Wal-Mart Shopping Death - Jonathan Krause is Right On!

I could not say it better myself, so I will leave it to him:

Click here.

Great Column on Purchasing Locally

From OshNW Community Columnist Steve Volkert

Commentary: Supporting community commerce more important than lowest price

Case in point is Wal-Mart with their philosophy that sold so many over the holiday season. "Save money, live better." Did they say, "Shop locally, save jobs?" No. Did they say, "Better service means better satisfaction?" No. Did they say, "Buy from those you know?" No. They said, "Save money, live better." Because after all, if we can save money on what we want, we will have a better life and it doesn't matter what it means for anone else. Is this what we as a society have gotten to? It's all about me?
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Let me give you an example. I bought my vehicles from Don. Jerry keeps them safe for me to drive. My grocer is Jim and my garbage hauler is Dave. I have fish at Sandy's and sit down for a beer at Pat's. Dan takes care of my mortgage and Kristi takes care of my checking and savings. This spring I'm having Bill put in windows that I'm buying from Eric. Ken is my pharmacist and Jack is my family's doctor. When I die, Steve and Denise will take care of my family and me and make sure everything goes as planned.

Does price really matter to me? No. And not because I have an incredible wealth, but because these are my friends and I know I can trust them with my hard-earned money. If I have problems with their products or services I can talk to them; if I need something I can request it. And because they're friends, I know my voice will be heard. Not only do I buy from them, I also eat with them, go to ball games with them, coach with them and worship with them. They serve my community and are a part of my community. These are local business owners and their friendship means more than price. They are the people I can buy from, I can trust, I can sit down and talk with over a cold beer. And you know what, I've never had a beer with Sam Walton. Please, shop your locally owned independent businesses whenever possible.

Read it all here.

Human Rights Watch: Wal-Mart Violates Worker's Rights

Wal-Mart’s exploitation of weak U.S. labor laws interferes with workers’ rights to organize and violates the human rights of its employees, according to a report by Human Rights Watch, an independent nongovernment organization.

In a 210-page report released Monday, Human Rights Watch said Wal-Mart uses an arsenal of sophisticated tactics — some of which it says are illegal— aimed at thwarting union organization and creating a climate of fear for its 1.3 million U.S. workers.

The rest is here.

"Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid"

From MSNBC:

Wal-Mart and unions unite on health care
Retailer, other big employers aim for ‘quality, affordable’ coverage

Executives from Wal-Mart and three other large U.S. employers on Wednesday joined union leaders in calling for “quality, affordable” health care for every American by 2012.

However, they did not propose any specific policies to achieve this goal, or commit to spending any extra money in the near-term to provide health coverage to more workers.

Joining Wal-Mart Stores Inc. CEO Lee Scott and Service Employees International Union leader Andrew Stern at a Washington press conference were top executives from Intel Corp., AT&T Inc. and Kelly Services Inc., a temporary staffing agency.
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The partnership of business and union leaders laid out four main goals, including universal health-care coverage for all Americans and boosting the value of every U.S. dollar spent on health care. The business and union leaders’ coalition, dubbed “Better Health Care Together,” pledged to convene a national summit by the end of May to recruit others from the private sector, labor, government and non-profits.

However:

(Walmart's) Scott said Wednesday he would not withhold financial support from lawmakers and candidates who oppose universal health care. WakeUpWalMart spokesman Chris Kofinis called that stance “hypocritical,” pointing out that Scott blamed politics as the main reason the nation lacked universal health care.

The Automakers have also called for universal healthcare in meetings with the White House.

If you are against this, you are against history's current path. This is a fight that we can and will win. It is nice to see Wal-Mart aboard

I'm still not shopping there, however.