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Main Entry: rhet·o·ric  
Pronunciation: \ˈre-tə-rik\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English rethorik, from Anglo-French rethorique, from Latin rhetorica, from Greek rhētorikē, literally, art of oratory, from feminine of rhētorikos of an orator, from rhētōr orator, rhetorician, from eirein to say, speak — more at word
Date: 14th century
1: the art of speaking or writing effectively: as a: the study of principles and rules of composition formulated by critics of ancient times b: the study of writing or speaking as a means of communication or persuasion
2 a: skill in the effective use of speech b: a type or mode of language or speech; also : insincere or grandiloquent language
3: verbal communication : discourse

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Sharpton, Scott Seek Immigration Reform



Jul 24, 8:55 PM EDT



By LAURA WIDES-MUNOZ
AP Hispanic Affairs Writer

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- The Rev. Al Sharpton and Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott became unlikely allies Tuesday in their call to revive immigration legislation, in speeches before the nation's largest Hispanic civil rights organization. "Congress needs to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill now," said Scott, who heads the world's largest retailer.

Scott attributed his views in part to his Mexican-American granddaughter, who has helped him to understand immigration as more than "simply a cerebral exercise."

But Hispanics also provide a major part of the chain's business, Scott acknowledged, roughly 14 percent and growing. And their relatives are increasingly shopping at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in countries such as Argentina and Guatemala.

Sharpton, a civil rights activist who has often railed against corporate America, went further in his support for a bill that would provide a path to legalization for many of the nation's more than 12 million illegal immigrants. He denounced TV and radio shows that foster an "us against them" mentality.

"I want to say what a lot of people won't say. The immigration debate is not simply about border security, it is a problem of America dealing with race," Sharpton told the audience of more than 1,000 community, political and business leaders, at the National Council of La Raza's annual conference.

"No one is calling for English-only tests when it comes to fighting in Iraq," he added.

Black Americans must stand up for Hispanics because the issues they face are the same, Sharpton said.

"We cannot have the tribal psychology in the civil rights movement," he said. "We must fight all for one and one for all, or we lose the moral authority to fight for anybody."

Sharpton dismissed the notion that immigrants are taking jobs from black Americans.

"What jobs?" he demanded. "Blacks were doubly unemployed by whites before anyone came across the border."

He also slammed presidential candidates he said wink at black and Hispanic Americans and say: "you know what I mean. We'll take care of you later," then ignore them in the primaries.

"No, we don't know what you mean," he said. "Do not treat us like some cheap date that you cannot take home to your mother."

But Tomar Jacoby, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research who did not attend the conference, disputed the notion that opposition to last month's immigration bill was based on racism.

"Much more widespread are worries about the culture. Are we going to be speaking Spanish? Are our politics going to look like Mexican politics? Can this work?" she said.

Jacoby said some Americans are so disillusioned with the government's handling of Hurricane Katrina, the war in Iraq and even current immigration laws, that they have little confidence the government will keep its promises on new ones.

"That can spill over into bigotry, but it isn't bigotry," she said.

Sharpton and Lee spoke as immigrant rights activists discussed last month's failure to achieve new immigration laws and their strategies for renewing the debate.

Many called for more civil rights-era type protests against local anti-immigrant ordinances and efforts to reach out to local media.

"Ultimately, you can't argue with demographics," said Joe Garcia, vice president of the Democratic nonprofit NDN Network. "Being anti-immigrant doesn't work in some places, and as America changes, being anti-immigrant isn't going to work in a lot more places."

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He denounced TV and radio shows that foster an "us against them" mentality.

Quoted from bumblethru

Mr. Sharpton needs a REAL job!! Since he likes to be in the lime light, perhaps Mr. Sharpton can go to Hollywood with the rest of the liberals! He'd fit in nicely!

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The Wal-Mart Trash Page
This is my own personal story which I feel illustrates the true character of the Wal-Mart Corporation. I want to share it with whoever is concerned about the affects of Wal-Mart constructing a store in their town:
Several years ago my wife and I retired and built a home in a new housing development in Dublin, Georgia. Wal-Mart contracted with a leasing company that purchased a large piece of property adjacent to our backyard. A contractor was hired to build one of its infamous stores, and the first order of business was to bulldoze a long row of old oak trees along the border of their property and our subdivision. The trees were not even on their side of the property line!

To appease the people in the subdivision, a tall chain-link fence was installed by the contractor. The fence blocked the unsightly view of the parking lot, but not the noise from it. On April 11, 1995 a wind storm blew the fence right off the poles that held it up. The local Wal-Mart manager refused to accept any of the responsibility for repairing it. Large quantities of trash from their lot blew into our neighborhood. Strangers wandered into our back yards, and Wal-Mart customers walked their dogs in our vegetable garden while their spouses shopped.

On one occasion I telephoned the local store manager to complain about all of the trash, and he sent an employee out to clean it up. On the left is a picture of the finished job. Notice the ground is almost clean on the Wal-Mart side of the fence. Nothing was picked up on our side of the fence.

I had been a regular Wal-Mart customer as well as a stockholder. On July 24, 1995 I wrote Wal-Mart President & CEO William R. Fields at the corporate office to describe the situation and ask that they repair the fence. He responded by forwarding my letter to the local Wal-Mart manager who continued to ignore the situation.

For 12 months the fence continued to lay twisted in an unsightly mess on the ground. When it became obvious that it would otherwise stay that way, our homeowners' association agreed to finance the $1800 repair.

Part of the problem is that the Wal-Mart Corporation often does not actually own the property where they build their stores. Instead they sign a contract with a leasing company agreeing to become the anchor store for a new shopping complex. Thus, they effectively avoid responsibilities and obligations to the surrounding community. I hope other city councils will recognize this clever business tactic when the pros and cons of a new Wal-Mart Store are being debated in their cities.

As long as big profits go straight to the corporate office, there is no incentive for Wal-Mart to be good citizens. They have demonstrated that once established in a neighborhood, they care little about being a good neighbor. Their primary function here is to funnel money from Dublin to the corporate office in Bentonville, Arkansas.

Good luck in your own personal battles against Wal-Mart. I hope that this web page can help your cause. It's too late for it to help ours.

K.M. Fowler
Dublin, GA



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See additional photos of Mr. Fowler's property.

I have received thousands of e-mails in response to this web page. The ones written by current and former employees are particularly informative about the inner workings of the company. Some have been edited to remove details which expose the identity of individuals who might otherwise suffer repercussions from divulging the information contained in their e-mails. So here are some of my favorites divided up into several categories:

E-mail from people who: hate Wal-Mart
E-mail from people who: hate Wal-Mart and are/were Wal-Mart employees
E-mail from people who: love Wal-Mart
E-mail from people who: love Wal-Mart and are/were Wal-Mart employees
E-mail about: the trash problem
E-mail about: other problems

If you are currently fighting Wal-Mart, you will find a lot of ammunition in Bill Quinn's most recent book called How Wal-Mart Is Destroying The World - And What You Can Do About It. Ten Speed Press, ISBN: 1580082319. This book was scheduled to be available September 2000, so put in an order for one at Amazon Books.

Bill Quinn has an older book called How Wal-Mart Is Destroying America - And What You Can Do About It which was the basis for the one mentioned above. (Both of these books tell my story!) Ten Speed Press, ISBN: 0898159733. A quick way to get a copy is to order one over the web from Amazon Books.

Al Norman wrote a book called Slam Dunking Wal-Mart: How You Can Stop Superstore Sprawl in Your Hometown and has a web site called Sprawl-Busters where you can find strategy and subscribe to a newsletter about stopping Wal-Mart.

Yahoo provides a list of interesting Anti-Wal-Mart related links.


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E-Mail me at:

Many people have asked how to contact Wal-Mart. As you have probably already discovered, the corporated office and Wal-Mart web pages are not designed to help you contact them. Here are some addresses which might be helpful:
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
702 Southwest Eighth Street
Bentonville, Arkansas 72716

Cindy P. Moehring
Sr. Corporate Counsel
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
702 Southwest Eighth Street
Bentonville, Arkansas 72716
Phone: 1-501-277-0425
Fax: 1-501-277-5991

cpmoehr@wal-mart.com         (sorry, Wal-Mart changed it after we published it on the internet; a new one is coming soon)

Amy Wyatt
Head of International Corporate Affairs

amy.wyatt@wal-mart.com                   <----- try this new one
If one of the above addresses becomes obsolete, please let me know so I can get new ones for you. You are welcome to reproduce or use the contents of this web page in your fight against Wal

Quoted from Shadow

Walmart is an equal opportunity community crapper.