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I used to shop at Walmart until about ten years ago, and their prices are not cheaper. And anyone who opts to bank with them is a damn fool. - AIW
BTW...Any information put out to the public on Social Media is no longer private once the send button has been pressed. Anyone in the world has access to the information as it's then in the public domain.
Companies have Marketing groups in-house or Outside that monitor all forms of social media for damage control. This is a very common practice and there are all kinds of software programs that do this for them. A human monitors and then replies or reports the information to the Marketing group for direction if the information is bad enough. The Dominos video in 2010 cost the company quite a bit of money & loyal customers. It's all about the dollars & cents.
Palindromedary ~ Strange you should say that. I think they don't do that because it would be a very expensive waste of time and resources. Furthermore, they probably don't do that because it is fairly easy for anyone to spot a person who is under the influence of something, especially when he is all dressed up in a pilot's costume that already causes him to stick out in a crowd. Plus there is also his crew companions who accompany him onto the plane who also have a lot at stake in being sure they make it to their destination safely.
Having said that, there is no reason whatsoever for the airline to object to anyone pointing out noticing a pilot in such a condition. Aren't we all encouraged as vigilant drivers to spot and report other drunk drivers before accidents happen?Isn't a plane crash much more serious than an auto accident? Such an early warning system is exactly what could save that airline a fortune in daily routine drug and alcohol testing; and, in losing planes and customers to unnecessary accidents. They should encourage it, thank the lady, and question the pilot. Obviously, they circumnavigated that procedure in a way that suspiciously looks like they don't want to know, or already know that the pilot was drunk and want to cover it up. In either case, regardless of the inebriated status of the pilot, that airline has some 'splainin to do.'
Perhaps the solution to this problem is to develop a way to use high tech communication to report such concerns in the most direct and effective way possible to ensure public safety and minimize bad news and false alarms. The use of twitter, or any other social media site simply isn't an effective way to prevent an accident. Also, the airline has no business monitoring peoples private communications. The airline should be reprimanded for doing this. They should also be required to post urgent email addresses and a text message number on the backs of their plane seats so that people have a recourse in the event of a major concern that sends a private message directly to the air traffic control watchtower of the airport. Just imagine how handy that would be to stop a plane from taking off if the pilot was drunk; or, perhaps, someone was hijacking the plane. Tweeting would be a great way to let your family know you're gonna be late for dinner; but, a quick urgent line of communication directly to the air traffic control station might just save your life and every other passengers life as well. In preventing any kind of an inflight tragedy, time is a critical factor.
Twitter is correct! "The right of the people to be secure in their tweets, against unreasonable searches, shall not be violated."
Why are we still referring to arbitrary power as government?.......Factionists!
Palindromedary ~ Thanks for those links. This is a really eye opening story. If you ask me, the people who wrote this law need to be brought up on criminal charges. Not only did they legalize stealing, they also blatantly violated the Constitution when they did it. The law makers are the ones who should stand trial for this. Then, the state should be held responsible for paying back every dime taken where a crime wasn't charged and proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Anything less is nothing less than legalized crime; or, organized crime at the highest level.
Look what happened to a New Hampshire woman who twittered that her flight was going to be delayed...she was bumped off the flight. Seems that a different passenger had thought that a pilot was under the influence of alcohol and said something about it that caused the flight to be delayed 4 hours. It just shows how these companies are monitoring Twitter and other social media and punishing the people for what they tweet.
She was just trying to inform her family (including 3 young children), after having just visited her mother who just had a breast cancer operation, that she would be delayed. Jet Blue punished her for tweeting about the delay by bumping her off of the flight when it resumed 4 hours later. These airlines create their own bad publicity when they spy on people and punish them for tweeting about the companies. They should know that it will go public and not look good for them.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/n-h-woman-claims-jetblue-kicked...
I wonder if that pilot was really inebriated. Maybe we should have all pilots from all airliners undergo a check or test for alcohol content or drug use just before their scheduled flight.
Maybe people should boycott Jet Blue for being such tight-assed punks. I sure wouldn't want to fly with an airlines that are not open to doing their utmost for the safety of their passengers or for spying on people's social media.
shoppinmg at Wal Mart damages our country Sad but millions must shop there or starve ..not pay rent- care for their kids .Its a catch 22 Anti middle class anti fair wage Greedy policies led US to brink of deep depresion -TARP joke..GOP congress who only blocks lies filibusters -spreads BS via F O X
Thats what 32 years of anti middle class - deregulation- Pro Wealth -
pro long un funded war & policies which led to worst crash since 1929 .
Also control unbridled Corp Greed.
I will Never ever Bank at WalMart Chase Citi BoA - Wells Fargo
Goldman Sachs . Or buy gas at BP. Never buy insurance fronm AIG
They are Greedy corrupt Corp SOB"S
Thanks GW Bush Hank Paulson Greenspan for years of anti middle class PRO CORP policies- laws . NO more right wing judges . End Citizens United
Money is NOT speech IF it were then we have lots less 'speech ' or a voice
bring back Glass Steagal End NAFTA CAFTA Shafta GATT
ALL take away power of the US to determine our own rules- laws .
Each are very dangerous
It's the same old "junk" that other stores sell but Walmart's prices are cheaper. And if you can afford to buy more expensive junk then, by all means, waste your money elsewhere. Let's face it some people are easy to be sold by marketing hype beginning with..."if you pay more...it's better quality". That is not always the case.
Walmart is just beating the competition who has continuously squeezed out excessive profits from people through marketing hype. Walmart is just playing the game better than all those other merchant capitalists who are now behind the anti-Walmart hype. I don't feel sorry for the merchant capitalists who have voted for laws that have screwed the consumer or the saver or their employees. They voted for those laws, through their bought off elected officials, because they believed that they could maximize THEIR profits while reducing the savings of ordinary people and squeezing their employees out of benefits and wages...or perhaps, by sending their jobs overseas....and certainly, by buying cheap goods made by sweatshop women and kids in other countries. Again, the same cheap goods made by sweatshop women and kids in other countries...except their prices are higher. But those laws also helped to create Walmart and other huge businesses too big to control.
It's the same thing with on-line merchants. You can buy books from Amazon.com far cheaper than the local book stores. Exact same books but for much less. The book stores get buying customers who want the book right then and there and have no problem paying much more for it. The only real problem buying from Amazon is that you have to wait for it and worry that someone won't steal it right after UPS delivers it. Many people browse for books at the local bookstore but buy them on-line.
Hardly anything is made in the USA anymore...it's all made overseas...so if I have to buy cheap junk or expensive junk I'd rather pay the least for it that is possible. We know that when large organizations use their bargaining power with suppliers...they get their inventories much cheaper. And they can afford to pass on the savings to the customer. They can under-price their goods and still make a profit and beat out the competition.
We used to have laws that kept businesses from getting too large but it wasn't just the large, too-big-to fail/control mega companies that were responsible for creating the present laws. It was the voting and bribing power of lots of business owners, stock holders, company executives and their coercive power to sway their employees to vote in certain ways that caused companies like Walmart to get so big and powerful. They shot themselves in the foot...so to speak!
Nope, I don't feel sorry for all of the anti-Walmart businesses that are feeling cheated by Walmart. These profit-mongers have ripped off the consumer...buying big fancy houses and cars and expensive vacation get-a-ways all on the excessive profits they have squeezed out of their customer's gullibility in believing their marketing hype. "If you pay more, it's better quality." "Buy it, you deserve it!" "Don't smell bad, use our product!" "Make your friends jealous, buy our product?" "Make people think you are wealthy and successful...dress for success!" And then they use sex to lure you into buying their products.
Leslie Marshall's pretty decent.
Again with the double response! Oh well. Yes, the police seem to think every person is a potential criminal and treats them as such. Then they are militarized. It only follows that then would develop further this "us vs them" mentality and act like a bunch of wannabe special forces in urban combat zones. But what they don't seem to realize is that if they go around viewing the people as the "enemy", so or later the people will become the enemy.
I will tell you what they REALLY want to do--stop the Post Office from offering simple passbook-banking services.
I've bought enough junk at Walmart to know that the cheap stuff dosen't last and their expensive stuff is not any cheaper than it is at other stores. Cheap, side by side with expensive must be their marketing ploy to unload junk. People who always choose cheap will never know how good a deal the more expensive option might be. Caught in a most efficient trap of false savings. Free to choose. Can't stop that.
Here's Deputy Lee Dove in Nevada who stopped a guy doing 78 in a 75 mph limit. He searches the car without permission and finds $50,000 that the driver said he won in Las Vegas. The cop just stole his money and it is all on video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMSaDu1Eh2E
Here's a NY man who loses $160,000 to a state trooper.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ec3nATX8gw
NJ man traveling thru Tennessee...$25,000 stolen by police.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMMZiyR-wxc
Just don't get caught trying to take money out of the country. Some Central American had come to the US a number of years ago to earn enough money to ...I think it was to start a small restaurant back in his home country. He had slaved away for years and finally took the plunge. He tried to take his savings back over the border but was caught. It was something like $50,000 I think. The authorities confiscated the money and sent the guy back home without the money. Welcome to Amerika! Land of illusions of freedom and democracy and the illusion that if you work really hard and be very frugal you too can make it. Well, some might but many don't. Many just get it stolen from them by the people that are suppose to protect us from theft. I'm not very confident that even our saving accounts are safe from these criminals...if not the hackers...then the bankers or the cops.
Palindromedary ~ Unfortunately I have to agree with you--this place is really starting to stink. It almost seems like it's cursed, if you could believe that. Bad karma, probably from what happened to the Native Americans? What comes around goes around? Its just so bad that it is hard to rationalize that it is not by some kind of design. However, I have to believe there is a solution to every problem. The main problem though is that there are so many huge little problems that it is almost impossible to even get started fixing anything. I don't know about you buddy, but there comes a time when even the most loyal crew has no choice but to consider abandoning ship. At this stage of the game, beach front property in Costa Rica or Panama is looking mighty tempting. Civil forfeiture is definitely one of the last straws that could make that decision a reality for a lot of good people; and, this country can't afford to lose any more of its good people. Just look around you on the freeway at rush hour, or in line at Walmart, and you can see we are really running low on decent, educated, responsible citizens. Do you ever wonder how many Americans already made that move to other countries? You certainly aren't going to hear any news about that topic on the main stream media. That would make the establishment look bad. However, I've heard from some sources that there are budding communities of American refugees showing up en masse in many countries. What I would give to be a fly on the wall when those Americans get together and discuss their old home. I once ran into a gentlemen in Mexico who was a retired American living in Jalisco and we had a long talk. This was back when GW was in office. He mentioned "what was going on back there" and the fact that this was why he moved out of the country when he did just shortly after 9/11. However, he just said, "you know why, lets not spoil our conversation discussing it further." So I left it at that. Of course, things weren't quite that bad back then; and, at the time, I must confess that I though of him as a quitter. I'm having second thoughts now. I wonder how bad it will get before we all jump ship? Maybe the world community can fence off this nation and use it as a penal colony. If things continue the way they are going the idea of having to be caged here with all the corruption and criminals who run the place will surely serve as a crime deterrent for most rational people; and, for those who aren't discouraged, they will feel right at home here. A win win situation for everyone as long as we "cut and run" before they build the fence. Food for thought!
I tend to agree with you Kend. Besides, it was all of those other business people who voted largely Republican all of these years that made a company like Walmart a reality. I'm certainly not going to shop elsewhere if I can get the products cheaper at Walmart. And Thom's remarks about cheap products at Walmart...most of them are the exact same products that you can buy elsewhere but for a greater price elsewhere. We have much bigger things to worry about...like cops confiscating our cash during traffic stops...referring, of course, to DAnneMarc's message and links yesterday....oh, yeah, and Ebola too!
DAnneMarc: I read that article and watched the video...yee gads!! That is much worse than I thought...now I don't even want to drive my car anywhere. But, they can still steal my house while I'm sitting in it, couldn't they? Margarita machines? I guess if the cops don't get their quota of actual traffic violations...they stop people anyway and confiscate their cash.
They are obviously forcing people to not carry cash...to rely on credit cards. But then every time you use your credit card they have a record of every single thing you buy...and that is no bodies business....which is why I usually always pay cash for darn near everything. They are also forcing people to financing buying new cars instead of using cash. Forcing people to have to pay interest rates. Man, this country is really starting to suck...big time! Crooked cops, crooked government, crooked judges, crooked lawyers.
By the way, I hear there is yet another person with Ebola symptoms being quarantined in a hospital in Dallas...one of the 3 deputy sheriffs who first went to Duncan's home. They went unprotected and now one has the symptoms.
Aw, man, you're scarin' me now!!! I think maybe I'll start diggin' my fall out shelter tomorrow! ;-}
I heard that this was starting to be a really big problem...dirty cops shaking motorists down for any cash they have in their wallets. Getting to be as bad as Mexico. Highway robbery is all the rage now in the U.S. And if you're a woman, you're lucky the cash is all they take. But, I suspect there are at least a few crooked Gay cops out there...so look out...no matter who your are! I watched the movie "We're the Millers" so now I know. Maybe it would be a good idea to have a couple of video cameras in the car to record police misconduct. Then put the videos on YouTube...but, they'd probably just turn around and sue you for violating their privacy rights. And with the crooked lawyers and crooked court system they would probably get away with it.
Running out of gas, running out of water (in some places), running out of money. Running out of everything. Think I'll run down to the local Walmart and see if they will hire me. ;-0 Just kidding!
You are all missing a very important thing. You live in a free country. Do don't have to bank at Walmart. You don't even have to shop at Walmart.
Walmart has made it more affordable for the poor. They give people jobs that probaly would not find work any where else. They have made a lot of people very wealthy with there incredible share growth. There is some upside to them. Besides where would all the senior RV'ers camp for free.
Helloooo mathboy- would you please check my math at http://www.thomhartmann.com/users/leighmf/blog/2014/10/walmart-green-dot-and-publix
Thom, I'm sorry to have to say this, but your host today was absolutely horrible. He kept flapping his mouth, stating the obvious without letting callers finish their points. These were callers who knew something that Dr Mike wasn't aware of, specifically that an experimental serum for ebola has been used to cure the disease 3 times out of 3 attempts -- a pretty good track record. This fact has been all over the news for weeks if not months, so I'm surprised that Dr Mike was totally unaware of it. But the worst thing today was that he kept cutting off callers who had this info before they could describe it. And there were probably other examples, but this one stuck in my mind, because I kept yelling at the radio, "Shut up! SHUT UP! Let the caller say something!!!"
Hellooo Everyone- I wish we could post photos here. Therefore I am going to publish my Green Dot Publix Walmart Logo in my Blog with all the pertinent information to understand this:
The Federal Reserve uses the German America Bank, Jasper, Walmart and Publix to launder money.
This is proven by the Federal Reserve's own Numerical Banking System.
Green Dot is actually the laundered proceeds through Publix of the original Florida National Bank of Lakeland, Florida. It presently exists as a financial holding company.
Publix in Florida has the first grade produce, mostly foreign, and is the most expensive chain grocery store. In recent years the chain has eliminated choice of brands by at least 50%, offering the Publix generic brands at lower prices than other brands.
Publix was built out the ashes of the Florida Land Boom and crash. Founder George Jenkins was given by The Lincoln Group a cover story that the entire Publix food chain, which wiped out at least 10 other chains statewide in my lifetime, was built from a mortgaged orange grove that Jenkins "picked up during the Depression."
If you are interested, I am going to move the facts to my community blog under "Walmart, Green Dot, and Publix" so I can publish the illustration and not clog up this page.