Thanks to a collaboration between MadDogPAC.com and Mesa County citizens who understand the danger that Republicans and Trump pose to freedom and American democracy in the November general election, as of June 1 the above billboard will be up on Highway 340 in Grand Junction, visible to people driving west onto the Redlands over the Broadway bridge, and it will be lit up all night. It will be there for two months and could appear elsewhere around the valley after the initial two months if enough people donate to make it happen.
Tag: Advertising
Advertising, Corruption, Cringeworthy, Election deniers, Embarrassing Republicans, Extremism, Fake patriotism, Republicans violating laws, Scams, Tina Peters, Vile Republicans, Weird western slope stuff
Tina Peters taking advantage of delays in her trials to sell “Tina Peters-as-Hero” swag
by 6 Comments
• •Tina Peters has wasted no time in taking advantage of the most recent delays in her criminal and civil trials to milk her status as a darling of the Trump Party and rake in more money. She has started broadening her appeal to the MAGA crowd by praising people convicted of participating in the deadly January 6 insurrection, lovingly referring to them as “our J6ers.” She condemns “the military-age men who are coming across our border with debit cards and buying $5,000 worth of new clothes” “and saying in no uncertain terms “… we need an authoritarian in office.”
While she repeatedly insists in her videos that she hasn’t profited from anything she’s done, Tina has also quickly rolled out a huge line of Tina Peters-as-Hero themed promotional gear for sale through her website, including T-shirts, sweatshirts, “Patriot-Whistleblower-Truth Teller Tina Peters” greeting cards (pack of 5 for $25), aluminum Tina Peters-themed vanity license plates with her website on it ($14.85), Tina Peters Sherpa Fleece Blankets ($70.40 – $97.70), “I stand with Tina Peters” scented candles ($38.10), dog hoodies ($37.35), backpacks and whiskey glasses,
Advertising, Conspiracy theories, Crazy Republicans, Cringeworthy, Election deniers, Embarrassing Republicans, Generic idiocy, Propaganda, Republican lies, The Big Lie, Weird Grand Junction Stuff
Tina Peters reduced to advertising kitty litter on her internet TV show
by 28 Comments
• •Former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters spent the evening of Christmas, 2023 hunched over in a RV in the dark broadcasting her internet TV show, “The Tina Peters Show,” over wifi from an undisclosed location. She told viewers that for her, Christmas “is always a little bit quiet because the criminals have taken most of my family.” She interviewed an anti vaxx, anti-mask, election-denier conspiracy theorist-attorney from Oregon, begged viewers to donate money to help fund her personal support and legal expenses, warned viewers against taking vaccines, promoted fake Covid-19 cures and treatments, expressed her hope that “the scales would fall from the eyes” of Mesa County District Attorney Dan Rubinstein and the judge in her criminal case and both would undergo a Biblical awakening within the next 6 weeks before her criminal trial starts on February 9, see the error of their ways and drop all of the charges against her, since in her own mind she’s done nothing wrong.
Tina complained, “They want to put me in prison for being a whistleblower.”
Advertising, Conspiracy theories, Crazy Republicans, Crime, Dangerous Republicans, Democracy under threat, Election deniers, Embarrassing Republicans, Ethics, Republicans violating laws, Tina Peters, Trump Insanity
Defiant, Tina Peters is making a living denigrating the justice system, telling lies, selling bogus Covid supplements and boosting other liars and lunatics
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• •Prior to being Mesa County Clerk, Tina Peters was a charlatan who made a living promoting work-from-home, get-rich quick schemes and selling unproven health remedies like magnets, shoe inserts and dietary supplements, telling people they would improve conditions like neuropathy, fibromyalgia, high blood pressure, autism and diabetes. As she awaits her February, 9, 2024 trial on criminal charges, she is falling back on this tactic, turbo-boosting her cons by capitalizing on her new-found fame as a national figure in the election denier business.
This time, however, her new-found charlatanism is far more dangerous and corrosive to American society.
Advertising, Corporations, Corruption, Ethics, Marketing, Red Rock dealerships, Red Rock Nissan, Scams
Red Rock promotes its reviews on TV, but wait…
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• •The Red Rock Auto Group, which owns five dealerships in Grand Junction, has been advertising heavily on local news with ads that tout what they say are their many positive reviews.
We’ve already seen evidence, however, that indicates Red Rock manipulates online reviews by coercing its employees to write positive reviews (a violation Google policy) and by purchasing good reviews from customers by offering them perks like free gas and oil changes in exchange for positive online reviews.
But we shouldn’t forget the slew of gritty and honest negative reviews that show the real difficulty Red Rock has caused so many customers, and the responses or lack thereof to such reviews from “the owner.”
Advertising, Consumer advocacy, Economics, Scams, Weird western slope stuff
Red Rock Kia charging customers more for paying cash
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• •Red Rock Kia is advertising a 2018 Nissan Murano on Facebook Marketplace with two different prices: one if a customer finances the car, and another almost $900 higher for customers who pay cash.
The ad points to the financed price, and crows “Saves money!”
Come on, Red Rock. We’re not idiots.
Any form of financing will cost a buyer far more than they can ever save on this deal.
Even under the best circumstances, for example a customer who finances $27,000, has an excellent credit score and a 48 month loan at a 5% interest rate, after adding taxes and fees to the deal, the interest on that loan will cost at least $3,350.
Small potatoes compared to the what Red Rock wants to charge people who pay cash.
It’s legal for them to do this. After all, they’re telling you about it right up front, as they should
But that also gives people the ability to vote with their feet by patronizing businesses that don’t discriminate against customers based on form of payment.
Advertising, Corporations, Economics, Ethics, Greedwashing, Scams
Red Rock Auto Group’s greedwashing campaign
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• •After a company has been outed as over-the-top greedy, there’s nothing left for it to do but make conspicuous donations to local charities to score public relations points and blow smoke to make people forget about how their business has harmed the community in the long term.
That’s likely why, near the end of 2022, after all the unseemly tactics Red Rock Auto dealerships had been using on customers to fleece them out of thousands of dollars over the last 7 years were exposed, Red Rock suddenly started ramping up its donations to local charities and promoting their donations in ads on TV and through free media given to them by local TV stations and newspapers.
A company that ingratiates itself to reputable charitable causes as a way to distract from its immoral acts is engaging in a form of “greedwashing,” a term developed during the taxpayer-funded federal bailouts of the big banks during the economic crash of 2008-2009:
Advertising, Consumer advocacy, Crime, Ethics, Red Rock dealerships, Red Rock Nissan, Scams
First hint of accountability for Red Rock
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• •Michelle Mondragon, whose hair-raising story about buying a vehicle from Red Rock Nissan last year was featured in this blog November 1, 2022, received the above letter from the Colorado Department of Revenue’s Auto Industry Division last week indicating they have finally taken some action against the dealership, albeit a very weak action.
The letter warns Red Rock they “may have” violated several laws and regulations in the Mondragons’ case regarding deceptive advertising and sales of vehicles, and says “No action will be taken against your dealer’s license at this time. However, any further violations may be referred to the Motor Vehicle Dealer board,” and “your dealer’s license may be subject to disciplinary action that could include fines, suspension or revocation of your license. It is imperative that you take measures to correct the matters within your organization.”
This is likely just the beginning.
The Mondragons submitted their complaint against Red Rock last October. Since then, many more Red Rock customers have submitted complaints about how Red Rock defrauded them.
If you review paperwork from your deal at Red Rock and find irregularities like forged signatures, charges for items you never agreed to like extended warranties, special coatings or detail packages, or if you check with your lender and find Red Rock lied to them about your gross income, monthly rent or mortgage payment or the features of the vehicle you were buying, file a complaint with the Auto Industry Division at this link. Be prepared to upload images of your paperwork to substantiate what you found that was fraudulent.
Advertising, Consumer advocacy, Crime, Ethics, Marketing, Red Rock dealerships, Scams
Customers fleeced out of thousands by Grand Junction Red Rock dealerships
by 58 Comments
• •People who patronized Grand Junction Red Rock dealerships are warning others shopping for vehicles locally that the dealerships used shady techniques to cheat them, or attempt to cheat them, out of thousands of dollars without their knowing.
Coronavirus pandemic, Ethics, Greg Haitz, Health, Public health, Quackery, Safety, Scams
Does Greg Haitz’s furtive editing of his “Immune Support Pack” page indicate consciousness of guilt?
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• •Last month we noticed that Grand Junction chiropractor Greg Haitz of the Rimrock Wellness Center at 12th and Patterson, was marketing his own proprietary “Rimrock Wellness Center” brand of dietary supplement, “Immune Support Pack,” with a description that inferred the product could help mitigate or protect against Covid-19, or “C19”:
The National Institutes of Health currently warns Americans that
“Data are insufficient to support recommendations for or against the use of any vitamin, mineral, herb or other botanical, fatty acid, or other dietary supplement ingredient to prevent or treat COVID-19.”
At the same time, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is actively monitoring for firms that are marketing products using fraudulent claims that they can prevent, mitigate or treat COVID-19.
After the blog about this product was published, we noticed Haitz edited his “Immune Support Pack” web page to remove the descriptive paragraph previously seen above, and instead he had substituted a list of five published studies:
Advertising, Conservatives, Crazy Republicans, Dangerous Republicans, Embarrassing Republicans, Ethics, Extremism, Generic idiocy, Greg Haitz, Health care, Lies, Marketing, Pandemic, Public health
Local chiropractor Greg Haitz is behind “Stop the Mandate GJ,” hawks unproven supplements for Covid-19
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• •Rimrock Wellness Center, a chiropractic office at 12th and Patterson that also sells fat-loss treatments and supplements, has the same street address as “Stop the Mandate GJ,” the group agitating to stop hospitals, nursing homes and doctors’ offices from requiring health workers be vaccinated against Covid-19, the highly communicable, often deadly disease causing the pandemic. At the same time it is encouraging people to remain unvaccinated, Rimrock Wellness Center is also trying to profit off unvaccinated people’s fear of getting Covid-19, as well as their misperceptions of the relative safety and efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines.
Haitz fraudulently promotes his own brand of supplement as protective against Covid-19
Advertising, Crazy Republicans, Embarrassing Republicans, Lauren Boebert, politics
Shooters Grill logo up for auction by group trying to oust Boebert
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• •A Colorado-based organization working to oust CD-3 House Rep. Lauren Boebert from Congress, Rural Colorado United (RCU), has managed to purchase the trademark for Shooters Grill in Rifle, Colorado, the restaurant owned by Boebert and her husband, and are auctioning it off to the highest bidder on an online marketplace for digital works.
The situation came about after Toby Morton, a comedy writer for the animated series South Park, created a parody website about Rep. Boebert, TheLaurenBoebert.com, using the same photo Boebert has on the home page of her actual government website.
Advertising, Crazy Republicans, Deplorables, Extremism, Firearms, politics, Trump Insanity, Weird Grand Junction Stuff
Trumpers erect massive, likely illegal, sign display along I-70 at go cart track
by 17 Comments
• •Trump supporters have laboriously erected a huge and impressive pro-Trump signage display along I-70 on the property of the go-cart track.
Problem is, it appears to be illegal.
The display consists of forty one 4 ft. x 8 ft. signs totaling 1,312 square feet of signage.
The go-cart parcel is zoned “AFT” (Agricultural/Forestry Transition), and is non-residential.
Advertising, Corporations, Democracy, Embarrassing Republicans, Equal rights, Ethics, Extremism, Fake patriotism, Intolerance, politics, Trump Insanity
Trump campaign threatens KREX
by 7 Comments
• •KREX received a cease-and-desist letter (pdf) from President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign threatening the station over a political ad it ran called “Exponential Threat” produced by Priorities USA, a Democratic super PAC.
The ad juxtaposes a montage of the many dismissive comments Trump made about the Coronavirus pandemic earlier this year with an animated chart showing the rising number of infections in the United States. It ends by saying: “America needs a leader we can trust.”
The Trump campaign sent the threatening letter to television stations across the country, suggesting it would sue the stations for defamation and urge the Federal Communications Commission to revoke their FCC licenses.
Activism, Advertising, Health care, Human rights, politics, Public health, Women
Reproductive Rights Road Show to be in Grand Junction 10/4 at CMU
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• •The Colorado Reproductive Health Rights and Justice Coalition will be putting on a Reproductive Rights Roadshow at Colorado Mesa University on Friday, October 4 from 12 noon – 1:30 p.m. in Room 221 of the University Center building, on the 2nd floor attached to the parking garage. Appetizers will be served!
The Roadshow is traveling around the state to inform Colorado citizens about what is happening in the legislature and what’s being done in our community to preserve and strengthen reproductive rights and access to abortion care. The Coalition also wants to listen to you and find out what issues are of greatest concern to people here in our community.
The Coalition is an umbrella group comprised of the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL), Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, the Colorado Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, the Interfaith Alliance of Colorado, the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado (ACLU-CO), New Era Colorado, ProgressNow Colorado and Soul2Soul Sisters.
Advertising, Consumer advocacy, Corporations, Corruption, Marketing, Safety
Beware local sales pitch for a free filet mignon dinner
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• •Have you received a post card in the mail recently promising a free gourmet dinner, with your choice of filet mignon, poached salmon or grilled Portobello steak, at the Ocotillo Restaurant in exchange for sitting through an “informational seminar and insurance sales presentation”?
My first thought upon reading this post card was that given the high cost of the promotion — a sit-down filet mignon dinner at a really nice restaurant — that the company sponsoring this free dinner must be having a VERY hard time attracting customers on the merits of the company alone. I read the postcard thoroughly and squinted to read the mice type, which said “Securities and investment advisory services offered through Woodbury Financial Services.”
Then I looked into Woodbury Financial Services, and it was no wonder the person putting on this promo buried the company’s name in the mice type.
Activism, Corruption, Cronyism, Education, Elections, Embarrassing Republicans, Ethics, Janet Rowland, politics, Republicans violating laws
Tim Foster’s political stumping as CMU president may violate laws
by 7 Comments
• •[Update 8/14/19: Mesa County Commissioner candidate Janet Rowland pulled this ad from her Facebook page after this article was published].
People are questioning whether an ad that Mesa County Commissioner candidate Janet Rowland recently posted on her campaign Facebook page violates the law.
In the ad, Colorado Mesa University President Tim Foster endorses Rowland for commissioner in his capacity as president of CMU, not as a private individual as the law requires. The law says Foster is permitted to make such an endorsement, but ONLY in his capacity as a private individual; he is specifically prohibited from using his position as a state employee for politicking or attempting to influence an election.
The ad appears to violate two separate federal laws: the Hatch Act and the Fair Campaign Practices Act.
Technical guidance issued for state employees by the Colorado’s Division of Human Resources (pdf) on the implementation of these laws states,
CMU accepts federal funding, thus Foster is subject to both laws.
Activism, Advertising, Atheism
Western Colorado Atheists and Freethinkers’ spring message
by 3 Comments
• •Western Colorado Atheists and Freethinkers (WCAF) has a message for Grand Valley residents this spring: Atheism is “a personal relationship with reality.”
WCAF is the area’s longest-serving secular group, and their billboard is to help encourage people come to logical conclusions based on verifiable facts rather than basing conclusions on dogma, fables, mythology, superstition or sheer faith. That’s the message of the group’s spring, 2019 billboard, which went up today on I-70B by Rimrock Marketplace in front of Hobby Lobby and Chick-Fil-A. The board is west-facing and visible to traffic coming into town. It will be up for one week. Take photos with it while you can.