Community Matters

(Community Matters) Milinda Mitchell’s sweet 29 – last night at House Pizzeria on Airport @ 51st St – really outstanding.

Melissa Henderson, Tana Christie, Milinda Mitchell & Heather

Joe Christie & Drew Valcourt

Drew and Steven got into iPhone ap swapping – especially something called Four Square.  I have to say, I’m completely over the idea that someone else could be declared the mayor of Julio’s (other, of course, than Julio, Stella, Luis or Marisa).  It may be what puts me over the line!

Milinda, Heather, Robert Torian and Michael Mitchell

Michael hosted last night’s gathering.  We’re all together quite a bit this month with Tana’s, Margaret’s, Nico’s, Ben’s & Janet’s birthdays Jan, Milinda’s, Robert’s and mine this month.  Of the adults, Milinda’s the baby in the family.  Happy Birthday dearest MEM

(Community Matters) The Economist’s special section on Social Networking

Facebook . . . which celebrates its sixth birthday next month . . . is now the second most popular site on the internet after Google . . . over 350 million users . . . were it a nation . . the world’s third most populous after China and India

Orkut (India & Brazil), QQ (China), Skyrock (France), VKontakte (Rusia) & Cyworld (S. Korea), Muxlim (Muslims), ResearchGATE (scientists & researchers)

Superb tools for mass communication.  They must demonstrate that they are capable of generating the returns that justify the lofty valuations

In the business world most hype around “Enterprise 2.0”, efforts to bring technologies such as social networks and blogs into the workplace to create huge benefits for business.

“This special report will examine these issues in detail [executives’ concerns about social networking leading to non-working and the leaking of sensitive corporate information].  It will argue that social networks are more robust than their critics think, though not every site will prosper, and that social-networking technologies are creating considerable benefits for the businesses that embrace them, whatever their size.  Lastly, it will contend that this is just the beginning of an exciting new era of global interconnectedness that will spread ideas and innovations around the world faster than ever before.”

(Community Matters) The Economists’ debate, Is Obama failing? Voting on the site says NO 65%; YES 35%

Many other presidents have found themselves in much more serious situations than Obama finds himself in now. He and his wife Michelle retain great personal respect. People like him and wish him well. They think that he shares their values. He has not been saddled with any of the demeaning scandals that plagued Bill Clinton’s presidency. He does not suffer from a character problem. Quite the contrary. The young people who voted for him in such large numbers are perplexed by his troubles but they are by no means ready to abandon him. His political troubles have not turned into personal troubles. This is critical. Personal failings and foibles fix themselves like glue in the minds of the public. Once a politician is regularly pilloried in the monologues of the late-night television comics he or she finds it nearly impossible to change the negative image. Unlike personal failings, political and governmental failings can be fixed.

Barack Obama is not failing. Failure in American politics is not subtle or nuanced, it is marked by a swift and deadly movement of public opinion from the political to the personal. At this stage in his presidency Harry Truman’s approval ratings were low and falling and he was the butt of jokes about his mid-west roots, his poker games and his cronies. One of many popular jokes went: “What would Roosevelt do if he were alive? What would Truman do if he were alive?” Truman suffered a humiliating defeat in the 1946 midterms but he still managed to pass the Marshall Plan and win re-election in 1948.

on the other side:

In many ways, of course, Obama has just doubled down on George W. Bush’s policies of bailouts, takeovers, expanded Fed powers and nationalisations. Some of the opposition to him reflects the public’s sense that we’ve been piling up spending and debt for over a year now, so he is being punished for his predecessor’s mistakes. But Bush or Obama, these policies take us in the wrong direction. After a crisis brought on by cheap money and distortionary subsidies, he is doing more of the same. In a recession he is adding debt, taxes and regulation to the burdens already felt by business.

And now the voters are turning against this sweeping agenda that seeks to make America a European welfare state. Obama came into office on a wave of good feeling, with 69% expressing approval and only 12% expressing disapproval. Now his ratings are below 50%. Obama’s approval rating fell 21 points during his first year in office, the largest first-year decline for any president since Gallup began tracking presidential approval ratings in the 1930s. Approval by independent voters has fallen from 62% to 45%. And even young people are leaving: The Politico/Insider Advantage poll showed Scott Brown leading among voters under 30 by 61% against 30%. In contrast, the 2008 exit poll showed 18-29-year-olds in Massachusetts voting for Obama 78-20.

(Community Matters) Steven has gone from outline to scenes

(Community Matters) David Corn on “Can Obama Fight?” in Mother Jones:

If he wants voters to believe he’s a fighter, Obama needs to show them, not tell, them.

Proclaiming “I am a fighter” will not be enough. He will have to name his foes (financial institutions, insurance companies, Republicans, and perhaps recalcitrant Democrats) and truly exchange blows.

I agree with my friend David. While Pres O prioritizes changing the tone and ways of Washington, perception is reality. The American people want to see someone *fighting* for them, not just hearing that we’re doing so. Let’s open some cans of whoop ass on behalf of America’s middle class.

(Community Matters) if you count, Steven, it’d be 4 priests.  No, he’s not a priest but he preaches and he led his church during graduate school

Ed & Karen Hartwell, Amy Donohue-Adams, Bill Adams and Steven

The six of us have a long history of meals together.  Amy & Bill suprised me by celebrating my upcoming birthday as well as Karen’s which just passed.  Ed, Amy & Bill are Episcopal priests.  Amy & Karen were formerly nuns.

(Community Matters) I played hooky from church this morning, reading the NYT and drinking coffee, then breakfast with my godson Cameron and Steven’s cousin Zac. What the heck, we’re having dinner with 3 Episcopalian priests and two former nuns tonight – that ought to count and will be even more fun – not to mention tasty!

(Community Matters) yikes – we were scheduled to attend the Alley Theatre last night for their performance of Wonderland.  Though, we just couldn’t get motivated for the drive to Houston.  This necessarily canceled our night and breakfast at the ranch with my parents, brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew – regret not spending the morning with them.

Alas, had already declined . . . .  Mark Salmanson’s surprise 50th birthday bash – hope you were surprised and had too much fun.  And, the party celebrating Crystal Cotti hosted by Mark Strama.  And, Graham Reynolds’ & Shawn Sides’ for dinner, celebrating the launch of next week’s Symphony VI, the world premieres of Graham’s The Difference Engine and Peter Stopschinski’s Rough Night with Happy Ending.  See Golden Hornet Project (Feb 6) here

Sorry, once we canceled one event, it was a slippery slope and we sloughed with the best of ’em.

(Community Matters) message to my President: please pass healthcare at all costs. If it takes reconciliation to get it through the Senate, so be it. I don’t care about D majority or presidential reelection as much as finally insuring 30mm, 40mm Americans + excluding preexisting conditions + initiating cost containments + increasing Amer mfg competitiveness + portability

Obviously, I don’t think it would cost D or POTUS reelection but if so, so be it. LBJ knew signing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 lost the south for Ds for a generation but it was the most important civil progress of our generation. So will be healthcare – both from civil and economic perspectives. Combined with financial services, it (they) consume too much of our GDP

And, absolutely, each bill currently passed is grossly imperfect – and extraordinarily better than what we have today.  We will fix the problems going forward.  Many are predicting our margins in each house of Congress will narrow in Nov (I’m not yet signed on to this assumption) and we cannot afford delays any further into the election cycle.

(Community Matters)  Thom Singer’s blog posting – Who Know’s Who, It’s a Small World – prompted me to randomly check the number of mutual friends I shared with several folks:

Steven Tomlinson (606), Michael Barnes (576), Kirk Watson Senator (427), Forrest Preece (341), Brenda Thompson (277), Evan Smith (274), Ian Davis (203), Amanda Chiampi (181), Michael Mitchell (172), John Thornton (170), Carla McDonald (169), Linda Ball (158), Amy Everhart (150), Kim Hughes (149), Kirk Rice (124), Bettie Naylor (115), Thom Singer (99), Tana Christie (97), Melanie Barnes (84), Margo Weisz (83), Alexa Lange Wesner (83), Alex Winkelman (83), Tom Meredith (80), Lynn Meredith (72), Amy Rudy (55), & Kirk Rudy (10 – doesn’t seem like a lot but he only has 13 since he only ever signed on for one day! +me, there’s 2 not mine) . . . cool little exercise. 

hmm, who are Steven’s 600 friends not mutual?

update:  sorta interesting: by far, most of ST’s friends who weren’t mutual, I didn’t know (appear business and former students).  A couple handfuls, I do know and have requested friends.  And, most interesting are the 3 or 4 who I was friends with but who must have defriended me*.  That’s cool – I’ve defriended less than a handful myself – usually because they broke up in a mean way from someone I’m close to. Ah, the secret of online relationships

* this includes our 16-yo niece who banished me after I sent a note to her boyfriend.  Lesson learned, though she refuses to regrant privileges, explaining to me there must be consequences for bad behavior – understood

(CommunityMatters) I’m a total Volckerite – much of my initial confidence in President Obama’s financial stewardship stemmed from Paul Volcker’s and Warren Buffett’s support & advice.  During the last several months, I’ve been especially bothered by reports that Sumners and Gheitner had been crowding him out from the President’s ear.  I’ve been pleased by reports and obvious, deliberate signals of late otherwise.  This editorial in today’s NYTimes superb. A few extracts:

Apart from the risks inherent in these activities [proprietary trading, ownership & sponsorship of hedge funds and private equity funds] they also present virtually insolvable conflicts of interest with customer relationships, conflicts that simply cannot be escaped by an elaboration of so-called Chinese walls between different divisions of an institution.

The concept of a “living will” has been set forth by a number of governments. Stockholders and management would not be protected. Creditors would be at risk, and would suffer to the extent that the ultimate liquidation value of the firm would fall short of its debts.

I’ve been there — as regulator, as central banker, as commercial bank official and director — for almost 60 years. I have observed how memories dim. Individuals change. Institutional and political pressures to “lay off” tough regulation will remain — most notably in the fair weather that inevitably precedes the storm.

(Community Matters) forgot I even took these

I asked David Kurio for a signature flower arrangement – this extraordinary wall of flowers greeted our guests

Larry Connelly & James Armstrong accepting the Maislin Humanitarian Award

Amy Rudy

Amy is the most open and vulnerable person we know.  Her short acceptance speech was pure Amy – genuine, piercing and authentic.

Kirk Rudy

They are both, two of my best friends (our best friends).  Kirk was poignant, insightful, challenging and quite thoughtful in his remarks.  I have pasted them at the bottom of this posting.

Fernando Cutz

Fernando Cutz is the senior class president of Washington University in St. Louis.  He and friends were having a senior party at a club when their Black classmates were denied entrance.  The ADL helped them pursue this injustice.  He talks about it here.

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