of my companies to express displeaure I never hear back from them.

[SamAdams76]

We peered in and counted only about 10 tables out of 60 tables with customers.

I think what you witnessed was a Democratic "strategery" meeting. Either that or the Dixie Chicks are back in town with their entourage.

[KneelBeforeZod]

There are a lot of stupid rules governing the export (to other states) of California wine. Basically it just means they end up costing more... a lot more.

Hopefully if people stick to this boycott it will get some changes to happen and make Cali wine a better option for folks outside california.

I have 2 pairs of french skis. If the USA had any skis that even came close to what Salomon and Rossi put out, I'd get them.

[homeschool mama]

The grapes are grown all over the state now...as far south as Temecula and North into the Napa area. As far as I know, most of the wine grapes are grown in the central valley and processed either on site or back at the actual wineries. Wine ranches are mostly owned by conservatives. Friends of mine have 300 acres of Zinfandel grapes. It's a great experience to walk the rows, especially right before harvest. :o)

[hoosierpearl]

A lot of country music fans are real patriots from the heartland. I believe they will find a way to deal with the Dixie Chicks. Retirement sounds good.
I read on another thread that some stations were boycotting their songs, that used music shops were flooded with their CDs, and people were starting to throw them away because they couldn't be sold. If nobody buys any more CDS and people stay away from their concerts, maybe they will move to Europe. We could get that lucky. They can always learn to sing in French.

[southernnorthcarolina]

Out of curiosity, what is it about country music that "makes your skin crawl?"

Dunno exactly, Sam. And I probably shouldn't have been so quick with a broad-brush indictment. I only know that if I'm scanning through FM stations while on the road, and the scanner stops on what I associate with "country," I can't change the station fast enough.

Maybe it's a Southern thing, or more to the point, a subconcious defensiveness about being Southern. Or a guilt complex about my native area inflicting country music, along with stock car racing and TV preachers, on the rest of the country. If growing up with Arthur Smith and the Crackerjacks' banjo-pickin' and faux-hick accents (we don't really sound like that, do we?) in Charlotte wasn't enough, four years at Vanderbilt with the Grand Ole Oprey's sequins, slide guitars, and embarrasing corniness practically within earshot finished me off.

[null and void]

Looks like the wine is out in Bush country.

Well, San Luis Obispo wines anyway...

[SamAdams76]

Well believe it or not, NASCAR and country music are getting big up here in Boston. Though you would still have trouble finding people who will admit to liking it. I believe the local country station is now perpetually ranked as one of the top stations in the market (WKLB).

I'm actually a transplanted northerner in a way. My father was born and raised in Alabama and relocated up this way after his discharge from the Navy. I grew up in Boston but spent nearly all my summers on the family farm in Alabama and now my folks are retired down there so I visit once or twice a year. Most of the rest of my family lives down there too. So I have experienced quite a bit of the South. I like it down there except the fire ants and the brutal heat from May to September.

I tend not to listen to country music on the radio. I download a lot of MP3s of the new stuff and buy what I like while dumping the rest. I do have a good collection of older country albums by artists like Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Johnny Cash and others. I got a good bluegrass collection too with a lot of Ricky Skaggs, Rhonda Vincent and Allison Krauss. But like you, I never went in for the "brassy" pop country like Glen Campbell and Kenny Rogers with their sequin suits. Too much like Vegas.