1. Two weeks ago, I blogged on the anti-Wal-Mart propaganda film "The High Cost of Low Price" and it's false portrayal of a hardware store closing in Middlefield OH. (Of course, Wal-Mart doesn't drive anyone out of business--customers do.) After that posting I got an email from someone familiar with the Middlefield area. He tells me that it is much more likely that a successful local hardware chain drove H&H out of business than did Wal-Mart. (This makes sense since Wal-Mart has only modest overlap--some paint and lawn/garden merchandise--with typical hardware stores.) The writer (who asked that I not quote him directly or post his name) indicates that one of the local chain's stores is located close to Wal-Mart and H&H and that the local chain seems to have suffered no harm from Wal-Mart's opening nearby.

2. From a recent AJC story:

Just before Labor Day, Noviello hangs a "help wanted" sign in his Struthers store window. He must replace salesclerk Anna Allgood, 49, who is leaving for Wal-Mart Stores Inc., where she can get medical insurance. Her pay will be $6.95 an hour.

Noviello says he'll start his new hire at $5.75 because he can't afford more. "I don't make any money," he said.

So much for Wal-Mart's low pay and lousy medical insurance.

3. Yesterday's WaPo had a must-read article defending Wal-Mart from a "progressive" perspective.