Freethinker Sunday Sermonette: the spanking new WalMart

I'm no fan of WalMart's. Too much disruption of the retail world at the expense of the global environment and workers around the world and too little attention to the needs of its own workers. My side of the political fence is not friendly WalMart territory, to be sure. It turns out that right wing religious whackos also hate WalMart. Oops. Sorry. They love WalMart, which is why they want to ruin its business. From the Christian Newswire:

In a statement to the American Family Association yesterday, Wal-Mart agreed that they, "...will not make corporate contributions to support or oppose highly controversial issues unless they directly relate to our ability to serve our customers". To this we say, "NUTS!"

"Wal-Mart is running scared! It fears the power of the Church of Jesus Christ to move in people's hearts and change them - to change even where they shop. Wal-Mart needs to fear the God of Sam Walton!"

Wal-Mart is still a "corporate member" of the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, and will continue a financial stake in promoting the radical homosexual agenda.

  • Wal-Mart still dispenses the "Plan B" abortion pill that kills unborn children.
  • Wal-Mart has not issued an apology for its actions.
  • Wal-Mart has not fired its homosexual marketing agency.
  • Wal-Mart has not removed the many filthy books for sale on its website.

While Wal-Mart has caved on controversial corporate sponsorships, the Gospel continues. Christians from across the nation will bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores this Friday, November 24th. They will call Wal-Mart's corporate leadership to true repentance, repentance that goes beyond last minute face-saving efforts, half-way apologies, and crocodile tears. (Savewalmart.com)

This is apparently a new kind of deity: The God of Sam Walton. I suppose He's Cheaper and more Efficient than all the other Gods. Made in China? But this God is angry because his Church is advancing the dreaded homosexual agenda, which is on special this week at WalMart. What's mildly amusing about this screed is the sexual innuendo. It's entitled, "Don't Believe the Hype: Wal-Mart is Still in Bed with Homosexuality" and it continues with a remedy that's a fetishist's dream:

"Every executive at Wal-Mart that allowed this to happen needs a good old fashioned spanking" said Flip Benham, Director of Operation Save America, creators of the SaveWalMart.com website.

Do we detect a preoccupation here? Is homophobia a lifestyle or are these people born with it?

More like this

Blasphemers! Heretics!! Infidels!!!
The God of Sam is simply the new incarnation of Bob!, that LIVING GOD WHO WALKS THIS PLANET EARTH IN HUCKSTER'S SHOES.

Visit the website for the straight p00p.

I have looked around the Crackhouse of Consumerism for some Slack. It's never on sale and rarely in stock - kinda like trying to escape Hotel California. Must be a shortage in India and China - no surprise to any of those people, betcha.

By tympanachus (not verified) on 26 Nov 2006 #permalink

Is the whole world going insane? I followed the link to the article and links from there, and this is some really scary stuff. They would be much better off questioning their own spirituality and Christianity before telling anyone else how to live their lives. These people don't know any God that I've ever heard of.

"...not fired its homosexual marketing agency."

What is a homosexual marketing agency? Is this an agency that only does business with other marketing agencies?

Nat: "Only does business with other marketing agencies" LOL.

A homosexual marketing agency?!

Can only comment from the healthcare agency side, but I don't think we're going to find a "homosexual marketing agency" unless a homosexual corporation emerges (Ancient Rome?). Agencies tend to mirror their clients. I don't think Wal-Mart's brand promise is entirely in keeping with what a homosexual marketing agency might propose to do with it.

Could be an interesting brief though. Might be worth setting up a homosexual agency if there's an opportunity to get the account.

By Neil in London (NIL) (not verified) on 26 Nov 2006 #permalink

Wal Mart provides tens of millions of working poor with reasonable quality goods cheaply. Wal Mart has immeasurably raised the material standard of living of tens of millions of Americans. Ever shopped in a Wal Mart? Notice the proportion of black, hispanic and poor white folks. No wonder white elitist liberals in their L.L Beans and Lands End despise Wal Mart so! Without Wal Mart these working poor would have to turn to government, the basis of liberaly tyranny, to increase their standard of living. Granted Wal Mart has driven out of business many mom and pop stores and their global activites are subject to criticism like all multinationals. However, Wal Mart has helpped a hell of a lot more people than it ever hurt. You don't see rich elitist liberals shopping at Wal Marts what you see are working poor who are actually getting something for their money instead of empty liberal promises.

"Wal-Mart has not removed the many filthy books for sale on its website."

...from authors like Coulter, O'Reilly, and Hannity.

You know Garth Brooks signed an exclusive, extremely lucrative distribution deal with Walmart. Now you can only buy unused Garth Brooks albums from them. But wait... isn't Garth Brooks's sister a LESBIAN? Yes, and in fact, Garth Brooks is a vocal supporter of gay rights. Just more evidence that Walmart has been taken over by the homosexual agenda.

However, they have neglected to consider a possible benefit of that "baby-killing" Plan B. Some of those children would have undoubtedly grown up to become homosexuals. Yes, it's a preemptive strategy, but preemption certainly worked in Iraq. So what if there's some collateral damage, right?

I mean you can't buy new Garth albums from other stores.

carl: LOL. Thanks for the economics lesson. You must be just another enabler of the homosexual agenda, you WalMart lover, you. However I rather doubt WalMart has enriched the lives of the working poor more than it has generated the working poor, here and abroad. Remember those cut rate goods are taking the place of American goods and those WalMart workers don't have health insurance. I don't want them on the gov't dole. I want them to have benefits and decent wages. The same for the "working poor." They work and work hard. Why should they be poor?

Gotta go with Revere on this one Carl. I dont shop WalMart because those "name brand" higher dollar items that on their shelves are made in Asia by selling a trademark. The factories take the spec of the Emersons of the world and build whatever. The factories? Owned by total percentage alllowed by WalMart and subsidiaries. Those guys want to move into banking, real estate, investment and finance. So give me Big Mac, a new TV, a loan for both, hold the paper on my house, run my collective investment hedge fund and then when we get another 9/11, they can finance the whole bailout package for the government.

No Walmart isnt a Bushie enterprise. In fact they dont like them at all. But their earnings curve has flattened and they have to branch out or suffer stock market failure. Every small city or town in American and Canada has one, Mexico is opening. But the eventual saturation will result in the inevitable and that is that they will push into other things and dominate it.

Real Christians dont have an agenda folks. I dont hold revivals on the condom, vaginal inserts, or contraceptive creams aisle. Plan B-Its still a country of free choice and since I dont like the math of back alley abortions I believe in prevention both post and pre all the way up until about the 6.5 month mark which means its viable for science at this time to preserve the life. I sure as HELL dont want my fellow Christians making decisions like this for me, my daughter or son.

The way that certain elements of the Republican Party of which I belong act are near Nazi. They want to extend the control of government right into the bedroom and I draw the line at the street on that. WalMart is a sucess story, so is cheap and effective birth control. We enjoy a fairly high standard of living here because of it.

I am all for gay rights, but not marriage. I dont want them to have a super right in any aspect of what they do. G. S. sister can do anything she wants as long as I dont have to pay for it, extend any new right upon them.

Hey Target is having some super specials this week. Tip on down and stick a stake in old Sams heart. You have the right not to buy the new album in WM or condoms, birth control pills, contraceptive foams and inserts. Gee, we must live in America or something. DO wear your helment while in combat though boys.

By M. Randolph Kruger (not verified) on 26 Nov 2006 #permalink

/shivers

I just read this from the operationsaveamerica.org - apparently the umbrella to saving WalMart

"A Christian ministry whose leaders have spent 14 years outside an abortion clinic in Granite City, Ill., taking photographs of abortionists, clinic employees and customers are being credited with the arrest of a man on suspicion of the rape of a child"

This ministry has taken it upon themselves to stalk an abortion clinic for 14 years.

Anyone have a cure for the eebie-jeebies?

I am working poor, and I don't shop at Wal-Mart. I can't afford to buy the same crap over and over again because it keeps wearing out or breaking; I don't have the money. It's cheaper for me to save up for a while to come up with the sink cost for a more expensive item, purchased somewhere that doesn't facilitate the cheap-labour conservative ethos.

If you can explain to me, M. Randolph, why same-sex marriage is a "super right" (as opposed to extending the same civil rights to everyone, regardless of sexual orientation), I'll be very surprised. Caveat: Same-sex marriage is nationally legal in this jurisdiction because our previous head of government said we can't, constitutionally, cherry-pick the rights we want minorities to have; that is dangerous thinking.

Wal-Mart: Just Plain Wrong on equality, feminism, gay rights, labour rights, ethical business practices, decent merchandise, and good prices (their loss-leaders are cheap; everything else is the same or more expensive).

By Interrobang (not verified) on 27 Nov 2006 #permalink

Randolph Kruger - I don't know if you've seen this before but in 1997 the General Accounting Office created a report in conjunction with the Defense of Marriage Act that listed 1049 federal benefits, rights and priveleges afforded married couples. In 2004 this report was updated to include an additional 120 inacted since the original report was released and remove 31. There are an unknown number of additional benefits afforded at state and local levels. You can read the full report at http://www.gao.gov/archive/1997/og97016.pdf and the 2004 update at http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d04353r.pdf. I pay taxes the same as you do and deserve the same rights, benefits and responsibilities that are available to you. If you give it another name other than marriage than it'll be exactly that, something different. If marriage is a sacred act than the government should marry no one. Give it another name for everyone but don't give a seperate name for gay unions. Equal should be equal.

One more thing I want to mention. I have just secured the first non-official copy of the Gay Agenda. This is highly sensitive information so please try to keep quite about it.

The Gay Agenda

6:00am: Gym (LA Fitness or Ballys, of course)
8:00am: Breakfast (oatmeal and egg whites or a Tic Tac and toast)
9:30am: Hair appointment
10:00am: Shopping
12:00pm: Brunch

2:00pm
1) Assume complete control of the U.S. Federal, State and Local Governments as well as all other national governments.
2) Recruit all straight youngsters to our debauched lifestyle.
3) Destroy all healthy heterosexual marriages.
4) Replace all school counselors in grades K-12 with agents
of Colombian and Jamaican drug cartels.
5) Establish planetary chain of homo breeding gulags where
over-medicated imprisoned straight women are turned
into artificially impregnated baby factories to produce
prepubescent slaves for devotedly pederastic gay leadership.
6) Bulldoze all houses of worship.
7) Secure total control of the internet and all mass media
for the exclusive use of child pornographers.

2:30pm Get forty winks of beauty rest to prevent facial wrinkles from stress of world conquest
4:00pm Martinis
6:00pm Light Dinner (soup, salad, with Chardonnay)
8:00pm Theater
11:00pm Bed (du jour)

The religious leaders attacking the gay agenda need to get a grip on there delusions.

Super right would be to say engage in marriage in this and most other states. Super right would be to engage in a lifestyle that is detrimental to others e.g. get HIV or AIDS and then demand that the government pay to take care of you. I dont get that right now either, but if you have HIV or AIDS then you basically have all of your healthcare provided for you, kind of like an illegal alien.

Interrobang. It may be legal in your jurisdiction, but not here. The state constitution was just amended by the voters to prevent gay marriage. The civl union thing is still up in the air. Hey you live like you want to and TimB can support you and your position. I dont gay bash. I also dont support the lifestyle or want too. Ever checked what one dose of Daptomycin costs the government?. Everyone wear helmets across this planet and HiV/AIDs will be a thing of the past in about 10 years. Everyone blames AIDS/HIV on the non response of Reagan to the problem. Bullshit. Its a disease. Blame a cold on them too, or hey it has to be the USA's fault that this spread. How bout the Belgians who likely created it accidently out of polio vaccine and research in the Belgian Congo? Remember now, you are preaching to the choir hear about gays.

Its not just religious leaders attacking the "agenda" as you put it. They move into an area, vote their candidates in along with their "agenda" and then spread laterally. Thats what the religious leaders speak of. Its legal, so just hope that they dont end that part of it . I would defend your right to do and say anything within the law. Step outside of it and it will be dealt with accordingly is all I am saying. Gay JP's performing illegal marriages just to test it in the courts is BS. Enact laws first, then test the law not the act first. Its a back door thru the legal system and it pisses the majority off. The majority doesnt want it anywhere except I believe in Massachusetts? Okay.

Its not intolerance. Its the law of the land and until its changed or found to be illegal under the Constitution then thats the way it is.

By M. Randolph Kruger (not verified) on 27 Nov 2006 #permalink

You forgot renting old movies to admire the interior decor and the womens' costumes. When I rent 60's soft-core porn I keep getting distracted by the fashions and the lamps.

By Ground Zero Homeboy (not verified) on 27 Nov 2006 #permalink

You don't see rich elitist liberals shopping at Wal Marts what you see are working poor who are actually getting something for their money instead of empty liberal promises.

What you see at WalMart are hard-working people who WaltonCorp has done its best to make & keep poor, so that they won't be able to afford the gas to travel to a Target or a real supermarket for decent groceries or consumer goods that don't fall apart before the next paycheck. Those rich elitist liberals always seem to get the better choices, darn them!

The business news I read says that Walmart's stock has fallen 30% since 2000 and is expected to keep dropping. Apparently they've already destroyed every available small town market in the U.S. and Mexico, and on the wages Walmart pays its employees aren't able to keep buying WM's poor-quality products in sufficient volume to grow its ROE quarter-on-quarter indefinitely. It's sort of like the desert-island castaway cutting off his own legs & eating them to stay alive... it may seem like a good idea today, but what happens when you run out of legs?

WM thought they could forestall the inevitable for a few more quarters by replicating their infamous triangular business plan (destroy the local retailers, underpay the "associates", and insist on suppliers starving themselves to support WM's profit margins) in China and southeast Asia. Turns out that the Chinese politicians & manufacturers WM has been paying (off) for the last couple decades were taking their own notes all along, and they don't see the point in letting WM screw their populations when the local Big Men could be using WM's blueprints to make their own megamulticrossnationalcorporate fortunes. And if it turns out that "As goes WM, so goes America" it's not just Walton's worthless heirs that are going to suffer for Daddy Sam's greed.

By Anne Laurie (not verified) on 27 Nov 2006 #permalink

Anne L. they do eat their young now dont they. My brother is a city councilman in Rogers AR. which is adjacent to Bentonville. You are right., once you have been with the company for about 15 years you are generally promoted back into the money as a DM or RM. The FIRST thing they teach every store manager or area manager is to keep them people off the clock. Until the lawsuits started coming out this past year and started pulling on the thread no one knew or cared about what happened to these people. They are career McDonalds people. They cant get a real job most anywhere else and WalMart is due for a makeover in image, and public image and they cant do that screwing the employees, discriminating against women for promotions or hiring illegals. No, the stock price is going to start to fall unless they start new businesses and that means that 400 million that was given to poor, developing countries like Mexico last year was nothing more than a payoff to get in country. Gimme a break.

By M. Randolph Kruger (not verified) on 28 Nov 2006 #permalink

Sir Elton John said a week or two ago, "Organized religion should be banned". He's right.

For those of you interested CBSNews has a story on WalMart going to India. If you're registered with them you can leave a comment.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/11/27/business/main2209493.shtml?so…

Wal-Mart's End Run To Get Stores In India
Teaming Up With Indian Conglomerate, Avoiding Restriction On Foreign Companies
Quote
"Wal-Mart was keen to get into India. I think they have chosen the right partner."
Sunil Bharti Mittal, Bharti Enterprises Ltd.
(AP) India may soon have stores displaying the Wal-Mart brand despite government rules that prevent foreign companies from operating multi-product retail chains here.

The world's largest retailer has teamed up with India's Bharti Enterprises Ltd., a business conglomerate focused mostly on telecommunications to set up hundreds of stores across the country, Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman and CEO of the Indian company, said Monday... .

There's more, this is just part of coverage.

"Super right would be to engage in a lifestyle that is detrimental to others e.g. get HIV or AIDS and then demand that the government pay to take care of you."

Most people who get HIV now a days are straight and female. They catch it from their partners, usually husbands, who get it from prostitutes (usually female) who acquire it from other men or injectable drugs.

I personally find it far more objectionable the corporations get SUPER DUPER rights like get out of jail free cards to pollute our air and water. Marry who you want, it's on your head but do not mess with my water or air.

By G in INdiana (not verified) on 28 Nov 2006 #permalink

I live in Arizona and we became the first state to defeat the rights so called protect marriage proposition (and we're a red state). People are starting to see the rights political agenda for what it is, hate mongering for political gain by a bunch of hypocrits. I, for one, am sick and tired of the right using me as a tool to build hate in order to achieve gains politically. That's why I, for the first time, got involved as a volunteer in this last election and helped defeat prop 107 in Arizona. It's now been proven that these bills that write descrimination into state constitutions can be defeated and not in a Democratic state but in a Republican state. I doubt you'll see many more of these bills passing.