I’m Just Sayin’

News alert for the day is that lenders are getting nervous that homeowners are committing short sale fraud on their foreclosure proceedings with their homes. It seems that the latest news on the Housing Wire is that homeowners are reported to be selling their homes to someone they know and then buying back the house from that one party. Here’s the deal: homeowners want to keep their homes. Here’s the question: why on earth would they short sale a house to someone they know and then buy or rent the home back?

ANSWER: Because they want the paperwork straight.

Here’s the long and short of it. With so many foreclosures in today’s economic climate, big banks hope to recover their losses by forcing foreclosure on many homeowners. As I am working my everyday job of reviewing homeowners records and working for attorneys fighting fraud by the lenders, I see so many mortgages with screwed up paperwork and clouds on the chain of titles because lenders are not doing their due diligence. However, up to this point many (and I say many but definitely not all) of the foreclosure cases are being thrown out of court, lenders or plaintiff’s are taken to task by judges and forced to produce the original documents, that lenders are now trying a new tactic to ruin people’s lives for the sake of greed.

I have been to a few sheriff’s sales to observe these foreclosure auctions for my own education. Here’s what the deal is: the Big Banks, Lenders or Mortgage companies that have forced foreclosure on many American families, are sending “straw buyers” or someone from their “camp” to purchase back the property. Isn’t this the same as calling the kettle black when they are accusing homeowners of purchasing their homes back and the lenders are doing the same exact thing but they are now calling these poor homeowners “fraudulent?” Excuse me, you (meaning the BIG BANKS and friends) foreclose on millions of properties, many of which are illegal, and you want the homeowners to take the blame? What freaking school did you go to? And what church did you go to? How do you sleep at night knowing full well that you committed fraud on your books and ousted an innocent family from their home? You cause the greatest American economic meltdown and you are accusing the American people of fraud?

Is there a dictionary in the house? Better yet, these greedy wall street fat cats needs some serious psychotherapy and a few good years in the big house.

I’m just sayin’ read the article and you be the decider.

Short Sale Fraud Fears Grow as HAFA Gets Set to Pop

I do know from my work that there are scammers out there that may lead the average person down the wrong path in search of a remedy for their foreclosure. Folks, I have said this many times, take the time to interview several attorneys, go to the links on my site here, and get yourself some representation.

My experience is that Lenders or Plaintiff’s will not do any loan modification or remedy with you. They say they will and then they don’t. Protect yourself with a licensed attorney and make sure that attorney knows his stuff in foreclosure defense before you spend your hard earned money on him or her. If they are not a licensed attorney, I would strongly encourage you not to engage with anyone that isn’t a legal service or licensed attorney in your state. There are people out there that will take advantage of you so they can make money. Including the lenders themselves, which they have already done and now are basking in the sunlight of legal greed.

Can’t buy me love but you can buy my house in a short sale. How twisted is that?

Open Letter to Media Political Pundits

Dear Political Pundits (and you know who you are),

I want to bring it to your attention that your reporting and dissection of all the political events is getting to be a bit overbearing and tiresome. I want you to know that I always change the channel. You are over the top. While it’s important to air important events and speeches, such as President Obama’s State of the Union Address, it is quite apparent that you don’t respect the intelligence of the American People.

Case in point, Wolf Blitzer on CNN had a team of 20 reporters to “break-down” the President’s speech. It was as if CNN broadcasts this garbage because CNN not only wants ratings, they want to get the point across that American’s don’t understand english.

Further, you have people like Rush Limbaugh, who lives with a shoe in his mouth and everyone knows it. Leave him be and let Keith Olberman have at him. Simple solution. Rush can say what he wants but he’s not in power, he isn’t an elected official and quite frankly only people who don’t want to make decisions for themselves listen to his childish gibberish.

To Keith Olberman, you don’t have to apologize for anything honey. You just keep on keepin’ on.

As for the President’s State of the Union Address, he said what he said, he meant what he said, and he said what he meant. It was pretty clear to me.

Then the Republican Party invited him to a luncheon and had a great open dialogue.

Republicans need to understand that it was the Republican Party who was in power for the last 10 years and it was the Republican ideals that drove this country down and further it was the Republican Party that drove the last nail in their own coffin. The Republican Party really needs to revamp their purpose and prose. Quite frankly the ONLY platform they have is to criticize the President and be stubborn children in the Senate and House chambers, immaturely holding back the healing and recovery of our country.

To both the Democrats and Republicans, stopping wasting taxpayer money with your squabbling and get some work done. Good grief, all of you need to work on your ethics and behavior. We, the American People, sit out here and see day after day your inability to get your work done. Just think of the example you are setting for our young people, the next generation that will be leading us.

As for MSNBC, ABC, CNN, FOX, and all the other news organizations, I’m switching to the comedy channel. I can’t begin to tell you how much your reporting is self serving and separates the American People. We need jobs. We need you to report about the foreclosures and the fraud lenders are committing in the courts and to the American People. We need you to report the facts, not your opinion. Let’ Keith Olberman and Rush Limbaugh have at each other. That’s entertainment. But your dissection and dilution of the most important speech of our times is disgraceful and boring. It’s the media that doesn’t get the American people and it’s the media that slants politics and it’s the media that creates the separation of political parties.

I’m asking you point blank: Can you be bi-partisan? I wonder if you can do a better job of using the important tool you have, which is television, and help our country in a more positive way. People need inspiration not degfragmentation I’m just sayin’.

Peace.

THE GOOSE THAT LAID THE GOLDEN EGGS — Another fairy tale from Wall Street

Today marked the first public hearings by the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission on the financial meltdown of America. Truly to look at these men, and yes I will say that men are behind this multi-layered ponzi scheme, is like looking at a criminal who committed serial-murders with incriminating evidence and he claims innocence. It’s the old Deer In the Headlights look of “huh? what me?” Mark Zandi just finished speaking. These are experts. The financial institutions that chose greed above the law deserve to be brought to task for their wrongdoings. You can’t blame people for wanting to own a home, or a business. You can’t blame the people for not knowing that their mortgage broker was scamming them.

Most people have heard the expression, “killing the goose that laid the golden eggs,” but many cannot recite the complete story. It goes like this:

A poor farmer one day discovers a glittering golden egg in the nest of his pet goose. At first he thinks it must be some kind of trick. But as he starts to throw the egg aside, he has second thoughts and takes it to an appraiser. The egg is pure gold. The farmer can’t believe his good fortune and becomes even more incredulous the following day when he discovers another golden egg. Day after day, upon awakening, he rushes to the nest to find another golden egg. He becomes fabulously wealthy. It all seems too good to be true.

But with his increasing wealth comes greed and impatience. Unable to wait day after day for the golden eggs, the farmer decides to kill the goose and get all the eggs at once. But when he opens the goose, he finds it empty. There are no golden eggs and now there is no way to get any more. The farmer has killed the goose that laid them.

But there is another chapter to this story that goes untold.

Although the farmer rues his decision to kill the goose, he realizes that it is no grave misfortune. After all, he has become fabulously wealthy; he is no longer a poor dirt farmer. His financial future is assured. Although there will be no more golden eggs, there will also be no more poverty. Killing the goose, while unfortunate, does not entail a financial crisis. He will be okay.

This mythical fowl tail describes America’s current economy perfectly. Our government has allowed the business community to decrease the wages of workers, eliminate relatively high-paying jobs by transferring them to foreign nations where wages are considerably lower, and create an ever growing income gap between workers and corporate officers. The mortgage meltdown is proof that these corporate officers were getting a huge increase in their portfolios while the average American, though living by honest ideals, were trapped in the game of greed by being victimized by the sub-prime mortgage ponzi scheme. These corporate officers have become the mythical farmer, and their greed is killing the goose. It’s a deletion of ethics and moral codes of business behavior. While educated with MBA’s and JD’s they KNOWINGLY committed these crimes against Americans, day in and day out, they still live in denial that they have done anything wrong. And the American people are still in denial by still trusting these institutions.

Of course, this consequence is not new; it has happened before, and Americans, at least, were warned about how business practices bring this consequence about by Thomas Jefferson who wrote, “Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains.” Yet these big banks do step into the political arena in the form of lobbyists and just about every member of congress is getting some sort of kickback for NOT passing regulatory laws on their greedy practices. Which brings me to the point of this post.

I am not siding with any political party at this point. The suffering of the American people must be addressed. As to my fellow Americans, you need to stop walking around in a daze. We the people MUST act. Even in the smallest causes, we must act to take our country back and force change in Washington. We HAVE to stop waiting for congress to help us. Looking for happiness outside of ourselves is futile. We have to do it ourselves. Democrats aren’t acting for the people and have strayed from the ideals of their party. Republicans, who started this mess in the first place, blame the Democrats and President Obama is obviously pissed off. It’s apparent he is standing alone, strong and sturdy like an oak tree. He did not make this mess. He inherited it. Though I disagree with his choice in two cabinet members, Secretary of Treasury Timothy Geithner and his sidekick Larry Summers, he’s forcing the big banks hands by putting a tax on banks that are too big to fail. Bravo. It’s about time. We never should have bailed them out in the first place.

Which leads me to what you and I can do on ground zero. Whether you are a homeowner or not, whether you are working or not, no matter what your station in life is, there is a small but meaningful action you can take. If your personal or business bank account is at any of the big banks, i.e., Wells Fargo, Chase, Citi, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and even the mid-sized banks that are regional, it’s time to move your money. Move your money to a local community bank or credit union. Take the meaning of the whole meltdown right in your own pockets. Which is where the big banks got us all. Right in our own pockets.

I know I have said this before, but we must take a stand in a way that is meaningful. If the government won’t fail the big banks, it’s our civil duty to do that. We must take evil to task. This is a non-violent action. The second thing is tear up your credit cards. Congress made the date of the fee structures on credit cards way too late. It should have been done instantly. It’s given the big banks too much time to raise your fees, which they have to tsunami proportions.

In the words of friend Bill Maher, moving your money is “hot sweaty monkey banking sex.” Not sure what he means by that, but this is a national movement that you can do right now without having to drive far. It’s painless and actually downright rewarding. To find out where in your community the local banks are, click here to go to MOVEYOURMONEY.INFO.

Peace.

I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas

For many of us, it’s the time of year for friendship, good cheer and wishes for peace. People this holiday season are saving money and spending less. The economic downturn has effected all of us as we muddle our way through the commercialized holiday of Christmas. Many people this year will not be spending Christmas the way they are used to, in a warm home, a beautiful decorated tree and lights all over the house.  They have become a statistic and a casualty of the big banks toxic asset foreclosures. In 2009, there have been 2 million foreclosures. With the coming year, foreclosures are expected to rise. Let’s face it, politicians have zero power to stop this feeding frenzy, the fleecing of America.

I look at the big banks as Scrooge only they won’t wake up on Christmas morning filled with compassion. I look at the big banks as Wall Street Terrorists, ready to do anything to rape the American people of their limited wealth. I look at their lawyers as factories for foreclosures, churning out trustee sales, foreclosure lawsuits and other fun things that hit the homeowner blindsided with little or no recourse.

Homeowners have whatever recourse is set forth by the laws and statutes of their particular state. In my state, the big banks (or wall street terrorists as I so fondly refer to them as) must file their foreclosure action in a court of law. It’s a judicial state. Non-judicial states can go straight to a trustee’s sale with little or no restrictions.

Just last week I spoke to a woman named Jessica. She called me in tears telling me that she had no idea her home was being foreclosed and that the sheriff had just come by to tell her she and her husband and children had 20 days to move out. In October she was served with the foreclosure lawsuit. She had no idea what to do except call the lender. They promptly entered into a loan modification negotiation with her. They told her they could stop her foreclosure. They never did. I researched her case history only to find that the foreclosure mill lawfirm that represented the lender, had never served her any other court filings. She did not answer the petition and there was a default judgment entered. The mill attorneys published the sheriff’s sale in a little known publication. The case history showed that the mill attorneys filed an affidavit stating that they couldn’t find her and that the home was vacant. It was not. The sheriff’s sale took place without her knowing.

There is no Christmas at Jessica’s house. Even though she and her husband are both working and have the income to bring their mortgage current, the pretender lender, which in this case is U.S. Bank, has taken their life away. Jessica had no idea that U.S. Bank had any interest in her property. Further, there was no assignment of mortgage filed in the county recorders office giving U.S. Bank any legal standing to foreclosure. Not only that, it turns out that the loan originator never filed an assignment of mortgage either. Her entire mortgage was a sham and she and her family victims of the wall street terrorist attacks on American homeowners.

Still another man, not knowing what to do when he was foreclosed on by Wells Fargo, got a call from the foreclosure mill law firm who promptly misled him and coerced him into signing a Motion to Dismiss all Affirmative Defenses and Counterclaims. Then they told him that the case was dismissed, which is wasn’t. I told him that his case was not dismissed and that he had been tricked by the attorney. He was completely distraught and angry. His constitutional rights to defend his home had been taken away from him by a trickster lawyer.

People all over the country are starting to fight back. There are a myriad of lawsuits against these pretender lenders who never expected homeowners to fight back. But they are. Because of the tireless efforts of attorneys, fraud examiners and smart laypeople, the battle is underway. It’s all over the country. I recently spoke to a couple of people that work very hard to get as much information to the public as possible. You can find just about anything you want at Mortgage Servicing Fraud. There are countless lawsuits, court decisions and a way to do that battle from your life.

More and more homeowners that have been displaced are now going back and filing lawsuits against these pretender lenders. This is why Countrywide is now shut down and absorbed into Bank of America. Further, the fraud and forgeries in many of the mortgages by Countrywide are giving homeowners the ammunition to fight back. Today, there is a multi-state class action lawsuit against Countrywide. You can find that lawsuit here which originates out of Seattle, Washington. You can also find out more information regarding Angelo Mozilo who was the CEO and has testified before congress as to fraud and lending practices that really could be the crime of the century. Angelo Mozilo even has a page in Wikipedia, defining him as one of the worst CEO’s in American History. It states, “Angelo R. Mozilo was the chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Countrywide Financial until July 1, 2008.Condé Nast Portfolio ranked Mozilo second on their list of “Worst American CEOs of All Time”. This is the same man that was Time Magazine’s person of the year 2007. What a difference a year or two makes.

Even with all of the evidence stacking up, Congress has yet to produce any sound regulations, any laws to protect homeowners and any laws forcing lenders into fair practices. Oh, yes there is the Fair Debt Collection Act, and many other Consumer Protection Acts such as the Truth in Lending Act, but they are not enforced and most local judges have no idea what that means. If you signed an agreement you owe the money and that is that. Many judges are getting kickbacks or campaign promises from the mill law firms and it’s a field day for villains. Even for myself, I have signed no mortgage agreement with the current Deutsche Bank. I have never entered into any agreement with them. Ameriquest was shut down because of fraud and forgery and illegal and predatory lending practices. No one can find the original note. There is no mortgage because it’s been traded and satisfied about three times over. Yet, like many other Americans, the pretender lenders are getting away with murder. Or at least taking away your home.

As for the holidays, well, as I get older it’s more important to me to have close friends. I can’t begin to tell you how important friends are in this life.  I do my very best to be a friend to my friends and to be a friend to those who are in the pathway of the destruction of American hopes, dreams and ideals through these unlawful foreclosures.

PEACE ON EARTH

A Non-Violent Revolution – American Style – Civil Disobedience Part 2

I recently sent an article in The Huffington Post around to friends regarding the foreclosure crisis and as I was reading it, I started reviewing the comments. There are some genius people in America. I love reading some of the comments because you can learn a lot from others that are reading the same thing as you. Plus, it gives me the hope that I am not the only one on the bandwagon to stop the madness. I paste what I felt to be the most intelligent idea since we elected those knuckleheads in the Congress and Senate.

Jim Michael — This is the largest taking of wealth and security from the middle class in the history of our country. It is immoral and shameful, and it is being done with taxpayer assistance. CLOSE YOUR BANK ACCOUNT and do business with a local credit union or community bank. Before you open an account ask them what their loan modification ratio. We found several credit unions with 90%+ loan modification ratios. What’s the going rate at the nation’s BIG BANKS…..just 7%.

Travis — the best idea here so far

BradMaurer — Interestingly, this might actually be the best way to cut the “Too Big To Fail” institutions down to size. If customers at these institutions took their business elsewhere en masse, those banks would be too big to fail any more, would they? Perhaps then they would just be “Too Closely Tied To Higher-Ups In The Government To Fail.” Not as nice an abbreviation as TBTF, but probably more accurate.

It’s clear, we do not have to do the 1960′s style protest in the streets to change the world revolution. We do it in our lives, our daily lives, more specifically, where we put our money. Henry David Thoreau was the one who said “While many are hacking at the branches, one is hacking at the root.” The fact that we give the big banks money by having a bank account and additionally the government is giving them bail out money, and they are foreclosing on a massive amount of homes, your homes, it has become increasingly clear that the Big Banks have made out like bandits. See my post of April 27, 2009 “Deregulation – A Tourists Guide to Corporate Greed.”

So what I am going to do is cut and paste this post and email it to everyone in my email box. Why? Because I think it’s time for the American People to protest this feeding frenzy on our money and our homes. And while you are thinking of how distasteful email chain letters are, think of people that have lost everything and are living in a tent somewhere with little or no hope of change in the next few years. So it you email this post to 5 friends, something good will happen to you in the next five minutes. If you email to 10 friends, something incredible will happen in 10 minutes. And if you email it to all your friends, well, you just might be a part of the biggest protest in America. This is called, really saving your money and you will benefit greatly from it.

Here’s what we do. Take our money out of any of the Big Banks and move it to smaller, independent, local banks or credit unions. Just do it. If we all do this, then at least we will have started the starvation of the parasites in the bowels of our country. If your money matters to you, then don’t give it to the Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citibank, and others. Think small. Banks that is.

Of course it won’t really put them out of business, because they own many things that we the consumers purchase, but if we start at the root of the issue, which is giving them our money in the first place, and if we can email all of our friends and they email all of their friends and so on, then maybe there’s a fighting chance for change. Unless you really believe that your Senator or Congressman is going to do their job. In which case, it would make sense for you to just sit there and do nothing and give your power to your Washington Representative or Senator. And that makes sense right, because they have done a bang up job thus far. Right?

Peace.

Exchanges between a Republican and a Democrat (in Oklahoma)

A good friend and colleague of mine had a great exchange this morning. He doesn’t know I have a blog and he’ll never know. But I felt it important to post the exchange because it truly depicts what is going on in our country. Michael Moore really effects people in different ways. He knows he is going to get slammed by stepping up to the plate and telling the truth. Some people don’t like him. He knows it. Yet he keeps fighting for the sake of the people. Here’s my exchange with my friend.

Dear :::

Michael Moore is a dumbass that is so smart that he knows he can benefit by taking advantage of people like you and many others!!! Capitalism made
this country great!! Moore’s anti-capitalism campaign/documentary appears
to be funny, but is very sad because it tends to influence smart people like you into thinking that he has the right ideas. He is a danger to this nation with the ideas he urges because of the unwitting gullibility, of people of which he takes advantage. I still have faith in the commonsense of smart and dumb people who see him for what he is, an aspiring comic who uses the very capitalism he criticizes to become richer and richer as he seeks to destroy one of the the primary foundations upon which this nation
was founded. (Religion is the other one.) The mother country was treating
its people just as Moore believes the government ouught to be treating us right now, and those mistreated people came to this land to escape
government control, taxation and oppression. The greatest nation in the
history of the world was formed and has endured for over 200 years in spite of the likes of Moore. Obama is Moore’s man who he hopes to use for his own capitalistic purposes, ie, his making, promotion and showing of his latest documentary, something that would never be permitted except in nation formed for the very purposes which he strives to destroy.
(Okay, Did you really want to hear what I thought? Sorry, but I felt I
needed to share what was on my mind. The ten or so dollars you spent on
Moore’s film could have been more wisely expended on a nice plate of food at
the corner cafe. That would have benefited an aspiring capitalist, the
likes of which Moore seeks to place under total socialistic government
control………He is a radical socialist!!!! Think about the facts.
Okay?)

My response:

Yes I humbly disagree. He is a catholic and I truly respect him. His message in this film is right on. His filming of people being thrown out of their homes by a sheriff because of a foreclosure on a predatory loan is right on the money. You and I both see that everyday and we stand together and fight for those people. And I find it surprising that you differ in opinion because of Michael Moore. He’s just telling why you and I help homeowners keep their homes. Marcy Kaptur is right on the money. She told the truth to the American people. I think Marcy Kaptur should be our first woman American President when the time comes. Elizabeth Warren told the truth to the American people. His showing that wall street has committed crimes is right on. I don’t care what side of the aisle anyone is from, he really hit the mark here and I don’t mean Marxist. Now there are Republicans I like and Republicans I don’t like. I think that some Republicans prefer dictatorship in contrast with true democracy and I think Capitalism needs to be reeled in and America needs to get back to regulatory business practices, especially by the big banks. And then the way that he brought to light the fact that Goldman Sachs bankrolls the White House and how George Bush once again screwed the American people, well, you know, that’s why the Republicans lost this election. The power of this country needs to get back to the basics that my 7th great grandfather fought for. You know, of the people, for the people and by the people. It’s in the American Constitution.

As for socialism, have you ever lived in a third world country or a socialist country to truly know what that is? Because I think that is just a term that people throw around loosely to create fear and camouflage over the truth. That is what is tearing at the very fabric of our nation. The truth is, my dear friend, is that people are losing their homes at an astounding pace and there is a crime being committed every seven seconds and all the Republican noise and fear about socialism is taking the light away from the crimes. Now, because of this film, I will place a bet that the American people will no longer put up with the Wall Street bullshit IMHO. We’ll see. For sure, Michael Moore is a true American hero because he has the guts to bring the truth to the screen like no other. He isn’t into fantasies at all. It’s not Star Wars. It’s real life. And he knows it will upset the status quo of the Republican party. And the democrat party too.

And oh, btw, Oklahoma already has a government run health care system called Sooner Care. Yeah. Not only that, people like me can opt in and get health care at an affordable price. It’s not free, but I get to choose my doctor and everything. I get cancer screenings and everything in between. It’s also for small businesses in our state that can’t afford health care for their employees. So it’s a public option health plan right here in Oklahoma for individuals, small businesses and self-employed people. Yes, and if any of the screwy Republican congress reps or U.S. Senators in our state had any intelligence, they would fight for a similar plan for the rest of America. Oklahoma has gotten the public option right and it’s already working right here in our own backyard. It’s called Insure Oklahoma. Yep. Right here in our socialist state of Oklahoma. I am truly amazed that the Republicans (and this is a Red State) got it right in this state. My hats are off to the Republicans that created Insure Oklahoma, a health care choice for Oklahoma citizens. Amazing. And then they going around slamming public healthcare (which we already have) and show that they are hypocrites.

We need to all stop shouting at each other and make our Washington representatives in the Congress and the Senate do their damn jobs and stop taking lobbyist money and actually work for the people of this country. I am tired of me, and my fellow countrymen and women suffering because of the 1% of America that runs this country. Power to the people. That’s what America is about and that is who came out to vote in the election. The people are tired of the same old Republican rhetoric.

You know, I would vote Republican if there was something intelligent that actually made sense that helped people. I just can’t vote for Chase Bank or Countrywide. Not ever going to do that. Michael Moore has now changed the rules. It’s a different game now. Hope the Republicans can figure out how to play it. If they do, they might actually win. But this fear based crying of socialism won’t get the Republican party anything. The Republicans are the most unpopular they have ever been. They are going to have to create an actual platform that is meaningful. The cry of socialism is just a sign that the Republican party has no power. And they know it.

Just my opinion, not that you asked (to borrow a phrase from a democrat friend of mine).

Peace.

EDUCATION AND THE REPUBLICAN REICH

Good heavens what is our country coming to? I am absolutely alarmed at the Republican smears from health care to education. The Republican’s lost the election because they have no platform except blatant backstabbing and hatefulness toward our country and it’s leaders. Let me just make this a public announcement: I will never vote Republican ever, especially after this year of them doing everything to discredit our new President. Plus, George W. Bush was their downfall and they can’t bring anything positive to the table after that Republican failed the American people.

I am not stuck on not liking Republican’s only. I am also having a serious issue with so-called Blue Dog Democrats that are not supporting health care reform for America. I am so tired of the Washington “partyline” and it’s political rhetoric on both sides of the aisle, that I am certain that most of the people in Congress are not on the side of the people.

What ever happened to “of the people, for the people and by the people?” By the way, that is not a socialist value. That’s an American value.

I had a hard time in school. I had various underlying problems at home, couldn’t focus on school and ended up barely graduating from high school. Fast forward a few years and a thousand mistakes later, I went back to school for an AA degree in Paralegal Studies. I graduated at the top of my class, the number one student of my college. It blew me away that being focused on my studies would thrust me into a world of success and fun. Yes fun.

After that, I worked in a very high level job at a very prestigious Entertainment Company, met many VIP’s and grew in amazing ways. It was beyond my wildest dreams. I was at the top of my field and loved it.

And just what did I learn in school? I learned to read. I learned to research. I learned. I learned that I loved learning. I am always reading and educating myself. Just ask any of my friends. Learning is an amazing trait that humans possess.

When I hear that a President is going to speak, I have always listened. Even if it was George Bush. Even if it was Ronald Reagan. EVEN IF It IS BARACK OBAMA.

My grandmother used to tell me that back in her day, when there was NO television, internet and just radios and newspapers (yes I said newspapers), when the President spoke, everyone sat around the radio to listen. There was no, “he’s a Republican, he’s a Democrat” it was “He’s the PRESIDENT.” Neighbors that didn’t have a radio would come to listen too. That’s how much respect our ancestors gave to the Office of the President.

Now it seems that Republican’s don’t want the President to speak to children. Are you serious? Did you even read the speech? Here’s a portion:

“And no matter what you want to do with your life – I guarantee that you’ll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You’re going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can’t drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You’ve got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.“

REALLY? I am so darn fed up with the Republican party trying to smear our children’s futures with their damn indifference.

I just wonder what will happen when our children take over our country? How can they remain competitive in the global community if they don’t educate themselves and try harder?

Here we are in the most serious time of the success or failure of our country and people are afraid of the President’s speech to encourage our young people to stand up and learn and grow. I don’t get it.

Today, I am struggling and just for kicks, I listened to the President’s speech. In part he said:

“And even when you’re struggling, even when you’re discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you – don’t ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.“

Thank you Mr. President. You are the only person in my life that encouraged me today. And I am 54. I guess that I am a lifetime student after all.