It is a time of fear in the face of freedom, a time for the widening of previous roads and the opening of new paths, a time of an emptying country and swelling cities, yet a time when these paths are mined by knowing algorithms of the all-seeing eye. It is the time of the warrior's peace and the miser's charity, when the planting of a seed is an act of conscientious objection.

These are the times when maps fade and direction is lost. Forwards is backwards now, so we glance sideways at the strange lands through which we are all passing, knowing for certain only that our destination has disappeared. We are unready to meet these times, but we proceed nonetheless, adapting as we wander, reshaping the Earth with every tread. Behind us we have left the old times, the standard times, the high times. Welcome to the irregular times.


Current Comments

Nicky Hayden - Hero, Monster  
7 comments by David, Jim, CBR Rider [...]

New York Times: Spend Money You Don't Have  
1 comments by tom

University of North Texas Students To Walk Out Against War  
8 comments by Jim, Kevin Milligan, Katy [...]

Skreened Tops CafePress in Sweatshop-Free Organic Baby Clothing  
1 comments by Organic Baby Clothes

Washington, DC Inauguration Protest Planning Thread on Forum  
3 comments by Hard G, Jim, OUCKFBAMA


Recent Forum Discussion

“When Will Oil Go Below 50 dollars?” by J. Clifford

“Waxman Beats Detroit” by J. Clifford

“Government Buy Auto Companies?” by J. Clifford

“DC Inaugural Protest Project… working up to 1-20-09″ by Jim

“For Mr. Clifford…” by DARK ENERGY

“Reagan Failure To Bush Failure” by J. Clifford

Visit the Forum

Veering Off the Blog

Our longer form writing and extended series:

Hug the South

I Voted for You, But...

Palinisms

2008 Reasons to Elect a Progressive President

Challenges to Empiricism and Reason

Department of Credulity Studies

Department of Homeland Insecurity

False Witness

Funny Money

Further Than Atheism

Irregular Bin

Irregular Growth

Irregular States

Magniloquence Against War

Splintered Speech

Unity08 Watch

U.S. House Rankings

U.S. Senate Rankings

Wandering Aimlessly


Story Categories


Story Archives


Prior to October 27, 2004

Story Feeds

"The secret of ugliness consists not in irregularity, but in being uninteresting." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

many paths in Irregular Times

Irregular Times: News Unfit for Print

Our Latest Stories:

Henry Waxman Wins Energy Chair... Will Democrats Make a Difference?

Mike Huckabee, Building for 2012 Run, to Put Witch Killing in Constitution?

New York Times: Spend Money You Don't Have

Earth Scouts Instead Of Mean Scouts

Democratic Decency Congressional Test Two

Skreened Tops CafePress in Sweatshop-Free Organic Baby Clothing

Drive Your Car To A Carbon Neutral Luxury Hotel

The War on Christmas Carols

First Freedom First Stays Mum on its T-Shirt Ethics

Review: Mammoth NYC Review Pack Materials



Friday, September 8th, 2006

strange hourglass

Payola Scandal Erupts Among Conservative Wal-Mart Apologists

Filed under Economy, Media by Jim at 9:39 am

The New York Times has busted open a payola ring involving Wal-Mart and a number of “principled” conservative think tanks. I put “principled” in quotes, because it appears that these groups’ principles are following the direction of dollars.

It’s simple, really simple, little dance, a three-stepper:

1. Wal-Mart creates a foundation, the Walton Family Foundation.
2. The Walton Family Foundation gives $2.5 million — that’s $2,500,000.00 — to the American Enterprise Institute, the Heritage Foundation, the Manhattan Institute, and the Pacific Research Institute.
3. These think tanks pump out written pieces and television appearances in which they sing the praises of Wal-Mart.

Given the nature of this payola scandal, the quotes by think tank promotionists on TV and in their writings provide a bit of ironic comedy. Who are they talking about here?

“The highly successful company is an obvious deep-pockets target.” — Sally Pipes, CEO of the Pacific Research Institute.

“This is…a coordinated agitation ginned up in war rooms by professional partisans… run by a clutch of political hacks.” — Karl Zinsmeister, American Enterprise Institute, and Editor in Chief of American Enterprise

“The fact is that editorial pages and prominent columnists of all stripes write favorably about our company because they recognize the value we provide…” — Mona Williams, spokeswoman for Wal-Mart

“That is the spirit and purpose of their giving.” — Jay Allen, spokesman for the Walton Family Foundation

The next time you see a columnist or TV pundit defending Wal-Mart, look for their organizational affiliation. Did his or her publicity firm get a big payoff from Wal-Mart? I hear that the rewards for this kind of journalistic prostitution aren’t going to be so high in the future, though. You know Wal-Mart: Always Lowering Prices — Always!


3 Comments »

  1. Disclosures and Discredits…

    Appearing in today’s New York Times is an article by Michael Barbaro and Stephanie Strom entitled “Wal-Mart Find’s an Ally in Conservatives.” My first reaction upon reading the title was “This is surprising why, exactly?” But as I read further I …

    Trackback by The Business of America is Business — 9/8/2006 @ 12:44 pm

  2. Typical Rethuglican practices. . .

    Comment by Tom — 9/8/2006 @ 12:55 pm

  3. So Wal-Mart hands out a couple ten thousand dollars per year to a think-tank and that’s bad but unions give a single anti-Walmart group a couple million dollars and thats OK?

    Color me confused.

    Comment by Chris — 9/8/2006 @ 4:02 pm

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI

Leave a comment


irregular arrows of splitting timeContact Us

Contact us via "retorts AT irregulartimes.com"

Newsletter

Subscribe to our monthly e-mail newsletter:


Upcoming Activist Events


Grab the RSS feed for this list and put it on your website.

Continuing Activism

Patriotic Peace Hand: Yes We Did! T-Shirt

New Political Products

Celebrate! Barack Obama victory buttons, bumper stickers and sweatshop-free t-shirts

Obama-Biden bumper stickers and t-shirts

Bumper Stickers:

Bulk Discount Bumper Stickers
Anti-Bush
Anti-War
Peace
Liberal
Pro-Gay and Pro-Choice
State Politics
Local Politics
Godless and Heretical
Environmental
Pro-Science
Election 2008
Barack Obama
Election 2012

Small liberal button in red, white and blue

buttons and magnets:

Election 2008 buttons
Election 2008 pins
Election 2008 magnets

Pro-environment buttons
Pro-environment pins
Pro-environment magnets

Heretical buttons
Heretical pins
Heretical magnets

LGBT Pride buttons
Gay and Lesbian freedom buttons
LGBT magnets

Anti-war buttons
Peace pins
Anti-war magnets

Liberal buttons
Progressive pins
Liberal magnets

Alternative vision buttons and magnets
Pro-Choice buttons, magnets and stickers
Barack Obama 2008 buttons and magnets


Mohandas K. Gandhi Quote T-Shirt: First they Ignore You, then they Laugh at You, then they Fight You, then you Win


American Apparel t-shirts:



Alternative Sexuality Shirts
Baby Onesies for Liberals
Barack Obama for President Shirts
Democratic Shirts
Environmentalist Shirts
Heretical T-Shirts
Homeland Insecurity Shirts
Kids' T-Shirts
IrregulariTees
Progressive Holiday Shirts
Progressive Moral Values Shirts
The Republican Menace Shirts
State Politics Shirts
War and Peace Shirts


The Definition of A Pacifist Sweat-Free T-Shirt


Find more at Irregular Books

Political Lawn Signs and Protest Banners

Liberal Yard Signs
Lawn Signs for State and Local Issues
Barack Obama Lawn Signs and Banners

Liberal Lapel Stickers:

Barack Obama Lapel Stickers
Pro-Constitution Lapel Stickers
Pro-Choice Lapel Stickers
Environment Lapel Stickers
Liberal Lapel Stickers
LGBT Lapel Stickers
Peace Lapel Stickers
Religious Freedom Lapel Stickers

many choices in irregular times

Other Goods:



Posters

Postcards

Greeting Cards

Political Thong Underwear

Barack Obama Union-Made Shirts

Political Halloween shop


No Iran War Yard Sign


text catalogs:


bumper sticker text-only catalog
made in the usa shirt text-only catalog
political button, magnet and lapel sticker text-only catalog