http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083 On August 23, a <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a_Nj4JQ7qvGg&refer=home">hearing</a> will be held to determine whether a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temporary_restraining_order">temporary restraining order</a> should be granted to stop "improper communications" from Wal-Mart. These alleged communications have been described as "borderlin[ing] on criminal witness intimidation," which is supposedly being carried out by local store managers. en-us Wed, 23 Aug 2006 17:10:34 EST Thu, 5 Apr 2007 10:44:35 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#56 <a href="http://claritinc.rx45online.com">claritin</a> <a href="http://rx.sunwave.com/atenolola">atenolol</a> <a href="http://rx.sunwave.com/prednisolonep">prednisolone</a> <a href="http://ciproc.rx45online.com">cipro</a> Thu, 5 Apr 2007 10:44:35 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#55 <a href="http://healthhiqc.casino72.info">health insurance quotes companies</a> <a href="http://mortgagemlfip.casino967.info">mortgage loans for investment property</a> <a href="http://californiachlm.casino967.info">california home loans manufactured</a> < Sun, 21 Jan 2007 03:16:55 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#54 <a href="http://frankfurtflu.slkf.com.es">frankfurt live ubertragung</a> <a href="http://gedichtgud.pouff.com.es">gedicht uber das</a> <a href="http://heilerdeha.slkf.com.es">heilerde akne</a> <a href="http://pumpepe.dialo.com.ar">pumpe ersatzteil</a> <a h Tue, 19 Dec 2006 13:50:29 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#53 <i>it is so mean-spirited as to make one almost hope that you might have to walk in the shoes of one of these people whom you so blithely dismiss.</i><p> The rightwing ethos is predicated on never thinking about how anyone else feels. Tue, 5 Sep 2006 20:29:50 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#52 We only need so many bankers and nurses. Fri, 25 Aug 2006 20:57:22 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#51 Because Mom and Pop rely on local distributors, who help defray the cost of the gas increases over a dozen hops.  WalMart owns all the hops in the chain, and are having to pay the increases at every level.<p> When gas is cheap, fleet consolidation mak Fri, 25 Aug 2006 18:01:00 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#50 Yes, but Wal-Mart has to be much cheaper than mom and pop, because everyone hates them.  A little cheaper isn't going to do it.  Their prices slip, and suddenly they can't bully their suppliers anymore, and then their prices slip again, ad they s Fri, 25 Aug 2006 17:55:18 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#49 My impression of Wal-Mart, which I occasionally shop at when I need a wide array of cheap crappy stuff, is that's it's populated with people who have a need for cheap, crappy stuff sometimes.  That means a mixture of the poor (including a vast swath o Fri, 25 Aug 2006 17:47:49 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#48 Lou, I replied upthread before I read this, so clearly I'm trying to teach my grandmother to suck eggs.  Let me sugest that your experience isn't as uncommon as you may believe.  There's still mobility out there, even though it's likely gotten to Fri, 25 Aug 2006 17:38:53 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#47 Maybe there's a regional difference.  I've gone through this before on the issue of lock of economic mobility.  Anecdotally, most of the sysadmins I know (and I'm a sysadmin, so I know alot), have either parents who were poor, or grandparents who Fri, 25 Aug 2006 17:31:17 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#46 "they are the only purchasers for quite a few types of products"<p> Which ones? <p> "there are places in the midwest where a non-Walmart purveyor of music on compact disks is more than 200 miles away"<p> I doubt it, but even so I'm told people in the Midwe Fri, 25 Aug 2006 17:04:06 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#45 While they're certainly not a monosopy nationally, they are the only purchasers for quite a few types of products, in quite a few areas throughout the country.  They're also the only retailers of quite a few products in quite a few places.<p> For exam Fri, 25 Aug 2006 16:06:47 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#44 I love pickles. <p> Wal-Mart is the largest single purchaser of organic cotton, but I still don't think it's a monopsony buyer of organic cotton, and given the market for non-organic cotton organic cotton is a poor example of a monopsony category to begin Fri, 25 Aug 2006 14:57:41 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#43 Apparently, gallon jugs of Vlasic pickles.  Not that I feel any need for such.  <p> Thalia Fri, 25 Aug 2006 14:50:17 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#42 Lou, all I can do technically to applaud you here is to give you a +5 brilliant. But that doesn't even come near to the value I put on your comment for its personal touch and its humanity. Seems so sad that you should even have to state what should be the Fri, 25 Aug 2006 13:35:35 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#41 <i>I don't have any particular animus against WalMart, but I don't think their stores want dollars from my demographic.</i><p> Yes, I'm quite certain Walmart <i>sneers</i> at profit that comes from outside their chosen demographic.  And don't we all s Fri, 25 Aug 2006 11:40:26 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#40 High school drop outs?  All the Wal-Mart employees I know have at least a couple of years of college under their belts.<p> Do you even know any Wal-Mart employees? Fri, 25 Aug 2006 10:08:36 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#39 <i>For every 1 person trapped in a trailer park due to bad luck and tragic family circumstance, there is at least 10 others who are there because of their own personal mistakes/fuckups. Why should you/I have sympathy for them?</i><p> Careful there, friend. Fri, 25 Aug 2006 09:58:11 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#38 <i>If gas continues to get higher, everyone can quit worrying about Wal-Mart, because they'll crash like a house of cards.</i><p> You're right, but not for the reason you think. Higher gas prices are hurting Wal-Mart. The CEO blamed their recent profit dec Fri, 25 Aug 2006 08:05:25 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#37 <i><br> I still stand by the NBA reference though cuz these were the small number of folks who could see the metaphorical volcano getting ready to blow, and made the best of a bad situation.  There were many many more who, as the lava rose around thei Fri, 25 Aug 2006 04:22:33 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#36 Aye...I remember TAA well.  During the 90s, I was an employment counselor.  I have helped a multitude get beyond their lost shoe shop or mill job and become something their parents wouldn't recognize.  No kidding...there are a bunch of CNAs Thu, 24 Aug 2006 23:06:34 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#35 <i><br> I would have to guess that (at least from the people I know) that achieving such a level of employment is nearly akin to getting a big recording contract or getting picked for the NBA.<br> </i><p> Hi Lou,<br> I wasn't going to answer your original Thu, 24 Aug 2006 22:58:16 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#34 <i><br> You are correct. Your statement is neither fair nor accurate. </i><p> Well at least I'm not myself with that brand impression. The LA Times this morning pretty much <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-walmart25aug25,0,1146352.story?coll= Thu, 24 Aug 2006 22:40:55 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#33 While you are of course, right.  I would have to guess that (at least from the people I know) that achieving such a level of employment is nearly akin to getting a big recording contract or getting picked for the NBA. Thu, 24 Aug 2006 21:46:19 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#32 Not sure I understand why this effect would not cause other supplier's prices to rise for the same reasons.  If anything, Walmart's control of the entire fleet will allow them to control shipping costs to a greater extent than those who do not have su Thu, 24 Aug 2006 16:50:17 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#31 I have a distant relative in WalMart management. He states this is unlikely to happen. I posed the same question to him and he stated that he was recently looking at item prices (what the consumer pays off the shelf) and noted that some items had not incre Thu, 24 Aug 2006 16:00:18 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#30 <i>That solid wood chest of drawers with the mahogany finish might be a real steal at $250, but it's going to be far out of the target price range for your average Walmart  customer. </i><p> Of course, it's going to last 5 times as long as the press-b Thu, 24 Aug 2006 15:15:36 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#29 Wal-Mart lives on its trucking abilities.  If gas continues to get higher, everyone can quit worrying about Wal-Mart, because they'll crash like a house of cards.  All the power, all the weight they have comes from Sam Wqalton's bright idea of do Thu, 24 Aug 2006 15:05:51 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#28 I know you're trying to be outrageously sarcastic, but considering that I know plenty of hick sysadmins who did exactly what you're talking about, it's not quite so outrageous as you appear to think.   Thu, 24 Aug 2006 15:03:39 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#27 <i><br> I don't doubt that we've come to demonize WalMart to some degree. But when it lives up to such expectations, it should be publicized; when it breaks laws, it should be held accountable.</i><p> I don't object to holding companies accountable when th Thu, 24 Aug 2006 14:47:41 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#26 Something to consider:<p> If your Wal-Mart is one of the "Super Centers" and Maryville is anything like the 'burb I call home, then the Wallyworld is likely to be the only thing in town that is open 24 hours. Nothing draws your Everyday Vatos and Low Price Thu, 24 Aug 2006 14:43:19 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#25 <i>I mean really...how dumb do you have to be to work for free?...I just can't make myself sympathize with people whose basic defense is "I'm too stupid to know my own rights".</i><p> No doubt, eh?  Not only that, but how stupid is it for people to st Thu, 24 Aug 2006 14:12:07 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#24 Yes, Wal-Mart gives jobs to a lot of poor people with children. That's a good thing. What is it you think the people they hire would be doing if they weren't working at Wal-Mart? Investment banking? Practicing medicine? Thu, 24 Aug 2006 14:10:49 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#23 "Wal-Mart moves 20% of all retail products in the country now"<p> If 80% of the market is other than Wal-Mart, it seems an incorrect to label them a monopsony. <p> Can you name a category (not a brand) of product Wal-Mart approaches being the monopsony buy Thu, 24 Aug 2006 14:01:17 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#22 <i>I believe in at-will employment. Moreover I have a keen appreciation for what makes a sucky job.</i><p> "Moreover" indicates a natural transition from one thought to another. Believing in "at-will" employment does not necessarily indicate a total lack o Thu, 24 Aug 2006 13:41:45 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#21 Not really a Walmart competitor, but my alternative is Costco.  Every year they capture more and more of my spending.  We purchase almost all our meat and bulk food stuffs there, and they have a huge selection of booze.  I've also bought qui Thu, 24 Aug 2006 13:33:42 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#20 <i><br> So, you couldn't care less what Wal-Mart does to their employees.  Why would that be exactly?  But, you deplore the company's policy of repackaging your favorite games/movies/magazines leaving you no choice as to what to purchase.  W Thu, 24 Aug 2006 13:03:57 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#19 While we're at it, can we do a study of the relative incidence of bank robberies in and around federally-chartered financial institutions, as opposed to knitting supply stores. Thu, 24 Aug 2006 11:18:21 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#18 <a href="http://walmartcrimereport.com/">Link</a> Thu, 24 Aug 2006 11:12:53 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#17 If they won't pay for (real) employee health care, then they certainly won't pay for a rent-a-cop security patrol.  Yet another way we pay for Wal-Mart's cheap prices. Thu, 24 Aug 2006 11:02:35 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#16 <blockquote><br> <i>Basically I identify WalMart as a place where christian conservatives/republicans too stupid to be democrats like to shop. This might not be fair, it might not even be accurate.</i><br> </blockquote><p> You are correct. Your statement i Thu, 24 Aug 2006 10:18:55 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#15 <i>Is the incidence of crime higher in/immediately around Wal-Marts?</i><p> Crooks like target rich environments. It may not be so much that Wal-Mart = crime, as that huge parking lots = crime.<p> Malls have had this problem for a long time and it's especi Thu, 24 Aug 2006 10:15:17 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#14 Much has been made of Wal-Mart's tremendous power in the marketplace as a retail seller. While they do some harm to the labor market and their competitors, I think this might ultimately (albeit too slowly) be self-correcting if another problem is addressed Thu, 24 Aug 2006 09:24:12 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#13 Those boys are probably the Every Day Vatos Low Price Locos or the Inasne Wal-Mart Bloods. Or else just regular Crips, as Crips are widely known to enjoy Wal-Mart's value and selection. Thu, 24 Aug 2006 01:25:13 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#12 <i>blacks seem incapable of running their own stores</i><p> This appears to me as a bad mischaracterization. There are many black-owned businesses in those neighborhoods. It's just that fewer of them involve involve the high sunk costs and low profit margi Thu, 24 Aug 2006 00:35:22 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#11 wow...you are in rare form tonight.<p> Never change...we love you. Wed, 23 Aug 2006 23:39:41 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#10 Given that no one else wants to and blacks seem incapable of running their own stores it is churlish of Andrew Young to complain about independently owned stores run by the "Arabs, Koreans, and Jews" in black neighborhoods, however Young is correct that Wa Wed, 23 Aug 2006 21:53:38 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#9 <i>"I'm not talking about them abusing their workers (couldn't care less)."</i><p> So, you couldn't care less what Wal-Mart does to their employees.  Why would that be exactly?  But, you deplore the company's policy of repackaging your favorite g Wed, 23 Aug 2006 21:16:34 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#8 Seems that here in Georgia, Wal-Mart employees' kids on the dole far outnumber the next largest employer---fourteen times more.  In fact, there's one Wal-Mart kid on the dole for every four Wal-Mart employees.  <a href="http://soleft.blogspot.com Wed, 23 Aug 2006 21:05:31 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#7 <i> and no I'm not talking about them abusing their workers (couldn't care less)</i><p> Why the noninterest? Wed, 23 Aug 2006 20:40:14 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#6 I'll second Thalia on the Costco plug for whenever I have a need to shop at a warehouse type store. Nothing beats a "return product for cash at <strong>any</strong> time guarantee". I don't have any particular animus against WalMart, but I don't think thei Wed, 23 Aug 2006 20:28:22 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#5 [offtopic]<br> I live in a smallish town (Maryville, TN) that's on the outskirts of a biggish town/small city (Knoxville). I subscribe to the local newspaper, which features a daily column of police and court activity. There's a Wal-Mart Stupidcenter about Wed, 23 Aug 2006 19:40:55 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#4 I'm sorry but forcing employees to come in, and sign an untrue statement that they have not worked overtime under threat of being fired should does sound like criminal intimidation to me.  I hope some ambitious DA (paging Eliott Spitzer) picks up on t Wed, 23 Aug 2006 18:49:48 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#3 I've never been in a Wal-Mart.  I'm sure there is one around here, but I haven't bothered visiting it.  I've been to K-Mart a few times, but the vacant look in the eyes of the people there scares me.<p> I go to Costco if I need bulk items, they t Wed, 23 Aug 2006 18:42:21 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#2 Wal-Mart has been having a bit of bad luck (or perhaps luck doesn't have anything to do with it).  They had to unceremoniously retreat from Germany because German buyers apparently don't particularly believe that "low prices always" amounts to a good Wed, 23 Aug 2006 18:26:12 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/8/22/8531/03083#1 I've pretty much stopped shopping at Wal-Mart sinced I moved to a larger metro area...however when I lived in rural Pennsylvania, they were pretty much the only option in the area (other than a few remaining K-Marts, and it's not like they paid their emplo Wed, 23 Aug 2006 18:09:23 EST string http://www.treesandthings.com/search/