The courtesy of a reach around

For  a number of years when I worked for Kmart, we were led by numerous former military service members.  They were neither more, nor less ineffective than any of the other bozos who led the company while I worked there.  The one major difference, though, was that they tended to be a bit more surprised than the non-military leaders when their directives weren't always followed to the letter.  I always thought their surprise was easily explained--many of them had spent their military careers leading men and women who had signed up for the armed forces with the express consent that they were willing to die in service to their country.  That commitment leads to a certain rigidness in discipline.

Unfortunately for their type of leadership, I'm pretty certain that no one ever signed on to die for Kmart.

I mention this because republicans seem hell bent on turning military service into an even worse abyss than is corporate service.  From calling the parents of servicemen traitors to voting to inadequately fund care, republicans are doing all they can to corporatize the military.  This week, Sen. Ron Johnson, republican from Wisconsin,  actually said that it costs too much to fund the VA.

I wonder how many prospective military members will be given pause knowing that, should the worst occur and an arm or a leg (or both) get blown off in service to their country, that republicans believe it's too expensive to take care of that arm or leg.

Peace,
emaycee

Kfart

In 2003, Eddie Lampert bought Kmart (note:  I worked for Kmart from 2000-2012).  Two years later he bought Sears and merged the two companies into one, under the name Sears Holding Corp.  Since that time, neither Kmart, nor the Sears Holding Corp. has had a yearly sales increase.  Not one.  Zero.

Many have speculated that Lampert's acquisitions were merely real estate deals for his hedge fund, and the two companies would be sold off piece by piece until the final blue light special faded out.  Unfortunately for Mr. Lampert, the bottom fell out of the real estate market (irony of ironies, caused by Wall Street tycoons such as Mr. Lampert) and the deal isn't worth nearly as much as anticipated.  Meanwhile, to keep himself entertained in the interim, Lampert has initiated his own in house reality TV show, which for all intents and purposes could be called Survivor:  Chicago. 

The future for Sears Holding Corp. doesn't look bright.  But what's truly sad about it is the people who have been with the company for twenty-five to thirty years who have no idea what's going on within the hollowed walls of Hoffman Estates, and are in for a tragic awakening when the bottom drops out a few years hence and they're nowhere near retirement and jobs that pay what they're making now are nowhere to be found.

It might be a fucking game to a hedge fund manager like Edward S. Lampert, but for the other 280,000 people who work for Sears Holding Corp, it's going to be their very own nightmare come true.

Peace,
emaycee

Another reason not to privatize Social Security

Disclaimer:  I was once an employee at a division of Sears Holding Corp.

The claim in the title of this business page piece--"Sears Turnaround Push Paying Off Despite Ongoing Sales Slide"--based on the information contained there is just a bit specious to say the least.  The writers note that net sales at Sears were down 2.6% for the quarter, while its sister division, Kmart was down 4.7%.  The company lost $132 million or $1.25 per share, compared to last year when it lost $146 million or $1.32 per share.  This article came the same week that Sears competitors Target and Home Depot adjusted their yearly outlooks upward based on their reported sales, and Wal-Mart posted a solid increase.

Can anyone explain to me how in the fuck this shows Sears "turnaround push" is paying off?  The company absolutely got its ass kicked again--no sales and no profits--and that constitutes good news?  This is just another in a long line of reasons why Social Security should never be privatized--we cannot depend on the media to play it straight and give us the truthful information we need to make informed decisions (and God knows Wall Street and Corporate America won't).  The plain truth of the matter is that Sears Holding Corp. continues to fail like it has for at least the last ten years and there is no sign whatsoever that it is headed in a profitable direction anytime soon.

By the way, the non-statistical remainder of the piece was basically puff that could have been written (and may have been) by a Sears flunky in their communications department.

Just more hard hitting journalism from the Associated Press.

Peace,
emaycee