“Loss of life is always more serious,” Walton said about the property damage during the unrest in Kenosha last week. September 4, 2020 6:14 pm CDT. Completing this poll entitles you to The Western Journal news updates free of charge. Penzey did not return a call to his “Comments for Bill” line asking for clarification. Penzey has long used his "A Message from Bill" emails and Facebook posts to push his personal liberal politics, but has never before insulted America's fallen heroes by trivializing their sacrifice and suggesting that women who died in pregnancy deserve to be similarly recognized. EXCLUSIVE: Email Reveals Real Reason Vos, Republicans Created Racial Disparities Task Force, 'They Literally Didn't Want to Do a Thing': Lawmakers and Activists React to Steineke Email. A number of customers who tolerated his past screeds said this one pushed them over the edge. Blake was shot by officers on Sunday as he resisted arrest and reached into his car, where a knife was later found. 'They Literally Didn't Want to Do a Thing': Lawmakers and Activists React to Steineke Email. Dec. 7, 2019 3 AM PT . Human life means everything; stuff, not so much.”. The American people are taking notice. However, Penzey is a little muddled in his history and sees America as Paris in 1940 before the Germans marched down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. (Jeffrey Phelps / For The Times) By Seema Mehta Staff Writer . The novelist and co-editor of the new book Kink: Stories chronicles a … The comments have been both negative and positive, from liberals and conservatives alike. When he received a message suggesting that if it were his business that was looted, he’d feel differently about the supposedly peaceful protests, Penzey disagreed. pic.twitter.com/7pGIFmHfgp. “Human life means everything; stuff, not so much.”. EXCLUSIVE: Email Reveals Real Reason Vos, Republicans Created Racial Disparities Task Force, Politics Kenosha has been plagued by riots and looting for several nights in a row following the police shooting of Jacob Blake. “Someone wrote to say that you would be singing a different tune if it was your store being looted,” he wrote, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Inside one spice retailer’s anti-Trump, pro-impeachment Facebook ad strategy. As Penzeys grew from a small mail-order business, Bill Jr.’s personality and politics dominated. “I’m by no means perfect but seriously no, I wouldn’t. “If I’m more passionate about someone like Jacob Blake being shot, I’m going to obviously want to help the family because it’s a huge road for them to go through. Tag: Bill Penzey. The giveaway idea was spurred by a letter sent to Penzey that said he would be singing a different tune if his own store were looted. Here's How to Become One. “I’m by no means perfect but seriously no, I wouldn’t,” said Penzey, the owner of the Wauwatosa-based spice company that has locations across the country, including Kenosha. Ethan Duran Then the election happened, and Bill Penzey, the CEO of Penzeys, wrote an email, which got big coverage. Penzeys Spices reveals record-breaking profits from its political email marketing. In the letter, Penzey called out the president-elect for promoting bigotry on the campaign trail, according to a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report. TRENDING: Georgia Election Board Opens Investigation into Warnock, Stacey Abrams-Linked Group Over Voter Registration Misconduct. Like many people who have been stuck at home for the last ten months waiting for COVID-19 to pass us by, I have started to thoroughly enjoy cooking. Why is Penzeys, of all companies, spending so much on impeachment? Bill Penzey, the outspoken chief executive officer of Penzeys Spices, wrote in a newsletter to his customers last week  that he intended to “loot” his own store in Kenosha and give away spices and seasonings to food pantries. ‘Nike Swoosh’ Assembly District Shows How Gerrymandering Splits Up Neighbors, they spent over $700,000 on Facebook ads to promote Donald Trump’s impeachment, Biden Met Privately With Hmong Secret War Vet During Last Week's Wisconsin Visit, More than 22,000 Young People Will Work As Poll Workers in November, Thanks to Poll Hero Project. Donating goods that supposedly would have been looted is not the same as arriving at your business after a night of riots to find it completely destroyed by violent strangers. Another street in Kenosha was really hard hit by looting and fires. If someone is very passionate about it and has businesses and services available to community members in uptown and downtown, they’re going to want to help them rebuild and get going again.”. In Wisconsin’s great progressive tradition, we aim to hold the powerful accountable to the people, follow the money, and dig out the truth. “Loss of life is always more serious,” Walton said about the property damage during the unrest in Kenosha last week. You also agree to our. Earlier this year, Bill Penzey received an email from an angry customer; “I’ve quit you now for the fourth time,” it said. Penzey’s suggestion that it is is an insult to the victims of these vicious attacks. Written By Bill Penzey and his wife, Jeri, in their Wauwatosa, Wis., home. Kristi Walton, the owner of Sweet Impact Chocolates in Kenosha, encouraged Penzey to reach out to the Uptown Kenosha Facebook page through Twitter. 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Big-Spending Bill Penzey is a Massive Hypocrite By Dan O'Donnell Oct 10, 2019 The revelation that Penzey's Spices owner Bill Penzey has spent more than $100,000 boosting a political Facebook post calling for President Trump's impeachment and removal from office has exposed Penzey as a colossal hypocrite. the spice house vs penzeys politics February 6, 2021 / in Uncategorized / by / in Uncategorized / by Bill Penzey, the owner of Penzeys Spices, sent out a note to his customers letting them know he supported the protests in Kenosha and the mission behind them. When I asked around: ‘What if we looted our own store?’ What if we took a snapshot of our Kenosha store’s inventory tonight and simply gave away exactly that amount of inventory in the coming weeks?” he continued. Click here to log out. Bill Penzey, the owner of Penzeys Spices, sent out a note to his customers letting them know he supported the protests in Kenosha and the mission behind them. Read our editorial standards. “Unlike the Minneapolis Uptown store that was in the center of things, our Kenosha location is out by the highway and does not have much chance of looting itself. Email. You're logged in to Facebook. You may opt out at anytime. Bill Penzey’s recap of his company’s year-over-year profits is fascinating. to speak out against Trump or to use his position to advocate for progressive values. Evers Is Trying to Bring Legal Weed to Wisconsin. “Their existing market is a somewhat politically aware market who likes this kind of thing, so it’s not going against the current.”. According to the Kenosha News, as of Tuesday, 30 uptown businesses were destroyed or damaged. She says she hasn’t made an order for spices yet but the support from other business owners is amazing. Now He's in Hot Water for Frivolous COVID Lawsuit. My girlfriend found them through her brother, so we… A Twitter List by WIExaminer . Twitter; Facebook; LinkedIn; Marketing / October 11, 2019 . Penzey then compared the shooting of Blake to the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. “To me today just feels a lot like April 4, 2018, the fiftieth anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination. ABOUT US. Tap here to add The Western Journal to your home screen. In it, he said, “The open embrace of racism by the Republican Party in this election is now unleashing a wave of ugliness unseen in this country for decades. Here's Who It Would Help. Bill Penzey wasn’t the first C.E.O. ': Survivor Speaks Out Against Biden's Transgender Agenda, Fact-Checkers Scramble to Cover for Joe Biden's Transgender Agenda - Here's What You Need to Know, Austin: Debunking the ACLU's Defense of Trans Athletes in Women's Sports, Change of Heart? Bill Penzey is not suggesting reeducation camps, but he’s asking his customers to help Republicans get past their anger and accept the new reality. We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. A local store known for its unique spices finds itself in the middle of its owner’s political views. Facebook says Penzeys spent nearly $96,000 on ads supporting impeachment between Oct. 4 and Oct. 10. “Nobody can be replaced, and buildings can be. “My mind went to that idea that we would feel differently if it was our store that was looted. Here's Who It Would Help. Kenneth G. Tompkins/Twitter, Helen R./Twitter Going against most standard business advice, Bill Penzey has never hesitated to make his beliefs known to the people who buy his products. Let’s commit to giving the people a better choice. Penzey wrote that he wanted to close the store for a day, like he did for the fiftieth anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination in 2018, but that would also means shutting down touchless pickup orders and putting a burden on parents entering their young kids back to school. That day we paid our people and kept things shut because that was not a day for commerce,” Penzy wrote. While the Penzeys Spices store in Kenosha was not damaged during violent protests in the city, its CEO wants to "loot" his own store.. Bill Penzey wrote to … Bill Penzey, the outspoken chief executive officer of Penzeys Spices, ... encouraged Penzey to reach out to the Uptown Kenosha Facebook page through Twitter. September 5, 2020 7:42 am CDT, Originally Published Politics In his newsletter, Bill Penzey said, “Hearing that the NBA Milwaukee Bucks, in response to yet another police shooting of a Black man, this time just south of Milwaukee in Kenosha, Wisconsin, chose in unison to walk away from yesterday’s playoff game and were willing to take the loss, for me, brought such a sense of hope and that tide will no longer stay unturned.”. “Reading Penzey’s statement made me tear up,” she tweeted. Instead, the inventory of the Kenosha store will be solicited to organizations that would use it. On Nov. 15, 2016, Bill Penzey, CEO of Penzeys Spices, unloaded on Donald Trump's rhetoric in the company newsletter. Back in May, one of Penzey’s businesses suffered some broken windows as a result of rioting in response to the death of George Floyd, the Minneapolis man who died after a controversial altercation with police during which an officer knelt on the neck of Floyd, who reportedly had lethal amounts of the drug fentanyl in his system, for nine minutes. Facebook; Twitter… Axios reported Wednesday that the Penzeys Spices CEO spent $92,000 on Facebook ads pushing for impeachment, more than the $86,000 spent by Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer and the $20,000 spent by Elizabeth Warren, according to data from Bully Pulpit Interactive. Vox recently looked into the issue: “The pro-impeachment posts have worked better than any ads the company has placed before, founder Bill Penzey told Fox Business, despite Facebook labeling the ad as political content.” You may have heard of Bill before in connection to Trump. The independent spice retailer isn’t shy about mixing politics and business, and Penzey said that the giveaway was inspired by the Milwaukee Bucks walking out of the playoffs after the Jacob Blake shooting last month. The owner of a Kenosha, Wisconsin, spice store has decided to “loot” his own store in the name of racial progress. CommentaryBloomberg Quicktake / YouTube screen shot Trump Defense Team Rests Early, Ends by Blasting Congress for Wasting the People's Time, CommentaryJoshua Roberts - Pool / Getty Images Ted Lieu Drops Bomb About Why National Guard Is Still in DC, CommentarySamuel Corum / Getty Images; Bryan Bedder / Getty Images NBC's Andrea Mitchell Tries to Correct Ted Cruz, Embarrasses Herself Instead, Commentary@DWUhlfelderLaw / Twitter Remember FL's 'Grim Reaper' Beach Lawyer? Michael Austin graduated from Iowa State University with a bachelor's in English before joining The Western Journal. He has written for various entertainment sites and volunteered in PragerU's influencer program. We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Photo by Ty Wright/Getty Images. “If sweeping up some glass and replacing a couple windows is a piece of everybody realizing the costs of racism-fueled police violence towards minorities is no longer affordable, then so be it,” Penzey wrote in a letter at the time, according to UpWorthy. Penzeys Spices has spoken up on political issues before, like when they spent over $700,000 on Facebook ads to promote Donald Trump’s impeachment. The “self-looting” in response to a police shooting and social unrest matches a recent trend of businesses tying marketing with activism. Bill Penzey of Penzey's Spices, on the subject of if he'd still support protests if one of his stores got looted. By Cale Guthrie Weissman. What if we just gave our spices and seasonings to food pantries and gift boxes to organizations trying to raise money to fund change?”. A freelance reporter covering crime, community and social issues, Ethan Duran is based in Milwaukee. Wisconsin Needs Election Poll Workers. RELATED: Sign of the Times: Iconic American Gun Manufacturer Sold Off to European Group. But I think we’ve all got enough generosity to go around.”, “People are going to give to the area they’re most passionate about,” Walton said. Print. Thomas O’Guinn, professor of marketing at the University of Wisconsin School of Business said, “It’s been a case where politics and marketing are growing closer together in the past twenty years.”, “It puts a marker down that they’re on a certain side of things, that they’re socially aware,” said O’Guinn. Bill Penzey, Sr., was a philosopher and storyteller who liked to put his customers to work grinding spices as he off-handedly lectured about the lore and history of the spice trade. Penzey's spices ... and messages (Photo: Melanie Conklin) Bill Penzey’s ongoing campaign against President Donald Trump and the Republican Party has taken a new turn, as the famously outspoken Wisconsin spice purveyor is urging CEOs to climb on board the anti-Trump train. Most of the responses thanked Penzey for taking action. Economy Twitter. There’s a ton of people out helping to clean up pic.twitter.com/hlepM481Oj, — Shelby Talcott (@ShelbyTalcott) August 25, 2020, EARLIER: Burned out cars and businesses are damaged following last night’s unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Penzey's thoughts have also been posted on the company's Facebook page, generating thousands of shares, more than 10,000 reactions and hundreds of comments. But a week after the newsletter was sent out, Penzey said few of the company's subscribers have removed themselves from his list. Activists and Black Lives Matter supporters, including a local spice store owner, have been quick to claim that the shooting was racially motivated and completely unjustified, leading to the riots in the streets. We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. A $15 Minimum Wage Would Give One-Third of WI Workers a Raise, Politics Now He's in Hot Water for Frivolous COVID Lawsuit. But it’s absolutely nothing like the devastation that stores and businesses have faced amid the nationwide unrest, especially those in Kenosha. Bill Penzey is not looking to curry favor with Republicans who support Donald Trump. Several businesses, apartments, and even the Wisconsin Department of Corrections Probation and Parole Office were all set on fire, with some left completely destroyed. It wasn’t because his product — Penzey is the CEO of Penzeys Spices — was bad. R. O. Kwon Unwinds with Late-Night Acupressure and a Steady Drip of Poetry. A $15 Minimum Wage Would Give One-Third of WI Workers a Raise, ‘Nike Swoosh’ Assembly District Shows How Gerrymandering Splits Up Neighbors. Should the left uniformly condemn riots and looting? In an email with the subject line, “This is what democracy looks like,” Penzey explains a direct correlation between his most controversial marketing messages and big boosts in profits. If Penzey sincerely wished to empathize with the true consequences of these riots and lootings, he would have set Penzeys Spices on fire and watched his life’s work burn to the ground. Aiding me in this new found passion is the discovery of Penzeys Spices. Penzey the film critic sees the Paris of Rick and Ilsa not as a physical place but a dream. Politics But he was quite possibly the first to publicly call Trump’s election an “embrace of racism.” - Tuipster. If his business can spare the merchandise, it’s great that Penzey is choosing to donate it. She says she hasn’t made an order for spices yet but the support from other business owners is amazing. Politics & Government. Ethan Duran, Last Updated “I’m giving thanks to everyone who stands up to remain honest, caring, loving, merciful, and humane in these difficult days.”. Evers Is Trying to Bring Legal Weed to Wisconsin. Karen Davis of Detroit, Michigan, is among them. Penzey did not immediately return a request for an interview with UpNorthNews. Read our, Bloomberg Quicktake / YouTube screen shot, Samuel Corum / Getty Images; Bryan Bedder / Getty Images, Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images; Elija Novelage / AFP via Getty Images, Georgia Election Board Opens Investigation into Warnock, Stacey Abrams-Linked Group Over Voter Registration Misconduct, Sign of the Times: Iconic American Gun Manufacturer Sold Off to European Group, Leftist Darling Doxes Conservative Reporter for Exposing Her N-Word Hypocrisy, 'Why Do You Want to Destroy Who You Are? The spice CEO told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the company received more than 5,000 responses to the newsletter. TRENDING: Schumer and AOC Team Up to Announce Taxpayers Now on the Hook for COVID Funerals, Including for Illegal Immigrants. The store owner then suggested he would “loot” his own store by giving away items for free.