Mothers all around the country are spending the day….primping, getting dressed up and waiting for relatives to pick them up and take them out to a wonderful Mother’s Day Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner. The flower shops were all packed yesterday as the thoughtful children of all ages made the required and traditional buy of posies for Mom! The whole family today will be driving in the SUV and jumping on those various Toll Roads - on the way to Grandma’s house. Even if families don’t go out and make Grandma’s favorite fair at the kid’s house….it will still be required to go pick her up in South, North, East or West County. Because of the thrush of vehicles…..certain times of day are going to be traffic packed. In any event, Happy Mother’s Day to all.

This brings us to the problem with Government owning things. Whatever Government owns..usually closes on Holidays. Saturday and Sunday are also great days for most Government Offices to be closed. National and State Holiday and even in some cases days of National or State mourning for specific personalities or groups. Most times Government never knows how much to charge for things…whether we are talking about State Parks, Museums, Historical Locations and most of all; Toll Roads! The prime trouble with Government is the people that “are charged” to set fees, rates or penalities for things haven’t got a clue and wind up “asking for consensus” from others than “haven’t got a clue!”. You can understand that clearly when someone without a second rider is caught in the HOV or Carpool lane. $371 dollars, plus, plus, plus! Whew, a few of those bad boys….and we are talking real money. But what about the 91, the 241 and the 73 Freeways…which are all owned and operated by the County of Orange? How about those rates - and how fast do they keep going up?

Ridership is down on the Toll Roads…..Duh!!!!!!! Did anyone figure out that when gasoline goes up dramatically, like going from $2.69 to $3.79…it might eventually have a small impact on the monthly budget? Did anyone consider that eventually people at the low end of the financial spectrum might have to go back to Riding the Bus…to get places? Did anyone consider that if Government wants to taut: That Great Evil; “Congestion Pricing”…they may want to try that out on the Toll Roads and other fees and entry pricing as well. Government has a really tough time understanding how places like Knott’s Berry Farm can invite Active Military and Retired Veterans to visit their park every November…free of charge! It gets people into the park at a normally very slow time of year…right after Summer and right before Christmas…which are the busy times! Even Disneyland has caught on with its Two Parks for One pricing at various times throughout the year! But the Toll Road Agency…the OCTA? Nah….Soak ‘em, Soak ‘em, Soak ‘em! Who wants to pay $5.00 bucks every time they get on the 73 Freeway? We won’t go on..with all the many sick pricing schemes “these great minds” have come up with in the last year or two…but suffice it to say: Not too imaginative!

A little history is in order:

Back in May of 2000, then OC Treasurer John Moorlach brought to everyone’s attention that the Public/Private Partnership Group that operated the Toll Roads…was doing a poor job and that the county could pick up the operation for a song. Well, after two hard years of negotiations that original price they thought might be reasonable turned out to be two and half time larger; just for starters! By 2003, it was all part of “The OC”!

Hey, the prevailing thought was: “anyone can run a Toll Road….how tough can it be?” Well, instead of lowering rates…the County was quick to jump on board with the idea..that they could raise rates with the best of them! Whoops! There goes the rates on the 91 Freeway were way out of sight…but “economic times are great..and the people - virtually anyone that is; can afford it” - they thought!

Then there was the economic failure of the 73 Freeway…….a freeway when originally
built; that didn’t use the right construction materials and was causing skidding and accidents on those few rainy or damp days we have in South County. The “corrective action thought” was; to combine the favorable operations of the 241 - which actually was making its way financially along with the dreaded 73….which had never penciled out. All in all, the OCTA again got it’s fingers around the throats of the consumers and raised those rates on the 73, the 241 and of course the 91 in a wonderful Round Robin strategy - of too frequent rate increases!

We should not be too hard on the County of Orange, because they are not the only group that think that the public is stupid and rate increases are a right of passage for any Government endeavor. Our Governor Arnold is looking to raise rates on almost everything except leaves on the trees at State Parks and everything else…during these fast approaching, difficult economic times. What we fault the OCTA and the County on - is not being responsive to or understanding the basics of “market forces”. As the price of gasoline and Diesel go up….ridership on Toll Roads is going to go down and rather quickly. Sometimes businesses have to prime the pump! How would you encourage Bus ridership? Simply, by raising the cost of a gallon of gas and making it economically infeasible to drive your car!

What does the County of Orange think will happen if indeed, gasoline goes to $6 dollars a gallon or more? Adjusting our Toll Road Rates should be part of a basic marketing strategy. “Making Commuting Affordable” should be the buzz! Those that buy the Transponders and are the base of paying customers should be treated to occasional discount rates at renewal times. Not everyone gets the Tax Write-Off for their Transportation costs. The list of “things to do” is endless; but someone in power, needs to take charge and offer leadership in these areas!

As we stated at the beginning of this discussion….Holidays are a good place to start….by reducing rates or even offering….Toll Free days! Odd or Even Toll Free Days…might be creative. Buy a Transponder for a month and get a month free! Things like that…that businesses use…to get people into the game. Staples, Best Buy and Albertsons…all use coupons to encourage patrons..the OCTA might want to follow suit…if they want more vehicles in their system. If not, they can continue - OCTA Business as usual on Mother’s Day and beyond!

“The 2007 Farm Bill proposals show the Administration’s support of biotechnology in both industrial and agricultural applications. … We greatly appreciate the Administration’s demonstrated commitment to support companies researching and commercializing both ethanol from cellulose and biobased products from renewable agricultural resources. The proposals related to international trade illustrate the importance of internationally accepted regulatory standards, many of which affect biotech crops.” Jim Greenwod, Biotechnology Industry Organization President and CEO

“The industry is elated to be considered a major crop in the proposed 2007 Farm Bill… This will afford our industry more access to USDA programs, especially Phytosanitary and trade related support programs, due to the fact that 80 percent
of our packed cartons goes to off shore markets.” Doug Bournique, Indian River Citrus League Executive Director

==============================================================================
A Bushel of corn weighs 56 lbs…about the size of a 50 pound bag of sand
…created from one acre of land. Currently 47% of “Field Corn” (which is
used for ethanol) is allocated to feed for animals. 27% is Mandated by the
Congress and is now dedicated to Ethanol production for Fuel. The rest of
this crop is used for Cornstarch, Corn Syrup and other corn related products
used in our food. What is not being disclosed is how much of this product
is Bio-Engineered…much like the “Starlink” debacle some time ago…we do
not know and may never know - how much of this product in our food supply
is totally “Non-Digestible”.

The Farm Bill of 2007 is being considered as we speak. President Bush seems
to be on the correct side of this argument and only wants small farmers to get
the various Farm Subsidies….those making under $200,000 dollars a year. But
there are problems..even with that process. The reality is that there is only
so much Farm Land and the small Farmers once they dedicate that land to Corn
in order to get the Government Mandated Subsidy….won’t plant Soy, Wheat, Rice
or anything else. With shortages of domestic crops such as these….we increase
the world demand and start killing people in foreign countries…because we
are virtually taking the food out of their mouths - at a higher price.

What seems silly is; that as we speak…we have a 51 to 54 cents per bushel Tariff on all foreign Field Corn imports…..from most every country including the Brazil. The only caveat to that is a 7% Caribbean Tariff Free Zone…which was instituted by President Reagan, back in the 80’s! If we want more Corn for Ethanol…drop all the Tariffs and let countries that want to produce Corn for the US Market…do so freely and competively!

Right now we have some greedy ADM Executives and Corporate Farmers rubbing their hands with glee, hoping upon hope, that the Subsidies from the Farm and Energy Bills will go directly from the tax coffers and into their pockets. The Farm Belt States and politicians are drooling as the cost of Food spikes with those profits going directly into their fat wallets! Many will be dancing a Jig if this Farm Bill passes as presently written! The effect on consumers will be catastrophic!

The current Congress driven mandate diverts 25 to 30% of our entire Corn and Soy crops into the Fuel Supply - “Ethanol Markets”. To put it into perspective..80% of the cost of Meat, Pork, Poultry and Eggs comes from feed costs! Corn feed is what makes productive Cattle markets - not to mention Chickens and Pig production!

Spiking and diverting our Corn Crops into Ethanol then drives up all Food Costs and the rich US Market will reach out and start importing more foreign food and related crops….which will raise the price of those crops in other countries. It is simply called; “Competing interests!” for land. This as we mentioned, should be “Optional Choices” for Foreign Food Producing Countries…and NOT Mandated by elevated or driven by Global pricing or manipulation!

Back to Basics:

No farmer is ever going to plant Sunflower Seeds crops…and NOT get the Federal Subsidy…when they can grow “Field Corn or Soy” and get higher prices for their products and reap the Federal Subsidy is the process. Double dipping again!

The Oil Companies are working this process through the Energy Bill…and thusly reaping even more Federal Subsidies by utilizing the “Ethanol Mandated lternative”! It is a very sweet deal….except for the consumer, foreign food producers and the poor people of the world who can’t find Rice, Wheat or Corn at a reasonable price. The Oil Companies continue to rail for more supply. Considering the fact that China will be using three times what it is using now in five years…which exceeds what the United States uses annually…by way….will do nothing but spike prices even higher!

The solutions are mileage standards for Trucks, Buses, Rail and other major users of fuels. The solutions are not to use our Food Supply for Gasoline which will then - spike both markets.

A couple of web sites that you might find interesting:
Grocery Manufacturers Association: www.gma.org
National Corn Growers Association: www.ncga.com

Finally, we should realize that 30% of our entire production of Vegetable Oils have been dedicated to Fuel Production for Automobiles in the United States! Get the idea…..the price of food is going the way of a barrel of oil….”Up, Up and Away in my beautiful balloon…” Some are even projecting that $200 dollars a barrel
for oil in two years….or thusly, up to $20 dollars a gallon for gasoline! Yikes!

Maybe we all should be paying closer attention to what we might find in our
national Energy and Farm Bills. Ya think?

Prior to making my comments on behalf of Proposition 98 at the California Women’s Leadership Association, CWLA, Four Corners Chapter luncheon in Ontario today we listened to a presentation by former Senator Republican Leader Jim Brulte entitled “History of Political Parties.”

In attendance at this meeting were close to 50 members of this new unit led by president Gayle Pacheco, Board Member of the California Workforce Investment Board, and her husband former Assemblyman Bob Pacheco who was appointed by President George W. Bush to the US Naval Academy Board of Visitors. Bob’s role in the meeting was that of CWLA’s paparazzi.

Other attendees included Chino Hills Mayor Curt Hagman, candidate for the 60th AD, his wife Grace Hagman, field representative for San Bernardino Supervisor Gary Ovitt, and Assemblyman Dennis Mountjoy, candidate for the 29th SD.

Jim’s PowerPoint had a sub title that reads “what we are what we are today.”
He proceeded to explain how “Americans adjust their political mood through presidential elections” and shared information on the changes in selected decades of time beginning with 1932-1964 where we had “class politics. Have’s Vs Have-nots”

He spoke of realignment in both major parties between 1964 and 1988. Jim shared how president Reagan united the three wings of the Republican Party calling it a “triumph of ideological realignment.” He pointed out Jack Kemp supply siders, Jean Kirkpatrick and Jesse Helms representing the God and Country wing.
Jim made an interesting comment about the current campaign saying “who would have thought that Hillary would be running as a conservative Democrat.”

Without divulging too much of his presentation he did cover an area that Art Pedroza, founder of the Orange Juice blog, has been stating for the past year. That is the growth in the political group labeled “decline to state” which was around eight percent in 1992 and today represents “19.31 percent”of the electorate.

Bottom line. Attending these meetings is a wonderful way to meet and fellowship with other concerned voters and be able to meet distinguished speakers such as the Honorable Jim Brulte. For information on his LLC simply go to www.calstrat.com

For information regarding CWLA membership or dates of future meetings and speakers email information@cwla.us or call (949) 632-0121

PS: I did receive an email from Gayle thanking me for my presentation stating that I did a “great job” on “a difficult subject for most.”

Got to shut down now. Another event to attend.

The local Newport Beach Film Festival…celebrated its
9th Anniversary this year during its run - April 24th to May 1st, 2008.
We were curious and decided this year to request Press Credentials and
cover the gala extravaganza.

A larger and larger number of known movie stars have become part of this
very interesting event. Tom Berenger and Michael Biehn for example were
starring in a production callled “Stiletto”. We unfortunately didn’t see
any of the films but what we did do…was to talk to 15 different film
makers from all around the country that had brought either a short, a
documentary or a feature film for the approval of the public.

If you have an interest in knowing about the Newport Beach Film Festival
and didn’t have the chance to get out there to Edwards/Regal Cinemas at
Fashion Island…..you might want to take a look at our one hour and 23
minute report from the front. Some very interesting people. Some that
you might even know…others that you will only see years later when they
become famous. If you want to view the Newport Beach Film Festival -
“through our eyes report” from the Cutting Edge - a talk show!
just copy and paste below:

http://www.cuttingedge-atalkshow.com
Then Click on Newport Film Fest!

You will need Microsoft Media Player…which is
available at no cost if you don’t have it.

For those that don’t know…the City of Newport Beach has sanctioned
this great event with the support of many “silent angels” in our community.
It was however, a not so “silent angel”, legendary Sports Agent; Leigh
Steinberg that had to step up a few years back and lend not only his
name but lots of cash to make this a now superior event for the community
and for the visiting film makers.

Gregg Schwenk is currently the Executive Director of the Newport Beach
Film Festival and has had to step up large in the face of dealing with
an array of volunteers, paid staff and while still dealing with pricey
and sensitive egos! It’s a tough job and Gregg deserves whatever kudos
that are more than forthcoming.

What we discovered was a group of very interesting creative types that
totally enjoyed sharing their creative fervor with the public and the
judges that gleefully awarded a variety of entrants. If you want to see
the list of usual suspects… Just go to:

http://www.newportbeachfilmfest.com/contact_us.php …take a look at this
page and get over to where the awards are located. Our show, “So, how do
you make a movie?” at the Newport Beach Film Fest doesn’t tell you the
winners or losers. Everyone we interviewed was a worthy creative type that
was willing to share lots of insider info and knowledge that you would never
hear about on the Academy Awards or Golden Globes! We even were able to
add several of the Film Makers clips and trailers..just plain informative
and fun! Especially, if you always wanted to know more about the film biz!

Don’t forget: http://www.cuttingedge-atalkshow.com
Just copy and paste and click on Newport Film Fest.

Dear readers. Each election cycle I research and submit a voter guide on the Republican candidates. Obviously the final choice is yours to make. While some of these races are outside my District I either know the candidates, have heard them speak, or have knowledge of their conservative credentials.The following are my recommendations for the June 3rd election:

Proposition 98 YES
Proposition 99 NO

Larry Gilbert

A couple of months ago Union Bank of Switzerland created an off shoot of its banking
endeavors to assign Sub-Prime Mortgage Debt. Being a wholly owned subsidiary of UBS
was a smart move…in that it insulated the huge Corporation from a giant pyramid fall into the great Sub-Prime abyss.

It hasn’t taken long and UBS is quickly divesting itself… and the US Asset Manager
Group BlackRock….has agreed to purchase the $20 Billion dollars in debt for $15
Billion. In the meantime, UBS has taken an $11.4 Billion dollar write-off for the
first quarter of 2008. A total of $38 Billion dollars since the divestiture….burr
..baby it’s cold outside! In the meantime Goldman-Sachs is busy picking up these
loser sub-prime debts….betting on the outside chance that either Government or the
original lenders will fold their tents and just write-off the entire deal! Whew…
how many investments does the County of Orange have with any of these people? They
seem to be betting on Government intervention…one way or the other!

So who is UBS and what difference does any of this make to those of us in the U
S of A? A little background is in order: Back in 1850 the Lutherans and Catholics
had more money than they could handle….no pun intended: Handels Bank! In any
event the Swiss had to make the compromise and created a Union of Banking interests
with the so-called Protestants in charge. The Pope still ran the deal…but way
behind the scenes. In any event, this is the group that Bob Dylan might call the
“Master’s of War”. They have funded every endeavor you can think of since 1850 which
included the US Civil War, World War I and II and other assorted social uprisings. But we don’t care what someone does for a living you understand. Hey, they all have kids to send to college and family members with health concerns. What did happen however after D-Day, 6th of June - 1944…was the Bretton-Woods Conference which changed all the banking relationships in the world and more importantly created the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank - which has the real name of: IBRD - International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. These people got their start with a small deal called the Marshall Plan - to rebuild all of Europe after World War II…with borrowed money. Some Catholic, some Protestant….some World Bankers…some rich Americans….some taxed Americans….you know the usual suspects!

At any rate, if we fast forward at light speed..we get to July of 1998 when UBS and
Swiss Bank Corporation of Basel, Switzerland merged! Big and bigger! This was then quickly followed in November of 2000 with another merger with a US interest called Paine-Webber, Inc…which we all might have some familiarity with..maybe? So who are these guys and what is going on? UBS employs about 100,000 people worldwide. They have this broken down in three basic groups: Global Wealth Managers, Investment Banking and Securities and Global Asset Managers! Sounds “Global” doesn’t it? Sounds like they may have more than a passing influence on things like the “price of oil”, “price of commercial real estate”, “price of residential real estate”, “debt instruments”, and the power of liquidity in the banking industry!

So, let’s think about this for a minute…as the price of oil hits $120 a barrel
and seems headed for $160…rather than the pre-ordained $140 by June! So, how does
all this convoluted information come together? It’s sort of like this: There are
“players” and there is “chopped liver”. Right now, funds are on the move….and what
happens in the next year or two will have immense impact on our World Society. Forget what happens to the USA…”We are bigger than US Steel…Michael!”…in the
words of Hyman Roth..in Godfather II. Forgiving Debt…will be the new “watchword”
for the world. You see, if the Banks simply “forgive the debts - write-off the loses
and take the tax breaks…then simply the Governments of the World print more money
..pay everyone off….let everyone keep their houses at low interest and simply
devalue not only all the currencies of the world….but devalue all the property of
the world. Who could get hurt? Try everyone stuck in houses that will now be worth
about half of what they paid for them. Try local and State Governments that will not
be able to afford paying inflated wages to their Public Sector Employees. Try the
citizens that are now going to receive less and less Public Services and even Health
Services. How about paying four times what we are paying for gasoline, food or
anything that might be considered “staples” like transportation and energy.

This is a big one…..we hope these MBA’s can figure out a “Social Solution” to
this “Investment Debacle”! Who screwed the pooch? Well, it wasn’t the guy that
that works at Burger King!

www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/decade/decad047.htm

As a guest, on behalf of Proposition 98, at Chino Hills Mayor Curt Hagman’s 2nd annual Chili Cook-Off last night I picked up the following CWLA meeting announcement and offered to post it as a public service.

Republican Mayor Hagman is a candidate for the 60th Assembly District seat in the June 3rd election.

The California Women’s Leadership Association, 4 Corners Chapter, is holding a May Membership meeting with the honorable Jim Brulte who “served 14 years in the California State Legislature, most recently as Senate Republican Leader before leaving office to join California Strategies. During that time he developed a national reputation as a dynamic leader, and prior to the election of Governor Schwarzenegger, was describes as “arguably the most powerful elected Republican in California,”

He was recently appointed by President Bush to serve as member of the Board of Visitors of the United States Naval Academy. He was also appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger as a member of the Performance Review Committee.
During his term in office, the Hon. Brulte focused his efforts on education, regulatory reform, crime reduction and common-sense legislation to improve California’s business climate. His measure to reform the workers’ compensation and welfare systems have saved billions of dollars for both California taxpayers and California’s business community.

The Hon. Brulte graduated with a a B. A. from Californian State Polytechnic University, Pomona. In 1974, Brulte joined the California Air National Guard where he was later honored as “Outstanding Airman of the Year” for the United States and its territories.”

Date: Thursday, May 8th, 11:30 a.m.
Time: 11:30 a.m.
Location: Marie Callender’s Restaurant and Bakery
2149 E. Convention Way, Ontario, CA 91764
Cost: $25 per person
For more information or sponsorship opportunities, call (949) 632-0121
You can also register on-line at www.cwla.us

Final Gilbert comment: While there were several elected officials competing in this cook off, including San Bernardino Supervisor Gary Ovitt and Villa Park councilwoman Debra Pauly, I did not hang around to find out who won the competition. I can report that I stood next to outgoing 60th AD Assemblyman Bob Huff who assured us that he did make his own pot of chili.

Was anyone as sickened as we were to watch the Hillary/Bill O’Reilly interview
the last couple of nights? The pandering was obnoxious…the kissy, kissy, cutezy
laughing and joking makes you wonder why they pay this guy six figures! We know why
they payoff the major media….so we guess O’Reilly has now made the big time. What’s
next Hannity doing a barbecue with Hillary at her home?

In the meantime, talk about trying to bury Obama…..with Jeremiah Wright! How
much redundant bull should be allowed to be pushed down the throats of the American
public? What’s next….Obama and Wright exchanging pleasantries in a public bathroom? Ridiculous! Who cares who Hillary knows? Who cares how many felons
Bill Clinton has received money from? Who cares how many times Bill Clinton has
had an “unofficial” affair with someone other than Hillary? Who cares which Church
Bill went to when he was in Russia or England or when he was dodging the draft in Arkansas? We don’t care…do you? Then why in the world has major media jumped on the big “Stab Obama with the Wright Stuff” bandwagon.

Polls…Racists….and paid off politicians…all are desperately afraid of Barack
Obama. He has alot of people concerned….that their jobs could be in jeopardy…
and rightfully so. The election of Barak Obama, as the next President of the United
States would create a “Sea Change” of major proportions. Hey, we have no false
impressions that he will change much in Government. There are far too many bought
and paid for people in Government….that is deep. But what Obama can do….is be
a voice of reason and common sense. He might even select some decent people to
serve in his cabinet.

Let’s look at the other two candidates:
McCain: Will say or do anything to get elected and then change his mind and do something totally different.
Hillary: Will say or do anything to get elected and then do exactly what she had in mind all the time regardless of what she said.
These are not good choices. Perhaps none of our choices are good ones….but we at least we will have a change with an Obama Presidency.

Let’s talk about issues: (1) Gun Control, (2) Stem Cell Research, (3) Abortion,
(4) Taxes, (5) Social Security, (6) Healthcare, (7) The War in Iraq, (8) The
cost of Energy in America, (9) Freedoms and Privacy, (10) The FLDS Child Marriage issue and finally (11) Who will be the next American Idol winner? Will it really matter who we choose as the next President - in regards to any of these issues?

Barack Obama and Michelle his lovely wife seem to be nice people…even through the veil of the media, you can tell they are more honest and direct than most. No wonder the “powers that be are scared to death” of eight years of honesty in the White House. What will happen with a Obama Presidency, is that the United States for once will not be generally characterized as a Racist Imperial Power. It still will be that, but with the election of Obama, the nations of world will have to reassess our credentials in that regard. Yes, we know Obama is supported by the Council on Foreign Relations…but at least he is not Member..yet! Bill Clinton, as we now…is a member! McCain…who cares?

We have to apologize for this out of character rant….but enough is enough. We are starting to get punch drunk from the repetitive Obama bashing and Hillary pandering
by Bill O’Reilly…like fingernails on a blackboard! Hey O’Reilly; tell us more about those Hedge Funds and Pension Issues….they really work us up! What does
your “Body Language” tell us about that?

Last night I received the following Press Release from the Americans For Prosperity CA.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Americans for Prosperity, California Calls on State Lawmakers to Stop Treating Taxpayers Like an A.T.M.

Launches statewide “Already Taxed to the Max” Petition Drive.

Sacramento, CA..Today, marking tax freedom day, Americans for Prosperity (AFP), California Chapter launched a statewide petition drive calling on state lawmakers to stop using California taxpayers as their own personal A. T.M. The taxpayers should not be seen as somewhere to go for another withdrawal anytime lawmakers can’t get their pork barrel spending under control.

“It is clear that California’s fiscal problems are a result of poor budgeting decisions and out of control spending by our lawmakers,” said Peter Foy, Chairman of Americans for Prosperity California. “California ranks 5th in state and local tax burden per household, we clearly don’t have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem.”

Americans for Prosperity is a grass roots organization with over 10,000 members here in California and over 250,000 across the country. The national organization works to get citizens involved in the public policy process in defense of economic freedom, free enterprise, lower taxes and more freedom.

The petition drive launches statewide today and will continue until June 15th, the budget deadline. Fed-up Californians can go to www.DontTaxCa.com to sign the petition today and tell lawmakers that it is the wrong time to raise our taxes.

“We will be working hard over the next couple months to take this petition around the state to provide a voice for California Taxpayers.” said Foy. “It is time we take a stand and tell our lawmakers, enough is enough!” For more information about American’s for Prosperity and examples of out of control government spending and waste visit www.DontTaxCa.com
###

I just received a press release from WAL*MART in which the “Retailer Will Cash (Stimulus) Checks for Free and Focus on Compelling Rollbacks.”

In their April 29th Press Release it reads that Wal-Mart today announced that it will cash stimulus checks for free–with no purchase required. And starting this week it will offer shoppers a program of rollbacks, on items that allow them to save money and live better.

The announcement goes on to add that Wal-Mart will:

“Offer compelling rollbacks from sports drinks to shampoo, breakfast juice to lunch meat, cereal boxes to cereal bars. Wal-Mart has lined up rollbacks and additional price savings on key grocery and consumable items that are already available this week in store. Over the coming weeks it will unveil additional rollbacks to help shoppers stretch their dollars.”

As I look at this document, and starting list of discounted items, they appear to have the correct focus. In time we will have to wait to see if their major competitors follow suit.
Note: I am not a Wal-Mart shareholder nor am I being compensated for posting this press release. The Orange Juice does engage in public service this post being one example.