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Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2008 > November > 28
Friday, November 28, 2008
“Joe the Plumber” becomes “Joe the Pitchman”
“Joe the Plumber” has become “Joe the Pitchman.”
Samuel Joseph - “Joe the Plumber” - Wurzelbacher of suburban Toledo became a major figure in the Ohio presidential campaign when he questioned Democrat Barack Obama’s tax plan and endorsed Republican John McCain.
Now he’s appearing in a Toledo company’s online video alerting people to the need to convert analog TVs to digital. To see Joe in action, click here.
Here’s an Associated Press story on Joe’s new gig with VelocityStore.com:
TOLEDO, OH- Northwest Ohio’s “Joe the Plumber” is appearing in a Toledo company’s online video reminding people to convert analog TVs to digital.
Samuel J. Wurzelbacher also tells viewers of the VelocityStore.com ad that they can apply for a federal government coupon for $40 off the cost of a converter box.
The plumber who became a supporting player in the presidential campaign says in the video that it isn’t about politics but about “doing the right thing.”
Elsewhere on its site, VelocityStore.com has five converter box models for sale, ranging in price from $40 up to $81.88.
Company president Stephen Holland says Wurzelbacher is being compensated for his celebrity sponsorship, though he doesn’t say how much the Web retailer is paying.
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How to pay for vets’ bonuses - cash or credit?
Ohio has provided cash bonuses to veterans of previous wars but this year Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland and the Republican-controlled state legislature can’t agree on how to provide bonuses to veterans of the 1990-91 Persian Gulf War and the continuing fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Strickland wants to do it the way it’s been done in previous wars - give voters a chance to approve bonds that would allow the state to borrow money for the bonuses.
House Speaker Jon Husted, R-Kettering, says the state shouldn’t borrow more money but should pay for bonuses out of existing state funds. Senate President Bill Harris, R-Ashland, at first favored bonds but now says he’ll go along with Husted in an effort to get the bonuses to veterans by Christmas.
The plan most talked about would provide bonuses up to $1,000 for veterans who served in the conflicts and bonuses up to $500 for veterans who served elsewhere during the conficts. Also, family members of those killed in action would receive $5,000.
Here’s your chance to join the debate.
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Bob Taft joins Great Lakes organization
Republican Bob Taft is back in the public eye, although not in the spotlight like he was as Ohio governor.
Taft, governor from 1999-2007, this month was elected to the board of the Alliance for the Great Lakes, which calls itself the “oldest citizens, Great Lakes organization.”
The group works to conserve and restore the Great Lakes through public policy, education and hands-on efforts.
While Taft was governor and serving as chairman of the Council of Great Lakes Governors, he was responsible for launching the Great Lakes Compact, recently signed into law by all eight Great Lakes states and at the White House, a press release said.
Currently, Taft is distinguished research associate at the University of Dayton.
