NY Times source on Joe the plumber’s license doesn’t have a license
H/T to Ace. Daily Kos has listed Joe the Plumber’s full name and address on its front page. I won’t be linking that. Democratic Underground has posted his phone number and other information. I won’t be linking that either. Politico.com has three different writers busy publishing details about Joe the Plumber’s private life. The comments there are instructive. I will link to those, because you should read those chilling comments, but I will not (out of respect for Joe the Plumber) re-publish them here. If you do click through and read those comments calling this man most of the worst things you can think of, remember that he, an American, simply asked a question.
Don’t move
Don’t talk out of time
Don’t think
Don’t worry
Everything’s just fine
Just fine
The New York Times, of course, takes the ball farther. I now quite literally know more about the professional qualifications, tax status, personal life and rumors regarding Joe the Plumber than I know about Barack Obama’s professional life prior to entering the Senate. Amazing. Because he asked a question.
Don’t grab
Don’t clutch
Don’t hope for too much
Don’t breathe
Don’t achieve
Or grieve without leave
The New York Times writer, Larry Rohter, has interestingly almost been thrown out of a country for printing unverified smears based upon a source who happens to oppose the target of the smear. Mr. Rohter or his co-author, Liz Robbins report the following. Note the irrelevant quote at the end of this:
An official at Local 50 of the plumber’s union, based in Toledo, said Mr. Wurzelbacher does not hold a license. He also has never served an apprenticeship and does not belong to the union. (The national plumber’s union, the United Association of Plumbers, Steamfitters, and Service Mechanics, endorsed Mr. Obama, it should be noted.) “He’s basically playing games with the world,” Thomas Joseph, the local’s business manager, said in a telephone interview Thursday morning.
Joe the Plumber must be shut down. He must be fully investigated and humiliated, the NYTimes, Kos, the Democratic Underground, and Politico tell us.
Don’t check
Just balance on the fence
Don’t answer
Don’t ask
Don’t try and make sense
The thing is, if you click on this link, a .jpg of a screenshot will come up. On the left side, cropped to hide addresses, is the list of every licensed plumber in Lucas County, Ohio (where Toledo is). The plumbers’ union official, Thomas Joseph, is not listed as possessing a plumbing license (plumbers license? license to plumb?). On the right side of the screenshot you will see the results of a search of plumbing inspectors statewide in Ohio (you see the tab searching Lucas County — I searched the entire state as well), and there are no records coming up that Thomas Joseph, NY Times source on the licensure status of Joe the Plumber, is not licensed as a plumber or plumbing inspector. Maybe these sources are incomplete. Unlike the NYTimes, I will suggest that possibility.
Also unlike the New York Times, I will give Mr. Thomas Joseph the benefit of the doubt and note that there is a difference between a contractor and a sub-contractor, and a difference between a practicing plumber and the local union’s business manager, and the licensure requirements for each. After all, wasn’t Joe the Plumber’s question all about his plans to become a business manager, sort of like Thomas Joseph is a business manager?
All this because an American asked a question.
I feel numb.
[posted by ArrMatey]
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Posted by ArrMatey on October 16, 2008 5:02 pm
» Filed Under Delusional Dupes and DUmmies, Elections, Fraud/misrepresentation, Indoctrination, Liberal Media/Bias, News, Propaganda
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Comments
35 Responses to “NY Times source on Joe the plumber’s license doesn’t have a license”
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Syndicate Me
Chinaman for president
I promise every citizen will have a couch and unlimited supply of potato chip. Here are my solutions to all our problems.
Federal deficit. No more foreign invasion like Iraq. Enough billions will be saved to fulfill my above promise for many generations to come!
Trade deficit. Sell every missile, atomic bomb and carrier to China as we do not need them any more. Make the Chinese promise not to use them against us, or we can change the GPS to reroute all the missiles back to Beijing.
Economy. Only bail out greedy companies as greed is good. How hard to speed up the money printing machine? Or, borrow more from China. No money, no import.
Human rights. No gun for our citizens. If that Chinese had an AK 45 in the Beijing Olympic incidence, imagine how many would be killed. Learn from the human right lovers.
Illegal immigrants. When caught, send them to Alaska for the hardest labor on earth. I bet even the dumbest Mexican will not come here illegally. Problem solved. The nice guy I pay pennies to clean up my yard is the only exception.
Education. Just import some smart, young, educated Chinese that they have plenty to spare. Why spend billions to produce mediocre college graduates who cannot count from 1 to 12 (unless they have 12 fingers)?
Social welfare. All welfare cheaters including all politicians will be sent to China for re-education. Cheap and effective.
Obesity. The more walking refrigerators we have, the wealthier we look. Feel sorry for the skinny Chinese suffering from malnutrition.
Permissibility. Encourage teenage pregnancy – our politicians set up great examples. There will be more under-aged gymnasts to choose from.
Social security. Import more young foreigners for jobs, hence contributing to social security. Encourage old citizens to die early to reduce the draw from the pot by giving them unlimited supply of Viagra, alcohol…
Politicians. They tell you want you want to hear: no income tax, bailout, rebate checks, and free medical delivery. They think you’re stupid enough not to ask “where the money comes from”.
This message is paid by your friendly Chinese government, who wants you buy more couches and potato chips.
Thomas Joseph is the BUSINESS MANAGER of the union. As long as he doesn’t try to fix someone’s sink he is not required to have a plumber’s license. “Joe” on the other hand actually works as a plumber. If he is simply to be the “Business Manager” (As you put it) of the business he wishes to buy, he will not be allowed to actually work on the projects the business contracts. The current owner, Al Newell, is a licensed plumber.
“An official at Local 50 of the plumber’s union” would not necessarily be a plumber him/herself but would more likely be a union administrator (hence the title “official” rather than “plumber,” as in perhaps responsible for keeping track of membership, apprenticeship, and licensing information on behalf of the union. He/She would certainly NOT be a plumbing inspector as that task falls under the legal purview of the City of Toledo, not to union “officials.” Your argument that the official’s credibility is in question simply because he is not a plumber and not a plumbing inspector is a rival of reason as the NYTimes reporter never indicated that his source was either a plumber or an inspector, but rather “an official at Local 50 of the plumber’s union.” Perhaps before YOU jump to illogical conclusions, you could contact City of Toledo to find out if “Joe the Plumber” is, indeed licensed. That would either corroborate (or not) the NYTimes allegation. But I’m betting the NYTimes reporter has already done this, at least if he’s worth a hill of beans! (BTW – I do not believe this in any way justifies the completely over-the-top remarks and private information that are now being published about Joe. People in glass houses……)
Thank God you good Americans, Mad Doc, and Cathymoo3 (ma’am, get a new screen name) are on the case and make sure that Joe the plumber (single dad) actually loses his livelihood for his sins and that you protect the union shop leader. God bless you all. Your passion and diligence on this critical story are appreciated.
Uhhh… license not always required for plumbers. Does he do private or commercial work, etc etc.
Joe did not say he was a plumber.
He said that he was wanting to buy a plumbing business and planned growth for it.
He would not need a license until such time as he actually does business as a plumber.
These a**hats on the left are deranged, man.
!
Wow. I’ve literally gone from “Well, Pres. Obama will be bad for the country, but we’ll survive” to “Wow. If they go for Joe the plumber now, when will they come for Eric the artist?”
One doesn’t have to censor or duct tape mouths to shut people up. Just do an exhaustive background check, make assumptions and *BAM*.
And Joe’s not even running for office. Contrast with any of Obama’s shadowy buddies.
Is Joe now holding himself as a plumber?
Is Joe now a baker? A fireman perhaps? And simply wants to be a plumber?
HOLLAND, Ohio – Joe the Plumber said Thursday he doesn’t have a license and doesn’t need one. Joe Wurzelbacher, better known as Joe the Plumber, the nickname Republican John McCain bestowed on him during Wednesday’s presidential debate, said he works for a small plumbing company that does residential work. Because he works for someone else, he doesn’t need a license, he said.
But the county Wurzelbacher and his employer live in, Lucas County, requires plumbers to have licenses. Neither Wurzelbacher nor his employer are licensed there, said Cheryl Schimming of Lucas County Building Regulations, which handles plumber licenses in parts of the county outside Toledo.
Does Joe live in a glass house? Because, if he does, he should not throw stones.
John McCain chose to place Joe in a political situation. Should John McCain get a free ride? McCain is now trying to politize the Joe the Plumber event.
Joe made a comment about Obama’s tax plan, critically. Joe is an employee of the company and most likely will not be effected by the Obama tax plan. Is the criticism brought by Joe the Plumber correct? Joe is no longer you or I making a critique of Obama’s tax plan, he is now being used by McCain in his attempt to shake Obama down and it is incumbent on any democrat to identify who Joe the Plumber really is.
Now that he is a part of the debate, I want to know who Joe the Plumber is, no different than Sarah Palin.
He did, and he may have been better off to ask that question anonymously on the internet, and then he would not be held accountable for his question.
Joe doesn’t need a license for residential work. If the Left are going to make ad hominem attacks, please at least have the facts:
http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/4740
Everyone knows that the People’s Republic of Toledo is a Stalinist city. In the real world, an apprentice works under a journeyman or master plumber. If you are an apprentice,you are in training and would not have a license until you completed training. This is all a smoke screen to prevent everyone from seeing that Obama wants to confiscate your money and give it to his government friends.
Is there a license for news reporting? There sure should be because there is a lot of crappy reporting going on about plumbing.
All because an American citizen asked a very legit question and Obama, as the idiot he is, made an a** of himself and let his true agenda slip out, his followers have to destroy the life of this American.
I am reminded of a very sobering quotation:
“First they came for the mentally ill and I said nothing because I am not mentally ill, then they came for the Poles and I said nothing because I am not Polish, next came to Jews and I said nothing because I am not a Jew, then they came for…”
First they came for the Governor and nothing was said, next they come for the Plumber and nothing is said, what American will they come for next and what will you say?
Here is some news for you, green cottonham and the rest of your sorry welfare looking ilk, you have no right to anything about this person just because he made your idiot Obama look like the a** that he is. If the MSM wasn’t busy giving Barry a bj 24\7, the average American would have had to ask this da*m question!
I somehow think Joe can handle these pusswillies I suspect he is a second amendment guy so lets see one of these idiots come by his house and perhaps we will have one less leftist to think about!
What is even more despicable is the piece of sh*t Obama mocked this man who asked him the question today in his welfare queen rally…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sqis9mRcWl4
Wow! America, this is how your “Change”Thug treats a guy who asks him a question that he gets wrong?!! Imagine how he’ll treat Americans once he has the POWER of the PRESIDENCY!!! Elite? Hell yeah! Snob? You betcha! Out of touch with America? Damn straight!!! Please do not let this vile and hateful man near our public office.
Joe is not licensed. The Toledo officials state that if he is working for a licensed plumber he must at least be licensed as an apprentice. For all those out there who think this is shameful reporting, hope you do not fall victim to a self-labelled ‘doctor’ or ‘engineer’ who also chooses to play by his own rules. Bush anarchy is why we are in this mess.
“Joe is not licensed. The Toledo officials state that if he is working for a licensed plumber he must at least be licensed as an apprentice.”
What does that have to do with him asking a question? It wasn’t his fault that your idiot embarrassed himself in the answer?
Obama gave the answer not Joe.
Obama and his brownshirts have a hissy fit because Obama made a fool out of HIMSELF in answering a simple question and today Obama lashes out like an immature boob to mock the questioner on national TV?
Are you really going to embarrass yourself by voting for this “man”? Have some self-respect, please.
And another thing in the original question, the man said that he was going to buy a business which would make 250 a year. In the video, Obama lied about Joe by mocking “how many plumbers you know who make 250K a year?” Obama is a serial liar?
Obama is a juvenile and idiots like markus helpum think he should be the most powerful leader in the world.
Joe doesn’t need a license for residential work and — I just love how you’ve elevated him to pursuing the Presidency.. “For all those out there who think this is shameful reporting, hope you do not fall victim to a self-labelled ‘doctor’ or ‘engineer’ who also chooses to play by his own rules.” Joe is not obligated to be vetted…he simply asked a question of a candidate! When did that become a mission for MSM dumpsterdivevetting??! Their (and your) attitude is disgraceful!!
It is interewsting that the camera angle was perfect for a random questioner in a crowd.
Obama could have made a better reply, business deductions, expenses or net income total 250000.
What is the problem about Unions? Read some labor history and figure out how much YOU would be earning if you depended on the “goodness” of an employer. Read about the Lattimer massacre with miners being shot on the order of coal barons. Read about companies where the men worked all week long for pennies.
I feel numb. This is the scariest thing I have ever seen.
I never thought I’d say it, but I think I’m volunteering to make calls for McCain this weekend. We CANNOT let these nutcases take control of our government. YIKES!
This is great. I’ve been reading this since last night. Obama and the Dem’s have this “win at all costs” strategy and they’ll stop at nothing even if it means besmirching a man.
WTF is going on with this country? I’m hoping that a Sam Adams, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, or a George Washington arise soon to take the country back.
John McCain put this guy out to the world during the debate- invoking him as if he were the Sage of Lampwick (any real plumbers will know what lampwick is), using him as a hammer to whack Obama about his head and shoulders over his tax plan.
Joe, if you are “planning” to buy a plumbing business that should bring in “$250-280K” per year, and you are worried about getting screwed in taxes, then you really ought to “plan” to hire a merely decent business accountant.
If Joe plans to gross between $250-280K” then he’ll probably end up getting a tax cut from Obama that is larger than the cuts offered in the same bracket by Sen. McCain.
If Joe will be NETTING between $250-280K, WTF IS HE COMPLAINING ABOUT?
Seems a lot of the folks in here are actually buying the GOP’s line, “We are the only ones who can clean up this mess WE made?
The GOP controlled the Congress from 1994 – 2006 and had control of the Legislative and Executive for 6 years and in that time took a good-sized surplus into a massive deficit and…
Oh what the hell.
Lemmings! Right flank, HUH! forwAAARD… harch!
I blame McCain for putting this man in the spotlight, the same way he put Miss Alaska. But poor old Joe, can be protected from the media like the PittBull in a miniskirt.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-j-elisberg/john-mccain-and-the-joe-t_b_135319.html
He doesn’t need a license because in typical Republican fashion Joe pushes past the rules and regulations put in place for the public good so he can make money! Republicans have been spreading the wealth around for years; to their business interests, friends and offshore accounts.
And for those that call Senator Obama an idiot, you must have gone to a better school than Harvard.
And those that think it is the Dems out ‘to win at all costs’ have not been following the campaigns – There has been no talk by Obama’s campaign about McCain/Palin ties to G Gordon Liddy, Pastor Hagee, Alaska’s secessionist party, or a witch doctor preacher kicking off a political career. Who are the REAL John Sidney McCain III and Sarah Palin?
As a 20 year journeyman pipefitter, I have never been reqired to have a plumbers license, that was always the responsibility of the contractor that I worked for . To think that everyone is making “JOE” sound like he is a felon for not being “licensed” is ludichrist. If he buys the business then he may be reqired to obtain a license.
It’s not because all he did was ask a question.
It’s because John Sidney McCain used Joe the Plumber to make political points.
There’d be no rush to find Joe the Plumber if McCain hadn’t turned an anonymous Ohioan into a national caricature. You want to find the person who deleted Joe the Plumber’s privacy, go find John McCain.
[And additionally, Joe the Plumber didn't ask a tough question. Rather, he was wanting someone to explain the 90-year-old American system of progressive income taxation. Obama didn't invent tax brackets -- and under the CURRENT SYSTEM, the BUSH SYSTEM, tax rates increase with income. All this happened because Joe the Plumber didn't pay attention in high school civics.]
This has nothing to do with “attacks from the left” or an attempt to destroy this guy.
It’s the nature of the American media to oversaturate an event or person. McCain didn’t do this guy a favor when he TRIED to make him a campaign issue. I could have told you this was coming.
You raise some good points, but you leave out an awfully huge one: Samuel (Joe teh Plumber) didn’t become famous because he asked a question, he didn’t get checked out because he asked a question. He got checked because John McCain or someone in his campaign had the bright idea to use him as a prop. Senator McCain is the one that brought Joe to prominence, not Senator Obama.
So while you are crying crocodile tears for how terribly poor Sam has been treated stop to realize who put him in that position. Politics is war. Sam decided to join the army and go to the front line. General McCain decided to sacrifice the private to help win the war. Get real.
The good news is the fact that if Sam is really interested in the facts, he now probably knows – as do the rest of us – the difference between making $250,000 a year and actually having a profit of $250,000 a year. Now he knows that he would probably get a tax cut under Obama’s plan if he owned that business. But is he happy about that? No. He never really wanted an answer in the first place. He just wanted to be clever and “corner” Obama. His phrase, not mine or that horrible liberal media.
I haven’t read the comments you talked about. There are plenty of despicable people on the left and the right, and as formerly mentioned, politics is war and warriors can get nasty. I don’t agree with making people a target. But let’s not cry too many tears for poor Sam and his hurt feelings.
After all, Senator McCain must’ve ridden to his rescue by now and saved the day, right?
i hope the next time some over paid stuffed shirt wants to interview on a street corner or at some convention somewhere you have the since to run like hell.these media folks make me want to hurl chunks.where do they get off snooping around into joes back ground and why do we need to know so much about him thats none of our dam business.there is no privacy now days and anything personal is not personal. im tired of being told by other people and the media how im supposed to live my life . im just like joe the plumber ,dont make much money, and my wife and i sweat bills every day.it would be nice to have some money left over after giving the state and federal government most of what ive worked for, at 52 years of age im tired of being water -boarded every day by a congress thats full of theives.why does the media not pry as hard into obamas and obidens past, i dont understand the whole love fest.and if the previous blogger loves china so much how about getting a plane ticket back to that opressive communist contry and stay there. dont tell me how to live and take your mercury laden products with you, if i was to relocate to another country i wouldnt count on changing the way they do things.( in mexico for instance ,you have the right to keep your mouth shut).im tired of people putting down the u.s.a.,if its better somewhere else go there,please.we can make things better here with term limits for congress and other high positions (of the people by the people and for the people)what a great idea.
Joe the plumber has become a national icon. Was it the only moto for his stopping Obama and tried to confront him with his tax policies.
It now appears that he has nothing to do with the plumbing profession except may be a plumbing would be business owner.
In either case seems to me he has had some contact with the Mccain’s campaign or at least a “campanile”.
He definitely has a right to ask questions of the Sen. Obama’s tax policy as a citizen/businessman but not as a False Prophet (of Israel: Bible-Hosea).
Has anyone checked to see of Joe is related to Charles Keating’s son-in-law, Robert M. Wurzelbacher, Jr., who is also from Ohio and was also implicated in the S & L scandal? Seems mighty suspicious to me!! How many Wurzelbachers are there in Ohio?
McCain is the one who exploited this man and used him to perpetrate lies about Obama. How do you see McCain coming out smelling like a rose?
McCain made a fool out of Joe. Joe may have asked a question but McCain made it all about him and the taxes. Now the world is looking at Joe,all McCain can say is sorry.