Daily Archives: 05/10/2008

(Community Matters) The NYTimes editorial “Racial Inequity and Drug Arrests” sounds like old news but is perhaps news to others here. In fact, I don’t at all doubt the statistics or disparities in treatment. My personal experience is more along socio-economic lines. I recall being stopped in Houston during the Christmas break of freshman year in college. When I rolled down my window, marijuana smoke rolled out of the car like in a Cheech and Chong movie. Sure we were going to jail, the officer ordered me out of my car (a brand new sports car which didn’t go unnoticed) and asked my personal circumstances. When he learned I was a freshman at Texas A&M, he ordered me back into the car and to drive to my parents home immediately. Had I not been in college (a conservative one at that) and driving an expensive new car, I’m not sure I would have been given the same break. [good gosh, after 29 years & miles of lessons there’s surely statute of limitation right?]

Disparity of treatment certainly isn’t unnoticed among most blacks and Hispanics. Look at disparities in mandatory sentences for crack vs powder cocaine.

(Community Matters) Since Blackwater is back in the news, thought I’d remount my posting from Jan 3:

I’m now reading Jeremy Scahill’s Blackwater, about Erik Prince and his conglomerate of mercenary fighters.

Jeremy Scahill is an award-winning investigative journalist who has reported extensively from Iraq.

Scary what DOD and DOS have outsourced. Even scarier when I realize the firepower that’s been built up in private hands. The largest private army in the world with access to Prince’s hundreds of millions, now probably billions.

Prince is a disciple of Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council (James Dobson & Gary Bauer) and probably a member of the secretive Council for National Policy. During Bill Clinton’s presidency, James Dobson started referring to the president’s administration as a regime, even going so far as stating that, “. . . . the regime [is] now passing itself off as a democracy . . . ” and stating out loud that Christians may have to choose between supporting our government and standing with God.

The commander of a well-equiped, private army of 20,000 who follows this man wondering whether Christians will have to defy and rise up against our president?

Steven and I both finished the book that week. We were slack-jawed imagining the power Erik Prince has acquired. Today, they’re back in the news here

(Community Matters) I’ve just read that Bobbie Barker has joined St. David’s Community Health Foundation as VP Grants & Community Programs. What a coup for CEO Earl Maxwell and his entire board.

Bobbie is one of our hardest working, strategic and operationally sound community leaders in Central Texas. I’ve long urged her to run for mayor and hope she will one day. In the interim, tickled pink that she’ll join Earl at the helm of one of our community’s most important foundations.

(Community Matters) Steven and I enjoyed seeing Salvage Vanguard Theater’s The Intergalactic Nemesis last night at the Paramount. Seated with playwright Allison Gregory and her friends Susan & Roger, we enjoyed – sometimes laughing with a roar – Jason Neulander’s and Chad Nichols’ adaptation of Ray Colgan’s original work.

Graham Reynolds on stage at the piano, and Lee Eddy provided a rock star performance as Molly Sloan. Visited with Jason during intermission. He’s got galactic plans and is raising money to self-produce the show in NYC, where it’s already been presented.

(Community Matters) Over 300 employees of high-tech companies came together today for the Entrepreneurs Foundation’s Spring Service Day. We volunteered over 2,100 hours at 6 Lifeworks campuses, Rodriguez Elementary School and Habitat for Humanity’s commercial site.

Silicon Labs and Creditcards.com sponsored the day.

Silicon Labs

Creditcards.com

Faith Johnson & Chris Speltz from Creditcards

uShip at Habitat

uShip, also at Habitat

Spinal Restoration

Jon Vincent

Manticore

Rodrigo Matro & Lorna Cordon from Dell at the Lifeworks drop-in
(Rodrigo was one of my MBA students a few years ago)

Chris Palmarozzi from Creditcards
(one of my former undergraduate students)

vcfo honcho, Corey Blahuta
(my bad not getting a good picture of the full vcfo team)

Harrison Yeager (another former undergrad)

part of the Austin Ventures team

EF board chair & SLAB CFO, Bill Bock

Creditcard’s Jeff Whitmire

Bill with Lifeworks’ Carrie (lft) & Exec Dir. Susan McDowell

Happy Hour at Freddy’s

EF staff: Samantha Cruz (intern), Amanda Chiampi, Alyson Stolpman and moi

Team members from EF member companies have contributed over 14,000 volunteer hours through our program during our 9 years, over 8,000 in the last 12 months.