Belle

That's great, Krys! Will it be easier to get through the doughnut hole now that you've made it once?

Come on, y'all.... I didn’t say ALL Wal-Mart customers fit that profile and certainly didn’t intend to indicate that, especially since I said I do shop there myself. Heck, I’ve even been on a three day bender before, but was too tired to leave the house. It’s my perception that Wal-Marts attract a less than stellar element of society, perhaps it's due to the quick decline of the quality in surrounding neighborhoods and their property value, the increase in crime and just the casual observances of the parking lot and the customers. Maybe it's only the case in Mississippi and Florida where I've lived, but I think it's more prevalent than that. In Orlando, the local police blotter indicates that the crime rate in a 5-square-mile area of MetroWest jumped more than 70 percent in the first year after Wal-Mart's arrival in August 2001. Traffic accidents rose 31 percent, property crimes 110 percent, robberies 231 percent and car thefts 56 percent, according to the Orlando Police Department. [Orlando Sentinel, January 27, 2003] One study analzyed 32 Wal-Mart Stores and 32 Target Stores within 10 miles of each other. The average police incidents in 2004 for each of the Wal-Mart Stores was 770. The average police incidents for the Target Stores during the same period – 170. Crime at Wal-Mart Stores is 353% higher than that of Target Stores. Furthermore, the rate of “serious or violent” crimes at Wal-Mart stores is 6 times the rate of those at Target Stores. I won’t even go into the economic impact this has on the community, police departments and tax payers. Wal-Mart Crime Report You can go here to see how much crime there is at your local Wal-Mart: Wal-Mart Crime The Wal-Marts that are most successful are generally located in rural and small towns where they have run off any serious competition and there isn’t any other choice for consumers. I know when I go home to Mississippi to visit, we always have to go to Wal-Mart if for no other reason than to see folks because that’s the only place left to shop, so that’s where everyone is. They are also more successful in MSA’s where income levels are lower than the national average. In more urban, larger areas where Target and other stores provide viable competition, they aren’t near as profitable. Even most of the “name brand” things they sell are cheaper/less quality made knock-offs made especially for Wal-Mart. These are things the manufacturer would never sell in a more reputable store or one that prides itself on selling quality products. LOW PRICES OR FRAUD? Furthermore, they aren’t really the low price leader that many people think they are. It’s a perfect example of yelling the lie loud enough and long enough and folks will eventually believe it. Besides that, they frequently charge more than the price posted on the shelves, so whether folks realize it or not, they are paying as much if not more than if they had shopped elsewhere. 86.7% of the Wal-Mart stores sampled in California failed to meet the federal standard for pricing accuracy. 84.6% of the Wal-Mart stores sampled in Illinois, Michigan and Indiana failed to meet the federal standard for price accuracy. In Illinois, Michigan, and Indiana, 6.4% of all of the items purchased for the study were priced incorrectly. In California, 8.3% of all of the items purchased for the study were priced incorrectly. In the IL, MI, IN study the mean value of the difference between the actual price and the stated price for items overcharged was $1.33. In the CA study the mean value of the difference between the actual price and the stated price for items overcharged was $1.09. Wal-Mart Facts EMPLOYER CRIMES Wal-Mart’s 2006 Annual Report reported that the company faced 57 wage and hour lawsuits. Major lawsuits have either been won or are working their way through the legal process in states such as California, Indiana, Minnesota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington. [Wal-Mart Annual Report 2006] A Pennsylvania court, also in December 2005, approved a class-action lawsuit against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. by employees in Pennsylvania who say the company pressured them to work off the clock. The class could grow to include nearly 150,000 current or former employees. [Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, January 12, 2006 ] The State of Connecticut, investigating Wal-Mart’s child labor practices after the federal investigation ended, found 11 more violations. In June 2005, Connecticut fined Wal-Mart Stores Inc. $3,300 over child labor violations after a state investigation found that some minors lacked proper paperwork and were operating hazardous equipment at the stores. [“Wal-Mart Is Fined for Child Labor Violations,” Bloomberg News, June 22, 2005] TAX PAYER HAZARDS * The estimated total amount of federal assistance for which Wal-Mart employees were eligible in 2004 was $2.5 billion. [The Hidden Price We All Pay For Wal-Mart, A Report By The Democratic Staff Of The Committee On Education And The Workforce, 2/16/04] ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS # In 2005, Wal-Mart reached a $1.15 million settlement with the State of Connecticut for allowing improperly stored pesticides and other pollutants to pollute streams. This was the largest such settlement in state history. [Hartford Courant, 8/16/05] # In May 2004, Wal-Mart agreed to pay the largest settlement for stormwater violations in EPA history. The United States sued Wal-mart for violating the Clean Water Act in 9 states, calling for penalties of over $3.1 million and changes to Wal-Mart’s building practices. [u.S. Environmental Protection Agency, May 12, 2004, U.S. v. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., 2004 WL 2370700] # In 2004, Wal-Mart was fined $765,000 for violating Florida’s petroleum storage tank laws at its automobile service centers. Wal-Mart failed to register its fuel tanks, failed to install devices that prevent overflow, did not perform monthly monitoring, lacked current technologies, and blocked state inspectors. [Associated Press, 11/18/04] # In Georgia, Wal-Mart was fined about $150,000 in 2004 for water contamination. [Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2/10/05] WAL-MART AND CHINA If Wal-Mart were an individual economy, it would rank as China’s eighth-biggest trading partner, ahead of Russia, Australia and Canada. [China Business Weekly, 12/02/2004] * Workers making clothing for Wal-Mart in Shenzhen, China filed a class action lawsuit against Wal-Mart in September 2005 claiming that they were not paid the legal minimum wage, not permitted to take holidays off and were forced to work overtime. They said their employer had withheld the first three months of all workers' pay, almost making them indentured servants because the company refused to pay the money if they quit. [New York Times, September 14, 2005] * Workers making toys for Wal-Mart in China’s Guangdong Province reported that they would have to meet a quota of painting 8,900 toy pieces in an eight hour shift in order to earn the stated wage of $3.45 a day. If they failed to meet that quota, the factory would only pay them $1.23 for a day’s work. [China Labor Watch, December 21, 2005] * Workers from Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Nicaragua and Swaziland brought a class action lawsuit against Wal-Mart in September 2005 asserting that the company’s codes of conduct were violated in dozens of ways. They said they were often paid less than the legal minimum wage and did not receive mandated time-and-a-half for overtime, and some said they were beaten by managers and were locked in their factories. [New York Times, September 14, 2005] WAL-MART ANTI-UNION POLICY Wal-Mart closes down stores and departments that unionize * Wal-Mart closed its store in Jonquierre, Quebec in April 2005 after its employees received union certification. The store became the first unionized Wal-Mart in North America when 51 percent of the employees at the store signed union cards. [Washington Post, 4/14/05] * In December 2005, the Quebec Labour Board ordered Wal-Mart to compensate former employees of its store in Jonquiere Quebec. The Board ruled that Wal-Mart had improperly closed the store in April 2005 in reprisal against unionized workers. [Personnel Today, 12/19/05] * In 2000, when a small meatcutting department successfully organized a union at a Wal-Mart store in Texas, Wal-Mart responded a week later by announcing the phase-out of its in-store meatcutting company-wide. [Pan Demetrakakes, "Is Wal-Mart Wrapped in Union Phobia?" Food & Packaging 76 (August 1, 2003).] Wal-Mart has issued "A Manager's Toolbox to Remaining Union Free," * This toolbox provides managers with lists of warning signs that workers might be organizing, including "frequent meetings at associates' homes" and "associates who are never seen together start talking or associating with each other." The "Toolbox" gives managers a hotline to call so that company specialists can respond rapidly and head off any attempt by employees to organize. [Wal-Mart, A Manager’s Toolbox to Remaining Union Free at 20-21] Wal-Mart is committed to an anti-union policy * In the last few years, well over 100 unfair labor practice charges have been filed against Wal-Mart throughout the country, with 43 charges filed in 2002 alone. * Since 1995, the U.S. government has been forced to issue at least 60 complaints against Wal-Mart at the National Labor Relations Board. [international Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), Internationally Recognised Core Labour Standards in the United States: Report for the WTO General Council Review of the Trade Policies of the United States (Geneva, January 14-16, 2004)] * Wal-Mart’s labor law violations range from illegally firing workers who attempt to organize a union to unlawful surveillance, threats, and intimidation of employees who dare to speak out. [“Everyday Low Wages: The Hidden Price We All Pay for Wal-Mart," A Report by the Democratic Staff of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, 2/16/04] Wal-Mart & Undocumented Immigrants In 2003, federal authorities arrested 250 undocumented immigrants who were employed by janitor contracting services and hired by Wal-Mart in 21 states. Many of the janitors - from Mexico, Russia, Mongolia, Poland and a host of other nations - worked seven days or nights a week without overtime pay or injury compensation. Those who worked nights were often locked in the store until the morning. [Wall Street Journal, 11/5/05, CNN Money, “Wal-Mart pays $11m over illegal labor”, 2005] March 2005, Wal-Mart agreed to pay $11 million to settle federal allegations it used undocumented immigrants to clean its stores. This was the largest immigration related fine ever levied. [CNN Money, “Wal-Mart pays $11m over illegal labor”, 2005 and Wall Street Journal, 11/5/05] In October 2005, Wal-Mart shut down work on seven stores under construction in North Dakota to check for undocumented workers after two illegal immigrants working on Wal-Mart projects in Bismarck were charged with molesting two 13-year-old girls. [Associated Press, 11/18/05] Source of the above information: Wal-Mart Facts

Intensely impassioned topic, eh? My first concern is the true quality of the drugs that Wal-Mart will be selling. Call me paranoid, but I did see the show on Dateline about how there is a black market making counterfeit drugs and selling them to the US and Canada. People have DIED from taking these drugs. They filled their prescriptions at reputable pharmacies like CVS and died because the drugs were completely fake or destructively altered/watered down. Dateline: Inside the World of Counterfeit Drugs Given the ethical practices of Wal-Mart (NOT!), I'd be very wary of buying any prescription drugs from them. Second: Having worked as an analyst for a company who had a close alliance with Wal-Mart, I can tell you that it took me and a another co-worker providing a cost analysis on what it was costing us to do business with Wal-Mart before they realized they were losing money in our partnership with Wal-Mart. This is the case with many other companies. They need the business but don't realize that they are really losing money by caving in to the outrageous price and service demands of Wal-Mart. Our employees who were working out of Wal-Mart's offices can tell some pretty wild stories about the manipulation, control and back room bargains that benefit Wal-Mart while leaving some vendors high & dry by the time it's all over. They also have their own bank in AR and deposits from local stores are in local banks a minimum of 24 hours, so no local banks benefit from having Wal-Mart in their area. They DO buy in much larger bulk than the Mom & Pop stores can which enable them to charge less than others. Their philosophy is that they'd rather make a dime profit on selling 1 million widgets than to make a dollar selling 100K widgets. Mom & Pop's have no way to compete with that. I wish the employees would fight back, but I only know bad things about unions. I see how they ask for outrageous compensations and rules and would seemingly rather bankrupt a company than to come to a realistic agreement. At least that's the way it's been here in Florida. :unsure: I don't shop at Wal-Mart except as a last resort and will continue to do so. There are plenty of other options, imo. Besides that, I'd much rather shop at a Dollar General, Target, Petsmart, PetSupermarket, Farmer's Market, Publix, Best Buy, outlet store..... ANYWHERE but Wal-Mart (and Winn Dixie), where the isles are cramped; the stores are filthy; the customer base looks like they crawled out of the trailer park after a three day bender; and where the employees don't want to be there any more than I do. Besides that, the prices at Wal-Mart for most things really aren't that much cheaper - not for the things I buy anyway. I've compared the prices and where Wal-Mart is cheaper, it's not cheap enough to justify shopping there, imo. It's amazing to me the vehemence you see on the news when Wal-Mart wants to build in someone's town or neighborhood, yet those same people are the first ones in line at the cash registers of the Wal-Mart down the road. <_<

HAPPIEST OF BIRTHDAYS, GARTH!!! I hope it's truly WONDERMOUS!!!

Thanks, Notta! I knew someone would know.

Welcome, Pink Lady! May I offer you some coffee and a danish? "The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse" is a book that helped me tremendously! I must have bought and given out ten copies in the past five years. Sadly, most of the folks I gave those copies to are still involved with TWI. :( Oh well, that's the path they've chosen.... It's worse when it comes to children and it makes me furious how TWI and I suppose the offshoots come between parents and their children. I remember craiggers yelling ferociously about how the Bible says to "obey your parents in the lord" and so, if your parents aren't "in the lord" according to TWIt doctrine, you weren't obligated to obey them. Talk about teaching kids to be obstinate and disobedient!! I hope you have a great, positive outcome for your actions! It's very admirable that you're fighting for them and doing whatever it takes.

Skyrider, she does travel to Gunnison. I have heard and read about some of her trips up there. What I don't understand is why, in the latest rag, they call her Mrs. Donna Martindale. I know proper protocol, according to TWI, is to call a wife Mrs. Husband's Name and a single woman would be Miss or Ms Woman's Name. What's Mrs. Donna Martindale mean? Does that mean she's still married, but since he's not involved with TWI (so far as we know), he has become "he who must not be named"?

It was a simple "yes" or "no" question, Greg. If they don't speak in tongues, you consider them to NOT be born again? Another "yes" or "no" question.... You consider your behavior on this thread to be an example of "charity" and how a "christian" should act?

Johnny, it's a real condition where someone is born with both sets of sexual organs. The parents usually make a decision near birth to which sex the child will be raised and it's not always the best decision based on the hormones that are dominant in the child. Others are raised with both genetalia so that they can make the decision on their own when the time is right. I really feel for these families and the children. It's not a common issue and not one many people understand or sympathize with. But, then again, there are many women with hormone problems that result in excessive facial hair - PCOS (Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome) being one example. These are full fledged women in every sense of the word, but they have too much testosterone in their system and it results in excessive facial hair, male pattern baldness and other problems. Many of these things aren't found out till the woman is trying to get pregnant and an endocrinologist runs tests on her. Because it's an obviously embarrassing problem, most women don't seek help for it because they just think they are weird as opposed to having a hormonal imbalance.

Waysider, My parents, too, are the most giving people I know. They give of their time, money, concern, prayers and even rooms in their home for folks and they do it out of the goodness of their hearts not expecting anything in return. Neither of them speak in tongues, interpret or prophecy according to the ways that TWI taught. Are those things not considered charity? Are they not considered "good samaritans"? "good christians" Greg, does someone have to speak in tongues to prove to you (or your mentor) that they are born again? WordWolf and Goey are very logical, intelligent men and they present some pretty good examples, questions and concerns about the assumptions of you and your mentor. Is attacking them instead of engaging them in meaningful dialog considered "charity" in your book? Calling people names? Insulting them instead of offering valid support for your statements? Not any kind of charity or god I want part of if you're teaching by example of what the god you believe in teaches. <_<

When people acted like we were inferior to them or picked on us, Mama would tell us, "Don't worry about them. Their farts stink too." When we were pouting about something, "If you want sympathy, you can find it between sh1t and syphillis in the dictionary." During our teen angst years and we would come home crying because our feelings were hurt terribly, she would sit on the edge of the bed and cry with us, "When you hurt, I hurt." I love my Mama!! :wub:

Tickled to pieces for you, Herbie!!! Congrats!! Way to go!!! Awesome Job!!! I LOVE it when dreams become reality!!! You've worked very hard for this and I'm so excited for you! Thanks for sharing your good news with us!!

Welcome DD!!! As TLB promised, here is our special of the day.... I hope you enjoy your visit here. :) It's always fun to learn from each other and sounds like you have quite a bit in common with some of the others here at the Cafe. Abigail has been teaching some of us quite a bit about Shabbat and some of the other Jewish holidays. It's been very interesting and I've a whole new respect for the Jewish belief. Looking forward to learning and hearing more from you.

Excellent post, Lindy. I wonder which part of the Bible some will choose to believe and which part they will discard, ignore or justify away.... :ph34r: I would add that Christians are not only supposed to forgive but to LOVE their enemies - would that include Hitler? Castro? Saddam? Luke 6:26-35 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the [one] cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not [to take thy] coat also. For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and [to] the evil.

I heard real pirates never die, they just smell that way. :unsure:

Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of Kool-Aide.... or was that rum? or maybe a Moon Pie and an RC Cola....

OMG! :o I would just DIE!! :ph34r: I can only imagine what was going through their minds..... Hmmmm....can you imagine potty training someone for that kind of toilet? Might spare us women some of the horror stories in public bathrooms. ^_^

How many people work at Gunnison and how much does it cost to keep that place open, I wonder. The wc students didn't just work for free - they paid to work there. Twice the income for TWI in that regard. Now how much work has to be done to keep it going? It's a lot of work to take care of all that wood, the animals and such, isn't it? Imagine.... "We boast that we have 12 employees to each wc student!" Talk about attention and one-on-one training! Geeze they probably can't even sneak reading material into the bathroom with that many eyes on them. :huh:

She kids you not, RR. :( I wish she was, but, alas, we felth like he was oh so holy and there were pictures of that thing all over the place, too. Rosie was called a prophetess in the prophecy over her when she was installed as vee pee and that used to be referred to quite a bit - probably still is. But I do know that they play up her "business" aspect of being the president moreso than being a woman of gawd. That's the reason they give for having all the different teachers. They say her job is to take care of the business end of things and, I think they say that they will not have another single "man of gawd" again - I suppose that's just admitting that there never was a single "man of gawd" except that TWI gave that title to them. I mean, if the "men of gawd" that they had in the past were truly "of gawd" then who are they to say, and how can they say there won't be another one? :unsure:

LOL! "Adams Family" Well, I guess if the name fits..... DMiller, I didn't look for a report back to the field on the successful snacking during the class. I'll have to read the whole article to see if they reported on that aspect of the spiritually significant events.

:blink: We've got four more years of that long tag line? I forgot! Thank GAWD I don't have to read or listen to that all time any more. Then, I stand corrected. The new theme is: Decade of Victory: The Promised Land of the Prevailing Word: Walking in the Steps of Jesus Christ

What strikes me as funny about this is that whereas they used to brag about being considered a cult - Today, they probably have had an announcement about this and bragged that they were hardly mentioned in that book. Taking pride in becoming more "mainstream" and like all other "religions", but they'll say they've also garnered more respect. Irony upon irony.... Spin doctors who believe their own hype....the scariest bunch of all! <_<

It would be more honest, at least.

I really liked this quote from their cafe. I understand the urge to "rescue" the woman, too, MStar. :) You're a true kind-hearted soul and you never know what kind if impact you may have had on her.

Got my ragazine in the mail. Beautiful fall pictures of the grounds, many appear to be the same stock pictures we usually see, but they are beautiful nonetheless. No people in any of the picutres…. Dunno why that bugs me; I guess it’s just because I know that the grounds usually look like that – pristine, well-manicured and untouched by human hands except for the purpose of controlling nature. Inside the front cover is an ad for the three biographies – Mrw. W’s, Mrs. Owens’ and Hairy’s. Interestingly, of Hairy’s it says, “….he provided a great example of widsom and horse sense in the finaincial realm…..(the book) will encourage you to see the abundant life that God has made available for all who love him AND practice His principles in daily living.” ***************************** Articles: A Positive Mind-set to Prevail by Michael Fort Count Your Blessings, See What God Has Done! By Louiselle Perry Building Up with Our Words by Kathleen Shaffer Reaching Our Mountaintops by Renita Sage ***************************** At the end of Ms. Perry’s article is a “Read and Do” section. About 1/3 of the page looks like a piece of notebook paper with lines on it. The heading of this blank, lined section is Read and Do: How can I apply this teaching in my life? ** I guess this is proof things have changed with TWI – it’s worse!! Now they’re printing homework assignments on the articles right in the magazine??? Are folks going to have to turn these in at their next fellowship? ** ***************************** There’s a nice little poem by Sarah Shroyer on the Renewed Mind. “Doing the Word, our lives sublime with the renewed mind, we can stand for a lifetime!” The sad thing is that she’s talking about standing with TWI most likely – not about standing with God. :( ***************************** There’s a recap of the Advanced Class of 2006 – “Nearly two hundred fifty students seated in the vee pee double ewe prevailing wurd auditorium received over forty hours of teaching….” “Mealtimes were full of greaet food, fellowship, and continued learning as Mrs. Donna Martindale gave instruction on etiquette to help the students be confident and comfortable in any social setting. ***************************** International Outreach Update Interestingly there are no numbers in this section and only two pictures – one of the Moynihans and the Millers and one of the Adams family. From the article: “In the UK, two way corps ministers have been putting forth focused believing action to move God’s Word as Outreach Ambassadors to the UK. Meanshile, at TWI International Headquarters, the international advanced leadership training was off to a tremendous start. “ “They are working together with the country coordinators of the UK, Mr. And Mrs. Rhys Miller, to further the expansion of the ministry in Southampton, a port city southwest of London.” “Since their arrival in the UK, Rev & Mrs. Moynihan have organized a variety of Word-centered events, reaching out to impart God’s Word to those who are new to our ministry as well as to faithful believers. ...” “Of course, as Outreach Ambassadors, the Moynihans have been working heartily to bring the Word to the hungry hearts in their community. They have gotten acquainted with the city and the people of Southampton by going out witnessing. They’ve been speaking God’s Word door-to-door, at neighborhood social functions, and at local shops. They have weekly household fellowship meetings as well as weekly outreach events for their fellowship and others in the branch.” (Yes, the word “outreach” was italicized in the magazine. Interesting…. ) I have a hard time seeing Bob & Dottie going door to door – I suspect that they are actually doing more facilitating the door to door. It hasn’t mentioned how many folks they’ve brought to the ministry nor any classes being run either. ***************************** Way Corps Class of 2006 Graduates I can’t tell exactly how many folks graduated because the picture is confusing. There are FOUR nicely dressed young ladies on the back row and SIX folks in suits or old fuddy duddy dresses on the front row. :/ Surely they wouldn’t send out a picture with SIX leaders for FOUR students, would they? “Commitment was the theme of the evening….Rev. Greg Bolchalk, the WC coordinator, then shared on the significance of the salt covenant…. The WC are to have the salted commitment to teach and live God’s Word in our day and time. Rev. Rivenbark followed by offering the salt covenant to teach of the graduating Way Corps. This was a pivotal point of the evening, as each took part in salting themselves to God, His Word and the ministry that taught them the word.” ***************************** Any article or section in particular you'd like to see more on?