TV star’s ugly Wal-Mart defense: Dirty Jobs’ Mike Rowe goes nuclear

[Omaha Steve]

Moved here from LBN. Some great replies here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014741381

http://www.salon.com/2014/02/28/tv_stars_ugly_wal_mart_defense_dirty_jobs_mike_rowe_goes_nuclear/

Friday, Feb 28, 2014 07:30 AM CST

Amid a backlash, Rowe likens emails critiquing his Wal-Mart ad to "a bag of dog crap set ablaze on my front porch"

Josh Eidelson

“Dirty Jobs” star Mike Rowe pushed back against Wal-Mart critics Monday, comparing a mass email campaign to “a bag of dog crap set ablaze on my front porch” and urging that “unhappy” workers apply for scholarships from his foundation because their “jobs could very well become obsolete in just a few years.”

Rowe has drawn waves of praise and scorn since narrating an ad for Wal-Mart, the largest private employer in the world. In the ad, “I Am a Factory,” which began airing during the Olympics, Rowe states, “We will build things and build families and build dreams.”

The Wal-Mart ad’s on-screen text touts Wal-Mart’s commitment to put “$250 billion to work to help create new manufacturing jobs in America” over the next decade. Reuters reported last September that “In many cases, Wal-Mart’s suppliers had already decided to produce in the United States, as rising wages in China and other emerging economies, along with increased labor productivity and flexibility back home, eroded the allure of offshore production.” Rowe and Wal-Mart did not respond to Wednesday inquiries.

In a Monday post on his Facebook page, Rowe offered the latest in a series of responses to critics who’ve cited recent Wal-Mart controversies. Rowe wrote that Wal-Mart’s “$250 billion investment in US manufacturing is worth talking about,” and “I’m happy to ‘shill’ for any company that gets this country back to work.” Rowe then turned to a CBS story on the controversy, taking issue with the reporter’s framing and word choice, emphasizing that he was not “empowered to speak on Walmart’s behalf in some sort of official capacity,” and then offering an open letter to Jobs With Justice press secretary Ori Korin, who was quoted in the CBS piece saying Rowe had “dismissed people’s concerns.”

FULL story at link.

[OneBlueDotBama]

1. Canadian band Rush....

supplies the music to the working man ad.... surprised they didn't use the Guess Who's American woman

[TexasTowelie]

2. $250 billion will create a lot of jobs

that pay minimum wage.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

4. A lot of jobs making a $10.10 min wage, hopefully. nt

[rurallib]

3. sometimes it looks like all everyone wants is that big score

Never seen the guy, heard him interviewed a couple times and thought he was kind of phony. Seems like he was ready to whore out for the right price.

[TexasTowelie]

5. I'm offended that you are disparaging whores.

They do serve a useful purpose. Mike Rowe doesn't.

[rurallib]

6. point well made

[Wounded Bear]

7. Well, if Wally World really wants to do manufacturing in America...

Good on them. For now, though, they have a shit ton to prove to me and even more to make up for.

As for Mikey, well, I enjoyed many episodes of his Dirty Jobs show, but he's been a bit of a RW shill otherwise.

[cui bono]

8. If by "we" they mean American tax payers who subsidize them and low paid workers on whose

backs they have grown.