Today, I moved in the other direction.  I placed my first ad on google adwords in my continued quest to transition from the corporate world into the education arena.  Anyone in the states of Kansas, Texas, Nebraska and Missouri who is searching for “business teachers” or something similar will be served up with my ad and link to my linkedin profile.

Business Teacher
Experienced professional looking
for teaching opportunity.
www.linkedin.com/in/markkern

Time will tell is this pays off in the long run!

If you need to get a hold of me you can will have to use good old fashion email; or if you really want to go “old school”, give me a call!

Why?  It seemed like a good thing to do.  I was wasting to much time with updates; both sending and receiving.  I enjoyed getting back in touch will old friends.  Facebook is great for that type of casual conversations and relationships.  However, I need something a little more intimate and personal with my close friends and family.  If one is just talking with your kids, parents, siblings and spouse online, you really are not doing a good job of communicating and keeping in touch.

So here is my advice.  Get away from the keyboard and go tell someone that you love them!

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad derided Obama on Wednesday referring to him as inexperienced.  I am not usually a strong defender of the President but the the Administration is correct to call out rogue nations such as Iran and North Korea as nuclear threats to the United States.

If Obama needs to be lectured on his experience, or lack of, there are plenty of folks here in the states to take care of.  No need for a wannabe world leader trying to get attention to do it.

I am currently on my second assignment with the US Census and will readily admit that the process leaves a lot to be desired.  There is an enormous amount of inefficiency resulting in a waste of taxpayer dollars.  However, most of the people that I have worked with are competent individuals who are interested in doing their best and completing assignments as quickly and accurately as possible.  Sensational headlines and scare tactic do nothing but discourage participation; resulting in an even bigger burden to taxpayers. 

• John Deere – $150 Million
• Caterpillar – $100 Million
• AK Steel – $31 Million
• 3M – $90 Million
• AT&T – $1 Billion

As the days and weeks drag on, we can expect to see more announcements from large companies around the country.  Although changes to benefits will not be immediate, it is only reasonable to assume that many will be looking for ways to reduce costs and/or pass these additional expenses onto employees.  Verizon sent a letter to employees stating that changes in the law could have an impact on both retires and current employees.

Now it appears that some Democratic lawmakers are challenging the claims made by these companies.  I guess that these public announcements don’t play into the game plan of convincing the American people that the new law is designed to expand coverage and bring down costs.  Executives from Verizon, Caterpillar and John Deere have been asked to provide documentation to congressional committees by April 9th.  Boeing and MetLife have also expressed concern that the changes could result in the coverage reductions and retirees shifting to Medicare Part D.

By focusing only on the Catholic Church; and striving to link the abuse cases to the current Pope is a failure on journalists to understand the full scope of the problem and to focus on preventing such abuse in the future.  There are hundreds of cases where institutions have ignored and hidden abuse cases with the mis-guided goal of protecting the organization or to prevent further trauma to the victims.  We see this in schools, on sports teams and in boys and girls clubs such as the Boy Scouts.  Civil authorities must vigorously prosecute such cases, not because they are Catholic Priest but because they have committed evil and disgusting criminal acts against some of the most vulnerable members of society.

Calls for an investigation of the Pope from the likes of Christopher Hitchens and singer Sinead O’Connor may make for good headlines, however, they do little to further the goal of justice for the victims of sexual abuse.  they distract from the investigations and criminal prosecutions that need to take place on the local level to punish those who committed the abuse.

Words have consequences and both sides have been spewing accusatory rhetoric over the last year.  The health care debate has brought out the worst aspects of the America’s political system from the shadows and smoke-filled backrooms and out into the open.   The back room deals are no longer hidden in the depths of a 2000 page bill, they are parading out in press releases like a badge of honor for the Representative able to sell his or her vote to the highest bidder.  It is like sex and rock and roll.  Every new generation that comes along thinks that they invented it until they get caught.  Then out comes the lame excuse “we didn’t do anything that you didn’t when you were in charge”.

As we move into the 2010 election cycle, we will hear cries to get involved, let’s vote the dirt bags out of office, and to make your voices heard at the ballot box.  However, it is different now.  There have been several significant special elections over the last 6 months.  The people have spoken and have said that they do not like the direction the country is going in and did not support this health care reform bill.  Poll after poll has indicated that the American people wanted health care reform; but not this bill.  

With the election of Senator Scott Brown in Massachusetts, the Democratic leadership heard and felt the winds of change coming.  They knew that their hold on power was slipping away and that they no longer could push their agenda through on their sheer numbers, the needed to work the system.  Was it legal? Yes!  Was it the right thing to do for the country? No!  Their arrogance and total disregard for the will of the people has pushed the extreme ends of the spectrum into their respective corners.  The only visible option is to fight using whatever means is available.  In this case, it is threats and violence.  The Democratic leadership has convinced a large portion of Americans that the end justifies the means.  

Mr. Claeys began his career in politics as a field coordinator for the Kansas Democratic Party back in 1998 but has been a registered Republican since that time. After graduating from K-State, he went to Washington DC and worked in fundraising for the Republican National Committee. While in the nation’s capital, Claeys served as director of communications for the National Small Business Association (NSBA) while attending George Washington University School of Business. He has earned a reputation as an expert on Small Business legislation and has advocated for tax-fairness in health care for small businesses.

Claeys is a certified international elections observer and has participated in ensuring that recent elections in South and Central American were fair and secure. This is the type of experience that he will highlight in candidacy for Secretary of State.

His message is going to resonate with fiscal conservatives in the state and should prove popular in attracting the support of moderate Republican and Democrats who went with Governor Sebelius in recent election. Locking down the moderates support is going to be crucial as we move into the primary season. Kris Kobach is popular with the conservative base and has already pointed out Claeys former ties to the Democratic Party.

Mr. Claeys impressive record of leadership and experience provide a solid platform to propel him to the Secretary of State’s office. Who knows? Maybe he can follow another former Secretary of State from Salina into the Governor’s office.

(Posted at Examiner.com)

The Republican and Conservatives are all salivating at the prospect of their own “golden boy” as the savior of the 2012 elections.  Nevermind that he has not even been seated in the Senate or cast a vote. Nevermind that he strongly supports the aborting of innocent unborn babies.  Nevermind that he voted for universal health care in the Massachusetts Senate but has not communicated want he supports on the Federal level; only that he will vote against the current Senate bill.

Don’t misunderstand me.  I am happy that Martha Coakley was defeated in yesterday’s election.  I am just not ready to crown Scott Brown as the new American savior.  There are still many pressing issues that our leaders must deal with.  And the one thing that Republicans do not want to do is to misread the results of the Massachusetts election.  As much as they would like to believe, it was not a resounding affirmation of the Republican strategy.  No more returning to over-spending days of the Bush era that has been accelerated by the Obama administration.  Hard decisions have to be made to get the deficit in line while taking action to stimulate the economy to create jobs.

With the magic 41st vote comes the responsibility to participate in the governing.  The Republican minority can no longer hang everything on the Democrats.  Any bill that passes through the Senate will do so because the Republicans did not stop it.  By gaining the 41st vote, the Republicans now have the means to effectively stop any legislation that they do not agree with.

More of the same or real change that we can believe in?