Bowing to the zeitgeist

Continuing with our Big Ass Fake theme today, we point to the lead article in the NYT's business section: Was Wal-Mart's Anti-Union Image Used as a Shield?

The story is about a now-indicted Wal-Mart executive, Thomas M. Coughlin, whose "union project" -- purportedly an effort to fight unionizing in the chain's stores -- became the target of a federal investigation. But that's not the issue. The issue is that the so-called project never existed -- it was merely a ruse by Coughlin to sponge money from his employer's coffers. Since Wal-Mart was already well-known for its anti-union stance, Coughlin simply exploited this image, and everyone who heard about his so-called project thought it was just another anti-union effort.

Such a scheme "certainly would not be out of character," said Harley Shaiken, a professor on labor issues at the University of California, Berkeley, who has studied Wal-Mart for years. "Given Wal-Mart's antipathy for unions and its aggressiveness in fighting them, what Coughlin fabricated appeared to be real."

Coughlin soaked Wal-Mart for approximately half a million dollars. He pled guilty to federal wire fraud and tax evasion charges, and is expected to serve at least two years in jail.

Only two years. I wonder what the average sentence is for some poor asshole who holds up a liquor store for $200?

hoaxes, Wal-Mart, Thomas M. Coughlin