Tuesday, former President James (again, I refuse to use the quaint “Jimmy” for him) Carter was in Mobile to help with the building of homes in the Hillsdale area. This is a former community rented to students of the University of South Alabama. It became so dilapidated, USA forced people to move out. The homes there were soon razed. President Carter was there Tuesday to help out with his “Habitat for Humanity”. Habitat for Humanity is well known throughout the world for building homes for those who either cannot afford new homes or, in some cases, people who are just homeless.

President Carter is to be congratulated on starting this endeavor many years ago. It’s a worthwhile project that benefits those in need. I applaud him for this. President Carter gets in trouble when he tries to act like he is still President of the United States. His mission to the Middle East did nothing but infuriate Israel. Hamas has never backed down from their stated goal of crushing the Israeli state. Yet, there he was talking with these people as if they were old friends. His constant criticism of “W” (some of it being on target) and visits to our enemies is an embarrassment to this nation. He needs to stick to doing what he does best; helping those in need. He was a failure as a President. Why he continues to remind us of this fact is without any logic I can comprehend. Some in Congress have called to revoke his passport. Some say he should have been arrested upon entering the U.S. from his mission in the Middle East. He’s entitled to free speech. He’s entitled to be an idiot. He just needs to learn that few, if any, people respect his opinion any longer. He has quickly developed into somewhat a caricature of himself when he was President. Give it a rest, James.

The second big event (again, on Tuesday) Northrop Grumman announced it will break ground on June 28th at Brookley Field Industrial Complex for the air tanker project the Air Force awarded them and European Aeronautic Defence and Space (EADS). The two aviation behemoths won this contract over Boeing which is acting like the neglected child these days by whining to Congress. Boeing presented an inferior plane with high maintenance costs. After they lost, Boeing insisted that the Air Force changed the rules mid-stream so they could not present another plan that would have met specifications for the new tanker.

The GAO has a June 19 deadline to complete it’s review of the Boeing protest. Most people anticipate a favorable ruling for Northrop Grumman and EADS. The contract calls for the two companies to build KC-45 tankers for the Air Force. They also plan to build A330 freighters for commercial markets. It is a huge, huge contract. Production work is expected to create 22,000 direct and indirect jobs in the United States. 48,000 jobs are expected to be created by the KC-48 program alone. Combine this with the expected 75-100K jobs from the construction of the new ThyssenKrupp steel mill, Mobile, Alabama’s problem will be one of finding qualified workers. All three companies have stated workers hired by all construction companies and sub-contractors will have to be U.S. citizens or legal U.S. residents. All applicants will be vigorously checked. Apparently, none of these companies want any part of the hotly debated issue of illegal immigration that is burning hot in this nation.

If you are a U.S. citizen or legal U.S. resident, you are encouraged to apply. Click on one of the links to get more information. ThyssenKrupp is actively seeking qualified applicants all over the nation. Northrup Grumman is doing likewise. It is a golden opportunity for a lot of people. The only thing you’ll have to deal with, on a personal level, is the heat and humidity of Mobile, AL. Oh, and the hurricanes as well. Other than that, Mobile is the place to go for employment opportunities.