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I love Home Depot. I’m there all the time. When I’m upset I love to go wander the aisles, it’s a place where it seems like every problem has an answer. As someone who would rather screw it up myself first before hiring someone to come in and do it right, I consider myself a member of their primary consumer market.
Why, then, are they bankrolling Rupert Murdoch and the junk science lies of Helmet Head Hannity? It’s gonna make me feel just a little less safe when I’m patrolling the aisles looking for louvered gable vents.
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Zed!
Leisureguy!
I love Home Depot too! A poneypak for $2.00. Sometimes I get a pak of flowers and put the whole thin in a bowl. Cheaper than any cut flowers!
On Vitter, Giuliani mostly dodged and said that he hasn’t talked to the senator yet. He emphasized “this is a personal issue” and highlighted that he couldn’t have achieved so much in the campaign and during his years as mayor without the good character of his staffers and supporters. “But,” Giuliani added, “Some people disappoint you.”
On McCain, he painted the changes in McCain’s campaign as part of the ups and downs of the trail. “This is way too early for anybody to be written off,” Giuliani said. “John McCain is a fighter.”
Jane!
Go to Lowes instead. They’re a lot more Blue.
I like the idea of targeting companies whose PR is inconsistent with their actions in this sort of way. They shouldn’t be able to have it both ways.
Oh, I do hope I don’t have to boycott HD, but, there is a nice little nursery in town. I still don’t buy Gallo wine, even when it’s the only one on sale.
And, the poneypak of flowers last longer than cut flowers!
Perhaps some e-mailing to the high muckety-mucks at Home Depot is in order.
beth meacham @ 6
So is Costco but of course you can’t get the same things. Costco gives most or all of its money to Dems and treats its employees very well, I hear.
I’d prefer a good hardware store- where you can buy just one screw- but there are now ONLY home depots- at least around here.
Oh jane, mr. martha will not be happy. When we were in the middle of rebuilding our cabin, Home Depot got more of our money than each month than the grocery store. Eff’n Murdoch.
From the link in Jane’s post:
My bold. It sure ain’t.
Oh, the moral dilemas of a mature DFH. It would take a lot more gas to get to the Lowes. The Home Depot is very close to my house.
Screw Murdoch.
Seems I never did acquire the handy person gene. I would much rather wander the aisles of the bookstore or music store or video store or gift shop or even clothing store
But that’s just what makes us each unique. Just like everyone else.
You love home depot? Us, too. We’ve been known to go on dates there . . . ah the romance of the lightbulb aisle. There’s something so hopeful about the whole notion of fixing up your nest.
You would think that Home Depot would want to get on board with a green global warming meme. It would mean lots of business for them. Lots of people would need to things, to fix cracks and leaks and otherwise make their homes more efficient. Wouldn’t that be in their interest?
Why does Home Depot hate Home Depot?
On the bright side, no good deed goes unpunished. HD reported this a.m. they expect their ‘07 earnings to decline by 15 to 18 percent Home Depot Lowers 2007 Expectations. And they’re probably still overly optimistic. Maybe they’ll have to cut their advertising budget…..
I’m not fond of HD (derisively referred to by my hubby and our beloved handy guy as “The ‘Ho’”. Thanks to Crooks and Liars here is a link to a Sierra Club petition asking HD to stop advertising on Faux…
Lowes!
I love this:
According to Nielsen Media Research, the main three-hour broadcast on NBC averaged only 2.7 million viewers, making it the least-watched U.S. program on Saturday night.
Live Earth did set records online for MSN, which has seen 30 million streams for footage on its site and set a record for most simultaneous concert viewers on Sunday afternoon.
Dear dear Jane.
The former pres of Home Depot hosted a fund raiser for W. in his back yard way back when. Raised 3.5 million for Chimpy. When I heard that I stopped going to HD. Haven’t walked down those aisles since.
I try to find smaller local hardware stores—not many left thanks to HD. Or Lowes though I’m sure they must have something repugly in their record too. But NO HD for me again. Ever.
rwcole @ 11
There are still a few “pick-a-nut” shops around here. Love’em.
Check Out Hundred Best Companies to Work for in America and the website of Great Place to Work. They get their feedback directly from employees and not management. They may have added social responsibility to their criteria. It used to be strictly the way a company treated its employees. Things may have changed after Enron since they rated seventh on their list.
Lowes – enough said
Trade gap between US and China reaches 26.8bio$
Xiaoyu is executed due to damaging the reputation of Chinese products
The Dollar is worth a f…
Jane – I’m sure the reason I haven’t run into you roaming the aisles of Home Depot is that I hardly go there any more since I found out that most of their political donations go to Repubs (Lowe’s is worse at 100%); and then there’s the obscene amount of money HD’s board has been paying their CEO, even while their share price has dropped.
The area I live in has somehow managed to keep out the mega-stores – so far – so I try to patronize local stores and feed the local economy.
There used to be a famous old hardware store downtown where you could find ANYTHING- their inventory was unmolested since 1900- so you might even find a buggy whip! Famous for old cabinet hardware and out of manufacture plumbing parts. It was also HUGE so you could wander for hours.
They moved- and I suppose the ambience is gone.
Why, then, are they bankrolling Rupert Murdoch and the junk science lies of Helmet Head Hannity? It’s gonna make me feel just a little less safe when I’m patrolling the aisles looking for louvered gable vents.
Did you buy the last of the red hot louvers?
I could be wrong but I believe that Home Depot thinks none to favourably of unions.
http://www.albionmonitor.com/9703b/homedepot.html
Thats one nice thing about my small town, they still have the local hardware store.
Of course, HD is only a few miles away.
beth meacham @ 6
Absolutely. HD has been a Bush enabler from day one. Remember his lame appearance in ‘03 where he touted the wonders of the Bush economy? Lowes on the other hand, has donated predominately to the Dem Party, and pays a living wage with benefits. And the zen quality of wandering their aisles is superior to the grimy Home Depot experience.
Makin consumer driven businesses pay for gooperism is a damn good idea..I’m in!!
The view here is the best antidote to Mr. Murdoch’s poison is a President Gore. ;0)
Levin et all debating Iraq … cpsan 2 now.
Speaking about big retailers, here’s one anecdote that I never would have believed:
I was at a bank meeting today for a $1.3B packaging company and an environmental question came up. The response included a requirement for Wal-Mart suppliers be certified as green. The CEO didn’t know exactly what the metrics were, but he mentioned emissions, waste and energy consumption. Go figure.
Home Depot is the closest hardware & home improvement store to our house, but our local one, at least, has always sucked. I watch their ads about “friendly, helpful staff” and think of the clerks at ours who literally flee when it looks like you’re looking for help, and if you manage to catch one, they never know anything about the department they happen to be in (probably because they’re hiding out from the department they’re supposed to be in.)
After one particularly bad experience, I actually got on their website and sent a complaint. I got a “thank you for your input” automated message, and nothing else.
Fortunately, we have a local hardware store not much further away where I get most of what I need, and there’s a Lowe’s that’s further than I’d like, but still within a reasonable distance for less-frequent trips.
Twain @ 10
Costco has been criticized by business “experts” for treating its employees too well. See, if a company’s employees are happy, that obviously means they’re taking food out of the mouths of the children of underprivileged stockholders. Or something.
Home Depot’s former CEO, Robert Nardelli, is a real scumbag GOP Bush-loving piece of work. He got the boot from Home Depot in January, so maybe the company will fix itself. But I would avoid shopping there, go local or find a Lowe’s.
So is Lowe’s 100% gooper or mostly dem? We have conflicting testimony. They’re from North Carolina if that tells us anything.
Bummer! I just went to buyblue.org to look it up and found the web site shut down! That damned book took all of their mojo and played copy cat and now the online resource is gone!
Phooey
Home Depot has been on the downhill slide for a while; they’ve been crappy by workers, even though they pride themselves on hiring Olympic athletes. And they’ve been just as bad by shareholders, too; don’t believe the damage has yet been fixed after former CEO Nardelli’s departure this year.
I’d rather shop at Menard’s or Lowe’s — and I’m also a fix-it-upper, spend a LOT of money each year at hardware stores.
Lowes is better, at least here where I live. Staff is much more knowledgeable, for one thing. At Home Depot sometimes it seems that the person who’s supposed to be helping me knows less than I do (if that’s possible).
Doesn’t suprise me that Home Depot is wingnutty. They’re the Walmart of hardware stores.
It’s depressing to go to any of these places and see what is sold as “lumber” in them…looks as if it’s been gnawed by rats and borrowed by gophers…that’s what’s holdin up my house? Yep!
first time ever I’m gonna disagree with Jane;
let me tell you why I hate home depot;
when they first opened they had great prices, great customer service, great quality
their prices were so good, their service was soo good the locals had to go out of bussiness
now that they put everyone out of bussiness their prices aren’t so great…the quality of the products is second best and their service is sub standard
at least this is the case where I frequent
it seems they pressure manufacturers for prices the manufacturers can only deliver by reducing quality
or maybe the manufacturers reduce quality because they oursource the added volume…I don’t know.
in the beginning they took exchanges without much of a discussion, now they argue about why it’s not a product fault even when it clearly is.
I’m in construction right now and believe me, their construction products used to be first rate at lower prices, now they are not even second rate…prices either went up or remained the same even though the quality is lowered
let’s look at fences
first, they buy at such bulk they have to take whatever comes from the mills…the mills save their quality for the companies that are paying better prices
second, hd lets the contractors come at delivery and take first pick
that means consumers get nothing but waste when it comes to fence
let’s take a 300 foot tape measure
I can buy this from home depot or a local guy that managed to stay in bussiness…same company that makes the two too….home depot’s will last about a month, the local’s same product will last all season
but the main reason is they used lower prices to put locals out of bussiness, then raised their prices, lowered quality and service
I hate home depot
I believe corporate America and all the Home Depots and Wal-Mart’s, and the GOP’s (and DLC) greatest fear is not HRC. Its Al Gore. For a variety of reasons.
Suppport Gore. Please. ;0)
If you can’t go cold turkey off the big boxes, try reducing by percentage. If you were 100% big box try 75% big box and 25% local. You’d be amazed.
I love local because they get to know me. There is something wonderful about the owner or manager coming out to assist because they know I can’t tell the difference between the light switch and the outlet. So they become my guide and make certain I get exactly what I need. I love them. Often, they know my name. Now that’s really fun!
You should see me with my dry cleaners. I’ve gone to him for years and years. I feel like I am part of his family.
Shop local. Shop local. Shop local.
Siun @ 35
kabuki or for real? i don’t think i have it in me to deal with more kabuki today.
How does one support Gore? He ain’t runnin.
Sean Hannity calling Al Gore unhinged, that’s rich.
Well, the Staff of the local HD’s became almost instantly more helpful when HD jettisoned the Welch-wannabe as CEO, but sheesh, if they’re gonna line Hanitwit and Rupert Morelock’s pockets, guess I’m gonna have to do Lowe’s.
Even local ‘mom and pop’ stores have a tradition of being owned by Republican voters.
Bearpaw @ 38
IIRC..average hourly pay at Costco $18, Sam’s Club ~$10.50
OT Tammy Duckworth has announced that she will not run again. So close last time. Thanks a lot Rahm !
Not to mention this gem of an annual meeting last year:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13231109/
I can’t find the post I read at the time from someone who was actually there, and told about how there were “staff” who were obviously security guards, and shareholders were told that if they exceeded their time in making a comment, they would be bodily removed. There’s only an oblique mention of it in this article.
I wander the aisles at Mill’s Fleet Farm. Maybe they don’t have those on the West Coast, but it is a nice alternative to the HomeDespot.
My wife thinks I have a mistress when I go to Fleet Farm for hours at a time and come back with a handful of bolts and some rabbit chow. Maybe the fact that we don’t have a rabbit is an issue, from her perspective but, damnit, it was on sale!
As an apartment dweller, I don’t have much need for the home improvement megastores such as Lowe’s or HD. That said, I still carry the memories of what Wal-Mart did to the local stores in my hometown, and if I do need hardware supplies, I will definitely consult the Yellow Pages to find a local merchant.
It was thanks to Home Depot that I got to go to the Olympics in Atlanta in ‘96.
They distributed ticket order forms at their stores across the US, and it was a lottery. By chance, I got to see Michael Johnson win his second gold medal of those games in the 200 meter race. That night was the only original selection of mine that got drawn. At the time I had no idea what that night would be like, I was just so excited that I got tickets.
All told I saw 3 gold medal performances by Americans in my home country. A thrill that has yet to be topped.
They really went downhill in terms of product and help in the store so I did switch to Lowes, or the hardware store for really small purchases.
Done properly, the retail hardware business is VERY labor intensive- and you have to have people who KNOW a LOT.
It can take fifteen minutes to deal with a typical customer who doesn’t exactly know what product to use or how to use it–that’s what you pay for…but it’s worth it if you can do the job right the first time.
rwcole @ 49
http://www.draftgore.com/
http://www.algore.org/
This all seems so familiar somehow:
Twas brillig, and the silvery stoves
Did gyre and gimble in the way:
All mimsy were the fencing groves,
And the home wrights with lay away
“Beware the Gabled Louver Vent, my son!
The pliers that pinch, the wrenches that catch!
Beware the Router head, and shun
The frumious driveway patch!”
Jane,
If you’re in DC, go to Hechinger’s. Lots more fun. (I hope they’re still in business).
Hugh @ 60
Lewis Carrol is spinning right now…but laughing as well!
I ain’t gettin off my ass for Gore when he hasn’t gotten off his ass for himself. If he wants to run- then RUN.
Bustednuckles @ 31
Same, but when I needed a special pulley for my dog run, Lowe’s and the Despot didn’t have it but my local Ace franchise did. Sending props out to Ace Hardware in Wayzata MN! Love you man!
Oklahoma kiddo @ 51
But at least they’re not big contributors. But still, that’s something we need to work on. Republicans have built a reputation that they’re “good for business” which has gone too long unchallenged. They’re good for big business which is getting a great return-on-investment for their campaign contributions, but small business is getting screwed by that as much as the rest of us.
We need to better convey to them that we’re not going to promise them wingnut-style tax slashing because it’s bad for the community they live in and bad for business in the long run, but instead we’ll them fair taxes and a government that works.
RevDeb @ 41
Yeah, I saw that, too. :-(
OT – hmmmmmm… i see that libby is on tv tonight at 8:25pm. c-span3, repeat from 03/01/2001 – house oversight hearing on presidential pardons, “Attorneys testified about their involvement in obtaining a presidential pardon for financier Marc Rich.”
rwcole @ 48
Check again… He just won’t announce yet.. for mostly excellent reasons…
At this time.. with the mess Shrub has created..
It would be unpatriotic for him NOT to run..
besides how best clean up the earth than to lead one of it’s biggest polluters into one of the biggest guardians of our fragile environment ??
What exactly is the mission of Rupert? Is it just money and perhaps power?
Hugh @ 61
Hee! It’s Lewis Carroll day at the Lake!!!
Home Depot / Lowes & others have in many ways ruined hardware stores. The worst problem is that, despite the huge size of the stores, the selection is broad but properly comprehensive.
They tend to fill the shelves up only with items that move really well. So if you buy tools from the store, they don’t necessarily sell common replacement / consumable items for them. The stores that used to sell such items and replacement items along side of the high ticket tools are now put out of business because they can’t compete with the big box for low price.
Instead of good breadth of selection, all sorts of shelf space is wasted on and abundance of low-quality / high markup goods.
If you go into either Lowes or Home Depot to buy a medicine cabinet, you will also see the other problem: Payola.
The selection you’re offered is all from one or two manufacturer’s lines who have paid to exclude their competitors from the shelves. On top of this, the manufacturers are doing the same thing Levitz does for furniture … all of the lower priced items are exceedingly cheap, very low quality items, both ugly and very flimsy. Sure, they sell the low price items to a few idiots, but these items are also on the shelves simply to manipulate customers to buy an overpriced of merely adequate quality instead – not at all worth the elevated price.
For the time being you can find an independent janitorial supply place and find a $35 Broan enameled metal and glass cabinet that may not be fancy, but it is very durable and attractive. This is $25 cheaper than the low grade particle-board cabinet at the big box store.
Chances are, the companies making these items (very often in the USA, BTW) are losing sales to these horrid chinese-made offerings. The payola-restricted selection affects at least half of the items sold in the store.
The worst part of this is that consumers are not necessarily getting lower prices, they are merely being sold foreign-made junk at prices considerably higher than much higher quality American-made products.
Lowes and Home Depot were ever so quick to get on the war-mongering support-the-troops bandwagon five years ago, but in reality these companies are slowly destroying the American economy and ripping off consumers.
You should see what happens to their selection and prices once other competing stores are put out of business, btw. They have no loyalty to anything other than a quick buck.
OT..but talking about “nuts and bolts”
By Josh Marshall
Most excellent. Rudy Giuliani has named newly-determined crackpot Norman Podhoretz as one of his key foreign policy advisors.
Here’s Norm discussing the need to bomb Iran to “smithereens” and here he is explaining how the Iraq War has been a huge success and how the WMD were actually carted off to Syria before we could find them.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/015216.php
LMAO.
Remember my motto;
” Don’t buy cheap tools, thats how you get yer knuckles busted”.
I’m not one who has ever seen the “magic” in Gore…he was a senator who made his mark on the “gays, guns, and zygote issues” along with railing at dirty pictures on teevee- then he ran a crappy campaign and was too chicken shit to use Clinton when he could have helped. His VP pick was sheer genius….
I know that a lot of people love him- I’m just not one of em.
Steve @ 73
Color me unsurprised.
The impression here is if Democrats could swing free-universal health care, then that would make small business owners happy and take a lot of financial pressure off them.
I grew up in a small town with a hardware store that had everthing and more. Loved going to that store.
I’ve wanted to support Lowe’s but have found that they often don’t have what is needed but that HD does… Both are on the same street abot a mile apart.
But am lucky to have 2 good hardware stores about equidistant from home. And there is a good lumber yard nearby.
snowyegret @ 62
sorry to say they are not. wish I had known about Home Depot’s wingnut connections. I have spent tens of thousand of dollars there over the past 10 years. gonna have to peel that bumper sticker off my tractor that say “My Favorite Toy Store.”
Perris: I’m in construction too and there prices have been outrageous lately. We try to tell our crews to go to Lowe’s for a better deal. If it was possible to buy the things we need wholesale we would, but when crews are out in the street and need something, then they are stuck.
I for one: no takie the baitie.
Hardware stores make me nervous…
WAXMAN
Judiciary Confirms Miers Appearance, Announces Vote to Authorize RNC Subpoena
Conyers, Sánchez Confirm Harriet Miers for Public Hearing, Announce Vote to Authorize RNC Subpoena
there’s more
Earth to Jane…hello…Home Depot, like Walmart, depend on ridding themselves of all government regulations in order to drive away competition and bleed producers dry. Their prices are not low, as most people think because the quality of most products is low. I can go to the neighborhood hardware (I live in SFO) and get the same product at a little lower price than Home Depot. And Home Depot has items that most people use, but if you need a little specialized item, you’re out of luck. And because they have driven all competition away, it’s difficult to get those unusual specialized items. I’m lucky because San Francisco has not allowed Home Depot to set-up shop, and we still have many great places that sell items not carried by Home Depot. When I needed new handles for the shower faucets, I found a place that carried replacements in a plumbing specialty store in the Sunset district, 3 miles from my house. It was my neighborhood hardware store that told me where to go to get the faucet handles.
I don’t like Home Depot and Walmart, and I don’t want them in San Francisco.
This doesn’t sound like Tooltime at all.
Webb on Cspan2 right now firepups.
rwcole @ 75
Things change. I take the ostracism he faces from the establishment as evidence of the sincerity of his enlightenment. He endorsed enemy number one, Dean, and, more importantly, spoke loudly and publicly against the war, which was considered a violation of protocol for an ex-President by our Broderellas.
And who says he picked Lieberman (or Brazile), anyway? I’m inclined to think the war wing of the party put a gun to his head, after the way they put or kept minders like Cohen, Woolsey, Gergen and Morris in Clinton’s administration.
Tangential: Rick Perlstein’s on part 2 of a 3 part “The Foreclosing of America.”
Home Depot is a major contributor to Republican candidates… Just check their records.
From a member of my family’s experience, I know that Lowes doesn’t pay very well.
They did offer benefits, though.
TiredFed @ 79
That is sad. I really liked that store a lot.
Speaking of junk science…
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/200…..general_dc
I appreciate his speaking out, but it’s about 5 years too late.
Now there’s an image: Jane Hamsher wandering the aisles of Home Depot, checking out gabled vents in 3 inch heels. What next!
And look at the response. A virtual army of DFHs holding up the economy and Home Depot’s stock. Who needs Fox? I expect to see a Home Depot blog ad, and soon.
Home Depot is also one of those stores that pushes towns into competition for their bidness (zoning variances, tax breaks). Vultures.
Elliott @ 83
woohoo! great news.
fyi – here’s this week’s hearing schedule (the one i do for scarecrow on monday morning’s first post).
rwcole @ 75
Do you have to love a person to believe they are the best person to lead our country in these perilous times? I would think the standard should be who would best do the job.
So, by this measure, how do you see Gore?
By that standard I do not see any Dem candidates who could do a better job of running the country than Gore. And no, I don’t love him either. Egotistical jerk, but as a leader, the best of the pack right now.
My choice candidate ain’t running, so I’m not going to say who he is, except to say he is a he.
snowyegret @ 67
As I understand it, BuyBlue morphed into BlueFund.com.
Very interesting premise, rather like growing up and going the next step; the list of progressive companies is still there, but they are ones that they invest in, and in which you can buy stock.
Yep, a Home Depot just opened 8 miles away. I still use my local hardware store as much as possible and drive the extra 10 miles to Lowes and Costco when necessary.
Remember Blockbuster when they first opened? They were cheap and had a great selection. As soon as all the Mom & Pop video stores closed, they jacked up their prices. I don’t even bother going there anymore because they have the same old stuff all the time. I love my Netflix.
ATLANTA (AP) — The Home Depot Inc., the world’s largest home improvement store chain, on Tuesday cited continued weakness in the housing market and the sale of its wholesale distribution business as it issued a bleaker-than-expected financial outlook for the year.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070710…..html?.v=15
Ta da! ; )
brendan @ 86
The “Georgetown Speech” made me take a new look at Al Gore. IMHO, “Tipper” is still a problem.
/www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/4/4982
Bay State Librul @ 82
Ah, but they are peculiarly American, part of our mental framework that believes all problems can be solved, and there’s a perfect tool for every task. There should be a Sears Tool Section on the National Mall.
scarecrow @ 92
Nice place to pick up handymen, though, I must say. And I haven’t even tried out Louboutins when trolling, either…
okkiddo at 52 says–”Even local ‘mom and pop’ stores have a tradition of being owned by Republican voters”
not around here……..most are dems…….
i don’t shop at home depot, never have, never will…always known that…….lowe’s put a few hardware stores out of business around here, but they are more blue, but the two hardware stores that are left is where i shop…..plenty of plants at local nurseries and local feed store/nursery…farmers market….locally owned carter lumber has the rest when you need building supplies…….
same for groceries…….family owned and run…….not as many fruits and veggies to choose from, but they have a good selection of everything else…….and they money stays here.
i shop where i know the money is going directly to someone in the community…….
a few purchases i didn’t have a choice, ie tv, so that can’t be helped, but overall, i shop locally……and it’s not such an easy thing to do in a small town, selection-wise, so some things i go without, but once you start, that’s just what you do…….
and okkiddo, even if it was a repub store, i would still probably go local and at least keep it in the community before i would give it to a chain store/corporation………
Cozumel @ 99
just wait until they see what happens after Jane gets through with them!
I’ll bet the housing market is just killing the HD and Lowe’s stores right now here in Florida. Trickle down economics.
brendan @ 86
agree with all the gore complaints. but 4 years of his speeches (2002-2006) won me over…. and it started with his sept 2002 speach against war in iraq.
Steve-AR @ 100
Agreed. You can thank Tipper for those little stickers on your albums that have strong language.
In 2004, the Home Depot PAC (yes, they have their own) gave 69% of their campaign contributions to Republicans. Any question why they support Fox?
http://pac.leadershipinstitute…..=C00284885
Shuster and Blackburn? LOL
Get her Shuster!
The Magic of Gore includes providing some great PMRC material as fodder for Frank Zappa.
This made me laugh:
Go to the Gavel Here
Look at the relevant letters links at the bottom and click 7-2-07 RNC Response to Committee About Delayed Document Production (pdf)
Now this may be transient but at the moment it displays:
Go to Lowes. Stores are cleaner and layout is consumer-friendly (as opposed to contractor-friendly). Employees are eager to help, when you need. Home Depot is the opposite on all counts.
I’ve known this about Home Depot for several years. And avoid them for that reason as much as possible.
dreamcatcher
I’m not sure yet- it’s way early- but so far I like Richardson the best. He’s QUALIFIED- knows how to run something not just legislate- and he doesn’t bullshit around- just says it. He’s the only candidate, I believe, to advocate a TOTAL withdrawal from Iraq- no bases- no “mission change”- just get em out of there.
I like his “no style” style…still I don’t know enough about him to support him- and unless he joins the top tier soon- he’s not worth voting for.
Mojo @ 69
How do I put this politely?
[edited by mod] I respectfully suggest that you might want to re-word that. Gore evidently feels like the work he’s doing now is a more effective use of his energy and influence than putting himself through the grinder again. Even if I wasn’t inclined to agree with that, it seems like it’d be presumptuous of me to second-guess that, and incredibly obnoxious to call him “unpatriotic” for that decision.
[Mod Note; Please don’t insult or attack fellow commenters. Thank you.]
Senate debate – some kind of games going on … Webb v Graham
johnSwifty @ 65
Yep, I’m in St. Paul and I’m a big fan of the Ace Hardware stores on Grand Avenue. There are still a couple good mom’n’pop stores nearby too. I kind of quit going to HD after that shareholder’s meeting where the board wasn’t allowed to show up, and I don’t miss the place much. If I need to go to a big box I’ll pick either Menards or Fleet Farm first. I wholeheartedly agree with johnSwifty about the joys of wandering Fleet Farm. I never get out of there quickly, even if I don’t buy more than I went in for. Haven’t been to Lowe’s yet, but there’s one being built not too far from home so I’ll check it out.
Jonathan Turley on Randi Rhodes gave excellent ways Bush and all could be prosecuted. Eliz DelaVega next.
Siun @ 116
i hate mitch mcconnell
I called them Home Despot since they have driven all the lovely little mom and pop hardware stores out of business. Most of their products are made in china I suspect as well… just like walmart.
How can someone love a big box store? They realy are awful when you think about it… the same damn store wherever you go… literally!
Laura Doty @ 20
this link was broken for me … i really wanted to “sign” the petition.
republicans are trying to filibuster webb amendment
Edit: saw my concern has been raised already.
You should be avoiding the huge chains like Lowe’s and Home Depot anyway. They are the Wal-Mart of hardware stores, and thrive on putting mom-and-pop hardware sores out of business. Them supporting Murdoch is exactly the move I would expect, given their disregard for local businesses and the wellbeing of the average American.
snowbird42 @ 117
It would be nice if the Democratic leadership was listening to that. Sadly, I believe that they were not.
I like tools. My favorite classes in high school were wood shop, metal shop, and auto shop. When I got to college things changed to math, philosophy and English as my faves. Don’t know why. But I still love to weld, do sheet metal work and work on wood and metal lathes, and bore auto engines etc. Weird.
I don’t know if it did any good, but I mentioned when I wrote to them that we have had a construction business for many years, and a Home Depot account and that they can expect no more of our business as long as they continue sponsoring this junk. We applied for the Lowe’s card.
Selise … me too! and I’m having trouble following what is going on.
IIRC the CEO of Target is an anti-choice wing-nut, am I wrong? Is there a list of the really “bad” CEOs?
“gooper fillibuster”
Hmm- then make em REALLY do it- make em stand there for days- weeks- reading the encyclopedia to an empty chamber- make em take the heat for blocking the vote on the budget…make the damned thing VISUAL- then americans will understand it!
Oklahoma kiddo @ 124
Nope. Not weird.
selise @ 122
I hope the Repubs’ constituents are seeing through the obstructionist craptasticity. That should burn them into orbit and out of re-election.
Save big money at Menard’s, or Lowe’s is cheaper and has better selection. Anything but Home Depot.
Rayne @ 102
I am way too innocent for this site.
snowyegret @ 61
Sadly, no. Home Depot and company drove them out of business a few years ago. (Well, mostly — there still seems to be a hechinger.com that is heir to their slogan, but I don’t see any “locate a store” anywhere on it, and I’m pretty sure all their stores are closed.)
Don’t know about Target but Home Depot is in Atlanta. What do you expect from that part of the country?
scarecrow @ 131
you and me both! altho, as prospective prey, i do find the intel useful…:>
Siun @ 127
senator webb is confused too: i’m happy to yield the floor, but i don’t know who i’m yielding too. where are we?
me: i think funding bills have usually been voted on by majority only. but mcconnell is saying that the webb amendment requires 60 votes. so reid submitted request for vote for cloture. mcconnell got pissed.
durbin now up trying to explain.
durbin: upper down vote!
rwcole @ 128
Agree! I remember how mad my mom was at Strom Thurmond for filibustering, and she said he even read a pecan pie (?)recipe into the Congressional Record.
Target is headquartered in Minnesota if memory serves- part of a big retail organization which is mostly traditional dept. stores. The dept store tradition shows in better merchandising- and in crappy buys in areas such as electronics where their buying staff appears to know nothing.
althespook @ 135
Who’da thought all you needed to do was carry around a 50 lb bag of gravel. I learn something every day.
selise @ 121
Up or down vote! We demand an up or down vote!
-GSD
selise @ 136
How to put this delicately – McConnell can go Cheney himself.
(my bold)
Redshift @ 134
Yeah, that’s what Tired Fed says. Shame, I did like shopping there.
Buy Blue, Babe!
rwcole @ 128
Those days are long gone..both parties are too soft..can’t have a three day work week and a filibuster. I can remember the days of the Thurmond and Eastland filibusters..those guys were evil but they were tough. Todays reactionaries are just evil.
durbin doing a really good job of describing republican’s blocking the “upper down vote” by threatening filibuster, slowing things down…
and, i think durbin is doing this all as improv. very impressive.
Can someone educate me on this point?
Why is the Webb amendment an amendment?
What I’m asking is: Why aren’t things like this settled in committee before the bill is reported out? It seems that would be a way around the filibusters.
I understand Lowe’s is a much more progressive-friendly business than Home Depot.
No, I don’t have data. Go do the research yourself.
If there’s a vote I hope Hilliary and Obama make it back in time. Bold mine.
The two, Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois, both of whom are supporting measures to press President Bush to bring the war to a close, are scheduled to be delivering speeches at precisely the same time in Des Moines. Mrs. Clinton’s speech is on Iraq, while Mr. Obama’s is on the economy. If the voting in the Senate takes place late enough in the day, aides said, they may make it back in time to cast votes.
Debate Is On Without Them
siun – thank you for encouraging me to watch c-span2. interesting to watch the mcconnell / reid conflict, and the durbin save.
scarecrow @ 131
you are way to a lot of things, but innocent isn’t one of them. ;-)
you’re gonna love this from think progress
bush’s approval is as low as nixon at his lowest
my question is;
what took so long and why isn’t it lower the nixon’s
http://www.kissmybigbluebutt.com
has ‘a searchable database of the DC Madame’s phone records.’
Way to go!
scarecrow @ 139
I think it’s *how* you carry it…
Twain @ 10
Very very well. Voted one of the best companies to work for.
mcjoan at dKos has a diary up on JoeL, who apparently went off the rails on Bill Bennett’s show this morning:
Really is time to get him in for some tests for one or another of the dementias, and an MRI too.
selise
thanks! I’m a hearing junkie (and half an hour behind here) and really appreciate all the work you do. Can’t wait to pop the corn tomorrow.
Costco’s biggest advantage is that it’s buyers understand their customers..Just when you start to think about something- bingo- COSTCO has it- and the quality is always VERY good.
I just tuned in to CSpan-2 to see a dead man walking and talking.
RevDeb @ 159
Hi RevDeb. So appropriate.
Kornwhole Smith @ 134
Easy! (he says from spittin’ distance from the ATL)
And for some Real News:
The US town of Springfield, Vermont, is to host the film premiere of The Simpsons after an online vote.
rwcole @ 158
I think costco is a completely differant animal then home depot, they never changed their quality, they did not put the small guy out of bussiness, they treat their staff excellant.
Rev–showed him WALKING too?
Yer right- it’s all over for this guy. They had the brain squad huddled for a week tryin ta figure out what the head honcho should say bout his war- came ta the conclusion (apparently) that he should just keep sayin the same shit- cause no one’s listening ANYWAY.
The folks in southern Louisiana are not happy with Home Depot–last I heard, HD and Lowes are selling cypress mulch that comes from the cypress groves in the wetlands there. HD has been confronted and knows the damage its doing. I won’t buy anything from either of those stores.
RevDeb @ 157
I’m not watching it but that made me laugh out loud.
Does anyone here know what the plan is for the Sara Taylor hearing tomorrow? Are they going to ask her questions, which she will then refuse to answer? It could make for some dramatic political theater. Will she answer some questions, but not others? Will she have to confer with her attorney on each?
Oklahoma kiddo @ 123
I liked shop classes and academics in high school. I think I was the only one of the “smart kids” who took shop all though high school. I got to do wood working with my dad growing up, but metal lathes and forges and drill presses are just so cool!
rwcole @ 163
pacing back and forth as he talks is probably more accurate.
Tithonia @ 166
A lot still isn’t clear. If these people were still working at the white house it would be open and shut. but the two witnesses here are private citizens, so it seems unclear. Here is a link to a raw story analysis. it suggests that at least miers will show up, but may invoke the exec priv to avoid answering any questions.
mccain just said that webb’s amendment shouldn’t be on this bill (defense appropriations).
he’s complaining because it’s july and no defense appropriations bill has yet been passed.
didn’t the republican congress never pass a defense appropriations bill?
mcccain is acting pissed. i wonder if it’s redirected agression from campaign issues?
I think it’s better if these knuckleheads DON’T answer!
“Mrs. Taylor- is it true that you stole money from the US treasury and that you were TOLD that the US attorneys were bein fired fer political reasons?”
“Ah can’t answer that cause my president told me notta.”
Redshift @ 168
Never had so much fun as when i got to use my first box and pan break.
Ms Miers- is it true that Satan now owns yer soul as a price paid for working in this godless administration?
“Ah can’t answer that cause mah president said ah shouldn’t say nothin bout Satan an stuff”.
Elliott @ 157
you are most welcome! (but thanks also go to scarecrow who suggested i do it). see you here tomorrow for the excitement.
McCain’s Corpse Is Upstairs.
selise @ 171
it might come to pass mccain realizes he can’t run for president
when that day comes I believe bush had better watch out, the floodgates will open and bush will know the revenge of mccain
I can dream, can’t I?
I’ll tell you what though…if that day comes you can bet mccain would stand a better chance of winning a primary
If you love HomeDespot (my spelling) you love capitalism, not people. Home depot disposes of employees like used cat litter with annual turnover around 25%. Only WallyMart is, I believe worse.
“Ms. Dewberry and Ah would LOVE to answer yer questions- but George Bush said that we can’t an he’s tha coven leader- er I mean- President ya know?”
what if McCain figures out that he got fooled real good by the Prez?
“John- if yah just support me an my war- yell be the next prezdint of the younited states- ah promise”!
beth meacham @ 6
Maybe the logo is, but when I was doing some research for a three-D software design company, I found out they are both owned by the same company. SO, if you get mad at one, it’s pretty pointless to leave in a huff and go shop at the other store. Maddening, I know.
PS: is my facebook thinger working? I don’t see it …
JF @ 162
don’t get too worked up, it happens around here often (regardless of TRex’s exceptional distinction).
ecoast @ 112
The quality of the merchandise I’ve looked for is far superior at Lowe’s as well.
Jane! GOOOD heads up! Grazie…
From now on, I’m taking the Lowe road. :o)
Jacqrat @ 182
I’m missing something here, jacq; are you saying that Home Depot and Lowe’s are owned by the same firm, or their website design firms are the same?
Home Depot, listed as HD on NYSE
Lowe’s, listed as LOW on NYSE
Both publicly held firms.
Jon Tester on CSPAN2 re Webb ammendment: “i will no longer give the president the benefit of the doubt that he will end the iraq war”
If you love HomeDespot (my spelling) you love capitalism, not people. Home depot disposes of employees like used cat litter
They used to have a good reputation for service, then brought in a beancounter CEO from GE and a cadre of ex-military officers, who proceeded to gut staffing levels and screw employees with pay cuts, overwork and slashed benefits. Employees laid off or quit in disgust, quality of service dropped like a brick. Stock languished, then the CEO bailed with a $200 million golden parachute. Shortsighted, ignorant, lords-and-peasants Rethug corporate America at its most classic.
I won’t shop anyplace that treats its workers like crap. Costco or local hardware retailers for me.
I can walk away from all the other Big Boxes cold turkey, but PLEASE let me have my Best Buy!
You’re in love with Home Depot?
Those of us on the left coast have been avoiding shopping there for YEARS as a result of HD’s corporate support of Bush.
Don’t you have any hardware stores left?
Ask yourself why.
HD’s corporate management is COMPLICIT.
Think that over, lest you shop from YOUR ENEMIES.
DECEMBER 4, 2003:
More
http://www.commondreams.org/sc…..204-05.htm
DECEMBER 4, 2003
More:
http://www.commondreams.org/sc…..204-05.htm
(I refreshed the comments repeatedly, but the comment didn’t appear. Sorry)
Nardelli was apparently driven out in January (07). He was replaced by Frank Blake. Both are from GE; neither had any retail experience. And:
(–wikipedia, a copied blurb found on many sites)
That’s COO of Boy Wonder’s DOE, in 2001. Now read above about the Energy bill and the cheap Chinese ceiling fans waiver.
That’s two minutes of Google time. Surely this Internets tool can be used for good by those who just like tools, but don’t realize that IF YOU LOVE TOOLS, you will LOVE NARDELLI AND BLAKE.
“Why, then, are they bankrolling Rupert Murdoch”
Since you ask, look at this link.
http://www.ainfos.ca/en/ainfos19627.html
I know this kind of reporting is treated as radioactive by the major blogs, but it’s current events, and FYI.
Twain @ 10
Lowe’s has anything HD has, with the happy addition of a thing called “Service.” HD employees just don’t givvadam.
If Home Depot IS doing as JH says, then they need to be completely boycotted. Utterly. To bankruptcy.
#195 supports this thought train of mine.
This should be a no brainer, the blog should be all OVER them for citizen actions, and we the people should take charge of our lives and hit them where it hurts.
It’s called survival . . . if ya can LIVE without yer gabled vents.
I’m pretty sure, I can find ‘em somewhere else, a bit bluer . . . should I ever need ‘em . . .
Gabled vents sounds like something outta Gone With The Wind . . . or outta the Mighty Wind . . . n I’m not just fartin around here, people. ;-)
“If Home Depot IS doing as JH says, then they need to be completely boycotted. Utterly. To bankruptcy.” — larue
“the nation’s second-largest retailer”
We CANNOT drive such large corporations out of business, for the simple reason that the economy forces most of their customers to shop in such places for PRICE. People on budgets will generally choose price over such niceties as not supporting COUPS to take Amerika to war against innocent nations.
That said, though, people who have arrived at middle-class incomes who are not restricted to buying from wolves, can patronize the sheep instead.
• Don’t you have a small hardware store in your area? Find one, patronize it. Give them your love, and your cash.”
And fight the big boxes, because before long all of us will be in not-so-big boxes, but it would be nice for our communities to survive without Corporate Stalinism driving us into a for-profit neo-Communist system of mega-retail, crap jobs, and monoliths run by God-damned W-luvin’ Busheviks.
But that doesn’t mean you have to stop shopping at Home Depot. Every big box brings people in with sale items with thin or no profit margin. Show up, buy the sale items, and leave.
Get what you can’t get elsewhere at HD if necessary. It’s not about boycotting companies out of existence, it’s about keeping them as OUR customers, instead of as the determiners of our fates.
RevDeb @ 23
No more HD for me, either. Not only did the former president of HD host a Bush fundraiser, he also instituted one of the most draconian policies in retail history to harass and cajole Home Depot customers and employees to prevent them from claiming injuries that happen in their stores. Whenever there was an “incident” in a store, management was ordered to put extreme pressure on the injured party to have them sign affadavits declaring that they weren’t injured, wouldn’t sue, etc.
For the love of god, Jane. Please stay out of Home Depot.
How can anyone NOT know that Home Despot is a fiscal conduit for right-wing authoritarianism?
And you call youself Progressive?!
Home Depot, WalMart, Circuit City, and more are all on my shit-list.
dump the depot – get the Lowe-down.
.
I live in a small town that is growing fast. We have a new Home Depot in town. We also have a family owned Ace Hardware. Loews is about 20 minutes in the closest big town. We go the local Ace first, even though they are a bit more expensive on some things because they are wonderful to their customers and they were here when no else wanted to be. Next, we go to Loews which we really don’t like as well as Home Depot, but we have known about HDs politics for a long time. We try and shop as blue as possible. If you follow the financial markets, Home Depot has been tromped by Loews because Loews has superior management. We’re getting a Costco soon, but this one won’t have a lot of building materials like some do.
Elliott @ 83
What’s with the accent over the “a” in Sanchez?
Sánchez is correct Spanish.
i don’t understand about all the angst people use in their shopping habits…Home Depot Has been all red all the time…i stopped shopping there several years ago…it is important to do these things, if we do not, we give up one of the frw cards we hold as consumers…HERE are the rules kids: Green first; Blue first/second; RED last, or @ crisis only.
Is that so hard? American consumers….oy.
Yup, a true Dem should shop at Lowe’s, which is better anyway. Lowe’s gives primarily to Dem candidates and Home Depot primarily to Republicans. Ergo, support Lowe’s. It’s just that simple.
Oh, and I second the comment about Ace. My local one is walking distance and incredibly helpful (just like the commercials say!) so they get my bucks first.
Home Depot has a slightly higher quality product line than Lowes, but both are building supply analogs of the Volde-mart business model. Big boxes wiping out local suppliers, even in the plants trade. I mean the plant nursery/garden center trade is by and large a difficult business to be in as it is, but now you have to find a niche that isn’t covered by the vertically integrated retail giants.
One of the drawbacks of buying plants from the big boxes is you wind up with material that is not acclimatized to the local area, has been forced to the size you find them in and will struggle much more to become established once in the ground, and you have to deal with personnel who have little understanding of the merchandise.
But, I must confess, whenever I’m in one of two big building supply boxes, I wind up spending at least an hour sussing things out or just browsing for ideas. But I usually avoid the plant area. It’s too sad a place to visit.