Southern Maryland Online - Serving Calvert, Charles, & St. Mary's Counties.  Click here to go to the Front Page of somd.com.
 
| Write Us | Help | Sponsors | Classifieds | Employment | Forums | MarketPlace | Calendar | Headlines | Announcements | Weather | More... |


Go Back   Southern Maryland Community Forums > General Interest > Politics

Politics Democrat, Republican, Independent.  Liberal or conservative.  We're talking politics here!

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 04-20-2004, 09:14 AM   #1
Registered User
 
Sparx's Avatar
 
Member Since: Jun 2003
Location: Dunkirk
Posts: 1,059
bush campaign gear made in Burma

Bush campaign gear made in Burma
BY LAUREN WEBER

The official merchandise Web site for President George W. Bush's re-election campaign has sold clothing made in Burma, whose goods were banned by Bush from the U.S. last year to punish its military dictatorship.

The merchandise sold on www.georgewbushstore.com includes a $49.95 fleece pullover, embroidered with the Bush-Cheney '04 logo and bearing a label stating it was made in Burma, now Myanmar. The jacket was sent to Newsday as part of an order that included a shirt made in Mexico and a hat not bearing a country-of-origin label.

The Bush merchandise is handled by Spalding Group, a 20-year-old supplier of campaign products and services in Louisville, Ky., that says it worked for the last five Republican presidential nominees.

Bush campaign officials did not return calls seeking comment. The imports are potentially an issue because outsourcing has become a hot political topic in the election.

Bush last July signed into law the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act, saying "The United States will not waver from its commitment to the cause of democracy and human rights in Burma."

Violators of the import ban are subject to fines and jail, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.

Burmese textile workers earn as little as 7 cents per hour, according to the National Labor Committee, a human rights group.

"If it is true, it is very contradictory because the sanctions were imposed by the Bush administration," said Bo Hla-Tint, a spokesman for the Burmese government-in-exile in Washington, D.C.

Spalding, which works exclusively with Republican candidates at both local and national levels, tries to order American-made products, Jackson said. "Our first effort is always to source things from the U.S., but not a lot of garments are made in the U.S. Friday," he said.

"It's a terrible irony" that the Burmese jacket landed at Newsday, he said.

Schmitt said Colorado Trading employs an agent in Asia who conducts checks of factory conditions.

Human rights watcher Charles Kernaghan, director of the National Labor Committee, said the slip-up showed a lack of conviction on the administration's part. "Given the debate about outsourcing, it's amazing that the campaign would be selling stuff made in the most brutal country on earth, known for things like child labor and sexual slavery," he said. "It shows a crude indifference to this issue."

The National Basketball Association recently vowed to stop selling Burmese-made sweatshirts after a campaign by the NLC.


The Kerry merchandise was made in the United States, according to Mark Weiner, the president of Financial Innovations. The company, whose employees belong to the Communications Workers of America Union, sources most of its merchandise from union factories.

"It's becoming more difficult to find American-made union product, especially in textiles, but you just have to look. We pay more money for them, so we make a smaller profit margin," said Paul McConnell, Financial Innovations' vice president.

_____________________________________
David J. Sirota
Center for American Progress
Washington, D.C.
Sparx is offline   [ Reply w/Quote ]
Old 04-20-2004, 09:17 AM   #2
Repete
 
Pete's Avatar
 
Member Since: Jan 2003
Location: Hollywood
Posts: 50,905
I bet you are really pizzed that Dems went for HTTP instead of you. I think you will find it a good thing in the long run.
Pete is offline   [ Reply w/Quote ]
Old 04-20-2004, 09:23 AM   #3
Repete
 
Pete's Avatar
 
Member Since: Jan 2003
Location: Hollywood
Posts: 50,905
Hey goober, did you notice this disclaimer on the sidebar?


"The George W. Bush Online Store is operated by Spalding Group, an independent company licensed by Bush-Cheney ’04, Inc. Bush-Cheney ’04, Inc. receives no proceeds from the sale of this merchandise."

Probably not
Pete is offline   [ Reply w/Quote ]
Old 04-20-2004, 09:27 AM   #4
Repete
 
Pete's Avatar
 
Member Since: Jan 2003
Location: Hollywood
Posts: 50,905
"All products offered on The George W. Bush Online Store are made in the U.S.A."
-Ted Jackson, President
Spalding Group


Hmmmmmmmm could your handlers given you a bogus article?
Pete is offline   [ Reply w/Quote ]
Old 04-20-2004, 09:30 AM   #5
Asperger's Poster Child
 
Tonio's Avatar
 
Member Since: Aug 2001
Posts: 6,451
Quote:
Originally posted by Pete
Hey goober, did you notice this disclaimer on the sidebar?
Of course not. Partisans of all stripes ignore anything that gets in the way of their agendas.

I'm waiting for NewsMax to carry stories like "Kerry Stomps Small Helpless Kitten to Death" and AirAmerica to broadcast stuff like "Bush tells new mother her baby is ugly and was probably conceived in a drunken party hookup..."
__________________
The power of Vrai compels you! The power of Vrai compels you!
Tonio is offline   [ Reply w/Quote ]
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 10:36 AM.

SEO by vBSEO 3.6.0 ©2011, Crawlability, Inc.