Study Finds Over One Third of Toys Still Coated With Lead Paint

A series of tests conducted by the Ecology Center reveal that only 20% of toys sold to American consumers are lead-free, and a whopping 35% of all toys have lead levels higher than legally allowed. Many of the toys tested were bought at Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart’s unwillingness to address the continuing issue of lead-tainted toys on its shelves isn’t just a consumer safety issue - it raises environmental and human rights concerns as well. And as we see in this case, even when toys are found to be toxic, Wal-Mart is seldom willing to recall them. As the holiday season ramps up, will consumers take the risk of buying at Wal-Mart?

Groups Release Guide to Toxins in Toys [Associated Press]

Tests on more than 1,200 children’s products, most of them still on store shelves, found that 35 percent contain lead — many with levels far above the federal recall standard used for lead paint.

A Hannah Montana card game case, a Go Diego Go! backpack and Circo brand shoes were among the items with excessive lead levels in the tests performed by a coalition of environmental health groups across the country.

Only 20 percent of the toys and other products had no trace of lead or harmful chemicals, according to the results being released Wednesday by the Michigan-based Ecology Center along with the national Center for Health, Environment and Justice and groups in eight other states.

Of the 1,268 items tested, 23 were among millions of toys recalled this year.

Mattel Inc. recalled more than 21 million Chinese-made toys on fears they were tainted with lead paint and tiny magnets that children could accidentally swallow. Mattel’s own tests on the toys found that they had lead levels up to 200 times the accepted limit.

The Consumer Action Guide to Toxic Chemicals in Toys, which is available to the public at http://www.healthytoys.org, shows how the commonly purchased children’s products rank in terms of containing lead, cadmium, arsenic and other harmful chemicals. It comes in time for holiday shopping — and amid the slew of recalls.

“This is not about alarming parents,” said Tracey Easthope, director of the Ecology Center’s Environmental Health Project. “We’re just trying to give people information because they haven’t had very much except these recall lists.”

Easthope said 17 percent of the children’s products tested had levels of lead above the 600 parts per million federal standard that would trigger a recall of lead paint. Jewelry products were the most likely to contain the high levels of lead, the center said, with 33.5 percent containing levels above 600 ppm. Among the toys that tested above that limit was a Hannah Montana Pop Star Card Game, whose case tested at 3,056 ppm.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a level of 40 ppm of lead as the maximum that should be allowed in children’s products. Lead poisoning can cause irreversible learning disabilities and behavioral problems and, at very high levels, seizures, coma, and even death.

A spokeswoman for New York-based Cardinal Industries Inc., which sells the Hannah Montana game, said Tuesday that Cardinal was unaware of the environmental groups’ tests or procedures but the product has passed internal tests.

“We test every (product) before it ships numerous times,” Bonnie Canner said. “We have not tested this product high for lead.”

Easthope said the product is manufactured in China. Canner declined further comment until she had more information.

The center and its testing partners found The First Years brand First Keys, Fisher-Price’s Rock-a-Stack and B.R. Bruin’s Stacking Cups were among the 20 percent that contained none of the nine chemicals.

“There’s a lot of doom and gloom about lead in the products — people only hear about the recalls,” said Jeff Gearhart, the Ecology Center’s campaign director. “Companies can make clean products. Our sampling shows that there’s no reason to put lead in a product.”

Gearhart and Easthope said the products, while not necessarily representative of everything on the market, were considered among those commonly bought and used. Testers purchased most at major retailers such as Wal-Mart, Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us.

The testing began in 2006 but most of the items were checked in the past six months, Gearhart said.

Calls to a Mattel spokeswoman were not immediately returned Tuesday. A Wal-Mart Stores Inc. spokeswoman declined to comment because the company had not seen the report.

Toys “R” Us Inc. spokeswoman Kathleen Waugh also declined to comment because she needed to fully review the report’s findings, referring questions to the Toy Industry Association.

Joan Lawrence, the association’s vice president of standards and safety, said the group and its members support limiting accessible lead in children’s products. But she said the industry and standard-setting bodies are struggling with how to measure exposure, accessibility and what limits to set.

She said she hasn’t seen all of the Ecology Center’s findings but called them misleading because the testers did not appear to follow recognized test procedures for lead and other substances. The two most common ways are to use solutions to simulate saliva and digestion, and another to attempt to dissolve the surface coating.

The center and its testing partners performed what they describe as a “screening” of chemicals using a handheld X-ray fluorescence device that detects surface chemical elements.

“The mere presence of any substance alone is only half of the answer — you need to know if it’s accessible to the child,” Lawrence said. “We can’t tell that from what I know of the tests that have been done by this group.”

Easthope said her group’s tests aren’t meant to replace those tests, and that’s noted on the Web site. She said it’s important for people to know what’s in these products since nobody else is providing this data.

“We’re not saying that ... all of it will come out into a child,” she said. “We’re saying it’s a concern that so much of these products have these chemicals of concern in them.

“We shouldn’t have lead in kids’ products. We can make products without lead in them.”

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission spokesman Scott Wolfson said he also hasn’t seen the Ecology Center’s tests but said the federal agency would seek to verify its findings and initiate recalls if warranted.

He said the commission has been meeting with ASTM International, which spearheads voluntary safety standards for toys, to discuss crafting standards specific to lead in plastics. He said there also is movement on Capitol Hill to revise laws on lead in children’s products.

Wolfson said the commission launched 40 toy recalls in fiscal year 2006, three involving lead-paint violations. In 2007, there were 61 recalls, 19 involving lead-paint violations.

“What we would like to consumers to know is more recalls are on the way,” he said.

Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Wednesday, December 05, 2007

COMMENTS

Let’s see, anti-freeze in tooth paste, poison in dog food, poisoning our children with lead! What more proof do we need that the Chinese hate us? WM is GUILTY of putting our population at risk of death and, or illness because of their greed. Where I come from when you aid in the harm of the people of your nation you are guilty of TREASON!!!!!

Big D in
Wednesday, December 05 at 03:29 PM

Let’s see.....

anti-freeze in tooth paste - distributed to the prison system (no Wal-Marts, in prison!).

poison in dog food - the “poison” may have originated overseas, but the food in question was manufactured by our friends and neighbours in Canada.

poisoning our children with lead - toys, I take it? Last I read, the retail stores weren’t the ones who made this stuff, which leads me to ask you this question, Big D.....

.....if YOU sold a toy to someone (on eBay, for example), and it turned-out someone was posioned from said toy, would YOU, the seller/middleman be the one to blame??

Think about it.....

Giving Big D a big slap in the face
Wednesday, December 05 at 04:00 PM

To......[Giving Big D a big slap in the face]

You present yourself as being American (eg. but the food in question was manufactured by our friends and neighbours in Canada) yet you spell like you are not American. Canadians spell neighbours while Americans spell neighbors.

Also you are wrong about where the bad pet food was produced. Check out the FDA’s report:

Recall of Pet Foods Manufactured by Menu Foods, Inc.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been informed that Menu Foods, Inc., a private-label pet food manufacturer based in Streetsville, Ontario, Canada, is recalling all its “cuts and gravy” style dog and cat food produced at its facility in Emporia, Kansas between December 3, 2006 and March 6, 2007. The products are sold in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Who are you really?

R E M E M B E R
J O N Q U I E R E
Q U E B E C
Home of Walmart Worker Abuse

R E M E M B E R
J A C K S O N V I L L E
T E X A S
Home of Walmart Worker Abuse

Alex in Ontario, Canada
Wednesday, December 05 at 05:07 PM

Giving Big D a big slap in the face

The thing is Wal-Mart is leading the way to exporting American jobs to manufactures in China that obviously hate the American public. They have poisoned our pets, adults and now our CHILDREN and WM continues to do businesses with these TERRORISTS. This only goes to show that Wal-Mart could care less about our people; all that matters to them is the profit margin, PERIOD!!!!!

Big D in
Wednesday, December 05 at 05:21 PM

big d how about holding target,costco.k-mart and liable as well for putting lives at risk?because they import and sell the same crap from china that walmart sells.how about them poisoning people by selling the same crap huh?the stuff was made in china pal.how about blaming the lack of oversight by chinese manufacturers and the chinese govt bud?lets sue them.walmart is not poisoning anyone you moron.pull your head out of your rear end.the same poisonous toys are sold at grocery stores you patronize and other retailers as well.funny big d you have no problem with that and are as quiet as can be.explain that one?

matthew vantress in gresham oregon
Wednesday, December 05 at 05:46 PM

Matt

You truly are a moron of epic proportions. I will try and put this as simply as possible. WM is responsible for too many of our good manufacturing jobs being outsourced to China. They are the largest retailer of Chinese crap; therefore they are responsible for shouldering the majority of the blame.

Now I know that I used words with more than 1 or 2 S-Y-L-L-A-B-L-E-S and you are going to have a hard time with them. But I am confident that if you really apply yourself you will be able to phonetically sound out the words. Good Luck I know you’ll need it!

Big D in
Wednesday, December 05 at 08:33 PM

Well said Big D, Matthew probably needs help sounding out his own name. Matthew you sure like to ask questions but refuse to answer them, why is that? When are you going to form Target Watch, Costco Watch, and K-Mart Watch since you are so much against those retailers. As for us anti WM people, we are going to continue our protests of WM on WMW because thats what its for you retard. Its a simple rule of thumb Matthew, WM is leading the way in illicit actions so if we bring them down a few notches, other retailers will have to follow suit if they are doing wrong as well. You just can’t figure it out can you Matthew? You expect us all to go after Target, Costco, and K-Mart and let WM get away with whatever they want. Well its for anyone but YOU to see that YOU are very wrong. Bring down the main source and others have to follow, its that simple but it seems for you, nothing is simple.

Sick of WM in
Wednesday, December 05 at 10:09 PM

bull walmart is responsible.its the federal govt and their policies big d you dumb moron.funny freightliner shipped jobs off to mexico and thats walmarts fault big d?funny that you are so dam quiet on freightliner shipping jobs to mexico and others doing the same.sick of you are making excuses that its ok for your favorities to do the same things wm does sell items from china.funny sick of you have nothing to say about target,costco,kaybee toys and etc getting sued by the state of california over lead in toys?lets hold them liable too buddy because if they are so dam innocent and can do no wrong like you claim then why did they get sued then?answer that for me.bring them down a few notches when the others do the same thing presentlty?what a lame argument sir.why isit ok for the others sir and not wm?because its a fact whether you like it or not or want to hear it or not the other places do the same things you accuse wm of.like sell items from china and import them too.answer my question please because i still cant get a straight answer out of you on that.

matthew vantress in gresham oregon
Thursday, December 06 at 05:26 AM

Be Careful of “Throwing Stones” Big D!

I recognize the fact that both you and Sick of Wal-Mart are on the right side when it comes to the fight against Wal-Mart.

However, I have to state this as tactfully and respectfully as I can. When it comes to stating the obvious about “matthew” and his sidekick “student,” you and Sick of Wal-Mart are the worst offenders. You both try to engage mv and “debate” with him. How logical is that?

But if you want to get pissed off at somebody, I’d direct it to the “webmaster” at Wal-Mart Watch for allowing this blog to become a JOKE! I mean when you get people like Alex Goldschmidt posting “cut and paste jobs” from the Onion, how serious can you take it? There are obviously posters many of us would agree don’t belong here. Their comments should be routed directly to the Spam Folder the moment they click on “SUBMIT YOUR COMMENTS.” This isn’t happening because either the people at Wal-Mart Watch are incompetent or they don’t care!

This doesn’t diminish my resolve. I’ll continue to kick Wal-Mart when they’re “up” and I’ll kick them even harder when the’re going down. The Beast can be fought on many fronts.

ScrewedbyWal-Mart in Anytown, America
Thursday, December 06 at 07:44 AM

You go get em Screwed!

Nick in
Thursday, December 06 at 08:14 AM

Can we make a petition to have Matthew banned? If so I’m all for it. He makes the same comments over and over. He asks questions but never answers them. He has no point to make and he contradicts himself in every post he makes. Maybe all of us should refuse to post until Matthew is banned from this site.

Sick of WM in
Thursday, December 06 at 10:38 AM

Screwedby,

This site has been a JOKE for a long time now. Whenever someone offers an opposing point of view, instead of refuting the claims made, with facts, out come the name calling and character assassination.

What you fail to understand, is a person can be pro business, without being anti labor. And people can be pro ‘free enterprise’, without being pro Wal-Mart or anti small business.

Tommy in
Thursday, December 06 at 11:04 AM

Tommy in :Are you saying that to be for one thing doesn’t mean you have to be against another? Sounds reasonable...it did bring to mind, however, a phrase that WalMart used to say quite a bit.."We’re not anti-union,were just non- union.’ (I don’t know if that’s an appropriate analogy,it just brought that old quote to mind. )They don’t seem to use that phrase anymore,it seems.

ddrb in
Thursday, December 06 at 11:44 AM

And This Somehow Surprises You, Sick of WM?

“He makes the same comments over and over. He asks questions but never answers them. He has no point to make and he contradicts himself in every post he makes.”

You still don’t get it, do you?

People like “Tommy in” and “Nick in” don’t get it either! They still want to “debate.” There is NO DEBATE when it comes to Wal-Mart!

The PURPOSE of this website (IMHO) is not to present alternative views of Wal-Mart. There is only ONE VIEW of Wal-Mart, and that’s the RIGHT VIEW.

Wal-Mart is bad for America, and Wal-Mart is bad for the rest of the world too. Wal-Mart is bad for its workers (assocaiates)--especially women, and it’s bad for American taxpayers. Wal-Mart is bad for small little towns and Wal-Mart is bad for large cities. Wal-Mart is bad for the environment, and Wal-Mart is dragging the entire retail economy in the wrong direction. Wal-Mart is bad for its suppliers and it is ultimately bad for American jobs. It’s no wonder people in other countries sometimes have such a negative view of Americans. If I had to pick a company to represent the best of what America has to offer, Wal-Mart wouldn’t even make the list.

The sooner all the hyper-consuming shoppers at Wal-Mart realize this the better.

ScrewedbyWal-Mart in Anytown, America
Thursday, December 06 at 12:13 PM

Screwedby: I was considering the other day, past posts and comments from the FreeMarketeer constituency on this blog,how it isn’t WalMart they are here to defend,it’s the pure theory and elegant spirit of “Capitalism”. If that is so, then why not share those pearls of wisdom on a site specific blog-There’s a blog for Ayn Rand devotees. Why come here ,isn’t that defending one corporation,instead of defending one’s philosophy?

ddrb in
Thursday, December 06 at 01:58 PM

You Make a Good Point, ddrb

Yeah, you hear those “free marketers” spouting off all the time about the benefits of capitalism. They defend a system that takes from the many (consumers and taxpayers) and generously rewards the few (greedy corporations like Wal-Mart and their grossly over-paid C.E.O’s and other executive officers.

A term you never hear them using is “Fair Trade.” You never hear them defending China’s unfair manipulation of its currency. To people with this mindset, any talk of a “trade deficit with China is just a “myth.” Deficits are good, so keep buying all that cheap plastic crap from Wal-Mart! Afterall, Lee Scott has a lifestyle to maintain!

ScrewedbyWal-Mart in Anytown, America
Thursday, December 06 at 02:26 PM

We “little people” are so glad we have your wisdom to guide us, who can’t think for ourselves, Screwed…

bb in
Thursday, December 06 at 02:44 PM

bb in: Don’t take Screwed’s word for it-go to the two newest threads abut the Berkeley studies and the negative impacts of WalMart;also, the Penn state study ,which I’ve mentioned repeatedly in the recent past, is cited.

ddrb in
Thursday, December 06 at 02:59 PM

Screwedby: Yes, its amazing how “free” and deficits are positive in theory-in practice, however,think El Scotto would still believe in mythology,if there were a deficit in his own wages,or bonus this year??

ddrb in
Thursday, December 06 at 03:06 PM

.....if YOU sold a toy to someone (on eBay, for example), and it turned-out someone was posioned from said toy, would YOU, the seller/middleman be the one to blame??

So if you buy some ‘laced’ recreational drugs and they kill you we shouldn’t blame the dealer?

Think about it.....

Ken V in Texas
Thursday, December 06 at 03:30 PM

Ken V in Texas: But isn’t that the rationale for buying from reputable dealers-from pharmacists ,as opposed to pushers,or dubious internet suppliers? The same rationale for marketinging edibles with COOL labels,in an effort to know where our food is comingh from,to enforce accountability, if need be? I suspect many sell on E-Bay precisely for plausible deniability.Its also precisely why people buy from merchants who have established ties to the community, and reputation for responsibility. WalMart is redesigning the paradigm of accountability and dependability....they need to go back to the drawing board-pronto.

ddrb in
Thursday, December 06 at 04:00 PM

lets ban sick of and all the propaganda artists like ddrb,screwed by and other son here who cant back up any of their baloney on wm with proven non biased facts.sdv lets ban him too and alex from canada.

matthew vantress in gresham oregon
Thursday, December 06 at 07:13 PM

ddrb,

Isn’t restricting ‘choice’ to consumers also ‘bad’ for America?

“But isn’t that the rationale for buying from reputable dealers-from pharmacists ,as opposed to pushers,or dubious internet suppliers?”

Didn’t people like Elvis, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, and Jimmy Hendrix, get their ‘recreational’ drugs from reputable dealers? In fact, I think Elvis got his from a Doctor.

ScrewedbyWal-Mart,

“The PURPOSE of this website (IMHO) is not to present alternative views of Wal-Mart. There is only ONE VIEW of Wal-Mart, and that’s the RIGHT VIEW.”

And, of course, that RIGHT VIEW, is YOUR VIEW, right? All other views then, must be WRONG VIEWS. Therefore, your mother has a WRONG VIEW and so do millions of other people. Besides, I thought this site was to help Wal-Mart ‘see the light’ and possibly put a union in place, not talk Wal-Mart out of business.

Tommy in
Thursday, December 06 at 10:37 PM

Shut the Hell Up, “Tommy”

You are such a loser Robert, RDS, Bob in, Donald in, “jerry” and now I guess we can add “Tommy” to the ever-growing list.

Your rhetoric and style is so unmistakeable. What makes you think you can blog here anonymously? There is nothing you can say or write, that you haven’t said countless times in countless variations in the past. Why do you keep trying to hide behind your phony blogging names?

Nice of you to bring all those dead rockers from the 1960’s into the “discussion.” Like that has anything to do with Wal-Mart, RDS! But that’s the style I’m talking about. You also brought up tv sitcoms like “Green Acres” and “Sanford & Son.” In fact, I think you even mentioned that “Sanford & Son showed how poor people cope with the world...or something to that effect. Whatever you have rattling around in that head of yours will end up on this blog sooner or later.

Get it right would you? I said, there is only one view of Wal-Mart… the RIGHT VIEW. Did you see me say anything about “MY VIEW?”

If anyone can read the multitude of books that have been written about Wal-Mart, if anyone can view the multitude of films and documentaries about Wal-Mart, if anyone can read the multitude of studies done on Wal-Mart, if anyone can read the many news reports about Wal-Mart and come away with anything but the RIGHT VIEW, it’s a mystery to me.

“We “little people” are so glad we have your wisdom to guide us, who can’t think for ourselves, Screwed… ” ~bb

You’re welcome bb. It’s “little people” like you, who can’t see past the end of your over-flowing shopping cart, that are feeding the Beast!

It’s not a question of whether Wal-Mart is bad for America. The question is… “How bad?”

ScrewedbyWal-Mart in Anytown, America
Friday, December 07 at 02:09 AM

you have your head so far up your ass screwed by you cant see straight.documentaries,studies ,books and etc on wm lie all the time.you are too dam stupid and are not smart enough to comprehend that.

matthew vantress in gresham oregon
Friday, December 07 at 03:34 AM

hey big d news flash i did a little shopping trip last night to k-mart,target,fred meyer and etc guess what?dam near all the toys, clothes and other merchandise in their stores are made in china,bangladeesh cambodia,egypt and etc.where is your same argument about these places being responsible for jobs being exported from the united states to china that you always accuse wm of?

matthew vantress in gresham oregon
Friday, December 07 at 03:43 AM

Ok I call for all anti WM posters on WMW to boycott Matthew. I say we also boycott WMW unless they boot Matthew from the site. Strength in numbers, lets get this done. Nobody acknowledge the existence of Matthew Vantress and everyone refuse to post unless Matthew is banned from WMW. We can do this people.

Sick of WM in
Friday, December 07 at 09:19 AM

Tommy: I suppose one could refer to the Prohibition Era as an ultimate example of restricting choice. And,it too spawned an underground economy of speakeasies and bathtub gin, to accomodate the clientele desiring these services.And it was eventually repealed. There will always be an illicit market and consumers who provide a secondary market for their “goods” or services deemed illegal;whether,hiring illegals, it be drugs,prostitution-but these activities have no built in safeguards-and your choice to use them because your consequences,exclusively,with no hope of redress. As for your refernce to abuse of legally prescribed medications,indeed a physician could be held accountable and possibly have his or her medical license revoked. (I don’t believe the Presley estate ever took legal action vs. his physician). However,today,overprescribing is a big issue .An example ,recently, is the investiigation into Anna Nicole Smith and her son’s tragic deaths from precribed meds.

ddrb in
Friday, December 07 at 11:17 AM

ddrb

You forgot Rush!

Big D in
Friday, December 07 at 11:54 AM

ScrewedbyWal-Mart,

“if anyone can read the many news reports about Wal-Mart and come away with anything but the RIGHT VIEW, it’s a mystery to me.”

So, you are saying that it is a ‘mystery’ why your own mother, can’t see what you see. Sometimes people see only what they WANT to see. I know a guy who thinks the whole space program is a waste of money and can’t see anything that has been gained from it and he thinks it’s a mystery that others can’t see that, is he right? In fact, according to him, we haven’t been to space, it was all filmed in Hollywood and the money went into the pockets of the rich.

ddrb,

The point I was trying to make, is that some of the responsibility of making ‘poor’ choices, has to be put upon the USER of whatever product it is. If a lamp has a tag, that says, “Danger” on it and the user disregards the warning, who’s fault is it, the supplier’s? And, if a person hears about the ‘bad’ effects of drugs and still uses them, who’s fault is it if they get hurt by it? People doing ‘stupid’ things, shouldn’t be blamed on others.

Tommy in
Friday, December 07 at 12:09 PM

“Tommy” :Isn’t that what I said, also? However, there IS accountability from licensed physicians to maintain responsible parameters in dispensing pharmaceuticals. Hence,doctor shopping is becoming epidemic. Misuse and abuse ultimately become personal choices,but licensed professionals are ethically required to remove “the occasion of sin” as much as possible.

ddrb in
Friday, December 07 at 12:58 PM

Big D: Thank you for reminding me of Mr.Oxyincontinent!Honestly, I forget,daily, about that blowhard bag of methane, every morning for years now, just exactly the moment when his program begins to disgrace the public air waves!Now THOSE are some noxious emissions that constitute air pollution!

ddrb in
Friday, December 07 at 01:07 PM

Tommy in : On another note, have you considered all the legal medications that have NOT carried warning labels as to negative side effects,but the pharmaceutical companies KNEW of the deadly and dangerous side effects? What about automobile manufactures,and cigarette companies who KNEW,but HID the negative info from the public,to protect the investors instead of the unsuspecting consumer??I don’t remember toys with labels warning of lead content-are they being labeled as such now?It seems that warning labels are attached ,more frequently than not,AFTER the herd of horses have left the barn, instead of BEFORE!

ddrb in
Friday, December 07 at 01:43 PM

Mr.Oxyincontinent; That’s some funny shit, I don’t care who you are!

Big D in
Friday, December 07 at 03:29 PM

...reputable dealers

Thank you for making my point. Wal-Mart is not reputable!

Ken V in Texas
Friday, December 07 at 05:18 PM

ddrb,

That’s why I try to stay away from pharmaceuticals as much as possible. I especially like the commercial on T.V. for a drug, that says as a side effect, “Could cause you to fall asleep while driving”, some side effect, HUH? I think it’s ashame that adults are giving drugs to children like candy for A.D.D., how come all of a sudden, almost ALL children are now being diagnosed for this? And, then, we tell them not to use drugs.

Tommy in
Saturday, December 08 at 12:34 AM

of course big d cant answer my question.because he knows i am right.typical liberal

matthew vantress in gresham oregon
Saturday, December 08 at 06:15 AM

You are only right in what remains of your own mind matthew vantress. From what I have seen of your notes here, you need to stay away from pharmaceuticals as much as possible just like Tommy. What you guys really have is a Walmart learning deficit and reality denial syndrome. Money or the hope for it and the idealism that comes from being indoctrinated with the Walmart attitude is the drug that makes you crass and indifferent towards other people (like the Shanks) and ask diversionary irrelevant questions to avoid idealogical embarrassments.

Somebody here uses the term ‘love of money psychopath’ to describe this social disorder. matthew vantress is showing in his postings the indicators of being a sociopath.

q in
Monday, December 10 at 08:15 PM

should read ‘ideological’

q in
Monday, December 10 at 08:20 PM

hey q unlike you i have exp in retail and union grocery and know how they operate so shut your piehole.

matthew vantress in gresham oregon
Tuesday, December 11 at 06:26 AM

And a Shiver ran down the spines of every blog reader,

the blog comments ground to a halt, and the hair on the back of people’s necks stood on end. Everyone was awestruck and stunned into silence, as matthew vantress summoned up the few drops of “testosterone” in his body, and shrieked in his most “manly” pimple-faced voice, “shut your piehole.”

Ooooooh! I’m s-s-soooo scared!

ScrewedbyWal-Mart in Anytown, America
Tuesday, December 11 at 08:29 AM

matthew vantress

I have been in retail since 1971. Probably before you were born. I know more about ‘union grocery’ than you will ever know. You are not mature enough or man enough to shut your piehole you ignorant little punk. I was working Safeway when you were still shitting your diapers.

q in
Tuesday, December 11 at 09:02 AM

Q in: Sounds to me like he still is.

ddrb in
Tuesday, December 11 at 10:47 AM

SDV...I mean “q”....what’s with the name switcheroo? ;-)

bbrd in
Tuesday, December 11 at 07:52 PM

q answer this if the wages in benefits are so great in union grocery then why is there always high turnover then?and why are the folks at the bottom end of the wages scale like baggers or clerks helpers still paid poverty level wages then?what is the ufcw union doing to get them decent living wages and off food stamps and welfare?why did the ufcw tell members in 2003 in so cal to go on strike for 4 months and then accept a crappy contract with no raises and big benefit reductions then telling them thats the best we can do?im not mature enough?sorry buddy i was born in 1970 and yes i am very mature for my 37 years of age unlike you.i know my info buster unlike you.shut your big mouth if you cant answer my questions civily then.

matthew vantress in gresham oregon
Wednesday, December 12 at 07:35 AM

Matthew you big fraud

Looks like q was right about your not knowing about real union grocery history. Safeway was around long before Walmart was started and entered the grocery game, which is the reason specified for the recent strikes in Southern California. But that is something else you don’t know about this business. Union grocery workers were here long before Walmart ever existed and making decent wages and benefits. The Walmart attitude is that grocery workers should not be allowed to make a decent living, like they have for many decades. Only the Waltons with their billions should be allowed to reap the benefits of the workers industry under their anti union anti people anti labor scam.

Matthew, go back to your Walmart shrine and bow down for lower non union wages without benefits.

Soupy Sales in
Thursday, December 13 at 04:30 AM

Soupy Sales, Bob Dole, q…

...how many names do you have, SanDiegoView????????????

bbrd in
Thursday, December 13 at 11:35 AM

soupy q is full of bs.and so are you for buying all the propaganda and bs.typical liberal you are.

matthew vantress in gresham oregon
Friday, December 14 at 10:26 AM

You are right Soupy Sales and this would go with the rest of WalMart’s sleazy anti-capitalistic attitude that cannot behave itself towards the rest of American businesses-

“Wal-Mart’s success has come at an enormous and painful cost to our national and local economies. From its boarding-up of Main Streets to its failure to pay workers fairly, to its imposing on taxpayers welfare costs for its underpaid employees, to its material contribution to our obscene ballooning trade deficit with China, this “Wal-Martization” of America is leaving us with an economy increasingly characterized by a gaggle of cheap imported consumer goods, shoddy employee practices, and insensitivity to communities.”
Leo Hindery Jr., a former CEO of telecom carrier Global Crossing

More observations and complaints this time coming from the rest of the business community that also has to pick up the taxpayer expenses because of WalMart dumping their ‘associates’ onto the suckers including other businesses. How come vantress never squeals like a stuck pig about that from the WaMart worship alter?

SanDiegoView in
Saturday, December 15 at 04:05 AM

because i know how full of bs you are sdv.

matthew vantress in gresham oregon
Saturday, December 15 at 07:17 AM

Run and hide vantress and not even answer to a simple concept . You must hate business so much you can’t even bring yourself to equal complaint about WalMart soaking off other businesses for their welfare addiction.

I read part of your nonsense over these threads and not only are you ignorant and a hypocrite but you never cite any sources or back up any of your claims about union members being on welfare or WalMart not being a wage loss leader or any thing at all. You are a literary coward that can’t back up any of the lies you tell. The truth is your greatest fear. Run and hide vantress run and hide in the darkness of ignorance and fraud in your Christhating fantasy world of self delusion.

SanDiegoView in
Saturday, December 15 at 09:21 AM

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