That's....not network TV.

Well, yeah. "Corporations are killing your kids" wouldn't be able to sell any commercials. "You lazy parents are killing your kids" can. (The first episode, there were several fast food commercials. The second one, the only food commercials I noticed were for pasta sauce, but I wasn't totally paying attention.)

The book by Ellen Ruppel Shell called "Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture" is a really good look into it, sarameg.

The Walmart here is the only store twenty or more miles in any direction with a lot of things people need -- affordable clothes and housewares, for instance. They also carry groceries, and it's one of only three grocery stores in town. And in the winter here, when the routes either north or south aren't really fit for travel, that's a big thing.

It also employs a hell of a lot of people, which is a really big thing -- we have entire strip malls standing empty.

It also employs a hell of a lot of people, which is a really big thing -- we have entire strip malls standing empty.

Man I hate strip malls. It didn't even occur to me that we might be trading mega stores for strip malls.

That's a statement that applies to the whole country, Hec.

java, one of the local businessman has been good at deflating the Walmart with reputable links. It's depressing, yet the immediate gratification factor for the larger area is huge. I'd much rather have a small grocery and several local businesses which could provide the same, but they don't have the startup and construction capital something like a Walmart does.

Traffic is so fucked.

Hooray shame! If Jamie Oliver won't shame the fatties, who will???

I'm not seeing that. I haven't seen the show, but I did watch his TED presentation which included some clips from the show. There are probably some faults in his approach, but I see a genuine interest in improving health and nutrition.

That's a statement that applies to the whole country, Hec.

Yeah, but they're based in Arkansas, and they grew first in the South. They may have a national presence now but they're Southern grown. Anyway, I'm not blamey about Southerners, I just think that as culturally entrenched as Wal-Mart is in the South, coupled with the shift from Southern Dems to Republicans there's a disconnect.

I was watching A Different World a few days ago (I seem to have gotten on an A Different World kick lately, and TVOne is very helpfully showing two episodes a night), and there was a scene where they were in a sociology class talking about homelessness, and one of the characters said that homeless people are lazy -- McDonald's is always hiring, and anybody who works there can eat there for free. Fast forward twenty years, and we've still got plenty of people talking about how poor people are lazy, with the fact that they eat at McDonald's held up as an example of their laziness.

I'm not seeing that. I haven't seen the show, but I did watch his TED presentation which included some clips from the show. There are probably some faults in his approach, but I see a genuine interest in improving health and nutrition.

There's a link to the first episode, plus some analysis of the show, here [link]