Mayors Appeal for Continuation of Funding Program

Several mayors from the U.S. Conference of Mayors' Community Development and Housing Committee headed to Washington, D.C. late last year to meet with HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. Their discussion centered around the Community Development Block Grant program.
Since 1974, Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) have provided close to $132 billion in funding for affordable housing and related projects. Mayors from cities in Massachusetts, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Utah, Indiana and Connecticut traveled to D.C. to share information on how CDBGs have helped improve their cities, and asked HUD to continue with the program.
Newton, Massachusetts mayor Setti Warren estimates that 1,500 homes and over 720 affordable housing units have been developed in his city using CDBG. In addition, he says 115 public facilities, 30 playgrounds and parks and 80 roadways have all been improved as a result of CDBG funding. Other mayors in the D.C. contingent have similar stories.
An estimated 1209 government entities receive money each year through Community Development Block grants. Both major cities and rural areas are awarded grants, as is everything in between. In addition, grants are awarded to the United States territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands. Because CDBG awards aren't restricted to affordable housing, infrastructure, or other types of projects, they allow communities to take more holistic approaches to redevelopment, addressing housing, transportation, commercial and recreational spaces simultaneously.
In their meeting, the Mayors encouraged HUD to continue providing funding through Community Development Block Grants, citing the program's flexibility as one of its most valuable characteristics. There has been no announcement yet, from HUD or the U.S. Conference of Mayors, regarding the outcome of the meeting.

What Does Your Campaign Website Say About You?

You only have one chance to make a good first impression. For political campaign websites, visitors are probably looking for information, so they may be more likely to stick around longer. But even if a visitor decides to learn more about you as a candidate, what you say and how you present yourself online influences voter support.
So, what does your campaign website say about you?
Does it say 'Vote for Me'? Do you actually 'make the ask'? Are the words 'vote for' and a date prominently displayed on the site? Too often this critical information is nowhere to be found. Oh, and make sure your ballot name is presented consistently!
Does it make you look like a leader? Does your site inspire active support? Again, is there a volunteer page asking for help? Are there recommendations on the site for supporters to follow? Start small and ask for visitors to sign up for updates. Even small things like asking visitors to share with a friend can help get others involved.
Does it make you appear vague? Is there enough real information about the candidate and the issues? If someone reads about your positions, will they get the sense that you know the issues and have serious ideas for dealing with them?
Does it say your campaign is underfunded? A bad-looking website will reflect poorly on your campaign. Make sure your website content is easy to read and laid out neatly. Even a well-designed website will fail to impress if the page content is jumbled mess. Quality affects perception.
Does it show that you are articulate? Again, this goes back to content. Poor grammar and misspellings reflect poorly on your competency and attention to detail. If you want people to take you seriously, you need to proofread all of your content.
Does it say you're open? Are there ways for people to reach the candidate? Do you invite feedback and questions?
Does it say that you are socially networked or just a poser? A Facebook page is nice but it won't help if it's just a static brochure or used to push out information. A Twitter feed only helps if you're really using Twitter rather than just have a Twitter account with infrequent or nonexistent updates. A lack of social media engagement only shows that you don't get how to use these tool to connect with people. Better to skip social networking than to set up accounts and let them collect dust!
There's a lot more that can be inferred from just the content of a website. Color and design psychology is an entirely different subject.

Corruption Undermines Ukraine

It wasn't until I was personally affected by the concept of corruption that I began to seriously think about it. This happened to me just recently when my young Ukrainian friend Ana, approached me for a loan. I willingly obliged only to discover that this loan was to help her pay a bribe to further her studies at the Ivan Franko University in Lviv. I was in total shock and disbelief.
The media bombards us daily with shocking headlines about scandal and exploitation. The media buzz words are; information leaks, calls for transparency, document doctoring etc... This sensationalism trivializes the world epidemic of corruption. However, when it comes knocking at your front door, then you really stop and pay attention.
I insisted that Ana explain the whole situation to me. It turns out that paying bribes for grades or diplomas is a very common occurrence in Lviv and throughout Ukraine! Students pay a one dollar minimum for every hour of class missed, five hundred dollars to get into a certain faculty and from 15 to 20 thousand dollars depending on the diploma one is seeking. This is an incredible burden on the parents of these students. Most importantly, how can one trust the infrastructure of a society where doctors and lawyers are buying their diplomas?
Surprisingly, Ana does not seem to be as concerned as I am. She takes all of this in stride. She explains that this shadiness has been an integral part of their society for a very long time, definitely since the Soviet Era. People now take corruption for granted. She seems to justify the system by explaining that professors and tutors are so poorly paid that they could not survive without these bonuses. I now understand that paying bribes in Lviv has a domino effect on the entire social system, it's a catch 22.
My poor, dear, innocent Ana is a victim of circumstances. She is at the mercy of an unscrupulous system. Her possibilities for change in this "culture of corruption" seem very limited.
Initially, I see her attitude as just another example of the general passivity and apathy that I have come accustomed to with my friends and acquaintances in Lviv. I often get angry with them about their lack of protest in the face of such injustice. However, I always come around to understanding that they have feared the authorities and the system all of their lives and that this fear mentality can take generations to overcome.
The university scenario is small in comparison to the billion dollar money laundering schemes by the oligarchs in this country. Changes need to come from the top most level of society-the government. This form of exploitation harms the country's reputation thus discouraging investors and ultimately undermining the overall economy. Transparency International has ranked Ukraine as 70th of 85 of the most corrupt countries in the world. Due to fears of a bribe oriented taxation system, 70% of businesses operate on the black market in Ukraine-serious allegations indeed.
This personal exposure to misuse of justice makes me sad and frustrated. But I am just a visitor here and I am able to return to the stability of my country. Ana lives here and she and her colleagues must be instrumental in challenging these injustices. Her indifference and passivity only serve to perpetuate the problem. She and her contemporaries are the wave of the future and they are responsible for the refusal of such an unethical environment. I wish them all the best and a very bright future.

Jesus Was Libertarian Not Liberal

Jesus was libertarian not a liberal. Libertarian is the doctrine of freedom and free enterprise and to do no harm or fraud to others. To follow the golden rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. A person that believes in freedom of thought, expression and action. They want to keep government small and even contract most of it to the lowest bidder.
Libertarians believe in having an army and police force for protection not to beat up the rest of the world.
That is what Jesus stood for. Freedom of religion meant not to be required to join a religious sect. Liberty allows people to worship as they wish and not be fed to the lions in Rome's coliseum. Jesus was libertarian and he gave his life for ideas of freedom and free choice. We should looking up to his courage in the face of pressure from both Rome and the Jewish Church.
The Bible has instances where Jesus stood up as a symbol of free will and finally a martyr for that free will.
Matthew (20-12) The worker hired late in the day that got the same pay as the rest. He helped get the project done on time - pay him well.
Matthew (21,12) Jesus is asked if they should pay taxes to Caesar. He say's Caesar's face is on the coins. So, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, give to God what is God's.
John (8,7) The adulteress. Jesus said who will be the first to throw a stone. No one did.
Matthew (21,12) and Mark (11,15) Jesus tips over the money changers tables. "My house is a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers."
Both the Democrats and Republicans have a history of increased taxes and more rules and regulations. Become an active voice at all levels for smaller government and a reduction in taxes. The current plan to grow the power and control of government through huge government controlled healthcare is exactly the opposite of what Jesus would have wanted.
Liberal progressive ideas with more big government control and regulation mean taking your freedom through higher taxes. You should stand up for freedom, liberty, free enterprise and the principles of our Constitution. We have got to stop the leftist statists in the name of our founding fathers.
The las administration had blinders on. All thee could think about was to protect America from another 9-11 attack. A war on terrorism, which is a misnomer - it's a war on terrorists. One cannot have a war on an idea.
Now, the democrats keep claiming the Republicans drove the economy into a ditch. Well then it seems the Democratic Party are out to strip the whole car - I mean economy in some new grand theft auto meets end freedom forever game. All we had to do was pull the economy out of the ditch. Not part it out.
Only once before has a government got this intrusive and destructive. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal was the start of the socialism we have today. The New Deal had over 500 new rules and regulations place on business people.
Today unemployment leads to more unemployment in a vicious cycle like a snowball rolling down a hill. The world is in a deflation economy and . The depression started 2000 with the dot com stock top and bust and may not end until 2016-2018. At that time asset prices may be down 90 percent and unemployment may be 30 percent by then.
All the Quantitative Easing money (QE1 of 1.2 billion dollars) and (Qe2 of 600 million dollars) thrown at our economic problem will evaporate. Lower taxes letting business grow and hire would help but not stop the deflation. You cannot stop a pendulum from completing it's swing. The elite have most of their money in America. They don't want to ruin the value of their dollar holdings. Inflation is not comming back soon!
Read, The Creature From Jekyll Island 1994, by G. Edward Griffen. According to Griffens book, the Anglo financial power elite secretly hatched the Federal Reserve Bank plan in 1913. The plan was to bring the once strong and powerful America down by ruining both it's money and it's morals. He says both political parties are in on this new-world-order/one-world-government conspiracy. Chapter 2 of Griffen's book is "Bailouts - Name of the Game". 1994! Predicting climate change as a smokescreen to take your freedom and liberty. Along with all the wars which have been the biggest smokescreens.
I am card carrying Libertarian. I am for small government and freedom but have a small army for defense. Again, do no harm or fraud.
Jesus was a libertarian. He was not for making Rome bigger and more controlling like leftists seem to want government. Maybe you should join the cause of free enterprise and gold backed money. Big government is a sucking all the vitality out of the economy.
Do you want someone telling you and your children and your children's children what to do, where to work and what to think. Wouldn't that be a better crusade. Stop the power elite. Work at making government smaller and less intrusive.
Before Roosevelt took office government was only 9% of the economy. Now, it's one third. Actually 50 percent or so of the work force is not involved in making products and profits when you count all the jobs like teachers and aministrators. It's a big cancer that politicians thought they could pay for with inflation and fiat money. Until now! Cash is king in a deflation and depression
More government intervention will only make the pendulum swing further to deflation and delay a recovery. Do the world a favor and go Libertarian or Independent. Let's make sure money is privately controlled and backed by gold. Keep government and central banks away from fiat money creation. They are the modernday modern day money changers. No wonder Jesus was libertarian.

California Leads in Green Building Policies

The State of California established itself as a leader in energy policy with groundbreaking climate legislation, the first Low Carbon Fuel Standard and aggressive Renewable Portfolio Standards. The State continues on the path of supporting and incentivizing improvements in energy efficiency with two measures taking effect in 2011. First, California's Green Building Standards Code (CalGreen), which took effect on January 1, 2011, requires all new buildings to meet more stringent environmental and energy efficiency standards. Second, Assembly Bill 1103 (AB1103) mandates the disclosure of commercial building energy consumption data to buyers, lenders and lessees.
CalGreen
CalGreen is part of the California Energy Code and represents a significant first step towards making green building part of the mainstream construction business. The code seeks to reduce the environmental impact of both residential and commercial buildings and applies to all new construction.
For residential buildings, the new code regulates five areas: planning and design; energy efficiency; water efficiency and conservation; material conservation and resource efficiency; and environmental quality. The California Energy Commission (CEC) establishes the mandatory requirements for energy efficiency. However, the California Building Standards Commission emphasizes that the CEC believes that truly green buildings ought to achieve 15% energy savings in comparison with the state-mandated energy efficiency standards.
For commercial buildings, CalGreen identifies four regulatory subjects: planning and design; energy efficiency; water efficiency and conservation; and material conservation and resource efficiency. CalGreen requires that new buildings reduce water consumption by 20%, divert 50% of construction waste from landfills, and use materials that emit minimal pollutants, among a myriad of other provisions.
Some parties have raised concerns about the possibility that CalGreen will discourage the use of more exacting standards like Leaders in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). However, as Phil Williams, vice president of Webcor Builders and chairman the Green Building Task Force puts it, "CalGreen sets the floor and LEED sets the ceiling... you have to start somewhere."
AB1103
The California State legislature passed AB 1103 in 2007, mandating energy benchmarking and disclosure for non-residential buildings. The CEC is responsible for implementing the provisions of AB1103 and current draft regulations require compliance beginning in 2011. Under the provisions of AB1103 commercial building owners will have to disclose a building's energy data and the energy rating of the previous year to prospective buyers of the property, lessees and lenders financing the building.
Legislators designed AB1103 to place a value on energy consumption in commercial real estate transactions and to motivate building owners and property managers to improve energy efficiency performance. CEC mechanical engineer Martha Brook stated that AB1103 seeks to create "commercial valuation of energy usage" in the same way that square-footage is valued.
CalGreen and AB1103 have the potential to interact and create powerful synergies. The combination of higher basic standards and growing awareness and availability of data surrounding the energy efficiency performance ought to bring energy usage to the top of building owners' priority lists.