Monthly Archives: March 2013

(Community Matters) the Republican US Senator from Ohio has decided to support gay marriage after much contemplation since his son came out.

There’s a lot of controversy about this – surprisingly, on my FB page, the detractors are straight men who disparage his not coming around until it personally affected him and his family.

I don’t want to ever look a convert in the mouth. I applaud his support for equality. And, as I told my friends:  he’ll start hearing prejudice & inequality differently, and makes a better prospective supporter on other progressive principals than most currently in opposition.

I remember my father calling me a few weeks after I came out to him. He asked me if I realized how many gay jokes people tell everyday and what he should do/say. I told him do nothing – don’t laugh, don’t admonish. Of course, that was twenty years ago. Today, one should express their displeasure. It’s unacceptable.

(Community Matters) I’ve stayed on the extreme edge this year. But, I have seen lots of friends in for SX and attended a couple of events.

Loving this anonymous New Yorker music critics’ blog.

Have enjoyed hosting: Scott Collier for Interactive, my brother, sister-in-law, sister, niece and nephew (for their spring break), and Will Roman for the main event. So I guess my SX this year has been the visit to Marfa and the company of fun guests – plus the people watching, the vibe, the Spider House concerts that rattle my windows (but that’s ok, it’s SX).

And, I’m looking forward to Steven finally being home. During the last two weeks he’s been away in NYC, Milpitas, San Francisco & Traverse City. Well . . . he did come home for 8 hours last Tuesday. Overnight (last night) he received an email that his flight home today was cancelled and he’s been rescheduled but not until Monday. Seems spring break traffic is daunting. Fortunately, frequent flier status does have some privileges and in the wake of his earlier, unfortunate travel story, he’s rebooked for later tonight. Bummed it’s blown our dinner plans with Scott & Kate Abel but home at last.

(Community Matters) NPR’s average listener is 52yo; I think the average age for donors even higher. They’ve launched an initiative termed Generation Listeners, which according to the NYT  is “a campaign to make public radio cool in the minds and ears of young people.” My interpretation is that they are discovering – listening to learn what type of programming and features appeals to a generation of listeners more accustomed to Pandora, the radio service which plays musical selections of a certain genre based on the user’s artist selection, further customizing the stream basked on user feedback.

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(Community Matters)  I’m periodically asked about insights into corporate culture. I’ve long attributed any special insights and practices to the fact that almost all my direct bosses through my 20s were women. I see this as a very good thing.

Politico: WASHINGTON, INC. – WashPost A1, “In trying times, defense companies turning to women,” by Marjorie Censer and Jim Tankersley : “General Dynamics, BAE Systems and Lockheed Martin have defied a long history of male-dominated culture and appointed female chief executives. …. All three executives must reshape their firms to deal with military procurement cuts, including those recently triggered by the sequester. In her first two months at the helm of General Dynamics,

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(Community Matters) Great 24-hour visit by brother, sister, sister-in-law, niece and nephew (Eli, Bridget, Luci, Paulina & Eli). We celebrated Paulina’s 10th birthday last night at Gusto. Today, arranged swimming lessons for the kids with our friend Garrett Weber-Gale, a two time Olympic gold medal winner. Time goes by too quick.

(Community Matters) Nice to get out of Austin’s Seattle weather to the gorgeous, big skys of the highland desert. In Marfa for a Marfa Public Radio board meeting and weekend with friends. Arrived yesterday with Suzanne Deal Booth, Chandler Booth, John Wotowicz, Nicolas Berggruen and Carlos Martinez, and enjoyed Ballroom Marfa’s Rashid Johnson opening. Farmer’s market, board meeting, visits with friends and dinner at Julie & Fran’s tonight. Wish Steven was here, but know he’s loving SF.

(Community Matters) The gargantuan size of today’s largest financial institutions represents one of the biggest threats to democracy, equality and real productivity in our life times.  Speaking of an iconic political figure & friend, Sen. Sherrod Brown steps up. And, speaking of unlikely and strange alliances . . .

Playbook: Financial Times p. 1, “Holder says some banks ‘too big to jail'” [not his words], by Shahien Nasiripour in Washington and Kara Scannell in New York: “Washington’s top law enforcement officer told Congress that some banks were ‘too large,’ impeding attempts to bring criminal prosecutions, and feeding suspicion among lawmakers … Responding to criticism that HSBC escaped criminal prosecution for money laundering violations, Eric Holder … said his lawyers were wary of the ‘negative impact’ on the economy from prosecuting a large financial institution. He said he would not comment directly on HSBC, which admitted money laundering offences in December, but there was a deterrent effect from the size and scope of the largest banks. ‘That is a function of the fact that some of these institutions have become too large,’ Mr Holder said, in perhaps the most explicit public admission of concern by a senior Obama administration official regarding big financial groups.

“The size of large banks ‘has an inhibiting influence – impact on our ability to bring resolutions that I think would be more appropriate … And I think that is something that we – you all – need to consider.’ Mr Holder’s admission and recommendation comes as some US policy makers and … members of Congress push to restructure the largest financial groups, or impose punishing capital requirements that would incentivise banks to shrink their balance sheets. The budding coalition between Republicans such as Senator David Vitter and Democrats such as Senator Sherrod Brown has driven some policy analysts to warn investors that the largest US banks face a threat from Washington of being broken up. … Holder’s admission is likely to advance the debate on Capitol Hill over whether banks should be restructured.”

(Community Matters) A Vanity Fair, Roger Ailes profile. HT & quotes from today’s playbook:

“One day during the 2012 primary season, Newt Gingrich complained that Fox News’s support for Mitt Romney was responsible for Gingrich’s poor showing. Rick Santorum had made a similar claim … Gingrich and Santorum had been Fox commentators before getting into the race, and Ailes found their complaints self-serving and disloyal. Brian Lewis, his spokesman, asked Ailes for guidance on how to respond to Newt. ‘Brush him back,’ Ailes said. ‘He’s a sore loser and if he had won he would have been a sore winner.’ Lewis nodded. Ailes was silent for a moment and then added, ‘Newt’s a prick.’

‘Lewis then read Ailes a summary of the flap over Democratic operative Hilary Rosen’s comment that Ann Romney, mother of five, had never worked a day in her life. Ailes spun it without hesitation. ‘Obama’s the one who never worked a day in his life. He never earned a penny that wasn’t public money. How many fund-raisers does he attend every week? How often does he play basketball and golf? I wish I had that kind of time. He’s lazy, but the media won’t report that.’ He noticed my arched eyebrows and added, ‘I didn’t come up with that. Obama said that, to Barbara Walters.’ (What Obama said was that he feels a laziness in himself that he attributes to his laid-back upbringing in Hawaii.)

“‘I like Marco Rubio,’ Ailes told a staff meeting of Fox News Latino when talk about the Florida senator being Mitt Romney’s vice-presidential pick was at fever pitch. ‘But I don’t know about as a vice-presidential candidate. He’s a nice guy, and that role requires kicking the crap out of your opponents.’ He paused, thinking about vice presidents he had known. ‘I have a soft spot for Joe Biden,’ he said. ‘I like him. But he’s dumb as an ashtray.’ … ‘I do have a hair trigger, but I only use it on things that don’t matter these days,’ [Ailes] said. ‘I just do it to blow off steam, create some bullshit.’

“Ailes has a very acute sense of his own mortality. ‘I’d give anything for another 10 years,’ he often says … ‘My doctor told me that I’m old, fat, and ugly, but none of those things is going to kill me immediately,’ he told me shortly before his 72nd birthday. ‘The actuaries say I have six to eight years. The best tables give me 10. Three thousand days, more or less. … Because of my hemophilia, I’ve been prepared to face death all of my life. As a boy I spent a lot of time in hospitals. My parents had to leave at the end of visiting hours, and I spent a lot of time just lying there in the dark, thinking about the fact that any accident could be dangerous or even fatal. So I’m ready. Everybody fears the unknown. But I have a strong feeling there’s something bigger than us. I don’t think all this exists because some rocks happened to collide. I’m at peace. When it comes, I’ll be fine, calm. I’ll miss life, though. Especially my family.'” http://vnty.fr/XpTG4H

(Community Matters) Joe Scarborough and Paul Krugman on Charlie Rose. This should be really good!

MUST-SEE TV! Tonight on “Charlie Rose,” a smackdown between Joe Scarborough and Paul Krugman. After arguing over the debt on their blogs, they’re taking it to the airwaves, for the full hour. Tapes today on Charlie’s legendary set at Bloomberg HQ in Manhattan. Airs 11 p.m. on WNET in NYC, and WETA and WHUT in D.C., and 200+ other PBS affiliates.                      HT: Politico Playbook

“Scarborough seems upset, and under the delusion that my more or less standard Keynesian views are way off on the fringe. Also, that the Swedish thingie is given by Norwegian royalty.”

(Community Matters) I don’t have a paper trail but deposing Frank Fuentes and others might show whether White Lodging launched this legislative end run. Did Marriott developer White Lodging launch the approach to the Texas Legislature to circumvent their promise to pay construction workers a contracted wage in exchange for the $3.8mm in waived fees? Just pay the fees if you don’t want to live up to the explicit promise in the contract.

Dallas legislator aims to stop wage requirements in incentive deals

Marriott developer asks city to drop wage audit

(Community Matters) Mary Margaret passed away after a long and courageous fight against cancer. She was one of two women in my young professional life who most mentored, guided, cajoled and encouraged my deep involvement in community. I know she’ll be happy to reunite with David, also a beautiful soul who died too young.

(Community Matters) Britain’s most senior Roman Catholic cleric, Cardinal Keith O’Brien has now acknowledged as truthful the allegations of sexual impropriety. Of course it’s not his sexual orientation which condemns him but his staunch conservatism within the church hierarchy that hypocritically condemns homosexuality and fights equality. NYTimes

His admission is a courageous step. I’ll pray for him and others.