Boeing Co. machinists walked out on strike Saturday after contract talks arbitrated by a federal mediator failed to produce an agreement. While strikers say the key issues for them include pay, outsourcing, retirement and health care benefits, the rank-and-file members just don't get it.

One striking Boeing worker said, "We're not greedy, we just want a piece of the pie. They offer us bonuses. We don't want bonuses." Machinists want an improved 401k and improved vacation, he said. But, what good is an improved 401k if they're going to allow the government to continue to devalue any gain they manage to achieve?

Boeing's three-year contract offer included bonuses totaling at least $5,000 and averaging $6,400, raises averaging 11 percent, pension increases and a 3 percent cost-of-living adjustment — $34,000 in average pay and benefit gains per employee, according to the company.

The average Boeing machinist earns $27 an hour, or about $56,000 a year, before overtime and incentives.

While I would agree a 11 percent raise and 3 percent cost-of-living adjustment is a joke, the punch line is not the amount of raise or COLA… it's the fact that some of these same machinists will go to the polls in November and choose a corporate picked Presidential candidate that will reduce the purchasing power of whatever raise they get by far more than anything they hope to gain.

Union officials said it was the issues of job security and rising health costs that could not be resolved. But, it's these same union officials that will support the hand-picked corporate Presidential candidate that will outsource more jobs overseas and raise everybody's taxes in order to line the pockets of their health care industry buddies as they fleece American workers.

The corporate political puppets in government don't want you to "get it," your union bosses don't want you to "get it," the Boeing Company doesn't want you to "get it," and the striking machinists certainly don't get it. So, they strike and whatever concessions they manage to get will be gone before they collect their next paycheck.

Until the workers at Boeing and across America wake up to the looting going on with their labor, stand up to the forces that are stealing their wealth, demand accountability from their leaders, and a return to a sound monetary policy, the cycle will continue… and you will lose.

boeing, economy, IAM 751 Machinists, unions

There is nothing nicer than receiving a gift relating to one's passion. If your loved one's passion is gardening, then show your thoughtfulness by giving a gift that will be truly appreciated.
There are so many great gardening gifts that the only constraint is your own budget.

If your budget is small, go for things like gloves, kneepads or even a shady hat. A pretty pot (or a watering-can) filled with a small bag of potting mix, a packet of bulbs, some gloves and a small trowel or other tool will be received with delight by most gardeners. There are many hand tools at hardware stores that are reasonably priced.

If you feel that is too ordinary, how about a subscription to a gardening magazine? A tiny bit more expensive perhaps, but it will give twelve full months of delight. A book on gardening is another idea, but make sure your recipient does not already have the one you choose. Books are often heavily discounted at Christmas time, so you may get a bargain.

On the other hand, a pot that contains a flowering plant is usually a welcomed gift. Be sure to choose a plant that is suited to your climate. Sometimes plants are sent from tropical to temperate zones and kept in artificial conditions in the store. These plants will not do well once taken from their environment. Shrub roses are hardy and attractive and grow in many climates. Tulips do best in the cooler climate.

If your budget is strong, a more expensive tool may be appropriate. A pull-trolley is easier to use than a wheelbarrow and, like some electric tools, is still not terribly expensive. Small electric tools such as whipper-snippers can retail for as little as $20.00. Or if your friend has a hose but not a hose reel, then that would be a more useful gift that he would truly appreciate.

Automatic lawn mowers, electric cultivators, hedge trimmers and brush cutters are in the more expensive price range and you are the only one who can decide whether that is an appropriate gift. However, when the recipient realizes you have given a gift that complements his passion, expensive or not, it will certainly become the best gift your friend has ever received.

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Huge selection arts, crafts, and food produced and created by Kansans perfect for gifts and home decor

Kansas Originals specializes in custom gift baskets filled with Kansas products.

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Students are heading off to school and parents are looking to save big on Digital Cameras, Laptops, and Printers. Note the fresh, green HP Printer. We have an exclusive on the color which can brighten up the desk and the dorm room.

digital cameras, dorm room, hp printer, laptops

Watching movies is a great escape from the stressful lifestyle we live in. Watching movies on a wide screen and surround sound can take you far away and into the movie scene you are watching. You watch it as if you were there. Until recently, we could only experience this escape in a cinema. However, modern technology can provide this same sight and sound experience right in your own living room. Read on to understand how these basic components can deliver the best cinematic experience to a home theater system.

Home theater experts will tell you that the most important consideration in setting up a home theater system is the size of the room where you will set up the home theater system. The most important component of the home theater system, which is the television, is dependent on the size of the room. The recommendation is at least a 27 inch television set at a minimum. It is also a recommendation that a flat television is good for a home theater system because it exhibits less glare and produces a crisper image.

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Another major component of a home theater system that depends on the size of the room is the speakers. The number of speakers for your home theater system is dependent on the size of the room. You may add up to six speakers from the basic three speakers if you want a more lifelike sound. Adding a subwoofer may also be good to achieve a complete surround sound like in the movie theaters. Three speakers should be the minimum; you may go up to six if the room is big.

A minor consideration is the power rating that will determine how loud your speakers can be. Of course, almost all these depend on the size of the room to where the home theater system is going to be set up. A bigger room requires more investment than a smaller room.

Another major for your home theater system is the DVD player. It is recommended that DVD players with progressive scan will be chosen. This is because progressive scan produces sharp and flicker-free pictures. This however points back to the choice of television unit; you will need to make sure your flat screen television supports progressive scan signals.

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You may also want a five-disk carrousel DVD player. This will avoid having to stand up from your seat to change discs every so often.

Finally, you may want to consider hiring a home theater expert, if you can afford it. The home theater expert will be able to effectively design and set up your home theater system for you. Your home theater designer may also add some features like home theater seating and other home theater furniture to be able to give the complete home theater package that closely resembles a real movie theater. Having the finest and high-quality home theater system will give you the most sought after set up that you could flaunt and enjoy to the max.

Is this the scene that Intrust Bank customers will face in the next six to twelve months?

It's a scene unfolding for banking customers across the country and many fear it to be more commonplace as more and more banks are caught in the bursting economic bubble.

A bank run (also known as a run on the bank) is a type of panic which occurs when a large number of customers of a bank withdraw their deposits because they fear it is, or might become, insolvent. Banks retain only a fraction of their deposits as cash: the remainder is invested in securities and loans. No bank, including Intrust Bank, has enough reserves on hand to cope with more than the fraction of deposits being taken out at once. As a result, the bank faces bankruptcy, and will 'call in' the loans it has offered. This can cause the bank's debtors to face bankruptcy themselves, if the loan is invested in a plant or other items that cannot easily be sold.

How much money will it take to bail out the banksters?

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insures each depositor up to $100,000, but beyond that… the depositors lose if the bank fails. The FDIC expects to spend between $4 billion and $8 billion — to bail out IndyMac alone. To perhaps provide some scope to the expected fallout, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson want to tap the U.S. taxpayer to provide unlimited liquidity to prevent the expected financial collapse.

"It can't happen here," you might say.

Tell that to customers of Countywide Financial who suffered a bank run in Aug., 2007 as a consequence of the subprime mortgage crisis. Or what about the bondholders who witnessed the evaporation of billions of dollars in March 2008, held at the securities and banking firm Bear Stearns. Most recently, IndyMac Bank was seized by federal regulators on July 11th., after customers withdrew amounts averaging $100 million a day from the bank, forcing IndyMac to halt new loan submissions, closing its retail and wholesale lending divisions, and laying off 3,800 employees.

Despite the assurances by FED Chariman Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Paulson, investors around the world are waking up to the realization that the crisis of confidence in the US banking sector is getting worse, not better. Billionaire investment guru George Soros dubbed it "the most serious financial crisis of our lifetime", warning that there could be more big incidents ahead. And not even last week's US Government bail-out of the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could quell the panic. As customers lined up to withdraw money from IndyMac recently, two other big American banks were compelled to make public statements that they were financially sound.

The FDIC has gathered a list of 90 banks nearing failure, but have not made that list public, as it would likely cause the very run on the banks they hope to avoid. However, regulators predict that more than 100 banks will go under in the next year or so. Most of them are regional banks that specialized in riskier loans when the housing market was booming.

I don't know about you, but I wouldn't feel comfortable with my money at Intrust Bank, or any bank for that matter… especially if I had more than $100,000 on deposit. It seems to me a much safer place for my money would be in either silver or gold.

Top 10 Ways to Tell If There's a Run on YOUR Bank

10. The expected wait time on the Automated Telephone System is over 8 hours regardless of what time if the day or night you call.

9. The armored truck that comes to the bank every day to drop off cash for customers has parked in the back for the first time ever, has five more armed guards and is taking out the biggest bags you've ever seen.

8. FDIC agents are conducting casual "customer polls" that want more information than an IRS agent.

7. You have perfect credit but no matter how hard you beg they wont issue you a credit card.

6. Intrust Bank starts giving away free box seats or season passes to the Intrust Osama bin Laden Arena (now under construction) for any deposits over $25,000.

5. Sign on the door says "open for deposits only."

4. No pens, no withdrawal tickets.

3. The Bank Teller is sweating as if you walked in while a robbery is in progress and somebody is on the floor behind the counter holding a gun to her cankle.

2. Your bank doesn't even give good toasters to new customers, but the line around the block looks like they're giving away iPhones.

1. Withdrawal sheets are replaced by FDIC I.O.U. Sheets.

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AHG Group LLC, a Maitland, Fla., land developer best known for its work developing American Indian casinos, bought Wild West World and plans to hold concerts there by Labor Day.

AHG already is looking for a professional theater operator to reopen the soon-to-be-renamed Johnny Western Theatre in the next 60 days.

Plans call for a professional amusement park operator to revive the theme park, although it likely won't reopen until next spring, said Doug Spangler, an AHG official.

Beyond the first year, Spangler said the group plans a demand-driven build-out of hotels, restaurants and retail to match the Wichita area's interest in Wild West World.

amusement park, concerts, hotels, restaurants, theme park, wild west world

Westar Energy and BP Alternative Energy North America have broken ground at the Flat Ridge wind farm site, located about 60 miles southwest of Wichita, Kansas.

The Flat Ridge wind farm is a 100MW project developed by BP. Westar will own half of the wind farm and purchase, under a purchase power agreement, energy from the remaining half. Flat Ridge will utilize 40 Clipper 2.5MW C-96 wind turbine generators.

Flat Ridge is expected to go online by the end of 2008. Westar is also investing in two other wind farms, the Meridian Way wind farm in Cloud County near Concordia, Kansas, and Central Plains wind farm in Wichita County near Leoti, Kansas.

Westar and BP Alternative Energy begin construction of Flat Ridge wind farm

Organizers of the Wichita River Festival blame the economy, the weather, and their increased hard line on wearing River Festival buttons for the reduced attendance at this years Riverfest. It was estimated attendance this year was between 305,000 and 310,000, down from 385,000 at last years festival.

I hate to burst their bubble, but I believe there are also other reasons why people are not coming out for this annual event. What was once a fun family event has turned in to a Corporate pitch fest in recent years as the Festival organizers have also incrementally raised prices for the event. Now, don't get me wrong… the River Festival buttons are still a bargain at $5, but overall the atmosphere of the Festival has shifted from a family friendly one to more emphasize on money and commercialism with a strong Corporate identity campaign.

I believe another reason for the decline of the River Festival is the erosion of quality events. Again, I think this may be influenced by the Corporate sponsors being more interested in profits than family fun. I've even heard rumors that another of the flagship River Festival events, the BathTub Races, are slated for extinction.

I'm sad to see the demise of this once fun annual event, but until the organizers begin to get a clue about what Wichita citizens really want, it's not likely to improve in the near future.

attendance, bathtub races, commercialism, corporate identity, corporate sponsors, decline, family fun, wichita river festival

Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, announced that it will build the Citation Columbus plant in Kansas, securing more than 1,000 jobs and a $780 million investment.

"The Kansas Legislature's quick response to this project has cemented our decision, and Cessna is proud to call Kansas home for the Citation Columbus," said Cessna Chairman, President and CEO Jack J. Pelton. "With their quick action, the House and Senate leadership have shown the world that Kansas will compete for aviation jobs."

With this new project, Cessna will create 1,010 new direct jobs with an annual payroll of $74 million. Research shows that each aviation job creates an additional 2.9 jobs, which means a total of nearly 4,000 new jobs in Kansas as a result of the new plant.

Cessna is investing $780 million into development of the Citation Columbus, Cessna's newest and largest business jet. The new plant will be a stand-alone facility that will house engineering offices and final assembly of this state-of-the-art $27 million business jet.

The Kansas Senate voted to provide up to $33 million in bonds to secure the plant through a pool of money designed for aviation projects. The Kansas House also passed the bill sending it to Governor Sebelius for her signature. Governor Sebelius has provided her full support for the project.

"From the beginning, Cessna was clear that they wanted to build this in Kansas," said Kansas House Speaker Melvin Neufeld. "We knew we had tough competition from other states, but we also had the home court advantage. Our message is clear too - we want these companies and these jobs in Kansas."

Kansas Senate President Steve Morris said, "We applaud Cessna's immediate decision regarding this project, and we appreciate their willingness to provide us the opportunity to respond to them and the means to choose Kansas. Aviation is a cornerstone of our state's economy, and we are excited about Cessna building their future here and offering our citizens the opportunity to receive the benefit of these high-paying jobs."

A study by the Center for Economic Development and Business Research at Wichita State University reported that for each $1 the state invested, the state would receive $2.14 in return revenues.

The Greater Wichita Economic Development Coalition (GWEDC) worked closely with the State Department of Commerce and local partners to help secure financial incentives for the project, as well as the state response. Its partners are the City of Wichita, Sedgwick County, 125 business investors through the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce and seven counties in the region.

Cessna had publicly said their preference was to locate in Kansas, especially because of Wichita's skilled work force, the National Institute for Aviation Research and the new technical training school at Jabara Airport. However, as Cessna evaluated its options, they determined that in order to fulfill their fiduciary responsibility to their shareholders, Kansas needed to be more slightly more competitive.

"We needed to make this decision quickly and the Kansas Legislature was very proactive in its response," Pelton said. "This is a perfect example of our partners at the state level understanding and responding quickly to a very competitive global business environment. We thank all for the support we've received from Governor Sebelius, Secretary Kerr, House and Senate leadership and our legislative delegation. We look forward to the Governor signing the bill, and we especially look forward to hiring more of the great people of Kansas to be a part of building this exciting new aircraft."