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As a nation, we face... This is an excerpt. Click on link for full article to read the same old garbage. See my comment below for why this is posted.

Despite an economy languishing in high unemployment and low consumer confidence, more American companies are jumping on the bandwagon to provide support for homosexual and transgender employees. More than 300 firms have now received perfect 100 percent scores in this fall's Corporate Equality Index, produced annually by the Human Rights Campaign which ranks businesses on their "treatment" of employees who have chosen homosexual, lesbian, bisexual and transgender lifestyles. The list, which saw a 20 percent increase this year in the number of perfect scores, includes newcomers such as theater giant AMC Entertainment, Costco, Delta Air Lines, Food Lion and General...

PORTLAND, Ore. - With many families suddenly struggling to feed themselves, the big warehouse clubs known for king-size packages of steak and jumbo boxes of Cheerios are increasingly competing with grocery stores for the 36 million Americans now on food stamps. Costco Wholesale Corp. said Wednesday that it would start accepting food stamps at its warehouse clubs nationwide after testing them at stores in New York. That is a big about-face for a chain that has catered to the bargain-hunting affluent with its gourmet foods, and a reflection of the fact food-stamp use has hit new highs.

BOISE - A local high school math teacher has been arrested for obscene conduct in a public place. Chuck McClure, Boise Police public information officer, says Kyle Dennis, 37, was arrested after multiple instances of "obscene live conduct" that took place at two Boise retail outlets starting in February of this year. According to court documents, Dennis "knowingly engaged in obscene conduct...by manipulating his penis with his hands while walking around a Costco store with an erection." The documents go on to say that Dennis performed the same behavior at the Costco on 2051 S. Cole Road as well as...

Below is an excerpt from the book "1,001 Things They Won't Tell You," which was published in May 2009 and highlights popular columns from SmartMoney's long-running "10 Things" feature.

Millions of Americans who shop at Costco receive the retail giant’s monthly magazine The Costco Connection. I have to confess however that my copy of the publication usually never makes it past the garage. Not so the recent August issue, which promotes on the cover a “Back to School” series of essays for parents and children. Since one of the essays promised to take on the issue of bullying, I decided to take a closer look. Bullies seem to be everywhere these days. From the schoolyard to the political arena thugs young and old have been learning that threats and...

This October, when Costco, the big warehouse chain, opens its first Manhattan store, it will occupy a brand new mall along the East River Drive at 116th Street that has been developed with $55 million in tax-free bonds and grants. The company will be eligible for millions of dollars in tax credits for creating new jobs. But there’s one kind of government money Costco won’t take: food stamps. That policy effectively cuts off more than 30,000 of its immediate neighbors in East Harlem, who receive food stamps. Throughout the city, 1.4 million people got them in April, an increase of...

Dear (Right to Work Supporter): This week, the CEOs of Costco, Whole Foods, and Starbucks plan to throw you and their employees "under the bus" to appease Big Labor, offering a so-called "compromise version" of Big Labor's top legislative priority: the "Card Check" Forced Unionism Bill. It's vital you act right now to help fight back against their scheme -- which will leave workers vulnerable to union-boss intimidation and make you pay the price in higher costs. With our economy already blasted with recession and nearly constant political agitation, attempts to "compromise" over forced unionism really could push our economy...

Three major retailers on Saturday laid out broad details of an alternative proposal they hope will fend off a deadlock over a hotly contested bill making it easier for workers to unionize. Starbucks Corp., Whole Foods Market Inc. and Costco Wholesale Corp. are opposed to portions of the labor-friendly Employee Free Choice Act, which would take away the right of employers to demand secret-ballot elections by workers before unions could be formed. Under the legislation, unions could gain representation if a majority of workers sign cards authorizing it. Still, the companies say they recognize that simply opposing the bill might...

Three big retailers are expected to back an alternative proposal next week on a hotly contested bill that would make it easier to unionize workplaces, a move some experts said would bolster the legislation's chance of passage. Costco Wholesale Corp., Starbucks Corp. and Whole Foods Market Inc. are supporting the alternative proposal, according to someone familiar with the effort. Ray Krupin, a management labor lawyer in Washington said the most likely compromise would allow employees to unionize if 70% of them sign union-authorization cards, as opposed to 50% as currently proposed in the Employee Free Choice Act.

Costco no longer puts “Christmas� on its holiday merchandising. Sellers want us to buy to help the financial slump but the reason for buying is not allowed to appear.A student wished me a “Merry Winter Break.�A mother of four tells me that even things like Santa have disappeared, just lights and wintery scenes. I did see a Santa on Wisconsin Avenue, and you could still sit on his lap for a photo. In retrospect, the Bing Crosby singing of “Happy Holidays� and even “White Christmas� was the beginning of the evaporation of Christmas. “Don’t impose Christmas on us� means “Keep...

Thanks to your faithful actions, Costco is now recognizing Christmas in a big, new way! Two weeks ago, their website and store was practically absent of any references to “Christmas.” Today, you’ll find Christmas prominently featured on their website and email promotions. And, if you call their corporate offices, you’ll be greeted with “Merry Christmas from Costco!” One unnamed store manager said, “The company has received so many e-mails and complaints that they are changing all their holiday cakes to say Merry Christmas and will be saying it in the stores.” Learn which companies are celebrating Christmas with you by...

Costco has 520 stores nationwide. But you will not find "Christmas" in a single store. That's because Costco says it will not use the term "Christmas" on its website or in its stores. Instead, Costco is telling customers it purposely chooses to use the generic "holiday" verbiage. You know, they stock holiday gifts, not Christmas gifts. Last week, a customer wrote to Costco and asked this direct question – "Does Costco use the word 'Christmas' in your store advertising or on any signs anywhere in your stores during the Christmas season? That's a pretty simple question, yes or no." Kory...

This is absolutely crazy and amusing. Some daily kossacks were so upset over 'The Obama Nation', they went to Costco and attempted to hide the books from being seeing by shoppers. Here's what I found on dailykos. In the last election cycle, the CEO of Costco, Jim Sinegal and the Chairman of the Board, Jeffrey Brotman gave generously to progressive causes. I didn't think I would walk into one of their stores to find a copy of "The Obama Nation." My wife and I took action, and turned every copy of the book over so nobody would see the cover....

CYPRESS -- Things are getting ugly at Southern California gas pumps, and we're not just talking about the record prices. Some drivers are turning to violence. A doctor from La Palma was arrested Monday night after police say he grabbed a tire iron and threatened a driver who cut him off at a Costco gasoline station in Orange County. According to witnesses, Dr. Antonio Reyes, 58, was among a crowd of motorists waiting in line at the pumps at the Costco on Katella Ave. around 5:40 p.m. when another vehicle cut in front of him. Apparently angry about being cut...

Okay, I have been pondering renewing my Costco membership or taking a look at Sam's Club. I noticed that Sam's Club is further away (five miles as opposed to one mile from Costco), Sam's membership is cheaper and their hours are a little better. Which do you prefer and how do their products (meats, produce) compare?

Costco is not cool with underpants-filled punching bags. From their website (emphasis ours): We are issuing this voluntary recall notice for the TKO Sports Heavy Punching Bag with Speed Bag Combination, manufactured by TKO Sports, of Houston, TX. We have learned that the fill material in the heavy punching bag does not meet our high quality standards.

Costco Bans Guns Fellow newslinks editor Bruce Kraft learned the hard way about Costco's gun ban. Below is his story. Mark A. Taff . . . We arrived at the registers, and got rung out. I paid, and as we are getting ready to head out, Brian came up and said that "for the comfort and safety" of their employees and guests, he asked that I leave my gun outside. I said "No problem, sorry if I caused any fuss." I then asked if this was the policy of the Eden Prairie store, or a company-wide policy. He said it...

When the Costco managers at the headquarters in Issaquah, Wash., decided it was time to embrace solar photovoltaic technology, they selected the Costco warehouse in Lancaster - from among their 480 warehouses worldwide - for the prototype project. At the completion of the project the last week of August, the Lancaster facility will be the site of one of the largest privately owned commercial photovoltaic systems in the United States, said the builders. According to Craig Peal, assistant vice president, when powered up, the system will reduce 44% of the building's peak electrical load on a peak day and "if...

Almost exactly one year ago, oenophiles received the Supreme Court's decision in Granholm v. Heald with glee and anticipation. Today, however, the harsh reality is that many of our hopes have been dashed. In today's remarkable economy, with just a few minutes online, you can buy almost any product imaginable from almost anywhere in the world and have it delivered to your front door. Except wine. The history books teach us that one of our Founding Fathers' primary motives for ditching the Articles of Confederation in favor of the U.S. Constitution was fear of economic Balkanization. "[A] central concern of...

Poll at link Screen caps of .PDF pages at site (I like "Tubby Thompson's" objections):

I am writing this letter in answer to article concerning high gas prices, in the May 3 edition of the Calvert Independent. In addressing the high gasoline prices, I am not surprised to see the slant, or “spin,” that the greedy oil companies are the blame for the high prices. It never fails to amaze me when liberal minds continually spout the talking points spewed forth daily by the media. Why are gasoline prices high? Who is to blame? First, we have the onerous fuel blend regulations of the Carol Browner EPA of 1997, creating nearly 30 fuel blends nationwide....

Went into Kmart yesterday. Purchased my item. Walked to the door and a clerk wanted to go through my bag. Her position is called 'loss prevention' Is This Illegal Search and seizure??? When I have purchased something, it is paid for put in a bag, is it not considered then my personal property? Then why am I subject to having that purchase inspected upon leaving the store??? this practice is expanding. It started at Costco, many years ago, and now it is at many discount stores. Is this actually illegal search and seizure? Do I have a right to refuse...

PRINCESS ANNE // Folks around here aren't too sure about the politics of Wal-Mart up in Annapolis, but there is one thing that pretty much everybody in this Eastern Shore county seat can agree on: 800 jobs at a mammoth retail distribution warehouse would be a boon. And another thing: $12 an hour is not chump change in Somerset County, Maryland's poorest jurisdiction, which for decades has seen a steady decline in the traditional stalwarts of the local economy, farming and seafood. Now, a week after the Maryland General Assembly overrode Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s veto of a bill...

The way beer and wine is sold in Washington is going to change -- though it isn't known how just yet -- after a federal judge said in two separate rulings Wednesday that Washington's system for distributing beer and wine violates the Constitution and the Sherman Act. Costco Wholesale Corp. won a battle against the Washington State Liquor Control Board, when U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman ruled Washington's three-tier system for distributing beer and wine breaks federal antitrust law. Among other things, Pechman said, Washington state law improperly requires that producers and distributors of beer and wine mark up prices...

Man Struggling to Support Three Small Children Faces Loss of Home LifeSiteNews.com Exclusive PORT COQUITLAM, BC- A member of the Knights of Columbus who is in charge of renting the fraternity's hall for weddings and other events alleges he was fired from his day job at Costco for his involvement in denying two lesbians the facility for their same-sex "wedding." The human rights case in which the lesbian couple successfully sued the Knights of Columbus over the denial of the hall made international headlines. (see coverage: http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2005/nov/05113006.html ) LESBIAN WAS A CO-WORKER WITH KNIGHT OF COLUMBUS David Hauser told LifeSiteNews.com...

LifeSiteNews.com Exclusive PORT COQUITLAM, BC, November 30, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A member of the Knights of Columbus who is in charge of renting the fraternity's hall for weddings and other events alleges he was fired from his day job at Costco for his involvement in denying two lesbians the facility for their same-sex "wedding." The human rights case in which the lesbian couple successfully sued the Knights of Columbus over the denial of the hall made international headlines. David Hauser told LifeSiteNews.com in an exclusive interview that Tracey Smith, one of the lesbians involved in the human rights complaint against...

Source URL: http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2005/dec/05121302.html LifeSiteNews.com Tuesday December 13, 2005 Costco Fires Catholic Who Denied Knights of Columbus Hall for Lesbian "Marriage" Man Stuggling to Support Three Small Children Faces Loss of Home LifeSiteNews.com Exclusive PORT COQUITLAM, BC, November 30, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A member of the Knights of Columbus who is in charge of renting the fraternity's hall for weddings and other events alleges he was fired from his day job at Costco for his involvement in denying two lesbians the facility for their same-sex "wedding." The human rights case in which the lesbian couple successfully sued the Knights of Columbus...

Washington DC, Dec. 09, 2005 (CNA) - Intervening in the heated debate about the mention of Christmas on the public square, Concerned Women for America (CWA) presented a first Christmas list showing which businesses are honouring the Reason for the Season (the birth of Jesus), which ones are not, and which have mixed records. It first lists the corporation ‘Nice’ or friendly to the Original Christmas tradition.  This year Macy's joins the NICE list because it has returned the explicit mention of Christmas and Merry Christmas to its stores and its ads. L.L. Bean, on the other hand, just barely...

Below find a list of the major department stores across the country and where they stand on using Christmas in their holiday advertising and other promotions. JCPenney: "Christmas" mentioned in print ads & other advertising Federated Department Stores (Macy's, Bloomingdale's, Lord & Taylor, Filene's, Marshall Fields): "Christmas" mentioned in print ads & other advertising Employees are free to use any holiday greeting that they feel is appropriate Dillard's: "Christmas" mentioned in print ads & other advertising FAO Schwarz: Using "Holiday" this year in advertising materials Employees are free to use any holiday greeting that they feel is appropriate Toys 'R'...

Laguna Niguel - Costco shoppers who glance left as they trudge toward the exit at this south-county store come face-to-face with a fact of life: death.The casket display, while modest, often provokes a reaction. Caskets at Costco? Mouths drop. Some giggle, others say, "Cool!"A few are offended. "Oh. My. God," said Loui Cronholm, 62, of Beaumont. "It just gives me the creeps. I come here to buy bulk food - not to see that when I walk out the door."Costco, the membership warehouse that sells everything from $4,000 plasma-screen televisions to bulk toilet paper, has sold the caskets online for just...

Oliver North was interviewed on the Mark Larson show today and stated he would be in San Diego on Friday, October 7, 2005. This day also happens to be Col North's birthday. Col North will be here for a book signing - his new book, "Assassins".

... Some Wall Street analysts assert that CEO Jim Sinegal is overly generous not only to Costco's customers but to its workers as well. Costco's average pay, for example, is $17 an hour, 42 percent higher than its fiercest rival, Sam's Club. And Costco's health plan makes those at many other retailers look Scroogish. One analyst, Bill Dreher of Deutsche Bank, complained last year that at Costco "it's better to be an employee or a customer than a shareholder." Mr. Sinegal begs to differ. ...Good wages and benefits are why Costco has extremely low rates of turnover and theft by...

ISSAQUAH, WASH. - Jim Sinegal, the chief executive of Costco Wholesale, the nation's fifth-largest retailer, crows about Costco's private-label pinpoint cotton dress shirts. "Look, these are just $12.99," he said while lifting a crisp blue button-down inside Costco's cavernous warehouse store here in the company's hometown. "At Nordstrom or Macy's, this is a $45, $50 shirt." Combining high quality with stunningly low prices, the shirts appeal to upscale customers — and epitomize why some retail analysts say Sinegal just might be America's shrewdest merchant since Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart.

Render Unto Caesar Author: Deborah Baxtrom Publishing date: 12/31/2002 7:32 am Illustration by Jack Slattery Religion squared off with consumerism in Cypress, California, last May when the Cypress City Council voted unanimously to seize, through use of the city’s power of eminent domain, 18 acres of land owned by the Cottonwood Christian Center in order to build a Costco discount store. “The city is trying to feed its voracious appetite for property taxes,” said Patrick Korten, a vice president of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, an organization helping to represent Cottonwood in the case. “If they get away with...

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court gave local governments broad power today to bulldoze homes and other private property to make way for business development, a ruling that could encourage more city-backed plans to replace small stores with big-box retailers. The 5-4 ruling upheld a plan by officials in a coastal Connecticut town to condemn nine homes of longtime residents that would be replaced with an office complex and a marina. The dispute between the homeowners and the city officials became a classic test of government power versus individual rights. It pitted a community's hopes for economic rebirth against an individual's...

ATLANTA - As the price of gasoline has gone up, the way it's marketed has changed. ... But with the price shock of the 1970s, we started pumping it ourselves. And from then on, only one thing mattered: Cost. Today, once again, price is dramatically changing the market. Supermarkets like Kroger and discount stores like Wal-Mart and Costco have plunged in, offering gasoline that consumer advocates agree is as good as anything being sold by the big names, and selling it 2 to 7 cents cheaper than nearby stations. Volume is what allows them to buy gasoline at a better...

Ron Siddell (RD1), a Navy vet in the Lynnwood, WA area forwarded this to me. We served together supporting Swift Boat ops in Qui Nhon, RVN. ------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Sarge6000 Sent: Wednesday, April 27, 2005 4:03 PM To: Sarge6000 List Subject: Hanoi Jane Protest Report Well, I got my satisfaction if nothing else. There really is not much to report. I tried to rally the troops to protest Hanoi Jane's book signing event today. A long time veterans advocate and buddy of mine showed up as did 2 Vietnamese. I can assure everyone that I no longer want to hear any...

WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) - A woman who was fired by Costco in 2001 for refusing to remove her eyebrow ring has accused the company of religious discrimination, saying she is a member of the Church of Body Modification. Kimberly M. Cloutier said she wears her eyebrow ring as a sign of faith. She has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to consider hearing the case. The church, established in 1999, counts about 1,000 members who participate in practices such as piercing and tattooing, according to a December ruling by the First Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld a trial judge's...

On February 22nd, the future of property rights in America will be at stake as the Supreme Court begins oral arguments in the case of Kelo v. New London. The central question at issue is: should the government be able to use its power of eminent domain to seize property from one private party and transfer it to another? The seven property owners on the side of Kelo are the last remaining of more than 70 families whose homes and businesses were targeted for demolition several years ago by the city of New London, Connecticut, to make room for a...

All’s fair in love and war, but not in Washington’s liquor monopoly. The state’s Liquor Control Board (LCB) is running into problems again, this time with the nation’s largest membership warehouse chain, Costco. Issaquah-based Costco has filed a lawsuit to do away with Washington’s antiquated law that prohibits the company from purchasing alcoholic beverages from out-of-state distributors. Costco believes the LCB regulations violate the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution and the federal Sherman Antitrust Act. The state’s monopolistic liquor laws also violate a sense of basic market fairness. Currently, Washington does not allow companies to buy liquor from out...

Progressive's growth continues to slowBy Alistair Barr, CBS MarketWatch Last Update: 11:38 AM ET Jan. 20, 2005 SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Progressive Corp., the third-largest auto insurer in the United States, said Thursday that premium growth slowed in December compared with the previous month, continuing a trend that began last year. Progressive (PGR: news, chart, profile) , which reports results monthly, said net written premiums came in at $1.14 billion in December. Excluding an extra week that the insurer included in its December results, net written premium growth was 5 percent last month compared with December 2003, the company said....

Costco has put a hold on plans to develop a new store in Kalispell, or new stores anywhere in Montana, because of a proposed tax on "box stores" that will be considered by the state Legislature, a Costco executive said Friday. "We feel this proposal is punitive against Costco and we are going to hold off on any additional investment in Montana until this is resolved," said Doug Schutt, chief operating officer for Costco's Northern Division. Costco has yet to break ground on its new store at the Spring Prairie Center on U.S. 93 north of Kalispell, and construction probably...

BUY BLUE? I DON'T THINK SO. Now here is an interesting website for you to take a look at. The title says "Choose the Blue." By searching the various categories through this website you can discover which political party PACs are supported by various corporations and corporate employees in several fields of business. The object of the website is to get loyal Democrats to stop spending their money with companies that lend the greater support to the Republican party. Some examples: In the auto insurance category, Progressive Insurance shows a 91% support for Democrats while State Farm shows an 81%...

For despondent Democrats there's a new treatment, if not a cure, for their lingering Election Day blues. Think retail therapy. A Web site called Choose the Blue is offering shopping advice this holiday season, providing information about which companies' employees give to Democrats and which prefer Republicans.

Saw enough "Costco" Topics here, figured there would be some interest: Received this from Chad Baus of OFCC yesterday: The following was sent to OFCC - writer isn't a CCW-Talker, but said I could post this sans his name: Date: Fri, 10 Dec 2004 13:27:56 -0500 Subject: Costco To: info@ofcc.net Hello, Costco as a CPZ yesterday. I also e-mailed them to find out why. I am forwarding their response. Thanks, XXXXXXX >From: customerservice@costco.com >Subject: RE: Warehouse Questions or Suggestions [APZ2004120900003499] >Date: Fri, 10 Dec 2004 08:47:42 -0800 > >To reference this e-mail in the future, please make >note of the...

...Desperate for tax revenue, cities and towns across the country now routinely take property from unwilling sellers to make way for big-box retailers. Condemnation cases aren't tracked nationally, but even retailers themselves acknowledge that the explosive growth of the format in the 1990s and torrid competition for land has increasingly pushed them into increasingly problematic areas -- including sites owned by other people... [A] shareholder resolution: "adopt a policy for land procurement and use that incorporates social and environmental factors," particularly, the wishes of local property owners and community groups.... "If the company continues to operate in this manner, with...

Was at Costco. Saw "How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must)" They covered Ann Coulters Face with price sticker. Similar placement of sticker to other books there, but no kidding, sticker was a little to the left from other books, just enough to cover here face. Kerry demononic minions at work...

Note: I’m copping with some difficult medical issues, and had a disastrous crash of my hard drive twice in succession (worm). This is the reason I’ve didn’t have the opportunity to address this serious issue on FR. It remains an issue today, because the San Jose Army National Guard will be conducting another 'Open House' in November. I think we are obliged to get behind an effort to show our men and women in uniform our gratitude for their service, without their getting a glove across the face for ‘trespassing’ on private ( COSTCO ) property. On Saturday, September 11,...

Costco Wholesale, who supports skerry, has the kitty kelly book on sale on the front page of their website.