The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: billt on March 22, 2017, 11:41:25 AM
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Time to vent. I've been living here for 20 years now. In that time we've seen a significant increase in the Hispanic population in and around this area. I'm sure this has been the case in much of the southern states. Both legal and illegal. I have also noticed a big drop in quality of product in a lot of the stores around here. Especially the grocery stores.
20 years ago we had fewer grocery outlets, but they carried much better product. Now we've got stores everywhere, but everything they have is crap. This is especially true at places like Wal-Mart. Their meat has gotten all cheap and fatty. Forget trying to find anything in the way of premium cuts. If you buy hamburger you have to make 6" patties, because by the time they're cooked they'll shrink down to bun size. They don't sell premium cuts because most Hispanics won't buy it. They've got tons of kids to feed, and not a lot of money to do it with. I'm not being critical of them, it is what it is. The end result is we now have grocery stores that make me think I'd be better off shopping at Pet Smart if I want better quality food. Hell, my Poodle's food is $28.00 for a 4 pound bag. The little guy is eating better than I would be if we shopped at these rat holes.
Clothing is another area where quality has gone way down. Especially regarding every day wear like tee shirts, jeans, and underwear. Or casual shoes. It seems like everything lately falls apart after just a few washes. But again.... It's cheap. Everything you pick from soup to nuts is cheap, and tastes like it. Or wears like it. Now we even have a grocery chain that caters to them, (Food City). I hadn't been in one, so one day we went. They had Mexican music blaring inside. Most everything they carried was of the Spanish ethnic variety. Dirt cheap, and plenty of it. If you went in there to buy ingredients to make pizza or beef stew, forget it. If you want gallon cans of Jalapeno's, or 4 pound sacks of Tortilla's, your all set. I swear we were the only 2 whites in the whole damn joint.
I have to drive 10 miles further now to get decent meat, that isn't full of fat and gristle. Same with the deli counter. The places around me have nothing but that crappy, "Arby's style blubber meat". Cheap and fatty. But the Mexicans buy it by the ton. If these people raise their kids on that crap, they're all going to need bypass surgery by the time they're 30. None of this existed 20 years ago. But this appears the direction we're going. I think it sucks. OK, rant off.
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Luckily I still live in America, not the United States of Mexico. I do my grocery shopping at a Kroger store about a mile a away. I believe they're based in Cincinnati but are all over this part of the country. I'm sure there's a grocer nearby that specializes in Mexican food but I can't think of any right off hand. There's a Lebanese store a couple blocks away that bakes their own pita bread and a little farther down the road I believe the Seoul Market is still in business. So there are places that sell ethnic food but when I go to the grocery store it's an American store that has less than half an aisle of Mexican food. That's the way it should be since the city is only 3% Hispanic or Latino. It sucks to be you Bill.
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That "market segment" is growing in that area and the merchants are responding to it.
However, it is indicative of a more wide spread trend.
For a society to maintain it's population, there needs to be 2.1 births per female during her life time.
For that society to grow and perhaps keep pace with competing social groups in the same area, country, the birth rate needs to be higher...more in line with the competition.
The "Zero Population Growth" push has done much to diminish the traditional "Western" society in the US.
Few minority groups adhere to ZPG, most critical of these might be the Muslim population.
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Quality of all products has been declining for years.
How many of you are depending on plastic pistols.
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So there are places that sell ethnic food but when I go to the grocery store it's an American store that has less than half an aisle of Mexican food. That's the way it should be since the city is only 3% Hispanic or Latino. It sucks to be you Bill.
I have the same thing. It's just further down the road. This is happening in more places than Arizona, believe me. I saw it deteriorating in and around Chicago 26 years ago. It's why I left. Trust me, it hasn't gotten any better since then. Both New York and Chicago rank in the top ten of Hispanic populations. So it's not limited to the south.
Tom is right. Quality is dropping everywhere, because the latest generation of people are more willing to accept it. Manufacturers have no reason to change. The latest new vehicles hold up well. But look at what you pay for them. Not to mention what it costs to service them if and when something happens.
Even brand names like Nike and Reebok don't hold up well anymore. Lower quality coupled with higher prices are here to stay....... Until everything goes completely to hell. And with a $20 TRILLION dollar debt, that is a very distinct possibility. And when that happens it isn't going to mean squat where you live.
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Walmart meats have always sucked! They're pre packed at offsite locations and trucked to the store! My BIL is a grocery manager at a NH WM and if he had ANY other choice, he wouldn't shop there...
There are several local stores where you can get a butcher to cut your meats here. I don't eat cold cuts...
I don't know what the Hispanic population is here, since it's a sanctuary state, I suspect it's growing but in our markets there is only one aisle for ethnic foods.
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We are so lucky to have Kroger and Publix competing for our business. And Costco's meats are also considered top drawer.
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.....Walmart meats have always sucked!
Actually ours here were pretty good. It all started to slide about 6 or 8 years ago. Better cuts started disappearing in favor of the cheaper crap. And it's only gotten worse. The absolute worst days are Wednesdays. That's when Wal-Mart "price matches". And you have every Mexican within a 10 mile radius shopping there. All with a stack of coupons 2 inches thick. If there are 3 Mexican families ahead of you in the checkout lane on Wednesday, and you've got ice cream in your cart, it will be liquid by the time you get it home. I could buy a house or a new car quicker.
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I avoid shopping at Wal-Mart whenever possible. If it was the only store in town I would be forced to go there, but they aren't so I do my shopping elsewhere. I take my mom there about once a year, maybe twice, to buy window fly traps. They're like double-sided clear tape that you stick on the window and one side is covered with glue. Wal-Mart is the only place I've seen them but I just did a quick search and it looks like Home Depot has them too, so I won't have to go to Wal-Mart at all. I never bought any clothing there but I heard their athletic shoes only last a matter of weeks. I'm currently wearing Rockport walkers that I've had for years. I'm not sure where they were made but they're good shoes. Before I got these I wore a lot of New Balance shoes that were made in the US but they make a lot of them other places now.
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Rockport started in Rochester NH now headquartered in Newton Mass.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockport_(company)
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I try to stay away from Walmart at all costs. I hate dealing with the aptly named Walmartians. I also still remember the Walmart commercials about selling only American Made items and as we (at least I) now know Walmart is one of the major reason American manufacture of dry goods has declined to the extremely low level it is today.
Locally we also have a large issue with non-English speaking populace growth. I have no issue with people coming to this country as long as they do so legally but as time and experience goes on it is very evident the growth in illegals IS a very severe issue. The incoming illegal populace do NOT wish to become Americans but still wish to capitalize on this counties riches, both financial and political. Being at a Walmart and seeing the way these people interact there bring home that fact. I hate Walmart and what it has helped achieve in the Unites States. :( :( :(
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Locally we also have a large issue with non-English speaking populace growth. I have no issue with people coming to this country as long as they do so legally but as time and experience goes on it is very evident the growth in illegals IS a very severe issue. The incoming illegal populace do NOT wish to become Americans but still wish to capitalize on this counties riches, both financial and political. Being at a Walmart and seeing the way these people interact there bring home that fact. I hate Walmart and what it has helped achieve in the Unites States. :( :( :(
My gripe with today's legal immigration, is in decades past, during and after the mass European immigration coming here to flee the Nazi's, is those people assimilated into our society. They learned English and studied our Constitution. They in essence, became Americans. And were proud to do so. Now, forget it. They come here and fly the Mexican flag. They celebrate Cinco De Mayo, and reject the Fourth Of July. They keep carrying on about celebrating "their heritage" that they left behind, because they turned their country into a $h!t hole with it. And ignore ours that they want all the benefits from so badly.
I believe the bulk of America is sick of it as well. It was a big part of the reason Trump was so victorious. And the way they've been acting since the election, it's going to push even more people to our side. You'll see it in the 2018 Mid Terms. Every day more nails are being driven into the Democratic coffin....... By Democrats and illegal invaders, as well as legal immigrants who refuse to assimilate. Because now, all of a sudden, Democrats have taught them that it's now become Chic to $h!t on the United States in every way possible. While having their hand out all the way, so someone else can pay their freight.
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I do not shop Wal-Mart, and on a rare occasion will go to Target (regular, not super). We have great groceries here, and even the granola food store has some good stuff. I shop local hardware and farm stores as much as I can. Main reason to go to Target is to stock up on cat litter, a particular brand, that I can only find here at Target.
Oh, those glue fly traps (and bee traps, etc), you can get at Lowe's, Home Depot, a lot of hardware stores, and the farm stores in particular (Horse area usually).
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They in essence, became Americans. And were proud to do so. Now, forget it. They come here and fly the Mexican flag. They celebrate Cinco De Mayo, and reject the Fourth Of July. They keep carrying on about celebrating "their heritage" that they left behind, because they turned their country into a $h!t hole with it. And ignore ours that they want all the benefits from so badly.
I agree and that makes them Un-American. While I don't mind them remembering their culture much like others do (the Irish and St. Pats Day...) they HAVE to remember this is AMERICA not whatever country they came from. If you want to live that culture than GO BACK to that culture. When you come here you should be "In for a penny in for a pound".
I recently read about a school district that was going to change the graduation rules for their high school to require ALL student to pass the US citizenship test before getting their diploma. I think that is a wonderful idea and would like to know why it hasn't been done all along and why they don't teach Civics in school any more?
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Rockport started in Rochester NH now headquartered in Newton Mass.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockport_(company)
That was an interesting read. My shoes may be made in China, I don't know, but they are built to a higher quality than most Chinese junk. Sometimes you actually do get what you pay for. They look a lot like these real leather walking shoes and are very comfortable. http://www.rockport.com/rockport/m7100-prowalker/m7100milprowlkr.html?dwvar_m7100milprowlkr_shoeSize=7&dwvar_m7100milprowlkr_width=M&dwvar_m7100milprowlkr_color=m7100milprowlkr_black&cgid=mens-footwear-styles-walking#start=1
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I do not shop Wal-Mart, and on a rare occasion will go to Target (regular, not super). We have great groceries here, and even the granola food store has some good stuff.
My wife will continue to shop at Wal-Mart. Here is why. I just got back from the new Fry's Marketplace, that's about 5 miles from here that just opened this past Spring. This place is the La Crème De La Crème of grocery stores in our area. Huge, and they have everything, and plenty of it. All top shelf. My wife gave me a list of what to get.
When I got back and she looked at the receipt. She said most of what I bought was priced at almost TWICE what Wal-Mart had it for. I'm talking about produce and packaged goods. Frozen potatoes, ice cream, mushrooms, tomatoes, green beans, and the like. I don't mind paying a bit more.....But NOT double! Meat and fish is different. I will pay whatever I have to, in order to have a good cut. But not everyday items. I will say that I didn't see a Hispanic in the place. And you could eat off the floor. But there is a huge difference in price. So for packaged goods that are all the same. And for non food items like paper towels, toilet paper, toothpaste, and the like, we'll continue to shop at Wal-Mart. I'll just let her do it, because she has more patience than I do in dealing with all that riff raff.
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I recently read about a school district that was going to change the graduation rules for their high school to require ALL student to pass the US citizenship test before getting their diploma. I think that is a wonderful idea and would like to know why it hasn't been done all along and why they don't teach Civics in school any more?
A great idea.
And it gave me another one.
As much as I'd want all illegal aliens, and those born to illegal aliens whild in the USA, to be deported to somewhere, from what I have seen that is not to likely.
So, instead, my thought was: They can be considered for residency if they pass the test
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As much as I'd want all illegal aliens, and those born to illegal aliens whild in the USA, to be deported to somewhere, from what I have seen that is not to likely.
So, instead, my thought was: They can be considered for residency if they pass the test
Not many of them would even try. They are more interested in subverting this country to be more like their own.
While it would be hard, I believe that if we made a solid attempt to deport these illegals, starting with the violent ones but continuing with the non violent, after a few short years of them not being socially accepted, they woud
1. self deport, and
2 not come here in the first place. This would be especially true if we had some sort of sanctions against American employers that knowingly employed illegals.
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A lot of the problem isn't the illegal invaders themselves, but rather the idiot liberals who support them to begin with. Look at this recent case of this 14 year old Maryland girl who was raped by these 2, illegal 18 year old Freshmen, in the boys bathroom in her high school. One was from Guatemala, and the other El Salvador. The countries with the highest crime rates in the world. They knew they were illegal, and were here for just a few days.
Who in the hell seats an illegal 18 year old freshman to begin with? That's pure insanity. A 22 year old high school Senior? (Assuming they last that long, which they won't). Give me a break! And they wonder why the parents at this school are furious? If that was my daughter, someone would have had their ass kicked, and I would probably be in jail for it. These liberals, (especially teachers), have gone so far off the rails, our schools are going completely to hell. This criminal trash wouldn't be in these schools if these idiot teachers and administrators didn't allow it.
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A lot of the problem isn't the illegal invaders themselves, but rather the idiot liberals who support them to begin with. Look at this recent case of this 14 year old Maryland girl who was raped by these 2, illegal 18 year old Freshmen, in the boys bathroom in her high school. One was from Guatemala, and the other El Salvador. The countries with the highest crime rates in the world. They knew they were illegal, and were here for just a few days.
Who in the hell seats an illegal 18 year old freshman to begin with? That's pure insanity. A 22 year old high school Senior? (Assuming they last that long, which they won't). Give me a break! And they wonder why the parents at this school are furious? If that was my daughter, someone would have had their ass kicked, and I would probably be in jail for it. These liberals, (especially teachers), have gone so far off the rails, our schools are going completely to hell. This criminal trash wouldn't be in these schools if these idiot teachers and administrators didn't allow it.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Yep... What he said. :) :) :)
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A great idea.
And it gave me another one.
As much as I'd want all illegal aliens, and those born to illegal aliens whild in the USA, to be deported to somewhere, from what I have seen that is not to likely.
So, instead, my thought was: They can be considered for residency if they pass the test
Shit.
Most of the TEACHERS couldn't pass the citizenship test.
NY is looking at doing away with LITERACY requirements for teachers because so many minority applicants can't even pass that.
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Walmart pricing is skewed due to their product size and packaging. Take shit paper! We buy twelve double roll packs from our local market for six bucks. WM doesn't sell that size package but an eight pack or twentyfour pack. I can quickly check the per roll price in my head but most cannot!
Water, the sell spring water that is a 3-1/2 quart bottle for MORE than a buck when I can buy a gallon of the same product for 89 cents!
Their pros at the falling prices bait and switch. The price ain't falling, the volume of the product does!
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I have not even stepped foot in a walmart in 17 years.
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There are 58 Walmart stores within 40 miles of where I'm sitting!
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Water, the sell spring water that is a 3-1/2 quart bottle for MORE than a buck when I can buy a gallon of the same product for 89 cents!
The only water I "buy" is out of my tap.
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The only water I "buy" is out of my tap.
We have terrible small town water.
I buy four or five gallons a week to drink, we cook with the tap water.
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If you are buying water you might want to check this out.
Berkey purifiers. Not really cheap, but might pay for themselves over their life..and filter fluoride from city tap water if that is a concern. Come in several sizes, the one below being the largest. Good "prepper" item since it will clean the worst water to pure.
https://www.amazon.com/Berkey-BK4X2-BB-Stainless-Filtration-Elements/dp/B00CYW3EVO/ref=sr_1_cc_3?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1490314073&sr=1-3-catcorr&keywords=home+water+purifier+berkey
http://www.bigberkeywaterfilters.com/?gclid=CjwKEAjw5M3GBRCTvpK4osqj4X4SJAABRJNCI3jySxML7C3Sf1rI6JXsNT6oOmbG9ER3yduAhvYKFhoCJM3w_wcB
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I've looked at the Berkey and they're in my future. Several of my MI pals use them and stand by their capabilities.
Just have to convince my bride.
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Shit.
Most of the TEACHERS couldn't pass the citizenship test.
NY is looking at doing away with LITERACY requirements for teachers because so many minority applicants can't even pass that.
I had a junior high school teacher who couldn't even speak proper English as her native language. She axed me a question. They have ghetto trash teaching in public schools and it could only have gotten worse since the '70s.
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I had a junior high school teacher who couldn't even speak proper English as her native language. She axed me a question. They have ghetto trash teaching in public schools and it could only have gotten worse since the '70s.
Any time someone says to me "Lemme axe you a question" I say "OK, hatchet away." ;D
Walmart pricing is skewed due to their product size and packaging. Take shit paper! We buy twelve double roll packs from our local market for six bucks. WM doesn't sell that size package but an eight pack or twentyfour pack. I can quickly check the per roll price in my head but most cannot!
Water, the sell spring water that is a 3-1/2 quart bottle for MORE than a buck when I can buy a gallon of the same product for 89 cents!
Their pros at the falling prices bait and switch. The price ain't falling, the volume of the product does!
Indeed it is....at Sam's Club too.
If you don't do some math in your head you can over pay for certain items, and they bank on that. They figure most folks think it is automatically a great deal in bulk when often it is not. For example, they do it with items that might be bought together, coffee might be a good buy but you get ripped on sugar.
Walmart and Sam's are sister companies, but many times the same product is way cheaper at one or the other. People think they are getting a deal because it is Sam's when the item is way cheaper at Walmart.
You also have to be careful shopping from one walmart to another on the same items. For example, Huggies baby wipes are $12 for a case of 11 packs (72 per pack) at our large walmart store. Across town at the walmart grocery store, the same wipes come in a case of 9 packs (the same wipes at 72 per pack) for the same $12 per case.
For the record, I buy as little as possible at walmart...I hate going near the place....but the sad fact is some things you just have to buy there, because we have limited other avenues to shop in our area without driving 40-60 miles.
My dad called them a "necessary evil."
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I agree with you Bill. I have zero patience going in the place. I will say though our price differences are not that drastic. Heck, they do not even carry a bunch of stuff that I tend to buy. Being Montana, finding certain things is tough, and yes, Amazon helps a ton. I know I pay more shopping at the local stores instead of WM, and I am ok with that.
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Billt, you can find the answer to your prayers by driving south a bit until you hit Mesa. There is a SPROUTS Farmer's Market there with beautiful, locally grown produce at fair prices. They have a selection of "organic" produce as well, but it's at a higher price.
They also have an actual butcher case with a real, live butcher standing behind it. If you want something special, he can cut it for you. If you are satisfied with the packaged beef, pork, chicken, lamb, etc, they have a case full of pretty good looking cuts. They also sell a limited variety of fish.
They have a cooler full of various beers, and a section of floor space dedicated to decent wines. And prices are competitive.
The store isn't huge, but you can get most food and drink requirements there. You won't want to go to Sprouts for laundry detergent, bath soap (although they have some esoteric soaps and lotions in the store) or other toiletries, but for food, they are great.
They have a store out in Scottsdale. I haven't been there, but I know about the one in Mesa. Scottsdale store is 4402 N. Miller Rd., Scottsdale, AZ 85251
480-941-6001
FWIW
Crusader Rabbit
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A bit about culture and population growth. This was created in 2010
https://www.facebook.com/ElectTrump2020/videos/787317758084330/
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Sprouts is . Or at least the one that was clise too me in sac was. Makr sure you buy thier sausage from the meat counter. They are awrsome.