Raznor's Rants

Costarring Raznor's reality-based friends!

Sunday, May 15, 2005

Wal-Mart: Lying assholes
Posted by Raznor

So here in Flagstaff, in two days there's a referendum that would, in effect, prevent Wal-Mart from opening a Super Wal-mart in town. So of course, it's time for Wal-Mart to play dirty, and really downright despicable:

FLAGSTAFF - It wasn't as though the most contentious election in city history, whether Wal-Mart can build a large supercenter, needed any more fuel thrown on the fire.

But there it was last Sunday, a full-page ad in the local Arizona Daily Sun of German Nazis throwing books into a bonfire under the headline "Freedoms worth keeping" and a mini-essay questioning whether Flagstaff residents should allow limits to be placed on shopping.


That's The Daily Sun for you. This is what you get when your local paper is owned by a bunch of out-of-state Republicans. This is why I get the Arizona Republic which, although it leans conservative, has a bitchin' sports page.

But what I found remarkable about the above article was this:

Wal-Mart has bankrolled the campaign, which is also the most expensive in city history, to the tune of $280,700 through the Protect Flagstaff's Future political committee as of April 27, the last reporting deadline before the election, according to campaign filings.

That, despite Wal-Mart Chief Executive H. Lee Scott Jr. telling the New York Times last month that the corporation would "never again try to go over the heads of local politicians" to try to expand their stores. Wal-Mart sponsored an unsuccessful referendum in Inglewood, Calif., last year to try to sidestep city zoning.


Oh interesting tidbit on "Protect Flagstaff's Future". The other day I was watching American Dad on Adult Swim, and there was an anti-Prop. 100 commercial, the gist of which was "Maybe it's out-of-state special interests that want to limit your shopping choices". Then of course at the end if you look at the bottom of the screen you'll notice that major financing comes from Wal-Mart, based in Bentonville, Arkansas!!!

Well that's what we get for living in the best Democracy money can buy.

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