Hey!  I shouldn't take so long to write.  I missed all the fun but ironically, my conclusion in my post at the bottom of page 2 actually coincided with the panel!  Sorry Wes.

Wes, sorry about not answering your second question.  I actually did but I clicked on something else and lost the post.

Actuallly I'm guessing from what the State says that Jason was an apprentice and so he had to have put in a year.  No problem there but he did not renew his license when he started GH.  I hope whatever he did before that he enjoyed.  As far as Grant, I have no idea but again, I hope he was happy doing it but it was not as a plumber.   It's really their business as to what they did before GH but when you present yourself as one thing and you aren't, that's when I have a problem with it.  I don't like to be duped and all the talk about the RR "commercials" at the beginning of the show have really soured me as to their truthfulness and that of RR.   Just say it's a commercial and be done with it.  Don't imply or try to manipulate people into thinking you are plumbers which means you must be licensed to say that in RI.  But, as those before me have stated, it doesn't sound so great does it – "technicians" or "plumbers".  I'm sure there are many technicians who would love to have that plumbers license and that increased salary in order to pay their bills.  I do applaud RR for being upfront with the State.

Wes said:

From Websters: 1 : appealing to feelings or prejudices rather than intellect

As  in citing Jayson Blair and claiming journalism is "worth much less"  in a discussion about whether someone is or isn't a plumber.

You know, Wes, for a second there…only a second…I thought that was an insult directed at me personally.  I found it odd since we really don't do that here in the forums.  So obviously, I was mistaken.

And perhaps you were right.  Perhaps I still harbor a bit of "prejudice" against the New York Times over the Jayson Blair incident.  So, in a show of good faith, I shall leave all that behind me and cast my skeptical eye upon the original New York Times article that you linked on page 1 of this thread.  The one written on Halloween in 2002 in the Home & Garden section which prompted you to state "And to be fair, they were described as plumbers before the GH show ever aired." 

Your statement is incorrect.  "They" were not described as plumbers.  Jason is described as "a plumber by trade."  Further in the article, it makes another reference to Jason saying "(His plumbing expertise comes in handy.)"  Oddly, Grant Wilson is not mentioned in the article at all.  So to be fair, "they" were not described as plumbers.

How did Mr. John Leland, the author, arrive at the conclusion that Jason is indeed a plumber?  If any investigatory work was done by the author, proof of it is not present in the article.  Given the tone and style of the article, and the lack of any verification shown by the author himself, I believe that one can logically deduce that he simply asked Jason what he did for a living, Jason answered, and the author took him at his word.  This is the evidence that you, Wes, are presenting as fact in your argument.

If the answer that Jason has given is true, let us look at some at his other statements in the article so, to be fair…we can see what is also "true:"

"The most benign are human hauntings, which divide into three types: intelligent spirits, which can converse with the living; residuals, which are leftover energies condemned to repeat one small action from their lives, like a recurring scene from a movie; and poltergeists, usually the spirits of young girls, which make a racket and can wreak havoc on property values. Residuals are the most common and can be difficult to expel."

 "Human spirits can lift only about 3 to 10 pounds, he said, and so are limited in the harm they can do. Usually, they just want to talk."

"Inhuman hauntings might involve demons, incubuses, succubi, nature spirits or angels, he explained. They can be vicious and deceitful. ''Never believe anything you hear from an inhuman haunting,'' Mr. Hawes advised…"

Judging from the entire article, what Jason believes to be true and what can be proven or verified by others, may be two different things.  Jason believes that he is a plumber.  The State of Rhode Island does not verify this claim.  You are certainly within your rights to believe Jason and what he says to be true.  I do not.

So, there you go, my friend.  No "appealing to feelings or prejudices" this time around.  Just like you wanted in "a discussion about whether someone is or isn't a plumber."