Free Market Warrior was founded to redress an imbalance in the marketplace of ideas.  As more and more Americans wake up to the sobering reality of a government bent on destroying the very foundations of American freedom and prosperity, they may reflect back on what they were drinking last night that led them here.  It was a veritable ocean of Obamamania.

It hasn't been so long since every checkout aisle in the country was festooned with everything from coloring books to jig saw puzzles celebrating a man who was the greatest president in history, before he started.  (He would have secured his place for eternity if only he hadn't been inaugurated!)

We wanted to offer an alternative so parents could show their children that there was still diversity in America.  That our slide into North Korean leader worship could be checked.

Now, we had suspected that the simultaneous descent of all media into Obama worship was not an accident.  Like the hype before a major Hollywood release, nothing was going to be left to chance.  It is also axiomatic that the right likes to debate while the left likes to silence debate.  But our little kiosk seemed small enough to fit under the radar.

But maybe not.  I see our bumper stickers almost every time I drive around Charlotte now, and the classically totalitarian objective of both the Administration and the left wing media is to create the illusion that everybody agrees and there are no alternative ideas.  Free Market Warrior became the weed poking through the cracked pavement of the American left.  

And so along comes Simon Property Group Inc, owner of more shopping malls than they can count and proud seven figure donors to every democrat you've ever heard of.  All it took was one complaint, typically intolerant (we shouldn't be allowed), cliché (we support "racism"), and bizarre (we support "slavery"?!?).  And the wheels of leftist censorship, comfortably ensconced in the halls of capitalism, began to turn and we were out.

A left wing acquaintance of mine (yes, I have them) responding to my argument that obamaism could not survive actual implementation in the real political world told me: "if they attack him, we'll just shout racism'".  Indeed.

I urge everyone to read the following summary of what happened.  The story itself is an instant classic!
And the most positive part is the reaction we've received from the conservative and libertarian world.  Everyone from writers to elected officials to just regular folks has been coming out to support us.  I have never been so moved in all my life.

If you'd like to help us out, get a Membership.  You'll get some cool stuff and a discount on everything else.  If you're interested in attending one of our "Economic Literacy Seminars" or want one in your area let us know.  And, if you want to find out about other ways to get involved, drop us a line. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

We promise to keep supplying you with cutting-edge merchandise supporting free markets and traditional American values.  And we promise to keep fighting. 

SIMON MALLS SHUTS DOWN CONSERVATIVE VOICES, AGAIN!
Free market Warrior is expelled from Concord Mills Mall by Simon Properties Inc.

• Concord Mills is the largest shopping Mall in the Carolinas.  It receives about 26 million visitors each year.

• The only store at Concord Mills that sells politically conservative material, FREE MARKET WARRIOR, will not be able to continue at Concord Mill after July 31, 2009. 

• The Mall's reason for this has changed at least three times.  Each time, they sighted company policies that they were not willing to produce in writing.  Each time they refused to allow FREE MARKET WARRIOR to address and remedy the concerns in order to renew their lease. 

• The Mall also claimed to have received numerous complaints about FREE MARKET WARRIOR.  When pressed, they were able to produce only two complaints, which were fraught with completely absurd charges (e.g. that FREE MARKET WARRIOR supports "racism" and "slavery".)  In truth, no product at FREE MARKET WARRIOR makes any reference to anyone's race or sex and the theme of the entire store is "freedom" the exact opposite of "slavery".

• Meanwhile other retailers at the same mall sell material that has a left wing bias, is obscene and/or promotes anti-social messages such as the use of illegal drugs.  The Mall, apparently, has no objection to this material.  Examples can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/savefmw/.
  
  
  • The real issue seems to be the commitment of Simon Properties Group Inc. and its chairman Mel Simon, to left wing causes.  They are major donors to numerous Democrats and liberal causes.  They also achieved notoriety a few weeks ago for kicking the Atlanta Tea Party off land they controlled.  This is clearly another case of silencing conservative and pro-freedom voices. 

• As supporters of property rights, we concede that Simon Properties Group has a right to run their malls with a "Liberals only –no conservatives need apply" philosophy.  But, if they so chose, their conservative and libertarian customers should let them know that the "conservative free zone" they've created will apply to shoppers also and not just vendors. 

• The net result is that employees will be thrown out of work during a recession and shoppers will be denied products that thousands have happily purchased (at this and other locations).  Free speech and political discourse will be curtailed even further.

MERCHANDISE AT ISSUE:
What's offensive…FREE MARKET WARRIOR was told by mall officials that the following shirt and bumper sticker slogan were offensive:

• "Impeach Obama"
• "Al Qaeda's two favorite days:  9/11/01 & 11/4/08"
• "Thanks Mom and Dad for Choosing Life!"

And what's not…Here are slogans from t-shirts sold at other Concord Mills vendors.  They apparently have no problem allowing these vendors and this merchandise to stay:

• "I eat P***y like a fat kid eats cake"
• "I love my Daddy even thou he's an A**hole"
• "Please don't just use me for my big D***"
• There are also materials advocating illegal drugs etc. 
• We are displaying these images at WWW.FLICKR.com/XXXX

[In all cases the obscene words are spelled out in full on the actual shirts.]

There are also materials advocating illegal drugs etc.  We have attached some photos of these products.

A PARTIAL LIST OF MEL AND BREN SIMON'S POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS INCLUDES:
$1,000,000 donation to the William J. Clinton Foundation http://www.indy.com/posts/simons-gave-to-clinton-foundation
$100,000 worth of donations by Bren Simon to political candidates including a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton's presidential bid and contribution to Obama's inaugural committee.
$50,0000 donation to Barack Obama's Inaugural Committee.
$5,000 donation to National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, Inc. PAC
$5,000 donation to National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, Inc. PAC
$4,600 donation to Hillary Clinton (2007).
$2,300 donation to Al Franken for Senate (2007).
$2,300 donation to Friends of Hillary (2008).
$2,300 donation to Hoosiers for Hill (2007).

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

People who wish to support FREE MARKET WARRIOR can visit their website at www.FREEMARKETWARRIOR.COM .

People who wish to help publicize this blatant discrimination are urged to write letters to newspaper editors and call in to talk radio programs.  In particular, the local Newspaper can be reached at:

 CHARLOTTEOBSERVER.COM.  Under "contact" will be found a form to submit a letter to the editor.

The local talk radio is: WBT   call in: 704-570-1110.  Major WBT radio personalities:
Keith Larson 9-noon EDT This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   704.374.3564
Tara Servatius 3-6 pm EDT  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

People who are interested in getting more involved in this can contact:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
While calls to the mall are fine, we are convinced (after thousands of ignored calls) that this will not move them.  We are much more likely to have an effect by drawing attention through the media.
LONG VERSION (complete narrative of relevant events):

Free Market Warrior has been operating its kiosk at Concord Mills Mall for 2 months.  (It is right outside the Bass Pro Shop.)  Their original proposal to the mall stated that the purpose of the store was to help people "express political ideas and opinions".   They always had positive relations with the mall until someone wrote a letter to the Charlotte Observer  accusing them of advocating "racism", "sexism" and "slavery" (!).   While this is all nonsense and initially the Mall management agreed that there was nothing wrong they soon changed their tune.  The mall stated that they had received many other complaints by email and asked FMW to remove "offensive" slogans which, according to them, included "impeach Obama" and "Thanks mom and dad for choosing life" (really, FMW was told this was offensive!). FMW asked for a written list of offensive material and a policy of what was "offensive" and what not. They never furnished this written policy and instead called 2 weeks later with the intention of not renewing the lease and a new spin. This time the problem was that FMW wasn't "balanced" enough (even though they carry, for instance, both Democrat and Republican merchandise specifically for the sake of being balanced.  FMW owner, Loren Spivack says "we want to get the conservative message out, while every other store has only the liberal message.  So, if the price for allowing the conservative message to be seen is to redundantly carry the liberal message, we're willing to do that.)  And, moreover, the Mall wanted them to leave by the end of July when the lease runs out. FMW offered to meet with mall management to discuss how an acceptable balance could be reached. Mall management initially accepted this offer and promised to set up a meeting. They never did.  Instead they contacted FMW two weeks later with their third version of their position. This time they stated that mall policy specifically prohibited any material that expressed any opinion. This would mean that essentially all FMW merchandise would have to go. (Recall that the original stated purpose of the store, accepted by the mall, was to express opinions.)  FMW was advised that the matter was closed and the lease would absolutely not be renewed with any of the current merchandise.  Once again, FMW asked to see the "neutrality" policy behind this decision. Repeated requests have produced neither the policy, nor an answer as to whether such policy is potentially available for viewing, or even if it actually exists.  They did, after six weeks, finally furnish the emailed complaints they had referenced earlier. There were two.  One of which was written be the same lady who sent the original letter to the Observer.

 As far as the Mall's three versions of what makes merchandise unacceptable, a quick tour of the mall reveals dozens of stores that sell unbalanced, highly opinionated, and highly offensive material that the mall apparently does not mind. These include pro-Obama sentiments expressed on t-shirts and magnates etc. (but no anti-Obama material).  Material that promotes the use of marijuana, highly sexualized images, and a wide variety of material that seems far more "offensive" than "thanks for choosing life" bib.

It seems clear that the real issue is that the owners of Simon properties give millions to left-wing politicians and causes including Barack Obama, both Clintons and Al Franken. This explains why FMW is the only store that they find offensive; and why being "balanced" doesn't help. (They don't want balanced; they want only pro-Obama statements.)  Finally, it explains why the local mall management never had a problem with FMW until publicity caught the attention of national management.

People who wish to help us in our effort to reverse the mall's decision may contact the coalition that's forming over this at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  Press inquiries can be made to the same address.