I'MMA LET YOU FINISH
FUCK BUSH T W A!
frist, and nothing to say!
I mean socend.
And I do have something to say:
It couldn't happen to a nicer despoiler of the environment / driver-down of wages / buster of unions!
Wow, Wal-Mart comparing itself to victims of the Nazis. Talk about chutzpah.
2001, A Space Odyssey is the greatest sci-fi film ever made. Unrivaled in 1968 and unrivaled now.
T - Two Stolen Elections
W - War Lies
A - Attacking the Constitution
Cannot make it simpler: post it everywhere you go.
T - Two Stolen Elections
W - War Lies
A - Attacking the Constitution
Of course, if it were me, I would add another T for "Terrorist Enabler"...
Eli, TWAT works for me: but we must keep it clean, you know?
We'd be way fucking ahead of the game if Walmart started having real problems and started right now becoming marginalized.
It happened to K Mart and Target. They started out one way - like Walmart. In order to survive, they had to change. I'm hoping against hope that Walmart has gone past its zenith and is headed for its nadir.
I fucking hate that organization more than I can say. It has fucked everything up - it has almost single-handedly changed our economy from production to consumption, and we've been sliding down a slope economically and culturally ever since it rose to such prominence.
I blame Walmart for the spread of Redneck Nation.
Eli, TWAT works for me: but we must keep it clean, you know?
I know, that's why it's a good thing it's *not* me.
2001, A Space Odyssey is the greatest sci-fi film ever made. Unrivaled in 1968 and unrivaled now.
Yeah, but "Dude, Where's My Car" is one channel up, on FX. Decisions, decisions...
And fuck Wal-Mart, btw.
Check it out truthusa.blogspot.com
Post your thoughts!
I blame Walmart for the spread of Redneck Nation.
Tena | Email
i agree 110%.
and 2001 is so not the 'greatest sci fi movie' ever made. blade runner, director's cut, is. neener neener.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said yesterday that it made a "terrible" mistake in approving a recent newspaper advertisement that equated a proposed Arizona zoning ordinance with Nazi book-burning.
Yes, at the very least, the ad should have made clear that Wal-Mart's sympathies lie entirely on the side of the book-burners as opposed to the books.
..
followed very closely by carpenter's 'the thing.'
Also can be framed as rich-get-richer, poor-get-poorer story when you contrast the remote, billionaire Walton family with the desperate 6-dollar an hour workers they exploit.
These are retail sweatshops.
TAMPA, Fla. — With the onset of the 2005 hurricane season little more than two weeks away, meteorologists Friday warned that conditions in the Atlantic again were ripe for spawning tropical storms that could slam into Florida or other parts of the Eastern U.S. or Gulf Coast with potentially devastating and deadly consequences.
Last season, Florida was hit by four hurricanes in six weeks, an unprecedented succession of natural disasters in the state that was blamed for 123 deaths and more than $42 billion in property damage.
Yes, it's from what is called "climate change" brought on by "global warming." Will the clueless media ever make the link? It's doubtful, even when super hurricanes start pounding the Southeastern US....
Walmart, to my mind, symbolizes everything that's wrong in the US these days. From their labor policies to the merchandise they carry to their advertising, it's clear they are not acting in the interests of trade, of workers, of the environment, of free speech, of business practices.
We are intent on keeping them out of CA, where they have threatened repeatedly to set up more stores, no matter what it takes. So far, city councils are really taking a skeptical view of them, and I consider that a good thing.
I read the other day Walmart didn't meet its "projections" for the first quarter. Makes me think of two things. 1) People are getting pissed at their practices and have started shopping elsewhere. 2) Folks don't have as much money to spend on their trash, either because of rising gas prices and/or stagnant wages.
"Yeah, but "Dude, Where's My Car" is one channel up, on FX. Decisions, decisions..."
All right! Now I have something to clean house by!
Less than 8 hours till live mummyblogging!
Woohoo!!!
"Eli, TWAT works for me: but we must keep it clean, you know?"
Since when did that become policy around here???
Walmart won't stock 'America, the Book,' a gentle parody, but hugely carries the snuff film equivalent that is the 'Left Behind' series.
I wouldn't shop at Wal-Mart if they gave their stuff away.
Now that I've made the obligatory on-topic posts, the 3 best sci-fi films are, in no particular order:
2001: A Space Odyssey
Close Encounters Of The Third Kind
The Day The Earth Stood Still
Carpenter's Thing is the best remake, ever.
Heh....
And I don't think the Waltons are going to be particularly happy with the recent decision to reimpose import duties on the Chinese textiles.
Ooops, no more $35 million dollar paintings are in the budget for next week.
Sometimes karma is quicker than usual.
Blak--yes, but what are the 3 WORST?
We know where my interests lie.
And how's Dudley this fine day?
hi everyone.
walmart also won't carry cd's with "questionable" lyrics, but carries all kinds of weapons and firearms.
yup.
Dudley is happily narcoleptic at this moment.
3 worst? I'll actually have to put some thought into that.
BlakNo1 
her eyes-
Blak--i know, the three worst would require a lot of thought--so many from which to choose
Heh.
The Super Wal-Mart down the street is crowded for what seems like 24 hours a day. Even at 2am, it's like the week before Christmas in there.
That should be golden time for "stoned teenagers buying shiny things," and that's it. Where are they gonna go now? We don't have a real 7-11 here anymore...
This frickin' country.
Remember also, the CEO of WalMart earns in 2 weeks what the average WalMart hourly employee can earn in a LIFETIME.
It's time to take back the rights of citizenship from corporations and give them back to the human beings in our country. Let's set up a camp and take all the official documents of incorporation for all these mega businesses in by boxcars and incinerate them in giant ovens.
Blak- what about "when worlds collide?" man i want to see that again.
sis is finally up and it's project time. i'll hopefully see you all later for Live Mummyblogging.
i'm sure there will be many exciting new terms in this production with which we can rename ourselves.
have a great day, all, thanks for the stimulating discussion.
and fuck boosh with a curtain rod.
Mer--I think it's both.
Oh, that Kurt Waldheim.
I thought they were talking about Norman Fell.
Huge stores like Walmart, Home Depot, etc. give me the creeps. I don't think I've been in one for at least 6 or 7 years.
and 2001 is so not the 'greatest sci fi movie' ever made. blade runner, director's cut, is. neener neener.
I agree 110% with this, too, Chicago Dyke.
Mutual admiration society -
Jay Carolina--in LA, the stoned clubber crowd buys Pop-Tarts and Thrasher magazine in the late hours
I haven't seen When Worlds Collide in a long time, that's a goodie.
Bye, CD.
"Let's set up a camp and take all the official documents of incorporation for all these mega businesses in by boxcars and incinerate them in giant ovens."
Only after we convict them of the crimes they're guilty of.
Ok, what time is the mummyblogging to be? Give it for the east coast, please.
On a more optimistic note:
Wal-Mart tried to weasel one of their super stores into Inglewood, CA, a burb of LA, and a working-class one at that. They paid off some of the city council folks to change some zoning requirements.
When some of the locals got wind of this and discovered what it would do to local businesses, they scraped up enough to place the issue on the next election ballot.
Wal-Mart outspent their opposition by nearly a million dollars during the campaign and LOST.
It's not just us "liberal elite" who have cut through Wal-Mart's evil bullshit.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said yesterday that it made a "terrible" mistake in approving a recent newspaper advertisement that equated a proposed Arizona zoning ordinance with Nazi book-burning.
What was their first clue?
Equating shopping to the ability to reason, or acquire knowledge? Sounds American to me.
I'll retire to Bedlam....
I think I'd have to put 'Plan 9 from Outer Space' up there with the worst of the worst.
And Wal-Mart doesn't sell morning-after contraceptives, either.
Remember when we had unions?
walton spawn are #s 10-14 of the top 20 richest billionaires:
10 S. Robson Walton US 18.3 (Wal-Mart)
11. Jim Walton US 18.2 (Wal-Mart)
11. John Walton US 18.2 (Wal-Mart)
13. Alice Walton US 18.0 (Wal-Mart)
13. Helen Walton US 18.0 (Wal-Mart)
Diane--I think it's looking positive that Rosemead won't approve placing a Walmart in their city, but you're closer to their neighborhood and probably know more.
i don't see many movies, but i have to say "solaris" was probably the one of the worst.
maybe i just didn't get it.
Huge stores like Walmart, Home Depot, etc. give me the creeps. I don't think I've been in one for at least 6 or 7 years.
mer -- 1:28 pm
i sure wish i didn't have to go to Home Depot or Lowes...but just about all the other hardware/lumber stores have disappeared...i try to patronize specialty stores for such items as plumbing or electrical fixtures, etc...
but if you need a bucket of finish mud, just about the only place to find it anymore is one of the big boxes...
they suck but they have driven out the competition and--guess what--their prices are creeping up, too...
.
Echidne--live mummyblogging at 9 p.m. EDT.
her eyes- Are you referring to the version with George Clooney?
Thanks, Sallyh.
walton spawn are #s 10-14 of the top 20 richest billionaires:
10 S. Robson Walton US 18.3 (Wal-Mart)
11. Jim Walton US 18.2 (Wal-Mart)
11. John Walton US 18.2 (Wal-Mart)
13. Alice Walton US 18.0 (Wal-Mart)
13. Helen Walton US 18.0 (Wal-Mart)
bkny | Email | Homepage | 05.14.05 - 1:32 pm | #
__________________________
they have come a long way from john-boy and maryellen haven't they?
That's 6 p.m. PDT for you leftcoasters.
her eyes- Are you referring to the version with George Clooney?
Better be - the original was awesome.
Blak-
yes, george clooney
Remember when we had unions?
Hecate 1:32 pm
I've always been a union man: I was UBCJ (carpenters) first and foremost; and AAUP (American Association of University Professors) when I got back into headwork...
Woody, you're right. My husband has to go to Home Depot for certain items he can't find anywhere else anymore.
That's 6 p.m. PDT for you leftcoasters.
Typical elitist liberal, completely disregarding all the "flyover" states in America's heartland!
There is a book, "Nickled & Dimed" by a Barbara Ehrenson (sp?) I read a couple of years ago. She left her journalist position at the suggestion of a publisher to do research for a book about what it is like to try to live on minimum wage jobs. Her chapter on working for Walmart is hair-raising and guaranteed to make a union person out of anyone (except, of course, the koolaid drinkers).
And by the way, "Alien" is the finest sci-fi movie ever made. Her climbing into that space suit at the end was way beyond erotic. I hid in the exit curtains and watched it three more times before the ushers got wise and chucked me out.
Maybe Echidne will give us our own Mummyblogging thread tonight...she's really nice about letting us jump up and down on the bed and getting into the liquor cabinet
Where are they gonna go now?
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
This, I think, is one of the major reasons we no longer have a sense of community anymore. There are no common areas where neighbors congregate. Of course air conditioning contributed to the decline. But for teens, where the hell can they go but the mall. I work with a young woman who has just moved back north from Florida. Other than church and the mall, she really has no place else to go.
Diane--I think it's looking positive that Rosemead won't approve placing a Walmart in their city, but you're closer to their neighborhood and probably know more.
Sallyh, La Poissoniere
Sallyh, from what I hear, Rosemead is talking long and hard with the folks from Inglewood. The city officials don't want to have to face what the Inglewood council critters are going to face in the next election.
Rosemead is an interesting place, as ethnically diverse as just about any place in SoCal, and the average annual income is just as mixed as the ethnicity.
That situation may be one to watch.
As Eli just mentioned, the Clooney one is a remake of a Russian movie made in 1972. I don't recommend it for those who didn't like 2001, but for those that did, the original Solaris is one of the best sci-fi films ever.
Eli--only reason I left the middle states out is because I don't know what their feed is.
the george clooney one put me to sleep.
Diane--I think several cities in NorCal kept Walmart out as well.
Maybe it's true that there is a limit to how evil a corparation can become before there is backlash.
Maybe.
But look how far these walmart bastards were allowed to go.
Eli--only reason I left the middle states out is because I don't know what their feed is.
Oh, sure. That's exactly what Ted Kennedy and Michael Moore say.
WGG - UBCJ#1449, now #1006. I no longer carry a card tho. Wasn't willing to drive 70-100 miles one way for work any longer.
I didn't see the Clooney version, but I'm sure they dumbed it down considerably.
Gotta go collect some sheckels for doing stuff anybody ought to be able to do if they were raised right: install a disposal...
life's too tough...
later, gaiters...
Equating shopping to the ability to reason, or acquire knowledge? Sounds American to me.
And ironic, given Wal-Mart's strictures on keeping 'offensive' material off its bookshelves, CD racks etc.
Wal-Mart carries too much cheap crap. The American consumer should know by now that you get what you pay for (sure, there are exceptions, but they're few). Some people learn the hard way, and I imagine that has led to falling profits (that and the fact that people have less money to spend).
I hope that fact, combined with their employment practices and anger because they've run smaller, better stores out of business, will weaken them considerably. I know a lot of people who steer clear of the place.
"But for teens, where the hell can they go but the mall."
In our neighborhood McDonalds,' kids can only sit for 20 minutes and then are tossed out.
Finest sci-fi? Alien is close, but no cigar. 2001 is better. But so many different categories. Forbidden Planet. Day the Earth Stood Still> The giant monster movies, like Them. Finest action sci-fi: Aliens.
And on, and on, and on....
I didn't see the Clooney version, but I'm sure they dumbed it down considerably.
They also marketed it in the trailers as some kind of romance with no sci-fi elements whatsoever. I think there was some backlash effect from that.
My husband has to go to Home Depot for certain items he can't find anywhere else anymore.
Particularly true if you live in a recently-developed area (in the South, anyway). If the neighborhood just sprang up overnight by the highway, then all you've got is probably the Wal-Mart, Lowe's, etc. Happy I'm in an old city where the highway doesn't enter into the equation.
I didn't see the Clooney version, but I'm sure they dumbed it down considerably.
i'm sure that's why i didn't get it.
When you guys mention how you need to go to Home Depot for certain things because there is no competition I started thinking about the Getty episode in the early 20th century. Didn't they do exactly the same thing? Enter a market and underprice until all the rivals died and then the prices started rising. That's why we got the cartel laws.
I hates me some Home Despot.
I remember walmart running a commercial trumpeting their charitable side, about how they pay to send sick kids to Florida or something. But it wasn't even Disney World, looked like some cheap knockoff.
With all the money they have, I'd expect them to do a whole lot more.
Yeah, removing a disposal from the quik-ring is a real doozie.
Disconnecting the power cord plug is another toughie.
Most people have trouble with crawling inside the base cabinet. Like me, at 6'6 and 290 lbs. Finesse is required.
I look at a Wallmart and all I see is a huge landfill.
Barndog, WGG--I have no idea how to install and wire a disposal.
Monsieur cringes when I pick up a screwdriver, for that matter.
It's pretty neat how Alien + Aliens were two different kinds of sci-fi, but were both great at what they did.
The later ones, not so much.
It's a pity that Giger doesn't do much movie work anymore.
Even if you refuse to enter Walmart, you have to pass by the sidewalk petition solicitors (at least at the one in Northridge, CA). The petitions are inevitably rightward slanted and the solicitors poorly mannered and abusive.
Wal-Mart thrives in exurbia, in Boboville, because there are no Main Streets, and community is spread so thin that you can see through it. The parking lot becomes a hangout, a drive-in where no movies are showing.
Jim Kunstler may be a bit of a kook, but I think he's on the ball by mapping the decline of the Cheap Oil Economy to the need to re-invent suburban living in a way that doesn't include Wally World.
Wal-Mart carries too much cheap crap. The American consumer should know by now that you get what you pay for (sure, there are exceptions, but they're few). Some people learn the hard way, and I imagine that has led to falling profits (that and the fact that people have less money to spend).
The Achille's Heel of the Invisible Hand ("DANGER! CRASHING METAPHORS!").
Markets seek their level, and while it is in society's best interest to pay a fair price for the best possible goods produced under the best possible conditions, absolutely nothing in the "free market" tends in that direction.
Unfettered, the self-interest of the consumer will always ignore the best interests of society (whether the consumer is John Q Public or John Q CEO). And you end up with pre-revolutionary France (well, more or less).
My wife and my favorite bad movie is Zardoz with Sean Connery. We saw it twice (we HAD to go with "friends" the second time. IT was excruciating.) We just have to say the word and it makes us chuckle.
the burbs and xburbs of the south and elsewhere seem like the most culturally devoid places on earth. soul-sucking.
"hey, we have warm weather year-round!"
who cares?
Sallyh - like I said, most quality disposals are on a quarter or half turn quik-lock ring now. Wiring is a matter of a grounded plug, and hopefully theres a GFI recepticle there.
It's not that bad. Just remember to replace the seal on the lock ring.
Brother From Another Planet.
Unfortunately, our disposer bit the dust last month, so when my husband was home last week, we went out and bought a new one. Since he was only home for another day, he contracted an installer, who wanted eighty-five dollars to put in the new one. When we got home, he looked at the thing and decided it was no biggie. Took him an hour, including a trip to the hardware store for new slip-joint washers.
Good sci-fi? It's claustrophobic. That's why Alien and 2001 work. They're not so much about imagined worlds as imagined small spaces.
I dislike walmart as much as anyone, but isn't the crime of low wages, no bennies, lousy hours pretty much standard for retail workers? Do "associates" at KMart or groceries really do any better, at least in the majority which are non-union?
"hey, we have warm weather year-round!"
I'm lucky. I live in an area of the city where there's a thriving local economy (well, as thriving as anything is right now) and we've got warm weather, too.
Echidne, you just going to put up a "Special" Mummyblogging Thread?
I loved Zardoz.
Jim Kunstler may be a bit of a kook, but I think he's on the ball by mapping the decline of the Cheap Oil Economy to the need to re-invent suburban living in a way that doesn't include Wally World.
Nothing kooky about it. The prediction of "when" may be off, but that it is as inevitable as sunrise should be beyond debate.
Look at how much depends on fossil fuels right now. Try to imagine construction without fossil fuels, raod building, etc. What energy source will replace the energy we get, from the same quantity of matter, as fossil fuels? It simply doesn't exist, and yet the supply is not only finite, but diminishing rapidly.
To say "Wally World" culture has to be abandoned, is to say (no offense) that the sun will come up tomorrow. It's not a matter of if, but when.
And how.
Right, pie. It's really a no brainer, unless you have the old style (builder's disposals I call them) disposals with the screw clamps.
Those suck.
Danger. Incoherent sentences back there.
*sigh* almost 1 p.m., and still caffeine deficient.
Echidne, you just going to put up a "Special" Mummyblogging Thread?
If you think that would be ok. And Avedon. Should we let the children do this?
Barndog--at the moment, I'm waiting for the dishwasher repairperson to show up. The motor sounds awful. I also get nervous when something involves water and electricity so close together.
I've actuall spent a considerable amount of time in Rosemead. It has some great, incredibl cheap, Viet Namese restautants.
Buck Fush with anything pokey bought from WalMart!
I have NO problem with a "Mummy" thread...I'll be out with the telescope tonight (I HOPE) but I'd check in here and there if I knew there were mummy blogging going on.
Good morning, Dr. Attaeffingturk. Will you be joining us for live mummyblogging? I need to know how much beer to buy.
Boo Fucking Hoo, Walmart.
I'm lucky. I live in an area of the city where there's a thriving local economy (well, as thriving as anything is right now) and we've got warm weather, too.
I've heard the east village section of Atlanta is nice. or is it west village?
I dislike walmart as much as anyone, but isn't the crime of low wages, no bennies, lousy hours pretty much standard for retail workers? Do "associates" at KMart or groceries really do any better, at least in the majority which are non-union?
Sharpened Screwdriver of Peace
Yup. Nobody makes a decent living in retail, except management.
Most of them don't work 40 hours. At least, retail I've ever worked has been like that, and I think that's become the norm. Avoids benefits for full-time employees, and eliminates staff standing around half-empty stores at slack hours (sure, they're open for 12 hours, but they aren't fully staffed for 12 hours).
Grocery store workers are usuall unionized and make enough to support a family; get benefits; vacations; etc. I put myself through college working at a grocery store. It's hard standing on your feet all day, but the pay was better than anything else someone with few skills could get. At least back then.
Well, Attaturk, if you think it's ok, then we can go with a mummyblogging thread. With parental supervision, natch.
Good morning, Dr. Attaeffingturk. Will you be joining us for live mummyblogging? I need to know how much beer to buy.
Sallyh, La Poissoniere
I may, but if its clear and less windy here tonight, I'll be out with my telescope [and that's not a sexual reference...for once]
I also get nervous when something involves water and electricity so close together.
As well you should. Had a friend who came home one afternoon to find the washing machine repairman dead near the machine. Something about electricity and standing water, and he should have known better. Probably thought he could save some time by avoiding some precautions. Ugh.
Hecate--one of the sad things that came out of the supermarket strike in SoCal in 2003 was the creation of the two-tier wage system. And now the grocers are 'encouraging' older, unionized employees to take 'retirement' so that they can bring in newer, nonunionized, cheaper labor.
Imports from Asia have raised the quality of the lowest priced goods. The size of this market has grown to include people who could afford to pay more for these goods. People are not getting junk, that's not how it works.
I'm of the school that if you have the yard space, you should compost. I've never had a disposal.
and Alice Walton picked up New York Public Library's masterpiece of the Hudson River School of painting, Asher Durand's Kindred Spirits, for a reported 35 million dollars. The library trustees made the scandalous decision to deaccession 19 of it's works of art to raise its endowment. It's scandalous because:
the works were all gifts to the library. this will hurt future attempts to secure major gifts, thus offsetting any future benefit to the endowment.
many works accompanied the papers and archives of the artists, thus having direct research value.
despite NYPL president Dr. Paul Leclerc's statement that "we're not a museum" and don't have staff or a curator to take care of the paintings, we ARE a museum, complete with curators, conservators, exhibitions department, collections of prints, photographs, artists' books, etc. The decision to exclude paintings is arbitrary at best; indeed, we are not selling all of our paintings, just the good ones! minor works are just as expensive to conserve as masterpieces....
Kindred Spirits shows William Cullen Bryant, for whom the Library's backyard, Bryant Park, is named. It was a gift of his daughter to the Library.
This painting is leaving New York for a Wal-Mart vanity museum in pigfuck, arkansas.
ug, I could go on. the administration has demonstrated outright contempt to library staff in this matter as well; one untimely retirement has been announced already in the wake of this.
Buck Fush with anything pokey bought from WalMart!
Unfortunately, the pokey part would break off before doing any damage.
I've actuall spent a considerable amount of time in Rosemead. It has some great, incredibl cheap, Viet Namese restautants.
Hecate
And the best pho going.
(My weak spot.)
Sallyh:
Hecate--one of the sad things that came out of the supermarket strike in SoCal in 2003 was the creation of the two-tier wage system. And now the grocers are 'encouraging' older, unionized employees to take 'retirement' so that they can bring in newer, nonunionized, cheaper labor.
This is happening all over. Even colleges and universities are doing this, with less tenured faculty and more part-timers (with no pension or medical benefits). I wonder if people know that half of all college faculty is now unprotected?
oh, is tonight that 42-foot mummy movie?
By the way, if you live in the country, or in a small town, if you can get yourself a telescope, especially a half-way decent one.
Get it, it will improve your life immeasurably.
sgj,
Are you on crack?
Almost nothing Americans buy is well-made any more. They buy crap and expect it to break. When it does, they don't repair it, they throw it away and buy new crap.
Oh, and don't buy a telescope from Wal-Mart...those scopes suck.
Imports from Asia have raised the quality of the lowest priced goods.
Not the crap that's sold at Wal-Mart. Even some of the stuff that we sell at the kitchen store makes me cringe.
Hecate's right, and other people have said as much. When it breaks, you just throw it away and buy something new.
Oh, and don't buy a telescope from Wal-Mart...those scopes suck.
the only scopes those assholes sell are the ones attached to rifles.
for shooting.
When it breaks, you just throw it away and buy something new.
In other words, it's time to invade Iran.
"Almost nothing Americans buy is well-made any more. They buy crap and expect it to break. When it does, they don't repair it, they throw it away and buy new crap."
--Hecate
I was thinking the same thing. Major appliances, in particular, use to last forever, or so it seemed. They build them now to self-destruct in 7-10 years.
CD, I was going to attribute your dislike of "2001" to a generational rift of sensibilities, since you also dislike the Beatles. But then Tena agreed with you, and we're both fiftyish. Go figure.
Ah, well, fortunately we can agree to disagree.
I liked "Outlands", I think it's called, an outer-space version of "High Noon" with Sean Connery as the space-station "sheriff" left to face the villains alone.
There's so much to dislike about Wal-Mart! I particularly despise their employee handbook, a testament to "Sam" and the "family values" supposedly incorporated into the Big Happy Family that is Wal-Mart employment.
There is much high-minded language about "standards of integrity", etc., to which their $7.50/hour slaves are expected to adhere. I guarantee that the proven liars and thieves running-- or at least in charge of running-- this country don't practice the ideals written and published by company elites for the benefit of the humble associates manning the oars.
i have this vision that all they sell is bad country music and guns.
OTOH, we sell Le Creuset and Wusthof knives. They're expensive, but they come with a lifetime guarantee. Any defect or poor performance and these companies will replace it.
By the way, if you live in the country, or in a small town, if you can get yourself a telescope, especially a half-way decent one.
and if you live in a big city, get yourself a reeeeallly good one.
man, the things that you can see...
OTOH, we sell Le Creuset and Wusthof knives. They're expensive, but they come with a lifetime guarantee. Any defect or poor performance and these companies will replace it.
Those names don't sound very American.
The only thing I buy at Wallyworld is condoms, Trojan Lubricated 36pak @16.95.
In other words, it's time to invade Iran.
Ah, but who is claiming Iran is broken?
Ah, but who is claiming Iran is broken?
It's not yet. That's what the invasion's for.
Those names don't sound very American.
Heh.
and tent dresses.
I was thinking the same thing. Major appliances, in particular, use to last forever, or so it seemed. They build them now to self-destruct in 7-10 years.
Epson printers actually have a self-destruct on their chips: you get a 'consult your service center' dialog box after so long. All you need to do is unscrew the case, wash out the overflow sponge, and use a hacker program to reset the counter.
oh, is tonight that 42-foot mummy movie?
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Why funny you should ask.
People have just been talking about it since 5:00 fucking a.m. 
Will Terrible Leadership Hurt the Dems?
Is the current leadership of the Democratic Party an embarrassment, or what? There's Howard Dean, who "hates Republicans and everything they stand for," imitates Rush Limbaugh snorting drugs, and vows to "use Terry Schiavo." And there's the increasingly out-of-control Harry Reid, who, just days after calling President Bush a "loser" in front of a group of students, did the previously unthinkable: he slandered a judicial nominee by referring to a "problem" disclosed in the nominee's confidential FBI file--without, of course, referring to what the "problem" might be. This is really breathtaking; did Joe McCarthy ever stray this far over the line? Not that I can recall.
Dean and Reid, with their increasingly thuggish conduct, are making Nancy Pelosi look like Winston Churchill. But that's mostly because she's been keeping her mouth shut lately. The Democrats generally don't pay a price for ths kind of misconduct, mainly because the press covers for them. They are also helped, obviously, by the fact that not many people are paying attention to politics at the moment.
But it can't be a good thing for a party to be led by men who have so little judgment or self-control. We said not long ago that Howard Dean is a ticking time-bomb for the Democrats. It looks now as though Harry Reid is in the same category.
Pie, I think Eli was claiming Iraq is broken, so we just throw it away and move on to Iran.
It's not yet. That's what the invasion's for.
Right.
Wusthof knives.
They are good. I have them in the kitchen, and one day I might even use them.
But it's very true that appliances are designed to become obsolescent. You can't fix most of them at all anymore. My mom had a washing machine that just died, which she bought in 1963. The new one will probably last a few years.
This is bad for the environment, too.
The american made goods are the ones under pressure. The game with Walmart is to always keep the consumer guessing about which goods have compromised quality. Walmart uses their buying power to force american brands into compromises.
People have just been talking about it since 5:00 fucking a.m.
You know what would be really good? A movie about a 42-foot mummified half man/half mosquito.
That would be really good.
Pie, I think Eli was claiming Iraq is broken, so we just throw it away and move on to Iran.
Correctamundo.
I think Eli was claiming Iraq is broken, so we just throw it away and move on to Iran.
Got it. It sure as fuck is broken.
Everything georgie touches gets broken.
fred at 1:08 - "2001, A Space Odyssey is the greatest sci-fi film ever made. Unrivaled in 1968 and unrivaled now."
Perhaps the best film ever certainly top 10 - I've seen it 20 or so times on the big screen and it's wonderous and different every time -
By the by, DO NOT watch it on the small screen - pointless; it's not the same movie
In other words, the Bushies take a Wal-Mart approach to policy - if a policy doesn't work, don't try to fix it, just move on to the next one.
Also known as slash-and-burn...
and day-glo jesus crucifixes
not to mention those fetus-baby rear-view mirror hangings.
those must be near the cash register for impulse purchases.
You know what would be really good? A movie about a 42-foot mummified half man/half mosquito.
Mumsquito?
We said not long ago...
Who's *we*, little man?
You ought to be very afraid of Howard and Harry.
I was thinking the same thing. Major appliances, in particular, use to last forever, or so it seemed. They build them now to self-destruct in 7-10 year
Oh hell, you're lucky to have one last 7 to 10 years now. It's disgusting.
I bought a new Kitchenaid dishwasher about 4 years ago and little parts keep coming off of it. Not enough to kill it, but piece by piece, it's dying by attrition.
You ought to be very afraid of Howard and Harry.
But Harry called Bush a loser! WAAAAAAHHHH!!!!
Last season, Florida was hit by four hurricanes in six weeks, an unprecedented succession of natural disasters in the state that was blamed for 123 deaths and more than $42 billion in property damage.
Yes, it's from what is called "climate change" brought on by "global warming."
wolf-man
Great effing point!
But Harry called Bush a loser!
Yeah, well the truth hurts.
"OTOH, we sell Le Creuset and Wusthof knives. "
What, you didn't get the free Ginsu knives with the Pocket Fisherman?
Solaris, by Tarkovsky, is the best science fiction film ever. 2001 and Blade Runner are very good, but pale in comparison to that work of art. The worst science fiction film ever? Oh, probably The 10 Commandments.
Yeah, well the truth hurts.
I'm still waiting for it to set us free...
Tena--mine is 5, and I have a repairperson in the kitchen as we speak.
so you throw alway the appliances that break in a year or 4, and in the meantime the landfills are filling and we pay poor countries to take our non-biodegradables. we pay then to take our trash.
"I'm still waiting for it to set us free..."
Lately, it sends people to the vomitorium.
Lately, it sends people to the vomitorium.
Isn't he up for re-election next year?
I bought a very expensive dishwasher with the idea that it would last for ever. It's doing pretty well (ten years) but when we needed a repair done a few years ago the firm told us that they no longer support this particular model. So they get you either way.
Last season, Florida was hit by four hurricanes in six weeks, an unprecedented succession of natural disasters in the state that was blamed for 123 deaths and more than $42 billion in property damage.
And according to the news, they're due for more this year.
[/Nelson Muntz]
You know what would be really good? A movie about a 42-foot mummified half man/half mosquito.
Where does one get animated emoticons?
I'm still waiting for it to set us free...
I'm feeling pretty free, actually. It's the Bush Hangers-on, like our troll here, who are still imprisoned.
"I wonder if people know that half of all college faculty is now unprotected?"
I've been explicitly informed not to discuss that with classes.
That said, what's left of American manufacturing is usually high-quality craft stuff, made to be repaired every 20 years and last a century.
But economies of scale -- and the creation of a Wal-Mart low-wage economy -- means that, increasingly, the only people who can afford their products are the rich fucks with their Bush-lovin' tax cuts.
If you look at the 1950s, the people making the appliances were the people buying them and fixing them.
It's a vicious cycle. While it's important to support companies that pay a decent wage and benefits and don't seek the lowest common denominator, Wal-Mart wages create demand for Wal-Mart merchandise.
The Waltons aren't dumb: they know that by driving down wages, they drive down the purchasing power of communities, and in doing so, create a market for their cheap Chinese shit.
There's a big new SuperCenter being built across the street from a regular WalMart. Wonder what the regular WalMart will now become.
I'm hoping for a skating rink.
I threatened my husband with bodily injury if he even sets a foot inside that SuperCenter. He laughed and then inched away from me.
Where does one get animated emoticons?
I think Wal-Mart sells some, but they stop working after a few minutes.
Fuck Ill-mart.
WGG, UAW Local #8. MHEA MEA NEA (Course we are not unions, we are associations.)
One of the 3 worst scifi flicks would surely be:
The Sixth Day starring Ahhhnold
It was one of the only movies I almost walked out of. But, you know, I had Twizzlers to finish.
Bush's old prof speaks to the Tehran Times about US biz practices today:
Capitalism at its Worst
This just in: no word on whether he was #3 in the organization, tho:
Gunmen Assassinate Top Iraqi Official
By MOHAMMED BARAKAT, Associated Press
OBEIDI, Iraq - The U.S. military pronounced its weeklong offensive near the Syrian border over Saturday, saying it had successfully "neutralized" an insurgent sanctuary and killed more than 125 militants. Meanwhile, gunmen assassinated a top Iraqi Foreign Ministry official Saturday evening in a drive-by shooting while he stood outside his Baghdad home, police said.
Jassim Mohammed Ghani, the ministry's director-general, was killed at about 9 p.m. in western Baghdad's al-Kharijiyah district, Capt. Talib Thamer said.
One of my proudest achievements:
I have never been inside a WalMart. Not once. Not ever.
.
Wal-Mart carries too much cheap crap. The American consumer should know by now that you get what you pay for
But that's exactly the point. Throw-away consumables. People don't want crap that lasts forever! Where would you put it all?
Also, the old "owe my soul to the company store" fits in here. Cheap labor can only afford cheap goods. It's the snake eating its own tail. Or is that analogy used for something else?
Time for lunch.
Sallyh --
How's your knee?
Please don't asume that it will get better on its own if it keeps hurting & the swelling is worse!
This just in: no word on whether he was #3 in the organization, tho:
No, but he was a top.
This blogwhore is really for Eli, since there are at least two puns in the headline.
One of my proudest achievements:
I have never been inside a WalMart. Not once. Not ever.
I have never eaten at McDonald's.
Time for lunch.
Ach. time for laundry.
People don't want crap that lasts forever!
Hmmm. That's true for some products, but not everything.
This blogwhore is really for Eli, since there are at least two puns in the headline.
Excellent...
the burbs and xburbs of the south and elsewhere seem like the most culturally devoid places on earth. soul-sucking.
not true! why, my suburban skandia shelves are filled with great works of literature and the best classical and folk music CDs.
I have never eaten at McDonald's.
I have never had sex with a Republican.
Prior--still hurts, but not as badly, and there's work to be done.
It's the snake eating its own tail.
Oroborous.
Later, Moonbats!
Hmmm. That's true for some products, but not everything.
Certainly not. Else, why would I be going to the trouble to acquire these new, old stock, forty year old pure cotton percale sheets? Some things are not only going to last forever, they damned well should.
And, btw, pie? Do you have any good receipts for (a) blackberries and (b) sweet onions? My neighbor has a huge berry patch which just produced about 6cups for me, and I triumphed at the fair by acquiring 36lbs of sweet onions.
One of the 3 worst scifi flicks would surely be:
The Sixth Day starring Ahhhnold
and
I remember a telling line in Total Recall. Where Ahhhnold is trying to convey, to somewhat incredulous fellow insurgents, that he has crucial data implanted inside his brain that is not readily available to conscious retrieval. As he is repeatedly pointing to his head he finally screams out in frustration “you people don’t understand; I have got some shit in here”…
Man you aint kidden
I have never eaten at McDonald's.
I have never had sex with a Republican.
I hear it's the same gut-twisting experience.
"I have never had sex with a Republican."
I'm proud to make the same claim
Oh, and I no longer go to wall-mart - a non issue with my family and I encourage others
- that's the way to go - have your information at the ready - sources etc. and tell the world
Those small stores referred to as Ma and Pa businesses are fun to be in - it's a pleasure to relate to people in small family owned stores; as a general rule - to give this up to save a buck is simply not worth it -
I mean time spent in a wall-mart outlet is simply never enjoyable - It's a relief to get out of there (with your bags of poorly made crap and sweatshop goodies) and worse, you always end up afterwards at some crappy fast-food outlet (they're always conveniently next door)
- It's all an evil plot to steal our souls... and I haven't even mentioned how they treat the people who make them all this money -
Boycott
Girlcott
Sallyh, I agree with Prior. Get it looked it. If nothing else, they can give you something to lessen the pain and bring the swelling down.
When I tore mine up, I was teaching my five year old how to feint and dodge with a football. (Somehow I neglected look in the manual for forty year old overweight men that says you should not do this.) I felt it give way and rip. I used a hockey stick as a crutch and went to a doctor. He told me I was fine and to rest. It continued swelling till it was nearly twice in size. It went out on me two more times before I got home. I finally ended up in the emergency room where it was finally immobilized and I was given crutches. To make a long story short, don't mess with it.
I have never had sex with a Republican.
Ditto.
***By the way, if you live in the country, or in a small town, if you can get yourself a telescope, especially a half-way decent one....***
I bought a Mead 4-inch SCT from my father-in-law a few years back. My wife asks me if I'm "going to get my 4-inch out..."
I WOULD never have sex with a Republican and never have had. Beauty begins in the mind, you know?
Extremely late to the party....
anything unusual happen while
I was pretending to have an
actual life?
But it can't be a good thing for a party to be led by men who have so little judgment or self-control.
John Bolton. George W. Bush. Newt Gingrich. Tom DeLay. Rick Santorum. The guy who shot up watermelons in his back yard (memory is the first to go). Frist. Dick Cheney.
Need I go on?
DWD--I'm still able to move around on mine--a bit limpy, but there's mobility in there. The one thing it does seem to do is make me really tired.
Worst flicks?
Give my regards to Broad Street starring Paul McCartney
and Sgt. Peppers lonely Hearts Club Band starring the Bee Gees for starters
oooo! Black Christmas
RMJ--you ARE aware that was my namestealer, aren't you?
GWPDA,
Blackberry recipes.
Sweet onion recipes.
That should get you started.
OT -
This is a hit & run, but... oy!
Hot Sauce Cashes in on Bride's Cold Feet
May 14, 2005 AP - Maybe hot sauce is the cure for cold feet. "Jennifer's High Tailin' Hot Sauce," a nod to the saga of runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks, has sold briskly since its debut Wednesday.
"I'm in the hot sauce business and this is the hottest thing I've got right now," said "Pappy" David Ryan, who runs Pappy's Peppers in Lawrenceville, Ga. and says he's sold 10 cases of the private-label sauce.
I'm of the school that if you have the yard space, you should compost. I've never had a disposal.
mer
Besides, it's a lot of fun trying to hit the cat-food- stealing white winged doves with mushy tomatoes.
I love to stand on my backporch and fling moldy tortillas into my compost heap.
I think we need a movie about a 42 foot tall half-man/half-mosquito, who's chasing a slim blonde alien babe through a swamp. On a haunted ship. At the lip of an event horizon. During an earthquake.
Work up something like that and get back to Sci-Fi by Tuesday, 'kay?
Hot Sauce Cashes in on Bride's Cold Feet
We really *are* a nation of idiots...
RMJ--I think we have a project for Eli and NTodd.
RMJ--you ARE aware that was my namestealer, aren't you?
Sallyh, La Poissoniere
Oh, Madame La Poissoniere, it was painfully obvious.
As was the pot calling the kettle black aspect of the whole foolishness.
BTW, if I keep "changing identities," it's not a troll. Haloscan keeps forgetting who I am.
And now, I'm off to a birthday party.
"anything unusual happen while
I was pretending to have an
actual life?"
Nope, the Sociopaths in Chief still have their fingers on the button.
You guys never had sex with
a Republican?
Before I tell you whether I did
or not,
I need a concensus:
Would it be shameful if I had?
RMJ--I think we have a project for Eli and NTodd.
I'll get right to work on casting the alien babe.
It may take a while, I'm very... thorough.
the administration has demonstrated outright contempt to library staff in this matter as well; one untimely retirement has been announced already in the wake of this.
librarian
Thanks for posting this. This action will only shoo donors away from the NYPL. How can they legally do this? Isn't a contract of some kind drawn up between the library and the donor?
I know that the Daughters of the Republic of Texas would come and kick our collective asses if we tried to sell off their shit...uh, I mean treasured artifacts.
And Eli ?
The Tinkabelles are all from the Tinka-Bell Toy Company of England, ca 1950-75. Made out of old sheeps. If I could find Badger, he's one too, and would be in pictures - but he's evidently gone to ground somewhere.
"I'll get right to work on casting the alien babe."
You'll need 2. NTodd will demand hot science babe on hot science babe action.
"Would it be shameful if I had?"
Well, yeah, but you can plead ignorance, drunkenness or both.
"I have never had sex with a Republican."
Try this on: I (a straight, liberal white guy) was once about to have sex with a white Texas republican married woman when she asked me this: "Have you ever had sex with a black woman?" My answer was yes. She then got up, put her clothes back on and left.
I shit you not.
not to mention those fetus-baby rear-view mirror hangings.
those must be near the cash register for impulse purchases.
her eyes
Now I am sooo tempted to trot down to the local walmart to find out. You know, research.
Sallyh, La Poissoniere
You are a pig - you have the mind of a pig so it follows that you are a pig.
Calling it as they see it, is called straight shooting. You know what that is don't you?
Would it were that Bush were only a loser - he is a poorly informed, delusional, a liar, and a murderer of tens of thousands of people.
Calling him a loser is letting off easy - just like calling you a pig.
I shit you not.
WalterNeff
Beats the hell out of my loyalty oath story...
I have knowingly had sex with a Republican.
And, I have never voted for a Republican.
You'll need 2. NTodd will demand hot science babe on hot science babe action.
Okay. A little overtime never hurt anyone.
Well, maybe a little residual soreness...
*ponder marketability of hot Tinkabelle-on-Tinkabelle aciont*
Yeah, well the truth hurts.
I'm still waiting for it to set us free...
Eli
It's freedom through pain, Eli. Didn't you see the last episode of House? S&M will make us all free, baby.
Divided and Conquered--I have a namestealer. One thing my namestealer hasn't learned is that I'm terse.
Um, or "action", even...
WalterNeff:
Hey, I knew a Republican guy who
said he thought black women were ugly.
I gave him the Lenny Bruce test:
If you were stranded on a desert
island with Bea Arthur and Halle
Berry, who would you sleep with
if you had the chance.
He couldn't answer.
Astounding.
OT again, but this is really disturbing...
Mengele Lives!
Although a dog lover, I'm not so naive as to confuse a dog with a human on the life value scale. Still, this story is very disturbing.
http://www.local6.com/news/44801...144/
detail.html
High school biology?
Substitute teacher?
It was going to be killed anyway?
In "culture of life" Utah.
Exchange research labratory for high school and you have to wonder just how far off working on the condemed can be?
I am not sure what D&C is talking about, but you are my number one favorite math person. (Course, I usually eschew numbers for words . . .)
Sallyh: One thing my namestealer hasn't learned is that I'm terse.
Yeah, but think about how stoopit the average namestealers is, then consider that 50% of them are stoopiter than that.
.
Um, or "action", even...
Too fuzzy in this heat.
No I wasn't aware that was your namestealer - many, many, many apologies - I prostrate myself before you -
In my defense I read the post copies the name and let fly - such is the anger in my belly about these chickenhawk crybabies -
My college sweetie -- one of the
great loves of my life -- was
a Republican.
Of course, she was against the war
in Vietnam, and really enjoyed
sex drugs and rock and roll, so
she wasn't exactly doctrinaire.
But she was a Republican nonetheless.
I found that rather exotic,
actually.
OT- And the band played on...
Nine U.S. troops,100 rebels killed in Iraq assault
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Nine American troops have been killed in an offensive against insurgents and militants in Iraq's most rebellious province, the U.S. military said on Saturday. Four of those were killed on Wednesday when their assault amphibian vehicle hit an explosive device, the military said.
Backed by aircraft, U.S. Marines, sailors and soldiers launched Operation Matador one week ago in a bid to root out insurgents and militants from the western Anbar province. The U.S. military estimated about 100 guerrillas were killed in the assault. Based mostly in Anbar, insurgents have stepped up suicide bombings and other attacks since Iraq announced its new government on April 28, killing more than 400 people.
Lemme ask ya this, steve. If you met her again today, do you think she'd still be a Republican?
I have never had sex with a Republican.
I recently saw a Curb Your Enthusiasm episode where Larry David is about to boink one of his castmates in her dressing room (the Producers) and spies a George Bush picture on her couchside table.
"Are you...a...Republican?!"
Scenario for "Whiskers":
Black and white: Nazi Spys steal U235 from Oak Ridge Tn. at end of WW2, only to have tire of finned Buick shot out and it plunges into TVA lake. The FBI guy who does the shooting says, "we'll never recover it, it's too deep."
fade to color:1987
Son of FBI guy (same actor) is now game biologist who notices something strange, giant bass in (same lake).
And bass boats are dissappearing...
The evil city council wants to keep the lid on the news (to not run folks off from Big Bass Tourney), but they will be eaten by the giant catfish (Whiskers),when they try to award the winner...
Our hero will save the day by blowing up the dam, but the giant catfish will roll over the downstream Nuclear power plant.
Whatdya think?
Sorry again Sallyh - If I had read more of the thread - It would have been obvious
Would it be shameful if I had?
++++++++++++++++++++===
OMG - Chardonnay would be banned for the rest of your life. (Or at least the rest of the afternoon.)
I recently saw a Curb Your Enthusiasm episode where Larry David is about to boink one of his castmates in her dressing room (the Producers) and spies a George Bush picture on her couchside table.
"Are you...a...Republican?!"
I could probably bring myself to have sex with a really hot Republican if she was at least a moderate. But if she was a slavering Ann Coulter loon, I just couldn't do it.
and spies a George Bush picture on her couchside table.
Talk about a cold shower.
QL in NY: Chardonnay would be banned for the rest of your life. (Or at least the rest of the afternoon.)
Ah, well then... it's a good thing I have a 12-pack of Milwaukee's Best Ice in the 'fridge.
.
Mr. Bill
(Snarkily) sounds cliched and derivative enough for SCI FI. Pitch away.
Eli:
I've actually seen her over the
years, and I guess she's more
of a libertarian. Or a Lincoln
Chafee moderate if such a thing
can still exist.
I'm sure she hates the Bush
administration.
Her parents were really, really
conservative, though.
Eli -- You're the only Atriot immortalized in the commentary on the Curly DVD. How's about that?
.
launched Operation Matador
Good grief.
Steve, as long as she hates Bush, she's okay in my book.
DWD: (Snarkily) sounds cliched and derivative enough for SCI FI. Pitch away.
Blue Collar TV wants in on the bidding!
.
Eli -- You're the only Atriot immortalized in the commentary on the Curly DVD. How's about that?
Good Lord, how did *that* happen???
I have never had sex with a Republican.
I have. She was non-orgasmic, or so she said.
Couldn't do oral sex, and I'm talking about receiving. Giving it wasn't part of her sexual vocabulary, although I'm sure she'd been asked before.
Couldn't touch herself during sex (in effort to further her own orgasm) either. It wasn't much fun. Too many preconditions. It was like walking on egg shells.
This was during the OJ trial, right at the end. Talk about anger, she was livid, and this was a woman who's quarterly taxes exceeded my annual income. In other words, she already had things going her way.
Needless to say, it didn't last long, and that's not to imply she was a person lacking merit, kindness or affection.
From the fine folks who brought
us "Mansquito":
Tonight, on the Sci-Fi channel -
the premier of "The Fallen Ones",
starring the genius that is
Casper Van Dien.
Inspirational dialogue:
"What do you mean, where is it?
It's a 42-fool-tall mummy!"
Giant catfish???
Where's my cornmeal and Fry Daddy?
Eli: Good Lord, how did *that* happen???
I was talking about the use of effects in some of the web clips, and the lack of them in the DVD, basically, mentioning that I was inspired by your b&w photos one week to do a monochrome-Curly clip.
.
Speaking of catfish -- the world's best is available in Nashville at a place improbably named Cock of the Walk.
Great gumbo, too!
.
Cool!!!
BP, she sounds like she was genetically engineered by the Republican party...
Off to tackle today's NYTimes
crossword puzzle.
Have fun while I'm gone!
Giant catfish???
Where's my cornmeal and Fry Daddy?
Thanx Rose, I needed that.
Liberals hate business and want anyone's success to be socialized and given to the lazy masses who don't want to work. If I work hard I will keep it. So should WalMart. If the employees work hard enough they can become store managers and get stock options, he Ownership Society, another concept liberals hate because they would rather it be communist where the stae owns everything.
I wanted to thank every Atriot individually in the credits on the DVD, but I knew that along that path awaited disaster -- invariably, I would have left someone out unintentionally, and then I'd have to do a mass recall of the DVDs, replacing them with the corrected version.
.
In general, zoning is anti-freedom. People should be able to build whatever they want on property AS LONG AS IT DOES NOT LOWER THE VALUE of their neighbors property. That should be the only rule.
Little Scottie Simon on Weekend Edition had a clueless essay about why Muricans are so clueless re: May Day several weeks ago, followed immediately by a Wal-Mart underwriting announcement.
Through 1/31/05 Walmart earned gross profits of 68.2 BILLION dollars.
Walmart has 1.7 million employees.
Walmart paid $.60 to 4.23 billion shares (dividend)
If Walmart wrote off health benefits and they reduced dividend payouts by 25%, from $.60 to $.45, they could afford to give each employee $2,500 per year towards health benefits.
With their size they could negotiate lower rates so all employees could get good coverage.
15 cents a fucking share.
Fuck Capitalism
Fuck Sam Walton
Quote:the administration has demonstrated outright contempt to library staff in this matter as well; one untimely retirement has been announced already in the wake of this.
librarian
Thanks for posting this. This action will only shoo donors away from the NYPL. How can they legally do this? Isn't a contract of some kind drawn up between the library and the donor?[endquote]
all libraries will have a deaccession policy which is written carefully with legal counsel. most deeds of gift do give us the right to dispose. it's just never done. the purpose of the policy is really to be able to dispose of useless duplicates, or to cherry-pick things worth saving from a gift of mixed value. so, I'm assuming this all has been very carefully worked out by our lawyers. but it's a pr nightmare, though the media hasn't picked up on that fact yet. Our library president was quoted in today's NYTimes areticle as being thankful that it's gone to "a museum". that's pretty weak spin after it was widely assumed that it would go to the Met.
there are some fishly legal things about this though: "John Wilmerding, a professor of art history at Princeton University and a National Gallery of Art trustee who advised the library on the sale of the Durand [...]is to work with Ms. Walton on the collection and on the programming for the museum." In other words, a guy whom we paid to advise us on the sale is an employee of the "institution" that bought the painting. no wonder we had sealed bidding! that all seems really fishy, but I know nothing of the legality involved....
Look, Walmart is under no obligation to provide anything but a freely contracted job to workers, value to customers and a profit to shareholders. If you have any other utopian goals to force on big business, keep them to yourselves.
BP, she sounds like she was genetically engineered by the Republican party...
What was interesting was how hard she tried. On the one hand--no pun intended--she couldn't do this that or the other thing. On the other, her prescribed (pelvic grind) alternative always failed.
I see the same dynamic in Anne Coulter. Now envision her as Bolten's date... at Plato's. I think that image explains a lot about the Republican psyche.
check this out!
Frist gets cornered by social security protest AND gets a parking ticket - whilst out buying $500 pair of shoes!
Haw, haw.
/Nelson
USA Freeddom Support
It's called corporate greed...not capitalism.
Have you ever seen these fuckers sticking it to the citizens who dare question Walmart?
And who gains the most in terms of capital for development.
Socialist/Communist China.
Speaking of catfish -- the world's best is available in Nashville at a place improbably named Cock of the Walk.
WHAT?! No no no. The best catfish will always be devoured in South Louisiana.
Sorry. There's no room for argument on this, JP. A no room for the coleslaw and hushpuppies, either.
Look, Walmart is under no obligation to provide anything but a freely contracted job to workers, value to customers and a profit to shareholders. If you have any other utopian goals to force on big business, keep them to yourselves.
USA Freedom Support
Gotcher healthcare and retirement so fuck everyone else, then?
Good for you.
I hope you realize that because WalMart provides little if any benefits and low wages (to match the low prices) that you, as a taxpayer, are paying for workers healthcare.
Oh, but I'm sure you want to get rid of their healthcare, too.
Eat the poor!
USA Freedom Support is absolutely correct.
Selfish, inhumane, greedy, unable to come up with positive and creative solutions.
But he is correct.
When Wally-World closed the store in Canada after workers there voted to unionize, every Canadian community should have revisited their zoning laws and 'changed the contract' as Wal-Mart accused employees of doing. I'm in my MIL's hometown, where the local Wal-Mart moved three blocks down the road, leaving one of their humongous big box stores (too big for any other retailer and not designed to subdivide) sitting empty. As a bonus - the grocery store that had anchored that shopping center closed, and also sits empty. There's your two-for-one of the day.
Walmart is under no obligation to provide anything but a freely contracted job to workers,
Obviously, our free market troll hasn't seen how much of his state taxes go to pay for Wally World employees' food stamps, subsidized rents for WallyMegaMarkets, etc. ad nauseam.
Frist gets cornered by social security protest AND gets a parking ticket - whilst out buying $500 pair of shoes!
Why does everybody latch onto the price of the shoes? I don't expect Frist, or anyone else with his kinda money, to shop at Payless, ya know? Teddy Kennedy's deck shoes probably cost more than the suit I don't have woulda cost if I bought one, right? Right.
If I was stranded on a deserted island with my wife and Halle Berry; well, wouldn't that just be the shits.
Although, if I plied them both with just enough coconut moonshine . . .
Liberals hate business and want anyone's success to be socialized and given to the lazy masses who don't want to work. If I work hard I will keep it. So should WalMart. If the employees work hard enough they can become store managers and get stock options, he Ownership Society, another concept liberals hate because they would rather it be communist where the stae owns everything.
USA Freedom Support | Email | Homepage | 05.14.05 - 3:02 pm | #
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This is a parody troll, right?
Don't want to flame nice people twice in one day
WalterNeff, if you plied them both with moonshine, they would probably just agree to kill you.
another thing on this Alice Walton, who bought up the painting for her vanity collection, she was a major Swift Boat funder. and the NYPL administration is making backroom deals with this beast??
Is the current leadership of the Democratic Party an embarrassment, or what? There's Howard Dean, who "hates Republicans and everything they stand for," imitates Rush Limbaugh snorting drugs, and vows to "use Terry Schiavo." And there's the increasingly out-of-control Harry Reid, who, just days after calling President Bush a "loser" in front of a group of students, did the previously unthinkable: he slandered a judicial nominee by referring to a "problem" disclosed in the nominee's confidential FBI file--without, of course, referring to what the "problem" might be. This is really breathtaking; did Joe McCarthy ever stray this far over the line? Not that I can recall.
Dean and Reid, with their increasingly thuggish conduct, are making Nancy Pelosi look like Winston Churchill. But that's mostly because she's been keeping her mouth shut lately. The Democrats generally don't pay a price for ths kind of misconduct, mainly because the press covers for them. They are also helped, obviously, by the fact that not many people are paying attention to politics at the moment.
But it can't be a good thing for a party to be led by men who have so little judgment or self-control. We said not long ago that Howard Dean is a ticking time-bomb for the Democrats. It looks now as though Harry Reid is in the same category.
WallyWorld is getting a huge government highway grant to improve the drive up to their corporate headquarters.
Corporations are persons under the law. As such, they have a duty to the society which has enabled them to get filthy rich. They have a duty to be good corporate citizens.
Sometimes "free" just means "anything goes," which when it comes to people, the Right isn't so sanguine about. But with businesses - hey, take the money and run. Your business practices cause harm to others? No biggie - it's the free market. Accept it's not - there are all kinds of government protections for businesses.
Not the way to have a successful society, and that's putting it mildly.
As such, they have a duty to the society which has enabled them to get filthy rich.
I thought getting filthy rich *was* their duty to society.
Accept it's not - there are all kinds of government protections for businesses.
Tena
*Except*
Heh-heh....Woemart?
pie - thanks. Homophones are going to be the death of my comments.
I don't know why this format lends itself so well to those mistakes, but I guess it has to do with typing quickly while thinking and letting my fingers get ahead of my thoughts.
Eli - It's really not just about getting rich, or at least it isn't supposed to be.
Some corporations do take their role as a corporate citizen more seriously than others. Some just give it lip service. But in fact, it is a legitimate corporate interest to be a good citizen. It promotes the business, it is good for the community and that is the way it's supposed to work.
I know, Tena. But "get rich, donate to Republicans" is all that's asked of corporations or individuals anymore.
I have never had sex with a Republican.
Hey, guys. Hasn't it occurred to you that the reason they're so f**cked is because no one will have sex with them?
If they were getting any, they wouldn't be so obsessed with keeping other people from getting any!
If they didn't have to PAY THEIR OWN WIVES to get some, maybe they wouldn't have to work so hard to keep other women from getting birth control.
If they weren't reduced to raping horses on the farm, they could deal with teenagers getting honest, useful information about sex ed.
So--maybe we all should go "take one for the team!"
Tena wrote: "I blame Walmart for the spread of Redneck Nation."
God you're an idiot. You and your foolish kind will forever be angry and accomplish nothing. Kudos to you.
Lolly wrote: "Hey, guys. Hasn't it occurred to you that the reason they're(Republicans) so f**cked is because no one will have sex with them?
If they were getting any, they wouldn't be so obsessed with keeping other people from getting any!
So--maybe we all should go "take one for the team!"
The insight and analysis shown by you Atrios lemmings rivals an elementary special ed. class. Why don't you take one for the world and jump in front of a train.
God you're an idiot. You and your foolish kind will forever be angry and accomplish nothing
Thanks for sharing. But break's over, and there's a cleanup on the detergent line.
(It's telling that you take your name from a character that's not only annoying, but also a knock-off. You're a Gareth, and you'll stay a Gareth.)
pseudonymous in nc - these are the very bottom tier trolls. They just come along and sprinkle a few juvenile insults through the threads and leave.
No ideas - they are here strictly to throw their own feces around.
The insight and analysis shown by you Atrios lemmings rivals an elementary special ed. class. Why don't you take one for the world and jump in front of a train.
DwightSchrute | Email | Homepage | 05.14.05 - 4:22 pm | #
Tena, word. This is the lousiest gaggle of trolls since early 2004.
The intelligent ones must be hiding until they can blame Bush's miserable failure on a Democrat ... again.
.
Schrute, were you the only child in your family that lived? Amazing you've lasted this long.
In general, zoning is anti-freedom. People should be able to build whatever they want on property AS LONG AS IT DOES NOT LOWER THE VALUE of their neighbors property. That should be the only rule.
USA Freedom Support | Email | Homepage | 05.14.05 - 3:03 pm | #
Congratulations. You just supplied the rationale to ban every single WalMart from ever being built! Kudos!
"Howard Dean, who "hates Republicans and everything they stand for," imitates Rush Limbaugh snorting drugs, and vows to "use Terry Schiavo." " - troll
you're a fucktard and a coward whoever you are -
but after all the shots Limbaugh has taken at dems ver the years a little making fun of him isn't okay? Awww - did he hurt the hypocritcal fuckwit's feelings?
And Dean doesn't want to use Shiavo - he wants to remind the American voter how repulsively the Republican's tried to use her. Get a clue dipshit.
Listen to the wussies whine! What a bunch of cowards and idiots on the right! They are halfway to destroying the democracy, and boo-hoo over Harry Reid and Howard Dean. with this behavior exhibited, I guess the revolution will be short and sweet. I mean, what's the point in chasing these buffoons as they're running away, as they do in all armed conflicts, even the ones they support. they don't care about their own destroying a CIA network that was years in the making to find out about WMD, but Harry Reid alluding to a negative item--oowoo! If he slandered anyone, let's see the lawsuit. No? Of course not, the facts are liberal-biased. Call Bush a loser? Well, there ya go. he's a fucking loser, and Rush is a rich, fat, hypocritical drug addict. And republicans are hated for their stances the whole world over, so Howard is only going with the people, which is what Dems do, anyway. To paraphrase their hero mAnn Coulter, it's too bad the 9/11 autopilots weren't aimed at Cheney directly. The world would be a saner and more peaceful place if the whole bunch or psychopaths called the republican party went up in smoke. But we already know that.
So sorry, Dwight.
I was only kidding.
Go back to the horses, 'kay?
I'm pretty damn sure "USA freedom support" is a parody troll. At least I hope so for his/her sake.
Buckaroo Banzai is the greatest science fiction movie ever.
That is all.
Ummm, yeah, that's the problem when you treat businesses as if they were people. They aren't, and there's no reason they should have any kind of legal "personhood".
Cheers,
Divided and Conquered--I have a namestealer. One thing my namestealer hasn't learned is that I'm terse.
Sallyh, La Poissoniere | Email | Homepage | 05.14.05 - 2:45 pm | #
I can sympathise there, Sally. Perhaps there needs to be a warning for any newcomers not accustomed to this annoying dishonesty of the RWers: If it doesn't sound like an Eschaton regular's post, check out others by that person, and if it's out of character, it's a troll and ignore it.
Cheers,
How about the irony solution: Mal-wart execs will be sentenced to being greeters at their fucking sweat shop. The few times I've entered a Mal-wart, I felt my IQ immediately drop 50 points.
Yea, well here's what Morningstar says about Walmart's valuation (they like the company and it has five stars): "After reporting revenue for the first quarter, Wal-Mart appears to be on track to meet our estimates for 2005, so we are sticking with our $58 per-share fair value estimate. We expect sales growth to average around 10% for the next five years, and gross margins should improve as a result of better international procurement, offset a bit by the increasing weight of lower-margin groceries in the mix. Operating income assumptions are affected by our expectation that labor costs will continue to increase. We've accounted for the legal and regulatory risks the company faces with a higher discount rate in our discounted cash-flow model, and we don't assume a major breakthrough in getting more stores into California or certain urban areas."
I heard some speculation on NPR, I think, that attributed the cause to merchandise that is getting even tackier than the clientele.
Buckaroo Banzai is the greatest science fiction movie ever.
"What's that watermelon doing in the vise?"
"I'll tell you later."
...and he NEVER DOES!
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Phase Two is much more insidious. It worked very well for Wal-Mart here. The city of Stoughton Wisconsin had just spent many millions of dollars on revitalizing downtown, and didn't want that all to go to waste by allowing the existing Wal-Mart to be morphed into a SuperCenter. So the zoning was turned down.
Phase Two consisted of finding pro-Wal-Mart people to run for the city board and giving them tremendous amounts of financing, unheard of for a local election. They won handily, and amazingly enough, the SuperCenter is being built right now.
And Stoughton has become a company-owned town.
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