This is a call for companies to look to the example of firms like Adaptive Marketing LLC. In addition to financial and shopping benefits programs including Shopping Essentials Plus made for the benefit of consumers, Adaptive Marketing organizes local volunteer activity to give its employees the time to give back to the local community.

If you think of company sponsored charitable effort, you probably think of blood drives, perhaps a Christmas call for donations, but this is simply no longer true. The staff members of Adaptive Marketing have been given opportunities to participate in a wide variety of community initiatives with more and less effort required. For these events, the dates, times and locations that had been arranged were announced, which made it convenient for staff members to know what to expect, and how much of a time commitment was required specifically.

Of course, it’s essential to let volunteers find programs in line with their own preferences. At Adaptive Marketing, the people who brought you Shopping Essentials Plus, staff members are given the chance to choose from a wide assortment of volunteer drives in the local area. There’s so much to be done, after all; working with young adults, assisting with green activities, or supporting local performance art to list just a few that have already been tried. The result is that Adaptive Marketing volunteers are presented with opportunities to use their time as efficiently as they can and love participating in the process.

Most often a company-sponsored charity project — getting involved with a local school, for example, or assisting at a homeless shelter — is done either as a one-off event or on a regular schedule designed to achieve a bigger goal. Members of staff may well contend that they don’t have the free time, though we’d be surprised if they honestly can’t find enough hours to help at some smaller one-day event.

We’re sure you know a number of examples of firms finding ways to help the citizens of their hometown. The good worksefforts of the staffers at Adaptive Marketing spread valuable goodwill around their home base. The fact is, the benefits of helping others include the certainty that you’ve done something good — a positive feeling that leaves not just the employee but the whole company more upbeat. It’s our hope that by now the rewards for everyone involved of a company-supported volunteer program are should have become plain to see for everyone.

“The spirit of cooperation I have seen in this hall is what is needed in Washington, D.C. It is the challenge of our moment. After a difficult election, we must put politics behind us and work together to make the promise of America available for every one of our citizens. I am optimistic that we can change the tone in Washington, D.C.”

– President George W. Bush, speech, Dec. 13, 2000.

“That background may lack the polish of Washington. Then again, I don’t have a lot of things that come with Washington. I don’t have enemies to fight. I have no stake in the bitter arguments of the last few years. I want to change the tone of Washington to one of civility and respect.”

– President George W. Bush, speech, August 3, 2000.

“We may not always agree, but hopefully, we can be honest with each other, and respect each other, and change the tone of Washington, D.C., so that when people look at the Nation’s Capital they will be proud of what they see.”

Changing the tone of our Nation’s Capital hasn’t been easy. I realize that in politics, old ways die hard. Washington at times has got a plenty sharp edge to it. The only thing I can do, and the only thing Dick Cheney and others in our administration can do is to control our own responses. When I hear my policies and my nominees attacked in a hostile and partisan way, I simply hear the echoes of an era behind us.

I’m not going to take the bait. I’m going to lead this country to a new level of respect. I came to this town to change the tone of the capital. And I’m not going to quit.”

– President George W. Bush, speech, May 22, 2001

“On issue after issue they (Democrats) stand for nothing except obstruction…political parties that choose the path of obstruction will not gain the trust of the American people.”

– President George W. Bush, speech, June 16, Bloomberg News.

“At an evening congressional gala in Washington, Bush drew applause by calling for an overhaul of the tax code, a national energy bill and permanent tax relief, among other things. He accused Democrats of trying to block all of them.

‘They stand for nothing except obstruction, and this is not leadership,’ Bush said. ‘It is the philosophy of the stop sign, the agenda of the road block, and the country and our children deserve better.’”

– President George W. Bush, speech, June 15, reported by the Associated Press

I think it’s safe to say that Bush’s 2000 campaign promise to bring civility back to Washington has been abandoned. No surprises there, considering the promises broken by this president.

Of course, the political climate today is decidedly poisonous, with both sides attacking each other.

And while a handful of Democrats have attacked Bush, it has been Republicans, and the conservative pundits, that have done all they can to vilify Democrats and liberals. They claim we’re terrorist sympathizers and that we’re guilty of treason for speaking out against the war in Iraq. They claim we’re on a campaign to persecute Christians and to destroy “traditional” family values by attempting to “legitimize” gay marriage.

The pundits have also written books attacking liberals. Ann Coulter, a frequent guest on shows like Fox’s Hannity and Colmes, has written a number of books slamming liberals. Sean Hannity of Hannity and Colmes also writes books, and includes titles that say “Deliver Us From Evil…defeating…Depotism and Liberalism.” As if liberals were a group that needed to be destroyed. Michael Savage’s latest book likens liberalism to a mental illness.

On cable news, most conservatives are free to spew their hatred of liberals with little opposition. Hannity and Colmes, which stars Sean Hannity and Alan Colmes, is a perfect example of this dynamic. It’s not an exaggeration that at times the show will feature one or two (or three) right-wing guests “debating” with a lone liberal guest. Alan Colmes, representing the liberal point of view, is not nearly as aggressive as Hannity in defending liberals or Democrats. Colmes may at times attempt a sort of aggressive response to a comment made by a conservative guest, but he doesn’t come close to the hatred espoused by Hannity. His technique for a liberal guest is to simply barrage the guest with questions (or, more typically, statements) and demand that a liberal respond. Hannity has a number of pet liberals (like Colmes) he likes, such as “liberal” Fox News contributor Susan Estritch, who more likely than not will agree with Hannity. So much for “fair and balanced.”

It’s time for Democrats, liberals and progressives to take a stand against the onslought of liberal hatred by the Republican politicians and pundits. Liberals like to take a beating, it seems, at the hands of conservatives.

I think many liberals believe it is better to take the high road and not sink to the level of a conservative who can scream over and over about how liberals hate America. It’s not better. We need to defend ourselves and aggressively promote an agenda. Democrats in Congress seem to spend most of their time on defense against Republicans, rather than coming together to put forth a bold agenda on what direction to take America. Polls support the idea that Americans are not happy with the direction Bush is taking the country, in some polls that number was about 60%. Democrats have a chance of taking a step towards removing the Republican majority in the 2006 mid-term elections. With bold leadership and clear ideas on how to make America better, we may just make it happen. Here’s hoping it will.

About the Author

Scott C. Smith is a Beaverton, Oregon freelance writer and regular contributor to Counterbias. Scott also writes for his blog, What’s In Scott’s Head, at Scott C. Smith dot net. Scott’s columns have also appeared at the liberal web sites Democratic Underground and The Smirking Chimp.

Among the recent contestations impending on Yasmin, Yaz and Ocella birth control, the drugs also include drospirenone, an ingredient not in other oral contraceptives. The British Medical Journal released studies in August 2009 diplaying a higher risk of venous blood clots in women taking drospirenone as opposed to those who received other oral contraceptives. In the same month, the Food & Drug Administration issued an non-related cautionary letter to Bayer Pharmaceuticals, makers of Yaz, for using low-quality batches of drospirenone from a plant in Germany. For the benefit of public interest and well-being, these studies have been made available free on the web.

Any women that have been wounded as a result of taking Yaz, Yasmin or Ocella may be entitled to compensation. Many attorneys and legal aid agencies such as thelegaladvocate.com now provide assistance to anyone going through side effects and health issues as a direct result of using Yasmin contraception. Now that more women across the United States are coming forward and filing lawsuits, the legal system is moving closer to rendering justice for those who were misinformed by the birth control manufacturers and possibly their doctors.