Mike Rowe owns an idiot

[House of Wax]

Eh, maybe Im out-of-touch, but I dont consider college to be a "white-collar trade school", but rather a means of learning about oneself and mastering the skill of thinking.

Fair point, and possibly the original intent of college, but I feel as time goes on things have morphed and not in a good way. Take a look at whats going on across the country on college campuses.....Im not sure thats where I want my kids to *learn to think*

You and your wife are wonderful success stories. I dont know you outside of your postings on here, but I would venture to guess you (and your wife by association) had an end goal and also no problem paying off any incurred debt related to obtaining your degrees.

The problem arises with having a generation of kids raised that going to college regardless of what its for and how much you have to borrow to do it, is a requirement for success in life. All the while skilled trades are somewhat looked down upon almost like "dirty work" and the cost of secondary education has sky rocketed (and why wouldnt it seeing as you can take loans out backed by the gov. that cant be defaulted on until youre blue in the face).

Now theres a glut of kids with degrees (many of which arent that useful in obtaining a well paid career) who are completely sunk with debt and are having a hard time finding work to pay that debt off.

Unfortunately I think Mikes message may sometimes be interpreted as "college is bad" which is probably nature of the beast when trying to be the voice for careers in skilled trades.

[House of Wax]

A little love on a Saturday, Off The Wall…

Kathy Mcferrin writes…
“Wow what a douchbag you have been with this whole Masonry competition thing. You came off very badly my stupid friend!”

Tigernan Douglas Quinn says…
“I see you’ve stooped to scolding little girls about their character. That`s lovely.”

Derek Hanna reveals…
“I never realized you were such an asshole. Very disappointing.”

Howdy kids. How’s your weekend going? I’m going to take a wild guess and assume you’ve been pursuing the headlines over at The Raw Story. https://www.rawstory.com/2016/06/tv-...-he-helps-run/ Am I right? I knew it!

Back in college, I had a professor named Dr. Vatz who taught a wonderful course called Rhetoric and Persuasion. I remember an exercise where we were instructed to take an article from the local paper, and without changing the underlying facts, rewrite it in such a way that left the reader with a completely different version of the truth. To this day, I think about that exercise whenever I come across an article whose sole purpose is to make people angry.

Happily for the writer in question - a guy named Tom Boggioni - The Raw Story does not appear to be terribly concerned with the facts. I suspect his future there is a bright one. However, since I have nothing better to do on this fine Saturday but defend myself from the slings and arrows of outrageous bloggers, I thought it might be fun to juxtapose “The Raw Story, as told by Tom Boggionia” with “The Real Story, as told by Mike Rowe.” Perhaps if Dr. Vatz sees this, he’ll let us know which version is the more fanciful…

The Raw Story: HEADLINE: “TV’s Mike Rowe Trashes Ohio Girl’s ‘Character’ After She’s Stripped of Prize in Contest He Helps Run”

The Real Story: HEADLINE: “Mike Rowe Defends the Importance of Fair Play - Encourages Observers to Look Beyond Politics and Gender Stereotypes in Recent Controversy.”

The Raw Story: TV host and pitch man Mike Rowe took to his Facebook page to address the controversy over Ohio teen Shania Clifford being denied a spot in a national masonry contests and ended up smearing her character in the process. Rowe, who hosts the Discovery Channel series Dirty Jobs and is affiliated with contest sponsor SkillWorks, responded to a question on his Facebook page about Clifford based on an article found here on The Raw Story.

The Real Story: Yesterday on Facebook, Mike Rowe answered hundreds of readers who asked him to comment on a petition demanding that a female contestant be allowed to compete in a competition she didn’t actually qualify for. Rowe, who now runs mikeroweWORKS - the countries most visible foundation in support of the skilled trades - is a longtime supporter of SkillsUSA, (though he has nothing to do with “running” the organization.) In that capacity, Rowe responded to an article that first appeared in The Columbus Dispatch, and was subsequently picked up a number of websites desperate to generate traffic by ginning up imaginary controversies and posting unflattering images of Rowe’s giant and wrinkly face.

The Raw Story: Clifford thought she was going to a national leadership and skills conference after coming in first place in a SkillsUSA Ohio masonry competition, only to find out that her spot had been awarded to boy who came in third. It was later determined that the scores had been input incorrectly. However Clifford was never notified and only found out that she wasn’t passed over by reading about it on Facebook.

The Real Story: In a most unfortunate mistake, Shania Clifford’s actual score in the Masonry competition was incorrectly entered into the master spreadsheet, leading all concerned to assume that Shania had earned the highest score. In fact, she had not. Unfortunately, Shania was not properly notified about the discrepancy and got the bad news on Facebook. The good news is, the mistake was corrected, and the student with the highest score went to the Nationals.

The Raw Story: Clifford’s place in the local competition was downgraded to third based upon the correction in the scores, but she was still allowed to keep the first place gold medal after the controversy embarrassed all involved. For some reason this annoyed Rowe who, after explaining the errors involved, pushed the teen to return the medal to prove that she is a person of good character while playing the “everybody gets a trophy” card.

The Real Story: Rowe, a longtime critic of so called “participation trophies,” was troubled by the fact that so many uninformed observers would rush to sign a petition demanding Shania be rewarded on the basis of a clerical error. He encouraged Shania not to allow anyone to define her as a victim of gender discrimination if such a claim was untrue - which it clearly was in this case. Rowe also pointed out that those demanding “justice for Shania” were not acting in her best interest. In fact, Rowe went so far as to imply that those who signed the petition were insulting all women in the most insidious way possible - by demanding special treatment based on nothing but gender. Rowe then asked, “Would anyone be demanding “justice for Shania,” if she were a boy? How in the world is it good for women to benefit from a clerical error? When Steve Harvey mistakenly awarded the title of Ms. Universe to Ms. Columbia instead of Ms. Philippines, should the mistake have gone uncorrected? Should Ms. Columbia be Ms. Universe today, simply because Steve Harvey screwed up?”

Finally, Rowe offered Shania some unsolicited advice that would surely catch the eye of a prospective employer - he encouraged her to “return the Gold Medal, along with her sincere thanks for the opportunity to compete, her heartfelt congratulations to the actual winner, and her steadfast resolve to come back next year and kick some serious ass.”

The Raw Story: After the uproar over the SkillsUSA competition went viral, Clifford was given an invitation to compete in the Mason Contractors Association of America’s convention next year.

The Real Story: After the uproar over the SkillsUSA competition went viral, a dubious assortment of hysterical activists masquerading as journalists continued to look for a story that simply wasn’t there, and encourage people with no real knowledge of the facts to sign a bogus petition. The Raw Story actually accused Rowe of “trashing Shania’s character,” when in fact, he did nothing but point out how important character actually is. Even now - after the Columbia Dispatch clarified their original story - The Raw Story continues to fan the flames of confusion and self-righteous indignation, driving many of their nearly two dozen readers to clutter up Rowe’s Facebook Wall with the kind of insults most often associated with a petulant eight-year old.

Mike Rowe
(Managing Editor of The Real Story with Mike Rowe)

[House of Wax]

His previous post which sparked the "outrage "

Grace Marion writes…

Mr. Rowe! Your organization mikeroweWORKS is affiliated with SkillsUSA, who is part of this sad situation. Perhaps you could look into this and see if this girl could be properly rewarded? She seems like just the kind of talent that mikeroweWORKS is seeking to cultivate.

Ohio girl wins statewide masonry contest — but third-place boy will take her place in national event

Hi Grace

You’re right - my foundation is very much interested in encouraging young women to explore opportunities in the skilled trades. However, I don’t believe the situation described in this article is cause for a “reward.” Nor do I believe the headline is remotely accurate. From what I’ve learned, a clerical error was made, followed by a breakdown in communication which has lead to a lot of unnecessary confusion and disappointment. That’s all truly unfortunate, and the young woman at the center of this deserves an apology. But from what I can tell, there’s nothing to support the idea that she was a victim of discrimination, or that an unfair outcome has occurred.

Some quick background. Back in April, a high-school junior named Shania Clifford competed in Ohio for a chance to attend the Skills USA National Competition here in Louisville. Shania not only qualified - she won the gold medal in Masonry. Unfortunately, a few weeks later, officials learned that her true score was incorrectly entered onto the master spreadsheet. When the error was corrected, the high score belonged to a boy from another school. Thus, Shania was allowed to keep her medal, but the student with the highest score was sent to compete in her place.

To compound her disappointment, Shania apparently learned about all this from a post on the boys Facebook page. Now, social media is bursting with accusations of “fishiness,” and “unfairness.” A petition is circling, demanding some sort of investigation. As for Shania, she’s been quoted as saying, “If they allow me to keep my award, they should allow me to keep my place in the competition.”

According to the petition, Ohio has a policy that says all scores are binding fifteen minutes after being submitted. In fact, this is untrue. If someone has a grievance regarding a technical discrepancy, they have 15 minutes to make their case. That makes sense. No one wants a grievance filed days after the fact. But the 15 minute rule does not pertain to a scoring or clerical error. If it did, the organization would be required to ignore a clerical error, and then knowingly reward the wrong contestant. Certainly, if the situation was reversed, and it was determined that Shania’s original score was in fact higher than the winners, wouldn’t we all want to see the error corrected? Wouldn`t we want to see the student with the highest score compete at the highest level?

Obviously, Shania should have been alerted to the discrepancy before anyone else. If that didn’t happen, someone should answer for it. But the bigger question now, is what should Shania do? She hasn’t asked me, but if she did, I know exactly what I would tell her. I would tell her to return the Gold Medal at once, along with her sincere thanks for the opportunity to compete, her heartfelt congratulations to the actual winner, and her steadfast resolve to come back next year and kick some serious ass. If I were her, I would make it crystal clear to those petitioning in my name that I had absolutely NO interest in keeping a trophy that was awarded to me by mistake, or competing in a contest for which I didn’t actually qualify.

The whole point of SkillsUSA, is to better prepare kids for opportunities in the skilled workforce. But employers today are looking for more than skilled workers - they’re looking for workers with character. Returning a Gold Medal she’s entitled to keep in an age where everyone expects a trophy, is a mark of character. Shania will have other opportunities to win all sorts of awards, but she’ll never have a better opportunity to distinguish herself among her peers and potential employers. I hope she takes it.

Finally, let me say this about SkillsUSA. No other group - with the exception of our military - has done more to prepare America’s skilled workforce. America needs this organization, now more than ever, and we need it to grow. A few nights ago, I stood on the main stage here in Louisville and helped welcome thousands of future tradesmen to the best competition in America. These kids all won their local competitions, and for the next few days, they’ll give it their all on the national level. Most will go home without a gold medal. But everyone here will leave better for the experience of trying, striving, and working hard.

Please join me in supporting this organization, and wishing every contestant the unparalleled satisfaction that comes not from winning - but from doing their very best.

Mike

[Stokdgs]

Great article - Thanks House of Wax !

After all the nuttiness dies down this is what really matters -- ""The whole point of SkillsUSA, is to better prepare kids for opportunities in the skilled workforce. But employers today are looking for more than skilled workers - they’re looking for workers with character.""
Dan F

[House of Wax]

Holding out hope this guy is on the ballot in 2020

https://m.facebook.com/TheRealMikeRo...0853343591472/

[House of Wax]

Dude has been on fire lately. This first one is relatively tame:

Hot Under The Blue Collar, Episode 11
Last night on the tee-vee, as I flicked back and forth between my most trusted sources of cable news, I saw a number a college students setting fire to the American flag. Some of the students said they were "angry." Others said they were "disgusted." But many others were anxious to explain why they had become “fearful” of the American Flag. Interesting.
At Hampshire College, The President, Jonathan Lash, has actually removed the flag from his campus, in response to students who expressed “fear and discomfort” when confronted by the sight of Old Glory. He offered this explanation: “Removing the flag from our campus will better enable us to focus our efforts on addressing racist, misogynistic, Islamophobic, anti-immigrant, anti-Semitic, and anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and behaviors.”
As I dropped one of those giant round ice cubes into a tumbler of Whistle Pig, I couldn’t help but wonder if President Lash was unaware that billions of people around the world are routinely subjected to horrific levels of racism, misogyny, and bigotry that far exceed any injustice in modern-day America. Furthermore, I was curious to know if President Lash really believed that removing our flag is a better way to assuage the fears of his frightened students, than simply educating them about the undeniable fact that no country on the planet affords its citizens more liberty than this one? Finally, I found myself wondering as to why the President of Hampshire College would allow his students to pay for their tuition with federal dollars – federal dollars provided by the same government whose flag was no longer suitable to fly at his school.
Here’s the problem. Tuition at Hampshire College is about $60,000 a year. That’s not a problem because it’s expensive – it’s a problem because 85% of Hampshire students qualify for some form of federal financial aid. http://bit.ly/2gsZxnk. That means that We the People are enabling schools like Hampshire to sell a liberal arts degree for approximately $250,000. With $1.3 trillion dollars of student debt currently on the books, I found myself thinking how nice it would be to hear a more persuasive argument from those who will happily take money from a country whose flag they despise.
I turned the channel, and watched another group of students dance around another pile of burning flags at another expensive university. I couldn`t tell where they were, but occurred to me that wherever they were – it probably wasn’t a trade school. To my knowledge, no one has ever burned a flag at a trade school.
I wonder why that is?
I have no idea, but the thought reminded me that I had yet to post Episode 11 of Hot Under the Blue Collar. It features a graduate from one of those schools – a guy named Scott. Scott studied to be an electrician, and his comments, though not nearly as expensive as Daniel’s, are far more… illuminating?
Carry on,
and don’t play with matches.
Mike

[House of Wax]

Annnnd then he craps all over this lady:

Off The Wall

Susanne McDaniel‎ writes...
How did you become so blindly patriotic? First of all, the college you were referencing in your rant about the American flag is a private college and doesn`t receive federal funding. However...the very essence of freedom in this country is our right to speak out against the flag, which is a mere symbol. If you take away that right, then we have lost all freedom. You really need to take a civics course, Mike Rowe. I used to like you; but, you have really become very annoying to me in recent years. I thought you were more intelligent. But, I guess appearances aren`t everything.

Hi Susanne

I’ve never thought of myself as “blindly patriotic,” but I am a fan of the United States, the founding fathers, and the men and women who have served on my behalf. I also confess to feeling lucky to live here. Having said that, I think you’re correct about the flag; it’s only a symbol. So too is the Crucifix. And the middle finger. And the compressed chunks of carbon that millions wear on their ring fingers as expressions of timeless love and eternal devotion.
It’s easy to make anything feel small and silly by reducing it to its chemical composition or its various component parts. But if you really believe our flag is nothing but a “mere symbol,” equally suitable for flying or burning, ask yourself if you’d be comfortable if the people you work with suddenly started coming to the office in pointy white hats fashioned from bedsheets? Would that be a problem for you? Or how about The Rainbow Flag, favored by the LGBTQ community? Would it be OK with you if people started burning that? If not, why not? I mean, it’s only a symbol, right?
Years ago, an artist named Andres Serrano presented a charming piece called “Immersion.” It consisted of a Crucifix, immersed in a glass of the artist’s urine. Amazingly, some people were offended. Christians, in particular. They couldn’t see that Andres had created a statement. A mere symbol. Silly Christians. Interesting though, that Andres didn’t submerge Mohammed in the same glass. I wonder why that is?
The thing about “mere symbols” Susanne, is that they represent “mere ideas,” and “mere ideas” are the backbone of `mere humanity." In the case of the flag, we’re talking about ideas that are wrapped into the Constitution – a document that separates us from every other country on the planet.
Mere ideas are the reason people fight and die. Mere ideas are the reason we’re allowed to speak freely, protest publicly, bear arms, and burn the very symbol that represents those very freedoms. I didn’t suggest for one moment that you or anyone else be denied your right to fly or burn whatever flag you wish. What I failed to do, is quietly accept actions that I don’t personally care for. Which, if I’m not mistaken, is the same compulsion that motivates others to publicly express themselves in whatever ways they choose.
As for Hampshire College, I’m afraid you’re mistaken. If you check the link I provided in my original post, you’ll see that several forms of federal funding are readily available to their students. Also, according to their site, you’ll notice that the flag is once again flying at full staff. I’ll take no credit for this, if you offer no blame. Deal?
Finally, regarding my overall annoyance, you’re correct, and you`re not alone. I’ve been annoying people for years now. Just ask my mother. And yes, I too, once thought I was more intelligent than I actually am. I still remember the disappointment when the test results come back.
Anyway, thanks for your comments, Susanne. I do hope you’ll stick around.
Mike

[Accumulator]

I wouldn`t have said "craps all over...", but yeah, he does (continue to) come across as quite sensible.

[Accumulator]

Re the Hampshire College thing...I told Accumulatorette about it and she spent a couple of minutes looking into it.

Can`t do the link easily, but....she suggests that interested parties go to Snopes.com and key in "Hampshire College". Very different version of what`s going on there.

[House of Wax]

Off The Wall
Hey Mike - Please tell me you have insight on the Ann Coulter/Berkeley thing. This is scary.
Pat Russo
Hi Pat
I can’t help but watch this hot mess unfold and not think about my friend Carol. Carol has a six-year old named Simon and a Nanny named Juana. Carol told me a story a few years ago. She asked Juana to run out to the Target with Simon to pick up some odds and ends. Juana made a face, and Carol asked what the problem was.
“Nothing, said Juana. “It’s just that Simon always has a meltdown at the Target.”
“Why?” said Carol. “He never has a meltdown with me. What happens?”
“Well, when Simon sees something he wants, he just has to have it.”
“What do you do?” asked Carol.
“Well,” said Juana, “I always say no. But then he starts to scream and roll around on the floor, and everybody stares at me like I’m being a bad Nanny. So I buy the thing for him. It’s easier.”
When Carol told me the story weeks later, she laughed and said, “I was relieved. For a while there, I thought my kid was misbehaved. But really, he was just well-trained, and very smart. He knew exactly how to control his Nanny.”
Berkeley is being played like a cheap fiddle – except this fiddle isn’t cheap. Taxpayers and parents are spending hundreds of millions of dollars, sending kids to universities and colleges that seem determined to reward the loudest tantrum. If I were a parent with a kid a Berkeley, or an alum, I’d be embarrassed and furious. Forget politics. Forget conservative vs. liberal. Sure, Ann Coulter is controversial. But even those who disagree with her politics - Bill Maher, Chris Matthews, and Margaret Carlson - they support her right to speak. Even Elizabeth Warren, to some extent, has come out in support of Ann. “Let her speak,” she said. “And then ignore her.”
Liz and I don’t agree on much, but she’s right on this. We can’t give in to threats of violence. It’s cowardly. And very, very dangerous.
I tend to look at these things from a marketing point of view, and for Berkeley and Higher Education in general, this is an absolute PR nightmare. At what point do parents start to think twice before sending their kids to schools where the loudest tantrum gets the biggest reaction? At what point to taxpayers say enough – no more federal money for schools that won’t protect the Bill of Rights?
We’re watching a once great university destroy the most valuable thing it has – its reputation. Not only by turning their backs on the fundamental principles of liberty, but on common sense itself. Honestly, if Berkeley had any sense, they’d hire Carol. Hopefully before these kids have a beef with the cafeteria food, and occupy Chipotle…
Mike

[jrock645]

Mike nailed it.

[Accumulator]

Assuming that story is true.... "Carol" has something seriously wrong with her to allow that "Juana" idiot within a mile of her child and IMO "Carol" is the real problem (and that`s without even factoring in her misinterpretation/justification of "Simon" `s misbehavior! He`s as "smart" as a misbehaving pitbull puppy and about as likely to turn out OK). If people would raise their kids right, and/or people who aren`t qualified to have kids would quit having them, none of this [nonsense] would be going on.

Tantrums?!? **?!?TANTRUMS?!?** Plural no less...sheesh..

OK, maybe "Carol" fired "Juana" immediately and got "Simon" squared away and all is well..

[House of Wax]

Assuming that story is true.... "Carol" has something seriously wrong with her to allow that "Juana" idiot within a mile of her child and IMO "Carol" is the real problem (and that`s without even factoring in her misinterpretation/justification of "Simon" `s misbehavior! He`s as "smart" as a misbehaving pitbull puppy and about as likely to turn out OK). If people would raise their kids right, and/or people who aren`t qualified to have kids would quit having them, none of this [nonsense] would be going on.

Tantrums?!? **?!?TANTRUMS?!?** Plural no less...sheesh..

OK, maybe "Carol" fired "Juana" immediately and got "Simon" squared away and all is well..

I`m with ya on Carol....I have little tolerance for tantrums with my kids, especially in public.

[trashmanssd]

I dont have kids of my own so I find it hard to tolerate children who are not misbehaving.

[Accumulator]

trashmanssd- Might that "not" in your post perhaps be, uhm... inadvertent?

But yeah...I never pitched a fit in public in my life and even as a child looked on in confused amazement when other kids did.

Heh heh, when another parent, whose kid was misbehaving, said to my mother "you can`t reason with a 3YO!" she replied "well, maybe *you* can`t.."

IMO most parents get the kids that they deserve.

And for the record, no, my wife and I do not have children....for carefully considered reasons.

And just FWIW, no, my parents *NEVER* spanked me, not once, so IMO it`s not about "sparing the rod".