Free Republic

HIDALGO COUNTY, N.M.- There are so many voices, all of them important, in the national debate about border funding. Tribal politics has pitted the country into “us versus them.” This very debate has also paralyzed the federal government in the longest shutdown in our country’s history. But ranchers who live and work in New Mexico’s Boot Heel feel like their voices haven’t been heard on this issue, even though border issues affect their daily lives. New Mexico’s Boot Heel sits in Hidalgo County, wedged between Arizona and Mexico. The county shares 87 miles of its boundary with Mexico and there...

A RINO Republican, Rep. Jo Ann Emerson will win in November, thanks to a well-oiled fund-raising machine and unmatched name recognition in Southeast Missouri.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, will pay $135,540 to settle federal charges that it broke child labor laws, the Labor Department said Saturday. The 24 violations, which occurred at stores in Arkansas, Connecticut and New Hampshire, had to do with teenage workers who used hazardous equipment such as a chain saw, paper balers and fork lifts. Wal-Mart denied the allegations but agreed to pay the penalty. A spokeswoman for the Bentonville, Ark., company said Wal-Mart was preparing a statement Saturday. Child labor laws prohibit anyone under 18 from operating hazardous equipment. The company also agreed...

Last week, Wal-Mart's Canadian division said it would close its first unionized store in North America, making Quebec the latest battleground in the retailer's struggle against unions. Wal-Mart's decision triggered vicious rebukes from leftist Canadian politicians. David Christopherson, a Canadian Member of Parliament, even called Wal-Mart's decision to close the store "economic terrorism." It is difficult to understand how workers are exercising their free choice by banding together to negotiate with their employer, but Wal-Mart is the corporate equivalent of Bin Laden because it is choosing not to stay in business under the union's terms. Putting that aside, there is...

MONTREAL - The Quebec Labour Relations Board has ordered Wal-Mart Canada to stop intimidating workers who want to form a union.