Althouse: "We never want to offend anyone with the products that we offer."

June 22, 2015

"We never want to offend anyone with the products that we offer."

Walmart is removing all Confederate flag merchandise from its stores.

138 comments:

rhhardin said...: Will there be a closeout sale?; 6/22/15, 6:50 PM
Johanna Lapp said...: And that's the tipping point. All over now but the mopping up.; 6/22/15, 6:50 PM
Ann Althouse said...: If you have a problem with Walmart exercising its freedom to choose which products to sell, compare your position to the question of the baker that doesn't want to have to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.; 6/22/15, 6:56 PM
Hagar said...: The last several announcements from Walmart make me think the Administration may have suggested to the board of directors that Walmart may find it has difficulties with its import licenses, etc. unless they get on board with Administration policies.; 6/22/15, 6:57 PM
Lyle Smith said...: No more Christian stuff!; 6/22/15, 7:03 PM
Original Mike said...: "If you have a problem with Walmart exercising its freedom to choose which products to sell, compare your position to the question of the baker that doesn't want to have to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple."

You're good with the baker declining to bake the cake?; 6/22/15, 7:05 PM
traditionalguy said...: The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down is appropriate theme music for the day. Joan Baez of course.; 6/22/15, 7:10 PM
n.n said...: The Walmart and baker situations are not comparable. Walmart changed their position, presumably because of external pressure. Actually, they are indeed comparable. The baker also faced external, non-market pressures. Selective pressure. Selective exclusion. Equality.; 6/22/15, 7:11 PM
Skyler said...: Walmart is of course free to sell what they want. And I'm free to mock them for it.; 6/22/15, 7:14 PM
PB said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 6/22/15, 7:16 PM
PB said...: What is to become of the Civil War re-enacters? Where will they get their flags and other things that are now emblematic of racism? Are re-enacters who don the uniform of the Confederate Army be considered racist?; 6/22/15, 7:17 PM
Gahrie said...: I can see the logic of Walmart's move.

However, the people they are trying to placate by announcing this new policy, are the same people who get mad at Walmart when they open new stores, and get mad at Walmart when they close stores.

Nothing is ever enough for the outraged Left.; 6/22/15, 7:18 PM
Roughcoat said...: "If you have a problem with Walmart exercising its freedom to choose which products to sell, compare your position to the question of the baker that doesn't want to have to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple."

You're good with the baker declining to bake the cake?

Good question.; 6/22/15, 7:19 PM
Æthelflæd said...: Gahrie said...
"I can see the logic of Walmart's move.

However, the people they are trying to placate by announcing this new policy, are the same people who get mad at Walmart when they open new stores, and get mad at Walmart when they close stores.

Nothing is ever enough for the outraged Left."

This.; 6/22/15, 7:21 PM
Humperdink said...: Not missing a beat, the Obama administration requested empty shelf space at Walmart be utilized for Che Guevara T-shirts.; 6/22/15, 7:25 PM
Art in LA said...: Hillary was on the Walmart Board of Directors from '86-'92 ... she could have suggested stopping sales then. What's up with that?! Think of all the lives that could have been saved!; 6/22/15, 7:25 PM
jimbino said...: Next, Walmart needs to remove all the offensive religiously themed merchandise from its shelves. The first thing I do in a motel room is toss out the Gideon Bible.; 6/22/15, 7:25 PM
Michael K said...: "Where will they get their flags and other things that are now emblematic of racism? Are re-enacters who don the uniform of the Confederate Army be considered racist?"

If you think this will affect re-enactors, you don't know much about re-enactors.

It does, however, open a nice market opportunity. Just like the idiots that divest energy stocks.

You don't need money in Heaven but it is useful in other places.; 6/22/15, 7:27 PM
PB said...: TV Land is now going to be forced to pixelate the image of the Confederate flag on the top of the General Lee or we'll be deprived of the Dukes of Hazzard reruns!; 6/22/15, 7:31 PM
chickelit said...: I'm just not a Walmart shopper. This will hardly get me to start.

The number of different Confederate flags that Amazon sells should really twist liberal's panties.; 6/22/15, 7:33 PM
m stone said...: "If you have a problem with Walmart exercising its freedom to choose which products to sell, compare your position to the question of the baker that doesn't want to have to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple."

It is not a question of freedom of choice as it is to corporate yielding to some wave of public opinion in the aftermath of a Southern crime. It is capitualization to reason. It is reaction. The flag is only an emblem. It does not incite violence. And the connection, other than the killer with a flag does warrant the action.

It is appeasement.; 6/22/15, 7:34 PM
Jim Gust said...: Reminds me of when McDonalds stopped using lard for making french fries, to appease the concerns of people who never eat there anyway. That was the turning point in McDonalds quality. They never recovered.

Walmart could get some pushback on this. I have no sympathy for them.; 6/22/15, 7:35 PM
chickelit said...: I'm fairly certain that liberals will deem it OK for Amazon to sell Confederate flags but not for Walmart to do so. Because, double standard!; 6/22/15, 7:36 PM
Humperdink said...: I can see former Commander-in-Heat Wild Bill investing in a Confederate flag distribution operation. For his charity, of course.; 6/22/15, 7:40 PM
Fernandinande said...: AA said...
If you have a problem with Walmart exercising its freedom to choose which products to sell, compare your position to the question of the baker that doesn't want to have to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.

Nobody is taking Walmart to court and nobody should have been able to take the bakers to court. So it's really not an apt comparison.; 6/22/15, 7:40 PM
SomeoneHasToSayIt said...: Walmart is removing all Confederate flag merchandise from its stores.

That offends me.

Now where are we?; 6/22/15, 7:54 PM
glenn said...: I'll believe they are serious when they quit offending me by putting yards of red, white, and blue bunting over displays of cheap Chinese and Southeast Asian clothes.; 6/22/15, 7:55 PM
bbkingfish said...: It's the smart move. Costs them next to nothing. Being first gets them all the good PR.; 6/22/15, 8:19 PM
MaxedOutMama said...: I wasn't aware that they HAD any confederate flag merchandise. Perhaps they should have done this quietly.; 6/22/15, 8:21 PM
chickelit said...: Nobody is taking Walmart to court and nobody should have been able to take the bakers to court.

That's a very good point. I wonder what Althouse's response would be.; 6/22/15, 8:33 PM
richard mcenroe said...: So will they remove the "patriotic" made-in-China t-shirts they market every 4th of July under their "Get A Life" label?; 6/22/15, 8:35 PM
Jason said...: You NEVER want to offend ANYONE, you pussies? Well, riddle me this, Walmart:

I identify as a Japanese American. My grandparents were interred by Federal troops. The U.S. flag flew over Manzanar. I'm offended by all the 4th of July merchandise. What now, bitches?

I'm Muslim/Jewish. I'm offended by the sale of pork products in the grocery section. What now, bitches?

I'm offended by the open display of undergarments. What now, bitches?

I'm offended by the open selling of meat. Meat is murder. What now, bitches?

I'm offended by everything in Spanish. What now, bitches?

I'm offended by them selling movies like American Sniper in the electronics section. What now, bitches?

I'm offended because they sell Bibles and books on Christian living in the book section. What now, bitches?

I'm offended by the raw and sexist language in rap CDs. What now, bitches?

I'm offended by every movie that has nudity in it. What now, bitches?

I'm offended by violent video games. What now, bitches?

I'm offended by the Lynrd Skynrd CDs. What now, bitches?

I'm offended by the Neil Young CDs. What now, bitches?

The bottom line: You have got to stand for something, or you'll fall for anything.; 6/22/15, 8:35 PM
Jason said...: If you have a problem with Walmart exercising its freedom to choose which products to sell, compare your position to the question of the baker that doesn't want to have to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.

Well, Professor, you haven't exactly been a profile in courage in this regard. Come on the record, Professor. Do you believe a baker should not be compelled by force of law to bake a custom wedding cake for a same sex couple against his or her conscience? Yes or no?

If yes, why did you not speak out in April when it was the topic du jour?; 6/22/15, 8:39 PM
Jason said...: Oh, by the way, Walmart: About those Duck Dynasty products.; 6/22/15, 8:40 PM
Jason said...: Walmart: Remember who stood up for you in the last PR mini crisis.

http://www.newsmax.com/US/walmart-duck-dynasty/2013/12/20/id/543139/

They won't stand up for you again.; 6/22/15, 8:41 PM
mccullough said...: They have set an impossible standard for themselves.; 6/22/15, 8:46 PM
FullMoon said...: jimbino said... [hush][hide comment]

........ The first thing I do in a motel room is toss out the Gideon Bible.
First thing I do is toss the television. Some of the programming offends me.; 6/22/15, 8:47 PM
fivewheels said...: So we won't be able to get coffee mugs depicting the battle of Gettysburg and the key defeat of the Confederacy?; 6/22/15, 8:49 PM
rhhardin said...: It's not about the flag. It's about making black people's problems white people.

Wait for white people to give you free stuff. Don't do anything on your own, and above all don't do anything for white people.

It might give you dignity, and then you are lost to the left.

Nothing but a shift of black leaders will fix it, and the MSM is not going to let that happen.

The narrative sells.; 6/22/15, 8:50 PM
Scott said...: Will Target follow suit?; 6/22/15, 8:51 PM
rhhardin said...: If you have a problem with Walmart exercising its freedom to choose which products to sell, compare your position to the question of the baker that doesn't want to have to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.

It's bad for black people to support the craven politicians and black leaders and their narrative.

Walmart goes for political relief instead of fixing it.; 6/22/15, 8:52 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: If you have a problem with Walmart exercising its freedom to choose which products to sell, compare your position to the question of the baker that doesn't want to have to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.

The sum of some of the fears...; 6/22/15, 8:52 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: You can hardly blame WalMart for seeing a way to get ahead of the mob and taking it.; 6/22/15, 8:55 PM
rcocean said...: Have they blacked out the flag on the "General Lee" yet?

I'd hate for "The Dukes of Hazard" to be labeled a hate crime show.

And Amazon still sells Confederate flags, so your confederate flag needs can still be met - $7.49 (plus shipping).; 6/22/15, 9:07 PM
mccullough said...: They still sell Washington Redskins stuff at Wal-Mart. I'm shocked. They must clear their shelves and warehouses of these items soon.

Hopefully some OT for the workers who have to clear the shelves.; 6/22/15, 9:07 PM
steve uhr said...: I'm a big fan of Walmart -- low prices, very friendly employees, and great people watching!

Are the good pols in Madison still trying to keep Walmart out of town? God forbid that poor people find a good bargain.; 6/22/15, 9:09 PM
Fritz said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 6/22/15, 9:10 PM
rcocean said...: Rh - if this was about Black people, then White liberals (aka SWPL and Soccer Moms) wouldn't be so obsessed with the subject.

Its the same crowd that rants on about the "Redskins" football team.; 6/22/15, 9:10 PM
Fritz said...: chickelit said...
I'm just not a Walmart shopper. This will hardly get me to start.

The number of different Confederate flags that Amazon sells should really twist liberal's panties.

Be sure to buy yours using the Althouse Amazon portal.; 6/22/15, 9:11 PM
rcocean said...: If I wear my Confederate flag t-shirt at my bi-racial gay wedding will I be OK?; 6/22/15, 9:12 PM
Jason said...: Good Lord, that Coffee Mug story is f*cked up.; 6/22/15, 9:17 PM
Sprezzatura said...: Next, can they go beyond the announced pay increases so their employees aren't relying on many billions of dollars of government assistance every year?; 6/22/15, 9:21 PM
Big Mike said...: WalMart only just now discovered that there are people who are offended by the Confederate battle flag? I guess it takes some time for news to get to Bentonville, Arkansas.; 6/22/15, 9:23 PM
steve uhr said...: PBandJ-- Your argument is lacking in logic. It is a good thing that Walmart gives jobs to people who need jobs. The fact that they have jobs means that they are receiving less government assistance. How does it follow that by hiring employees (and paying at or above market rates) it somehow becomes Walmart's responsibility to "cover" all government assistance?; 6/22/15, 9:28 PM
Sprezzatura said...: "I guess it takes some time for news to get to Bentonville, Arkansas."

You'd think they would notice it was removed from the state flag.

Just as the speaker in Mississippi has now supported doing in their state.

A lot of folks are doing their best to stick the proverbial knife into Roof's dream.; 6/22/15, 9:30 PM
Dr.D said...: My ancestors on both sides fought for the CSA, I think I'm entitled to wave a Confederate flag if it suits me,; 6/22/15, 9:38 PM
Sprezzatura said...: steve,

Imho, your argument lacks logic. The gov should be a temporary safety net for people. It's not a permanent subsidy that gets dumped into Walmart's business model because their staff aren't paid enough to not live in poverty.; 6/22/15, 9:41 PM
Sprezzatura said...: "My ancestors on both sides fought for the CSA, I think I'm entitled to wave a Confederate flag if it suits me, "

You seem crafty. You can still buy craft paper, scissors and glue. Make your own flag!; 6/22/15, 9:44 PM
Laslo Spatula said...: I believe Walmart has its finger on the pulse of America more than most of Government.

They have to: it is their job.

Government's job: less so.

I am Laslo.; 6/22/15, 9:48 PM
trumpetdaddy said...: 18 million Americans had their personal data hacked by the Chinese but hey, let's re-fight the Civil War. Because we're a serious people.; 6/22/15, 9:54 PM
steve uhr said...: PBandJ -- It really should not be the job of the government to set wages, just as it should not be the job of the government to set prices. I have no problem with a minimum wage, but then you should not castigate firms who follow the law for not paying enough to their employees. Obviously their employees have concluded that Walmart's salary is better than the alternative.

Walmart wants low costs so it can attract buyers with low prices and beat its competitors. That is how free enterprise works. If you want to set a minimum wage of $20 per hour (or whatever a "living wage" is), just watch the economy fall apart. There is no such thing as a free lunch. A higher minimum wage is not always a positive.; 6/22/15, 9:56 PM
Sprezzatura said...: 18 million Americans had their personal data hacked by the Chinese but hey, let's re-fight the Civil War. Because we're a serious people.

And, many dozens of Americans are killed by guns every day. But hey, it's their own faults for not being more armed themselves.; 6/22/15, 9:57 PM
Fernandinande said...: PBandJ_LeDouanier said...
The gov should be a temporary safety net for people.

Fair enough.

It's not a permanent subsidy that gets dumped into Walmart's business model because their staff aren't paid enough to not live in poverty.

Yes and no: well, it is a permanent subsidy in many cases, and someone working full-time at Walmart makes, say $10/hr, *2048 hours = $20480/year, nearly twice the official Federal poverty level. Same value here.

Rather than Walmart paying people more than they have to, perhaps you, personally, could give the cashiers, etc, big tips.; 6/22/15, 9:58 PM
Sprezzatura said...: " If you want to set a minimum wage of $20 per hour (or whatever a "living wage" is)"

In Seattle the living wage is said to be something like $18.40. The particular hood where I have a house in Seattle (but I only go for a few days a year) a living wage would be a lot higher than that.

It'll be interesting to see what happens with the $15 wage in Seattle. Are you sure it'll be a disaster?; 6/22/15, 10:01 PM
chickelit said...: trumpetdaddy said...
18 million Americans had their personal data hacked by the Chinese but hey, let's re-fight the Civil War. Because we're a serious people.

6/22/15, 9:54 PM

PBandJ_LeDouanier said...
18 million Americans had their personal data hacked by the Chinese but hey, let's re-fight the Civil War. Because we're a serious people.

And, many dozens of Americans are killed by guns every day. But hey, it's their own faults for not being more armed themselves.

6/22/15, 9:57 PM

_______________

Sometimes it's just too obvious, Titus.

Remember the time that Palladian outed one of Maxine's alter egos?; 6/22/15, 10:02 PM
Sprezzatura said...: "Rather than Walmart paying people more than they have to, perhaps you, personally, could give the cashiers, etc, big tips."

Nobody, even the biggest con, believes this.

We must set a floor. We must outlaw indentured servitude. In other words, we must make employers pay folks more than the really would have to w/o gov intervention.

So, the argument is how much more? What's the floor?; 6/22/15, 10:04 PM
Sprezzatura said...: What happened to Palladian. And, his pal, the Sire Says guy.

Trooper huffed off, I know that one.; 6/22/15, 10:05 PM
exhelodrvr1 said...: So will high school students in CA be allowed to wear T-shirts with the US flag on it on Cinco de Mayo? Or will they just be allowed to sport the Mexican flag?; 6/22/15, 10:08 PM
JAORE said...: "...Walmart exercising its freedom to choose..."

As they note the lit torches and the glint of light off the pitchfork tines.

The mob has tasted blood and, for the five hundredth time, they find it good.; 6/22/15, 10:14 PM
Guildofcannonballs said...: http://www.walmart.com/search/?query=satanic%20verses&method=spelling; 6/22/15, 10:19 PM
Fernandinande said...: PBandJ_LeDouanier said...

"Rather than Walmart paying people more than they have to, perhaps you, personally, could give the cashiers, etc, big tips."

Nobody, even the biggest con, believes this.

It's not a belief. You're saying that someone else should be forced to pay them more money because you won't pay them more money voluntarily. How about a law forcing people to tip cashiers a certain percentage? Or perhaps a law only forcing those people who believe that people should be forced to give other people money, based on a questionnaire, so nobody is forced to do anything they find repugnant.

You'd sign up for that, correct? It'd be great because you could give them more than the required amount!

We must set a floor. We must outlaw indentured servitude.

Indentured servitude is already illegal and you're being histrionic since nobody is forced to work there - they choose it because it's better than their other options.

In other words, we must make employers pay folks more than the really would have to w/o gov intervention.

Says who? You've provided no argument that it must be done.

So, the argument is how much more? What's the floor?

Free market.; 6/22/15, 10:20 PM
Guildofcannonballs said...: "18 million Americans had their personal data hacked by the Chinese"

Hacked? Seems like it was just given to the "hackers" with no "hacking" really needed, except for salt-in-the-wound purposes.

I think it's racist to expect private-sector velocity or results from our government.; 6/22/15, 10:24 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: WalMart only just now discovered that there are people who are offended by the Confederate battle flag? I guess it takes some time for news to get to Bentonville, Arkansas.

I've never seen such merchandise in Walmart. (I live in the Bentonville area and grew up in Bentonville itself.)

But different stores carry different things. Perhaps there were stores that carried that merchandise in places where people are into that flag. That wouldn't be here.; 6/22/15, 10:31 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: Walmart is not interested in taking weird stands and being part of a political debate. Walmart is interested in selling billions of dollars of merchandise. Getting rid of the minute amount of Confederate merchandise in some stores is nothing, and the nice press and good feelings are a boon. Easy call.; 6/22/15, 10:38 PM
The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...: Wal-Mart sells tons of moronic crap that offends the shit out of me. But the EBT crowd just slurps that kitsch up. Really, there's very little at Wal-Mart that has the Confederate flag on it. A bumper sticker, an auto air-freshener, a patch on a cap, nothing that's going to impact the bottom line. It's not a bid deal either way. OTOH, I expect to see an increased display of the Confederate flag among young working-class whites. There's more than one way to be transgressive and those kids just love to yank a yuppie chain.; 6/22/15, 10:38 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: So, does this mean its official... there is no difference between the confederate flag and the Nazi flag.

Lets stop sugarcoating it.; 6/22/15, 10:39 PM
Sprezzatura said...: fernandiande,

Why are you opposed to a minimum wage, but not in favor of allowing a person to get a long term advance on their wages, aka indentured servitude? You can't stand behind the excuse of the current law, because your opinions have already passed that restraint.

There is already a legal minimum wage, but you say you're opposed to that. So, you've already stated that your ideology is unbounded by current law. You should, likewise be open to be opposing the legal limit of indentured servitude, if that limit is the result of a free market manipulation.

What about overtime laws. Are you opposed to this government manipulation of the free market?

For myself, I oppose indentured servitude, and I support a minimum wage, and I'm for a set work week and overtime laws. My support is based on the abuses of human beings that took place prior to these improvements (I acknowledge that you don't seem them all (or any) as improvements). History teaches me that these rules and restrictions on the free market resulted greater growth and increased prosperity for more people, when compared with human progress prior to these market manipulating actions.

You say that you want to go back to the way we lived before there were minimum wages. What about that time was better than modernity? I don't see it.; 6/22/15, 10:40 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: Heh. I wonder if Walmart even sold any Confederate flag merchandise in any stores. Easy press!; 6/22/15, 10:41 PM
Anonymous said...: I thought I had been up and down every aisle at my local Walmart. I don't remember any confederate flag merchandise. I must have missed the Racism Supplies aisle.; 6/22/15, 11:30 PM
mccullough said...: Walmart is the largest gun retailer in the US. Instead of taking symbolic stands, the Waltons should stop selling firearms since firearms lead to tens of thousands of deaths each year.; 6/22/15, 11:55 PM
Goju said...: Mccullough, by that logic the sale of cars and alcohol should also be banned.; 6/23/15, 12:46 AM
Todd Roberson said...: PB & J -

I'm not following the "indentured servitude" angle on Wal Mart employment practices. Can you elaborate on how people voluntarily choosing employment is equivalent to "indentured servitude". Is it because their wages don't provide for the ownership of a house in Seattle that they only visit once or twice a year?; 6/23/15, 1:20 AM
Todd Roberson said...: Oh ... And, if you have a moment, elaborate a little on the "long term advance on their wages" concept as well. Admittedly, I don't have your experience in business, but I tended to pay people gradually as they they worked. Otherwise they have a tendency to not show up, which is not good for productivity.; 6/23/15, 1:27 AM
rcommal said...: ' "We never want to offend anyone with the products that we offer." '

Oh, bullshit.

" ' "We never want to offend anyone with the products that we offer." ' "

---

^ Exactly, no doubt

At the end of the day, though, despite all of that which is required, it's mostly about putting down people in general, first, and, second, putting down people who do have special and unusual skills and don't agree with putting down people in general.; 6/23/15, 2:56 AM
rcommal said...: Walmart is awesome! Walmart is crap!

C'mon, now. Get the "and" as well as the "or." You can do it, or maybe you can't do it. How capable are you, by the way?; 6/23/15, 4:06 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: I have no recollection of seeing the confederate flag at any Walmart stores.... In New Jersey.

I haven't been to Walmart here in Florida.; 6/23/15, 4:34 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: I'm no doctor... Any doctor... Doctor Ruth. But, why would we want to empower our fears? Maybe empower isn't the word I'm looking for. It seems to me that by forcing it down what we're really doing is raising it up. It's that way with words even, at least that's what we're told about the use of the nword. By not using the nword we give it power. Anything made rare could potentially be made valuable. Ergo the question up top. Will there be a closeout sale?; 6/23/15, 4:54 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Speaking of the United States. I was in Georgia for a couple of weeks with the nephews visiting the folks. I didn't see any confederate flag on any pickup trucks not even a decal. Granted it wasn't like I was out hunting for it.; 6/23/15, 5:00 AM
Wince said...: Not sure Althouse's conception of the word "freedom" is the same as mine.; 6/23/15, 5:04 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 6/23/15, 5:20 AM
Chuck said...: We laugh about the stupidity and the left wing bias of the mainstream media. But it is still a ferociously powerful force. With particular power over large retail corporations.

It seems to me like the African-American/Democrat/media/left wanted something out of this deal. And they settled on "War on Confederate flag..." Oh well. Beats "reparations." I was always on the side of Lincoln, Grant, Sherman and Sheridan anyway.; 6/23/15, 5:26 AM
Humperdink said...: Walmart: ""We never want to offend anyone with the products that we offer."

------------------
Humperdink said earlier: "Not missing a beat, the Obama administration requested empty shelf space at Walmart be utilized for Che Guevara T-shirts."

6/22/15, 7:25 PM

-----------------
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2015/06/walmart-selling-che-guevara-items-glorifying-racist-communist-thug/

"Walmart is selling several posters and prints glorifying dead communist thug Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara.; 6/23/15, 5:35 AM
Brando said...: People are offended that Wal Mart sells guns, and I don't see them removing guns from their merch. So let's face the obvious--Wal Mart decided that the paltry amount of sales they get of confederate flag merch is small enough that they can get easy publicity points with customers that might be put off by the flag.

If enough people got offended by gun sales that they avoided shopping at Wal Mart, they'd remove their guns as well.

Anyway, leftists should be happy--it means that much more business for the Mom n' Pop stores that sell confederate flag merchandise.; 6/23/15, 5:37 AM
Brando said...: ""Walmart is selling several posters and prints glorifying dead communist thug Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara."

Clearly conservatives and Cubans haven't gotten their act together. Why no publicity campaign about this?; 6/23/15, 5:39 AM
Brando said...: "It'll be interesting to see what happens with the $15 wage in Seattle. Are you sure it'll be a disaster?"

Whether it will be a "disaster" for Seattle is hard to measure--it's not as though there will be mass firings on the day it is implemented. More likely some jobs simply won't be created (if the marginal cost of hiring another employee is higher than the marginal cost of having existing employees become more productive), some businesses may be more likely to fail (though it will be hard to pin on the new minimum wage as other factors, like rents, will be in play) and it may result in higher prices, which when passed on to other businesses will make them more likely to fail.

Now, maybe it is worth it to give a raise to the most competitive employees who will keep their jobs, but that cost is coming from somewhere. The primary victims will be those whose work is simply not worth $15 an hour plus incidentals.; 6/23/15, 5:43 AM
Meade said...: Thursday:

Walmart Removes From Shelves T-shirts Depicting President Clinton Signing DOMA

""We never want to offend anyone with the products that we offer. We have taken steps to remove all items promoting the Defense Of Marriage Act from our assortment -- whether in our stores or on our web site," said Walmart spokesman Brian Nick. "We have a process in place to help lead us to the right decisions when it comes to the merchandise we sell. Still, at times, items make their way into our assortment improperly -- this is one of those instances."; 6/23/15, 6:11 AM
tim in vermont said...: I have visited the grave of my father's grandfather and his twin brother who fought in the civil war. There is a little American flag next to their graves on memorial day in memory of their service to the Union. Same cemetery where my father is buried, who also has a little flag for his service against the Afrika Corps. Their grandfathers fought in the Revolution, I have never visited their graves.

This gives me the hereditary right to lord it over people born in Dixie and to insult them and to rob them of any sense of historical or regional identity. Same as protestant Irish have the right to parade around Northern Ireland, banging drums and taunting the Irish Catholics who lost the war to expel them. That worked out great, didn't it?

Gentle persuasion, not hectoring insults is the way to fix this. All we are doing now is adding cachet to the flag.; 6/23/15, 6:26 AM
MadisonMan said...: A store I don't shop in is now not selling a product I wouldn't have bought.; 6/23/15, 6:35 AM
Meade said...: "I have visited the grave of my father's grandfather and his twin brother who fought in the civil war. "

You must be, what, at least 95 years-old?; 6/23/15, 6:53 AM
MadisonMan said...: @Meade@6:53 That was my thought too. My great-great-grandfather (Dad's great-grandfather) fought -- although he had had kids by the time the Civil War Started and was pushing 40 at its conclusion. (Still lived for 40 more years)

If Tim In Vermont's great-grandfather was a teen when the war started, and had kids afterwards, I could see it and him not being 90+ ;); 6/23/15, 7:02 AM
damikesc said...: Walmart: Remember who stood up for you in the last PR mini crisis.

People ignore how much Wal-Mart has sucked up to the Left for years. I stopped shopping there (though that was because they refused to honor a price they had on an end-cap full of a specific thing with the price on top) and don't miss it. If a company wants to bow down to the people who hate it to oppose those who will never shop there, so be it.

I stopped my family eating at McDonald's also as of about 2 weeks ago.

It'll be interesting to see what happens with the $15 wage in Seattle. Are you sure it'll be a disaster?

It'll only kill employment and jack up cost of living more.; 6/23/15, 7:05 AM
tim in vermont said...: You must be, what, at least 95 years-old?

My father was not young when I was born, he was 27 when he signed up. His father was not young when he was born. Like me, he was among the youngest of a very large family. And I am not that young either, though not 95.; 6/23/15, 7:14 AM
tim in vermont said...: Oh. It wasn't my father's grandfather. It was his great grandfather and his brother. Sorry.; 6/23/15, 7:18 AM
Katrina said...: "I have visited the grave of my father's grandfather and his twin brother who fought in the civil war. "

My grandfather was born in 1870 and did not marry until he was in his late 30's. My father was born in 1917. So my great-grandfather, who was 29 when my grandfather was born, would certainly have been old enough to fight in the Civil War - if he had been in America at that time.

I'm 52. My father also married late for the era - 35 - and then made up for lost time by fathering 6 children.; 6/23/15, 7:19 AM
Unknown said...: "It's not just a matter of it not being polite to say nigger in public." B. H. Obama; 6/23/15, 7:45 AM
Unknown said...: "And, many dozens of Americans are killed by guns every day. But hey, it's their own faults for not being more armed themselves."

"We must set a floor. We must outlaw indentured servitude. In other words, we must make employers pay folks more than the really would have to w/o gov intervention."

PBandJ_LeDouanier, are you a real person? Adult? Retarded? A stand up comic?; 6/23/15, 7:46 AM
Roughcoat said...: Meade:

My great-grandfather (mother's grandfather) and his brothers fought in the Civil War. I'm 65.; 6/23/15, 7:48 AM
Robert Cook said...: "However, the people they are trying to placate by announcing this new policy, are the same people who get mad at Walmart when they open new stores, and get mad at Walmart when they close stores."

There is good reason to criticize Wal-Mart for such actions: by opening up new stores where they did not previously exist, they often drive independent mom-and-pop stores out of business, thus rendering business owners into job-seekers. Moreover, whereas the mom-and-pop stores pay all their taxes locally, Wal-Mart pays much less into the local tax base of the communities they're leeching from.

And here.

Then, having driven local competitors out of business, they will strategically close some of their stores, assuming correctly that, having few (or no) other places to go, the local shoppers will now drive to the next nearest Wal-Mart, some further miles away. (This presumably puts the employees of the store that closed out of their meager jobs.)

Wal-Mart is a parasitic enterprise, top to bottom.; 6/23/15, 7:50 AM
AllenS said...: Meade said...
"I have visited the grave of my father's grandfather and his twin brother who fought in the civil war. "

You must be, what, at least 95 years-old?

Your father's grandfather would be your great grandfather. My great grandfather (my grandmother's father) served in the Civil War. I'm 68 year old.

Great grandfather born 1842 died in 1924
Grandmother born 1898 died 1969; 6/23/15, 7:51 AM
richard mcenroe said...: How come Hillary Clinton never complained about all this Confederate merchandise when she was sitting on (and profiting from) the board of Walmart?; 6/23/15, 7:52 AM
Matt Sablan said...: I imagine this was a decision that had to be made proactively, because if it was done reactively, well, there's enough Walmart hate as it is, that they might as well get some free good press by stopping selling products that probably don't sell very well anyway.; 6/23/15, 8:00 AM
tim in vermont said...: There is good reason to criticize Wal-Mart for such actions: by opening up new stores where they did not previously exist, they often drive independent mom-and-pop stores out of business, thus rendering business owners into job-seekers

He's like a windup toy, isn't he? Who knew that the local population in each region is chattel to the small businesses in the area and must pay higher prices for goods.; 6/23/15, 8:10 AM
tim in vermont said...: As a child I personally knew a woman who was born in 1865. She lived across the street and died at 102 in 1967. She used to yell at us to get off of her lawn. Not kidding. Her 80 year old daughter moved in to take care of her in her last couple of years.; 6/23/15, 8:17 AM
Brando said...: "How come Hillary Clinton never complained about all this Confederate merchandise when she was sitting on (and profiting from) the board of Walmart?"

That would be a wonderful question if she were ever approached by a real journalist.; 6/23/15, 8:28 AM
Ambrose said...: So, here is an opportunity for all the Mom and Pop stores that Wal-Mart has allegedly put out of business to get back on the capitalist gravy train. Open up Confederate memorabilia stores employing people at "living wages." If the demand is truly there, it will take off.; 6/23/15, 8:31 AM
Brando said...: "they often drive independent mom-and-pop stores out of business"

Ok, let's work with this assumption, even though whether a store goes out of business has to do with a lot of factors besides a nearby Wal Mart (e.g., higher rents, less downtown foot traffic, online competition, geniuses deciding the city or town needs a $15 minimum wage). Let's assume as you do that it is directly because of Wal Mart that Mom n Pop Co. shuts down. Why would that be? Maybe Wal Mart offers something better for customers, such as one stop shopping, lower prices, more inventory, more selection--for some reason, they've enticed customers to spend there and not at Mom n Pop Co. So MomCo folds.

Then you say Wal Mart shuts down their new store, knowing shoppers now have no choice but to travel further to the nearest Wal Mart which is the only game in town (we're still ignoring online shopping). Wal Mart just lowered their value proposition by requiring greater inconvenience to shop there. PopCo can then open a store to compete, picking up business of people who don't want inconvenience. If it doesn't work, then Wal Mart still offered better value, despite the longer drive.

Maybe that sucks for businesses that can't compete, but the alternative is preventing anyone from offering better value propositions and more competitive goods and services on the market. And if you notice that banning Wal Mart doesn't do the trick, which of course it won't, then you'll have to go the next logical step--drop the minimum wage, and ban online shopping.; 6/23/15, 8:41 AM
Abdul Abulbul Amir said...: Well, Wallyworld is still selling items that glorify that racist mass murderer, Che Guevara.

A couple of the more revealing lines from his memoir.

"The blacks, those magnificent examples of the African race who have maintained their racial purity thanks to their lack of an affinity with bathing, have seen their territory invaded by a new kind of slave: the Portuguese."

"The black is indolent and a dreamer; spending his meager wage on frivolity or drink; the European has a tradition of work and saving, which has pursued him as far as this corner of America and drives him to advance himself, even independently of his own individual aspirations."; 6/23/15, 8:44 AM
Todd said...: steve uhr said...
PBandJ -- It really should not be the job of the government to set wages, just as it should not be the job of the government to set prices. I have no problem with a minimum wage, but then you should not castigate firms who follow the law for not paying enough to their employees. Obviously their employees have concluded that Walmart's salary is better than the alternative.

Walmart wants low costs so it can attract buyers with low prices and beat its competitors. That is how free enterprise works. If you want to set a minimum wage of $20 per hour (or whatever a "living wage" is), just watch the economy fall apart. There is no such thing as a free lunch. A higher minimum wage is not always a positive.

6/22/15, 9:56 PM

Steve, good luck with that. It got so bad, I just finally had to "hushed" BP&J as there was never any reasoning with him(?) on anything, most especially econ. The other comrades must be so proud.

Get him (if you even care anymore) to answer why, if a $15 hour minimum is "fantastic", why not $25 or $50 or $100 an hour? Then everyone could be rich! What is funny is that he can "sense" why $100 an hour is silly but can't noodle it out why setting any minimum is bad too. Why forcing a business to pay more for a position than it is worth is bad for the business, the consumer and the employee. How it limits introductory opportunities for the unskilled, how it artificially increases consumer prices and how it misappropriates business capital. Not to mention injecting government into individual contract decisions / negotiations.

On the other hand, stuff like this worked so well in Cuba...; 6/23/15, 8:46 AM
Brando said...: "Get him (if you even care anymore) to answer why, if a $15 hour minimum is "fantastic", why not $25 or $50 or $100 an hour?"

The more thoughtful arguments on the Left are that a modest increase in the minimum wage can be beneficial under certain circumstances--e.g., the labor market is very weak so market wages are far lower than the value that the employee brings to the employer (so market wage is $6 an hour, but the work being done is bringing $15 an hour in value to the employer, so raising the minimum to $10 an hour for such employees would cut profits but not result in job loss). That's why a lot of Leftists are actually skeptical of Seattle and L.A.'s new minimums, because $15 an hour is much higher than the value many hourly employees bring to the job, and will likely cause more job loss than benefit to the still-employed wage earners.

The trick is, getting those figures right is near impossible, because who can really tell how much value an employee brings to the employer, or how much extra value can be wrung out with productivity improvements? The employer is in the best position to know this (and ultimately makes that value judgment) but of course what employer would ever admit that the value of the employee is far greater than what they're being paid?

The free market is still the best decider of these things, and the best solution to low wages is enabling more competition.; 6/23/15, 8:59 AM
Known Unknown said...: Mom and Pop stores are really overrated.; 6/23/15, 9:22 AM
Anonymous said...: tim in vermont: "I have visited the grave of my father's grandfather and his twin brother who fought in the civil war. "

Meade: You must be, what, at least 95 years-old?

My great-grandmother (great, not great-great, or great-great-great) was a young girl at the time of the Civil War. She used to tell my eldest brother stories about having seen Lincoln. I have a photograph of her age 16, in 1865, hoop skirt and all. My brother is 75. I'm 57.

Unusual, but, as a little quick arithmetic will tell you, hardly incredible.; 6/23/15, 9:51 AM
Steven said...: The analogy to the baker and the wedding cake seems inapt to me. Walmart is choosing not to sell a particular piece of merchandise to anyone. The baker is choosing to sell merchandise to one type of customer but not another.; 6/23/15, 9:54 AM
Sammy Finkelman said...: If it was anyone and never they never would have offered it for sale in the first place.

Maybe that should be:

"We never want to disturb a lot of people with the products that we offer."

And not even that, really.

It;s not anting to get a petition or something against them gaining momentum.; 6/23/15, 10:19 AM
Sammy Finkelman said...: If it was anyone and never they never would have offered it for sale in the first place.

Maybe that should be:

"We never want to disturb a lot of people with the products that we offer."

And not even that, really.

It;s not anting to get a petition or something against them gaining momentum.; 6/23/15, 10:19 AM
Todd said...: Steven said...
The analogy to the baker and the wedding cake seems inapt to me. Walmart is choosing not to sell a particular piece of merchandise to anyone. The baker is choosing to sell merchandise to one type of customer but not another.

6/23/15, 9:54 AM

Not quite (if I remember the issue correctly) as they were more than willing to sell the cake. They were not willing to decorate it the way that the customer wanted, in affect a one-off product. They did not want to sell "gay wedding cakes", had never sold gay wedding cakes, and did not want to start selling gay wedding cakes. Similar to Walmart now wanting to not sell something.; 6/23/15, 10:28 AM
Anonymous said...: Chuck wrote:

" I was always on the side of Lincoln, Grant, Sherman and Sheridan anyway,"

So you were on the side of intransigence, prosecuting a war that killed half a million men, just because.

History is written by the winners. In post-truth America that seems to be enough.; 6/23/15, 10:31 AM
Hagar said...: A Walmart is also every shopping center developer's dream for an anchor store that draws traffic to all the small fry so that they can survive.; 6/23/15, 10:34 AM
Matt Sablan said...: I've got no particular love or hate for Targets/Walmarts. What I know is that it is definitely a place you can go to get stuff you might need. It centralizes a lot of things and is a huge time and money saver. I was talking to someone on a Metro or bus once, and they mentioned shopping that used to take them hours to run to different places without a car now took them just one trip to one place. It literally gave hours back to their day. It probably hurt wherever he was buying from before, but I don't think he cared when that was hours he could spend with his family, working, sleeping, doing whatever he wanted.; 6/23/15, 10:58 AM
Known Unknown said...: "So you were on the side of intransigence, prosecuting a war that killed half a million men, just because. "

Yeah, that's what happened.; 6/23/15, 11:37 AM
n.n said...: Strange, the Confederate State tolerated but did not promote involuntary exploitation. On the other hand, Democrats have promoted selective-child and selective exclusion policy, as well as redistributive change (i.e. progressive involuntary exploitation). They denigrate individual dignity and debase human life on principle. Walmart should remove all Democrat, feminist, and [selective] "equal"-ence merchandise.; 6/23/15, 12:13 PM
damikesc said...: So you were on the side of intransigence, prosecuting a war that killed half a million men, just because.

Also, it can be argued that the most anti-slavery guy in the Civil War was likely Robert E. Lee. In 1856, he said it was a moral and political evil, and a bigger evil to the whites than to the blacks (likely that blacks were better off in America and whites had their hands bloody from enslaving, which is morally worse than being enslaved).; 6/23/15, 12:14 PM
damikesc said...: There is good reason to criticize Wal-Mart for such actions: by opening up new stores where they did not previously exist, they often drive independent mom-and-pop stores out of business, thus rendering business owners into job-seekers.

Know what drives independent stores out of business more than Wal-Mart?

Regulations.

Larger corporations are far more capable of handling them than smaller corporations who don't have reams of lawyers and a high enough market share to make passing the costs onto consumers possible.; 6/23/15, 12:17 PM
Matt Sablan said...: "Strange, the Confederate State tolerated but did not promote involuntary exploitation."

-- Read the Cornerstone Speech. Any delusion that slavery wasn't a major, if not the MAIN reason, for the South's existence is historical ignorance. The South could have had allies in Britain and France if it was willing to give up slavery. It refused.

There were other things that caused a rift between the North and South. But slavery was core to the problem.; 6/23/15, 12:22 PM
Brando said...: Many of the "advantages" that a Wal Mart (or similar big business) has over the "little guy" can be traced to the power of the state. Crony capitalism--giving out property tax breaks and re-zoning to encourage the big retailer to move to town--and onerous regulations that only a bigger business can navigate (most small shops can't afford teams of lawyers and regulatory professionals to work them) also benefit the Wal Marts of the world. The $15 an hour minimum so beloved by the Left is not as big a deal for Wal Mart as it is for the small competitor--Wal Mart can eliminate a few jobs and give out more duties to their remaining staff, while a smaller operation may not be able to do so. It's also more cost effective to provide a health plan or related benefits to a large staff than a small one.

So you really lament how Wal Mart is taking away the small businesses in your town? Start with the crony capitalist giveaways and regulatory schemes. If the Left got after that stuff, they'd find a lot more moderates willing to get on board. But trying to just "ban" the big box stores only means reducing options for consumers and potential employees.; 6/23/15, 12:42 PM
Todd said...: damikesc said...
There is good reason to criticize Wal-Mart for such actions: by opening up new stores where they did not previously exist, they often drive independent mom-and-pop stores out of business, thus rendering business owners into job-seekers.

Know what drives independent stores out of business more than Wal-Mart?

Regulations.

Larger corporations are far more capable of handling them than smaller corporations who don't have reams of lawyers and a high enough market share to make passing the costs onto consumers possible.

6/23/15, 12:17 PM

Minimum wage laws, minimum benefits regulations and laws, Obamacare, etc. All examples of how small businesses are crushed while larger businesses either have the overhead to absorb the costs or can lobby their way around them. They can also afford the tax experts and the lawyers to navigate the regulatory waters.

Stop trying to help! Stop trying to protect people from themselves! You are killing the economy!; 6/23/15, 12:54 PM
Anthony said...: Odd. Whenever a Muslim shoots or bombs a joint, we're not supposed to remove all Islam-related material from public view.; 6/23/15, 1:29 PM
ken in tx said...: Walmart's move could be a great boon to Dixie Outfitters. I wonder if I can buy stock.

BTW, the Arkansas state flag is a Confederate flag turned inside out, with the X-shaped cross turned into a diamond. Do they sell those in Walmart?; 6/23/15, 2:12 PM
Lynn said...: Are the many Rap albums on Walmart shelves going to stay?; 6/23/15, 3:56 PM