WalMart is evil

You just can't buy this kind of publicity. The WSJ reports: 

"A collision with a semi-trailer truck seven years ago left 52-year-old Deborah Shank permanently brain-damaged and in a wheelchair. Her husband, Jim, and three sons found a small source of solace: a $700,000 accident settlement from the trucking company involved. After legal fees and other expenses, the remaining $417,000 was put in a special trust. It was to be used for Mrs. Shank's care."

Now WalMart is suing her for that money. 

"In August last year, U.S. district judge Lewis Blanton sided with Wal-Mart, ruling that when Mrs. Shank signed on to Wal-Mart's health plan she was obligated to abide by its terms.

The ruling came six days before the Shanks' 18-year-old son, Jeremy, was killed in September last year in Iraq shortly after he arrived in the U.S. Army's 25th Infantry Division.
...

Mrs. Shank went to Jeremy's funeral. But because of memory problems due to her injuries, she gets confused about what happened. On a recent morning, she cried several times and asked what had happened to her middle son. Mr. Shank says that he obtained a divorce from Mrs. Shank this year, partly because of advice from a health-care administrator that she might be more eligible for public aid as a single woman. Mrs. Shank, who has been declared incompetent by a court, hasn't been informed of the divorce by her family."

I cannot even begin to imagine writing that press release. 

Via Hilzoy.

Christvertising

I am sure this is a joke. It just has to be. 

Via Copyranter.

Bad PR

ABC reports that The Weinberg Group is under congressional investigation for helping keep a harmful drug on the market--for ten years after it was proved to be dangerous. ABC says they had lots of case studies up where they "debunked" cancer research on their clients' pharmaceuticals (they seem to have now cleaned up their website). I guess they'll have to use their PR-fu on their own behalf now.

Via Kevin Drum.

Rachel Ingalls

I felt the need for something astringent, so I re-read all my Rachel Ingalls short story collections. It's literature with strong, gruesome horror elements: murders gone awry, hallucinations (or are they?), and carnivorous toads. 

Highly recommended, if you have a reasonably strong stomach.

The Station Agent

We saw such a cool indie movie: The Station Agent. A young dwarf man tries to abandon the whole horrible human race by going off to live in an abandoned train depot, and then is forcibly befriended by variously wacky people, who are also basically dying from loneliness. Not as twee as it sounds. In fact, not twee at all, but charming and moving--a gentle, generous, realistic meditation on loneliness, loss, and friendship. Nice one!

Not so funny now, is it?

Gas is well over $3 a gallon. I'm glad I have my bike.

Persuasion

This is the best marketing book ever written: Influence, the Psychology of Persuasion. Dr. Robert Cialdini explains six basic psychological mechanisms that persuade people. And, more importantly, how to resist. Absolutely essential. Read it to make your marketing irresistibly compelling--read it to learn to resist marketing.