[Cross-posted at The Left Coaster.]

To the absolute surprise of no one the sorry-assed excuses daring to call themselves human beings "managing" Circuit City offered the company for sale yesterday, failing in their cash flow as badly as they failed the workers they were responsible for.  There are a great many elements of America in need of urgent change in the 21st century, and surely one of the most desperately needed is a complete turnaround from the outrageous business norm that American workers are merely parts, anything goes in any sickening attempt to keep a business profitable.

Not the longest diary today, but I thought this article I read in the Bergen Record of NJ was very interesting. A few months ago we were critizing Circuit City for laying off there experienced work staff and replacing them with low paid newbies.  Well Lookie here it backfired. Good for Circuit City

Read on to find out why Circuit City is having a great day today

[Cross-posted at The Left Coaster.]

What Paul Krugman calls an inequality-enabling political norm arced like a blazing meteor across the business world Friday:  the utterly regressed and unfeeling turds of humanity who dare to have the arrogance managing Circuit City awarded themselves $1 million dollar bonuses after a disastrous year of reeking failure in their profits, their labor and public relations, and totally tarnished brand.

Hey everyone!  Remember THIS bit of news from last March?

A new plan for layoffs at the Circuit City electronics retailer is openly targeting better-paid workers, risking a public backlash by implying that its wages are as subject to discounts as its flat-screen TVs.

The electronics retailer, facing larger competitors and falling sales, said Wednesday that it would lay off about 3,400 store workers — immediately — and replace them with lower-paid new hires as soon as possible.

Well, it seems that didn't turn out so well for them after all.  The results below the fold...

Yesterday I wrote about the Fort Dix Six, and how their super-duper terrorist plot (which involved ambushing a heavily fortified military facility with six people) was foiled by a New Jersey store clerk.  I wrote about how this "hero" and other service-sector workers of this kind are consistently disrespected by the American economy.  Well, now we know a little more about that store clerk, which confirmed everything I said.

He worked at Circuit Freakin' City.

I discovered some sad news this morning.

I was responding to another diary, about Circuit City's hiring policies (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/4/30/104833/150) and, per usual, I started to go directly to BuyBlue.org to look up Circuit City's ratings on employee treatment, environmental policies and, most importantly, donations to Democratic and Republican candidates, when I discovered the site is no longer up.

Every once in a while the world dishes out a little bit of justice.
This story is a good example.

Circuit City fired 3,400 of its highest-paid store employees in March, saying it needed to hire cheaper workers to shore up its bottom line. Now, the Richmond electronics retailer says it expects to post a first-quarter loss next month, and analysts are blaming the job cuts.

It turns out that there is a reason why some employees are paid a little bit more - they deserve it.

In particular, the televisions showing disappointing results are "intensive sales" requiring more informed employees, Allen said. "It's a big-ticket purchase for somebody. And if they feel like they're not getting the right advice or are being misled by someone who doesn't know, it would be definitely frustrating. They will take their business elsewhere."

Last Wednesday Circuit City fired 3400 of its best paid and longest-serving employees, 9% of its workforce. Scary, and I hope Toyota doesn't have similar plans for employees at its Georgetown, Kentucky plant.

But maybe it does; more below.

Goodness knows that big business is hardly free from sin in 2007 America, but the hyperbole and venom of anti-business attacks on DailyKos and other sites is sometimes more than I can stomach. Since every single one of us is at minimum using a computer connected to the internet, I can say with certainty that we are all dependent to some extent on products and services provided by big business, and therefore I think it is only fair that we report on business with a little balance and a healthy appreciation for both the positive and negative aspects of business, and that includes looking with a critical, probing eye at serious charges of wrongdoing by business.  We want to be fair. We don't want to smear without a reason.

With that in mind, I'd like to compare and contrast a what I felt was a fair criticism I saw on DailyKos this week about Circuit City, with an unfair criticism I saw of Monsanto, both in recommended diaries.

Circuit City is an electronic superstore based out of Richmond, VA.

Today the retailer announced it will lay-off about 3,400 employees or 8.5 percent of its workforce. The company called the firings a "separation" and the process a, "wage management initutive." Someone was quite creative (and sinsister) to think up those creative euphemisms!

The company has completed a wage management initiative that will result in the separation of approximately 3,400 store Associates. The separations, which are occurring today, focused on Associates who were paid well above the market-based salary range for their role. New Associates will be hired for these positions and compensated at the current market range for the job.

There's an interesting string over at DU about a GOP Swiftboating campaign against Russell Tice, a source in Jim Risen's New York Times expose of the NSA domestic wiretapping scandal. http://www.democraticunderground.com/...

The ERW Internet attack on Tice is part of what appears to be a big corporate sponsored Right-Wing media operation that spans four countries, more than 90 websites, an on-campus organizing operation, a financial services company, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, a PR group, and one very busy financial huckster in Reno, Nevada touting a new-media business model dot-com that shares out advertising revenues from corporate giants Ameritrade, SBC Corp, and Circuit City with conservative pundits and website operators -- which he calls "beta testers" -- across the United States and Canada.

This is Reverend Moon meets the Bulldog, only there's no "church" or naked Marine that's been spotted, yet.

MORE Below . . .

First, a reminder:  CallingAllWingnuts is up and running.  JM from osl8.net did an incredible job developing the site - I think you folks will like it a lot.  I know talk radio fans will like it.

Now to the issue at hand. According to Buy Blue, Circuit City gave 90% of their political contributions to Republicans.  I wish I knew that before I bought my IPod from them in April of 2004.

You see, at the time, IPods were relatively new.  There was a guerrilla advertising campaign being waged by some guy from NYC (I think), telling people that the battery life of Ipods was a problem and that Apple wasn't standing by their product...  

So...  When offered the chance to buy a two year extended warranty, I did so.  Circuit City promised me "Peace of Mind" for two years.

In November of 2004, when my IPod began seizing up - freezing on me as I jogged - I was happy I had purchased the "warranty".  I called Circuit City, they sent me a mailing label, I packed up the IPod and sent it back.  They quickly sent me a replacement.

Well, that's not the end of the story.  I wish it was.