Wal-Mart Gun Policy Courts Big City Mayors

Misleading as usual.  I haven’t been to a Walmart in many years which sells pistols, other than air guns.

The story would be just as effective, if a rifle or shotgun was shown.  However, the SEIU just cannot resist throwing in a little dishonesty.

HEY JOHNNY ,some wm still sell guns ,plus it was on national news. You need to get out more.

...the SEIU just cannot resist throwing in a little dishonesty.

Oh, I don’t know. A picture of a couple of associates shooting cats with air rifles would have been honest.

“Watch our children as they kill each other with a gun they bought at Wal-Mart discount stores.” ~ Sheryl Crow

...the SEIU just cannot resist throwing in a little dishonesty.

Oh, I don’t know. A picture of a couple of associates shooting cats with air rifles would have been honest.

“Watch our children as they kill each other with a gun they bought at Wal-Mart discount stores.” ~ Sheryl Crow

What about the ONLINE sales of guns? I saw nothing about that mentioned in this article OR the MSNBC web story on this.

WASHINGTON - Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest seller of firearms, announced Monday it will toughen rules for gun sales, from storing video of purchases to creating an internal log of which guns they sell that are later used in crimes.

J.P. Suarez, the chief compliance officer for Wal-Mart Stores Inc., appeared with outspoken gun control advocate Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York to announce the changes at a gathering of Bloomberg’s group Mayors Against Illegal Guns.

Changes to come at about 1,100 Wal-Mart stores selling guns include:

Creating a record and alert system to record when a gun sold at Wal-Mart is later used in a crime. If the purchaser of that gun later tries to buy another gun at Wal-Mart, the system would alert the sales clerk of the prior buy and could refuse to make the sale.
Retaining the recorded images of gun sales in case law enforcement wants to view them later as part of an investigation.
Expanding background checks of employees who handle guns and expanding inventory controls.
Suarez said the tougher standards will come with some additional cost to the company.

“The costs are, we think, part of what it takes to be responsible. Everything is not pain-free,” he said, adding that small sellers can implement many of the same rules. He did not say how long it would take to implement all the changes, but noted that software must still be created for an internal log of guns later used in crimes.

Suarez said his company may receive some pressure from gun rights groups, but added, “This is not a signal that we’re getting out of firearms.”

The National Rifle Association denounced the company’s move.

“I view it as a public relations stunt that stigmatizes law-abiding firearms purchasers exercising their freedom under the Constitution,” said NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre. He said that if politicians were serious about reducing gun crime they would worry less about legal sellers and buyers and get tougher criminal sentences for illegal gun dealers.

“I honestly think it’s a corporation trying to curry favor with politicians as opposed to doing anything meaningful about stopping crime,” said LaPierre.

Wal-Mart sells only rifles and shotguns in its U.S. stores, with the exception of Alaska sites, which also sell handguns.

Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, had previously tried to establish a store in New York City but failed.

The mayors’ gun summit also unveiled a new lobbying effort to close what they call the “gun show loophole,” which allows sales of firearms without background checks between private individuals at gun shows.

Bloomberg founded the group two years ago with Boston mayor Thomas Menino to reduce the flow of guns from store displays into the hands of criminals.

The group, largely funded by Bloomberg’s personal fortune, announced it was spending more than $100,000 on television ads, starting Wednesday, featuring all three of the current main presidential candidates voicing their opposition to the gun show loophole.

The ads will run in the home states of the three candidates — John McCain of Arizona, Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois. It also will air across Pennsylvania, which holds its primary next week, as well as Florida, Maryland and Massachusetts.

The mayors group is trying to gather support in Congress to:

End the gun show loophole.
Require gun dealers to perform criminal background checks on all gun-handling employees.
Close a so-called fire-sale loophole that allows gun dealers whose licenses have been revoked by the government to sell off their inventory without background checks.
Add those placed on the terrorist no-fly list to the list of people prohibited from purchasing a firearm.(Associated Press)

Johnny: I didn’t know that the NRA and the SEIU were affiliated?

ddrb.  A quote from you.  “What about the ONLINE sales of guns? I saw nothing about that mentioned in this article OR the MSNBC web story on this.” If you will bother to check walmart.com, you will notice that they only sell rifles, shotguns and air guns on line.

Fred.  Quote from ddrb.  “Wal-Mart sells only rifles and shotguns in its U.S. stores, with the exception of Alaska sites, which also sell handguns.”

This would appear to reinforce my comments about the SEIUs dishonesty.

You shouldn’t be the one talking about “honesty” Johnny!  Or is it John in OKC or Johnston in OKC or bbrd or maybe you should just go back to your original posting name, “Someone in USA” and try to resurrect that pathetic blog you tried to launch called “Watching Wal-Mart.” Are you still watching your favorite “informational episodes” of In Front With Wal-Mart,” Johnny boy?  I mean “Someone in USA!”

How did you bill your website again?  “Someone in USA’s assessment of the claims of Wal-Mart’s critics, his take on the company itself, and some free advice for his friends in Bentonville.”

“...and no, I’m not coming back to blogging full time.” -Somone in USA

Yeah… you tell ‘em “Johnny.” I guess you’re just blogging part-time these days, right?

Johnny: And your point is what? Can you not shoot someone as dead with a rifle or a shotgun as you can a handgun?

BTW: In 5 days,on April 20, it will be nine years since the Columbine tragedy,which occurred April 20,1999. In remembrance, here is an article about KMart’s efforts to step up to the plate,YEARS ago._______________________________

Kmart Kills Ammunition Sales
Retail Store To Remove Gun Ammunition From Shelves

DETROIT, June 29,2001
Columbine Tragedy

Look back at the April 20, 1999, shooting spree at Columbine High School that left 15 students dead, including the two gunmen.

(AP) At Kmart stores across the country, shoppers cruising the aisles for diapers, garden hoses and microwave popcorn can also find ammunition for everything from pellet guns to handguns.

But some of those shelves soon will be empty as Kmart phases out the sale of handgun ammunition over the next three months.

Company officials made the announcement Thursday following meetings that included company executives, a prominent gun-control advocate and victims of the 1999 Columbine High School shooting.

Kmart stores have not carried handguns since the 1970s, but still sell hunting rifles and other long guns. For some time, the Troy, Mich.-based company has been under pressure from gun-control advocates to stop selling firearms. 

And in December 1999 the company withdrew an application for a license to sell rifles and shotguns at a new store in New York after protests by an anti-gun group.

Company spokeswoman Julie Fracker said the sale of firearms and ammunition had been under review as part of a merchandising strategy by the company’s new executive team for some time.

“Obviously we consider ourselves a socially conscious business, but this was a business decision made in the best interests of the company,” she said.

Three Columbine survivors and filmmaker Michael Moore, who is best known for a 1989 documentary that assailed General Motors Corp.’s actions in closing a plant in his hometown of Flint, met with Kmart executives in Troy for four hours Wednesday. They requested that the ammunition be removed from shelves.

Moore said he is happy with Kmart’s decision.

“I’m totally, totally stunned by the response from Kmart today,” he said.

Fracker said the phasing out of ammunition began Thursday. The end of handgun ammunition sales at the chain’s more than 2,000 stores will depend on when the stores’ current stock runs out.

The National Rifle Association did not return messages left Thursday seeking comment.

A spokeswoman for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said similar changes were not in the works for the nation’s No. 1 retailer.

Wal-Mart stores, except for those in Alaska, do not sell handguns but do carry hunting rifles and related accessories.

I’m convinced!

It really is Mr. Screwed vis-a-vis Tommy B!

Regardless of who/what our resident trucker is, Johnny, don’t let him annoy you...if you are who he claims you to be, you’ve dealt with nastier folk…

On Eve of Million Mom March, Clinton Calls Mothers the Stronger Voice in Gun Debate
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG
Published: May 14, 2000
As the nation’s capital and other cities prepared for Mother’s Day demonstrations favoring stricter gun control laws, President Clinton said the events on Sunday would show that the gun lobby ‘’is no match for America’s moms.’’

Mr. Clinton used his regularly scheduled radio address today to praise the Million Mom March, the label organizers have given to nationwide demonstrations. The organizers expected to draw about 150,000 people to the main march in Washington. The president has repeatedly spoken out for the march in the past few days, urging Congress to act on gun control legislation.

A counterdemonstration is also scheduled on Sunday in Washington by a group of women who oppose new controls on guns. While the larger crowd occupies the huge grassy Mall at the foot of Capitol Hill, the counterdemonstrators, sponsored by a Dallas group called the Second Amendment Sisters, will march nearby up Constitution Avenue to the Capitol.

Opponents of the Million Mom March have said it is not, as organizers characterize it, a true grass-roots movement but rather a political operation in masquerade. But while some political figures, including Hillary Rodham Clinton, are expected to join in the march, the featured speakers are to be ordinary people whose lives have been shattered by gun violence.

‘’Many of the organizers have lost children of their own and other loved ones to gunfire,’’ said Mr. Clinton, who met some organizers at the White House recently as part of his publicity campaign on the gun issue.

At the same time, the march is striking a deep chord in women who have not been touched by gun violence, but who simply fear for the safety of their children.

Among them is Caren Appel, a 38-year-old mother of three from Atlanta. After coordinating a companion Million Mom March in that city, she brought her family to Washington this weekend for the main demonstration.

‘’It was my way of showing complete support for this movement,’’ Mrs. Appel said. ‘’I just felt that I personally needed to do something so that there were no more shootings in schools. I want my children to be safe.’’

Although Mrs. Appel said she felt ‘’lucky that gun violence hasn’t hit me,’’ she said she did have a scare recently. Her 8-year-old daughter went to visit a friend, and came home to report that children in the house had produced ‘’the family gun,’’ which they claimed was real. Mrs. Appel did not pursue the issue with the other parents.

But, she said, ‘’From now on, if I do not know the family, I will ask if there is a gun in the house, and I will ask if it is locked up, and then I will decide.’’

Organizers of the counterdemonstration said that their keynote speaker would be Suzanna Gratia-Hupp, a state representative from Texas whose parents were among 21 people killed in a rampage shooting at a restaurant in 1991. 
In his speech, President Clinton credited the Million Mom March as ‘’a grassroots effort that has already put stronger laws in place in states like California, Massachusetts and Maryland. They’re letting the gun lobby know it is no match for America’s moms. But our nationwide fight won’t be over tomorrow, no matter how many march. We have so much work still to do.’’

The legislation Mr. Clinton favors would close a loophole allowing the sale of some firearms at gun shows without full background checks of the buyers; mandate child safety locks with every handgun sold; ban high capacity ammunition clips; bar the most violent juveniles from possessing firearms as adults; and hold adults accountable if they allow children access to guns. He has also proposed research on safer ‘’smart guns’’ and a state-based licensing system, and sought $280 million for increasing enforcement of gun laws.

The National Rifle Association has countered with a pledge to spend an additional $1 million on gun safety education in elementary schools.

Just because the article is on guns doesn’t mean that you have to copy and paste every story that you have ever read on guns.  You’re almost as bad as the spammers.

Dave,

And the story ddrb posted was soooo…

...8 years ago!

Too bad you’re not more convincing bbrd.

Here’s a part of a little exchange you had with ddrb a few weeks ago:
“Speaking of “changing the subject”, you, my dear, are a good one to talk… ”
bbrd in
Tuesday, April 01 at 02:47 PM

“My dear? I’ve only seen one other person on this blog address somebody that way.  I guess the habit came from working all those years in customer service for Wal-Mart.  Right, Someone in USA (bbrd)?

I think your hubris betrayed you when you challenged people for not being able to figure out who you really were, bbrd.

I’d be just as guilty if I tried to pretend any longer.  So OK… you got me.  I confess.  Are you man enough to do the same, Someone in USA, or are you going to try to keep hiding behind your “sockpuppet” personas (thanks ddrb!)such as bbrd, John in OKC, “Johnny,” and “Johnston.”

By the way...no need for “mary in” or anyone else to “welcome me back.” Who said I ever left?

Dave & bbrd,

It looks to me, like ddrb is ‘fishing’ for a job with WMW, on this site, showing that she can ‘cut and paste’ as well as the rest of them!!

Screwedby,

“Who said I ever left?”

We know, you have been posting under several different names, and we have even pointed that out!!  Now you have admitted it and you have the nerve to call other people “sockpuppets”!!

All this because WalMartWatch used the pic of a handgun instead of a BB gun. You pro Wal-Marters are all about substance . . . not!

“I honestly think it’s a corporation (Wal-Mart) trying to curry favor with politicians as opposed to doing anything meaningful about stopping crime,” said LaPierre.

Several different names RDS?  Don’t get carried away like you usually do!  OK...you got me again!  I confess.  It’s been fun!  But you of all people should know what it’s like to have your fake blogging identity exposed, “Donald”.

I admit that I also posted as “I Smell a Rat” not too long ago.  I was highly suspicious of all the “new posters” weighing in on the Debrorah Shank issue.  It seems I was right too.  Where are they all now?

Now let’s see if your little “blogging compadre” bbrd is just as forth-coming in admitting his true identity.

Today is the first anniversary of the Virginia Tech massacre.More death at learning institutions by young people with weapons.

Right, Someone in USA (bbrd)?

Wrong, Dick Tracy.

My little pun, aside, you got it all wrong (again), Mr. Screwed.

Obviously, my “name” (which I happen to be comfortable with these days, thank you very much) has either a hidden meaning, or it could simply be a play on letters—just depends on my mood, that day.  You choose.

That said, my true identity isn’t all that important, as it has absolutely nothing to offer anyone, here (plus, if anything, I have learned from both you and RDS that floating real names on a blog with little-to-no moderation present can be a bit dangerous).

As for your posting as “Rat”, I suspected that was you from the get-go, as I was well-aware of your doubts concerning WMW before you went all stealth-mode on us.

Though I am no fan of you, I did agree (and still do) with what you had to say, concerning WMW—this board has very recently become something of a wasteland with (as of this morning) hundreds of spam posts slapped-up everywhere peddling everything from insurance to Viagra.

Who needs folks like RDS to present “the other side of the argument” for those still on the WM fence when things ddrb’s grade-school typing skills, people like yourself squabbling about “true identities”, and more spam than you’ll find on any Wal-Mart canned meat aisle will be ultimately what will drive what few people that actually come here, away.

Before I wrap this post up, consider this—whether the current administration in Washington wants to admit it or not, we are in economic hard times.  People aren’t going to give a damn about what goes on “behind the curtain at Wal-Mart”—they just want to be able to get the most for their dollars.

Whether or not WM actually does give someone a good deal is debatable, but it certainly does make for a good “perception”, doesn’t it?

That said, if the economy keeps going south, your anti-WM crusade is going to lose a lot of steam, because people simply won’t care, anymore…

“now let’s see if your little “blogging compadre” bbrd is just as forth-coming in admitting his true identity. “

ScrewedbyWal-Mart in Anytown, America
Wednesday, April 16 at 06:34 AM_______________________________________________________Screwed ,how do we know bbrd is a man? You refer to “his” identity. I’ve known very few men who use the term “my dear”. I have said before,and I’ll say again,I believe bbrd and Mary are one and the same. Could be wrong,won’t be the first or last time,either;but ,I’ve got lots of company in that department.Very few men I’ve known are as continuously catty as bbrd.

A little Gun Control History:

In 1929 the Soviet Union established Gun Control, From 1929 to 1953, about 20 MILLION dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

In 1911, Turkey established gun control. from 1915 to 1917 1.5 MILLION Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

Germany established gun control in 1938 & from 1939 to 1945, a total of 13 MILLION Jews & others who were unable to defend themselves were rounded up & exterminated.

China established Gun control in 1935. 20 MILLION political dissidents, unable to defend themselves were rounded up & exterminated.

Guatemala established gun control in 1964. From 1964 to 1981, 100,000 Mayan Indians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up & exterminated.

Uganda established gun control in 1970. From 1971-1979 300,000 Christians, unable to defend themselves were rounded up and exterminated.

Cambodia established gun control in 1956. From 1975-1977, One Million “educated” people unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

Defenseless people rounded up and exterminated in the 20th Century because of gun control: 56 MILLION

With guns we are “citizens” without them we are “subjects”

Could be wrong,won’t be the first or last time,either~ddrb

Enough said.

bbrd:Perhaps in your opinion,maybe not so much in others’.

Very few men I’ve known are as continuously catty as bbrd.

ddrb in
Wednesday, April 16 at 10:43 AM

ddrb:

It’s all very entertaining.  You can have your theories.  I’m sticking to mine.  The fact is… I’ve seen “Someone in USA” refer to other bloggers as “dear” or “my dear.” I find it too much of a coincidence that “bbrd” would use this same expression.  I have other reasons to suspect that “bbrd” is somebody other than “mary in” For example, both “bbrd” and “Someone in USA” are proficient in using HTML in their posts.  Remember when I first thought, (and you did too) that “bbrd” was really RDS?  That had to be ruled out quickly because I’ve never seen RDS use HTML formatting in any of his posts.  I’m too lazy to dig through the archives, but I don’t believe “mary in” uses HTML either.

Also ddrb, both “Someone in USA” and that other departed blogger “Nick,” used to always whine when others refused to “debate” with them.  They both seemed to require a lot of ego stroking.  “Someone in USA” also would try to get people to come over to “thewriting on the Wal”.  When that didn’t work, he tried to start a pathetic blog of his own.  When nobody visited him there, he came here and has been “bbrd” ever since.

‘bbrd”:  First of all, <INSERT A BIG YAWN HERE!> I figured you’d wimp out on us.

You’re right about one thing, your “true identity isn’t all that important.” In fact, when you compare it with the vast configuration of the universe, none of us are all that important.  Most of the other readers of this blog could care less whether your “name” is a “hidden meaning” or simply “a play on letters.” Who cares what your mood is like on any given day!

With the pending election and the economy in the tank, my full attention is on other things these days.

I like to get my “daily fix” of the many stupid things you, RDS, “mary in,” Charles in Brighton and others say.  It’s sort like reading the “Funnies” every day in the morning paper.  A few cups of coffee and a quick stop or two here, and I’m good for the day!

One more thing, “bbrd"…

If there’s two things Wal-Mart needs to sustain it’s future growth, it’s apathetic indiscriminate consumers and a shaky economy!

“People aren’t going to give a damn about what goes on “behind the curtain at Wal-Mart”—they just want to be able to get the most for their dollars.” ~"bbrd"

This is exactly what a former Customer Service Manager for Wal-Mart, like “Someone in USA,” would say as well!

Screwed: I’ve never heard men refer to ‘my mood today”,or for men to be so bitchy(except a hairdresser I once had-but he was ENTERTAINING, FUNNY, and TALENTED!)What I DID notice was a lack of a denial about being female.

It’s all very entertaining.

I agree.  More fun than a barrel of monkeys!

...I don’t believe “mary in” uses HTML either.

I’ll save you the effort—she doesn’t (that I’m aware of).

“Someone in USA” also would try to get people to come over to “thewriting on the Wal”.  When that didn’t work, he tried to start a pathetic blog of his own.

Again, I’ll save you the eyestrain of looking-back in the archives—appearantly, “Someone in USA” had his blog well-before his guest gig at “TWotW”.

When nobody visited him there, he came here and has been “bbrd” ever since.

Interesting theory, but like that pair of your old underwear, it’s all full of little holes (personal note - you may want to pick-up a few pair of underwear next time you take your mom to WM).

‘bbrd”:  First of all, <INSERT A BIG YAWN HERE!> I figured you’d wimp out on us.

Nawwwwwww—I’m just cautious.  This website gets too many Google hits, IMHO.

You’re right about one thing, your “true identity isn’t all that important.” In fact, when you compare it with the vast configuration of the universe, none of us are all that important.

You got that right.  Rather cosmic-sounding, but I’ll still agree…

Most of the other readers of this blog could care less whether your “name” is a “hidden meaning” or simply “a play on letters.” Who cares what your mood is like on any given day!

Good—then perhaps we can drop all this, already??

With the pending election and the economy in the tank, my full attention is on other things these days.

As is mine—there are far more important things going on out there rather than getting in a jousting match over WM.

<i>It’s sort like reading the “Funnies” every day in the morning paper.  A few cups of coffee and a quick stop or two here, and I’m good for the day!

Personally, comicspage.com always did the trick for me. 

On a personal note, you may want to take it easy on the caffiene...that stuff will make you jittery!

A referesher course in gun control:

1. An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject.

2. A gun in hand is better than a cop on the phone.

3. Colt: The original point & click interface.

4.Gun control is not about Guns; its about control.

5.If guns are outlawed can we use swords?

6.If guns cause crime, then pencils cause misspelled words.

7."Free" men do not ask permission to bear arm.

8. If you dont know your rights, you dont have any.

9. Those who trade liberty for security have neither.

10.The United States Constitution (c) 1791. All Rights reserved.

11. What part of “shall NOT be infringed” do you not understand?

12. The Second Amendment is in place in case the politicians ignore the others.

13.64,999,987 firearms owners killed no one yesterday.

14.Guns only have two enemies; rust & politicians.

15.Know guns,know peace, know safety. No guns, no peace, no safety.

16.You dont shoot to kill; you shoot to stay alive.

17.911- government sponsored dial a prayer.

18.Assault is a behavior, not a device.

19.Criminals love gun control-it makes their jobs safer.

20.If guns cause crime, then matches cause arson.

21.Only a government that is afraid of its citizens tries to control them.

22.You only have the rights you are willing to fight for.

23.Enforce the “gun control laws” we already have, dont make more. 

24.When you remove the people’s right to bear arms, you create slaves.

25.The American Revolution would never have happened with gun control.

26."A government of the people, by the people, for the people.....”

constitutionalist… isn’t there some sort of pro gun blog you can go comment on?

bored....... Yes, but, I’d rather blog here. Last I looked there is a picture of a handgun here and the topic was “Gun Policy”

Here’s some more Gun history for you

During WWII the Japanese decided not to invade main-Land AMERICA because they knew most Americans were armed.

ScrewedbyWal-Mart, you come back to the blog (or you never left at all while creating posts under different names) using a new fake name and now you are on a witch hunt to supposedly “expose” other bloggers?  You are certainly a real piece of work.  It’s ashame you have ABSOLUTLY NOTHING MEANINGFUL to say.

“bbrd” (Someone in USA):  “Though I am no fan of you...” THANK YOU!

“mary in”:  THANK YOU TOO!  God forbid that I’d ever be accused of “thinking” like you!  If you’d get your captialistic cataracts removed, you’d be able to see that I have plenty to say!

Put up again thy sword into its place: for all they that take the sword shall perish by the sword.
Jesus of Nazareth

Stability and peace in our land will not come from the barrel of a gun, because peace without justice is an impossibility.
Bishop Desmond Tutu

“If you’d get your captialistic cataracts removed, you’d be able to see that I have plenty to say!”

Absolutely!  By all means keep up with the BS you keep pushing.  At least it better here than in print where alot of innocent trees would get hurt.

[for all they that take the sword shall perish by the sword.]

Only if both sides have a sword.  If only the ‘bad’ side has swords, the ‘good’ shall parish, because they can’t defend themselves.

Guns in the hands of honest citizens save lives and property and, yes, gun-control laws adversely affect only the law-abiding citizens.

Screwy-

Sorry to disappoint you, but I have not been posting here under different names. What would be the point? I stand by my comments. More often, I comment at The Writing on the Wal since I find the environment better.

You don’t need to bother responding; I don’t have time to play with you.

To the topic-

I don’t see the issue with what WM is doing here, fan of gun rights or not.

I Don’t Believe in Coincidences!

“I don’t have time to play with you.” ~Someone in USA

That’s because you’re too busy playing with yourself, “Someone”!

Hey...I give you some credit.  You’re half-way there.  Now all you have to do is admit you’ve been stalking and posting to this blog using several different aliases.  Cleanse your conscience, “Someone”!

As for me, I don’t believe in coincidences.  Just one day after I accused “bbrd” of being you (or is it the other way around?), you show your “face” again.  I haven’t seen you make a post here for months!  I find that timing just a little too incredible!

What I also find interesting is that in your last post, you link your name back to “The Writing on the Wal.” Whatever for?  It looks like you’ve only posted two comments there under your moniker, “Someone in USA.” To find them, readers would have to go back to May and June of 2007.  You also don’t appear to post comments to the postings of others either.  IMHO “The Writing on the Wal” is an irrelevant website.  It’s largely the musings and ramblings of about 4 different people.  Many postings don’t even have any comments.  In all fairness though, the same could be said of Walmartwatch.

Keep trying Someone! (I know you will) You’re as phony as all of those “good paying jobs at Wal-Mart” that Lee Scott keeps touting.  You still haven’t convinced me that you are who I said you are.  If you aren’t “bbrd” there is only one other person it could possibly be, but I usually try to avoid using the “N” word here… you know, the name of the guy who was banned from this blog because of his racist and violent tendencies?

There are just too many things that point in your direction, Someone....

1.  “bbrd” commented to ddrb:  “Speaking of “changing the subject”, you, my dear, are a good one to talk…”
2.  “bbrd” also commented to ddrb: “WM wouldn’t be a blip on your local radar for at least another 8 years, my dear.”

Now I know I’ve seen you use the expression “my dear” is some of your postings.  Lucky for you I can’t put my hands on them.  As ddrb pointed out, it’s not something you hear guys say all the time, which is why it stands out.

OK...here’s a notable exception:

“Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn! ~Rhett Butler

3.  Then there’s that curious utterance by “John in OKC.”:
“Just the opinion of one who has kicked off of this board under several different names.” If you consider the persons who were actually “kicked off of this board,” it kinda narrows the field.
4. Lastly, “bbrd” (YOU) seem to be afaid of being “Googled.” “bbrd” said in another thread here: “ “I’m just cautious.  This website gets too many Google hits, IMHO.”

I guess this is understandable considering where you’ve left your trail of postings, “Someone.” The short list includes: someoneinusa.blogspot.com, thewritingonthewal.net, www.auburnmedia.com, www.topix.com, wakeupwalmart.com, and walmartwatch.com.  2006 was a pretty good year for you, wasn’t it?

Speaking of postings, I recall pressing you once for the definition of what a child is… as in “child labor.” The topic at the time was Sweatshop labor and Wal-Mart.  Do you remember that, “Someone?”

Your response?  “Your posts make it sound as if you expect me to provide some absurd definition. I’m sorry to disappoint you.”

Well, if nothing else, your years at Wal-Mart taught you how to be evasive.

But even more disappointing was your follow up comment:
“Why does it matter that [David] Glass is an immoral hothead?”

Pretty unbelieveable!  And you could never figure out why I didn’t want to “debate” with you.

Mr. Screwed,

You are truly more of a whack-job than I ever gave you credit for.

It’s also a good indicator that you’re one helluva paranoid fellow—it’s no wonder you are incapable of real, sustainable, human relationships…

I’ll also bet you listen to late-night radio and believe in UFOs, too.

As for me saying “my dear”, OK, you nailed me on a couple of recent posts, BFD.

But, you didn’t give the masses a connection between what I said to the not-so-lovely and equally untalented ddrb, and whatever it was this “Someone in USA” said.

Pretty lame, if you ask me, sir.  Perhaps, if you’d keep “your own hands” off certain things at night and work on your research a little more, you might actually be a little more believable.

As for “John in OKC”, I haven’t the foggiest idea who he is—but he, like “Someone in USA”, is most certainly not me.

Ditto for the “N” word (though I imagine this guy’s chomping at the bit to find a way back without totally giving himself away to you people). 

Like yourself, guys like Nick simply refuse to fade-away into the sunset…

In other words, open your eyes a little more, and you will learn that our good friend, RDS is not the only person out there who doesn’t have “criticism of Wal-Mart” as their hobby.

You know, I’ve wasted enough time, tonight—there are far better things in life to waste one’s time on than dealing with a dinosaur like you.

Cheers.

bbrd,

You might already know this, but Screwedby used to post as Tom Boese!!  On the Brave New Films website, if you go here:

http://bravenewfilms.org/profiles/8-jessehaff?page=34

You will see what Tom really thinks about his anti Wal-Mart efforts,

“Tom Boese knows his chances of taking on the nations largest retail discounter and winning are low. Maybe to the vanishing point.”!! 

You will also see a picture of TOM standing next to a Wal-Mart cart rack!!

And, with all of his efforts to convince people here to not shop at Wal-Mart, last I heard, he still takes his MOM shopping there and to visit with friends who work there!!  Guess he’s a very convincing fellow!!

You Have to Love the Dynamics Here!

I address comments to “bbrd” and “Someone in USA” responds.

I direct my response to “Someone in USA,” and get an excoriating reply from “bbrd.”

Then RDS chimes in with his worthless “two cents.” He’s still hasn’t gotten over the fact that I exposed him as “Duh Donald"--Defender of Truth, Justice, and the Wal-Mart Way!

We’ve all seen this play before!

You might already know this, but Screwedby used to post as Tom Boese!!

You’re absolutely correct, RDS—and it was because of that I was able to Google more about him (including his WM cart corral mug shot—dig back into the archives, and you’ll see what people thought of his pic).

As for Mr. Screwed’s “chances of taking on the nations largest retail discounter and winning are low”—well, at least the man’s a “little bit” in touch with reality.

...last I heard, he still takes his MOM shopping there and to visit with friends who work there!!

Well, that makes him a good son, IMO.  A bit of a hypocrite of his fellow “antis”, but a good son, nontheless…

And, not to forget the subject of our posts…

I address comments to “bbrd” and “Someone in USA” responds.

I direct my response to “Someone in USA,” and get an excoriating reply from “bbrd.”

According to you, you were addressing both myself and “Someone in USA”, because you were convinced we two were one and the same—get it straight!

Screwed I think bbrd is right..... you truly are some piece of work wack-job floating around the world with conspiracy theories.  You should get some medical attention for that before your paranora causes some undo harm to innocent victims.  But at least we all know who we are dealing with, especially with your hypocrisy.

Boo hoo!  You don’t know how bad it makes me feel, not to be held in high esteem by you “mary in.” Your opinions mean so much to me!

So… would you like to “even the score” and tell us all what we’re dealing with, with you?

Screwedby,

Who cares, besides you, if bbrd is Someone in USA?  I don’t believe he is, but, even if he was, what’s the big deal, you anti people use a million alias’s, to make YOU look like a lot of different people!!  Fact is, if you, Ken V. ddrb and Jane, didn’t post here, there would be NO posters from your side!!  Where are all those dissatisfied Wal-Mart ‘associates” and customers?  As far as I’ve seen, NONE of you anti people WORK for Wal-Mart and YOU have avoided totally, the question as to HOW you were ever Screwed by Wal-Mart!!

bbrd,

Did you notice that as soon as Screwedby came ‘out of the closet’, ‘A Trucker’ suddenly disappeared?  But, now that I said that, we will probably see a post from him very soon!!

RDS we already tied the connection between “A Trucker” and Screwed and he admitted they are one in the same.  I posted that a few days ago when “A Trucker” kept using the word “trolls” in his posts..... a ScrewedByWal-Mart “buzz word”

i also agree.  I COULD CARE LESS if someone uses different names to post on this board.  It’s completely irrelevent, but the hypocrisy that Mr. Screwed is showing right now in his witch hunt on bbrd and Someone in USA is laughable.  But what else is new with the lies and venom that he spews in his posts.  I come to expect it from him.

This keeps getting better and better!

mary in-- I’m afraid you and RDS are the only two “laughable” commentors I see posting on this website!

As for your comment RDS that I “suddenly disappeared,” that’s what I would call paranoid and delusional.  Unfortunately for you RDS, I’m as real as the 18 wheeler I’m sitting in.  Don’t try to puff yourself up by “predicting” when I will decide to post a comment here.  Neither you mary or RDS, can seem to accept the fact that there are others out here who tend to side more often with people like Ken V and Screwedby Wal-Mart and what you call the “anti Wal-Mart” group, than with people like you.  I also think you may be bothered by the fact that I’m probably more articulate and “educated” than the two of you put together!  In your minds, you probably see all truckers as fat, dumb, and missing half their teeth!

If your two little inquiring minds want to know why you haven’t heard from me lately, it’s because I don’t believe in opening my mouth about things I don’t understand!  Perhaps you two should take a lesson from that!  I’m a fairly recent commentor to this blog.  Unlike you two, I’m not familiar with all the the history on this blog.  I’m not as familiar with the names like ScrewedbyWal-Mart and Someone in USA that have been tossed around here lately.  I figured the best thing to do is to stay out of the fray.  Until now that is!

mary in I’m having a hard time figuring out who is more delusional, you or RDS.  So I used the word “troll.” Although I’m newer to this blog, I’m by no means a novice when it comes to the internet.  I’ve had a wireless laptop for several years and I have no trouble connecting to the internet when I’m out on the road.  Anyone who visits message boards and blogs on the internet, should know what a troll is.  It seems to me you and RDS are the only two people that don’t know what a troll is!

Keep the laughs coming!

and YOU have avoided totally, the question as to HOW you were ever Screwed by Wal-Mart!!

Yeah, why not tell us how you get “screwed by Wal-Mart”?

And don’t give me any of that “I’m speaking of everyone’s behalf” garbage, Mr. Screwed, as you certainly don’t speak for me (among a few million or so others).

RDS - as for this trucker, I am sticking to my earlier claim that we once knew him as “Big D”, another departed anti-WM soul…

Welcome to the blog, A Trucker!

I guess I can welcome you A Trucker, since in RDS’s words, I’ve “come out of the closet.”

Now that you’ve “met” some of the regulars like RDS, bbrd, and mary you can share the pain we’ve all felt for so long.  Don’t let them try to dissuade you from commenting here whenever you feel like it.

“RDS - as for this trucker, I am sticking to my earlier claim that we once knew him as “Big D”, another departed anti-WM soul…”

bbrd in

Did you know also that RDS was once known as Bob?
Right Bob?

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Alex,

“Did you know also that RDS was once known as Bob?  Right Bob?”

I have never denied that, that was a name I once used, until other people started posting under that name!!  I have always told everybody, when I switched names!!

A Trucker,

“But, now that I said that, we will probably see a post from him very soon!!”

Did I call that or what?

“Neither you mary or RDS, can seem to accept the fact that there are others out here who tend to side more often with people like Ken V and Screwedby Wal-Mart and what you call the “anti Wal-Mart” group, than with people like you.”

Isn’t it funny that you say you have never heard of Screwedby before, because you are ‘new’ to the site, but, somehow you agree with him?  And, guess what, Ken V. and Screwedby say, there are not many people who agree with us, but 200 million plus people agree with us, because they SHOP & WORK for Wal-Mart!!

“I also think you may be bothered by the fact that I’m probably more articulate and “educated” than the two of you put together!  In your minds, you probably see all truckers as fat, dumb, and missing half their teeth!”

Another ‘educated’ person, who can’t find a better job than a truck driver, right?  And, I never said you were fat!!  There used to be a guy posting here, who worked at Wal-Mart, he was smart too, because before he worked for Wal-Mart, he worked at Dun & Bradstreet!!  Get it, he left Dun & Bradstreet, to work at Wal-Mart as a stocker!!

BTW:  Do you ever answer questions?  Or, are you like the other anti people and just come here to insult people?

Alex,

Why do you take-off for several days in a row only to reappear so you can change the subject?

I could care less if RDS is the Dalai Lama—though he, too gets a little off-subject and sometimes long-winded, he frequently offers a necessary counterpoint to the daily B.S. posted here by the “Media Team” (who, by the way, can’t even seem to get a handle on their “spam” problems).

In other words, every story has two sides—you stick to yours by passing-around union cards to any schmuck who’s interested, and we’ll keep doing our thing.

You’ve got a severe problem RDS.  But then anyone who reads this blog already knows that!

This is the second time you’ve attributed things to me that I’ve never said.  You’ve also done this to Ken V and who knows how many others.  It’s not making you look very credible!

You say,"Isn’t it funny that you say you have never heard of Screwedby before.” Were you too lazy to scroll up a little to see what I actually said?  Let me help you out.  My exact words were:

“I’m not as familiar with the names like ScrewedbyWal-Mart and Someone in USA that have been tossed around here lately.”

I never said that I “never heard” of Mr. Screwedby, I said I wasn’t familiar with him.  Not as familiar as you and some others seem to be at least.  I’ve read this blog on and off before I started posting comments.  Certainly I’ve seen some of Screwedby’s posts.  What the heck is your point?

Like I said RDS, I wouldn’t get too “puffed up” if I were you.  So you “called” it. That’s no big deal because you can expect to hear from me anytime I catch you distorting things or putting words into my mouth!

I think ScrewedBy is really enjoying this dual personality thing.  This is fun!

A Trucker,

“I never said that I “never heard” of Mr. Screwedby, I said I wasn’t familiar with him.  Not as familiar as you and some others seem to be at least.”

No, what you said was “I’m not as familiar with the names like ScrewedbyWal-Mart and Someone in USA that have been tossed around here lately.”, not ‘as familiar as you’!!  I thought you said you were articulate, when most people say they are “not familiar” with something, they mean they ‘never heard’ of it!!

And, I guess that you don’t answer questions, just toss out insults, true to form with the average anti-person!!

bbrd,

“I could care less if RDS is the Dalai Lama—though he, too gets a little off-subject and sometimes long-winded, he frequently offers a necessary counterpoint to the daily B.S. posted here by the “Media Team””

Yes, I do get off subject, but, that’s because the “Media Team’ posts B.S. articles that are ‘paper cuts’, as if they were ‘major surgery’, that aren’t worth commenting on!!  And, sometimes I’m long-winded, because, to the anti people, they have a hard time understanding ‘simple’ things without pictures!!

...the “Media Team’ posts B.S. articles that are ‘paper cuts’, as if they were ‘major surgery’, that aren’t worth commenting on!!

Excellent analogy, RDS—keeper!

Was that another one of your distortions I just detected RDS?

In your delusional way of thinking, if somebody says they “aren’t familiar” with something, it means the same as saying they’ve “never heard of it.” No wonder you or mary never make much sense here!

Let me repeat this again for your benefit.  I said that I had not posted to some of the topics here lately, because I didn’t feel I had enough background to add anything to the conversation concerning either “Mr. Screwedby” or “Someone in USA.” While I have read some of “Screwedby’s posts, I can say with certainty that I can not recall reading anything that “Someone in USA” had to say.

I suppose in your dull, grey, delusional little world RDS, it’s also a “law” that if you “have heard of something or someone,” even if it’s only once, this makes you an “expert.”

I do take back what I said earlier about not being able to decide who was more delusional, you or mary.  I think she may have just passed you by with her last comment.  She and bbrd should get their story straight.  He seems to have me confused with somebody called “Big, D.”

Keep the laughs coming!  This is better than watching TV when I’m on the road.

“I could care less if RDS is the Dalai Lama—though he, too gets a little off-subject and sometimes long-winded.....”
bbrd in

So you think that RDS (formerly Bob) is off the story line and he says too much? I just thought that you would like to see that other people have been changing their names.
What was some of your past names bbrd?

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

Let Me Help You Out, Alex...

“What was some of your past names bbrd?”

I believe the short list would have to be topped by “Someone in USA.” Also suspect are “John in OKC,” “Johnston in OKC,” and possibly “Insider.” (more on that later)

A Trucker:  I hope you are enjoying the laughs as much as I am!  I see that “mary” and RDS are trying to suck you into the Black Hole of their “reality.” Again, welcome!

RDS:  Stop it!  You’re “killing me.” You say, “...the “Media Team’ posts B.S. articles...that aren’t worth commenting on!!” And yet, that’s all you seem to do is comment on them!

bbrd/Someone in USA: 
You said recently:  <i>"I’ll save you the eyestrain of looking-back in the archives—appearantly, “Someone in USA” had his blog well-before his guest gig at “TWotW”.
bbrd in
Wednesday, April 16 at 12:26 PM

Wow!  That’s pretty specific, “bbrd.” Would you mind sharing with us how you came by this “knowledge?” Only a true “Insider” would know something like that.  I’ve visited “The Wal” many times.  I don’t ever recall seeing you post any comments there.

I bet you can tell us exactly how “well-before” it was “bbrd.” (Someone in USA)

Speaking of “Insider,” I see that bogus poster disappeared from here rather quickly. Could “Insider” have been the great “Someone in USA” as well? 

Stay tuned for the next “exciting” episode of “As the Troll Turns.”

Thanks very much ScrewedbyWal-Mart in Anytown, America
Your information is of great help.

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

Hey, Alex…

...if you believe anything Mr. Screwed has to say, I have some stuff I would like to sell you (since you would rather not shop at your local WM).

It would seem once again my favourite Canadian is trying to twist the facts (of which he does a rather knock-off job of).

Al, I say again, I don’t givr a rip as to who RDS/Bob/Robbie is.

Though you may have a hard time comprehending this, the man does have something valuable to offer—you’re just too narrow-minded to read between the lines.

Is “what was some of your past names” the best you can do?

Speaking of narrow-minded, I haven’t forgotten the grand poobah himself, Mr. Screwed…

Tell you what, if you want to continue to rant and rave that I am “Someone in USA”, by all means, be my guest!

When you eventually come to your senses (and subsequently realize I could be someone entirely different), you, my friend, will end-up looking like the ass (and you probably kiss your next “Wal-Mart film project” good-bye).

I don’t ever recall seeing you post any comments there. (WotW)

Nope, Mr. Screwed - never have, probably never will.

Like “A Trucker”, I haven’t been in the game a long time, but I have boned-up on the archives enough to get a handle on who’s who...obviously, you, my friend, have not.

(By the way, I particularly enjoyed the part when everyone razzed your on your pic by the WM cart corral—didn’t they say you looked like a.........ah, never mind—no need to open that can of worms, again).

Speaking of archives, it would seem our good friend cazar’s recent reappearance on WMW was rather short-lived—you have any commentary on that, sir?

You never know......

Is “what was some of your past names” the best you can do?
bbrd

Since I am your #1 Canadian (thankyou by the way) where would you be from?

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

Thanks for the welcome “Mr. Screwed.”

CHECKMATE!

It’s hard to respect an “opponent” when he refuses to admit defeat!

“Someone in USA”, is most certainly not me.” bbrd

Yeah.  Right!  Next.

“it would seem our good friend cazar’s recent reappearance on WMW was rather short-lived—you have any commentary on that, sir?

As a matter of fact, I do “Someone in USA” (bbrd)!

Cazar?  Now there’s a name we haven’t seen or heard from in a long time.  If he did make a “recent reappearance” on this blog I must have missed it.  But what I find really interesting is that of ALL the posters here, it’s you “bbrd” that mentioned his name.  Why is that?

I don’t seem to remember any passionate exchanges here between “bbrd” and Cazar.  But we’ve all seen more than a few such exchanges between “Someone in USA” and Cazar!  This makes perfect sense since you obviously miss dialoguing with another “Inside” veteran of the Wal-Mart culture.

That’s OK.  I’m done.  I’ll let you off the hook “bbrd.” There doesn’t appear to be much interest by others in your identity one way or the other.

But you see, that’s the thing that bothers me about people like you and “mary.” You both seem like cardboard caricatures.  Neither of you seems to have the same passion or “fire in the belly” that “Nick” and “Someone in the USA” had.  You are both like props don’t seem to have much of a purpose here, other than to slip RDS an occassional ^5.  I guess he needs all the support he can get!

I just can’t figure out what you, RDS, “mary” and a few others think you are accomplishing by coming to this website.  Nothing you can possibly say with save Wal-Mart from the mistakes it brings upon itself.  This blog could vanish tomorrow, but the fight against Wal-Mart will go on, because it’s being fought on so many different levels.  This means Wal-Mart’s cost of doing business is going up!

This “discussion thread” is about to move to page 2 or 3 and then get buried in “the archive” as soon as Alex Goldschmidt or somebody else on the “Media Team” posts 5 new topics on Monday.

Buh-bye!

Screwedby,

“And yet, that’s all you seem to do is comment on them!”

Will you people make up your minds, either I comment on the article or I change the subject all the time, which is it?

“This blog could vanish tomorrow, but the fight against Wal-Mart will go on, because it’s being fought on so many different levels.  This means Wal-Mart’s cost of doing business is going up!”

The fight might continue, but, it’s a losing battle!!  All any of your efforts are doing, is causing the ‘associates’ to suffer, as that ‘cost of doing business’ detracts from the money that could be used to increase wages and benefits for them!!  As far as hurting Wal-Mart, there is NO indication that Wal-Mart has even been slowed down by any of your efforts!!  So, keep banging your head against the wall for a losing cause!!  Like it’s been mentioned, your just like “guppies trying to eat a whale”!!

I can’t decide.... what’s more dominating for Screwed.... the split personality disorder or just plain old schizophrenia..... btw, let’s add in a little bit of paranoia to the mix for good measure.

Is there a doctor in the house?  Wait a minute, that’s probably Screwed too in addition to his soothsayer skills.  This is fun!

But what I find really interesting is that of ALL the posters here, it’s you “bbrd” that mentioned his name.  Why is that?

Better look again, bud—it would seem the ever-articulate ddrb occasionally mentions our departed former WM insider (personally, I think our buddy c’s intelligence was insulted, and that’s why he left WMW, the second time around).

Neither of you seems to have the same passion or “fire in the belly” that “Nick” and “Someone in the USA” had.

Mary, by george, I think he finally “got it”!

“Fire in the belly” has been known to give people ulcers—sorry, but while I find this all entertaining, it’s not worth getting worked-up over…

Mr. Screwed, does ddrb have this “fire in the belly” you crave?  If you want to talk-about some cardboard caricatures…

As far as hurting Wal-Mart, there is NO indication that Wal-Mart has even been slowed down by any of your efforts!!

Nor will they ever be hurt by a bunch of rag-tag bloggers, RDS—guys like Mr. you-know-who are legends in their own minds…

From the Fortune 500 2008—guess who’s #1?

Hint - it’s not Microsoft or Exxon Mobil.

A facelift and even lower prices kept the world’s largest retailer afloat in a troubled economy.

The tactic worked: Wal-Mart grossed $100 billion, breaking its fourth-quarter sales record, and soundly beat Target in same-store holiday sales for the first time in nearly a decade. --Christopher Tkaczyk and David Goldman

Insert snarky-sounding “Told you so!” here.

bbrd;

One thing these anti walmart people will never understand, is that cutting prices, is to the consumer, the same as getting a pay raise.  It’s the old, “A penny saved is a penny earned”.  Also, ‘price’ doesn’t determine ‘quality’, with efficient production methods and modern technology, price can be lowered, without sacrificing quality.

Fortunately “Charles in Brighton,” there have been others far wiser than you.  A fellow by the name John Ruskin made these observations in a narrative he wrote entitled “The Lowest Bidder”. He said:

“It is unwise to pay too much, but it is worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money ... that is all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because what you bought was incapable of doing what it was bought to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot … it can’t be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder it is well to add something for the risk you run. And if you do that, you will have enough to pay for something better.” ~John Ruskin

“There is scarcely anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse, and sell a little more cheaply. The person who buys on price alone is this man’s lawful prey.” ~John Ruskin (1819 - 1900)

Mr. Screwed is soooooo 19th century!

Even if that were true “bbrd,” unlike yourself, I’m at least walking upright!

Charles,

One other thing to think about, SALES TAX!!  Say a person went to Target and bought a DVD and paid $21.95 and sales tax was 7% ($1.53), for a total of $23.48, but, if Wal-Mart sells that same DVD for $19.95, the sales tax would be ($1.34) for a total of $21.29, or a total SALES TAX savings of $.19 on that one item, on top of the $2.00 savings on the price!!

If you have ever worked for Walmart,and have been screwed by them[management] like i have,everytime you turn around. You would not be giving them any credit. And quit thinking Walmart is a humane company! It is not! They do not have a heart for anything or anybody. And their god is not your god! Their god is money. And why! America do you keep shopping at Walmart, don t you realize? You are buying crap products. And the more you shop there,and the more they get rich,the more they treat their employee s like crap.

RDS:Don’t bet your bootstraps on saving on taxes,BOB .Unless you live in a state with combined reporting,WalMart will rob your state of the state sales taxes through the use of its tax avoidance scams like REITS and PICS and other loopholes. WalMart is subsidized by public sales tax(state and federal),corporate welfare and tax loop holes.Save money and live better? Than whom? Third world countries?

Corporate Tax Shelters and the Need for Combined Reporting

Renewed discussion of combined reporting was sparked approximately five years ago by a rash of court cases in which non-combined reporting states sought to nullify an abusive corporate tax shelter to which they are vulnerable.  That tax shelter is frequently referred to as the “Delaware Holding Company” or “Passive Investment Company” (PIC).  It is based on a corporation’s transferring ownership of its trademarks and patents to a subsidiary corporation located in a state that does not tax royalties, interest, or similar types of “intangible income,” such as Delaware and Nevada.  Profits of the operational part of a business that otherwise would be taxable by the state(s) in which the company is located are siphoned out of such states by having the tax-haven subsidiary charge a royalty to the rest of the business for the use of the trademark or patent.  The royalty is a deductible expense for the corporation paying it, and so reduces the amount of profit such a corporation has in the states in which it does business and is taxable.  Moreover, the profits of the Passive Investment Company often are loaned back to the rest of the corporation, and a secondary siphoning of income occurs through the payment of deductible interest on the loan.  Of course, the royalties and interest received by the PIC are not taxed; Delaware has a special income tax exemption for corporations whose activities are limited to owning and collecting income from intangible assets, and Nevada does not have a corporate income tax at all. 

Combined reporting nullifies the PIC tax shelter because the profits of the subsidiary are added to the profits of the operational part(s) of the corporate group, eliminating any tax benefit of shifting profits on paper from the latter to the former.  Only Vermont, Texas, New York, and West Virginia chose to address the PIC problem through combined reporting, however.  All of the remaining states that enacted legislation to attack PICs chose limited, targeted approaches focusing on just this particular tax shelter.  Many of those bills were so watered-down in the legislative process by business objections that there is a real question as to whether they will be effective at all.  The answer to this won’t be known for several years until state corporate tax audits covering the years when the laws went into effect reveal whether corporations have, as the laws require, stopped deducting their royalty payments to their PICs.[4]

A recent front-page article in the Wall Street Journal underscores the need to take a comprehensive rather than piecemeal approach to the corporate tax avoidance strategies to which non-combined reporting states are vulnerable.[5] The article discusses a tax shelter established by Wal-Mart that is analogous to the PIC but that would not be nullified by the targeted anti-PIC legislation that some states enacted.  Indeed, the article revealed that Wal-Mart set up this shelter, known as a “captive Real Estate Investment Trust” (REIT), at approximately the same time it was liquidating its conventional PIC (perhaps because PICs had become a red flag for state auditors).[6] Wal-Mart transferred ownership of all its stores to its REIT subsidiary, and the stores paid tax-deductible rent to the REIT for use of the buildings they occupied.  As with royalty payments for the use of trademarks, the rent payments had the effect of reducing taxable profits of the stores and shifting the profits to the REIT.  Virtually all states effectively treat the REIT as a tax-exempt entity — just as the federal government does.  And the other Wal-Mart subsidiary that owned the REIT was only taxable in the state in which it was based, so the states where Wal-Mart’s stores were located couldn’t reach the REIT’s profits when those were passed on in the form of dividends to the REIT’s owner, either.

The Wal-Mart REIT example suggests that when the comprehensive solution of combined reporting is available, it is simply not optimal for states to seek to shore-up their corporate income taxes through targeted attacks on specific tax shelters.

Some of the targeted legislation aimed at nullifying particular tax shelters that non-combined reporting states are vulnerable to may be subject to legal challenge. 
The corporate income taxes of states that do not mandate combined reporting are fundamentally flawed because they permit intra-corporate transactions to affect how much income tax a corporation owes to a particular state. 

Economist Charles McLure, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Department in the Reagan Administration, has written: “Failure to require unitary combination is an open invitation to tax avoidance.”

KEY FINDINGS

The governors of Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania all recommended in 2007 that their states implement a key corporate income tax reform known as “combined reporting.”

West Virginia, New York, and Michigan enacted combined reporting legislation in 2007, bringing to 21 the number of states that have adopted this policy.

Combined reporting nullifies a variety of abusive corporate income tax avoidance strategies, including Wal-Mart’s “captive REIT” tax shelter featured in a front-page Wall Street Journal story in February 2007._________________________________________Note:

These two posts are excerpted from the website of The Center on Budget and Policy Prorities,9/12/07-an article entitled “Growing Number of States Considering A Key Corporate Tax Reform”,by Michael Mazerov.

Hey ddrb!  Good to see you back in your usual form!

I didn’t think you would let the likes of “bbrd” scare you away.  He and RDS can accuse you all they want about your “cutting and pasting.” Nobody did this more than their mutual buddy “Nick.” (man I hate to bring up the dead!)

I don’t think it’s that they object so much about your “cutting and pasting” skills, as they object to you putting this information out there for other readers to see. 

Keep ‘em coming ddrb!

ddrb,

What you fail to realize, is that the STATES created these ‘loopholes’, not Wal-Mart!!  And, they use the ‘loopholes’ just like YOU use the ‘loopholes’ available to you!!  Want to complain about closing these ‘loopholes’, complain to the state governments, NOT Wal-Mart!!  I’m sure that YOU don’t use any of the deductions (loopholes) on your taxes, right?  Sounds like the old: “Don’t do as I do, do as I want you to do”!!

“Unless you live in a state with combined reporting,WalMart will rob your state of the state sales taxes through the use of its tax avoidance scams like REITS and PICS and other loopholes.”

I think you mean’t INCOME tax not SALES tax.

Nobody did this more than their mutual buddy “Nick.” (man I hate to bring up the dead!)

Then why bother at all, Mr. Screwed?

The way you pine over the departure of Nick and “Someone in USA” leads me to believe you actually wish they were back (to fatten the blog chatter, if anything).

I don’t think it’s that they object so much about your “cutting and pasting” skills, as they object to you putting this information out there for other readers to see.

Naw...I just object to that person’s lack of typing skills. 

FWIW, most readers tend to skip over such poorly-articulated material, as they simply don’t have time for it.

I think you mean’t INCOME tax not SALES tax.

Bulls-eye, Mary!

Wal-Mart collecting SALES tax = large tax ratables for local governments

bbrd and Mary-(One and the same): If you want to engage in mental masturbation,individually or collectively,(since I think you are the same entity),go ahead.Please keep spinning-but the truth is out. Edelman-how about Addledman?

FWIW, most readers tend to skip over such poorly-articulated material, as they simply don’t have time for it.

bbrd in
Tuesday, April 22 at 11:56 AM

Evidently,YOU DO have the time,bbrd. But why you have the time to waste on allegedley poorly articulated material is more reflective upon your motives,than a poor and inarticulate post or poster,n’est ce pas?

Screwed by: Thanx ,and its good to see your energy back,too!This reminds me of the adage iI have quoted before,"Dogs don’t bark at parked cars.” Even bbrd stated:You know you’ve hit a nerve when they start insulting,”...Sometimes a root canal is the only viable option-with minimal anasthetic.

GROWING NUMBER OF STATES CONSIDERING
A KEY CORPORATE TAX REFORM
By Michael Mazerov

A growing number of states are giving serious consideration to a major reform in their corporate income taxes long advocated by state tax experts.  The governors of six states — Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania — all recommended in 2007 that their states implement this policy, which is known as “combined reporting.” New York enacted combined reporting legislation retroactive to the beginning of 2007 as part of the state’s budget bill for FY2007-08.  Michigan included combined reporting in its newly-enacted “Michigan Business Tax,” which will take effect in 2008.  And West Virginia enacted combined reporting as well, effective with the 2009 tax year.

Most large multistate corporations are composed of a “parent” corporation and a number of “subsidiary” corporations owned by the parent.  Combined reporting essentially treats the parent and most subsidiaries as one corporation for state income tax purposes.  Their nationwide profits are combined — that is, added together — and the state then taxes a share of that combined income.  The share is calculated by a formula that takes into account the corporate group’s level of activity in the state as compared to its activity in other states. 

By requiring corporate parents and subsidiaries to add their profits together, combined reporting states are able to nullify a variety of tax-avoidance strategies large multistate corporations have devised to artificially move profits out of the states in which they are earned and into states in which they will be taxed at lower rates — or not at all.  These strategies cost the non-combined reporting states billions of dollars of lost corporate income tax revenue they need to finance essential public services, like education and health care.  Households and small businesses, which do not have the opportunities or resources to engage in interstate income-shifting, end up paying higher taxes than necessary to make up for the taxes that large corporations are able to avoid.

Growing Consideration of Combined Reporting

Sixteen states — slightly more than one third of the states with corporate income taxes — have mandated and successfully used combined reporting for decades. (See Figure 1.) Until recently, however, that group had not expanded at all — not even after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1983 that combined reporting was a fair and constitutional method of taxing multinational (and, by extension, multistate) corporations. 

That inertia is now being overcome.  Five states have enacted combined reporting legislation in the past three years, and serious consideration of combined reporting is occurring in a number of other states:

In 2004, Vermont became the first state in more than 20 years to adopt combined reporting, effective in 2006.
In adopting a new general business tax in 2006 to substitute for its corporate income tax, Texas also mandated combined reporting (effective 2008).  Although the new tax differs in significant ways from a traditional income tax, the decision to require combined reporting was based on the same basic understanding that underlies the inclusion of combined reporting in state corporate income tax structures — that failure to do so gives corporations free rein to artificially shift taxable income out of the state.
In March 2007, the West Virginia legislature adopted combined reporting, effective with the 2009 tax year.
As part of the state budget bill approved in April 2007, the New York legislature accepted Governor Eliot Spitzer’s recommendation that the state require combined reporting, retroactive to the beginning of 2007.
In July 2007, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm signed into law a new “Michigan Business Tax” to replace the state’s former “Single Business Tax.” The new tax is a hybrid tax on corporate gross receipts and corporate profits and mandates the use of combined reporting.
Four other governors — Governor Michael Easley of North Carolina, Governor Chet Culver of Iowa, Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, and Governor Edward Rendell of Pennsylvania — all recommended as part of their FY08 tax and budget packages that their states adopt combined reporting.  In Massachusetts, combined reporting remains under consideration by a business taxation study commission that is expected to issue its recommendations before the end of 2007. 
There has also been serious discussion or consideration of combined reporting

I’ve had a root canal—and I’ve had to deal with ddrb.

I won’t say which of the two were the “better” experience, as each have their own painful merits…

So, I’m mary, you say??  Last time around I was “Someone in USA”—no wait...Mr. Screwed gave-up and gave-in by saying noone really cared who I was.

So, why are you still obsessing and guessing, ddrb????

Obsessing and guessing? You MUST be talking about yourself ----I haven’t bought into this past week’s demeaning B.S. --but you and Mary and MOST of the PRO Walverines HAVE!The fact that you are here posting withi moments of my post ,idicates who’s obsessed,IMHO.

BTW: I can understand HAVING to deal with a root canal,but just how are you REQUIRED to HAVE to deal with me? REALLY? How so? I don’t feel obligated to deal with YOU. Upon what contingencies are you required to deal with me or anyone else on this or any other blog? Other than your independent choice?

Take Your Hollow “Victory” and Run, bbrd/Someone in USA

You’re both wrong and you’re right this time, “bbrd.” You’re wrong for assuming that “Mr. Screwed gave-up and gave-in..” You are very correct when you say noone cares who you are… because they don’t! 

No, I haven’t given up or abandoned my beliefs about you “Someone in USA.” I wouldn’t get too smug or over-confident if I were you.  Never be mistaken.  I said I was “letting you off the hook.” I’ve clearly stated the reasons why I believe you are really “Someone in USA.” Of course you’ll keep denying this.  Imagine what it would do for your presence here “bbrd” if you admitted to these things!  In your words, “most readers tend to skip over” things that don’t interest them.

ddrb has already pointed this out.  I too find it very contradictory that you say ddrb’s material is “poorly articulated” and suggest that you “don’t have time for it,” and yet you seem to have plenty of time!  Likewise, RDS made the statement that the blog threads that WMW starts are “not worth commenting on.” But that’s all he seems to do-- post his useless comments.  So which is it boys? 

If ddrb has her reasons or suspicions to believe you are somebody else, it’s her choice to do so.  I can certainly see why she might suspect you and “mary” to be the same person “bbrd”.  “Mary,” like youself is what I’ve called a “cardboard caricature.” She just shows up every once in a while to make a little noise, and then we don’t hear from her for a while.

Speaking of cardboard caricatures, I find it very interesting that since I started my little “campaign” against you “bbrd,” we haven’t heard any more from either “Johnny in Oklahoma City” or “Insider.” Isn’t it also interesting that “Johnny” started this discussion thread off by ranting about “dishonesty!”

Let’s see…

Our old buddy ScrewedbyWal-Mart (who has hung his hat here for a couple of years) still insists that I could be a ghost from the past, namely, “Someone in USA”.

On the other hand, our beloved ddrb still has reason to believe (as supported by any number of her conspiracy theories) I am “Mary”.

(Personally, I think ddrb needs to lay-off the caffiene when she’s on the computer, but that’s another story).

I’ve stated on several occassions that I am neither “mary” or “Someone in USA”, but obviously, those comments continue to fall on deaf ears.

Obviously, the only way I am going to convince Mr. Screwed and ddrb I am anyone but Someone/mary is to unmask myself.

Assuming I did share some information about me...history has already shown us that because somebody had loose lips/keyboards, the Boeses and Springers now have to deal with the “Wonderful World of Wal-Mart Watch” in their private lives.

That, my friends, is simply not going to happen.

So, on that note, who will I be, next?  RDS?  Nick??  Lee Scott???

<b>DISCLOSURE:<b> I am also not any variation of “Johnny in Oklahoma City”.  I haven’t a clue as to who he is…

Screwedby,

“Likewise, RDS made the statement that the blog threads that WMW starts are “not worth commenting on.””

Didn’t YOU make that SAME comment a few times yourself?

“Of course you’ll keep denying this.  Imagine what it would do for your presence here “bbrd” if you admitted to these things!”

Let’s see, according to you, the only way you will believe something, is if the person ‘admits’ to being someone they are not, right?  So, if I ‘admitted’ that I was another incarnation of YOU, you would believe it, but, if I denied it, I would be lying, right?  It’s kind of like, “You can prove you’re innocent, only by confessing to doing the crime”

Be Careful RDS!

Like I’ve told you many times, be careful RDS.  You’re going to hurt yourself if you “think” too hard!

“if the person ‘admits’ to being someone they are not, right?”

I suppose you have irrefutable proof that “bbrd” isn’t who I’ve said he is?  If you do, why don’t you enlighten us?  Your friend “mary” seemed to indicate that she couldn’t care who “bbrd” is.  Why don’t you adopt the same attitude?  What’s it to you anyway?

Until then, I guess we just have to take “bbrd’s” word for it.

bbrd-

I couldn’t blame Screwy if he misses the good old days of this blog when Michael D., Cooper, Sickofspin, Edgar and I collided with DeeDee, Shaky, the schizophrenic Bill Sampson and their ilk in momentous wars of words. It’s not that those anti-Wal-Mart posters (all driven off by yours truly) actually had anything to contribute, but the way they tried was just so endearing. It really inspired me a lot more than the current drivel spewing from the likes of Alex and ddrb. To be fair, though, I do believe the pro-Wal-Mart side has declined a bit, too. Perhaps Screwy is right about the lack of “fire in [their] bell[ies].” Maybe it’s just a sign that the anti-Wal-Mart “movement” is losing steam that it no longer inspires discussions that passionate. What do you think?

By the way, I responded to your e-mail.

Screwedby,

“I suppose you have irrefutable proof that “bbrd” isn’t who I’ve said he is?”

And, I suppose that YOU have irrefutable proof that he IS, right?  Isn’t someone innocent until PROVEN guilty?

“Your friend “mary” seemed to indicate that she couldn’t care who “bbrd” is.  Why don’t you adopt the same attitude?  What’s it to you anyway?”

DITTO, back at you!!

“Until then, I guess we just have to take “bbrd’s” word for it.”

That’s what I’ve been doing!!  You are the one who got all wound up about your theory, not me!!

Isn’t someone innocent until PROVEN guilty?

Does this mean I am now going to have to endure a WMW-style trial, RDS??

Gee, thanks.  I think…

Seriously, thanks for “taking my word for it”—as you can clearly see, I am “somebody”, but not “Someone”.

And speaking of “Someone”, I do agree with what he had to say—the anti-Wal-Mart “movement” is losing steam that it no longer inspires discussions that passionate.

IMO, the anti-WM movement lost what little steam it had left about the time WMT busted the $55 mark.

At one time, their side had a rather colorful cast—now, they rely on internet hacks like ddrb and the rest…

In fact, I’ll go so far to say if it wasn’t for you (RDS) and I (and about 3-4 others whose names I won’t drag through the mud), Mr. Screwed and his group would have nothing to talk-about (since the election year everyone on the “anti” side was counting-on is so not going their way, at the present moment).

Someone,

“Maybe it’s just a sign that the anti-Wal-Mart “movement” is losing steam that it no longer inspires discussions that passionate.”

As you know, Screwedby has stated many times that he thinks debate or discussions, shouldn’t be allowed on this site, so he usually has ‘little’ to say that is worthwhile!!  After all, he’s too busy trying to prove that bbrd, is you!!  As for ddrb, she usually just ‘cuts and pastes’ articles off the web or tosses around insults, so, it’s hard to discuss anything valid with her!!  All of the rest have left, or just post once in a blue moon!!

Glad to have you back!!