Posted by Louise on 9/2/2009, 4:40 pm, in reply to "Re: Been to a Veteran's Hospital?"
Quality government health care at its finest.
My FIL is a disabled Vietnam Vet due to after affects of agent orange, and the care he receives from the government after many years of miliatry service is subpar compared to the private insurance he held until he became permanently disabled and was no longer able to work. It is very sad.
--Previous Message--
: Can't say that I have. What does that have to
: do with anything?
:
: --Previous Message--
: Enough said.
:
: --Previous Message--
: It's the shop where wealthy American
: liberals
: buy their groceries.
:
: But the American supermarket chain Whole
: Foods Market has found itself at the centre
: of a storm of controversy after its chief
: executive, John Mackey, wrote an op-ed piece
: in the Wall Street Journal presenting a free
: market alternative to President Obama's
: proposed healthcare reforms.
:
: Mr Mackey began his article with a quote
: from Margaret Thatcher and went on to add
: that Americans do not have an intrinsic
: right to healthcare - an idea strongly at
: odds with the views of a large proportion of
: Whole Foods' customer base.
:
: The company, which has 270 stores in North
: America and the UK, sells organic
: vegetables, biodegradable washing powder and
: sustainable seafood to a well-heeled
: clientele and champions its liberal
: credentials.
:
: Customer protests
:
: It is hypocritical and disingenuous and it
: really cheapens the brand
:
: Former Whole Foods devotees responded to Mr
: Mackey's article by picketing outside
: branches of the store in Washington DC,
: Maryland, New York and Austin, Texas.
:
: Others stormed Twitter and Facebook to vent
: their rage and called on shoppers to boycott
: the store.
:
: Russell Mokhiber led picketers outside Whole
: Foods' P Street store in Washington DC. He
: said, "I have been a Whole Foods
: customer for many years but I, like many
: former customers, am disgusted by John
: Mackey's stance on healthcare."
:
: Representatives from the United Food and
: Commercial Workers (UFCW) labour union also
: picketed outside the Washington store.
:
: Protesters said they were disgusted by John
: Mackey's views on healthcare
: "Mackey's views are totally at odds
: with those of the company - he has to
: go," said UFCW spokesperson Mark
: Federici.
:
: Outside the store, customers Emily Goulding
: and Ileana Abreu said the controversy had
: made them think twice about shopping there.
:
: "It is hypocritical and disingenuous
: and it really cheapens the brand," said
: Ms Goulding.
:
: "Whole Foods is expensive but people
: shop here because they identify with the
: social conscience of the company - now it
: turns out that ethos was just a marketing
: exercise," added Ms Abreu.
:
: Seemingly caught off-guard by the unfolding
: PR crisis, Whole Foods sought to distance
: itself from its chief executive's comments.
:
: "We've had a lot of emails and phone
: calls and people coming into our stores to
: talk about it," said Libba Letton,
: spokeswoman for Whole Foods. "Our top
: priority is addressing their concerns."
:
: Mark Rosenthal has set up a "Boycott
: Whole Foods" page on Facebook But
: public relations experts criticised the
: store for bungling its response.
:
: "You have two choices: you either take
: a proactive approach and wade right in and
: sort it out or you sit back and wait,"
: said Erica Iacono, executive editor of
: industry magazine PR Week. "The company
: seems to be taking a wait and see approach
: and hoping it goes away. It's a
: mistake."
:
: Massachusetts-based playwright Mark
: Rosenthal's "Boycott Whole Foods"
: Facebook page has so far attracted 24,738
: fans, including supporters in the UK and
: Canada.
:
: Rosenthal said, "I read the article and
: it stunned me, the hubris of this man who
: has made his millions selling his products
: to progressives in America based on an image
: of caring for the community."
:
: Damage limitation
:
: John Mackey, who started with a single store
: in Texas in 1980 and has built a company
: worth $3.8bn (£2.3bn) on the Nasdaq stock
: exchange, has previously described himself
: as a free market libertarian.
:
:
: Experts say the Whole Foods brand is strong
: enough to weather the storm
: Responding to the healthcare controversy in
: his Whole Foods blog, Mr Mackey said,
: "I gave my personal opinions... [the]
: company has no official position on the
: issue."
:
: As part of their damage limitation strategy,
: Whole Foods' in-house public relations
: division has created a forum on its website
: for customers to discuss the issue. There
: are nearly 17,000 posts, compared with 63
: posts on the dairy-free forum.
:
: Some posts were scathing in their criticism
: of Mr Mackey but others defended the right
: of the controversial boss to express his
: views. One respondent said, "Bravo John
: Mackey! Finally we hear the voice of reason.
: I plan to start shopping in your store in
: protest at this liberal lunacy."
:
: I would urge customers to keep the big
: picture in mind when they are deciding
: whether or not to boycott the store
:
: Libba Letton, Whole Foods spokeswoman
: The controversy has come at a bad time for
: Whole Foods which is struggling to grow its
: sales during the recession.
:
: Dubbed "whole paycheque" by
: customers on account of high prices
: in-store, Whole Foods' share price is
: currently $28, more than 60% below its
: all-time high at the end of 2005.
:
: Strong brand
:
: Mr Mackey is known for his directness. He
: was recently quoted in a newspaper saying
: that as well as healthy, organic produce,
: "we sell a bunch of junk", a
: remark reminiscent of Gerald Ratner's 1992
: comment that an item sold in his British
: jewellery chain was "total crap".
:
: The brand is strong enough to bounce back,
: predicted Iain Ellwood, head of consulting
: at global branding consultancy Interbrand.
: "They need to focus the public's
: attention back on the company's core
: principles as a community-based brand,"
: he said.
:
:
: Carol Kramer drove from Virginia to
: Washington DC to join the protests
: Whole Foods' Libba Letton attempted to do
: just that, calling on customers to remember
: the grocer's long history in supporting
: sustainability and organic farming, food and
: nutritional labelling, and ethical treatment
: of animals.
:
: "I would urge customers to keep the big
: picture in mind when they are deciding
: whether or not to boycott the store,"
: she said.
:
: Opinion was divided outside the P Street
: branch in Washington. While many customers
: entered the store undeterred by the
: controversy, some left empty-handed, vowing
: to shop elsewhere.
:
: Teacher Carol Kramer had driven from
: Virginia to take part in the protest. She
: said, "There are a lot of people out
: there who really invested in the Whole Foods
: brand, emotionally and financially. We are
: feeling really betrayed."
:
:
:
:
:
:
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