Wading In

Hello there. This week's column is on Wal-Mart. More specifically, the proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter for Fairfield. The City Council has given no indication of how they will vote and I want to keep the pressure on. In any debate about Wal-Mart, there's always talk of traffic, pollution, noise and the crushing effect it will have on other businesses. This effect on other businesses we used to call capitalism and the marketplace, but now we want to artificially protect mom and pop stores from competition. Look, I get it. I used to rent movies from a nice little video rental store called Popcorn Video. It was great. They didn't used computers to track movies. If you were late with a movie, half the time they didn't charge you anything (unless someone wanted the movie). A Hollywood Video moved in across the street and Popcorn Video couldn't compete. I miss that little store but do I hate the bigger selection offered by Hollywood Video? No. I know Wal-Mart is a ruthless ...

Column originally published 11-30-06 A couple of years ago I walked into my pharmacy expecting to pick up a prescription for an antibiotic. I found out that the antibiotic wasn't in the insurance company's formulary chart and would require prior authorization. The pharmacist told me I could buy the pills out of my own pocket. How much? I don't recall the exact dollar amount the pharmacist said, but I do remember breaking out into a cold sweat and could hear muffled screaming coming from my wallet in my pocket. Expensive prescription drugs are something that most everyone can relate to. Along comes Wal-Mart to save the day. This week, the retailing giant expanded its $4 generic prescription drug program to California. The retailer will offer a 30-day supply of a generic drug for $4. They offer 331 generic drugs and 14 of the top 20 prescribed medications in the country are on the list. So now Fairfielders will be able to save money on those hefty prescription drug bill...

THE N-WORD AND THE DEATH OF DECENCY In the aftermath of Michael Richards’ shouting of the N word onstage at hecklers at a SoCal comedy club, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rep. Maxine Waters (D) and others are urging rap and hip hop artists to stop using the racial epithet. It’s puzzling to me why Michael Richards’ outburst is the catalyst for this new campaign, but I can’t object to anyone trying to get people to be more responsible. But let’s be clear about black folks using the N word. If I hear another white person say, “How come it’s OK if a black person uses the word and not a white person?” I think I’m going to go Ike Turner on someone. This isn’t hard to understand. The gay cast of “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” has no trouble using an offensive term for gays in the title but probably would object to someone angrily calling them a queer on the street. Ronald Reagan sometimes put Irish jokes in his speeches, something he got away with because of his Irish ancest...

I hope everyone has a wonderful day today. Enjoy friends and family and plenty of good food. My column this week isn't the usual Thanksgiving column. There was just too much I wanted to say on current events this year. Plus, if you read down past this week's column, you'll find additional thoughts on O.J. Simpson. Now enjoy that dinner but don't eat a hound's bait and a dog's farewell. That's a sin, as my mother would say. Happy Thanksgiving.

Column Originally Published Thanksgiving Day 2006 Richards' rant reveals an ugly side By Kelvin Wade Michael Richards' meltdown on a Laugh Factory stage last weekend where he spewed the N word at black hecklers and made reference to lynching is but the latest in what I refer to as talking while under the influence of stupidity. Richards' apology on the David Letterman show was painful to watch. It conveyed his embarrassment and shame regarding his coarse behavior. But then he uttered the dreaded words "I'm not a racist." Mel Gibson belched up similar words when he proclaimed he wasn't an anti-Semite after making anti-Semitic remarks. It was reminiscent of when newly installed Republican Minority Whip Trent Lott informed us he wasn't a bigot after making bigoted remarks at a birthday party for Strom Thurmond. Virginia Senate loser George Allen swore he wasn't a bigot after using bigoted language during his campaign. Please. Yo...

THANKSGIVING THOUGHTS ON O.J. SIMPSON Thanksgiving usually marks my rather fluffy Thanksgiving column. But this year, there were two juicy topics I had to comment on. If I saved them for next week, they would’ve been long past their expiration date. But no fear, my column and blog will surely see plenty of mindless fluff in the future. For now, I give you these remarks on the now canceled O.J. Simpson book and interview. News Corp, the parent company of Fox, scraped together enough shame to cancel the O.J. Simpson “If I Did It” television interview and book. Of course the project was in poor taste. How does O.J. Simpson, a man walking around free who butchered two people, not do anything in poor taste? There’s no way O.J. could satisfy the majority of the American public unless he darn near cut his own head off. Still, I’m sorry that Fox folded under the pressure. There have always been projects steeped in controversy that caused a public uproar. “The Reagans” and “...

I've remodeled the blog. I figured it was time to give it a new look. Same content, though. Just my musings and columns all day long. Enjoy.

Okay, so I'm writing about Wal-Mart again this week. I can't believe how much I've written about and supported this store. Some people think I have stock in Wal-Mart or something. If I did, would I be so bold about supporting them? No, the truth is simpler than that. I'm a CHEAP BASTARD. Wal-Mart goes to the trouble of giving jobs to Asian toddlers to produce goods that I can buy at a fraction of the cost of an American made product. I know....globalization is evil. Wal-Mart is evil. They're the phantom menace. I know they're accelerating our decline as a superpower. I imagine some huge rapidly expanding open air bazaar which got its cheap goods made from slaves and barbarians called Wal-Maximus is probably the true reason the Roman Empire fell. But whatever... If I can buy a case of soda for $3.98, I'll risk the death of the republic. Mission Village has sat vacant for like 9 years. It's an old rotting strip mall. Boarded up buildings. Fairfield needs t...

Originally published 11-16-06 Fairfield a loser without supercenter By Kelvin Wade Not many things cause my jaw to drop. Stepping on the scale, the play of the Oakland Raiders offense, some of the things in the Borat movie come to mind. But when I read that the Fairfield Planning Commission rejected the proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter at Mission Village, I felt my chin touch the floor. While I'm not going to question the integrity of the members who voted against the project, I do think they owed the community a fuller explanation of why they voted no. But the ball is in the Fairfield City Council's court now and hopefully they'll do the right thing for Fairfield. To be honest, I was a bit concerned when I read that the commission received 40 replies about the supercenter and they were mostly negative. Whenever public input is requested for any project in town, the response is anemic. Most of us can't be bothered to write a letter, make a call or show up for a me...

"A little patience, and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their spells dissolve, and the people, recovering their true sight, restore their government to it's true principles . It is true that in the mean time we are suffering deeply in spirit, and incurring the horrors of a war & long oppressions of enormous public debt. " ----Thomas Jefferson I love it. I love it. What a great week. To see the Dems take over Congress, Bush get chastised and Rumsfeld get the boot? It's delicious. It's about checks and balances and accountability. The President is not an Emperor. And for too long, a Republican Congress was more concerned about money and lobbying than carrying out their constitutionally mandated duty to provide a check on the executive branch. That's all changed now. Let the investigations begin. I'm not vindictive. But Congress needs to investigate a variety of things to ensure that the Constitution hasn't been violated and that our in...

Column originally published 11-9-06 Democrats owe a lot to the GOP By Kelvin Wade What an ignominious fall. The national Republican Party should receive the newly minted Foley-Haggard Award for self-immolation. The Democrats took back the House and probably the Senate in what President Bush described as a “thumpin’.” President Bush spoke Wednesday but all I could hear was, “Quack, quack, quack!” from this lame duck. While his words were congratulatory and conciliatory, his tone was defiant. And borrowing from the Dixie Chicks, I don’t know if after years of one party rule the Democrats are “ready to make nice.” The election finally forced the President to sack Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Eight retired generals had called for his resignation. Contrary to Bush’s praise, it’s been obvious that Rumsfeld has done a lousy job handling both Afghanistan and Iraq. Bob Woodward’s excellent “State of Denial” paints Rumsfeld as a deeply resented mi...

This week's column is certainly provocative. However, it may seem familiar. I reworked something I'd written before and posted to this blog. I'd debated whether or not to go with the column and decided to recently. It retains the flavor of the original. No, it didn't pass through my editor's hands without a nip or tuck. But I'm satisfied for the most part with the result.

Column originally published 11-2-06 The Right to Revolt By Kelvin Wade "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. ... what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance?" -- Thomas Jefferson Fourteen-year-old Sacramentan Julia Wilson received worldwide attention last month when Secret Service agents pulled her out of class for questioning about an anti-Bush MySpace page she'd set up with the words, "Kill Bush" on it. Her passion about politics crossed the line into what could be construed as a threat. But didn't Jefferson muse about toppling our leadership in the above quote? And doesn't the Declaration of Independence say that the government is formed by the consent of the governed to promote life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and goes on to say, "Éwhenever any form of government becomes destr...

This week’s column began life over a month ago. The first incarnations I discussed with friends who advised me not to pursue it. I was struck by the percentage of Americans who genuinely believe that the President had something to do with 9/11. Anyone reading this knows that I disagree with President Bush on most things, but I think it’s crazy to think he had anything to do with 9/11. But many believe it. And I was thinking that if you really believed the President would do something like that, then you’d have to want to see him overthrown by any means necessary. And I thought about all of the changes our country has been through since 9/11. I disagree with many of those changes. So I wrote this column speculating about what could be done about such a regime that would lead us down this sordid path as a nation. Friends warned me not to do the column for fear that the Secret Service would be knocking on my door thinking I was some kind of threat. Then the girl in Sacramento w...