An Elitist Snob's Take on Wal-Mart Shoppers

Attention Wal-Mart Shoppers: Here's what the educated elite really think about you. Coastal liberal and long-time Wal-Mart hater Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic magazine wrote the following description of how he saw folks at a Wal-Mart in Martinsburg, WV back on June 23, 2008:

But about those down-and-out customers: If you want to see the underside of the unregulated capitalist economy, the people who can't find the non-existent escape ladder from poverty and its pathologies, visit the Martinsburg, West Virginia Wal-Mart. Morbid obesity; spontaneous, public bouts of corporal punishment directed against dirty children; ten-year girls dressed as whores; tattoos running up necks and down legs; smoking like you only see these days in Baku; it's all here. I considered myself a socialist until I was about 23 (that was when I fled my kibbutz for the final time) but a visit to the Martinsburg Wal-Mart reawakens my distaste for steroidal capitalism.

Goldberg later refers to Wal-Mart workers as "hopeless and toothless." What a collection of stereotypes of working class Americans, straight out of Marx's Grim Fairy Tales of the Lumpenproletariat.

Now, as you can imagine, this column set off quite an uproar in Martinsburg. Rather than apologize, Goldberg states:

It's interesting to me how many people conflate an attack on Wal-Mart with an attack on their community. I suppose this just how the malevolent merchants from Bentonville, Ark., would have it.

Yeah. Wal-Mart made Goldberg an arrogant and self-righteous asshole. Who knows though? Maybe Goldberg is a double agent for Wal-Mart; his overbearing pretentiousness discrediting other Wal-Mart haters. But let's face it. "Ten-year girls dressed as whores?" It WAS a vicious attack on the Martinsburg community, and more generally an attack on all the people who shop at Wal-Mart.

And that ultimately is what the war on Wal-Mart is all about. It's rank class hatred, bigotry and pure snobbery from wealthy elitists towards the people they claim to be "protecting" from Wal-Mart.

But I for one am glad for Goldberg's hateful rant. Next time you read in the Daily News about "$45,000 traffic studies" and "wreaking havoc on small towns," you'll know what those code words really mean.

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"Compound fracture of fact"

The reason for the numerous PARD "compound fractures of fact" and the smear campaign they are currently waging which Terry Day referred to in a letter to the editor last Friday is obvious.

PARD desperately wants to distract public attention away from the outing of their three year long lie about not receiving any financial assistance from the UFCW. They fear, rightfully so, the wrath of Pullman citizens who have been cheated out of two million dollars in sales tax revenue and tens of thousands of dollars in legal expenses as part of some futile nationwide union grudge match against Wal-Mart that has nothing to do with our town.

PARDner Chris Lupke, and PARD ally Matthew Root (remember, Root threatened to call the cops on Palousitics constributor Ray Lindquist for holding up a "Honk for Wal-Mart" sign downtown back in January 2006,) have been engaged in a systematic campaign of outrageous lies and distortions against Scotty ("The Seattle Transplant,") myself, and by inference, all who support Wal-Mart coming to Pullman in the printed pages of the Daily News and on Dnews.com.

For example, Lupke wrote in a unhinged rant published in the July 5-6 edition of the Daily News that, "Following it [this blog post made by me on June 29] are some comments, including this: 'This pig needs to be removed from the trough.'" That bordered on libel, as the clear implication was that I had made that statement. On Dnews.com, the online comments about this letter actually turned libelous, as I was accused by both Lupke and Root of having made it.

That is a complete and utter lie. If you look at the comments for this post, you can see it was Paul Zimmerman that wrote about the "pig," not me. What I said was this:

There was a story in the Daily News not too long ago stating that the average salary of professors at WSU was $92,000 a year.

Now, one can debate that number in terms of pay at other universities or whether the professors deserve such pay or not all day long.

What is not debatable, however, is the adolescent hippie fantasy that Lupke engages in that somehow the professors of PARD with their much-higher-than-average salaries (and education) represent the "working class" of Pullman. It's unseemly and it's silly.

My wife is a professor in the College of Liberal Arts. I have never impugned the pay of professors or the quality of professors in the College of Liberal Arts in general, only arrogant jerks in any college who suppress academic freedom and try to promote their own leftist agenda on the taxpayer's time or by pretending to be "experts" in things such as traffic, urban planning and economics.

I don't think Paul was making a broad statement aboout professors either, as he has been an instructor at WSU. He was just singling out Lupke. And I was merely rebutting Lupke's absurd assertion on Dnews.com that somehow only the "more wealthy people" in Pullman support Wal-Mart. I did this by using data available to those who pay his salary, the taxpayers of Washington,to show that members of prominent PARD households all make well above the average family income in Pullman. If Lupke doesn't like his pay being a matter of public record, he should move to a job in the private sector.

If any further letters or comments claiming that I said anything about "pigs in the trough" show up again anywhere, there will be legal consequences for all involved.

But false accusations and namecalling are nothing new to the tag team of Lupke and Root, both active members of the Whitman County Democrats. A few months back, after falsely accusing me of being the Dnews.com commenter "TJ Kong," Lupke said I was "homophobic" and "fascinated with Nazis." Root called "TJ Kong" a "suicide bomber."

From last Friday's Moscow-Pullman Daily News:

Mark Twain spoke of lies and damned lies and labeled the aphorism that "Truth is mighty and will prevail" as "the most majestic compound fracture of fact which any of woman born has yet achieved ... a truth is not hard to kill, and ... a lie well told is immortal."

I take it this must be the bible of PARDites, who continue to spread lies about Pullman city officials regarding Wal-Mart's proposed Pullman super center. PARDites will take umbrage at this truth. They are unrestrained in misrepresenting the city's handling of the Wal-Mart application, but accuse those who criticize them of intimidation.

The only smear campaign in Pullman over Wal-Mart is being conducted by the Pullman Alliance for Responsible Development or its supporters. They wage it against city officials who acted morally and legally and whose handling of the issues have repeatedly been upheld in the court of law. And that especially includes providing all citizens ample opportunity through public hearings to voice their concerns and opinions. Allegations to the contrary constitute a compound fracture of fact.

Terence L. Day, Pullman

"Rossi Political Insult Reveals Character Flaws in Gregoire’s Long-Held State Power"

Outside the latte liberal set in Seattle, people get it about the tyranny of Queen Christine and her lust for power.

The Centralia Chronicle had a damning editorial yesterday about her latest faux-pas, the racist attack on Dino Rossi.

Some excerpts:

In politics it doesn’t matter which party is in control -- power does indeed corrupt. Washington state’s Democrats have now been in control for 24 years. That is a whole generation of the same politicians and their hacks; at this point they have become overconfident, condescending and arrogant. What follows are bad taste, rule bending and the shunning of ethics. Such is the case in Chris Gregoire’s campaign to hold on to her governorship -- or more precisely, a misguided attempt to be cute by the anti-Rossi attack machine.

[snip]

Perhaps the Democrats, confident of their death-grip on the state of Washington, do not feel subject to fairness, decency or good manners. They can do what they want -- Soprano style -- with little fear of voter retribution. Our hope is that Washington’s voters can see through the smoke and mirrors and locate the problem of too much power in one place for too long.

Well said. Read the whole thing.

Time to end the one-party dictatorship in Olympia.

Sour Grapes from the Wealthy Residents of Pullman

Sore loser Chris Lupke of PARD wrote the following comment on Dnews.com about Susan Fagan's letter yesterday:

Susan,

Speaking as a Republican party official, you probably know you don't speak for the majority of Pullman residents just the more wealthy ones.

I hope Chris includes himself and other PARD members in that group of "more wealthy Pullman residents." A search of the 2007 Washington State University List of Employees, Job Title and Salary database reveals the following yearly salaries:

Alex Hammond: $61,512.84
Chris Lupke: $62,872.65
Nella Van Dyke: $63,868.32
TV Reed: $89,268.80
Howard Hosick: $95,878.80
Greg Hooks: $99,576.00
James "Uncle Buck" Krueger: $217,333.80 (who said studying deer testicles would never pay off?)

Average Family Income in Pullman: $40,709

Average Family Income of a Wal-Mart Shopper: $35,000

It seems the people fighting Wal-Mart in Pullman are the ones wealthy enough not to have to shop there. Not surprising really. Americans who self-identify as liberals have an average annual income of $71,000 – the highest-grossing political category in America. So much for Republicans being the "party of the rich man."

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Say What?

One cannot help but lament that when the original Wal-Mart proposal was made, and Pullman residents were told its effect would not be felt beyond the need for one stoplight at Harvest and Bishop, the city of Pullman did not direct Wal-Mart to spend $45,000 on an independent traffic study of this magnitude.

"Baghdad" Chris Lupke, "Bishop traffic study supports PARD claims," June 4, 2008

Thus, substantial evidence supports the examiner's findings that the TIA used proper methodology to estimate new daily trips and the determination that the TIA is technically adequate. PARD did not submit its own evidence that the TIA significantly underestimated traffic numbers. PARD thus failed to carry its burden under LUPA. PARD's argument that the examiner improperly shifted the burden of proof to PARD is without merit.

- Opinion issued by Court of Appeals Division III, State of Washington, Pullman Alliance for Responsible Development v. CLC Associates of Spokane Valley, City of Pullman, and S&W Land Company, June 3, 2008

Sorry, Chris, it is PARD that cannot help but lament that it never conducted an independent traffic study of its own rather than parse and throw spitballs at studies conducted by the state and the City of Pullman. $45,000 seems a small price to pay to stop the Bentonville Behemoth. The lack of any such studies or empirical evidence specific to Pullman presented by PARD is a common thread in the appellate court's decision to reject their appeal.

Perhaps they were afraid what such a study would find. The absurd dichotomy of PARD's argument that Wal-Mart would simultaneously destroy all business in Pullman and lead to urban light AND dramatically increase traffic was always going to be problematic for them. Such are the perils of the kitchen-sink approach.

Of course, Lu Laoshi submitted this column days before the Wal-Mart decision was released. Unfortunately for him, it now comes off as 13th hour pleading and/or a pathetic apologia for PARD's existence. Already, one can imagine them trying to spin this devastating loss as somehow a positive by saying through their efforts, Wal-Mart agreed to pay for another stop light on Bishop (although according to Lupke, not nearly enough. BTW Chris, I think $1 million plus extra a year in tax revenues for the city of Pullman from Wal-Mart more than covers $9.1 million in needed traffic improvements by 2027, with plenty to spare) PARD rejected that opportunity two years ago when they took their appeal to the Whitman County Superior Court, thus forever ruining any chance at claiming victory or community goodwill.

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Non Sequitur of the Day

Instead of waiting until gas is $9 per gallon, we could seek to develop augmented water supplies.

- Chuck "Mr. Civil Discourse" Pezeshki, "Like it or not, change is coming for us all," Moscow-Pullman Daily News, May 10, 2008

Huh? What does the price of gas, which we have no control over, have to do with water supplies?

Runners-Up:

We could pull out all the stops and work toward developing sustainable housing close to the university, where many of the staff that now must commute from Colfax, could live.

Apparently, with Chuck away in Europe, he didn't hear that College Hill has been designated a historic district listed with the National Register of Historic Places. Good luck putting in your "sustainable housing" now. Those drafty, old, energy inefficient houses are here to stay.

We could work toward making both Moscow and Pullman the most bike-friendly communities in the West, and move the majority of our student population toward cycling.

Ditto. Chuckie must not be aware that Pullman was recently named one of the most pedestrian-oriented cities in the U.S.

We could actively engage our organic farming faculty toward a goal of campus food self-sufficiency.

I can't wait to see the organic farming faculty grow enough food to feed 18,000 students.

Honorable Mention:

Some of our faculty and staff in my university building, from professorial to janitorial, still drive from homes far distant, alone in their pick-up trucks, spending up to 15 percent of their take-home pay on gas.

15 percent?

We celebrate the commissioning of an unnecessary and useless golf course that will only further deplete our pristine water supply.

I am definitely taking up golf because it pisses off the liberals so much.

We still welcome obesity with our dietary choices.

What a rant. Chuck is taking swings at everything that makes him mad, including apparently, fat people driving pick-up trucks. You gotta love the intolerance of the "tolerant."

Instead of having city councils making backroom deals for large developments promoting failed models of consumerism, we could have our local governments actively address some of these big issues.

"Failed model of consumerism?" Unfortunately for Chuck and his fellow socialists, consumerism hasn't failed. Otherwise, Hawkins wouldn't be building a mall. And just what would he have local governments do? It's the people that decide where they want to shop last time I checked.

Quote of the Day

When you match my success in corporate America, as an advisor all the way to the top of some very large corporations, then we'll talk.

You've never given any evidence that you're anything other than a dead-end small-town loser that's even afraid to stand out in a rather small community.

That's the truth. Too bad for you-- as well as the rest of your pathetic cohort.

- Chuck "Mr. Civil Discourse" Pezeshki, online comment at Dnews.com, April 19, 2008.

BWHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Chuck is demonstrating how a six-figure salary tenured professor engages in the third-grade schoolyard game known as a "pissing contest." (One wonders what Chuck "advises" these corporations on.)

He's also, indirectly, acknowledging that he has no further aspirations for elected office.

"Bishop Boulevard growth fine as it is"

There was a great letter in the April 3 edition of the Daily News from Larry Hodge, a former member of the Latah Economic Development Council:

Friday's headline said 'Students protest city's 'architorture' " (Page 1A, March 28).

Students from professor Ayad Rahmani's WSU architecture class were protesting development of Bishop Boulevard.

Reading the article, one would believe that in the past, downtowns such as Pullman and Moscow were developed out of a very well-planned sense of cohesion, with only approved architecture being allowed. Nothing could be further from the truth. The only thing planned was the road system with lots and blocks laid out in a rectangular system where topography allowed. The buildings were constructed by developers using their own designs, building one here and one there, infilling until most of the lots were taken.

Bishop Boulevard is being developed just as it should be. One model for urban development does not fit all situations. Just like we need large houses, small houses, and houses with different architecture we need more than a downtown offers. Downtowns are wonderful and none of us wants to give up on ours, but other types of development in different areas should not be viewed with such disdain. The people of Pullman should be proud of buildings like the Pullman Regional Hospital, Brelsford's University Pointe office complex, and Zeppoz. They all add a unique perspective to an environment that was never meant to be downtown.

There are many different views of what is appropriate building design and lot layout and there is always room for improvement, but organizing a design review board as professor Rahmani suggests is not the answer. Having someone else tell me what color I should paint my house is not what America is about and I hope it never will be.

Larry J. Hodge, Moscow

"Protest only served prof's cause"

It's official: Ayad Rahmani's "architorture" protest was a big flop. The only thing he succeeded in doing was igniting a debate on teaching methods, not community planning. Hopefully, we've seen the first and last of these arrogant spectacles.

This is Steve McClure's op-ed on behalf of the entire editorial staff that appeared in yesterday's Moscow-Pullman Daily News:

Washington State University professor Ayad Rahmani's faux-protest along Bishop Boulevard played into all the less-desirable stereotypes of a town-gown controversy.

If that was his goal, he succeeded.

Anything beyond that, however, and his gathering students to protest the design of buildings and sidewalks in the developing area of southern Pullman was little more than a publicity stunt.

He argues students didn't have to participate in the March 27 protest, which took place during the regularly scheduled class period. Those who wanted to write a paper arguing their position could receive the same credit.

We find that a bit hollow since most students will choose the path of least resistance - in this case, joining a hundred classmates for a cup of coffee and a picket.

There are hundreds of ways for students at WSU to become engaged in their community. Dropping by a parking lot for a protest two months before graduation hardly ranks near the top of the list.

Those 100 students could have spent that same class hour working with practicing architects to discover how to incorporate the desired aesthetics into an architectural rendering that works for a paying client.

If Rahmani wanted to give his students a strong life lesson, he should send them to planning commission meetings for a sense of how architects and developers work through the process. That also might give those students an idea of the challenges people confront when it comes time to develop property.

A two-mile stretch of road doesn't suddenly convert into a vibrant business district with a wave of a wand - it takes money and usually happens over a period of years.

In other words, teach these students what it will be like when they're pitching their plans to the people who will be financing the construction of their creative vision.

"WSU investigating 'architorture' protest; Demonstration organized by architecture prof causes concern among administrators, community members"

Rush has got "Operation Chaos." What should we call this?

Last week, I urged Palousitics readers to e-mail WSU president Elson Floyd about architecture professor Ayad Rahmani's "architorture" protest on Bishop Blvd. Apparently, we got results!!

That makes two victories this week, along with Ed Weber's proposal for more intellectual diversity at WSU. Let's keep up the pressure and take our campus and our town back from the academic extremists!!

From today's Moscow-Pullman Daily News:

Washington State University administrators are investigating a professor's conduct following a protest in Pullman last week.

Ken Vreeland, special assistant to the provost and executive vice president, said his office has received several e-mails from community members concerned about architecture professor Ayad Rahmani's role in a March 27 protest with more than 100 of his students on Bishop Boulevard.

"We are aware of the concerns and are reviewing them," Vreeland said.

Rahmani encouraged students in his sophomore-level architecture class to protest the lack of continuity, planning and design along the boulevard. He said the protest was relevant to the course work, which studies the built environment and includes buildings, infrastructure, sustainability and design elements and how they create a community.

Students carried signs that read "Stop Architorture in Pullman" and "The Show Starts on the Sidewalk" in the protest, which took place during a regularly scheduled class period. Participation in the protest was optional for the 200 students enrolled in the class. Credit was given to students who protested, as well as those who didn't as long as they justified their position in writing.

Rahmani said the protest was intended to pinpoint city planning issues "respectfully, not controversially."

"I made it clear to the students that this is a democratic option. This is not something that they have to do," he said. "I told them that, but I did say, 'I would like you to do it, to show the principles of the class.' I thought I really needed to do something to show the students what I'm talking about."

Vreeland said many WSU classes expect students to participate in community service or interdisciplinary learning projects.

"We encourage that ... but we expect that they're inclusive of different views and use sound education practices," he said

Vreeland said he is in the information-gathering stage of the investigation, collecting facts about the protest and the course work itself. Rahmani eventually will be interviewed, though no reprimand is expected at this time.

"It would be premature to say we're taking any action against the instructor," Vreeland said. "Right now, we're going to take a look at what we can learn from this."

Rahmani said he's not aware of any concern that has surfaced in the community.

"I think I did everything according to the rules," he said. "I may have done something new, but as a teaching method I think it was significant. It got students to talk and ask questions that weren't there before."

In Rahmani's opinion, the protest was a success if the community still is talking about it one week later.

"Obviously, that's why I did it," he said. "I wanted the students to perk up ... but also the community and the developers to know that people do care and it's important to do something about it."

The only thing that it is important to "do something about" is you Professor Rahmani. Hopefully after this, no other WSU professors will be tempted to take their liberal fascist agenda to the streets of Pullman at taxpayer expense.

Quote of the Year

There is no really good area outside of what’s on campus.

- WSU architecture professor Ayad Rahmani passsing judgment on Pullman, "Architecture students protest on Bishop Boulevard," The Daily Evergreen, April 1, 2008

Rahmani hopes his imperious and insulting comments will "generate some intelligent discussion."

Runner-Up:

Each building is completely independent from one another

Say What?

I still don't get it. We have a Walmart 6 miles away. For some of us in Pullman, it's shorter and easier to get there than across to Safeway.

- Chuck "Mr. Civil Discourse" Pezeshki, online comment regarding the Pullman Wal-Mart Supercenter at Dnews.com, December 6, 2007

So many of these decisions really benefit no one who lives here-- that's my point. They just create more sprawl, which, as gas prices go up, is really going to kill all of us five years from now.

And needless to say, no one is even beginning to look five years into the future.

- Chuck "Mr. Civil Discourse" Pezeshki, online comment regarding the Hawkins development near the Moscow Wal-Mart at Dnews.com, February 24, 2008

I still don't get it either. Liberal man speak with forked tongue.

Vanity: Definitely My Favorite Sin

Say What? Special Edition

The wit and wisdom of Moscow City Councilman Tom "Last Liberal Standing" Lamar, as displayed in today's Moscow-Pullman Daily News:

I am not convinced that it is legal for an Idaho city to sell water to a private entity in another state

That's funny. I'm not convinced that it's legal for an Idaho city to oppose a private development in another state.

Why should Moscow give up its precious resource to benefit another county and a private company?

Excuse, me, MOSCOW'S precious resource? The last time I checked, the Grande Ronde aquifer extended under Washington, Idaho, and Oregon, with the vast majority underneath Whitman County and Washington.

I have not seen a retail study showing that a retail development of this size - 714,000 square feet is needed or justified.

Here you go, Tom.

Locating a giant shopping center in an unincorporated area is poor community planning. It runs contrary to Moscow's comprehensive plan.

That would be great, if THE HAWKINS DEVELOPMENT WAS IN MOSCOW. But it isn't. It will be built in Whitman County and the concept FITS PERFECTLY WITH OUR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN. Arrogant jerk. You plan your community, we'll plan ours.

It will be more difficult for Moscow residents to reach via walking, biking or bus than our current shopping choices.

Let's see. Most Moscow residents live on the other side of town from Winco, the Palouse Mall, Tri-State, Wal-Mart, etc. If they are willing to walk a mile or more to shop now, an extra few hundred yards to get to the Hawkins development shouldn't deter them. Of course, Lamar's premise is absurd. How many people do you see walking or biking to the mall or Winco? And I imagine Moscow city buses will go to the Hawkins mall. If not, I'm sure the Wheatland Express will.

Moscow residents who work in Pullman likely will face longer commute times.

That's too stupid to even address.

How will this long-term commitment of water affect the future ability of Moscow businesses to grow? Or our ability to attract new businesses?

Here's how, Tom. This whole agreement is a Win-Win-Win-Win. Hawkins wins by avoiding hundreds of thousands of dollars in further lengthy litigation. Those concerned about water and the environment win because Moscow's municipal water and sewer system will be far more effective at conserving water and preventing pollution than anything Hawkins would construct. Whitman County wins because the corridor is now open for business and all the millions of extra dollars in tax revenue that means as opposed to Hawkins pulling the plug and scaring off all future corridor development. And Moscow wins because they get a piece of the sales tax action by selling water and sewer at a premium, existing Moscow businesses will benefit greatly from the spillover from Hawkins, and the land behind Staples, Wal-Mart, and the Palouse Mall just got a lot more attractive to new businesses. In fact, I would argue Moscow made out the best inthe deal. By selling Hawkins water, Moscow has forestalled any county or City of Pullman water services in the corridor for now, which of course will forestall any further development in the corridor. Any new businesses attracted by the Hakwins development will go into Moscow.