Blog Czar Teaches New Activists at Whole Foods Buycott!

Dear Readers: I wanted to give you an update on today’s event, which was initiated by the Southern California Tax Revolt Coalition. We held a Whole Foods Buy-cott at the La Jolla store. The background for the event is that Whole Foods CEO John Mackey laid out the most articulate argument for real health care reform, based on sound free market principles, in a Wall Street Journal article. As Mackey’s stance is counter to the Obama administration’s big government proposals, he and Whole Foods have come under attack and boycott. Subsequent to the publication of the Mackey editorial, the Local UFCW 135 protested outside the La Jolla location against Mackey’s statements on Aug. 20, 2009.

Hat-Tip: http://wcvarones.blogspot.com/

In the spirit of Flaming Capitalism, The Southern California Tax Revolt Coalition did this event to support Mackey and the long term success of Whole Foods as an engine for job creation and free markets. Our fellow San Diegans came for shopping, coffee and snacks in the café. Our intrepid leaders, Dawn Wildman and Sarah Bond (with whom I am pictured below), collected the receipts from everyone and will be writing a letter to Whole Foods with those tallies included — demonstrating the power of capitalism and counter-protests.

It was hard to ascertain how many San Diego Tea Party Patriots came out today, but based on the number of greetings we got and receipts we collected, Whole Foods easily had over 100 new customers. If the the Whole Foods Management learns a lesson and figures out that other corporations have also been unfairly deemed “evil profiteers” (e.g, there were tree mugger t-shirts for sale insulting loggers), then they might expand their customer base. I know I purchased an awesome lavender body lotion for $15 and Pumpkin Spice Beer for $9.99 — and will be back for them again if Whole Foods can extract the more extreme leftists stances from the displays.

I offered to do a “blogging tutorial” to newbie activists. I wanted to share my hard won knowledge with others, in hopes to expand our voice in the blogosphere. The best aspect about this “blogging tutorial” is the networking connections I made today with some savvy local pundits.

I was able to meet up with some of my fellow San Diego bloggers. W.C. Varones is a friend to this site, with whom it has been my pleasure to work within the blogoshphere. He was justifiably greeted like a rock star by our fellow agitators, who had the pleasure of meeting him in flesh for the first time today. His pictorial review of this event can be read by clicking HERE (Right-wing mob attacks Whole Foods… with their wallets.)

I also got to meet Dean, of the Beers with Demo Blog spot, which provides a humorous look at current events with a side of sports. I will be adding him to the blogroll, and keeping up with his insights in the future.

Our group of bloggers plan to meet-up for an informal “Tea Party” blogging conference after the craziness of the holiday season passes. It was amazing the number of great ideas for events and articles we came up with over lunch in the Whole Foods Cafe. It puts the lie to the idea that “conservatives have no new ideas”.

I also directed a few wanna-be pundits to the WordPress free blog registration, and gave them some ideas to chew on. I think the three big tips I gave these blogging virgins:

1) Know your limitations; don’t feel like you have to blog every day — unless it is what you do professionally. (MUT Note: And if it is, be aware of the consequences. Not my worry, however; like the Anchoress, I am still waiting for my blogging profits to roll in!)

2) Make sure you cover something IN ADDITION to current events. “Man cannot live by bread alone”….nor solely by political punditry. I find my Egypt and Science posts are among my most popular, and carry me through those “lean” days.

3) Make sure you give smaller blogs a little love, too. I find many website list all the big names, which need little publicity. Mix up the blogroll with a few of lesser known pundits — and be sure to post comments on their websites too! And, if someone writes a KNOCK-OUT post, make sure you notify our better known pundits. Mutual aid is the key to everyone’s success, my friends!

With that in mind, the Tea Party Patriots is developing a “Rapid Response Team” for bloggers. The effort is being spear-headed by “Circulationdown” of the Tea Well blog Spot (also now on the blogroll). We are hoping to expand the blogging lessons and the networking nationally. Here is a summary of C.D.’s thoughts for the RRT:

Member Responsibilities

1. Start a blog.
2. Write one blog article per week.
3. Add content from 2-5 other Rapid Response Blogs each week.
4. Link to 4-6 other Rapid Response Blogs.
5. Train new bloggers.

Finally: CD sagely notes:

Small Blogs are Fine: …big readership is good, but a small blog is better than no blog.