Paul Meily PMB #322 1117 East Putnam Avenue Riverside CT 06878 USA
Targeted with Attitude
By Paul Meily
Right in your face…right between the eyes. “Holy crap” is my first response! I’ve just seen a mobile sign truck with big letters spelling out big, bad-ass names: WeBetrayAmerica.com, SherwinWilliamsThief.com, FakingOurEthics.com, JonesDayCorrupt.com, and PDCAdishonest.com. I just experienced The Open-Road “Signs with Attitude” Summer Tour 2010!
I couldn’t resist. I saw the “Signs with Attitude” van on I-95 and followed it into a rest stop in Fairfield, CT. As I walked up to the parked van, Miles stepped out and handed me his Open-Road flyer. Miles is a big guy, 40 lbs.overweight with a boyish smile and an engaging personality. (Go to FakingOurEthics.com and see pictures of the sign van and flyer.) Miles will talk his head off; he is passionately committed to his cause. His fight is against Sherwin-Williams (he claims they stole a product from him), PDCA [Painting and Decorating Contractors of America] (he claims Sherwin-Williams ordered PDCA to harass and file a lawsuit against him), and Jones Day (Sherwin-Williams’powerhouse corporate council). I listen to Miles, look at the flyer, and think is this guy telling me the truth or is he just a wacko with head up his butt. I don’t know what to think but I walk away intrigued to check out the websites.
I’m just saying, there was no way I was expecting this; he’s got a phenomenal amount of stuff on those websites. (I’m right, Miles later confirms he didn’t write any of it but that his staff wrote it all. And I gotta tell you, this stuff is really well written!) For example, Miles rips Jones Day attorney and former Managing Partner, Patrick McCartan (Big Pat), a new asshole; I bet Big Pat’s old asshole was never so publicly mocked, ridiculed, challenged, or hammered like that! Another example…Samuel Fifer of Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal, now merging with the U.K.’s Denton Wilde Sapte, (the new firm to be called SNR Denton) orders Miles to cease and desist and also to write an apology to all PDCA members and “anyone else” that Miles has ever offended. Sam’s supposed to be a high-powered Sonnenschein attorney, but only a genuine idiot would write such a ludicrous letter. Read Sam’s letter, read Miles’ reply (oh yeah… Miles tears Sam a new asshole, too), take the time to read everything on the websites, you’ll really be amazed.
I was hooked. I read everything. Maybe Sherwin-Williams stole Miles’ product, and maybe they didn’t; but for Miles, that’s not the issue. (Based on examples Miles gives, there seems no doubt that Sherwin-Williams has a corporate culture of theft; after all, Miles’ caption for Sherwin-Williams is “we lie, we cheat, we steal”.) I’ve got the Open-Road “Signs with Attitude” flyer in front of me. It’s called, the Declaration of Deceit and Corruption. The Declaration consists of two short, incredibly awesome paragraphs; and all in just five sentences! I just have to quote it: “We knowingly engage in, support, or encourage criminal activity, deceit, fraud, corruption, or misuse of the law by Sherwin-Williams, Jones Day, PDCA, or by ourselves. Our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics is solely intended for public consumption and totally irrelevant to our daily business activity.” And the second paragraph: “We disdain liberty and we sanction the denial of an individual’s Constitutional and Bill of Rights freedoms. Terrorist acts and treason against America are accepted practice. Our names and our logos are our Declaration of Deceit and Corruption.” I told you, five awesome sentences! Just below are the names and logos of 40 companies. Miles knows how to kick ass. At this point I’m thinking, if Miles is lying and making all this shit up, why the hell aren’t Jones Day, PDCA, Sherwin-Williams, or any of the companies listed doing everything possible to shut his face. And…Miles has been on his warpath against them for years…and they still do nothing? This just seems too unbelievable and incredible to me, I’ve got to call some of the names on the van and on the flyer.
I make some calls. Now things get even more interesting. I speak with Bob Wells at Sherwin-Williams. Remember, Miles thinks the fact that Sherwin-Williams stole his product is dead and ancient history and not the issue at all. But all Bob wants to talk about was that Sherwin-Williams didn’t steal his product. Bob goes on to say that Sherwin-Williams admires Miles’creativeness, his determination, and his conviction, that Sherwin-Williams respects his right to complain, but feels that Miles is misguided (because…Sherwin-Williams didn’t steal his product), and that Sherwin-Williams hopes Miles can put his bitterness behind him. Bob never mentions Miles using the Sherwin-Williams name or logo whatever way he wants. Bob volunteered the information that Sherwin-Williams never asked Jones Day to take any action against Miles. (When I called Jones Day, I was told that the appropriate person would get my message. I later follow up with a voice message to Managing Partner, Steve Brogan. No one at Jones Day has ever responded to me.) I call and speak with CEO Richard Greene of PDCA. He can’t hide his pissed-off attitude. He pleads he knows nothing about the “Signs with Attitude” tour, or anything else concerning Miles and the PDCA. When pressed, he repeats he doesn’t know anything, doesn’t want to know anything, has no facts or details, and won’t answer any questions. Greene only says Miles is a former PDCA member with a disgruntle nature, and the entire matter isn’t worth Greene’s time. (Imagine that beady-eyed bastard living next door to you! “Hey..ass-hole neighbor, your hamburgers are making too much noise grilling on the barbie.”) PDCA has major sponsoring companies called National Associate Members. I’ll mention one member, Roman Decorating Products. Jerry Russo, CEO of Roman and self-appointed spokesman for all the National Members, has Sam Fifer (remember Sam of Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal/SNR Denton?) write Miles that threatening letter. (You read it, right? Elliott Portnoy of Sonnenschein and Howard Morris of Denton are the new co-chief Managing Partners of SNR Denton. I’m sure Elliott knows that Sam has a developmentally challenged amoeba mind, but Howard must be thinking, oh shit- and Sam is one of the shinning stars at Sonnenschein.) I call Jerry and he says he has no idea what the PDCA ever did to Miles, and he just can’t understand why Miles is picking on him. I mention the PDCA lawsuit, but Jerry claims no knowledge of it, goes on to praises CEO Chris Connor of Sherwin-Williams, and then explains, that as a good Christian, Jerry feels sorry for Miles and will pray for his salvation...hallelujah!...a round of prayers for everyone, Jerry. When I ask twice how he’s going to get his company’s name off the “Signs with Attitude” van, he ignores the question. (And this dude is the PDCA National Associate Member spokesman!) And, since I’m calling companies, I also decide to call Smucker’s. (Richard Smucker is a Sherwin-Williams Board Director.) I speak with Ann Harlan. I mention the “FakingOurEthics” website and Ann comments that Smucker’s stands by their Code of Ethics, that Richard feels that Sherwin-Williams has always behaved ethically and has done no wrong, and that although what Miles says is unfortunate and unhelpful, Miles can continue to badmouth Smucker’s and that Smucker’s response will be to concentrate on making jelly. (Kudos to Miles, he takes a public shit on Sherwin-Williams, Jones Day, PDCA, and others and all any of them can do is hand him a case of beans so he can keep up the good work.)
And there you have it, just keep on cooking jelly! I call a dozen companies whose logos are on the flyer and are corporate clients of Jones Day. Their response to me is always the same, Miles is entitled to his opinion and we don’t care where or how he uses our names or logos. And they are all clients of Jones Day, that bad-ass law firm that sues a photographer for taking a picture of the Jones Day building in Cleveland. Jones Day, the international firm that builds its reputation on protecting intellectual property and trademark, can’t do anything to stop Miles. Incredible!
I’ve spoken with Miles a couple of times. (His email is: Milesondeck@aol.com) He recently mentioned that Ron Olson, attorney for Berkshire Hathaway and Warren Buffett, called him and left a message for Miles to return the call. Miles replied with an email asking Ron to communicate with him in writing, but Ron has refused. (Berkshire Hathaway owns Benjamin Moore.) It seems that Ron is afraid to put anything in writing, after all, look what happened to poor Sam Fifer or Pat McCartan. It’s really impressive, everybody from Fortune 500 companies to one of the world’s most powerful law firms, is afraid of Miles. I told Miles I loved his Cornelius Vanderbilt quote: “Gentlemen, I won’t sue for the court of law is too slow, I’ll just ruin you.”
This is one story I’m not letting go. I keep telling you, if you haven’t read the websites, you need to do it. Remember Miles’ “Big Pat” McCartan letter, Miles begs, pleads, and challenges “Big Pat” and the entire Jones Day clan to come after him. But if “Big Pat” and Jones Day attorneys even hear the name “Miles”, they all soil their drawers and run to the bathroom to change their diapers. And what’s with Jones Day Managing Partner Steve Brogan? Steve just doesn’t even seem smart enough to know how stupid he is. Come on now, Steve is Managing Partner and he ignores the whole situation; talk about an asshole policy that’s going to fart back and take a big bite out of his ass. Then, of course, of course…there’s Sam Fifer of SNR Denton…well, I guess you can’t expect much from a kindergarten drop-out who can’t think past the letter A. Just incredible! A bucket and brush house painter again and again just beats the crap out of Jones Day, SNR Denton- and yeah, Sherwin-Williams and PDCA, too! This guy Miles is one really damn stubborn American, and a Navy veteran, who is not afraid to fight back against anyone in order to defend his Constitutional freedoms. Hello…is anybody home out there! Miles doesn’t care that Sherwin-Williams stole his product; HE DOESN’T CARE! Yo…yeah you, morons…it’s the Constitution, stupid! You…Sherwin-Williams, PDCA, Jones Day, Smucker’s, Jerry Russo, Warren Buffett, and all you others…it’s about freedom, liberty, the rule of law…can you all really be so stupid! When Miles publicly protests that Sherwin-Williams stole his product, you Sherwin-Williams, PDCA, and Jones Day all conspire to shut him up through slander, liable, threat, and false lawsuit. It’s not about some stolen product…and you all know it! You all thought Miles was a NOBODY, could screw him over like you do most Americans, bend over so he could kiss your ass, and then carry on as usual. OOOOPS!...you never thought there would be a “Miles” out there who knows how to think creatively, knows how to think out of the box, and not be afraid to kick you in the balls. Yeah, you bastards screwed up royally and you all know it. Bottom line, weather it’s you, PDCA’s Richard Greene imitating Sergeant Schultz, “I know nothing”, or Jerry Russo’s “I’ll pray for him”, or Sherwin-Williams’ “we wish him well”, or Smucker’s “we’ll just keep making jelly”, your ridiculous spin is cowardly, foolishly stupid, and shortsighted. I think you know as well as I do that Miles will continue his fight until victory is achieved and is achieved on his own terms only.
This story has my interest and I’m going to follow it as long as it takes to the end. Keep on rolling “Signs with Attitude” Tour.
