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Obama's Next Economic Push To Be Staged At Home Depot

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President Obama will be hosting a discussion about his new home retrofitting proposal at a Washington-area Home Depot.

The White House announced this afternoon that Obama will speak at an invitation-only event at Home Depot Tuesday about the "economic impacts of energy saving home retrofits."

He will "solicit ideas from members of the labor, manufacturing, and small business communities," the White House said.

Obama last week detailed a plan to use some of the remaining Troubled Asset Relief Program funds to stimulate economic growth and job creation.

He asked Congress to create incentives for homeowners who make their property more energy efficient.

Late Update: Obama on Monday is meeting with "members of the financial industry to discuss economic recovery, small business lending, improving lending practices for homeowners and the administration's plans for financial reform," the White House said. He'll also give a brief statement to the press.

On Wednesday, Vice President Joe Biden is holding a Middle Class Task Force meeting on the future of manufacturing, the White House said.

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December 12, 2009 4:28 PM   

Count me as 100% behind this idea. It creates jobs and leaves a lasting legacy--homes needing less energy and less energy usage resulting in lower bills.

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December 12, 2009 5:13 PM   

Horrible, horrible, horrible idea. Do it at Lowes instead!

Remember just about a year ago "Home Depot Founder: Retailers Who Are Not Fighting The Free Choice Act ‘Should Be Shot’ "

http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2008/11/19/home-depot-shot/

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December 12, 2009 5:17 PM    in reply to i5kfun

More accurate. Great idea, bad location.

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December 12, 2009 5:47 PM   

Home Depot wouldn't seem to represent labor, manufacturing or small business.

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December 13, 2009 1:55 AM    in reply to bluebell

A quick stop at Home Depot is good for giving the appearance of being down with the commoners. Obama only invites his people, the CEOs, into the White House.

The job summit was great political theatre. I mean who would ask CEOs about creating jobs? CEOs spend most of their time thinking about how to drive down wages and how to hire fewer people. Labor is the biggest expense for most businesses. So asking CEOs to a job creation summit was just stupid.

Obama knows how to create jobs but he doesn't want to do it. He could call for an end to H-1B. End NAFTA. Ban imports from communist nations that don't respect human life. Implement e-verify.

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December 12, 2009 6:13 PM   

So what do you suggest? How would you handle it, Bluebell?

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December 12, 2009 7:21 PM    in reply to CVille Dem

I guess I'd like to see him do more real meetings with real workers and real small business owners. I just don't see the point of an invitation only event at a big box retailer that imports everything from China. Why not find some people who have actually invented something in the good old USA and use them as an example.

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December 12, 2009 7:56 PM    in reply to bluebell

Once again the wisdom shows through in the comments section of a leftwing blog. No way he should do it at Home Depot. He should fly to Russia and do it the site of Lenin's tomb and he should walk there a mile through the snow in barefeet while wearing only a burlap sack. That would show his proper respect.

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December 12, 2009 8:19 PM    in reply to magurakurin

do it the site of Lenin's tomb

Very witty.

Does Lenin sponser Glenn Beck and Hannity like Home Depot does?? That's what grabs me about this extremely non-intuitive choice....

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December 12, 2009 8:51 PM    in reply to jollyroger

What part of "home retrofitting" are you and bluebell having trouble understanding? Not only is it appropriate, but your objections fuel the stereotype of lefty incompetence around making things that are useful.

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December 13, 2009 10:26 AM    in reply to shooter242

If he wants to visit a place where they make things that are useful, he should go to an American place where they make things that are useful.

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December 13, 2009 10:18 AM    in reply to magurakurin

Instead he shows his respect for "Mao's tomb" buried as he will be under all the cheap goods shipped in from China.

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December 12, 2009 8:49 PM    in reply to bluebell

And if the article had stated that is exactly what he was going to do, you would have said that he was just putting on a show, tricking these real people into thinking that he is actually listening to them when he only cares for Wall Street not Main Street.

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December 12, 2009 6:39 PM   

He should give it in a place that will cause a shit storm of press. Maybe Herritage Foundation or some other completely out of the blue location that would drive the right frickin' bonkers.

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December 12, 2009 8:24 PM   

Dear Internet,

I AM OFFENDED.

Sincerely,
Internet Commenter

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December 13, 2009 1:43 AM   

So CEOs get invited to the White House to talk to the POTUS but Obama shleps over to Home Depot to talk to the riff raff. Amazing, but follows Obama's pattern.

If Obama was half way serious about labor he would get the federal government to stop driving down wages by ending federal regulations like H-1B. At Microsoft we use H-1B to ensure we never have to hire an expensive American. Every single resume our group has seen for the past 3 years has been from India. We do it legally. We hire an Indian owned recruiter company and they "filter" the resumes for us.

The USCIS issued a report in Feb 2009 detailing the fraud in H-1B. There are over 2.2 million H-1B visa workers in the US. There are more unemployed programmers and engineers than that. I have friends I would like to get hired. These are family men and woman in their 50's trying to support their kids. But I can't get their resumes in the door.

Obama won't even talk about ending H-1B. Regardless, his talk is useless too.


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December 13, 2009 10:49 AM    in reply to masher

Nice to see the left finally picking up on the elitist meme. Throw in a comment about arugula and your transformation to haterade-gulping nabob will be complete.

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December 14, 2009 4:46 AM    in reply to masher

Welcome to TPM, masher. Here you'll find, among other things, a small but extremely dedicated coterie of commenters who apparently spend their days ferreting out blog comments that are insufficiently loyal and deferential to a particular political figure and trashing their authors with ad hominems and strawman arguments. (Those attacks are usually followed by dark, ominous references to that bastion of evil and un-Americanness known as "the left".) It's remarkably similar to what you would find among the loyal Bushies, redstaters and freepers, from 2001 to about 2007 (some straight through 2008, and a few poor souls hanging on even today.) You'll also find people who are interested in discussing actual issues and realize that politicians are just politicians who (at least in a democracy) should be criticized when they do the wrong thing or fail to do the right thing. This idea is lost on the loyalists and the apologists, of course.

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December 13, 2009 8:18 AM   

While he's at it, he should put an end to H1N1 too. I am outraged that he hasn't ended this pig flu! He's obviously just stalling.

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December 13, 2009 10:28 AM    in reply to CVille Dem

Well, he could increase the spending on medical research to heal people and stop spending money on weapons to kill people.

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December 14, 2009 6:07 PM    in reply to bluebell

What, you mean like Eisenhower did? ;) (Reducing the military budget, that is.) Damn commie, that Ike. Good thing Obama's no Eisenhower Republican.

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December 13, 2009 10:32 AM   

Go to any Home Depot and notice the station where the customer checks himself out, no need for a cashier.

The word "staged" in the headline says it all.

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December 13, 2009 10:36 AM    in reply to JohnW1141

OBAMA NEEDS TO USE HIS MAGIC WAND TO BAN SELF CHECKOUT STATIONS

ANYTHING ELSE IS JUST TALK

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December 14, 2009 4:54 AM    in reply to Stroszek

So many strawmen... so little time. Seriously, Stroszek, best you've got?

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December 13, 2009 10:39 AM   

It's good to be a mega corp under the Obama administration. It's also cherry when you know which co's he's going to pick for generous gifts of taxpayer money.

Start spreading the news. I'm leaving today. I want to be a part of it, Wall street, Wall street.

These vagabond shoes, are longing to stray, right through the very heart of it, Wall street, Wall street.

I want to wake up on street that never sleeps, and find I'm king of the hill, top of the list, head of the heap, king of the hill!

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December 13, 2009 10:44 AM    in reply to Silence

I'm sick of all these communists doing the bidding of Wall Street!

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December 13, 2009 10:47 AM    in reply to Silence

Ooo, singing show tunes now? Don't let the tough guys at your next teabagger klavern hear about that. They might throw you out of the club.

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December 13, 2009 5:29 PM   

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December 13, 2009 7:05 PM    in reply to Silence

How about you grow a pair and say what you mean, instead of posting songs?

A real man wouldn't have a problem with that. But you're a different story.

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December 13, 2009 7:18 PM    in reply to Signalman

They're love songs...for you.

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December 14, 2009 7:27 AM   

I know you can't help yourself, but I'm just not that into you. Besides, I'm already married, and she's way better-looking that you are.

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December 14, 2009 7:28 AM    in reply to Signalman

*Than,* even.

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December 14, 2009 7:53 AM    in reply to Signalman

Ah!! You're lesbo, but not really. You just can't seem to get along with men.

Allow me to give you a little direction. Men aren't attracted to miserable, self-loathing, potty-mouthed whiners. Take a look at the video. Dis you catch that strong, beautiful, non-nonsense woman sitting in a wide open field with her rifle. Shucks. It doesn't get any better than that.

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December 14, 2009 9:25 AM    in reply to Silence

"Ah!! You're lesbo, but not really."

Nope. All male from stem to stern. Not like that will ever do *you* any good.


"You just can't seem to get along with men."

Not in the least. If you were a real man, you wouldn't be a dishonorable, mendacious liar who tries to put words in other people's mouths. And you'd answer questions that had been put to you, or else admit that you didn't know the answer. Real men are honest, even when the truth hurts. And real men know their limits.

Here's a hint. Had you known your limits, you'd never have tangled with me. You've only succeeded in displaying your ignorance, your dishonesty and your lack of character.

1920s event. Know it? I don't think you do. Why not man up and admit it?


"Allow me to give you a little direction."

A liar like yourself has nothing whatsoever to teach me.


"Men aren't attracted to miserable, self-loathing, potty-mouthed whiners."

And that explains why you're lonely and coming on to me with show tunes, you miserable, self-loathing, potty-mouthed whining liar. But I'm just not attracted to you. I'm afraid you will just have to face up to that fact.


"Take a look at the video."

I already told you once. I will not follow any link you post unless and until you answer my question correctly or admit that you don't know the answer. Unlike you, I say what I mean, I mean what I say and I stand by my words. It's called "character" and "honor."

Clearly you know nothing of either.


"Dis you catch that strong, beautiful, non-nonsense woman sitting in a wide open field with her rifle. Shucks. It doesn't get any better than that."

If only *you* could be strong, beautiful and no-nonsense, huh? I see why you envy her, since you've only managed to have one characteristic in common with her out of four.

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December 14, 2009 10:07 AM   

Transgender doesn't count. Hormone treatments promote hair growth and surgery will eliminate curves. However, that nagging, whiny, manipulative dependence gives you away. Oh, and the potty-mouth is a string indicator of trailer park upbringing.

Good Luck with that.

BTW, I'm happily married to a woman very much like the one in the video. Strong women select strong men. It's Darwinian.

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December 14, 2009 10:59 AM   

"Transgender doesn't count."

Oh! My apologies. I didn't realize you were a tranny. Shouldn't you be off doing your webcam show?


"Hormone treatments promote hair growth and surgery will eliminate curves."

I'm sure you know all that because of your extensive personal experience with it.


"However, that nagging, whiny, manipulative dependence gives you away."

No, it's just the fact that I've beaten you down thoroughly on this and other threads, and you haven't got a single point in on me. You're ignorant, uninformed and I've driven you to blithering fury. And Obama's still the President, like it or not.


"Oh, and the potty-mouth is a string indicator of trailer park upbringing."

No potty-mouth here. Just some in-your-facing and smash-mouthing, which is how Republicans like to play the game. Unless, of course, they're on the losing end of the roughhousing -- then they whine and cry. Just like you. Wimp.


"Good Luck with that."

No luck needed. I already own you.


"BTW, I'm happily married to a woman very much like the one in the video."

Which gay-marriage state do you live in, again?


"Strong women select strong men. It's Darwinian."

This explains why you cannot help replying to my posts. After all, strong women select strong men. It's Darwinian.

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December 14, 2009 11:29 AM   

Look, trailer girl-boy or whatever, you've certainly been a source of amusement these past few days. But, now you're heading down scooter lane.

In-your-face? Smash-mouthing? You own me?

Get a grip. You're holsters are coming loose.

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December 15, 2009 8:34 AM    in reply to Silence

"Look, trailer girl-boy or whatever,"

Your attempts at insults are unsuccessful. You are stupid, uninformed, impolite and unable to overcome me in fact-based debate. You may either continue to post in the manner in which you have been posting (which is fine with me, as I'll just grind you down some more), or else admit that you have been bested. Either way is okay with me, as you will either continue to be a toy for me or else become just another ignorant internet troll who couldn't cut it when he/she/it crossed me.

You can't answer the question I put to you on Saturday. Admit it. And you're not a Libertarian. Your own posts give you away. Stop lying. Be an honest person for once in your misbegotten life.


"you've certainly been a source of amusement these past few days."

You certainly have. And you will continue to so serve me, troll. I have spoken.


"But, now you're heading down scooter lane."

Shrug.


"In-your-face? Smash-mouthing?"

Potty-mouth? Trailer park? Whiner. You can dish it, but you can't take it. And that's so typical of conservatrolls; they act tough, but when they're met with equal or greater toughness, they whine, cower, put their tails between their legs and cry about bullying and the like. Wuss.


"You own me?"

I own you. Your posts are fact-free, display an ignorance of history, economics and political policy, and you don't even have the character to either answer questions or admit you don't know the answers. You're pathetic.


"Get a grip. You're holsters are coming loose."

I have a very good grip on you indeed, ignorant, uninformed lying troll. And I've got your number, too.

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