Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Checking The Facts

There is one thing I like and that is a real Presidential Race.

It has been a long time since we had a race for President where it is not a forgone conclusion about who is going to be the nominee for one or both parties.

This year so far has been fun and interesting to watch. Maybe you are tired of a the whole thing already – but I am enjoying every minute.

What I have not appreciated has been the “swiftboating” of candidates on both sides.

Last week I got an e-mail forwarded from a friend that questioned Barack Obama’s Christian faith and whether or not he was some kind of undercover Muslim spy sent here to infiltrate our government from the inside out.

Now, this friend is someone that I have known for almost 30 years. He’s a school teacher. He’s bright and intelligent – and yet he forwarded this e-mail filled with lies and half truths designed to plant suspicion in the minds of its readers. After all it has to be true – it is in writing!

Why do we do that?

Why do we suspend all the normal rules that we use to judge whether something is believable or not just because it comes in our inbox and we see it in writing?

It seems as if critical thought goes out the window.

I don’t have an answer – but I think it goes back to our human nature that always seems to expect the worst in people.

Not the nature of Jesus who always looks for the best in someone.

It also goes back to fear - fear of change and fear of the future.

The site in the link above will help you to check the facts on Obama.

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Happy New Year

I am have been away for a week or two...

The past two weeks have been pretty full with learning my way around a new job. There are people, processes and programs to learn.

I met with the regional executives on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. One of the great things about working with this group of people is that I have built some great relationships with these folks over the last four years in my previous position. They know me and I know them and there already exists a level of trust and sense of respect. Mostly because we have worked through some serious and delicate issues together.

Over the next several weeks I will meet with the rest of the organization, spend some time in the field, and learn a whole lot more about banking.

We are moving on to the next stage of construction at camp. Heating, plumbing, insulation and siding. The weather is a big factor in the whole process. But it's getting there.

Monday, January 07, 2008

Real Clear

I know that some of you hate it when I talk politics - but I must point you to one of my favorite sites. Real Clear Politics is a great site to see both parties in an unbiased manner, consider the issues and see if the candidates are sticking to them.

I would encourage you to check out the link above.

Work on the "camp" is at a halt during snowmobile season. We should be starting back up in a week or so. The "weather people" are predicting a warm February. That would be such a bonus it is comes true.

Have a great week...

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

New Year – New Job

It is a new day. Starting today I have a new job in a new office 19 floors above my old one.

I have moved from being an Employee Relations Consultant to a Retail Line of Business Consultant. While it may not sound like much of a move – it is a pretty huge move for me.

Before I helped individuals and the impact I could have was based on the number of folks I could physically come in contact with each day. Now I am working with a particular Line of Business and the activities and consulting I will do has the potential of impacting many people across the Line of Business.

One of the things that I will not be doing any longer is notifying people that their job is gone. I will not miss it a bit.

So today I am unpacking into a new office and I am following up on issues that were still unresolved from the end of last year. But it is good to be doing something new, different and challenging.