(Blogger's Note: Today is a hot summer day in Louisville, Kentucky. I am sitting here in my car, parked just outside the Galt House Hotel, a hotel in downtown Louisville, Kentucky near 4th and West Main Streets. I am writing these notes on my laptop while waiting for David Floyd Houston to exit the hotel. I have been trying to get an interview with David Floyd Houston for several months now to get his final thoughts on all the Vaughn-Wyrembek adoption related litigations, now apparently over with the ruling of the Supreme Court of the United States against the Vaughns back in March of 2011. Those litigations had received considerable news media attention last year and earlier this year thanks to Jason and Christy Vaughn starting what many have called a "media circus." I have been wanting to interview David Floyd Houston since last March, because he was the only legal expert in the nation to correctly predict the Vaughns would lose in the Supreme Court of the United States, six months before they did. But all my previous attempts and requests for an interview with David Floyd Houston were ignored or denied. I finally gave up any hope of getting any interviews with David Floyd Houston back in April of 2011.
But then in June I found a Louisville news blog stating that David Floyd Houston was a "KIVA Lender" (I was not sure what that was at the time) and that he and his KIVA lending teams had just celebrated making over 5 million dollars in loans to small business owners all over the world through http://www.kiva.org/, despite our nation being in one of the worst recessions in American history. The blog also stated that neither David Floyd Houston nor any of the other KIVA lenders were making any monies or profits on these loans. I was curious if those reports were true, and if true, why they were even making these loans if no profits are made. And then the idea hit me. Mr. Houston's staff had refused to grant me any interviews regarding the Vaughn-Wyrembek adoption litigations, but if I could get an interview with him about those KIVA loans, I could include my remaining questions about the Vaughn-Wyrembek litigations as part of the KIVA loan interview. The KIVA loans get my "foot in the door" by getting me an interview, and then I can ask my remaining questions about the Vaughn-Wyrembek litigations at the KIVA interview.
My request to interview David Floyd Houston regarding his KIVA loans was granted last week, and so now I am at the Galt House Hotel here in Louisville, waiting to meet Mr. Houston for our KIVA interview. Mr. Houston's secretary has informed me he is attending a meeting right now inside the Galt House Hotel, and that when he exits I can have a 15 minute interview with him about the KIVA loans before he departs for home. Right now things are quite boring as I sit here and wait. Across the street I see what appears to be a young mother and her little boy, eating an ice cream cone. Now I see David Floyd Houston and about 6 other people exiting the hotel. They stop and are shaking hands. The little boy across the street waves in their direction but all ignore him. Wait. David Floyd Houston sees him and waives back. The boy looks happy; the group of people Mr. Houston is with is breaking up. I see a black Lincoln moving in to pick up David Floyd Houston. Time for me to make my move!)
ME: Mr. Houston my name is Kevin and I was wondering if I could have a few minutes of your time to ask you some questions about KIVA and your KIVA lending programs. Your secretary said I could have about 15 minutes of your time.
HOUSTON: Yes. My secretary did say something about a newspaper reporter with questions about KIVA loans. What newspaper are you with? I am already running late but how can I help you?
ME: I saw some reports last month that you have now made over 5 million dollars in loans through the KIVA organization to small business owners. I was wondering first and foremost if those reports are true.
HOUSTON: Not quite. My KIVA lending teams and I have loaned over 5 million dollars to small business owners all over the world through KIVA, but it is a team effort, not just mine.
ME: So how many people are there on your KIVA lending teams?
HOUSTON: Thousands. I do not recall the exact numbers, but if you visit my KIVA lender page at http://www.davidfloydhouston.net/ and scroll down towards the bottom of the page, you can view not only the number of lending teams I have but also the number of members per team, and the total numbers and amounts of loans per team. Sorry I cannot remember the exact numbers. My memory is not as good as it was when I was young. Just make sure you go to http://www.davidfloydhouston.net/ instead of http://www.davidfloydhouston.com/ or http://www.davidfloydhouston.org/ to get to the right website.
ME: That was another odd thing. Why is it you have multiple websites?
HOUSTON: Several reasons, but mainly we wanted to separate my charitable efforts from my main website, so that people who dislike or who may want to attack me can do so without attacking my favorite charities and causes. I support the Network For Good for example, at http://www.davidfloydhouston.org/, and I would not want the Network For Good to suffer as a result of any personal dislike or hatred people have for me as a result of my advocacy efforts. The website at http://www.davidfloydhouston.net/ by the way is hosted and maintained by KIVA as part of its website; not by me or any of my people.
ME: Is it true you are not making any profits or interest on these loans, and if so, why is it you and your KIVA lending teams are even making these loans to small business owners at all?
HOUSTON: We are not making any profits or interest on our loans. That has never been our goals. I make the loans because I grew up in poverty and would not wish that life on anybody. I would like to have it where every person on Earth can pursue his or her dreams to own their own business and improve their life, and KIVA helps me help them, the small business owners, by acting as sort of a non-profit currency exchange between us. You also hear a lot of debate now about illegal immigrants and terrorists coming into our own nation, and my belief is that with each international loan we make through KIVA we are creating one less potential illegal immigrant or terrorist wanting to come to the United States and cause us harm, by creating better living conditions and a chance for a better life for the people in the nations where they already live. I believe if we can create better living conditions and better lives for people in their own nations, where they already live, the residents of those nations will have less desire, need or incentive to come to the United States, either as illegal immigrants or terrorists, to do us harm. I believe it is in our best interests as Americans in the global economy we have now to help others less fortunate improve their lives, even if they live outside the United States.
ME: But what would you say to those people who would argue that you and your fellow KIVA lenders should be focused on making loans in the United States first instead of loaning money to small business owners outside the United States? That only small business owners inside the United States should get the loans?
HOUSTON: My belief is that such attacks are completely unjustified. In the first place it is our money and we can do with it as we please. More importantly, small business owners outside the United States usually have the same needs as those within the United States, but almost always fewer options and resources available. I want to get the biggest bang for my buck and help where the need is greatest, and that in my view is outside the United States at this time. Small business owners inside the United States already have plenty of other banks and lenders available to help them out - and thus in my view have less need for our help. And contrary to what some people may claim, I have in fact made loans to small business owners within the United States. It is just that almost all of those loans were made outside of the KIVA system and thus are unknown to the public at large. I mean if somebody is claiming I have some type of ban on small business loans to Americans that simply is not true. There is no ban.
ME: Okay. I wanted to ask you just a couple questions on a different subject if you do not mind. You were also in the news last year and early this year in connection with the Vaughn Wyrembek adoption litigations and that little boy. You appear to be the only legal expert in the nation to have correctly predicted the outcome months in advance. You certainly made lawyers like Robin Sax look foolish. I was wondering how you did that, if you had visited the boy in Ohio since the boy was returned home and whether the boy is doing well adjusting to his new life with his Ohio family.
HOUSTON: Oh my. I thought you were interviewing about KIVA and KIVA loans. What newspaper are you with? I did not catch that.
ME: I did not mention any newspaper.
HOUSTON: Then that is our error as my secretary indicated you were a newspaper reporter of some kind who wanted to ask me about KIVA loans. I have no further comment. Sorry.
END OF ATTEMPTED INTERVIEW
I guess we will never know the answers to all the remaining questions people have about the Vaughn-Wyrembek adoption abuse litigations. People first and foremost want to know about the health and welfare of the boy that was at the center of the disputes, but nobody with access or reliable knowledge is talking. As of this writing there is still a lawsuit pending against the Vaughns, filed against them by Benjamin Wyrembek and his son, but little information is being released about that either. Unless and until some significant new information becomes available this will be my last blog on the Vaughn-Wyrembek adoption abuse litigations.
Kevin Batson
