Today, President Obama did what many of his predecessors have done,abused his authority to drive a specific agenda that he knew would not get passed through the normal legislative process.  By making recess appointments that seem to contradict even his won administration policies he has effectively demonstrated that he does not care about the checks and balance role that Congress is constitutionally required to perform.

I do not have the time to research this completely now but will write a followup next week where I can discuss the abuses that have occurred in this area over the last 25 years.    I am sure that we will find many.

Times have changed!  The company no longer needs the help of government officials.  They have the contract and apparently do not feel a need to honor the commitments that they made to get the support of the Kansas congressional delegation.  This should send chills down that back of  politicians everywhere.  They depend on being able to steer contracts and bills through Congress to award (or payback)  local companies.  This a big plant with a very skilled work force in a city with deep aviation roots.  It a plant this size can be moved to another state, it should be relatively easy for others to do the same.

Boeing has spent over $3.2B with more than 475 local suppliers in 2011.  Many of these suppliers will continue to supply parts and services to other Boeing facilities.  But chances are good that many of these suppliers will also relocate in an effort to remain competitive with other potential suppliers.  When building a product as large as Boeing does, a lean and efficient supplier network is crucial.  Location will make the difference in the awarding of future supplier contracts.  Kansas stands to lose 2 – 3 times of indirect jobs as a result of this decision by Boeing.

Perry is putting on a full court press on the aground assualt  with fellow Governors Sam Brownback, and Bobby Jindal visiting the state to drum up support for their guy.  If he does well and gets a respectable 4th place showing, Perry will be on to New Hampshire as well.  Otherwise he heads back home to Texas to watch some bowl games!

Michelle Bachmann starting the campaign season with excite but has struggled to carry that passion though the last few months.  Without a surprising finish in Iowa, she will be forced to drop out and urge her small but excited base to flock to another candidate that shares he conservative credentials Could be a boost for Santorum or Perry if he is still in the game.

Jon Huntsman has focused on New Hampshire so one would expect him to continue on the Granite State to make his last stand

Newt Gingrich has down, up and now back down.  Without something to spark the enthusiasm about his campaign,he is probably done immediately after New Hampshire if not before.  He has some of the same elect-ability issues that surround Ron Paul.  His private life and career does not match the narrative that he is trying to sell.  Not many are buying it!

Buddy Roemer’s campaign has not generate much enthusiasm.  There does not seem to be a path for him to get to the nomination with the fundraising that will be needed to overcome a slow start in Iowa.

As the year came to a close with are beginning to see some light at the end of the current economic struggles.  Many thousands have found work, troops have began to come home from Iraq and Afghanistan and America is getting the chance to see and hear ideas from a new crop of political leaders.  Although there is much work to do, we can be hopeful that the 2012 elections will force Congress and the administration to work together to implement policies that will have lasting impacts to the country.

On a personal level, I am working a permanent full-time job for the first time in over 2 1/2 years, my son just landed a great internship, my daughter is thriving in college, my other kids are growing as individuals and my wife is experiencing success in a position that she loves after being thrown back into the work force after 20+ years as a stay at home mom.   I could not be more proud of them as they accept the the challenges that life has presented the with and overcome all obstacles that are placed in their paths.

As we move into the new year, I wish for each and everyone of you the chance to experience all the blessings that life has to offer.  There will be challenges.  There will be struggles.  There will be times when you think times will never get better.  I assure that they will.

God Bless you and Happy New Year!

The Human Rights Campaign has latched onto the controversy as a way to bully the company into participating in its annual Corporate Equality Index.  This is an annual survey put together by the gay rights activist organization that rates companies on their policies as they relate to LGBT issues.  The report lists rates each participating company and provides a numerical score that can be used to compare companies against a each other with regard to non-discrimination policy, domestic partnership benefits, etc.  This useful information for both employees and customers.  However, the annual report is often used to bully and intimidate companies into expanding support of gay rights in the corporate community.  The organization has a history of using strong arm tactics and threats to get executives to support their goals.  

Regardless of your thoughts or opinion on gay rights or workplace equality, what is at issue here is something else.  We have a privately held business that is being harassed and intimidated based upon their Christian identity.  As a private entity, Chich-fil-A has the freedoms to operate the business according to their values.  Reading the comments on the CNN article and other internet sites, we can see that many on the left see tolerance as a one way street.  Mr. Cathy has affirmed his families belief in the Biblical definition of marriage and expressed their “love and respect for anyone who disagrees”.  Should they be tried with the same love and respect?

As individuals we all the have the right to choose where we eat and spend our hard earned dollars.  However, HRC should be using the situation to try to force participation the the annual Corporate Equality Index.  Their participation serves no purpose other than providing a tool to attack the company.  Given the stated values of the founders and the corporation, any reasonable person would expect that they would score lower than larger, public corporations who have given into the the pressure from HRC in the past.

With over 7000 employees in the KC metro area, this is a fantastic and free opportunity to reach those employees.  Sprint has participated in the corporate perks program for a number of years.  This benefited the employees with discounts at mainly national chains.  With the Hometown Proud program, sprint customers can list special offers and discounts to Sprint employees.  Kind of like a private label groupon!

This is a win – win for both the small business owner as well as the Sprint employees.  Something everyone should take advantage of.

The law was originally passed to ensure that the children of freed slaves would enjoy and be entitled to the same opportunities provided by citizenship as the children born to parents who voluntarily came to this country.  In hindsight we can see that those same opportunities did not come over night.

The basic premise of the amendment is that the location of a child’s birth is not decided upon by the child.  For over 100 years, Americans have determined that children will not be punished; or denied citizenship based on the the actions of others resulting in their birth on American soil.  In the current scenario, we are talking about the illegal immigration of the parents.

Children every day are born into situations where they have no control.  To deny them citizenship is to immediately mark them as being second class; or inferior to children granted full and complete citizenship and violates that basic principles of decency under which this country was founded.

For the victims and their families, their lives will never be the same.  A trip to the local supermarket will forever be a constant reminder of how vulnerable we all continue to be.  Whether we are a six year child, a Federal Judge or a sitting member of Congress, we all share this same sense of vulnerability.

As our elected officials and the media begin to let the events of last Saturday sink it, all must approach with caution any short sighted reaction to place blame on a particular political philosophy.  Already the editorial pages have begun to speculate on the motives of the suspect and individuals such as Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh have been publicly called out.  A caller into NPR this morning sought to put the blame on squarely on the 2nd amendment.

Even more dangerous to our Democracy is the rhetoric coming from the mouths of our elected officials.  Many have commented that they are considering limiting the opportunities to interact with their constitutes.  They continue to blame the heated rhetoric for instigating this type of behavior.

This is an opportunity for the new Congress to step up to the plate and to exercise some leadership.  It is a time to think before speaking and to debate and examine before passing near jerk legislation that separates us from our government and erodes one more small chunk of our freedoms.  If this type of tragic event is allowed to further build a wall between us and our Government, we will have paid a large price and our Democracy will have lost some of it’s luster.

Call it what you want.  Poor planning on my part. Bad Luck. An on-going recession.  Their are a number of excuses but by the time I got to this point, I just needed to see what I could do to keep my house.

I submitted all the requested documents in Augusts and waited to hear something.  I was told that they needed additional documentation.   Remember, this was just after the program changed to the point where the lenders were required to get all documentation verified prior to entering into a trial program.  I submitted the additional documents in September and again waited.

This is when it began to get really interesting.  And where I began to believe all the horror stories that I was seeing in the press.  Big Banks losing documents.  Servicers stalling in order to force consumers into foreclosure.  Pretty stressful stuff when you are a Father with 6 kids still living at home and one in college.  Plus the additional fatigue of looking for full time employment on a regular basis.

Part of my issues were a result of my changing employment picture.  I was receiving unemployment which could not be considered income since it was not expected to last another 9 months,  In addition, to that, my wife started a new position in which she was paid monthly.  This meant a 2 month wait to get payroll verification.  Myself, I was working as substitute teacher in 3 different school districts plus another part-time on-call position.  Since each of these was variable, it was difficult for me to communicate exactly what my income will be in any given month.

After 60 plus calls, I received the call on Christmas eve that I had been waiting for.  My contact at Wells Fargo called to let me know that we qualified and would be entering the trial modification phase.  The Interest rate and the payment amount are going to be very good and will allow us to remain in our home.  The incentive for making on-time payments for the first five years will allow us to gain additional equity.  The one downside is that the term is going to be greatly extended.  However, once the economy turns around and I am able to increase my income, we plan to increase our payments to a point where the house is paid off before we retire.

I wanted to share this story so that others my see that there is light at the end of the tunnel.  I still have several more months until I can reach a point where the permanent modification in put place.  But I am getting closer.