The CEO's of Ford, GM, and Chrysler, are going to Congress with their hats in their hands begging for a bailout.  They each appeared before the Senate Committee on Tuesday asking for 25 billion dollars in emergency loans to avert layoffs and plant closings. GM CEO Rick Wagoner warned that the failure of the U.S. auto industry could lead to a loss of three million jobs within the first year and it would ripple throughout communities around the country.  And in my opinion he is exactly right.  It's a lot more than just Detroit, if the big three fall, the U.S. economy is in for a catastrophic collapse.  Think about, we are talking about millions of jobs.   This isn't just going to affect people in the automotive, it will effect just about everyone and everything you can think of.  If these people lose their jobs, obviously they won't be paying their house or car payments so that will hurt the banking industry, they won't be shopping so that will hurt the retail industry, they won't be traveling or going out to eat so that will hurt the hospitality industry, and it goes on and on.  It's going to kill me to say this (being from Michigan and driving a Ford Mustang that I absolutely love so much I wouldn't drive anything else), but Ford, GM, and Chrysler?  You are getting exactly what you deserve.  Now before you jump all over me, let me tell you why I think this. 

1.)  America is no longer interested in your 12 mile per gallon SUV's.  It sure took them long enough, but people are finally starting to get it.  None of us have forgot this summer when gas was almost $5 a gallon.  And as much as we hate to think about it, those days will come again.

2.)  What about the hybrids?  What about battery operated cars?  What about 40 mile a gallon cars?  For years and years automakers fought against improving fuel efficiency cars.  And now you say they are in the pipeline for 2020?  Sorry, but America needed them yesterday.

3.)  How about the biggest one,  good old pure greed.  Does anyone realize that the GM CEO (Rick Wagoner) earns almost 9 million a year.  Some of the union workers earn $30-$40 a hour PLUS benefits.  Have you ever seen the pension and health benefits retirees get?  It would make you sick.  How many of you know someone that works at GM working 7 days a week, 12 hours a day making money hand over fist in overtime just because they can.  They all have cabins, motor homes, big expensive trucks, boats, etc.  For God sakes the GM plant near my hometown is CLOSED for the opening day of deer season!  And the UAW has demanded more and more every year or they strike.  So as much as we want to blame all of this on the CEO's, don't think the UAW doesn't have blood on their hands too.

4.)  Speaking of blood on their hands, let's not act like Bill Clinton is clean.  Please.

5.)  And what makes me the most angry about all of this, is that the CEO's of the big three were all warned years and years ago that they could not keep going on like this.  They were warned that they were going to run out of money if they didn't make changes.  And NOTHING happened.  They acted like they were untouchable and gave all themselves raises.  So like I said before, they are getting exactly what they deserved.

The sad thing about all this, the people it's going to hurt is not the people who made the decisions that led to the big three demise.  It's going to be your middle class family that will have declare bankruptcy because they can't afford their house.  It's not going to be Rick Wagoner who makes 9 million year.  I personally think, him along with Chrysler and Ford CEO's should be held criminally responsible, but that's another rant for another day.  I really think that if GM, Chrysler and Ford get the bailout they are asking for, you can kiss the automotive industry goodbye.  They need to restructure and get rid of management and have a concrete plan in place to turn things around which none of them seem to have.  They need a turnaround-not a check.  So if Congress does grant this bailout, I hope it comes with a big red stop sign and a lot of strings attached.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008 3:39:56 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [3] | 

If you are a new transfer student to Lourdes College this fall and you would like to meet other students who are transferring to Lourdes, I have just the thing for you!  On Thursday, July 31st, I am taking a group of transfer students to the Cleveland Indians vs. the Detroit Tigers.  We will be leaving Lourdes at 9am SHARP and returning around 5 or 6 in evening depending on what time the game is over with.  We will be taking a bus down there (dvd player, air conditioned, bathroom, etc.)  Your ticket and bus are paid for already, all you have to worry about is if you would like to purchase food at the game.  If you are interested in coming, please email me at kbishop@lourdes.edu or call me at 419-824-3917.  It will be a great day of fun, meeting each other, and baseball!  What more could you want?

Wednesday, July 23, 2008 2:52:04 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0] | 

I haven't blogged in awhile and I am trying to be better about blogging regularly, but sometimes it's hard to think of a topic that would interest people.  Not everyone is as interested in baseball as I am!  Well except for maybe Bob Campbell :)  

So what is new with me?  Well I just returned from Chicago where I spent four days the ACT Conference.  Now usually conferences are not my favorite thing, but I was really looking forward to this one.  A lot of the sessions were on topics I was interested in and it was in Chicago!  More about Chicago later!

One of the topics was specifically on blogging, so I thought I would attend and hopefully get some ideas on what the heck I should be blogging on.  Most of the counselors had the same question, should this be a personal blog or should this be a blog on Admissions?  The majority of the counselors said that students seem to like it when the blog is a little bit on a more personal level.  So I decided I'm going to try and mix it up, throw in some info on Admissions and always tell a little personal story :)

One of the counselors I met at the conference and one of her blogs was on what happens in Admissions after a student applies and she said that students really liked this blog because they did not know what happens after they apply.  I thought, "what a great idea!"  It's so true, even though I know what happens when a student applies, not everyone does!  So here goes!

You can apply a couple different ways to Lourdes.  You can apply online (fee waived), you can come in and meet with a coordinator and fill out an app (fee waived), or we can send you an application in the mail which is also fee waived.  Once we received the application through the web or paper, we will request your transcripts for you, if you have never attended college before, we will request your high school, if you have attended college we will need to get transcripts for any colleges you have attended, even if it was only one class.  Once we receive your transcripts, we will make an admissions decision and call you and let you know if you have been accepted.  Once you are accepted you can meet with an Academic Advisor and get registered for classes!  And that's it!  It's so simple!  The whole process sometimes does take a week or two depending on where we are getting your transcript from.  If you would like to speed up the process by requesting your transcripts yourself, that's fine, just make sure not to open them!

Now on a bit of a personal note, Chicago was awesome!  I have been to Chicago a handful of times and each time I'm there I always think I would love to there, but by the time I leave, I'm glad I don't live there.  There is never anywhere to park!  It's very frustrating.  Anyway, I have never really explored Chicago much when I have went there, so this time I decided to take a boat tour, which was really fun and interesting, I highly recommend taking one.  I even attached a picture.

I hope everyone is having a great summer and I promise I will blog more!  Go Tigers :)

Monday, July 21, 2008 11:56:39 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0] | 

Before my time at Lourdes College, I was a teacher for two years.  I always refer to it as a lifetime ago, which I know sounds crazy for someone who will be turning 30 in April (which I will save for another blog), but it really does feel like a lifetime ago.  I taught Calculus and Social Studies, and for those of you who have met me, most of you know my true passion (besides education and baseball) will always be in History.  I read History books, I watch the History channel, I subscribe to different Historical magazines.  And don't get me started talking about it, I won't shut up.  So when I came across this on Yahoo today, I had to share it with everyone.  I think it is so cool and I'm actually already planning my trip to Washington, DC.  And I'm sure after everyone sees this, they will too!  When I was little I actually wanted to be a cartographer.  I'm surprised I didn't get beat up.  Anyway, enjoy!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071203/ts_nm/usa_map_dc

Tuesday, December 04, 2007 10:33:53 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0] | 

In a different life, before my position at Lourdes College, I was a teacher.  I taught Calculus and Social Studies.  Education has always been important to me, so I'm excited to see that Lourdes College is offering a new class called "INTRODUCTION TO THEATRE."  The Instructor is Keith Ramsdell (for those of you who don't know, he's one of my favorite people on campus), and it is on Thursday nights from 5:30-8:00 pm.  The class is 3 semester hours and it is part of The Department of Language and Literature, so the class is listed as ENG 299.  The course is to help students develop an appreciation for the theatre and an understanding of how the theatre works.  This class counts as an elective toward most degree programs and there are no pre-req for this class.  And like I said, this is taught by Keith Ramsdell who is an excellent teacher and theatre is one of his passions, so this is going to be an awesome class.  If you would like more information, please contact me and I will pass your name along to Keith, or you can contact him directly at 419-517-8881 or kramsdell@lourdes.edu.  This class is offered in the spring, so hurry now and register!  Hope to see you there!

Tuesday, October 30, 2007 7:00:27 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [1] |