Simply Amazing

You can't get away from it. It's everywhere you look. You may try to ignore it, but it's always right there. Everything is going to hell, & those of us who care -- those of us trying to wake the rest of you up -- feel as if we're fighting a losing battle.

There are so many things wrong that there just seems so little point.

Many of us who know of the Security & Prosperity Partnership, quietly signed into law not long ago, is not meant to serve any but the super rich. It takes little imagination to realize this, once one actually becomes aware of its existence. Then, there's the war. Is it really to protect us from the "evil" extremists of the East, or is it more that some very wealthy people can grow more wealthy? Is it really better for our elected officials to openly & legally accept money from corporations than it was when those politicians had to pretend that they weren't receiving bribes?

These are just a few of the things which should be bothering us all. These -- & other recent events bother me on a daily basis. So many people are out of work, so many are losing their homes, debt is ridiculously high, yet we plod along hoping something good will happen...eventually.

The other day I had watched a couple of documentaries. The first was about the band the Doors. Sure, it was interesting, I'd enjoyed it. But there was only one thing in this doc which really struck me. At a concert, Jim Morrison had said something to the crowd which really struck me. It's certainly apathetic, clearly selfish, but profound nonetheless. Jim had said "I just wanna have my kicks before the whole shit house goes up in flames".

Nice. Maybe he'd seen the truth then, in 1969. The truth that we cannot fight the greed of the super rich.

But what really bothers me about that very greed is that it won't even serve those few who are so bent on taking what little money the rest of us possess that they can have it all is what they can't see. Their blindness just amazes me.

The other doc I'd watched -- though I just couldn't watch it to the end -- was yet another doc on just how wrong Wal-Mart is. If you aren't aware of how very shady this corporation is, it's time you climbed out from under your rock. While there was no mention of how much Wal-mart spends on shipping, marketing & stocking, the doc did point out that at a garment which costs approximately $16.00 was made by a Chinese worker paid only $3.00 for a day's work -- that's with mandatory over-time.

In addition, that very worker has to pay rent & utilities -- utilities priced by usage -- for a dorm room. Sure, they are certainly allowed to go out & find an apartment of their own, if they can afford it. Yet, they must still pay rent for a dorm room they're not living in.

Blame that on the company employing these workers -- a company which only manufactures products for Wal-Mart. But Wal-Mart isn't directly responsible for this. Certainly not.

Of course, Wal-Mart also requires their store employees to work over-time. Yet corporate policy is that there will be no over-time for any employee. Because these employees are in no position to complain, they are forced to work those hours without pay.

Oh, of course, they could quit. But we all know that there are few jobs.

Apparently, if your skin color is other than white, you can forget about getting promoted, or even getting the kind of raise white employees get.

If these weren't bad enough, there's the question of health insurance. I've been in the same situation in jobs I've had, so I can easily relate to the Wal-Mart employee's plight. Naturally, Federal law requires employers to provide health insurance to any employee working a certain number of hours, but there is nothing in that law requiring that the individual plan's deductible be affordable to the employee. Hence, Wal-Mart employees, generally, cannot afford to see a medical professional when needed.

Where do these Wal-Mart employees turn when they or their child is ill? Well, as Wal-Mart managers are quick to point out to these employees, there are numerous programs available to them from the state in which they live.

So, Wal-Mart -- as well as most any other large corporations -- is, obviously, abusing the system, making six very wealthy individuals even more wealthy.

That's right. Six. These are heirs to the Walton brothers vision. Take particular note of the "Walton's family fortune" listed a bit more than half way down the page.

And we must know what effect the opening of a Wal-Mart store in a town has upon local business. Really. It's not pretty.

Speaking of which, can you imagine? Right here in Reno, Nv -- not to mention the two in Sparks, Nv -- there are six Wal-Mart stores, with a seventh under construction. Reno isn't that big a city, & we have six Wal-Mart stores.

Sounds less like business & more like rape to me.

Now, what ever will the super rich do when they've taken all our money from us? Who will they turn to in those days? How will they satisfy their lust for more? Well, they'll have to turn on each other, naturally. And if there emerges a single family or individual who has all the money there is to have, what then?

What then?