Sam Walton had a vision… The store that saved America. American goods sold at low prices to help the average Joe make ends meet and keep Joe’s company running strong. Poor old Sam died in 1992 and his dream died with him.

I vividly remember the big push back in the late 80’s. Wal-Mart was the big new thing and all their commercials talked about buying American. Made in the USA! Whoo Hoo! Apple pie and baseball. Let’s head on down to the Wal-Mart! Of course, I also remember that a few months after the Wal-Mart opened, the K-Mart down the street closed. Then the Anthony’s (cheap clothing store) closed. Then the… well, you know the drill.

The last time I went to Wal-Mart, I did an improptue survey as I strolled through the women’s clothing with my wife. I couldn’t find a single piece of merchandise that was made in the USA. Granted this was not an exhaustive search, but it was enough to turn my stomach.

Wally-World has had a ton of bad press lately. I watched in horror as their CEO was interviewed recently. The guy was as cold and heartless as you can get. The words coming out of his mouth were all about low prices at any cost. Every question about fair wages, health care, and sweatshop merchandise was answered with the same cold, heartless smirk. “We give American’s good products at low prices.” Excuse me while I uneat my American made lunch.

Wal-Mart stocks are hurting and their media image is suffering, but they are fighting back tooth and nail. At least that part of Wal-Mart is still All-American. You poke me in the eye, I’ll gouge yours out! Case in point: http://walmartwatch.com has started running ads in big name news papers explosing Wal-Mart’s dirty laundry. Today, as I was reading the news, I caught a banner ad for Wal-Mart’s newest PR web site, http://www.walmartfacts.com which comes out swinging: “WalMartWatch.com – Do they just make this stuff up?!” Youch!

This month Chistianity Today published an article, “Deliver Us from Wal-Mart”, which discusses the morality of shopping at the big blue. Wal-Mart has been a boon to Christian marketing. They require music labels to produce toned down versions of hip-hop music or they won’t sell it. They push a heck of a lot of Christian media, from VeggieTales to The Purpose Driven Life. But, once again, at what cost? I’m curious to see how Wal-Mart will retaliate for the Christianity Today article.

I’ll let you read all the nitty gritty details. Personally, Wal-Mart is my new least favorite place to shop. I’m not advocatting a boycott or anything, but this consumer will be spending a lot less money on Chinese goods at America’s Superstore.

I have to be honest. I have no idea where this came from, but it’s been sitting in my quip queue for a while.

“I blame the soup. Stupid soup.”

I got this in an email from my nephew, Sgt. Dustin Ladd, who returned from Iraq several months ago. (It looks like Dustin got it from my Uncle Robert, who did two tours in Viet Nam. Either way, it’s priceless.)

If you consider that there has been an average of 160,000 troops in theater (That means “in Iraq”, for the rest of us civilians.) during the last 22 months, that gives a firearm death rate of 60 per 100,000.

The firearm death rate in Washington D.C. is 80.6 per 100,000. That means that you are more likely to be shot and killed in our nation’s capital, which has some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation, than you are in Iraq.

Conclusion: We should immediately pull out of Washington D.C.

I’ll get the permit, you guys paint some signs. We gonna have us a peace rally!

“Make Love, Not Laws!”

“No More Violence in the Senate!”

“Hell No, We Won’t Go… to the polls”

I have found that the best way to judge a sequel is to watch it right after it’s predecessor. I really enjoy well thought out spy movies and have been looking forward to seeing the “Bourne”series for a while.

I’m not a huge fan of James Bond or that genre. Yeah, he’s got cool toys and gets all the chicks, but it’s just too predictable and silly. Why drop the guy into a pool of sharks or tie him to a table under an elaborate super laser, when you could just finish him off with a .32 slug to the forehead? Maybe I’m just too smart for Hollywood. But, then there are movies like “The Bourne Identity” and its sequel “The Bourne Supremacy”. The best of this genre are always based on spy novels, probably because people who read are also too smart for Hollywood.

This series concerns a poor fellow who’s lost his memory, Jason Bourne. He doesn’t know who he is or why he was found floating in the Mediterranean with bullets in his back, but he does know how to kung-fu the crap out anyone who tries to push him around, even though he’s not sure how he knows or why so many folks are trying to push him around.

As the story unfolds you find out that he is a government funded assassin. (That’s about the only predictable thing in the whole series.) And, since the government has lost track of him, they assume he’s become a rogue agent. Their solution? Kill him, of course. (Okay, I guess that was a little predictable too.)

The cinematography, the script, the special effects, and even the acting are all superb. The fight scenes were probably some of the best I’ve ever seen, not only in the choreography, but in the way they were shot. Everything happens quickly and is shot up close which quick movement as if you were standing between the guys while they punched, kicked and stabbed. Very exciting.

In the DVDs extra features, I learned why. These movies were directed by a couple of guys outside the Hollywood scene. They were indy directors who wanted their movies to look like indy films. They went out of their way to avoid Hollywood camera work, Hollywood scene blocking, and Hollywood predictability. Even the dialog was minimally directed. Let the actors act. And boy does it work!

Lumping these two flicks together for one rating is a bit unfair. Each of them is really good in its own right. Each of them is good enough to sit on the same shelf will all the great Clancy movies. (And Matt Damon is seriously threatening Harrison Ford, in my mind, for the perfect spy movie actor. Not overtaking, but threatening.) However, I do recommend watching the two in sequence to make them easier to follow, the same as I would recommend for the Lord of the Rings trilogy (even though it is a 15 hour marathon). I gave LotR five grins, and I’m hesitant to put Borne on such a high pedestal. But they really are excellent films, so I must relent and award only the second ever five grin rating.

Tammy’s out of town this weekend and I decided to treat myself to a big movie weekend. I logged on to the internet movie database and picked several off of my wish list. Then I headed to the video store. When I walked in, the clerk smiled and said, “Hi, Trint.” Is it just me or is it weird that he knows my name. He doesn’t even ask for my phone number when I check out anymore. It’s not like I watch movies every weekend. Gosh!

One of the DVDs I picked was Napoleon Dynamite. I’ve been hearing so much about it and it seems so divisive (either you hate it or think it’s “friggin’ awesome”), I’ve been dying to see what all the hype is about.

I’m not sure I can fit this film into my normal “grins” rating system. It’s just too unconventional. Certainly it is a comedy, but it’s not a ha-ha laugh out loud comedy (although I did a few times). It doesn’t follow any Hollywood norms (which I usually praise movies for) and even the nerdy clichés have some inventiveness to them.

I’d have to say I enjoyed the show, but it did leave me… contemplative. While I occasionally laughed and often snickered at the plight of the socially handicapped cast, deep down inside me a 14-year-old kid with uncontrollable, spiky hair, poorly fitting clothes, and braces cried.

After watching the movie, I sat down at my computer. I wanted to see if any of my multitude of on-line friends were on. Neither of them were. I checked to see what was going on on my on-line role playing game, but all was quiet. I looked up at my mint condition theatrical release Lord of the Rings movie poster, then to might right, at my complete collection of LotR figurines from Burger King (that actually talk… awesome). I began to think, “Jeez… Maybe I am a nerd. Maybe I am Napoleon Dynamite.”

When I returned the DVD to the video store, the weekend clerk was there. He doesn’t know my name or my phone number. As he was retrieving my next set of movies, all comic book inspired, he asked me if I liked Napoleon. “Eh, it was pretty good.” Then he asked me if I had ever seen “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow”… as he was handing me the DVD for “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow”. “Umm. No. That’s why I’m renting it.”

“It’s really cool… if you’re into comic books and stuff. It’s kinda weird, but if you ever read the comic book then it’s really cool. Have you seen…”

Then he went into a long list of similarly nerdy flicks which I had not seen, some not even heard of. Suddenly, all was right with the world again. God had reminded me just in time that the difference between geek and nerd is like the difference between pi and 22/7. Not even close… after the first few digits.

Don’t forget, boys and girls, “Geek is sheik.” Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a +30% damage crossbow that’s crying out for orc blood. Friggin’ awesome!

Just a few days ago, I posted about an extravagant homeless project in L.A. The Midnight Mission recently completed a new $17 million facility, which seems like a lot of money that may have been better spent on programs to rehabilitate than on a building.

Well, today I got a comment straight from the horses mouth. To be honest, I’m flattered that my little blog got the attention of someone in direct connection with the mission. The comment was so well articulated and addressed nearly every point of my post that I had to give it its own place. The following was posted by Justin Wisniewski, who gave his email address as volunteer@midnightmission.org. If he’s a fake, at least he’s a good one. Hats off, Justin.

There are many problems inherent in this article.

First and foremost, The Midnight Mission is a privately funded organization and does not receive your tax dollars for its operation.

Secondly, The Midnight Mission is not a SHELTER. It’s a transitional housing program that uses a drug and alcohol recovery program, counseling, education, training, and job placement to build a bridge back to self sufficiency for those individuals in need. People don’t just get to walk in and get a free ride, they have to sign up for the program which usually runs anywhere from 18 – 24 months.

The “Hair Salon” is nothing more than a three chair barber shop that is actually run by individuals living in The Midnight Mission’s recovery program.

The “Movies” are a large communal day room where a projector shows various movies, TV shows, or current events on a white wall. The room is more of a respite center to get out of the rain, heat, cold, or just the dog eat dog environment of the streets.

And if you’ve ever seen an individual coming off the streets who has been addicted to drugs or alcohol, you know that they are in desperate need of physical recovery. The Gym offers a place for a person to get that need. If you think you can complain about it, remember that even the YMCA was new once, and those were free centers for individuals to use.

Before passing judgment on an organization you may know very little about, please take the time to research what The Midnight Mission stands for, and try coming down to the center to volunteer for the day. It will change your opinions and open you to a true plight on our streets.

In fact, I have “seen an individual coming off the streets who has been addicted to drugs or alcohol”, many of them, some of whom became regular acquaintances. If it were not for my experience at Faith City Mission in Amarillo, and a few other unrelated instances, I would not be so hard on the homeless system.

In fact, I did do some research on the story before I posted (I always do), but all I was able to find were more references to detracting stories. I apologize that I did not dig a bit deeper. But, the funny thing is that your rebuttal made all of my points valid. Any venture that proposes to help those in need must help them help themselves. And, if you what you say is true, Midnight Mission does just that. Once again, hats off.

My nephew, Dustin Ladd, and his sweetie, Ashlee are new parents! Brycen was born yesterday and the official report from his grandma is that, “He is just beautiful.” I’ll be sure to remind him how beautiful he is in about 14 years when he’ll really appreciate it.

So, since he was born the same day that the new pope was elected, is his nickname going to be Benedicto Ex Vee Eye? Cuz you know the kids in middle school would really dig that.

What I’m really wondering is when Dustin started painting his fingernails. (See photo evidence to the left.) I know they didn’t teach you that in the Army, Soldier!!

(Via Drudge) This week the city of Los Angeles opens its latest crowning achievement, the $17 million “Midnight Mission” homeless shelter, complete with a full gym, movie room, and hair salon. It’s never been easier to be homeless! If I lived in L.A., I’d sure be tempted to give up the daily grind and go watch free movies, eat free food, and enjoy free hair do’s all day.

I don’t pretend to be a great social architect but it seems to me that 17 million dollars could put a heck of a lot of homeless people in career training or create a fair amount of low-income housing. I’m not alone in this thought. Apparently the National Alliance to End Homelessness is pretty upset at this gross misappropriation. The organization’s president, Nan Roman says:

“Since the late 1980s, America has built a mammoth infrastructure of shelters and the number of homeless has gone up, not down. It’s a bit of the if-you-build-it-they-will-come phenomenon at work.”

I think it’s very telling that each great success story on the road to liberal socialism becomes a perfect picture of why liberal socialism doesn’t work. Give a man a fish and he’ll be back tomorrow with a dozen friends wanting more free fish. Where does it end?

When I was in junior college, I was part of a group of students from the Baptist Student Union that worked one night a month at Faith City Mission. The cool thing about Faith City was that it wasn’t free. If you came in to the mission for a hot meal and warm bed, you’d get it, but only after you signed in and got a packet containing info on various day-labor businesses in the area. If you wanted to stay another night, you could, but only if you brought back paper proof that you visited the job placement places and made an honest effort to find work. If you expect a man to learn to fish for himself, you need to give him incentive and make sure he says fed while he learns. Have I beaten that analogy enough for today? I think so.

Read the complete article here.

Did you get your taxes done on time?

Be thankful that we don’t get as much government as we pay for.

A few weeks ago, I linked to an article in which a woman found a human finger in her Wendy’s chili. Gross, yes. But ever since infamous 1992 Stella v McDonald’s hot coffee case, any legal claim against a fast food giant has had to be looked at very carefully.

Now, first I want to be fair to poor old Stella. It turns out that the “Micky D’s coffee burned my butt” case has been pretty badly misrepresented. You can read all the details in this article, but Stella did receive third degree burns, requiring skin grafts, from coffee that, as a policy, was served at almost 200 degrees! (Youch!) AND, the $3 million dollar jury award was reduced to $600k by the judge. None the less, the case did spawn the age of the Stella Awards.

Now, back to Wendy’s. Police in Las Vegas seem to be very concerned over the fact that Anna Ayala, the finger-lickin’ victim, “has a history of filing lawsuits – including a claim against another fast-food restaurant.” So concerned, in fact, that the LVPD fraud division got a search warrant for Ayala’s house.

The problem with Anna’s case is that no one can get their hands on the short handed source of the offending digit. All searches have come up empty handed. According to Wendy’s, “The employees at the San Jose store were found to have all their fingers, and no suppliers of Wendy’s ingredients have reported any hand or finger injuries.” Hmm. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but something seems amiss.

Anna’s defense? The police are “out to get her.” Uh huh…

“Lies, lies, lies, that’s all I am hearing,” she said. “They should look at Wendy’s. What are they hiding? Why are we being victimized again and again?”

More finger pointing. In the end it comes down to a matter who’s telling the truth. If the gloves don’t fit, you must acquit!

Unfortunately for Anna, Johnnie Cochran is busy defending another client… giving his closing arguments at the big courtroom in the sky.

Read the complete article here.