Why I Will Not Sign the Kroger Petition

Sorry, Paul Hogarth of Daily Kos, but I will not sign your petition telling Kroger that I am counting on them to keep customers and employees safe. That would be counter-productive and dishonest.

I called my local Kroger stores, and then the PR guy that one store was kind enough to refer me to. The answer I received was that allowing open carry is their policy and they are sticking to it. As you pointed out, I can’t go in without shoes or a shirt, or on a skateboard. I can’t smoke in their stores even though I would have to corner someone with a severe respiratory illness in tight quarters and chain smoke for years to kill him, but they will allow a crazy person (because no sane person brings a war machine into the grocery), with the ability to kill many people instantly, to roam the aisles.

Sorry, but no one gets a second chance with me. Now, I shop elsewhere and send Kroger copies of my receipts to show them what they are losing. I will never return to a store that changes policy only after first getting tons of publicity for being jerks, and then again for changing their mind (sorta/maybe,like Target). And I think everyone who participates in this groveling process enables other businesses to play this game.  

In addition, I have been calling businesses ahead of time to ask if they have a no smoking sign on the door. Employees who answer the phone know immediately that they do. Then, I ask if there is a no weapons sign next to it. Not a single person has been able to answer that question. Some won’t go look or transfer me to someone who knows. Some try their best not to answer the question since they don’t know which side I am on. I have told several places that I will just mark them off my shopping list, question unanswered.

I’m not going to shop on line with businesses that won’t protect me inside their stores, either. They don’t deserve my business.

Please, don’t participate in the craziness. Boycott. And never go back. That will send a message to all businesses so we don’t have to spin wheels and waste time going through this repeatedly. We look sorta silly when we do that.

cross-posted on Daily Kos 

Identifying a Snow Job (Metro Chamber of Commerce aka GLI edition)

Words matter. 

When drafting a page like this one from the Greater Louisville, Inc. website (www.greaterlouisville.com/AboutGLI/), the purpose is to put together words that will communicate a message that readers will find attractive. The less attractive the product or service is, the harder that project will be for the author. Fluff words and convoluted, meaningless tripe are necessary when the actual message would repulse the average reader.

To hear/understand the actual message, it is important to remove unnecessary fluff words, and then to dissect the meaning, context, and motivation behind choosing the remaining words.

The author of the GLI webpage deserves the golden turd for written bs (seriously, at one time, there was such an award). I will take you through the page and insert the red flags I found. Please, feel free to point out anything I missed. 

From this point on, my words will be in parentheses and italicized. The rest are from the GLI website. 

About GLI

Greater Louisville Inc. – the Metro Chamber of Commerce,  

(why don’t they call it the Metro Chamber of Commerce if that’s what it is? Could it be that people discovered a few years ago that the Chamber of Commerce is not a friend of workers and patrons?) 

is one of the region’s premier business organizations  

(Google the word premier and laugh with me, please. There is a premier bank, a premier home care agency, a premier pet products store, a premier tattoo studio, a premier league football news, etc. Every business that wanted to capitalize (pun intended) on the word premier, whether or not earned or explainable, uses the word premier in their description.) 

and the leading economic development agency for Greater Louisville.

(The is a word that matters more than most. A would have meant the author considers GLI one of more than one. The means the author absolutely states GLI is the leading agency.) 

(If I had some justification for stating I was the premier agency, I would include the justification here. It is missing on the GLI page.) 

Our purpose is to transform the community in pursuit of our 

(Our gets three red flags from me. They, an agency I have no respect for or trust in, want to transform me--I am part of this community--into their dream? Whoa. Be still my Adrenaline.)  

dream for the region to become an idea capital where imaginations and individuals thrive.

(What a string of nothing. I can just see a group sitting around a conference room table brainstorming words that everyone likes – dream! Imaginations! Individuals! I’m surprised Baby Jesus, veteran, kitten, and tax evasion didn’t make the cut.) 

We do so by increasing human capital,

(What does that mean? Are they birthing more workers for the community? Giving us money? Saving the people who can’t find their caps lock keys?) 

driving job creation  

(Driving? Hard to believe that’s the word this author wanted since it tells me nothing.) and entrepreneurship, maximizing

(Oh, can’t wait for the next line that tells me how they hope to do this) 

global opportunities and inspiring business leadership engagement on issues that impact the competitiveness of our region.

(Total brain freeze. My sarcasm does know some bounds. And guess I’ll have to keep waiting because they aren’t telling me how they hope to do this.)

Our Dream...

 
To become an idea capital of the world, where imaginations and individuals thrive.  

(Wow. Little ole Louisville the idea capital of the whole world. My huge imagination is finally going to pay off and this individual is going to thrive. Watch out world, and, grandkids, pack your bags for that island vacation I promised when I hit the jackpot.)

GLI is committed to the One Dream for our 26-county region .  

(Louisville has 26 counties? Or, do 25 other counties not have someone to write golden-turd-worthy websites for them?)

Our Purpose...  

 
To transform our community in pursuit of the dream.  

(This time it is the dream, not our dream.)

Our purpose is our organization’s reason to exist and our commitment to changing our region for the better.  

(Huh? My purpose is to be human, to age each day, and to state the obvious. How about yours?)

Our Strategy...

 
To lead

(I didn’t vote for them to lead me.)   

innovation and civic entrepreneurship…

(Why use ellipsis here? Is something missing? Are they admitting it is too vague? Are they reaching out to the right-wingers who think no sentence is complete without erroneous punctuation?) 

while maintaining a commitment to sustainable development – meeting the needs of the present without compromising our ability to meet the needs of the future. 

(Okay. I’ll see that load of pretentious bull and raise you this. A bigger load of delightful nothingness I have seldom seen.)   

We approach all we do from a strength-based position, 

(WTF? To quote Judge Judy, "Don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining.")

building on the authentic assets of our organization  

(Please, do identify your authentic assets of your organization.)  

and our region.

We are focused on five priorities:

• Engaging  (Engaging how?) 

 supportive 

(Should I assume you will ignore the ones who don’t support you – as well as the non-stakeholders who live and work  in the community – specifically the people fighting for a raise in the minimum wage?)

stakeholders and delivering results

(Where do you detail the results you have in mind? I’m worried, especially since this follows your commitment to supportive stakeholders.)

 
• Funding our efforts through healthy finances  

(I get this. I totally get this. Who wants diabetic or anemic finances?)

 
• Expanding our chorus of raving customers who realize the value of Greater Louisville Inc. (If you don’t read anything else, this line is too good to miss. Their chorus of raving customers. I see them performing on street corners for coins often, don’t you?)

 
• Leading a passionate and talented staff through effective management practices

(In the spirit of tossing out any group of words that come to mind, I use a napkin when I eat.)

 
• Maintaining a commitment to being a learning and growth centered organization 

GLI’s dream, purpose and three-year strategy was adopted by GLI’s Executive Committee in November of 2010. It serves as an organizational blueprint for GLI and guides all its work.
Success against these objectives is measured by ambitious goals and tracked on its balanced scorecard.
 
Our Staff Values
Results-Oriented: Pursue Excellence
Collaborative: United in Work & Spirit
Flexible: Expect the Unexpected
Passionate: Driven to Achieve
Fun: Enjoy the Journey

(This page says nothing. Absolutely nothing. Please, think when you read and listen. Parsing words can be fun.)

Frank Simon of AFA Preys On Uninformed Kentuckians With Sensationalism and Lies

Each election cycle, the sinfully dishonest, gay-hating American Family Association of Kentucky sends out a letter similar to the one I'm posting here. Like their side-kick, the Good News Club, and in alliance with the Republican Party, they use military language to appeal to their millions of brainless followers because - you know - Onward Christian Soldiers, and good AFA Christians are such epitomes of weakness that they  just want to kill people who don't want to be like them. (Follow the last two links and you'll see that I can speak their language when mocking them.)

In true Republican form, they project their guilt onto others and capitalize words that are not proper nouns ("It's a propaganda war. It is being led by the Liberal Media and our own Public Schools.") And their lies would rival even those of Mitch McConnell, John Boehner, and Michele Bachmann (who accidentally told one truth about Jesse Benton).

Please, read this trash carefully. Notice that they first use their war language, then remind their prey that this is a war and they have been threatened, and then link Left Wingers, Muslim Terrorists, and One Worlders. Tell me their goals don't stop at scaring people, but also go on to incite violence.

The call on their brainless wonders to do three things: 1) pray, 2) organize, and 3) believe that Common Core is an "illegal pornographic federal education program" instead of a program to save their children from being as stupid as they are.

If I were a praying (or preying) person, I would pray that they all stop with number 1.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.