(Community Matters) Like most Americans, I’ve long been a fan of Warren Buffett and appreciate his colloquial style – even as I’ve come to realize it’s, at least in part, shrewd PR.  He’s the earnest billionaire who’s long lived in the same, modest home in Omaha, with well-raised children and a story-book wife who died in 2004.  And, the story is complicated by the simultaneously same man who spent as much time in his billionaire’s abode near/in Pebble Beach, mostly traveled in this Bombardier Challenger 600 (The Indefensible), and lived apart from Susan Buffett at least half their marriage – the latter years with his now wife, Astrid Menks.

I don’t say all this to challenge Mr Buffett’s revered place in America; it gives me great comfort and satisfaction that he’s a close confidant to our President.  And, I do mean to convey he’s a complicated man, with more dimensions than his public narrative reminds – his $5B investment in Goldman Sachs no doubt influencing his position defending Goldman Sachs and their CDS transactions.  We now know his comments about derivatives constituting financial weapons of mass destruction and how he doesn’t invest in anything requiring more than a calculator to analyze, more metaphorical  than literate in light of $60B plus into derivatives he’s purchased.

NYT Dealbook Column – From Buffett, Thought-Out Support for Goldman

(Community Matters) certainly not making light of the spill underway – just another bit of information from NYTimes article Bad, but How Bad? which helps with perspective

The ruptured well, currently pouring an estimated 210,000 gallons of oil a day into the gulf, could flow for years and still not begin to approach the 36 billion gallons of oil spilled by retreating Iraqi forces when they left Kuwait in 1991. It is not yet close to the magnitude of the Istox I blowout in the Bay of Campeche in Mexico in 1979, which spilled an estimated 140 million gallons of crude before the gusher could be stopped.

(Community Matters)  Arianna in to Austin to speak at the Texas Freedom Network’s 15th anniversary celebration.

TFN ED Kathy Miller, Arianna & State Rep. Elliott Nashitat

She gave a super presentation at Agudas Achim, then we co-hosted dinner with Suzanne & David Booth at our place including Arianna, Jeanne & MIckey Klein, Evan & Julia Smith, Alexa Wesner, Luke Hayes and John Thornton – a group of many opinions, perspectives and voices.

(Community Matters) President Obama’s commencement address at University of Michigan (May 1, 2010):

It is great to be here in the Big House, and may I say “Go Blue!”  I thought I’d go for the cheap applause line to start things off.

Good afternoon President Coleman, the Board of Trustees, faculty, parents, family, friends, and the class of 2010.  Congratulations on your graduation, and thank you for allowing me the honor to be a part of it.  And let me acknowledge your wonderful governor, Jennifer Granholm, your mayor, John Hieftje, and all the Members of Congress who are here with us today.

I am happy to join you all today, and even happier to spend a little time away from Washington.  Don’t get me wrong – it’s a beautiful city.  And it sure is nice living above the store; can’t beat the commute.  It’s just that sometimes, all you hear in Washington is the clamor of politics – a noise that can drown out the voices of the people who sent you there.  So when I took office, I decided that each night, I would read ten letters out of the thousands sent to us every day by ordinary Americans – a modest effort to remind myself of why I ran in the first place. Continue reading →

(Community Matters) Today is Lemonade Day – in Austin, over 10,000 kids have registered to host lemonade stands all around the city, launching their entrepreneurial careers.

While these kids are having fun, they’ve also been learning about entrepreneurship without even knowing it – their cartoon-style lemonade stand guide is actually a well-researched, produced curriculum developed with assistance from the Search Institute. As parents or mentors guide the kids in establishing and running their stands, they are learning about planning, budgeting, marketing, accounting (counting revenues, costs & profits) and philanthropy.  The latter is completely voluntary – some parents and partner organizations are encouraging children to share portions of their profits with charitable organizations.

Leigh Christie has done an extraordinary job leading this program in Austin for the Entrepreneurs Foundation.  Andra & Joe Liemandt, their Liemandt Family Foundation and Trilogy are the primary underwriters in Austin joined by Imperial Sugar, HEB, RunTex, Charles Schwab, the Acton Foundation, the Buena Vista Foundation and others.  Peter Frey has been Leigh’s right hand man while simultaneously holding down plenty of EF responsibilities.

Prepare4Life & Michael Holthouse created and launched this program in Houston 3 years ago.  We’re pretty dang proud that our first and second years we’ve met the enrollment and participation figures of the nation’s 3rd largest city.  Additionally, in Austin, we’ve engaged Prof Raphael Travis to help us evaluate outcomes (stands, revenues, profits and philanthropy) as well as help us design and test a possible long term longitudinal study to confirm whether this program impacts future entrepreneurial activity and whether it contributes to participants’ developmental assets.

(Community Matters) I wasn’t familiar with John Kelly or his Joni Mitchell show.  But, of course we attended the artist & volunteer reception at Amy & Kirk Rudy’s home and meet John, Zecca Esquibel, Paul Ossola and Kevin Malony, in town for FuseBox and presenting Paved Paradise Redux: The Art of Joni Mitchell.  There’s a 2pm show today (Sunday), I HIGHLY recommend it.

John Kelly & Ron Berry

Kirk Rudy, Bijoy Goswami, Ron Berry, Natalie George & Amy Rudy

Luke Hayes, ST & Roger Hayes

My favorite 26-yo godson and his dad (in from NY) joined us at the reception and for a quick bite at Maudie’s prior to John’s show.

The show was amazing – seriously.  Not a drag show, an impersonation which went deep deep deep into roots.

(Community Matters) Austin turned out to honor Bertha Means’ 90th birthday celebration.

Congr Lloyd & Libby Doggett with Bertha Means

Congressman Doggett and Bertha go way back.  She loves to tell the stories of him, David Butts and others organizing minority voter registration out of her living room while the guys were in college.

Bertha has a lot of stories to tell – important stories.  She led the integration of Barton Springs, of the local skating ring, of UT athletics, at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School (with her dear friend Dr. Alan Becker who was there yesterday).  She’s told me stories about driving her family to north Texas, having to pack food and water because black families couldn’t sit down in restaurants along the way and she wasn’t going to patronize businesses that didn’t welcome her and her family.  Dr. James Means was also a pioneering man.  He moved Bertha and the family to Austin to teach at Tillotson College.  Since St. David’s Episcopal Church wouldn’t admit Negros, Bertha and six other women founded what’s today St. James Episcopal.  We proudly retain our deep African American roots.

Judge Lora Livingston, HT Pres Larry Ervin, State Rep Dawnna Dukes

Friends and politicos turned out in mass, in addition to those pictured, also State Senator Kirk Watson (& Liz), Judge Flowers (& Simone) and Council member Sheryl Cole (& Kevin).  Sheryl told a story about meeting with Bertha while considering running for City Council and how Bertha told her she wouldn’t be the first African American woman to run for city council – Bertha was (which I didn’t know) – but that she’d be the first elected.

“GG’s” great grand kids

Dr. & Mrs. Means’ family out in force – what an extraordinary family of achievers and generous souls they’ve raised.

I’m not so sure Bertha was my fan early on.  When I started attending St. James with Steven 11 years ago (he’d already been attending for 9 years and was one of a handful of non-black members) I insisted we move to the front row.  I wasn’t going to hide or shrink in the back; it was my observation that the few gay members of the congregation, while loved, practiced that Southern tradition of keeping it to themselves.  That was not how I planned to meet potential members of my spiritual family.  There were tensions in the early months as Steven and I became more visible as gay family.  Father Wm Adams called for twelve weeks of prayer & Bible meetings on the topic and those with feelings about this all read & contemplated on it, and got to know each other better.  I’m not sure if it was the praying and Bible reading, the discussions and getting to know each other, or the crab cake eggs benedict and veuve clicquot mimosas I served her that eventually won Bertha Means over 🙂

Anyhow, I love Bertha Means and everything she’s done for our communities.  I was a strong proponent and campaigner for her election as a national delegate to the 2008 National Democratic Convention and loved being with Grandma for Obama in Denver.

I’m reminded of Gene Hackerman when I spend time with Bertha – both world changing women

thanks for the pic, Bette Reichman

(Community Matters) Yesterday, Steven & I celebrated being together for 11 years. We have many anniversaries – Steven most likes to celebrate Apr 30 (our first date). He was so sweet – he planned a Chez Nous evening.  Though, after us both traveling this week, so much nicer that we stayed in, cooked, hung out, watched Tuesday’s Glee and had dessert by the pool.  I really am one of the luckiest men alive.

We also celebrate May 10, 2000 (our Austin commitment ceremony) and July 24, 2004 (our Canadian wedding)