Monthly Archives: February 2009

(Community Matters) Earlier today an acquaintance asked how could housing prices be “dropping like a stone” when a recent AAS article stated prices were stabalizing. hmm, the AAS didn’t say that, the realtors they interviewed did. I think they have their own agendas.

(Community Matters) Prof. Mark Kramer, the keynote for today’s CSR conference arrived yesterday and spoke at a reception hosted by my dear friend Ken Gladish and the Austin Community Foundation. Amanda, Marion and I also had dinner with Mark. 

(Community Matters) I met the new AISD Superintendent finalist briefly yesterday.  She is certainly being received enthusiastically – much buzz about her success in St. Paul/Minneapolis.  

(Community Matters) We’re kicking off our CSR Conference this afternoon with the VIP reception for our keynote, Harvard Fellow Dr. Mark Kramer.

This evening, Professor Kramer will talk about his latest research on high impact philanthropy. His research shows the most effective philanthropists build movements and bring together tools from the business & nonprofit worlds.

At tomorrow’s conference, he’ll discuss global development and the role corporations play. We’re quite pleased with Austin’s response to our conference. We originally expected 50ish attendees and over 150 are registered. Many thanks to our underwriter, MFI Foundation and sponsors: Austin Ventures, Perficient, Dell/Message One, MPower Labs, Greenlights for Nonprofit Success & Austin Community Foundation

(Community Matters) No one has definitive answers to the challenges America is facing.

President Obama’s willingness to listen to all sides, synthesize the best nuggets from many, review all through the prism of strong values, and then experiment, suggests an entrepreneurial mind. And, given that entrepreneurship and shared values are closely linked with America’s historical success, I feel good about this approach.

(Community Matters) Their keynote in DC, Joe the Plumber.

Intellectual heavy weights of today’s GOP include Gov Bobby Jindal?

(Community Matters) I like David Brooks description of the Republican response to President Obama’s speech. here

This from a former friend who twice supported Bush:

“Although it is interesting to debate… It really does not matter what the right and left think about the speech and the response. The Dems watched and slobbered over the speech with a Pavlovian predictability, just as the Reps did over Bush. Likewise, both groups clobber the poor sap that has to follow with the response.

It has taken me awhile to figure it out, but the real work in politics is not in the left or the right, but in the middle. Time will tell if the middle feels hurt by the stimulus and if the result is a new migration.

Die hard Dems will always vote their party, so do the die hard Reps. It is those “middle of the road” folk that vote their Heart/Wallet/Family.
-Pat True Die Hard Republican”

(Community Matters) I don’t get it. Why do Rick Perry & David Dewhurst want to make women get ultrasounds?

(Community Matters)
Americans can do it – all of us together.

We are not quitters.

There were times during the previous eight years when many Americans were not proud of our country. We are proud again.

Posted from my blackberry

(Community Matters) Republican Utah Governor John Huntsman, Jr on GOP Congressional leadership

(Community Matters) We ought to organize 100,000 to march on Texas’ capitol as a signal to our Governor, Lt. Governor and Speaker that Texans won’t stand by while statewide politicians posture and reject federal unemployment monies which could feed and protect those who have lost their jobs.  Women & men, Republicans & Democrats from around the state should descend on the capitol to show our elected leaders we expect them to deploy this federal aid and to adopt the well-thought out & overdue changes to state unemployment policies.

(Community Matters) In the Anglican tradition of our Episcopal church, we’ll celebrate the day before lent at St. James’ first with a supper of pancakes and sausage, then the burning of palms (though it’s called the burning of hallelujah’s) – which are used for Ash Wednesday services.