'I Understand That the Black Community Has Been Decimated by Double-Digit Unemployment, But We Should Not Settle for Just Any Jobs'

Indeed, why should folks in the black community settle for some measly job at Wal-Mart when they can hold out for that plum six-figure gig that sure to come along thanks to Barack Obama's wonderful economy?

Mayor Thomas M. Menino may be reluctant to roll out the welcome mat for Wal-Mart, but some Boston residents say they want the jobs and low-priced goods.

“It would be great for me,” said Robin Gibbons, 52, of South Boston, who lives on a fixed income. “I’d rather go to a local Wal-Mart than the nearest one in Quincy. I think it would be good in that more people would be working.”

The battle over bringing a Wal-Mart to the city is heating up. On one side are Menino and activists who have criticized the retail giant’s wages and benefits, while on the other side are city residents who insist the mayor should bring Wal-Mart — and its jobs and rock-bottom prices — to Boston.

Menino could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Darnell Williams, president of the Urban League of Massachusetts, ratcheted up the debate last week when he told the Boston Business Journal the city should “embrace a project that would bring jobs for residents.” Williams could not be reached for comment yesterday.

But Horace Small, executive director the Union of Minority Neighborhoods, an advocacy group in Jamaica Plain, countered, “I understand that the black community has been decimated by double-digit unemployment, but we should not settle for just any jobs.”

So clowns like Small, and on a larger scale, the clown Mayor Mumbles Menino would prefer people to not have jobs because of some stupid ideological opposition to Wal-Mart. Seriously, what is their problem? They'd rather pay more for merchandise? They'd prefer residents to just sit around and collect welfare?

Apparently so. There's no other logical conclusion.

In Dudley Square, Roxbury resident Monique Henderson said a Wal-Mart would be a boost to the neighborhood. “It would be nice to have it here,” she said. “There are lots of people looking for jobs so that would help out.”

Democrats pretend they want to "create" jobs, and then an employer comes along with plenty of available jobs and they block them at every opportunity. They're rather have people dependent on the government, but they just don't want to say so publicly. Their actions speak volumes.

'I Doubt It Was the Casual Holiday Shopper'

If the sagging economy isn't enough to keep you away from the stores this Christmas season it may be the fear of being trampled by a bunch of savages or getting shot at Toys 'R' Us.

Two men pulled guns and shot each other to death in a crowded toy store Friday after the women with them erupted into a bloody brawl, witnesses said. Scared shoppers fled but no one else was hurt.

The violence erupted on Black Friday, the traditional post-Thanksgiving start of the holiday shopping surge, but authorities indicated the shooting wasn't related to a shopping frenzy.

Riverside County sheriff's Sgt. Dennis Gutierrez said the fight was not over a toy. He said handguns were found by the men's bodies, but he released little other information. He would not answer a question about whether the shooting was gang-related.

Witnesses Scott and Joan Barrick said they were checking out of the store when the fight began between two women, each with a man. The women were near the checkout area, but the Barricks did not think the women had purchases.

One woman suddenly started punching the other woman, who fought back as blood flowed from her nose, Scott Barrick, 41, said.

The man who was with the woman being punched pulled a gun halfway out of his pocket, then shoved it back in, he said.

"He pulled his gun right next to me. I turned to look for my wife, and she was already hiding," Barrick said.

"I was scared," said Joan Barrick, 40. "I didn't want to die today. I really didn't want to die today, and I think that's what we were all thinking."

The other man pulled a gun and pointed it at the first man but forgot to cock it, Scott Barrick said. The first man tried to run but was blocked by the line of people, then ran back toward the store's electronics section as the other man fired his gun, he said.

The first man reached a dead-end in electronics, turned around and ran toward an exit, pulling his gun and firing back, he said.

"He went up to the cash register, he went to put his hand on the thing and he just went phoomp," he said, indicating the man fell.

He said he did not see what happened to the other man.

Palm Desert Councilman Jim Ferguson said police told him two men with handguns shot and killed each other.

"I think the obvious question everyone has is who takes loaded weapons into a Toys "R" Us?" he said. "I doubt it was the casual holiday shopper."

Stay safe. Shop online.

The Pantsuit and Wal-Mart

Mrs. Clinton would clearly love to keep this hush-hush, and I'm surprised the New York Times is even mentioning it. Look at her sitting there with all those rich, middle-aged white white men! What about diversity?

Mrs. Clinton’s six-year tenure as a director of Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest company, remains a little known chapter in her closely scrutinized career. And it is little known for a reason. Mrs. Clinton rarely, if ever, discusses it, leaving her board membership out of her speeches and off her campaign Web site.

Closely scrutinized? The woman hasn't had to face a tough question in years, with virtually every intereview turning into a fawning, twinkie-munch session.

Anyway, it will be interesting to see her and her persons of hench playing the damage-control game after this report.

Maybe she can buy some guilt-relieving offsets to assuage the numbskulls who might consider voting for her.