Walmart earned positive PR in deciding to end the sale of ammunition for handguns and AR-style rifles in the aftermath of the latest rounds of mass shootings, including two slaughters in its El Paso and Southhaven (MS) stores that resulted in 24 dead and 48 wounded. Walmart’s 20 percent share of the ammo market is expected to shrink to six to nine percent.
 |
A fierce condemnation from the National Rifle Assn. on Sept. 3 shows that Walmart is on the right track.
“It is shameful to see Walmart succumb to the pressure of the anti-gun elites,” huffed the NRA. “Lines at Walmart will be replaced by lines at other retailers who are more supportive of America’s fundamental freedoms.”
Further poking its thumb into the eye of the NRA, Walmart asked customers not to openly carry their guns into its stores in states where “open-carry” is permitted—unless they are law enforcement officers.
Kroger followed Walmart’s lead on the no-firearms policy. That came on top of Kroger’s decision last year to exit the firearms and ammo business in its Fred Meyer stores in the Pacific Northwest.
The NRA contends that ammo bans won’t make Americans any safer.
Walmart’s CEO Doug McMillon begs to differ. Saying the world’s biggest retailer knows what’s best for its customers, McMillon called ending the sale of ammo a constructive step to “reduce the risk” of mass shootings.
“The status quo is unacceptable,” he said. Amen to that.
The White House needs a crash course in cartography, the study and practice of map making.
President Trump displayed a doctored map of the trajectory of Hurricane Dorian on Sept. 4, showing it was going to slam into Alabama.
That “fake news” from Weatherman Don sent citizens of the Yellowhammer State into a frenzy and triggered a response from the National Weather Service’s outpost in Birmingham.
“Alabama will NOT see any impacts from Dorian,” it tweeted. “We repeat, no impacts from Hurricane Dorian will be felt across the Alabama. The system will remain too far east.”
Meanwhile, vice president Mike Pence decided to stay at his master’s Doonbeg golf resort during this week's visit to Ireland. Though Doonberg boasts stunning views of the Atlantic from the west coast of Ireland, the burg is more than 140 miles from Dublin, where Pence met with Ireland’s taoiseach Leo Varadkar.
Pence’s chief of staff Marc Short said Trump suggested that the VP’s entourage stay at his place. Of course, the president later denied saying that, throwing his VP under the bus.
The scrambling Pence then threw out the nonsensical justification that only Doonbeg could host his traveling carnival, mocking the hospitality capability of Ireland’s capital, a city of more than 1.2M people that celebrated its millennium in 1988.
Is Pence ever going to grow a backbone and stop being such a Trump toady?
It’s never too early to begin your Christmas shopping for 2020. St. Martin’s Press announced Sept. 5 that Sarah Huckabee Sanders is writing her memoir.
She promises to recount her battles with the media and her service as trusted confidante to the president.
The reality is far different.
With the decision to kill the daily press briefing, Sanders went AWOL in her interactions with the media. She used most of her media face time planted in the friendly confines of Fox News, auditioning for a contributor gig.
And does anybody believe Trump relied on the wisdom of Sanders for presidential guidance? Spare me. He’s pretty much of an impulsive right-from-the-gut sort of guy.
Sanders not-yet-named titled book won’t be available until the Fall of 2020.
My hunch: Sanders’ shelf life will have expired well before then.
Donald Trump is 100 percent correct that he has lousy PR but that's only because his policies stink and are hurting Americans... Will billionaires or civil society groups shape the future of AI regulations?... "Evidence in an Age of Doubt" is the timely theme of this year's investigative film festival put on by the 100Reporters group. 
WPP CEO Cindy Rose works to manage shareholder expectations ahead of the Oct. 29 release of financials. Don't expect a miracle turnaround... Kudos to Skydance chief David Ellison for keeping CNN CEO Mark Thompson on the job. Now he has to expend Thompson's contract... Vast majority of Americans want federal government to regulate AI. They obviously don't trust the "super intelligence" president to oversee AI.
Don’t believe what your eyes see and ears hear is the mantra of Donald Trump who claims his propaganda advertising designed to boost his fragile ego are “clearly not campaign ads”... Democratic National Committee steps up outreach to Jewish Americans as antisemitism rises and traditional support for Israel tanks. 
The Trump administration's crackerjack team designed America.gov, which puts all services offered by US agencies under a single AI roof. What could possibly go wrong?... ESG pioneer Starbucks jumps off the sustainability train in favor of corporate cost-cutting... Perception of press freedom plummets to all-time low, according to Gallup survey.
China's president Xi Jinping won the PR battle over Donald Trump as the American groveled before his guest of honor on the tarmac of Joint Base Andrews. Trump’s kowtowing to Xi is a sign of both his personal weakness and of America’s decline on the global stage.
