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By Amanda Carpenter

The reaction from liberal groups was harsh: The Change to Win Investment Group, which works with pension funds sponsored by unions affiliated with the powerful union coalition group Change to Win, called for him to be "removed" in a letter to the company. Others have called for a boycott.

Mr. Mackey's supporters, on the other hand, want a "buycott" and are encouraging people to patronize the stores to boost sales.

Ken Emanuelson, a Dallas-based tea party activist is organizing a "buycott" out of solidarity with the CEO.

"John Mackey stood up and said he didn't really think the administration's health care reform plans were the right solutions for our health care needs, and the unions and their left-wing allies have said, 'Don't you dare speak up against the administration's proposal,' " he said. "We can't allow this to happen. If they win this round, it becomes the precedent. This tactic cannot succeed."

Buycotts are planned Tuesday in St. Louis and Dallas by a coalition of activists working with the National Tea Party Coalition. They hope to have more events through the month of September at other locations.

Shower scene

Sound the alarm. Consumer Reports has alerted the environmental authorities about a law-breaking shower head.

Consumer Reports reviewed shower heads for their October 2009 magazine and wrote, "Our latest showerhead tests found that you don't have to sacrifice satisfaction to save water. But the $500 Hudson Reed Theme Thermostatic AS333 shower tower's forceful spray seemed too good to be true - or legal."

The consumer advocate noted that federal standards enacted in 1994 forbid shower heads from spraying more than 2.5 gallons per minute and that the main showerhead on the Hudson Reed used a "whopping" 3.95 gallons per minute, on average. "We've contacted the Environmental Protection Agency, which administers the regulations," the review said.

The Competitive Enterprise Institute, which promotes limited government, accused Consumer Reports of becoming a "national snitch" for writing such a thing.

Consumer Reports "should not be acting as a nosy bathroom cop, trying to toss good products in the slammer just because they violate some intrusive federal regulation," said CEI General Counsel Sam Kazman in a statement. "Its duty is to consumers, not bureaucrats. More basically, people ought to be able to use whatever shower fixtures they want, just like they can decide how long a shower to take."

• Amanda Carpenter can be reached at Acarpenter@washingtontimes.com.