Anti-Obama Billboard Hurting Business: Owner

[trailmonkee]

Source: NBC News



A Milford gas station owner blames an anti-Obama billboard for scaring away business.

The sign is posted above USA Fuel on the Boston Post Road near High Street. The billboard reads "Obama = The Entry Drug to Socialism."

"I’ve lost a few customers, I’ve lost quite a few, said Fayez Ghaly, owner of USA Fuel. "They either don’t come back or they’re really upset about it. We try to explain to them it’s not our sign and we can’t do anything about it."

The store has dropped gas prices to try and lure customers back.

"It’s actually been driving us crazy, because everybody thinks straightforward that it is our sign, because when you look at it the first time, you think it’s on our property," said Moe Boulas, a USA Fuel employee.

The sign is owned by DeForest Smith of George J. Smith and Son Real Estate. He said he put it up because someone had to share a message that he believes many agree with.


Read more: http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/Anti-Obama-Billboard-Hurting-Business-Owner-170104956.html

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video link: http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/news/new_haven_cty/gas-station-owner-political-billboard-is-hurting-business

[Drunken Irishman]

1. That's awful. I'd sue 'em.

[trailmonkee]

28. he should put hundreds of Obama campaign signs on his property

[onenote]

30. It sucks, but what would he sue them for?

[magic59]

2. Socialism beats fascism any day of the week

and twice on Sunday.

[jsr]

3. Dumb ass

and a very stupid businessman.

[frylock]

8. it's not his billboard..

he's just being effed over thanks to some asshole teabagger.

[hexola]

4. Idiots! - It's GATEWAY Drug

They totally blow the metaphor!

[trailmonkee]

29. they are sex obsessed, cant help using the word entry.....

[Ash_F]

5. The sign owner is hurting his neighbor's business

Not his own, assuming he actually has one.

[frylock]

13. he does..

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014234732#post12

[JohnnyRingo]

6. I agree, sue him

At least force that Teabilly to erect a second sign for Mr Ghaly indicating it doesn't belong to the store, a disclaimer of sorts. I think that's fair, regardless of who the sign denigrates. Mr Ghaly has the receipts to prove damages.

The stupid sign would disappear overnight, and I still think the second sign should be put up to bring back the lost business.

[Cha]

7. That Sux!

THe Real Estate Liars should pay!

[yends21012]

9. It's not advertising,

at best it's a political statement. Aren't there limits on the size, location, and position of political campaign signs, especially if they obstruct business? I don't know the answer, but perhaps it would be something the gas station owner should look into it with the city/county/state government (whatever is appropriate).

[onenote]

31. I doubt very highly that the government could regulate this sign

It looks like its an existing billboard and that is now being used for a political message. If it was lawful to have a billboard of that size in that location for commercial advertising its undoubtedly the case that it is lawful to use the sign for political messages. Despite everything the SCOTUS has done, political speech still gets protected by the first amendment.

It sucks that the station is losing business and hopefully getting him some publicity (start sharing the story on FB and other media) will help him recover and maybe even attract business.

[Dawson Leery]

10. I know the area well.

With that said, we should make it our business to not use the services of "George J. Smith and Son Real Estate".

[James48]

11. George J Smith & Son Real Estate

How To Contact Us.
George J Smith & Son Real Estate.
By Phone: [phone] (Office).
By Fax: [phone] (Fax).
By e-mail: [e-mail].
Address: George J Smith & Son Real Estate.
247 Broad St.
Milford, CT 06460.

[frylock]

12. Perhaps it's time that George J. Smith and Son Real Estate..

lost some business as well. or we can contact them direct and let them know how we feel!

George J Smith & Son Real Estate
247 Broad St Milford, CT 06460

Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

http://www.georgejsmith.com/Home

[robinlynne]

15. done.

[hauweg]

27. Mofo in charge

Deforest W. "Frosty" Smith
President
CCIM, SIOR, GRI, CRB
[e-mail]
http://www.facebook.com/deforest.smith

[donqpublic]

14. PROOF! Romney supporters ARE anti-small business. I knew it! (n/t)

[trailmonkee]

17. such an a-hole...

To hurt biz like this and not give a shit... Nice

[spotbird]

16. Gas station owner needs his own sign

in front of his evil neighbor's that says, "I sell gas. That's all." &quot The asshole who owns the sign above hates small business.)"

[surrealAmerican]

18. I agree; it's time for him to make a billboard of his own.

He needs to show his customers who that sign belongs to.

[drm604]

19. Anyone who lives in that area

give Mr. Ghaly some business.

[MrsBrady]

20. I'd make another sign pointing to it

saying...
"NOT OUR SIGN.
We support Obama."

[VPStoltz]

21. Oh, oops, my cig butt fell in that tire under the sign and set it on fire.

So sorry for you loss.

[tonekat]

24. It would make a good Paintball practice target

...not that I'm advocating that. No sir. That, as Richard Nixon once said, would be wrong.

[Kolesar]

25. Styrofoam coffee cups with lids make perfect paint bombs

The cigarette billboards in Youngstown all got bombed one night in the nineties.

[donqpublic]

22. Start a sign fund

Build a sign the same size and height right in front of this douche-bag's sign. I will contribute.

[DainBramaged]

23. Their client list

http://www.georgejsmith.com/GJSClientsList


3 M Corporation - yup, Scotch tape
Ansonia Copper & Brass Corporation - they fixed the toilets
AT &T Wireless -one of these assholes has a cell phone
AVCO-Lycoming - they bought fan blade
Baker Properties - These are the guys who bailed them out in 1994
Bayer Corporation - aspirin for assholes, stands to reason
Bellemead Development Corporation They rent office space
Ben & Jerry's - right, like Ben and Jerry's used these assholes for anything put selling ice cream to
Bennigan's Restaurants - Before they went under they ate there
Chase Manhattan Bank - Ya got to stash your money somewhere
Chubb Group - Insurance, what happens if those filthy Liberals attack?
Connecticut Food Bank -HHAHAHAHAHA their dirty little secret
Continental Bakeries - They love white bread
Cooper Surgical - The old man needed a bedpan
CVS - We can't make Viagra ourselves ya know
Denny's Restaurants - Ah lunch on the go
Eastern Bag & Paper - For the sacks we wear in public
Emerson Electric (US Motors) Without the air conditioners our offices would be hot as the devil
Federal Express - checks from the motherland
Five Guys Hamburgers - well, we like burgers
Fusco Corporation - yeah Fusco this
Gateway Computer - Yup, our old pieces of shit are as antiquated as us
Hampton Inns - got to take the hookers somewhere
Hubbell, Inc (Delaware) - We threw this on in as a ringer
IBM Corporation - we had ab old floppy drive in the closet
ITT - ditto
Kinko's - we're too cheap to lease a copier
K Mart - shit where ya gonna get household shit
Keystone Automotive - parts to keep the Hudson going
Marriott Corporation - Cheap porn movies
McDonald's - burgers burgers and more burgers
Wm B. Meyer Moving & Storage - one step ahead of the sheriff
Milford Bank - where we keep the gold bars we get from the Government
Mobil Oil Corporation - gas for the Hudson
NCR - Martha's old pull handle adding machine
JC Penny Inc. - outdated clothes for all
Peoples Bank - where we keep the silver bars from the Government
Rite Aid Corporation - when CVS is out of Viagra
Shell Oil - oil for the Hudson
Shopco Group - more shit for home
Sikorsky Division- United Technologies - we went there to look at helicopters
SNET - well, sometimes ya need a phone line not a cell phone contraption
Standard & Poors - we read the Wall Street Journal
Staples Inc. - shit, the pens we use to foreclose with
State Farm Insurance - insurance for the Hudson
Stop & Shop Supermarkets - stuff for home
Subway Sandwich Shops - LUNCH when we grow tired of burgers burgers burgers
Toll Brothers, Inc. - we like looking at the homes we helped foreclose
UPS - well, how do you think we got the pens from Staples?
Uniroyal -tires for the Hudson
Visiting Nurse Association Of South Central Connecticut - helping to clean the bedpans
Westinghouse - light bulbs, you think we're vampires working in the dark?
Willoughby's Coffee - ah yes, the coffee we sip when we foreclose your store or business


We like big lists

[Canuckistanian]

26. "a message that he believes many agree with"

Well, obviously not, judging by people's reactions. They're abandoning the gas station in DROVES, thinking the owner put that sign there.

[sinkingfeeling]

32. I'd like to put up a sign across the road. "Romney = The Entry Drug to Idiocity"

[sakabatou]

33. Could the owner use large sheet paper and duct tape to cover it up?