Blue Christmas How can you be sure that the bubble bath and books you buy support the Democratic Party? A postelection palette of Web sites have recently sprung to the fore to help progressive shoppers spend their money without supporting the war and the neocon agenda. ChooseTheBlue.com and BuyBlue.org outline which national chains give to Donkeys and Elephants, and in what proportion, to help conscientious shoppers continue to vote with their dollars.

Union lights The San Francisco Chronicle reported some tension on Union Street as local merchants tried to spruce up the shopping district with holiday lights, dimmed by the lumbering laziness of their chain store neighbors who were slow to act. "We do a lot of events, and we're always having trouble getting the corporations to participate," one local business owner said.

Karen Solomon

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