James Lynn and Liza Featherstone have Wal Mart stories to tell. Lynn, a former Global Services Manager, is suing Wal Mart for wrongful discharge. Featherstone is the author of Selling Women Short: The Landmark Battle for Worker’s Rights at Wal-Mart.

Lynn’s lawyer, Shane Youtz, and Featherstone talked with Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez of the public affairs radio program Democracy Now. WRUW, 91.1 FM airs the program from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Fridays. Webcasts and transcripts are available for the interviews with Youtz and Featherstone.

According to Gonzalez, Lynn was promoted by Wal Mart and given the assignment of inspecting newly acquired clothing factories in Costa Rica, Guatamala and Honduras. Lynn claims, says Youtz, that after he reported poor working conditions in the factories to management in Bentonville he was fired.

Beth Keck, an international spokesperson for Wal Mart, told Goodman and Gonzalez that Lynn was fired after more than eight years with the company for an inappropriate contact with a female subordinate. Delivering factual reports about the working conditions in the factories that Wal Mart had purchased from Pacific resources was exactly the job Lynn was given.

From reading the rush transcript of the program, I have to say that Keck made a more compelling case than Youtz.

In interviewing Featherstone, Goodman and Gonalez focused on the the class-action suit Dukes v Wal Mart. Betty Dukes is a 54-year-old African American who began working for Wal Mart as a cashier at $5 per hour. According to Featherstone she was promoted to Customer Service Manager, but in that position was denied training that was going to younger, white males.

What I found fascinating was Featherstone’s take on Wal Mart as a Chrisitan company. She talked about how that was one of the things that had attracted Dukes to the company. While there is nothing in writing, she said that:

…a notion that it’s a Christian company is one of those things that Wal-Mart strategically appeases its Christian customers and Christian constituencies, often refusing to carry certain titles in its store, you know, famously, it didn”t carry the Jon Stewart book, America: The Book, because of the naked Supreme Court Justices.

The company’s decision to not carry the Plan B, the morning after pill, is another example, she said.

It’s the only major pharmacy to flatly refuse to carry that drug. And that’s again part of what convinces people that, you know, that it is a Christian company. However, as people like Betty Dukes have found, if you actually believe in what are traditionally thought of as Christian principles of treating people decently, you will be disappointed in Wal-Mart.

How about treating peopole with just plain, old fashion dignity?

My Soundtrack: Low by Coldplay on WOXY.

In My Backpack… Women’s Reality by Anne Wilson Schaef; In My Car… Naked Prey by John Sanford; On My Nightstand… Life Of Pi by Yann Martel; On My Computer… Why do poets write? by Richard Jones; On My Screen… Homicide: Bop Gun (***) directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal and written by David Simon and David Mills.

My Soundtrack: Temperamental by Everything But The Girl on WOXY.

get yours from: northern sun-products for progressives since 1979

Terry over at I Seen Invisible People is tracking bills introduced in the U.S. House and Senate. The latest is H.R. 3073 which seeks to give Congress veto power over the U.S. Supreme Court. Of course, it already has that: it’s called writing and passing constitutional legislation. But the gutless wonders don’t want to do the work.

My Soundtrack: Whistling In The Dark by Easterhouse on WOXY.

Compliments of Adam Harvey (who should do more womanizing, not less) at Organic Mechanic comes this bit of Flash magic from Newseum. I do wish the the graphic files were a little larger, but that could just be a need for better bifocals. The major headlines, at least, are readable if you know the language.

My Soundtrack: Blood Moon by Lab Partners on WOXY.

Is Wal Mart doing anything right? I’m sure I could find a few things. Black Enterprise Magazine thought that its policies regarding minorities were progressive enough to name the Bentonville Behemoth to its 30 best companies for diversity. But when Mike Hadden asked Al Norman:

If Wal-Mart committed to reducing its ecological footprint — with green roofs, parking decks, natural lighting, etc. — would your stance soften at all? Is there anything Wal-Mart is doing right?

Norman was less kind. He replied:

No. There is nothing I can think of that it is doing right. Its business model is built on exploitation. It is a chain store, and at every link in the chain, from the sweatshops in Shenzhen, China, to the sales floors in America, someone is being exploited.

Worst of all, we taxpayers are giving it millions of dollars annually in corporate welfare by building roads and sewer lines, through tax-increment financing and health-care subsidies for its workers, etc. The model is driven by Wall Street investors, not by Main Street needs.

If market need was the litmus test for new Wal-Marts, there would be no more stores built. Wal-Mart is saturating the market to gain market share and to keep stock price up. Its growth now has nothing to do with what consumers need.

But Al, how do you really feel?

My Soundtrack: Candy Says by The Velvet Underground on WOXY.

In My Backpack… Women’s Reality by Anne Wilson Schaef; In My Car… Naked Prey by John Sanford; On My Nightstand… Life Of Pi by Yann Martel; On My Computer… The Dead by Susan Mitchell; On My Screen… Homicide: Three Men And Adena (***) directed by Martin Campbell and written by Tom Fontana.

My Soundtrack: Happy by The Frames on WOXY.

get yours from: northern sun-products for progressives since 1979

Surprise, surprise, the Army met its recruiting goal in June: by lowering the goal. To meet its FY2005 recruiting goal of 80,000 recruits, the Army needs to entice 9,760 young men and women per month to sign on the dotted line. But in June it signed approximatley 6,150 and claimed it had exceeded its target. Huh?

My Soundtrack: A Stone by Okkervil River on WOXY.

This is not an us vs them issue. My community suffers when it hemorrhages cash. China”s trade surplus with the United States was $162 billion in 2004, a 30.6% increase since 2003 and the United States’ largest bilateral deficit.

From Newsweek:

To get a sense of how completely China dominates low-cost manufacturing, consider Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is America’s-and the world’s-largest corporation. Its revenues are eight times those of Microsoft, and make up 2 percent of America’s GDP.

It employs 1.4 million people, more than GM, Ford, GE and IBM put together. It is legendary for its efficient-some would say ruthless-efforts to get the lowest price possible for its customers. In doing this, it has used technology, managerial innovation, but, perhaps most significantly, China.

Last year Wal-Mart imported $18 billion worth of goods from China. Of Wal-Mart’s 6,000 suppliers, 5,000-80 percent-are in one country, and it isn’t the United States.

Ever wonder when people will wake up and smell the slave labor? I do.

My Soundtrack: Back Together by The Redwalls on WOXY.

In My Backpack… Women’s Reality by Anne Wilson Schaef; In My Car… Naked Prey by John Sanford; On My Nightstand… Life Of Pi by Yann Martel; On My Computer… The Phenomenology of Shopping by Alison Hawthorne Deming; On My Screen… Touching Evil, Season 3: Fiery Death (***) directed and written by Sian Evans.

My Soundtrack: Seven Days A Week by The Sounds on WOXY.

The late, great, Yippie, Abbie Hoffman would have loved this. Logan Darrow Clements, self-proclaimed CEO of something called Freestar Media, which may itself be a bit of theatre, wants to build a hotel on 34 Cilley Hill Road in Weare, New Hampshire. The present owner, of course, will happily understand why Weare should grab his property under eminent doman and turn it over to Clements. How could Justice David Souter think otherwise given his part in Kelo v. New London?

My Soundtrack: My Mathematical Mind by Spoon on WOXY.

get yours from: northern sun-products for progressives since 1979

Daily KOS is touting — but not providing links to primary sources — that both ABC and Fox news are reporting that the single incidence of weak of applause for the president during last night’s speech was faked. According to AmericaBlog, to which KOS does link:

ABC’s Terry Moran just reported that the only time Bush got applause was in the middle of his speech when a White House advance team member started clapping all on their own in order to cajole the soldiers into clapping, which they dutifully did.

That explains a lot. Last night I was stunned by the empty-hanger quality of the President’s speech. As soon as I can authenticate the claim from a primary source, I’ll post the link here.

[Update No. 1 — In a comment, Dave reports that c-span.org has the video showing the staffer startng the applause. The link, however, is down. Wondery why? Too many downloads perhaps? Perhaps not.]

[Update No. 2 — Fox News attempts to spin the silence.]

[Update No. 3 — John Hinderaker’s spin from Powerline:

The only thing I thought was odd was the unnatural quiet in the hall. It was like the audience at a Presidential debate, which has been cautioned not to express approval or disapproval. Only at the end, apparently, were the soldiers permitted to applaud.]

The spin ignores the obvious question: why give a speech before a live audience that is ordered to remian silent? If the president wanted quiet, then he could have given the speech from the Oval Office.]

My Soundtrack: The Dark Of The Matinee by Franz Ferdinand on WOXY.

OK, so this is bascially sick and twisted and throughly politcally incorrect. But it’s still amusing for at least 30 seconds or so. Edukating Miss Beazley is just a small part of the whole White House For Kids website. It’s also an interesting back spin on the Neocon/Progressive debate in a Zen sort of way. Or maybe not. Thanks to Jaclyn at Let The Lady Speak.

My Soundtrack: Do The Math by New Wet Kojak on WOXY.

Just in time to celebrate the 4th of July, Conneticut’s State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has demanded that Wal Mart stores in his state remove Piccolo Petes from their shelves. Blumenthal told Wal Mart that:

Sales of these dangerous devices should stop immediately. Wal-Mart or TNT Fireworks will face legal fireworks in state court, if they defy this order.

According to Blumenthal the firework emits a five-inch flame when ignited. I can just see two 12-year-olds playing mini light-saber with them.

Sparklers became legal in Conneticut in 2001, but all other forms are fireworks are still illegal.

In it’s Internet advertisement for Piccolo Pete, TNT exclaims:

Want to wake the neighbors? This long-lasting, shrill whistling item is just the ticket! An irresistible fountain with resounding attraction.

I used the avaiability locator to see if I could buy Piccolo Petes in Cleveland Heights. The answer was no. Bummer.

My Soundtrack: Dirty Harry by Gorillaz on WOXY.

In My Backpack… Women’s Reality by Anne Wilson Schaef; In My Car… The Devil’s Code by John Sanford; On My Nightstand… Life Of Pi by Yann Martel; On My Computer… Visit with the Newlyweds by Rebecca McClanahan; On My Screen… Touching Evil, Season 3: Fiery Death (***) directed and written by Sian Evans.

My Soundtrack: Tito’s Way by Juan Maclean on WOXY.

I helped to tear down my first espresso machine today. It was a Saeco Vienna Black, fully automated machine like the one pictured above. The hardest part was knowing where all the little tabs are that you have to press to get the plastic shell away from the guts of the machine. If Dennis, the espresso-machine magician, hadn’t been there I would have been stuck after about the first four screws.

There isn’t a great deal that goes wrong with espresso machines that isn’t related to water quality — lime is a huge foe — or just general cleanliness of the machine. The brew group, the device that handles the coffee and turns it into espresso magic, is a pretty clever piece of engineering.

While Dennis and I were talking I discovered that espresso is a lot younger than I imagined. 2003 was the 100th anniversary of espresso and it has been less than 50 years since high pressure steam was used to produce crema.

According to Dennis, it was an Italian named Luigi Bezzera, unhappy that his workers were taking so long on their coffee breaks, who developed espresso (fast in Italian). Bezzera forced steam through finely ground coffee so that he could brew a cup in 20 seconds or so.

What he got was something unexpected: a coffee that was very different and, he believed, far superior to brewed coffee. Being an engineer and not a salesman, Bezzera patented the process and waited for customers to flock to buy his machines. They stayed away in droves.

In 1905, Bezzera was penniless and he sold the patent to Desidero Pavoni for 10,000 lire, the equivalent of $8.03 today. Pavoni understood how to sell the machines and built a company that made him both rich and famous.

For the next fifty years or so, espresso and espresso machines stayed close to Bezzera’s design. Then in the late ’50s, an innovation put the water under really high pressure and a new facet of espresso emerged: crema. According to Dennis, Italian restaurants distrusted this foamy layer and today, he says, if you want to get a really bad cup of espresso, order it in an Italian restaurant.

Bright and early Thursday morning I get to go along on my first service call to replace the baskets and some other parts in a fully automated commercial machine at the Barnes & Noble bookstore at Richmond Mall.

My Soundtrack: Do You Hear Wedding Bells? by Fingers Cut Megamachine on WOXY.

[Update: Daily KOS is touting — but not providing links to primary sources — that both ABC and Fox news are reporting that the single incidence of weak of applause for the president during last night’s speech was faked. According to AmericaBlog, to which KOS does link:

ABC’s Terry Moran just reported that the only time Bush got applause was in the middle of his speech when a White House advance team member started clapping all on their own in order to cajole the soldiers into clapping, which they dutifully did.

That explains a lot. As soon as I can authenticate the claim from a primary source, I’ll post the link here.]

Live from Suite 105, it’s the President’s address to the nation. OK, I’ve never tried this before, but I’m going to blog President Bush’s address to the nation from Fort Bragg. The projection is that this will be a stay-the-course-trust-me-I-have-plan speech. [0500, 29 June. Full disclaimer, I’ve now had a chance to edit this using a copy of the transcript, so this is a much fuller and coherent version than I posted between 2001 and 2030 yesterday.]

2001: Good evening. I am pleased to visit Fort Bragg, home of the airborne and special operations forces. It”s an honor to speak before you tonight. No applause from the crowd as he begins the address. Is there anybody in the audience?

The president is only 114 words into the speech before he evokes 11 September 01.

2004: Many terrorists who kill innocent men, women and children on the streets of Baghdad are followers of the same murderous ideology that took the lives of our citizens in New York and Washington and Pennsylvania. [True, it is likely that some terrorists presently fighting in Iraq are from the same group that hijacked the four planes on 11 September. But his is a weak attempt to create a tie between those terrorists and the ongoing war in Iraq that has never existed. JH]

2006: Some wonder whether Iraq is a central front in the war on terror. Among the terrorists, there is no debate. [Perhaps because we’ve created a power vacuum? JH]

2007: Here are the words of Osama bin Laden: “This third world war is raging” in Iraq. “The whole world is watching this war.” This point is fascinating. There is no way while listening to a speech to tell whether a reference is a quote or a paraphrase. The transcript I’m working from is provided by CNN. Note where it puts quotation marks in the first sentance. Does this mean that Osama bin Laden was, perhaps, referring to something other than the war in Iraq when he made this speech?

2009: They failed to stop the formation of a democratic Iraqi government that represents all of Iraq”s diverse population. [Does the Iraqi government represent all Iraqis? JH]

2011: We are improving roads and schools and health clinics. We”re working to improve basic services like sanitation, electricity and water. And together with our allies, we will help the new Iraqi government deliver a better life for its citizens. Reports out of Iraq offer a different view as I reported in Remember Versailles.

2012: Thus far, some 40 countries and three international organizations have pledged about $34 billion in assistance for Iraqi reconstruction. How does that compare to the more than $200 billion and counting that we’ve spent blowing the country up? How much of that $34 billion is U.S. tax money? How much of the pledged money from other countries has been delivered?

2013: Today, Iraq has more than 160,000 security forces trained and equipped for a variety of missions. Iraqi forces have fought bravely, helping to capture terrorists and insurgents in Najaf and Samarra, Falluja and Mosul. According to the U.S. embassy in Iraq, 28,000 Iraqi troops are trained to a level where they can perform their intended missions.

2015: As the Iraqis stand up, we will stand down. Some of those forces are trained to operate on their own. Others can operate along with U.S. forces. Still others are still in training. If only 28,000 are trained to operate on their own, that leaves some 132,000 in various stages of preparation. How big is that number in the second category? When will they, and those in the third category, be ready?

2016: NATO is establishing a military academy near Baghdad to train the next generation of Iraqi military leaders, and 17 nations are contributing troops to the NATO training mission. Iraqi army and police are being trained by personnel from Italy, Germany, Ukraine, Turkey, Poland, Romania, Australia and the United Kingdom. When will the establishing stop and the training begin? How many personnel are we talking about here? 50? 25? 10?

2017: To further prepare Iraqi forces to fight the enemy on their own, we are taking three new steps. First, we are partnering coalition units with Iraqi units. These coalition Iraqi teams are conducting operations together in the field. These combined operations are giving Iraqis a chance to experience how the most professional armed forces in the world operate in combat. Second, we are embedding coalition transition teams inside Iraqi units. These teams are made up of coalition officers and noncommissioned officers who live, work and fight together with their Iraqi comrades. Under U.S. command, they are providing battlefield advice and assistance to Iraqi forces during combat operations. Between battles, they are assisting the Iraqis with important skills such as urban combat and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance techniques. Third, we are working with the Iraqi ministries of interior and defense to improve their capabilities to coordinate anti-terrorist operations. I’m not clear as to how any of these are new steps. It seems to me that this is the kind of thing that has been going on all along. Did the president have a need to at least say he was doing something different?

2020: Some Americans ask me, “If completing the mission is so important, why don”t you send more troops?” If our commanders on the ground say we need more troops, I will send them. But our commanders tell me they have the number of troops they need to do their job. Really? So, the commanders saying they need more troops are what, not on the ground?

2021 Sending more Americans would undermine our strategy of encouraging Iraqis to take the lead in this fight. And sending more Americans would suggest that we intend to stay forever, when we are, in fact, working for the day when Iraq can defend itself and we can leave. OK, so we’re making our troops fight with one hand behind their back to make the poor Iraqi troops not feel inadequate? I recall a similar attitude when it came to U.S. and Army of the Republic of South Vietnam troops. Has the president become P.C.?

2023: Across the broader Middle East, people are claiming their freedom. In the last few months, we have witnessed elections in the Palestinian Territories and Lebanon. These elections are inspiring democratic reformers in places like Egypt and Saudi Arabia. This is, perhaps, the one good thing that has arisen from our invasion of Iraq. Oppressed people across the Middle East are taking hope. But inspiring reform and staying the course are two different things as the people of Afghanistan learned after the U.S. left following the defeat of the Soviets during the ’80s.

2024: They are trying to shake our will in Iraq, just as they tried to shake our will on September 11, 2001. They will fail. The terrorists do not understand America. The American people do not falter under threat, and we will not allow our future to be determined by car bombers and assassins. [Bush ties it all back to 9/11 again. JH] He evokes terror 34 times and 9/11 six times in his speech.

2025: So we”ll fight them there, we”ll fight them across the world, and we will stay in the fight until the fight is won. [Finally, 24 minutes and 3,065 words into his speech, President Bush receives modest applause. JH]

2027: This Fourth of July, I ask you to find a way to thank the men and women defending our freedom, by flying the flag, sending letters to our troops in the field or helping the military family down the street. The Department of Defense has set up a Web site, AmericaSupportsYou.mil. How about becoming fully engaged in the political process so that American troops aren’t put in this position again?

2028: And to those watching tonight who are considering a military career, there is no higher calling than service in our armed forces. We live in freedom because every generation has produced patriots willing to serve a cause greater than themselves. Those who serve today are taking their rightful place among the greatest generations that have worn our nation”s uniform. This was perhaps the strangest moment in the speech. If there was any point in the speech when I would have expected to hear loud, vocal support for our troops and the president it would have been here. Instead (and I’ve gone back to listen to this part) there are murmurs, sounds of dissatisfaction or discomfort with President Bush’s words from the crowd.)

2030: The president finishes.

Comments made in italics are from post-speech analysis.

I am stunned with the silence in the audience. The president spoke before one of the most supportive of audiences — Army paratroops and Special Forces — and they interrupted the president only once with applause. And that was not supported by any vocal responses normally heard from enthusiastic military personnel.

It will be interesting to see what the Republican response will be to this speech.

For further analysis and comment, I’ve posted the speech under Presidential Speech: 28 June 05.

My Soundtrack: Bikeridersby Lucero on WOXY.

Civil War historian and novelist Shelby Foote died last evening in Memphis. Foote’s encyclopedic knowledge of the War Of Northern Aggression, Southern drawl and laconic delivery made him the star of Ken Burns’ Civil War documentary on PBS in 1990. I would replay the parts where Foote spoke just to listen to him again and again.

My Soundtrack: There, There by Radiohead on WOXY.