Normally I stay out of the usual rants that appear to be so popular with some on this site.  I do read them & I sometimes think I should respond to this one or that one.  But I check this site when I am at work, and I am WORKING.    When I go home, I am home--no title thoughts, (not many anyway).  So sometimes I don't get back to the forums for a couple days.  Usually whatever I wanted to say is moot by then. 

Already I am late with this post but I just couldn't let this one go.   I am referring to the post that ended up on Steve Meinecke's post regarding Licensing in Kansas, and disintegrated into the bashing of and the subsequent defense of NALTEA.

Kevin, I think you enjoy poking sticks to see what kind of response you will get.  You love to argue.  You would have made an excellent trial attorney.  But I do think that I need to clarify a couple points regarding the idea that Ellen Malloy came up with regarding NALTEA becoming a title insurer.  You state, "All the NALTEA fanatics wanted nothing to do with it...was not the reason for which NALTEA was formed....  Trotskyites of the craft I assume it is time to soil your hands with hard work rather than reside in an ivory tower"  and then later " the entire idea was tabled within a matter of hours if I recall". 

First of all "it" was not tabled in a matter of hours.  Ellen's post started on 5/12/06 & after many subsequent posts, ideas, opinions etc, the tread ended with Scott Perry's last post on 5/23/06.  If my math is correct, that is 11 days. 

Not all posts were from fanatical NALTEA members.  And it was not me or NALTEA that stopped this avenue of research, or this idea.  I went back & re-read all the posts, so that I was sure that my memory was correct, perhaps you & others might want to do the same.  The thread is under"Please Read & Question about  the Plan".  I was president of NALTEA at that time & I thought about printing my former response here, but it was much too long & would just muddle things further.  The short version is I stated that NALTEA welcomed all ideas & suggestions from members or non-members.  If someone wanted to present a idea or plan to me, I would take it to the board & that the membership would be the body that would make the final decision on such a matter.  We do not automatically dismiss any ideas.  I offered information and suggestions from my experience with licensing in the 50 states, and contacted a friend who has done this at least  3 different times for other companies to get his advise & passed this information on to Ellen.  
I know that some had started to look into this idea, & I think what happen was, they found out how difficult a project it was.  Regardless, it died.  I never heard anymore & NALTEA never received a proposal.   So for you to infer that NALTEA was the one that killed this idea is more then unfair.  There may have been members from NALTEA who voiced there opinion that was not to your liking, but NALTEA does not & never will try to tell our members what they can think or say.
I also found it interesting that Ellen's initial post had 657 views your very next post, had only 167, the next 128 and it continued to decrease to Scott's last post with 47 views.  Do you think that maybe the majority of the people who were reading the forums were not interested in the idea or maybe NALTEA controls their minds as well. 

As I have stated before, I have a hard time understanding the animosity for NALTEA.  We don't have all the answers.  We are just abstractors like everyone else, trying to stay alive in this ever changing industry.  This is the path we have chosen to try to make a difference.  Everyone has to make the decision as to what they think is best for themselves. I respect those decisions & I would ask that you respect mine. 

If you do not want to join NALTEA then don't.  If you have ideas to make this a better place for abstractors then put those ideas into action.  If you think that a union is the answer, then why don't you form one.  It is easy to sit in your "Ivory Tower" & tell everyone else what they are doing wrong.  Get YOUR hands dirty for a change. 

The ideas expressed in this post are mine & mine alone.  I do not speak for NALTEA or the NALTEA members.

Wanda Steudel
AccuSearch Co