swingset

Easy to avoid that fate, don't run out the door with DVD players under your arm. Anyway, in Columbus about 15 years ago a guy was killed outside a Meijers store the exact same way. Walmart's fault.

My daughter loves Bigfoot myths, so we did a lot of exploring on the bike together around Salt Fork and Woodbury Wildlife preserve looking for the "Ohio Grassman". I saw a lot of people of questionable genetic build and some were pretty hairy, but nothing that I felt comfortable shooting and claiming as a genuine Bigfoot. I think they were mostly just people from Coshocton County.

Get a gently used for Virgin Android for >$100, the $35 plan and after 2 years you've spent less than $1,000 and you still had a good smart phone that will do everything an Iphone will do....in fact if you're savvy enough to install a new ROM it will do things your Iphone can't do.

Must be Walmart's fault for having the same sale model that Best Buy, Kohl's, Target and everyone else has. Clearly, they create frenzy and it has nothing to do with the clientele...who cannot help themselves. Oh, and here's one in a mall: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/23/black-friday-gang-fight-woodland-mall-chaos-arrests_n_2178301.html Another at a Galleria: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/11/black-friday-fight-over-womens-underwear-sale-caught-on-tape.html And how bout Victoria's Secret: http://youtu.be/mnu6yZKo7u8 Lead picture in this article...fight outside Target: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/black-friday-sales-slip-shoppers-opt-thursday-doorbusters-165525323--finance.html A 20 second google search would show that Black Friday stupidity and stampedes aren't even close to being restricted to Walmart, but it sure is handy to have a Big Box villain to blame society's ills on, isn't it?

My wife and I have Virgin phones, $35 a month plans which is great. No contract, good service most places I go. Not Verizon-good, but suitable for my needs. If you insist on having latest/greatest phones, it's not a great deal but we both have good android phones. Best way to get a phone cheap is Craigslist...you can often find like new Virgin phones for $50-100. I have a Moto Triumph and she has an LG something or other...once either was Rooted and CM7 installed they've been flawless. Then with the $35 a month you're going to save a lot of money the first year over a contract carrier even if the phone was free.

No, we don't. You're wrong. There have been fights over yard sales. Is the homeowner partially responsible for selling a Nintendo for $5? No. Of course not. There's nothing negligent about having a sale, or having it start when the business opens or at any time. Businesses have been doing this for a hundred years. 100% of the blame and responsibility is on the tards who "frenzy". You don't create frenzy by holding a sale. I know, cause I've been to those sales and there wasn't any frenzy. When you try to split the blame, you're making excuses for the tards...you are suggesting that the store has done something that compelled them to "frenzy", and partially making victims out of the ONLY people responsible. Liberal mentality, 101. You. Are. Wrong.

Again, the rape analogy is perfectly suited to illustrate why you're feeling instead of thinking. If a frenzy over buying a TV can be assigned to a store having a sale, then without question you can blame a good looking woman for wearing too-revealing an outfit, or leading a guy on. Afterall, the hormonal drive of a red-blooded rapist is equal to or greater than anyone's desire to buy a $179 TV....we're talking reproductive drive and testosterone here....and if a woman were smart she would know better than to whip men into a frenzy.

First thing you've said I agree with. The Multi is a good bike and should be considered, but not if you're going to throw it around on jeep trails or fire roads....there are better, cheaper bikes for that.

What frenzy? Can you not wrap your head around the concept of personal responsibility? The frenzy is created by the people who act out not that situation they choose to get worked up over. The store is just selling stuff that begins at a certain time. All sales work this way, it's not Walmart's fault that people act like fucking retards, any more than it's the Buckeye's fault when they win a game and people storm the field and tear down the goal post. Is Chipotle responsible for a Halloween promotion day where Burritos are $2 if people line up and a fight breaks out? Apparently you say yes. You say the idiots responsible, and in the same breath blame it again on the store creating a frenzy. Bullshit. And, my example is perfect. If Walmart is to blame for creating a frenzy by having a good sale that begins at a certain time, then a rape victim is responsible for attracting a rapist by being too sexy. According to you, the wrongdoer is somehow only partially culpable because of the actions of someone else who tempts them into their misdeeds. You can't have it both ways.

So the S10 lacks what an off road/adventure rider looks for but you suggest the Multistrada, which lacks EVERYTHING that an adventure rider looks for? Well, I adventure ride a lot and unlike many guys take my bikes on trails and off the gravel, and the S10 doesn't want for much, I'd consider it in a heartbeat if I wanted a liter-sized adventure tourer...it's certainly right on par with the GS1200A in capability, and right there with Triumph's adventure bikes too. The Multi is a good scoot, no doubt about it, but the Super Tenere is too and it's a capable offroad machine with some easy mods and the right rider...and I'd put Yamaha's reliability above anything that's ever left Europe's shores, ever (and we're talking averages here, not individual experience). The 990 is probably the best offroad adventure tourer out there, if you're going to really put it in the dirt, but that does come at the cost of typical KTM Big-Bore fuss of shorter maintenance and higher cost of ownership....in the Adventure's case F/I issues, fuel tanks, bad wiring harnesses, immobilizer malfunctions, and the ever-present KTM water pumps from hell. Why that company can't build a water pump, shaft and seal worth a good fuck is beyond me. BTW, guess what's wrong with my exc right now...it starts with water, and ends with pump.

Personal responsibility, how does it work? I've been to many events that had long lines and anxious people, and no one erupted into violence or mayhem. Black fridays, concerts, giveaways, I've never experienced it or felt the urge to hurt someone or cause trouble. If the store is responsible for these incidents, I would have witnessed many instances. Should rape victims be held responsible for dressing provocatively or being pretty? Stupid fucking liberals.

Meefzah has one, lots of owners on ADVrider and a big thread over there with lots of info.

Not terribly different....except the guy in charge seems only interested in the old tax and spend...so it's like speeding up the Titanic after the first hit. Raise that debt ceiling to infinity, bailout a few more industries, make token cuts and go after the investor's and private equity....oh yeah, that's really gonna work. Obamacare is already having far reaching detrimental effects in preparation, in the workplace and in our insurance now, it's going to fucking hurt...and hurt the very people it purports to help. I just shake my head when otherwise intelligent people like yourself can't see the obvious. Do you have any foresight whatsoever? Do you just trust a huge wide, super expensive bureaucracy to work? How has price-fixing and stiffer regulation of insurance helped so far? That's right, they have made it worse. Full speed ahead.

I'm fine with choosing where you prefer to shop....I do it. I'm ok with communities choosing not to allow them in, if that's really the majority talking. Self rule and all that. The only cities I've seen successfully fight off chains do so on historical or community standard zoning laws, and in every case I've seen they merely choose to be in an enclave surrounded by development and chains that they in turn drive a little extra to frequent. NIMBY action is one thing, but just pushing it slightly away from the soccer field and supporting it anyway isn't really fighting the good fight. That still has the same net effect on your community, good or bad, just at an artificial arm's length. If everyone in Historic Whoville drives 5 miles to Walmart, then Pop's rustic grocery and hardware will still rot on the vine. When Pataskala was dry, it just kept restaurants out and gave two bars in Summit Station endless business and made for a lot of drunk driving. Clearly, the community wanted booze. Granville fought like a motherfucker to keep Bob Evans from building at rt16 in their city limits. When Bob Evans finally built, what's the result? You wait for a table every morning. It's packed. People eat there, a lot. They also eat at the local places in town. I think both can exist...even next to each other. I'd rather the market just be what it is without the hand-wringing. There are examples of good small businesses that do well, and there are instances of big chain stores pulling out of markets where they don't do well. The consumer deserves all the blame or the credit, all the time. Business can only sell what people are willing to buy. And yeah, the lowest members of your community shop at the lowest prices places. See, that's the rub. Walmart (or Big Lots or whatever) is a reflection of the community you live in. If it draws weirdos, trust me you live with weirdos. Come to Newark and our Walmart is old people and farmers. Some hill jacks, here and there, but it's fairly nice and clean. Go to Morse Road Walmart and it's like bomb went off in an international airport. Dirty, unkempt, weird fucks in all shapes and sizes, it looks like gangland after 9pm - because that's what's in that area. It doesn't make Walmart bad for being there, IMHO.

Who gave them that clout? If people don't shop there, they can't bully anyone. They could build on every street corner, and promptly go out of business if no one prefers them to what's already there. They've been a wonderful shot in the arm to Newark, Heath, Mt. Vernon, and I'm sure a lot of other cities. And, in some cities they probably have some negative consequences. The only common denominator is that in all of them people chose to shop there.

Predictable. You won't see the good, just flat out refuse. So, how was the area before? Dead, dying, housing prices slumping and businesses going out instead of springing up. It was a wasteland, and those types of jobs were never here, ever, anyway. It's a smallish town with few white collar jobs. If you can damn Walmart for bringing normal jobs and retail, then you also need to blame tech companies and medical conglomerates for not building high-tech, high-paying places here. Walmart did something good for where I live, but it's not your utopia where cart pushers can afford to raise families on their wage or go to college for free...so it sucks. That's fucking retarded. You're fucking retarded. What Walmart did was provide shopping, dining and entertainment to a part of the city that needed it. Housing has gone up, not down. Families are moving in, some that work here, some that work in Columbus, some that start these small businesses. Sure, there are a lot more menial jobs than before, but also more managers, owners, accountants, and college-educated people who WANT TO LIVE THERE...regardless of where they work. It's now a nice end of town, and Walmart contributed to that....in addition to helping the same working poor you don't actually give a fuck about have access to cheaper goods and services. See, you're very transparent. You don't give a rat's fuck about Walmart's workers, or poor people, or mom & pop. All this is to you is anti-establishment bullshit, straight out of the DU monthly flyer. Walmart is bad, because you need them to be. Capitalist, Big Box, Evil, Corporate, a bully, thoughtless, heartless Big Retail! Oh, the horror. See, Walmart doesn't always do great shit. Neither does Sears, or CVS, or Chipotle, or Apple. I don't pretend to say they're a force for good. They're a business, not an advocacy group. They do what they exist for. They sell shit, they employ people, and in the context of that existence they affect people in good ways and bad. The question of which outweighs the other is a fine argument, but you have to have at least one eye open to do it - and you can't see through the Che shirt pulled over your head. Mom & Pop were actually worse for working families and first-time workers....healthcare and that mythical "living wage" was NEVER part of that employment, choice was limited, pay and advancement almost never part of the equation. Look at the standard of living for "poverty" households 20 years ago and now...what your money could buy you and the quality of life. It's better now, not worse. College educated people didn't work in Phil's Grocery in 1972, either...you ignore that too and focus only on the damage that Walmart might do, maybe, if you look at it with your blinders. And, in cases like I listed above they actually can and do supplement a communities ability to support Mom & Pop. Not always, not in every city, but it's part of the benefits that go along with some of the negatives. And, for the 12th time, it's always completely up to the consumer and the communities where they live to decide what they want, what's a better fit for their lifestyle, and where they choose to work and shop. They are the final arbiter of this, and most times they prefer Walmart.

Just went to the North end of Newark where Walmart built and started a business boom several years ago (you can search the Newark Advocate for info on stories about that boom, btw). Before the area of 21st and Deo Drive up to Rt. 13 there was a dilapidated K-mart that was out of business, an old strip mall with a few dead or dying businesses (video stores, nail salons, etc), a Krogers and an aging Meijers. A few gas stations, fast food joints, that's pretty much it. I just jotted down the businesses I'm pretty sure are arrivals after Walmart set up shop....and this explosion happened very quickly afterwards. There's a couple more local OR guys...Hutch and a few others, they can verify or add to my list. 1. Home Depot 2. Aldi 3. Chipotle 4. Sprint Store 5. Aspen Dental 6. Bob Evans 7. New Car Wash 8. Bake N' Brew (mom and pop) 9. Red Oak Pub (mom and pop) 10. Ollies 11. Big Lots 12. TSC 13. Express Shipping (mom and pop) 14. Old Crow (mom and pop) 15. Steak Escape 16. Super Cuts 17. New McDonalds 18. Pet Supplies Plus 19. Game Stop 20. Pat's Salon (mom and pop) 21. Greetings and Gifts (mom and pop) 22. CVS 23. Walgreens 24. Tobacco store (mom and pop) 25. Two chinese restaurants (mom and pop) 26. Puerto Vallarta mexican joint (mom and pop) 27. Donatos 28. Valvoline oil change 29. Kohls 30. UPS Store 31. Confections (mom and pop) 32. Dollar Tree 33. Upscale Fashions (mom and pop) 34. Check cashing place 35. Roosters 36. The Grill at 21st (mom and pop) 37. Pizza Cottage restaurant (mom and pop) 38. A lumber/surplus construction place I can't recall the name of 39. New car lots (two buy here/pay here's) Plus, new housing and apartments and a new senior center....new bike paths, and a new park too. Oh, and the businesses inside of Walmart....forgot those. Subway, nail salon, Pretzel place, bank and photo-center...and every year Tax services. Eye care place, and a hair salon. That's one hell of a lot of jobs other than the many Walmart brought to a dying end of Newark. Lots of local businessmen got in the game. Lots of chains. Lots of new local restaurants. Lots of construction workers, utility workers, landscapers, cleaners, and all the ancillary boom of development. Oh, and Krogers and Meijers that directly compete with Walmart? They have not died...infact Krogers has expanded twice. Meijers is still competing too. Don't take my word on it, many of you can pretty easily visit this area of town. Check it out. Hit a local restaurant - there's good riding in the area...hell I'll buy you a beer at Red Oak if you hit me up. Walmart didn't ruin my area...and their arrival made me re-think the propaganda. They brought other players to the table and it was good for everyone, even Mom & Pops. A few closed, but most were dead or dying anyway and there are many more now than there were 15 years ago. Check out the east side of Mt. Vernon for a similar explosion in small business. I'm forgetting some of them, btw...that's just what I could jot down while eating lunch.

The jabs keep getting weaker.

i hope that didn't waste too many calories, it's a lame "gotcha". Walmart, like Dollar General tends to survive downturns because they appeal to those with less. More people struggling, more business for discount stores. Even so, all retail even Walmart is struggling to compete. Costs are up, energy prices up, shipping is up. They are cutting costs, and Obama's policies aren't helping business.

I don't love Walmart, i hate pitchfork mobs. They are almost always good intentioned and wrong. if you feel insulted, I'm sorry but you're exemplifying my point that people attack Walmart to the exclusion of all other business and miss that there is benefits they provide with the downsides, you and others won't concede that even tho it's equally well studied.

No one forced anyone. The buying public votes with it's dollars. If there's a more preferable way, it wins.

What you're leaving out, or failing to learn on your own, is MOST large businesses try to entice their suppliers to meet their demands, seek tax benefits from government, try to leverage against their competition, pay out as little as possible where they can. It's called fucking business....and everyone plays it. Lots of companies have found a way to say no to Walmart, and thrive. And, as I said many times the consumer is ultimately the only person on the hook for all of this. They decided 40 years ago that the big box business model is what they want and will support. Walmart grew out of that environment, they did not create it alone. Many many companies created that business model, and they ALL engaged in predatory practices. For every bullshit story about how Walmart is the devil, there are stories like I mentioned last page where they spurred local growth and brought new business, jobs and even mom & pops to an undeveloped area. I live in one. Come and visit it, I can show you dozens of stores that didn't exist until Walmart sprang up and renewed that end of town.

That's really not a counter to my argument that things are not on the upswing, but since you asked those same strings are pulling Obama, and how many jobs left the United States because to remain competitive on the global market companies can't cope with stifling union wages? Those unions that are now currying exemptions, favors and bailouts from Obama? We can play this game all day. Romney sucks, Obama sucks harder. Much, much harder. He's made a toxic environment for small business and investment while driving up debt to suicidal levels, and his answer is to attack the only people with the ability to create more jobs. Awesome. Seriously, fucking awesome.

It's interesting to me that so many people avoid Walmart yet seem to be very concerned for the workers there. That's an oddly contradictory stance to take. What will boycotts and massive avoidance of their stores do to the workers? Yeah, hurt 'em and hurt the communities that Walmart serves. Walmart has lost some market share recently, like everyone else tightening their belts. Healthcare costs went up, they don't control that. They cut benefits and wages, as a lot of companies have. I know the union pamphlets would like you believe the CEO was jerking off at the thought of these cuts, but don't you think they'd rather grow and have more happy employees making more? Well, boycott 'em that'll get it done. When they were more flush with profits and healthcare was cheaper, they offered it to more employees and pay was better (for the dollar). I'd think if you care about the economy and WM's many workers you'd support what supports them. At the very least in a shit economy you'd want people currently stuck there to have a liferaft until things pick up and they have options. If everyone in the country avoided Walmart this year, they'd go under and in the short term that would send vast numbers of people to poverty that work there, or rely on Walmart. That would crush families, fixed income pensioners, poverty would skyrocket. I guess it's a good thing some of us still shop there. You guys could really ruin lives, if you had your way. So what's the plan? Do you think if you're successful in driving them out of business that the tens of thousands of workers will return to Mom & Pop and get better pay and cheap healthcare? Oh, that's gonna happen. Mom and pop didn't pay healthcare when it was cheap. Now? Fuck no. Do you think whoever comes in and takes Walmart's crown will be a more benevolent corporation? Because that's the only thing that will likely happen in their absence. Is Kmart gonna be a better overlord? Target? Big Lots? The retail industry is what it is, because people buy the cheapest shit they can afford for the most part. There's no going back to the 1960's, that ship sailed a long time ago. On one hand I'm ok with pressure on big business to be a little better and do a little more...that's fine and dandy, in general the best man wins and a company's reputation will be it's best salesman, but it seems to me that many vilify Walmart to the exclusion of everyone else that behaves the same or worse, and people watch slanted propaganda and come away believing their cause is righteous without even considering the whole picture. Next time any of you hip young revolutionaries are in Chipotle eating a burrito made by a part-time worker of questionable legal status, with no health insurance, and you're railing against The Man™ with your comrades ask yourself who is The Man™, and are you sure he's the problem.

I can't open .pdfs's on my work puter, so why don't you explain or even verify your assertion - that Walmart's healthcare is Medicaid. Those were your words....and they're wrong. The low-hour part timers who don't get any healthcare can apply for Medicaid, if they choose to. Just like someone who works for any business that doesn't offer healthcare or if they can't afford it and qualify. That doesn't have anything to do with the care that Walmart does offer, nor is it an indictment of Walmart particularly. Benefits are enticement for employees, hence the term "benefit". If they work harder and get more hours and become full time, they get these benefits. If they did offer everyone a fat wage and great healthcare, they'd just pass on their costs and cede their business to someone else, or hurt the same workers and class of people who rely on them for their goods. Basic economics even a PHD from California should understand. I would bet, from a Berkeley study these unbiased smart guys will try hard to suggest that Walmart not giving every single employee top shelf benefits and pay equals collusion to subsidize it's workers care with government $$. Am I right? Bet I am. And, it's an asinine viewpoint if I'm right. Not every job deserves full benefits, part time at Walmart is for teenagers and people who need some extra dough, as these jobs have always been until the weepy liberal twats made victims out of everyone with a shitty job...and every single Walmart employee robbed of their worker's utopia is still free to seek better employment and benefits elsewhere...just like I was when I worked many jobs with no healthcare.