Plunging Towards Gomorrah
Posts tagged Wal-Mart
Daily Flush: Ethics, Romans, Wal-Mart and a Win for the Republic
Jul 22nd
Most Ethical Congress Watch: It seems like a million years ago, but in November 2006, Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats captured the majority in Congress. At the time the newly crowned Speaker of the House talked a big game.
“The American people voted to restore integrity and honesty in Washington, D.C., and the Democrats intend to lead the most honest, most open and most ethical Congress in history,” Pelosi said. She added, “And nowhere did the American people make it more clear that we need a new direction than in the war in Iraq. ‘Stay the course’ has not made our country safer, has not honored our commitment to our troops and has not made the region more stable. We cannot continue down this catastrophic path.” She called on the Bush administration to work with Democrats “to find a solution to the war in Iraq.”
I remember shortly after the Democrats took over the Congress that we immediately pulled out of Iraq. Well, I guess it didn’t quite turn out like that. The Democrats messed up that whole ethics thing as well. Charles Rangel joins the ranks of politicians caught up in ethics charges. This is hardly newsworthy. Corrupt politicians are a dime a dozen, but when you promise to “lead the most honest, most open and most ethical Congress in history” and fail catastrophically, it has to be pointed out. And what happened to transparency? Everyone loves to hear that we’ll find out what’s in a bill after it’s been passed. That’s comforting! Why would anyone be cynical about politics?
Most Biased Is? Big Journalism has completed the Top Ten Most Left-Biased American Journalists and the winner is Helen Thomas. I don’t know. Helen Thomas hasn’t been relevant since Antoninus Pius was a Roman emperor. Oh yeah, she didn’t like the Jews back then either; however, it was a lot more acceptable back then. What is truth?
Ego Watch: A recent Rasmussen poll shows Charlie “The Ego” Crist trails Marco Rubio in the Senate race. I point this out because I really don’t like Crist. I would rather have Lindsay Lohan as my senator than Charlie Crist. She would be an awesome Senator and far more ethical than most of the yahoos currently sitting in that august body.
Wal-Mart Deserves Nobel Prize: That’s what Mark J. Perry says and who can blame him? Perry links to an article that explains how apparel jobs created by Wal-Mart in Bangladesh appear to bolster school enrollments of girls, especially for young girls. Wal-Mart should be praised for how they’ve reduced poverty worldwide; however, progressives like IKEA and Target better because…. I’m not sure, but I think it has something to do with doing what everyone else is doing. Progressives are very susceptible to peer pressure. Winning the Nobel Prize is no big deal anyway since it’s been reduced to an honorary award given to failed presidents and terrorists.
Climate Bill Dead? Never underestimate the Democrats’ ability to pass unpopular legislation, but it looks like the climate change bill is dead. Score one for the Republic. The bill accomplishes nothing except to make the price of goods increase and make some hippies feel better about themselves, which is really what it’s all about. Imagine all the people, and so on and so forth.
Editorial Note: My annual trip to Priest Lake in my own private Idaho starts on Saturday, so I’ll be gone until August 2. Club Soda is going to be busy as well, so that means no posts for a week, unless Club Soda is struck with divine inspiration. I know… How will you survive? I don’t know. Read a book, play an instrument, or dream of Lindsay Lohan’s first day of freedom. I shall do the latter, but don’t tell my wife.
undercover: working at wal-mart
Feb 8th
Charles Platt is a former Senior writer for Wired magazine, computer programmer and author of over 40 fiction and nonfiction books. He decided to leave writing for awhile and take on a bit of a social experiment. After reading the book “Nickel and Dimed,” which discusses the exploitation of the American work, Platt went and a got a job at Wal-Mart. Platt has now written about his experience at the New York Post.
Some people, usually community activists, loath Wal-Mart. Others, like the family of four struggling to make ends meet, are in love with the chain. I, meanwhile, am in awe of it.
With more than 7,000 facilities worldwide, coordinating more than 2 million employees in its fanatical mission to maintain an inventory from more than 60,000 American suppliers, it has become a system containing more components than the Space Shuttle – yet it runs as reliably as a Timex watch.
There’s definitely a twinge of elitism in anyone who says they’re concernered about the working conditions at Wal-Mart. Just because their customers are poor doesn’t mean the employees are treated bad.
I’ve always wondered why Home Depot and Lowes get a pass. The work is far more strenuous at those box chains than it is for most Wal-Mart employees. Also it’s not like Target is some kind of worker’s paradise. I don’t expect this will change the Wal-Mart haters. How do you stop something that’s completely irrational?
IKEA Shoppers of the World Unite
Aug 23rd
I thought Democrats were the party of the average guy? Here is a newsflash; Wal-Mart is the average guy’s store. It’s has everything that middle-class families need. Sure their stores can be dirty and you might have to fight for the last loaf of bread with some elderly midget with tourettes syndrome, but Wal-Mart’s prices are the best out there. It’s no surprise that 80% of people who have never shopped at Wal-Mart voted for John Kerry in the last election. These people file into IKEA stores and shop at Nordstrom’s and discuss how horrible it is to see the filthy peasants lined up outside the local Wal-Quaeda. What is this disease that makes people think things are always horrible? When the LA Times runs an editorial discussing how crazy this topic is, it’s time for a reality check.
One reason the Democrats may have a tin ear on this subject is demographic. Certainly most of the party’s urban liberal activists are far removed from the Wal-Mart phenomenon. The retailer has thrived mainly in small towns and exurbs, which is one reason a Zogby poll found that three-quarters of weekly Wal-Mart shoppers voted for President Bush in 2004, and why 8 out of 10 people who have never shopped at Wal-Mart voted for John Kerry. Denouncing the retailer may make sense if the goal is to woo primary activists, but it’s a disastrous way to reach out to the general electorate.
