Monthly Archives: September 2011

(Community Matters) Stumbled upon Steven’s 2010 TEDx talk – especially nice for me to watch since he’s away. Gosh, I’m a lucky man.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

(Community Matters) Several of us are attending the dinner in New York with Warren Buffett at the end of the month. It’s a fundraiser for Pres Obama. Friends should let me know if they are interested.

(Community Matters) Another embarrassing Texan.

NRCC Chair Pete Sessions, “To assume that we’re naturally for these things because we’ve been for them does not mean we will be for them if they cause debt, if they [have] tax increases and if they take money from the free-enterprise sector, which creates jobs.’

or if they might help kickstart the economy and inadvertently help a D president – forget prioritizing helping 14mm Americans. With a payday lender as his largest contributor, it’s not difficult to discern the Congressman’s priorities.

(Community Matters) Celebrated Cameron’s 30th by hosting a dinner at Coal Vines.

Joe Pierce, Joel Robbins, Michael Mitchell, Eddie Bernal, Trey Alford, Cameron, Drew Wilson

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Still remember meeting Cameron when he was 20 years old. He was fitness training Steven and invited us to his West campus apartment for dinner. Wow he could cook. And, as we became close friends, learned there wasn’t much he didn’t do well – sheer hard work as well as talent. Cameron set out to own his own restaurant, after a bachelors and masters in accounting, 3 years at Deloitte, a year apprenticing at his cousin’s restaurants and a year working for Eddie, now the two share ownership of La Sombra Bar & Grill. We couldn’t be more proud. Trying to remember when we adopted him as a godson; it must have been before he left UT for Dallas and Deloitte.

Coal Vines, it’s located at the W Hotel on 2nd St. I liked the restaurant – casual, nice ambiance, good food, reasonably priced. Continue reading →

(Community Matters) The most important contemporary economist, Paul Krugman, likes and is impressed by the jobs plan . . .and I hadn’t heard about the Fed speech. Completely agree about priority of jobs at least same as inflation.

(Community Matters) Pass this jobs bill right away. . . .  The people who hire us to work for them, they don’t have the luxury of waiting 14 months (until the next national election).

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(Community Matters) Did you watch? Who won? Anyone lose? Immediately after, I wrote:

Wrapping up delayed watch of GOP debate. Buy: Huntsman & Romney. Sell: Perry. Neutral: Bachmann. The rest are irrelevant as candidates

But, I’ve come to revise my thinking. Perry was playing to his base. And, to them he must have played very well. He was willing to fight, to insult a sitting president (called him a liar), refute science, lied about the quality of Texas jobs created and anything else that didn’t serve the narrative he’s building.

So, for his purposes (the primary), I think he won. And, I don’t think he’ll withstand the scrutiny of the national press before the American people – he’s corrupt (pay to play) and his policies make life worse for average citizens, albeit quite lucrative for those who play.

(Community Matters) Important research about the government’s role in supporting entrepreneurship – I’m applying this to my thinking about the public/private partnership Startup America

From David Brook’s column in today’s NYT: In 2009, Josh Lerner of Harvard Business School published a useful book called “Boulevard of Broken Dreams.” He found that for each instance in which the government has successfully promoted entrepreneurial activity, there is a pile of instances in which it failed.

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(Community Matters) While many Central Texans enjoyed the best weather in months during the Labor Day weekend, thousands fled their homes and literally hundreds of homes have been consumed by wildfires. It’s horrible. We know several people displaced and still waiting to hear whether or not their house survived.

“Abandon all hope, ye who enter here” – is there a contemporary allegory?

AAS Story

(Community Matters) In today’s NYTimes, article about Harvard Professor Roland Fryer’s innovative Houston experiment.I’m not sure what happened re: Austin. I seem to recall Prof Fryer wanted to launch an initiative with AISD, even knew a philanthropist very interested in funding the program.

In 2009, Dr. Fryer identified five policies common to successful charters, including those run by KIPP and the Harlem Children’s Zone: longer school days and years; more rigorous and selective hiring of principals and teachers; frequent quizzes whose results determine what needs to be retaught; what he calls “high-dosage tutoring”; and a “no excuses” culture.

The [Houston] experiment, which is known as Apollo 20 and cost $19 million in its first year, has had mixed results: Lee High School saw double-digit gains on state tests last spring, moving to “acceptable” on the Texas school report card system after many years of being rated “unacceptable.” But four of the nine Apollo schools remained on the unacceptable list, and at some the percentage of students passing state tests actually dipped.

earlier CM posting

(Community Matters) from Andy Tobias’ blog

And speaking of income inequality, here’s a rant by a public school administrator who I suspect works rather hard at his job, and ! deserves a listen.  Or just read it here:

UNACCEPTABLE TEACHERS by John Kuhn

Let me speak for all public school educators when I say unequivocally: We will.  We say send us your poor, send us your homeless, the children of your afflicted and addicted.  Send us your kids who don’t speak English. Send us your special-needs children, we will not turn them away.
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(Community Matters) I don’t recommend the video link except to my gay friends.

from Towleroad: Logan McCree is  a famous gay-porn star whose work for the Raging Stallion has won him awards for Best Sex Scene and – even more impressive, given how difficult it is to execute a successful manage-a-trois – Best Three-Way Sex Scene.

But when word got out recently that he was moving in with the love of his life – a woman – and changing his orientation from gay to bi, there was outrage. Outrage! He was accused of faking gay for pay.

Now he’s responded with a really hilarious spoof video about the “scandal” – in which he’s… well, you’ll see. (Watch for the exorcism scene.) The message is light-hearted but clear: stop being intolerant of bisexuals, gay people!

video link