Monthly Archives: May 2010

(Community Matters) Jill & I scored big at yesterday’s Bastille Market.  The seafood too good to ignore – a huge trout – and we decided on dinner at the apartment.  Came home with both our bags stuffed plus two shopping bags.  Dinner for 7, the Gang of Six (aka Les Mis Street Urchins – gotta see FB to understand) plus Nicolas, a new friend and long time friend of the Christie family.

The Bastille Market is my new gold standard for farmers’ markets.

an internet pic

(Community Matters) Tough, tough, tough cultural metamorphosis our country is undergoing

(Community Matters) Mike Allen’s playbook

ASSIGNED WEST WING READING — N.Y. Times’ David Leonhardt’s ‘Economic Scene’ column, ‘A Progressive Agenda To Remake Washington’: ‘Congress and the White House have completed 16 months of activity that rival any other since the New Deal in scope or ambition. Like the Reagan Revolution or Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society, the new progressive period has the makings of a generational shift in how Washington operates. First came a stimulus bill that, while aimed mainly at ending a deep recession, also set out to remake the nation’s educational system and vastly expand scientific research. Then President Obama signed a health care bill that was the biggest expansion of the safety net in 40 years. And now Congress is in the final stages of a bill that would tighten Wall Street’s rules and probably shrink its profit margins. If there is a theme to all this, it has been to try to lift economic growth while also reducing income inequality. … Will this new progressive project succeed? There are any number of uncertainties: whether enough charter schools will succeed, whether the new health insurance markets will function well, whether the Fed will learn to become an effective regulator of Wall Street. posted from my blackberry

Mr. Obama has been trying to reverse the Reagan thrust in some important ways. Although the Reagan administration did not shrink the size of the federal government, it changed the ways that Washington collected and spent its money, by reducing taxes on the affluent, cutting some social programs and increasing military spending.

These policies ended up magnifying income inequality, which was already rising for other reasons. Since 1980, median household income has risen only 30 percent, adjusted for inflation, while average incomes at the top have tripled or quadrupled. Every major piece of the Obama agenda is meant, in part, to push back against inequality. Government may grow, but the bigger change will be how the government is spending its money.

(Community Matters) hmm, let’s see, an ophthalmologist held his victory party at a members-only country club to celebrate breaking the lock of the elite on power.  Doesn’t believe in the constitutionality of the 1960’s civil rights act to force private enterprises to not discriminate.  Oh, and his party didn’t really oppose deficits or other big government programs until an African American was elected to the highest office in the land.  hmm, nah, couldn’t be racist.

(Community Matters) Excellent dinner at Le Comptoir, then a stroll through the Latin Quarter.

pictures Steven Tomlinson

(Community Matters) yeah we are kinda smaltzy – here

(Community Matters) We’re celebrating Michael’s good news – clean bill of health from MD Anderson this week

(Community Matters) Charles Santos is here as a guest of the American French Embassy, viewing theatre and dance to possibly present at Dallas’ new AT&T Arts Center. Tonight’s the Lyon Opera Ballet, the Show Must Go On, he and Tana are raving (Ron Berry this sounds like a potential FuseBox headliner).

Judge Stephen Yelenosky here to celebrate his and Jill McRae’s 20th anniversary but also to lecture at the Sorbonne’s law school. His visit yesterday went over very well. We’re all toasting to celebrate.

Posted from my blackberry

(Community Matter)

(Community Matters) My response to Mark McKinnon’s piece in the Daily Beast slamming Pres. Obama for blaming Bush:

Mark McKinnon, your piece is total bullshit.   Re: this week’s elections: the Democrat in a race against a Republican won the special Congressional election.

Absolutely, voters are likely to toss out more than a few incumbents in Nov – just watch the obstructionism from both sides against the President’s attempts to fix Washington. Let’s not forget, polls show he’s the most popular elected official. Congressional Republicans are less popular than Congressional Democrats.  And, admittedly yes, midterm elections result in decreased majorities.

The team you helped elect into office for 8 years left such an economic and world political mess, we expected it to take more than 485 days to clean up.  After making millions electing 43, you’re raking in even more defending coal and Goldman Sachs. I’m surprised if you aren’t already pitching BP.

It’ll take more than 485 days to clean up 8 years of 43.

yeah, I know, it’s the agreed upon talking point that Bush & those of his inner circle aren’t responsible.  Karen Hughes, Karl Rove, Mary Maitlin and Mark McKinnon are on the circuit repeating it. Honorable people apologize when they screw up; others simply deflect their own responsibility.

(Community Matters) sorry, more for my own records – inspiring thoughts about our back, back yard

Continue reading →

(Community Matters) On Tuesday, the gang of six took the tour – quite spectacular, not hard to see how the founder of Impressionism, Claude Monet (1840 – 1929), was inspired.

Continue reading →