SSScout 1615 Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 Well, I was just watching Dirty Jobs, and at the end, Mike Rowe asks folks to email him ideas for new places/jobs to visit and I thought of my friend who inspects ballast tanks on ocean frieghters for the Smithsonian looking for tag-a-long critters and deseases so I went to Discovery Channel http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/dirty-jobs and discovered that (in 2012!) DJ was CANCELED!! WOW! It was a shock. I went to some other pages, and discovered there had been a petition for restarting the show, but it was closed after only 52 signatures! Mike was great at the Nat Jam both years. *sigh* and he didn't get to be Chief Scout, either. I guess it was time to move on..... Link to post Share on other sites
qwazse 4342 Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 There's no business like show business ... Link to post Share on other sites
perdidochas 658 Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 He still does a great job with Eagle letters. My oldest just got one from him. Link to post Share on other sites
duckfoot 80 Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 2016? President Rowe? He is an impressive guy, I'd vote for him. Link to post Share on other sites
RememberSchiff 3662 Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 IMHO, more BSA and less Walmart. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-mike...d-for-walmart/ Link to post Share on other sites
Scouter99 265 Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 IMHO, more BSA and less Walmart. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-mike...d-for-walmart/ Oh, right, the article that embodies all that is wonderful about political journalism with this line "Rowe didn't immediately return a request for comment." . . . because the reporter never requested a comment from Rowe. In the interest of fairness, Mike Rowe's response from his Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/TheRealMikeRowe) on Feb 24: I’m back. Three days of press, five hours of sleep, four bottles of wine, a speech, a job offer, 5,000 form letters, and a couple of good-natured death threats. All because of a commercial that I narrated about American manufacturing paid for by Walmart. Press tours are fun! Oscar Wilde said, “the only thing worse than people talking about you is people not talking about you.†I don’t know that I agree with Oscar, but one thing's for sure - there’s no such thing as “free press.†I just googled myself and the results are too rich to ignore. Let's start with this journalistic masterpiece from Matt Hardigree. http://jalopnik.com/ford-drops-shill-for-the-oppressors-mike-rowe-from-truc-1526805143 “Shill for the Oppressors!†Is that not fantastic? I should make new business cards. I’m sure Matt’s a swell guy, but unfortunately, he’s so eager to report on a story that doesn’t exist he’s resorted to a career in fiction. Matt believes that my recent work with Walmart drove The Ford Motor Company to fire me after seven years of service. He sees some sort of conspiracy at work in a recent Ad Age article, where according to him, every one played just “a little too nice.†Sorry Matt - here are the facts. Ford didn’t “drop†me. We had serious discussions about another extension but decided not to proceed for reasons completely benign. We parted amicably long before the Walmart ad came along. A simple phone call to Ford would have confirmed that. Or, you could have done some really deep digging and called me. People do it all the time, especially when they’re interested in getting the facts. Bottom line - We “played nice†in Ad Age because the people involved are all, well...nice. I’m just at a point in my career where I want to associate myself with messages that speak directly to the issues that are important to me. That’s why the Walmart ad was so appealing. A $250 billion investment in US manufacturing is worth talking about, and very much in keeping with the goals of my own foundation. If any other “Oppressors†are looking to make a similar investment in America, drop me a line. I’m happy to “shill†for any company that gets this country back to work. Also in Matt’s piece, was a link to this little gem. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-mike...d-for-walmart/ This piece comes from CBS News. Check out the photo. It’s a rare image of me in a suit and tie, and conveys all the sincerity of an ambitious vacuum cleaner salesman at the annual Hoover convention. Nice. Below the photo, the writer - Aimee Picchi - attributes the following question to me. “Who gives a crap about your feelings toward Walmart?†Unfortunately, Aimee leaves out the most important part, which for the record was this: “For that matter, who gives a crap about MY feelings? Isn’t the business of making things in America an initiative we can all get behind?†Along with that omission, and the clever use of words like “hawk,†“tout,†and “spokesman,†the reader is left to believe that I’ve been empowered to speak on Walmart’s behalf in some sort of official capacity. In fact, I have not. I’m doing this because I want to encourage other companies to make similar investments in American manufacturing. That’s it. Of course, I’m not the only one with an agenda, and Aimee knows it. Ori Korin is a spokesperson for “Jobs with Justice,†and she’s trying very hard to persuade people that Walmart is treating its workers unfairly. Aimee quotes Ori as being disappointed with my decision to work with “a company as notorious as Walmart.†Ori also believes I was “too quick to dismiss†the workers she represents. Of course, I was already well-aware of Ori’s disappointment with me. To date, Jobs with Justice has carpet-bombed my office with 5,048 form letters, imploring me to sit down with “real Walmart employees†and listen to stories about how unfairly they have been treated. Naturally, Aimee points this out to her readers, and even provides a helpful link to the Jobs with Justice Letter Writing Campaign, so that other objective citizens might continue to overwhelm my modest staff with additional expressions of carbon-copied concern. (Thanks Aimee!) My response to all this? According to Aimee - “Rowe didn’t immediately return a request for comment.†Well Aimee, please allow me to address your request with all due speed. My office has no record of a call from you or anyone at CBS. I've checked three times. Nothing. Of course, if you sent an email to my Foundation, it may very well be buried in the mountain of form letters currently straining the resources of mikeroweWORKS. Which brings me to Ori Korin, and Jobs for Justice. In the spirit of their chosen method of communication, I’ll respond directly and openly. -------- Dear Ori: You’ll be pleased to know that my office has received your letter, and 5,048 others just like it. While I’m sympathetic to your objectives and sensitive to the needs of your members, I must say that your tactics have had the same effect as a flood of telemarketing calls during my dinner, or a bag of dog crap set ablaze on my front porch. Now, instead of overseeing scholarship applications and other Foundation matters, my already beleaguered staff must sift through a sea of robo-letters in search of legitimate correspondence from hard-hitting investigative journalists like Matt & Aimee. It’s a little ironic, don’t you think? On the one hand, Jobs with Justice is concerned that everyday people are being overwhelmed by heavy workloads. But you don’t think twice about flooding an unsuspecting non-profit foundation with an endless stream of form letters. Anyway, my answer to you is the same as it was after I got your first letter a week ago. You guys are in a labor dispute, and my foundation doesn’t take sides between employers and employees. Another 5,000 form letters won’t change my position on that - though it just might inspire the nice woman who oversees my Foundation to throw herself out the window. (Her name is Mary, by the way, and her demise is now on you.) Let me really spell this out though, so there’s no confusion at all. I care about the people you represent. That’s precisely why I set up a foundation and some scholarship funds. I’m trying to encourage hardworking people who are unhappy in their jobs to make a meaningful change in their life. A lasting change. And I believe this change is most likely to occur when people are willing to learn a skill that’s in demand. Happily, worthwhile opportunities are everywhere. Our country has a massive skills gap, and the chance to retool and retrain has never been better. We’re not enemies, Ori. We’re just fighting different battles. You’re trying to wring out a modest increase for people who feel unappreciated by their employer and unhappy in their work. I’m trying to get those same people excited about possibilities and opportunities that go beyond their current positions. Frankly - and I say this with all due respect - I don’t believe that your strategy is in the long-term interest of your members, or for that matter, anyone who wants to improve their lives in a meaningful way. Think about it, Ori. Many of the workers you represent have jobs that could very well become obsolete in just a few years. Automation, technology, automatic checkouts...the writing is on the wall. But the skilled trades are different. Welders, auto technicians, carpenters, masons, construction workers, healthcare...these opportunities are real, and the rewards go far beyond the minimum wage - whatever that might turn out to be. Walmart may have cornered the market on retail jobs, but the world's a lot bigger than Walmart. Anyway, I want to help. Please forward your members this link. http://profoundlydisconnected.com/the-mikeroweworks-foundation-scholarship-opportunities/ Surely, if you’ve got time to send five thousand identical letters to the same email address, you’ve got time to pass this on to your members. But do me a favor - just send it once. People hate form letters. ------ Finally, I found a piece that literally drips with sanity and common sense. http://ivn.us/2014/02/20/defense-mik...opt-beta-v-1-0 This comes from a guy named Shawn Griffiths over at The Independent Voter Network, and I appreciate every single sentence. My own bias aside, Shawn’s analysis is completely correct, and if I were King of the World, this would be required reading for any journalist that wanted to discuss recent events. If you’ve come this far, please give it a look. Carry On, Mike Rowe PS If you’re late to the party or just a glutton for detail, my office has set up a press page with some photos and links to some of the recent appearances. http://profoundlydisconnected.com/about-mike/press/ And some of his logic on why he agreed to do voiceover work for WalMart, from Feb 12: Clean-up In Aisle Four! This whole Walmart thing. Wow. Just...wow. If you’re just tuning in, here’s a brief timeline. - Last week, I did the voiceover for a commercial that announced Walmart’s commitment to purchase 250 billion dollars of American made goods and put them onto their shelves. - This Saturday, the commercial ran during The Olympics, and people started talking. Some of the talk wasn’t very pretty. - Sunday evening, I opened a bottle of Whistle Pig, and responded to a few of my detractors. I attempted to clarify a few things. By midnight, the Whistle Pig was badly depleted and I was very sleepy. So I hit “post,†and went to bed. - Several hours later, I woke up to use the bathroom. (Sad, that I had to. Glad, that I woke up first.) On the way back to bed, I saw that my laptop was still open. I glanced at this page, and saw that over a million people had read your questions and my answers. Holy Crap. The next morning, I awakened to the kind of chaos that simply wasn’t possible before social media. No less than a dozen requests from various news outlets asking me to appear as soon as possible. Urgent messages to return calls from people I didn’t know. Angry messages from certain acquaintances. Lots of encouragement from unexpected sources. I was tied up all day, and unable to respond to the media requests. But the press waits for no one. Articles about our little Q&A began to pop up everywhere. There was this. http://www.thenewamerican.com/economy/commentary/item/17606-mike-rowe-touches-the-third-rail-of-retailing-walmart And this. http://www.babble.com/entertainment/mike-rowe-and-walmart/ And this. http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/02/10/who-gives-a-crap-about-your-feelings-towards-walmart-mike-rowes-fiery-2648-word-response-to-his-recent-haters/# CNN even did a story about me...without me. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acuZQuVM7Z0 That brings us to the present. 4,000 comments and counting. I’ve read them all. Thanks. And since you’re still reading, allow me to free-associate a bit further. Because if the press is still interested in this topic next week, I’ll fly to NY and make the rounds. Consider this a rehearsal of my talking points. As always, your suggestions are welcomed. - I’m not a spokesman for Walmart. I narrated a very specific commercial because I’m a fan of what Walmart is trying to accomplish with this particular initiative. In the interest of full disclosure though, I really do shop there. In fact, for nearly ten years, Walmart was my first stop whenever Dirty Jobs came to town. (I typically don’t pack a bag, so Walmart was the best place for affordable clothing that would most likely be badly abused and left in behind in a smelly bathtub with a note of apology and $20 for the maid.) - The mikeroweWORKS Foundation is in the business of partnering with any company that want’s to see American manufacturing revitalized. If Walmart asks me to do more commercials like this, I will. Likewise Ford. Or Chevy. Or Lowe’s. Or Home Depot. Or George Soros. Or The Koch Brothers. Or The Sultan of Brunei. I really don’t really about where the investment is coming from, as long as it’s getting the US back to the business of making things. Because there is simply nothing more important to the future of the country. - It’s a hell of a thing when someone you really don’t like suddenly does something that you actually agree with. At base, I think that’s what’s happening here. A lot of people who have fallen in love with hating Walmart are now wrestling with what the shrinks call “cognitive dissonance.†Regarding a 250 billion dollar investment in American manufacturing, the choices are simple - a) continue to condemn them for whatever you like to condemn them for, b) offer support and encouragement, or, c) shoot the messenger. - This whole dust-up is a small but instructive example of what’s happening in our country today. Those who dislike the President struggle to give him credit when he does something they personally agree with. And those who support him, hesitate to oppose him when they personally disagree. So it goes with Walmart. Watch the guy on CNN (Marc Lamont) in the above link. He simply can’t address the importance of revitalizing our manufacturing base without reframing the whole conversation into a polemic against the thing he's been trained to despise. It’s simply too hard for him to say, “Good for Walmart. I hope they succeed in this endeavor. Period.†While he gives me “the benefit of the doubt,†he still believes I’m fundamentally “wrong†for supporting their initiative. Why? Because Marc doesn’t see workers and employers as two sides of the same coin. He sees sees them as enemies. - People are asking how the “champion of the working man,†(their words, not mine,) can support a big company like Walmart? This goes straight to the heart of the problem. Because it’s a question designed to insight a fight. We’ve become adept at putting people into boxes and assigning labels that reduce individuals to a single dimension. Thus, Democrats must behave like Democrats. Republicans like Republicans. It's expected. If you wander too far afield, you’re labelled a “sell-out.†A “Rino." A “Scab.†And so forth. Consequently, if the “champion of the working man†fails to burst into a chorus of “Look For the Union Label,†the country is suddenly confused. They shouldn’t be. Because the truth is, I’m a big fan of the American Worker. I’m just a bigger fan of America. - Today, our expectations inform the narrative, and the narrative confirms the stereotype. That’s gotta stop, because the world’s a hell of a lot more complicated than a sound bite from a sycophant with an axe to grind, or a question from a host who’s looking for a fight. Remember, people will usually find what they look for. On Dirty Jobs, it’s easy for a union member to see a program that celebrates skilled labor and hard work. But it was just as easy for a business owner to see a tribute to risk and entrepreneurship. In truth, Dirty Jobs was an equal measure of both. Unfortunately, such complexity is far too nuanced for the debate we’ve been trained to expect. - Am I a “sell-out?†You’d better believe it. That’s the whole point. Every time I buy something or eat something that's made or grown elsewhere, I’m rewarding behavior I’d prefer to discourage. But - like millions of other Americans - what can I do? This is the cost of the global economy. We brought it on ourselves by voting with our dollars. We narrowed our options, and now the choices are very, very skinny. But again, when big companies start reversing the trend by investing in American suppliers, we have a choice. We can congratulate them. Or we can crucify them. Personally, I'm going to support the behavior I want to encourage. etc, etc. More later - Mike Link to post Share on other sites
teginder81 10 Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 i love that show! Link to post Share on other sites
RememberSchiff 3662 Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 IMHO, more BSA and less Walmart. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-mike...d-for-walmart/ Oh, right, the article that embodies all that is wonderful about political journalism with this line "Rowe didn't immediately return a request for comment." . . . because the reporter never requested a comment from Rowe. In the interest of fairness, Mike Rowe's response from his Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/TheRealMikeRowe) on Feb 24: I’m back. Three days of press, five hours of sleep, four bottles of wine, a speech, a job offer, 5,000 form letters, and a couple of good-natured death threats. All because of a commercial that I narrated about American manufacturing paid for by Walmart. Press tours are fun! Oscar Wilde said, “the only thing worse than people talking about you is people not talking about you.†I don’t know that I agree with Oscar, but one thing's for sure - there’s no such thing as “free press.†I just googled myself and the results are too rich to ignore. Let's start with this journalistic masterpiece from Matt Hardigree. http://jalopnik.com/ford-drops-shill-for-the-oppressors-mike-rowe-from-truc-1526805143 “Shill for the Oppressors!†Is that not fantastic? I should make new business cards. I’m sure Matt’s a swell guy, but unfortunately, he’s so eager to report on a story that doesn’t exist he’s resorted to a career in fiction. Matt believes that my recent work with Walmart drove The Ford Motor Company to fire me after seven years of service. He sees some sort of conspiracy at work in a recent Ad Age article, where according to him, every one played just “a little too nice.†Sorry Matt - here are the facts. Ford didn’t “drop†me. We had serious discussions about another extension but decided not to proceed for reasons completely benign. We parted amicably long before the Walmart ad came along. A simple phone call to Ford would have confirmed that. Or, you could have done some really deep digging and called me. People do it all the time, especially when they’re interested in getting the facts. Bottom line - We “played nice†in Ad Age because the people involved are all, well...nice. I’m just at a point in my career where I want to associate myself with messages that speak directly to the issues that are important to me. That’s why the Walmart ad was so appealing. A $250 billion investment in US manufacturing is worth talking about, and very much in keeping with the goals of my own foundation. If any other “Oppressors†are looking to make a similar investment in America, drop me a line. I’m happy to “shill†for any company that gets this country back to work. Also in Matt’s piece, was a link to this little gem. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-mike...d-for-walmart/ This piece comes from CBS News. Check out the photo. It’s a rare image of me in a suit and tie, and conveys all the sincerity of an ambitious vacuum cleaner salesman at the annual Hoover convention. Nice. Below the photo, the writer - Aimee Picchi - attributes the following question to me. “Who gives a crap about your feelings toward Walmart?†Unfortunately, Aimee leaves out the most important part, which for the record was this: “For that matter, who gives a crap about MY feelings? Isn’t the business of making things in America an initiative we can all get behind?†Along with that omission, and the clever use of words like “hawk,†“tout,†and “spokesman,†the reader is left to believe that I’ve been empowered to speak on Walmart’s behalf in some sort of official capacity. In fact, I have not. I’m doing this because I want to encourage other companies to make similar investments in American manufacturing. That’s it. Of course, I’m not the only one with an agenda, and Aimee knows it. Ori Korin is a spokesperson for “Jobs with Justice,†and she’s trying very hard to persuade people that Walmart is treating its workers unfairly. Aimee quotes Ori as being disappointed with my decision to work with “a company as notorious as Walmart.†Ori also believes I was “too quick to dismiss†the workers she represents. Of course, I was already well-aware of Ori’s disappointment with me. To date, Jobs with Justice has carpet-bombed my office with 5,048 form letters, imploring me to sit down with “real Walmart employees†and listen to stories about how unfairly they have been treated. Naturally, Aimee points this out to her readers, and even provides a helpful link to the Jobs with Justice Letter Writing Campaign, so that other objective citizens might continue to overwhelm my modest staff with additional expressions of carbon-copied concern. (Thanks Aimee!) My response to all this? According to Aimee - “Rowe didn’t immediately return a request for comment.†Well Aimee, please allow me to address your request with all due speed. My office has no record of a call from you or anyone at CBS. I've checked three times. Nothing. Of course, if you sent an email to my Foundation, it may very well be buried in the mountain of form letters currently straining the resources of mikeroweWORKS. Which brings me to Ori Korin, and Jobs for Justice. In the spirit of their chosen method of communication, I’ll respond directly and openly. -------- Dear Ori: You’ll be pleased to know that my office has received your letter, and 5,048 others just like it. While I’m sympathetic to your objectives and sensitive to the needs of your members, I must say that your tactics have had the same effect as a flood of telemarketing calls during my dinner, or a bag of dog crap set ablaze on my front porch. Now, instead of overseeing scholarship applications and other Foundation matters, my already beleaguered staff must sift through a sea of robo-letters in search of legitimate correspondence from hard-hitting investigative journalists like Matt & Aimee. It’s a little ironic, don’t you think? On the one hand, Jobs with Justice is concerned that everyday people are being overwhelmed by heavy workloads. But you don’t think twice about flooding an unsuspecting non-profit foundation with an endless stream of form letters. Anyway, my answer to you is the same as it was after I got your first letter a week ago. You guys are in a labor dispute, and my foundation doesn’t take sides between employers and employees. Another 5,000 form letters won’t change my position on that - though it just might inspire the nice woman who oversees my Foundation to throw herself out the window. (Her name is Mary, by the way, and her demise is now on you.) Let me really spell this out though, so there’s no confusion at all. I care about the people you represent. That’s precisely why I set up a foundation and some scholarship funds. I’m trying to encourage hardworking people who are unhappy in their jobs to make a meaningful change in their life. A lasting change. And I believe this change is most likely to occur when people are willing to learn a skill that’s in demand. Happily, worthwhile opportunities are everywhere. Our country has a massive skills gap, and the chance to retool and retrain has never been better. We’re not enemies, Ori. We’re just fighting different battles. You’re trying to wring out a modest increase for people who feel unappreciated by their employer and unhappy in their work. I’m trying to get those same people excited about possibilities and opportunities that go beyond their current positions. Frankly - and I say this with all due respect - I don’t believe that your strategy is in the long-term interest of your members, or for that matter, anyone who wants to improve their lives in a meaningful way. Think about it, Ori. Many of the workers you represent have jobs that could very well become obsolete in just a few years. Automation, technology, automatic checkouts...the writing is on the wall. But the skilled trades are different. Welders, auto technicians, carpenters, masons, construction workers, healthcare...these opportunities are real, and the rewards go far beyond the minimum wage - whatever that might turn out to be. Walmart may have cornered the market on retail jobs, but the world's a lot bigger than Walmart. Anyway, I want to help. Please forward your members this link. http://profoundlydisconnected.com/the-mikeroweworks-foundation-scholarship-opportunities/ Surely, if you’ve got time to send five thousand identical letters to the same email address, you’ve got time to pass this on to your members. But do me a favor - just send it once. People hate form letters. ------ Finally, I found a piece that literally drips with sanity and common sense. http://ivn.us/2014/02/20/defense-mik...opt-beta-v-1-0 This comes from a guy named Shawn Griffiths over at The Independent Voter Network, and I appreciate every single sentence. My own bias aside, Shawn’s analysis is completely correct, and if I were King of the World, this would be required reading for any journalist that wanted to discuss recent events. If you’ve come this far, please give it a look. Carry On, Mike Rowe PS If you’re late to the party or just a glutton for detail, my office has set up a press page with some photos and links to some of the recent appearances. http://profoundlydisconnected.com/about-mike/press/ And some of his logic on why he agreed to do voiceover work for WalMart, from Feb 12: Clean-up In Aisle Four! This whole Walmart thing. Wow. Just...wow. If you’re just tuning in, here’s a brief timeline. - Last week, I did the voiceover for a commercial that announced Walmart’s commitment to purchase 250 billion dollars of American made goods and put them onto their shelves. - This Saturday, the commercial ran during The Olympics, and people started talking. Some of the talk wasn’t very pretty. - Sunday evening, I opened a bottle of Whistle Pig, and responded to a few of my detractors. I attempted to clarify a few things. By midnight, the Whistle Pig was badly depleted and I was very sleepy. So I hit “post,†and went to bed. - Several hours later, I woke up to use the bathroom. (Sad, that I had to. Glad, that I woke up first.) On the way back to bed, I saw that my laptop was still open. I glanced at this page, and saw that over a million people had read your questions and my answers. Holy Crap. The next morning, I awakened to the kind of chaos that simply wasn’t possible before social media. No less than a dozen requests from various news outlets asking me to appear as soon as possible. Urgent messages to return calls from people I didn’t know. Angry messages from certain acquaintances. Lots of encouragement from unexpected sources. I was tied up all day, and unable to respond to the media requests. But the press waits for no one. Articles about our little Q&A began to pop up everywhere. There was this. http://www.thenewamerican.com/economy/commentary/item/17606-mike-rowe-touches-the-third-rail-of-retailing-walmart And this. http://www.babble.com/entertainment/mike-rowe-and-walmart/ And this. http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/02/10/who-gives-a-crap-about-your-feelings-towards-walmart-mike-rowes-fiery-2648-word-response-to-his-recent-haters/# CNN even did a story about me...without me. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acuZQuVM7Z0 That brings us to the present. 4,000 comments and counting. I’ve read them all. Thanks. And since you’re still reading, allow me to free-associate a bit further. Because if the press is still interested in this topic next week, I’ll fly to NY and make the rounds. Consider this a rehearsal of my talking points. As always, your suggestions are welcomed. - I’m not a spokesman for Walmart. I narrated a very specific commercial because I’m a fan of what Walmart is trying to accomplish with this particular initiative. In the interest of full disclosure though, I really do shop there. In fact, for nearly ten years, Walmart was my first stop whenever Dirty Jobs came to town. (I typically don’t pack a bag, so Walmart was the best place for affordable clothing that would most likely be badly abused and left in behind in a smelly bathtub with a note of apology and $20 for the maid.) - The mikeroweWORKS Foundation is in the business of partnering with any company that want’s to see American manufacturing revitalized. If Walmart asks me to do more commercials like this, I will. Likewise Ford. Or Chevy. Or Lowe’s. Or Home Depot. Or George Soros. Or The Koch Brothers. Or The Sultan of Brunei. I really don’t really about where the investment is coming from, as long as it’s getting the US back to the business of making things. Because there is simply nothing more important to the future of the country. - It’s a hell of a thing when someone you really don’t like suddenly does something that you actually agree with. At base, I think that’s what’s happening here. A lot of people who have fallen in love with hating Walmart are now wrestling with what the shrinks call “cognitive dissonance.†Regarding a 250 billion dollar investment in American manufacturing, the choices are simple - a) continue to condemn them for whatever you like to condemn them for, b) offer support and encouragement, or, c) shoot the messenger. - This whole dust-up is a small but instructive example of what’s happening in our country today. Those who dislike the President struggle to give him credit when he does something they personally agree with. And those who support him, hesitate to oppose him when they personally disagree. So it goes with Walmart. Watch the guy on CNN (Marc Lamont) in the above link. He simply can’t address the importance of revitalizing our manufacturing base without reframing the whole conversation into a polemic against the thing he's been trained to despise. It’s simply too hard for him to say, “Good for Walmart. I hope they succeed in this endeavor. Period.†While he gives me “the benefit of the doubt,†he still believes I’m fundamentally “wrong†for supporting their initiative. Why? Because Marc doesn’t see workers and employers as two sides of the same coin. He sees sees them as enemies. - People are asking how the “champion of the working man,†(their words, not mine,) can support a big company like Walmart? This goes straight to the heart of the problem. Because it’s a question designed to insight a fight. We’ve become adept at putting people into boxes and assigning labels that reduce individuals to a single dimension. Thus, Democrats must behave like Democrats. Republicans like Republicans. It's expected. If you wander too far afield, you’re labelled a “sell-out.†A “Rino." A “Scab.†And so forth. Consequently, if the “champion of the working man†fails to burst into a chorus of “Look For the Union Label,†the country is suddenly confused. They shouldn’t be. Because the truth is, I’m a big fan of the American Worker. I’m just a bigger fan of America. - Today, our expectations inform the narrative, and the narrative confirms the stereotype. That’s gotta stop, because the world’s a hell of a lot more complicated than a sound bite from a sycophant with an axe to grind, or a question from a host who’s looking for a fight. Remember, people will usually find what they look for. On Dirty Jobs, it’s easy for a union member to see a program that celebrates skilled labor and hard work. But it was just as easy for a business owner to see a tribute to risk and entrepreneurship. In truth, Dirty Jobs was an equal measure of both. Unfortunately, such complexity is far too nuanced for the debate we’ve been trained to expect. - Am I a “sell-out?†You’d better believe it. That’s the whole point. Every time I buy something or eat something that's made or grown elsewhere, I’m rewarding behavior I’d prefer to discourage. But - like millions of other Americans - what can I do? This is the cost of the global economy. We brought it on ourselves by voting with our dollars. We narrowed our options, and now the choices are very, very skinny. But again, when big companies start reversing the trend by investing in American suppliers, we have a choice. We can congratulate them. Or we can crucify them. Personally, I'm going to support the behavior I want to encourage. etc, etc. More later - Mike The $250 billion investment in US manufacturing is over 10 years. Walmart provided no other details as to what "investment" means. I hope they don't mean just purchase orders as Walmart is already there with American made junk food, beer, ammo, cigarettes, magazines, cleaning products. Walmart annual revenue is over $400B and net income $17B. For years, Walmart has been a driving force in buying cheaper goods from off-shore ... I'm skeptical and wish Mike had passed on Walmart. Link to post Share on other sites
skeptic 992 Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 IMHO, more BSA and less Walmart. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-mike...d-for-walmart/ Oh, right, the article that embodies all that is wonderful about political journalism with this line "Rowe didn't immediately return a request for comment." . . . because the reporter never requested a comment from Rowe. In the interest of fairness, Mike Rowe's response from his Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/TheRealMikeRowe) on Feb 24: I’m back. Three days of press, five hours of sleep, four bottles of wine, a speech, a job offer, 5,000 form letters, and a couple of good-natured death threats. All because of a commercial that I narrated about American manufacturing paid for by Walmart. Press tours are fun! Oscar Wilde said, “the only thing worse than people talking about you is people not talking about you.†I don’t know that I agree with Oscar, but one thing's for sure - there’s no such thing as “free press.†I just googled myself and the results are too rich to ignore. Let's start with this journalistic masterpiece from Matt Hardigree. http://jalopnik.com/ford-drops-shill-for-the-oppressors-mike-rowe-from-truc-1526805143 “Shill for the Oppressors!†Is that not fantastic? I should make new business cards. I’m sure Matt’s a swell guy, but unfortunately, he’s so eager to report on a story that doesn’t exist he’s resorted to a career in fiction. Matt believes that my recent work with Walmart drove The Ford Motor Company to fire me after seven years of service. He sees some sort of conspiracy at work in a recent Ad Age article, where according to him, every one played just “a little too nice.†Sorry Matt - here are the facts. Ford didn’t “drop†me. We had serious discussions about another extension but decided not to proceed for reasons completely benign. We parted amicably long before the Walmart ad came along. A simple phone call to Ford would have confirmed that. Or, you could have done some really deep digging and called me. People do it all the time, especially when they’re interested in getting the facts. Bottom line - We “played nice†in Ad Age because the people involved are all, well...nice. I’m just at a point in my career where I want to associate myself with messages that speak directly to the issues that are important to me. That’s why the Walmart ad was so appealing. A $250 billion investment in US manufacturing is worth talking about, and very much in keeping with the goals of my own foundation. If any other “Oppressors†are looking to make a similar investment in America, drop me a line. I’m happy to “shill†for any company that gets this country back to work. Also in Matt’s piece, was a link to this little gem. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-mike...d-for-walmart/ This piece comes from CBS News. Check out the photo. It’s a rare image of me in a suit and tie, and conveys all the sincerity of an ambitious vacuum cleaner salesman at the annual Hoover convention. Nice. Below the photo, the writer - Aimee Picchi - attributes the following question to me. “Who gives a crap about your feelings toward Walmart?†Unfortunately, Aimee leaves out the most important part, which for the record was this: “For that matter, who gives a crap about MY feelings? Isn’t the business of making things in America an initiative we can all get behind?†Along with that omission, and the clever use of words like “hawk,†“tout,†and “spokesman,†the reader is left to believe that I’ve been empowered to speak on Walmart’s behalf in some sort of official capacity. In fact, I have not. I’m doing this because I want to encourage other companies to make similar investments in American manufacturing. That’s it. Of course, I’m not the only one with an agenda, and Aimee knows it. Ori Korin is a spokesperson for “Jobs with Justice,†and she’s trying very hard to persuade people that Walmart is treating its workers unfairly. Aimee quotes Ori as being disappointed with my decision to work with “a company as notorious as Walmart.†Ori also believes I was “too quick to dismiss†the workers she represents. Of course, I was already well-aware of Ori’s disappointment with me. To date, Jobs with Justice has carpet-bombed my office with 5,048 form letters, imploring me to sit down with “real Walmart employees†and listen to stories about how unfairly they have been treated. Naturally, Aimee points this out to her readers, and even provides a helpful link to the Jobs with Justice Letter Writing Campaign, so that other objective citizens might continue to overwhelm my modest staff with additional expressions of carbon-copied concern. (Thanks Aimee!) My response to all this? According to Aimee - “Rowe didn’t immediately return a request for comment.†Well Aimee, please allow me to address your request with all due speed. My office has no record of a call from you or anyone at CBS. I've checked three times. Nothing. Of course, if you sent an email to my Foundation, it may very well be buried in the mountain of form letters currently straining the resources of mikeroweWORKS. Which brings me to Ori Korin, and Jobs for Justice. In the spirit of their chosen method of communication, I’ll respond directly and openly. -------- Dear Ori: You’ll be pleased to know that my office has received your letter, and 5,048 others just like it. While I’m sympathetic to your objectives and sensitive to the needs of your members, I must say that your tactics have had the same effect as a flood of telemarketing calls during my dinner, or a bag of dog crap set ablaze on my front porch. Now, instead of overseeing scholarship applications and other Foundation matters, my already beleaguered staff must sift through a sea of robo-letters in search of legitimate correspondence from hard-hitting investigative journalists like Matt & Aimee. It’s a little ironic, don’t you think? On the one hand, Jobs with Justice is concerned that everyday people are being overwhelmed by heavy workloads. But you don’t think twice about flooding an unsuspecting non-profit foundation with an endless stream of form letters. Anyway, my answer to you is the same as it was after I got your first letter a week ago. You guys are in a labor dispute, and my foundation doesn’t take sides between employers and employees. Another 5,000 form letters won’t change my position on that - though it just might inspire the nice woman who oversees my Foundation to throw herself out the window. (Her name is Mary, by the way, and her demise is now on you.) Let me really spell this out though, so there’s no confusion at all. I care about the people you represent. That’s precisely why I set up a foundation and some scholarship funds. I’m trying to encourage hardworking people who are unhappy in their jobs to make a meaningful change in their life. A lasting change. And I believe this change is most likely to occur when people are willing to learn a skill that’s in demand. Happily, worthwhile opportunities are everywhere. Our country has a massive skills gap, and the chance to retool and retrain has never been better. We’re not enemies, Ori. We’re just fighting different battles. You’re trying to wring out a modest increase for people who feel unappreciated by their employer and unhappy in their work. I’m trying to get those same people excited about possibilities and opportunities that go beyond their current positions. Frankly - and I say this with all due respect - I don’t believe that your strategy is in the long-term interest of your members, or for that matter, anyone who wants to improve their lives in a meaningful way. Think about it, Ori. Many of the workers you represent have jobs that could very well become obsolete in just a few years. Automation, technology, automatic checkouts...the writing is on the wall. But the skilled trades are different. Welders, auto technicians, carpenters, masons, construction workers, healthcare...these opportunities are real, and the rewards go far beyond the minimum wage - whatever that might turn out to be. Walmart may have cornered the market on retail jobs, but the world's a lot bigger than Walmart. Anyway, I want to help. Please forward your members this link. http://profoundlydisconnected.com/the-mikeroweworks-foundation-scholarship-opportunities/ Surely, if you’ve got time to send five thousand identical letters to the same email address, you’ve got time to pass this on to your members. But do me a favor - just send it once. People hate form letters. ------ Finally, I found a piece that literally drips with sanity and common sense. http://ivn.us/2014/02/20/defense-mik...opt-beta-v-1-0 This comes from a guy named Shawn Griffiths over at The Independent Voter Network, and I appreciate every single sentence. My own bias aside, Shawn’s analysis is completely correct, and if I were King of the World, this would be required reading for any journalist that wanted to discuss recent events. If you’ve come this far, please give it a look. Carry On, Mike Rowe PS If you’re late to the party or just a glutton for detail, my office has set up a press page with some photos and links to some of the recent appearances. http://profoundlydisconnected.com/about-mike/press/ And some of his logic on why he agreed to do voiceover work for WalMart, from Feb 12: Clean-up In Aisle Four! This whole Walmart thing. Wow. Just...wow. If you’re just tuning in, here’s a brief timeline. - Last week, I did the voiceover for a commercial that announced Walmart’s commitment to purchase 250 billion dollars of American made goods and put them onto their shelves. - This Saturday, the commercial ran during The Olympics, and people started talking. Some of the talk wasn’t very pretty. - Sunday evening, I opened a bottle of Whistle Pig, and responded to a few of my detractors. I attempted to clarify a few things. By midnight, the Whistle Pig was badly depleted and I was very sleepy. So I hit “post,†and went to bed. - Several hours later, I woke up to use the bathroom. (Sad, that I had to. Glad, that I woke up first.) On the way back to bed, I saw that my laptop was still open. I glanced at this page, and saw that over a million people had read your questions and my answers. Holy Crap. The next morning, I awakened to the kind of chaos that simply wasn’t possible before social media. No less than a dozen requests from various news outlets asking me to appear as soon as possible. Urgent messages to return calls from people I didn’t know. Angry messages from certain acquaintances. Lots of encouragement from unexpected sources. I was tied up all day, and unable to respond to the media requests. But the press waits for no one. Articles about our little Q&A began to pop up everywhere. There was this. http://www.thenewamerican.com/economy/commentary/item/17606-mike-rowe-touches-the-third-rail-of-retailing-walmart And this. http://www.babble.com/entertainment/mike-rowe-and-walmart/ And this. http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/02/10/who-gives-a-crap-about-your-feelings-towards-walmart-mike-rowes-fiery-2648-word-response-to-his-recent-haters/# CNN even did a story about me...without me. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acuZQuVM7Z0 That brings us to the present. 4,000 comments and counting. I’ve read them all. Thanks. And since you’re still reading, allow me to free-associate a bit further. Because if the press is still interested in this topic next week, I’ll fly to NY and make the rounds. Consider this a rehearsal of my talking points. As always, your suggestions are welcomed. - I’m not a spokesman for Walmart. I narrated a very specific commercial because I’m a fan of what Walmart is trying to accomplish with this particular initiative. In the interest of full disclosure though, I really do shop there. In fact, for nearly ten years, Walmart was my first stop whenever Dirty Jobs came to town. (I typically don’t pack a bag, so Walmart was the best place for affordable clothing that would most likely be badly abused and left in behind in a smelly bathtub with a note of apology and $20 for the maid.) - The mikeroweWORKS Foundation is in the business of partnering with any company that want’s to see American manufacturing revitalized. If Walmart asks me to do more commercials like this, I will. Likewise Ford. Or Chevy. Or Lowe’s. Or Home Depot. Or George Soros. Or The Koch Brothers. Or The Sultan of Brunei. I really don’t really about where the investment is coming from, as long as it’s getting the US back to the business of making things. Because there is simply nothing more important to the future of the country. - It’s a hell of a thing when someone you really don’t like suddenly does something that you actually agree with. At base, I think that’s what’s happening here. A lot of people who have fallen in love with hating Walmart are now wrestling with what the shrinks call “cognitive dissonance.†Regarding a 250 billion dollar investment in American manufacturing, the choices are simple - a) continue to condemn them for whatever you like to condemn them for, b) offer support and encouragement, or, c) shoot the messenger. - This whole dust-up is a small but instructive example of what’s happening in our country today. Those who dislike the President struggle to give him credit when he does something they personally agree with. And those who support him, hesitate to oppose him when they personally disagree. So it goes with Walmart. Watch the guy on CNN (Marc Lamont) in the above link. He simply can’t address the importance of revitalizing our manufacturing base without reframing the whole conversation into a polemic against the thing he's been trained to despise. It’s simply too hard for him to say, “Good for Walmart. I hope they succeed in this endeavor. Period.†While he gives me “the benefit of the doubt,†he still believes I’m fundamentally “wrong†for supporting their initiative. Why? Because Marc doesn’t see workers and employers as two sides of the same coin. He sees sees them as enemies. - People are asking how the “champion of the working man,†(their words, not mine,) can support a big company like Walmart? This goes straight to the heart of the problem. Because it’s a question designed to insight a fight. We’ve become adept at putting people into boxes and assigning labels that reduce individuals to a single dimension. Thus, Democrats must behave like Democrats. Republicans like Republicans. It's expected. If you wander too far afield, you’re labelled a “sell-out.†A “Rino." A “Scab.†And so forth. Consequently, if the “champion of the working man†fails to burst into a chorus of “Look For the Union Label,†the country is suddenly confused. They shouldn’t be. Because the truth is, I’m a big fan of the American Worker. I’m just a bigger fan of America. - Today, our expectations inform the narrative, and the narrative confirms the stereotype. That’s gotta stop, because the world’s a hell of a lot more complicated than a sound bite from a sycophant with an axe to grind, or a question from a host who’s looking for a fight. Remember, people will usually find what they look for. On Dirty Jobs, it’s easy for a union member to see a program that celebrates skilled labor and hard work. But it was just as easy for a business owner to see a tribute to risk and entrepreneurship. In truth, Dirty Jobs was an equal measure of both. Unfortunately, such complexity is far too nuanced for the debate we’ve been trained to expect. - Am I a “sell-out?†You’d better believe it. That’s the whole point. Every time I buy something or eat something that's made or grown elsewhere, I’m rewarding behavior I’d prefer to discourage. But - like millions of other Americans - what can I do? This is the cost of the global economy. We brought it on ourselves by voting with our dollars. We narrowed our options, and now the choices are very, very skinny. But again, when big companies start reversing the trend by investing in American suppliers, we have a choice. We can congratulate them. Or we can crucify them. Personally, I'm going to support the behavior I want to encourage. etc, etc. More later - Mike Schiff; reread this from the long post prior, especially the part "We've become adept......" " People are asking how the “champion of the working man,†(their words, not mine,) can support a big company like Walmart? This goes straight to the heart of the problem. Because it’s a question designed to insight a fight. We’ve become adept at putting people into boxes and assigning labels that reduce individuals to a single dimension. Thus, Democrats must behave like Democrats. Republicans like Republicans. It's expected. If you wander too far afield, you’re labelled a “sell-out.†A “Rino." A “Scab.†And so forth. Consequently, if the “champion of the working man†fails to burst into a chorus of “Look For the Union Label,†the country is suddenly confused. They shouldn’t be. Because the truth is, I’m a big fan of the American Worker. I’m just a bigger fan of America." Link to post Share on other sites
chrisking0997 35 Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 Mike Rowe is a man who has his stuff together. Link to post Share on other sites
RememberSchiff 3662 Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 IMHO, more BSA and less Walmart. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-mike...d-for-walmart/ Oh, right, the article that embodies all that is wonderful about political journalism with this line "Rowe didn't immediately return a request for comment." . . . because the reporter never requested a comment from Rowe. In the interest of fairness, Mike Rowe's response from his Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/TheRealMikeRowe) on Feb 24: I’m back. Three days of press, five hours of sleep, four bottles of wine, a speech, a job offer, 5,000 form letters, and a couple of good-natured death threats. All because of a commercial that I narrated about American manufacturing paid for by Walmart. Press tours are fun! Oscar Wilde said, “the only thing worse than people talking about you is people not talking about you.†I don’t know that I agree with Oscar, but one thing's for sure - there’s no such thing as “free press.†I just googled myself and the results are too rich to ignore. Let's start with this journalistic masterpiece from Matt Hardigree. http://jalopnik.com/ford-drops-shill-for-the-oppressors-mike-rowe-from-truc-1526805143 “Shill for the Oppressors!†Is that not fantastic? I should make new business cards. I’m sure Matt’s a swell guy, but unfortunately, he’s so eager to report on a story that doesn’t exist he’s resorted to a career in fiction. Matt believes that my recent work with Walmart drove The Ford Motor Company to fire me after seven years of service. He sees some sort of conspiracy at work in a recent Ad Age article, where according to him, every one played just “a little too nice.†Sorry Matt - here are the facts. Ford didn’t “drop†me. We had serious discussions about another extension but decided not to proceed for reasons completely benign. We parted amicably long before the Walmart ad came along. A simple phone call to Ford would have confirmed that. Or, you could have done some really deep digging and called me. People do it all the time, especially when they’re interested in getting the facts. Bottom line - We “played nice†in Ad Age because the people involved are all, well...nice. I’m just at a point in my career where I want to associate myself with messages that speak directly to the issues that are important to me. That’s why the Walmart ad was so appealing. A $250 billion investment in US manufacturing is worth talking about, and very much in keeping with the goals of my own foundation. If any other “Oppressors†are looking to make a similar investment in America, drop me a line. I’m happy to “shill†for any company that gets this country back to work. Also in Matt’s piece, was a link to this little gem. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-mike...d-for-walmart/ This piece comes from CBS News. Check out the photo. It’s a rare image of me in a suit and tie, and conveys all the sincerity of an ambitious vacuum cleaner salesman at the annual Hoover convention. Nice. Below the photo, the writer - Aimee Picchi - attributes the following question to me. “Who gives a crap about your feelings toward Walmart?†Unfortunately, Aimee leaves out the most important part, which for the record was this: “For that matter, who gives a crap about MY feelings? Isn’t the business of making things in America an initiative we can all get behind?†Along with that omission, and the clever use of words like “hawk,†“tout,†and “spokesman,†the reader is left to believe that I’ve been empowered to speak on Walmart’s behalf in some sort of official capacity. In fact, I have not. I’m doing this because I want to encourage other companies to make similar investments in American manufacturing. That’s it. Of course, I’m not the only one with an agenda, and Aimee knows it. Ori Korin is a spokesperson for “Jobs with Justice,†and she’s trying very hard to persuade people that Walmart is treating its workers unfairly. Aimee quotes Ori as being disappointed with my decision to work with “a company as notorious as Walmart.†Ori also believes I was “too quick to dismiss†the workers she represents. Of course, I was already well-aware of Ori’s disappointment with me. To date, Jobs with Justice has carpet-bombed my office with 5,048 form letters, imploring me to sit down with “real Walmart employees†and listen to stories about how unfairly they have been treated. Naturally, Aimee points this out to her readers, and even provides a helpful link to the Jobs with Justice Letter Writing Campaign, so that other objective citizens might continue to overwhelm my modest staff with additional expressions of carbon-copied concern. (Thanks Aimee!) My response to all this? According to Aimee - “Rowe didn’t immediately return a request for comment.†Well Aimee, please allow me to address your request with all due speed. My office has no record of a call from you or anyone at CBS. I've checked three times. Nothing. Of course, if you sent an email to my Foundation, it may very well be buried in the mountain of form letters currently straining the resources of mikeroweWORKS. Which brings me to Ori Korin, and Jobs for Justice. In the spirit of their chosen method of communication, I’ll respond directly and openly. -------- Dear Ori: You’ll be pleased to know that my office has received your letter, and 5,048 others just like it. While I’m sympathetic to your objectives and sensitive to the needs of your members, I must say that your tactics have had the same effect as a flood of telemarketing calls during my dinner, or a bag of dog crap set ablaze on my front porch. Now, instead of overseeing scholarship applications and other Foundation matters, my already beleaguered staff must sift through a sea of robo-letters in search of legitimate correspondence from hard-hitting investigative journalists like Matt & Aimee. It’s a little ironic, don’t you think? On the one hand, Jobs with Justice is concerned that everyday people are being overwhelmed by heavy workloads. But you don’t think twice about flooding an unsuspecting non-profit foundation with an endless stream of form letters. Anyway, my answer to you is the same as it was after I got your first letter a week ago. You guys are in a labor dispute, and my foundation doesn’t take sides between employers and employees. Another 5,000 form letters won’t change my position on that - though it just might inspire the nice woman who oversees my Foundation to throw herself out the window. (Her name is Mary, by the way, and her demise is now on you.) Let me really spell this out though, so there’s no confusion at all. I care about the people you represent. That’s precisely why I set up a foundation and some scholarship funds. I’m trying to encourage hardworking people who are unhappy in their jobs to make a meaningful change in their life. A lasting change. And I believe this change is most likely to occur when people are willing to learn a skill that’s in demand. Happily, worthwhile opportunities are everywhere. Our country has a massive skills gap, and the chance to retool and retrain has never been better. We’re not enemies, Ori. We’re just fighting different battles. You’re trying to wring out a modest increase for people who feel unappreciated by their employer and unhappy in their work. I’m trying to get those same people excited about possibilities and opportunities that go beyond their current positions. Frankly - and I say this with all due respect - I don’t believe that your strategy is in the long-term interest of your members, or for that matter, anyone who wants to improve their lives in a meaningful way. Think about it, Ori. Many of the workers you represent have jobs that could very well become obsolete in just a few years. Automation, technology, automatic checkouts...the writing is on the wall. But the skilled trades are different. Welders, auto technicians, carpenters, masons, construction workers, healthcare...these opportunities are real, and the rewards go far beyond the minimum wage - whatever that might turn out to be. Walmart may have cornered the market on retail jobs, but the world's a lot bigger than Walmart. Anyway, I want to help. Please forward your members this link. http://profoundlydisconnected.com/the-mikeroweworks-foundation-scholarship-opportunities/ Surely, if you’ve got time to send five thousand identical letters to the same email address, you’ve got time to pass this on to your members. But do me a favor - just send it once. People hate form letters. ------ Finally, I found a piece that literally drips with sanity and common sense. http://ivn.us/2014/02/20/defense-mik...opt-beta-v-1-0 This comes from a guy named Shawn Griffiths over at The Independent Voter Network, and I appreciate every single sentence. My own bias aside, Shawn’s analysis is completely correct, and if I were King of the World, this would be required reading for any journalist that wanted to discuss recent events. If you’ve come this far, please give it a look. Carry On, Mike Rowe PS If you’re late to the party or just a glutton for detail, my office has set up a press page with some photos and links to some of the recent appearances. http://profoundlydisconnected.com/about-mike/press/ And some of his logic on why he agreed to do voiceover work for WalMart, from Feb 12: Clean-up In Aisle Four! This whole Walmart thing. Wow. Just...wow. If you’re just tuning in, here’s a brief timeline. - Last week, I did the voiceover for a commercial that announced Walmart’s commitment to purchase 250 billion dollars of American made goods and put them onto their shelves. - This Saturday, the commercial ran during The Olympics, and people started talking. Some of the talk wasn’t very pretty. - Sunday evening, I opened a bottle of Whistle Pig, and responded to a few of my detractors. I attempted to clarify a few things. By midnight, the Whistle Pig was badly depleted and I was very sleepy. So I hit “post,†and went to bed. - Several hours later, I woke up to use the bathroom. (Sad, that I had to. Glad, that I woke up first.) On the way back to bed, I saw that my laptop was still open. I glanced at this page, and saw that over a million people had read your questions and my answers. Holy Crap. The next morning, I awakened to the kind of chaos that simply wasn’t possible before social media. No less than a dozen requests from various news outlets asking me to appear as soon as possible. Urgent messages to return calls from people I didn’t know. Angry messages from certain acquaintances. Lots of encouragement from unexpected sources. I was tied up all day, and unable to respond to the media requests. But the press waits for no one. Articles about our little Q&A began to pop up everywhere. There was this. http://www.thenewamerican.com/economy/commentary/item/17606-mike-rowe-touches-the-third-rail-of-retailing-walmart And this. http://www.babble.com/entertainment/mike-rowe-and-walmart/ And this. http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/02/10/who-gives-a-crap-about-your-feelings-towards-walmart-mike-rowes-fiery-2648-word-response-to-his-recent-haters/# CNN even did a story about me...without me. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acuZQuVM7Z0 That brings us to the present. 4,000 comments and counting. I’ve read them all. Thanks. And since you’re still reading, allow me to free-associate a bit further. Because if the press is still interested in this topic next week, I’ll fly to NY and make the rounds. Consider this a rehearsal of my talking points. As always, your suggestions are welcomed. - I’m not a spokesman for Walmart. I narrated a very specific commercial because I’m a fan of what Walmart is trying to accomplish with this particular initiative. In the interest of full disclosure though, I really do shop there. In fact, for nearly ten years, Walmart was my first stop whenever Dirty Jobs came to town. (I typically don’t pack a bag, so Walmart was the best place for affordable clothing that would most likely be badly abused and left in behind in a smelly bathtub with a note of apology and $20 for the maid.) - The mikeroweWORKS Foundation is in the business of partnering with any company that want’s to see American manufacturing revitalized. If Walmart asks me to do more commercials like this, I will. Likewise Ford. Or Chevy. Or Lowe’s. Or Home Depot. Or George Soros. Or The Koch Brothers. Or The Sultan of Brunei. I really don’t really about where the investment is coming from, as long as it’s getting the US back to the business of making things. Because there is simply nothing more important to the future of the country. - It’s a hell of a thing when someone you really don’t like suddenly does something that you actually agree with. At base, I think that’s what’s happening here. A lot of people who have fallen in love with hating Walmart are now wrestling with what the shrinks call “cognitive dissonance.†Regarding a 250 billion dollar investment in American manufacturing, the choices are simple - a) continue to condemn them for whatever you like to condemn them for, b) offer support and encouragement, or, c) shoot the messenger. - This whole dust-up is a small but instructive example of what’s happening in our country today. Those who dislike the President struggle to give him credit when he does something they personally agree with. And those who support him, hesitate to oppose him when they personally disagree. So it goes with Walmart. Watch the guy on CNN (Marc Lamont) in the above link. He simply can’t address the importance of revitalizing our manufacturing base without reframing the whole conversation into a polemic against the thing he's been trained to despise. It’s simply too hard for him to say, “Good for Walmart. I hope they succeed in this endeavor. Period.†While he gives me “the benefit of the doubt,†he still believes I’m fundamentally “wrong†for supporting their initiative. Why? Because Marc doesn’t see workers and employers as two sides of the same coin. He sees sees them as enemies. - People are asking how the “champion of the working man,†(their words, not mine,) can support a big company like Walmart? This goes straight to the heart of the problem. Because it’s a question designed to insight a fight. We’ve become adept at putting people into boxes and assigning labels that reduce individuals to a single dimension. Thus, Democrats must behave like Democrats. Republicans like Republicans. It's expected. If you wander too far afield, you’re labelled a “sell-out.†A “Rino." A “Scab.†And so forth. Consequently, if the “champion of the working man†fails to burst into a chorus of “Look For the Union Label,†the country is suddenly confused. They shouldn’t be. Because the truth is, I’m a big fan of the American Worker. I’m just a bigger fan of America. - Today, our expectations inform the narrative, and the narrative confirms the stereotype. That’s gotta stop, because the world’s a hell of a lot more complicated than a sound bite from a sycophant with an axe to grind, or a question from a host who’s looking for a fight. Remember, people will usually find what they look for. On Dirty Jobs, it’s easy for a union member to see a program that celebrates skilled labor and hard work. But it was just as easy for a business owner to see a tribute to risk and entrepreneurship. In truth, Dirty Jobs was an equal measure of both. Unfortunately, such complexity is far too nuanced for the debate we’ve been trained to expect. - Am I a “sell-out?†You’d better believe it. That’s the whole point. Every time I buy something or eat something that's made or grown elsewhere, I’m rewarding behavior I’d prefer to discourage. But - like millions of other Americans - what can I do? This is the cost of the global economy. We brought it on ourselves by voting with our dollars. We narrowed our options, and now the choices are very, very skinny. But again, when big companies start reversing the trend by investing in American suppliers, we have a choice. We can congratulate them. Or we can crucify them. Personally, I'm going to support the behavior I want to encourage. etc, etc. More later - Mike Mike said he was tired before entering his response which explains why it sounds a bit confusing. Remember when Walmart was fined for selling offshore clothes with Made in USA signs? What do those last two sentences of his mean anyway? To me without the American worker/famer/... there is no America. I still have not heard any details of Walmart's "investment" plan from either Walmart or Mike, so as I said I remain skeptical. Link to post Share on other sites
SSScout 1615 Posted April 7, 2014 Author Share Posted April 7, 2014 I think Mr. Rowe is doing Good Work, and he has been badly, unfairly treated by the self appointed pundits of both press sides (liberal and illiberal). There is, after all, "too much empty bandwidth" and "the air time has to be filled". After some consideration, I do think Mike hasn't come to grips with the facts of Walmart's labor relations history. Mike responded to the Aimee's comments " You guys are in a labor dispute, and my foundation doesn’t take sides between employers and employees. " well and good, but he has to understand how it looks. Niether of Mikes detractors played fair, and just jumped on the chance to make a splash, taking things out of context and not following up to check facts or quotes. He looked bad (from their seperate viewpoints ) despite his protestations. 250million over ten years? Paid out/invested how? In training programs? Pay and benefits for employees (who can then buy more American)? Buying new decor for Mr. Walton's board room? I would invite Mike to my Eagle CoH anyday, but WallyWorld can still afford to pay their employees a better salary and treat their overtime in a legal manner without being told to. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
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