There is nothing more important than educating our next generation of leaders.  That is why it is vital that we have exceptional and capable leaders as our state school Superintendents!  The Palmetto State is blessed with the opportunity to elect someone who will have those qualities in Kelly Payne!

Kelly is a true shining light in the field of education and the students of South Carolina (not to mention their education) will be in very good hands. Her accomplishments as an educator at Dutch Fork High School speaks for itself.  She has taught her students very well and as she has been committed to her community, she will be committed to education i the state of South Carolina!

No child will be left behind.  We are especially impressed with Kelly’s commitment to the proper education of children with Special Needs.  Kelly supports vouchers so that parents of students with disabilities can choose the very best education for their children, with no bureaucratic red tape involved.  In fact, we were asked to contribute to her policy on Special Education for the Palmetto State under her watch because Kelly wants to get it right!

We are very proud to stand with Kelly and endorse her campaign!  She is the right person, for the right job, at the right time!

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[Other than a slight error--APSCUF isn't affiliated with NEA--I'm happy to see this announcement out.  Our Legislative Assembly made this endorsement in late September.  For more info, go to <www.unionsforsinglepayerHR676.org>.]

Pennsylvania and Illinois Faculty Unions Endorse HR 676

Two faculty unions affiliated with the National Education Association
(NEA) have endorsed HR 676, single payer healthcare legislation introduced
by Congressman John Conyers (D-MI).

In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the Legislative Assembly of the Association
of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties (APSCUF) voted
overwhelmingly to endorse HR 676.  ASPCUF represents 6,000 faculty members
at the fourteen public university campuses across Pennsylvania.  Seth
Kahn, Grievance Chair at West Chester University, said:  “APSCUF
recognizes the importance of single-payer healthcare for unions
everywhere.  We are pleased to offer our strong endorsement.”

In Chicago, Illinois, the Executive Board of the Roosevelt University
Adjunct Faculty Organization (RAFO) also voted to endorse HR 676 reports
LuAnn Swartzlander, RAFO President.  RAFO is affiliated with the Illinois
Education Association (IEA) and the NEA.    #30#

HR 676 would institute a single payer health care system by expanding a
greatly improved Medicare system to everyone residing in the U. S.

HR 676 would cover every person for all necessary medical care including
prescription drugs, hospital, surgical, outpatient services, primary and
preventive care, emergency services, dental, mental health, home health,
physical therapy, rehabilitation (including for substance abuse), vision
care, hearing services including hearing aids, chiropractic, durable
medical equipment, palliative care, and long term care.

HR 676 ends deductibles and co-payments.  HR 676 would save hundreds of
billions annually by eliminating the high overhead and profits of the
private health insurance industry and HMOs.

In the current Congress, HR 676 has 86 co-sponsors in addition to Conyers.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has introduced SB 703, a single payer bill
in the Senate.

HR 676 has been endorsed by 568 union organizations in 49 states including
134 Central Labor Councils and Area Labor Federations and 39 state
AFL-CIO’s (KY, PA, CT, OH, DE, ND, WA, SC, WY, VT, FL, WI, WV, SD, NC, MO,
MN, ME, AR, MD-DC, TX, IA, AZ, TN, OR, GA, OK, KS, CO, IN, AL, CA, AK, MI,
MT, NE, NY, NV & MA).

For further information, a list of union endorsers, or a sample
endorsement resolution, contact:

Kay Tillow
All Unions Committee For Single Payer Health Care–HR 676
c/o Nurses Professional Organization (NPO)
1169 Eastern Parkway, Suite 2218
Louisville, KY 40217
(502) 636 1551
Email: nursenpo@aol.com
http://unionsforsinglepayerHR676.org
11/24/09

Sometimes it is easy to forget that California has a rich tradition of common sense, conservative leadership.  Today, we at Can-Do Conservatives are proud to endorse such a candidate in Chuck DeVore for U.S. Senate.

Chuck has time and again proven his commitment to our nation’s founding principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  He has represented 500,000 constituents in the California State Assembly since 2004, was a Reagan White House appointee in the Pentagon from 1986 to 1988, and retired from the Army National Guard with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel after 24 years of service.  A champion of limited government, low taxes, veteran’s affairs, and nuclear energy, Chuck DeVore is the man California and America needs in these pivotal times.

Chuck needs all of our help.  He will be battling another establishment chosen moderate in the primary.  This is an important race!  The recent 2009 elections should serve as our model in bringing forth candidates. Virginia Governor-elect  Bob McDonnell, was a strong conservative who built coalitions by standing strong and firm to our principles and communicated the message well. When we bring forth Republican candidates like that in a general election the message is clear – WE WIN!  Chuck DeVore is that same kind of candidate that we need running and we need winning!  Please join us in sending Chuck to the Senate and giving Barbara “Call Me Senator” Boxer the chance to devote herself fulltime to being a novelist.

As an American I consume products. I do so consistently. Like you, I would much rather consume goods. Goods are better in every way. Except some things. Hydrox. Ford Ranger. Pepsi One. Michelins …

I am about to endorse a product for the benefit of my tens of readers. This is a product I have used for several years. It is novel and gives years of faithful, uneventful service. I recommend this product as a gift for that person who has everything or needs nothing in the upcoming season of especially conspicuous consumption. It is not expensive, particularly in consideration of its utility.

All-Ett: The World’s Thinnest Wallet.

You are encouraged to investigate All-Ett and their many products for many purposes at their website.

The gimmick of the All-Ett is that contents give the All-Ett its structure. This is a revolution in billfold philosophy. When you receive your All-Ett, it doesn’t seem like much. That is the ingeniousness of the design. When you fill the All-Ett with your cards, cash, condom, random bits of paper found on the street with fascinatingly vague text upon them, &c., it’s purpose becomes clear. You may now package the evidence you carry around with you without the bulk of a typical leather or nylon sarcophagus and it’s many layers.

If you’d like a political angle, it’s green in that all materials used are ultimately biodegradable or recyclable and is an American technology produced in the United States. These conditions should satisfy both the hippies and the Fox sycophants in your life. Apparently, the original objective was to make a billfold for a back pocket without exacerbating one’s sciatica but you need not share this.

I carry “The World’s Thinnest Card Case”, in black leather and carry my cash outside the billfold.

All-Ett is the one product that absolutely lives up to its website. An All-Ett makes a wonderful, unexpected and long-appreciated gift.

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November 18, 2009 – San Francisco Police Chief, George Gascón publicly endorsed Kamala Harris for California Attorney General adding yet another name to her list of key endorsements in her campaign.

Having only worked together a short six months, Chief Gascón stated,

“While I’ve long admired Kamala Harris’ record of innovation and success, since my appointment as Police Chief in San Francisco I’ve come to know the District Attorney as a steadfast and effective partner in our efforts to fight crime here in our city.” He continued, “I believe that Kamala Harris’ ‘smart on smart on crime.”

Chief Gascón’s thirty year law enforcement record includes Assistant Chief of the LAPD and Chief of Police in Mesa, Arizona.

Read the full release on www.KamalaHarris.org

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It is important for any community association considering pursuing a solar lease or power purchase agreement (PPA) to budget for the cost of two important preliminary matters, a feasibility analysis and legal costs.  Skimping on either could ensure the ultimate failure of your efforts, costing the association considerably more money in the long run. 

With respect to a feasibility analysis, I am not talking about the relatively simple analysis performed by single family residential solar installers, comparing a home’s annual electric power use and applicable tariff rates to the anticipated cost and rate reductions of a solar system.  A community association’s solar power needs will be the equivalent of a larger scale commercial solar system, and the cost/benefit analysis for such a system is considerably more complex.  Investors (the prospective system owner for the lease or PPA) will want to see a detailed feasibility analysis in order to determine whether the numbers work for them from an investment standpoint.  Project scale and net metering challenges must be addressed in such a study, so that it can then be used as the basis for the financial terms of a proposed PPA.  Typically, a project which cannot achieve close to a zero balance net metering result is not economically feasible.  As the cost of solar energy system installations drops, and with the passage of AB 920 requiring utilities to roll over or buy surplus production credits effective January 1, 2011, investors will likely be placing less emphasis on achieving zero balance and more emphasis on tax incentives and other benefits of the investment, so exact scaling should become a less critical factor, but investors will still be unwilling to fund a system the feasibility of which has not been determined by a qualified professional.  Unfortunately, unlike our neighbors in Canada, there is currently no funding available to help subsidize the cost of a multi-unit residential solar project feasibility study (with the exception of affordable housing projects).  Nevertheless, it may be necessary for an association to incur the cost in order to attract investors.  A large scale solar installer may be willing to share in the cost, however, and some large scale installers have their own in-house professional engineering staff to perform detailed feasibility studies. 

When it comes to negotiating and drafting the lease or PPA itself, board members must understand and appreciate that, unlike the vendor, maintenance and repair contracts they are accustomed to, a solar power lease or PPA will by no means be a “one size fits all” or “industry standard” contract.  The array of issues which must be addressed, just a few of which I will touch on below, and the very long term nature of the agreement, will require careful negotiation and drafting.  Missing or inadequate contract terms will be fertile ground for future disputes between the parties, undermining the viability of the parties’ long term relationship.  Any association interested in pursuing solar power should, therefore, budget for the necessary legal costs associated with the formation of a complex legal agreement such as a PPA. 

The very long contract duration will also require the careful selection of contracting “partners” (the system installer and owner), and the maintenance of  a cooperative and collaborative relationship over the term of the contract.  Because of the length of the contract, due diligence regarding the financial health and long term viability of the system owner will also be vital.

With respect to the terms of the agreement itself, the scope and complexity of a PPA is much more akin to the construction agreements for a new development than to any contract the board of directors will have previously entered.  Installation, maintenance and operation risks will need to be identified, managed and insured.  In addition, the agreement will have to address such financial issues as buy out options and costs at the end of the contract term, warranty coverage and costs, system performance and monitoring (and how attendant risks are allocated between the parties) and dispute resolution mechanisms.  Liability risks and insurance coverage (both property and liability) must also be addressed, and in a way which accommodates the fact that risk exposures for solar power projects and, therefore, the commercial insurance market to cover such exposures, is evolving, and will likely continue to evolve over the term of the agreement.  The insurance issues in particular will need to be carefully considered since, while property and liability insurance coverage for owners, maintainers and users of solar power systems has become increasingly available since insurers first began issuing “green” commercial insurance endorsements in 2006, such coverage is often provided via “manuscript” as opposed to standard form policy provisions, and not all insurance brokers understand the risks or available coverage options. 

Finally, issues specific to community associations will need to be understood by all parties and carefully addressed.  Membership approval will be required due to the long term nature of the lease or PPA, and easement or license agreements will also be required, both of which will require time to achieve.  Since government granted financial incentives are as important (or more so) to system investors than expected revenues from sale of the power produced, and some incentives are time sensitive (requiring completion of the project within a specified time frame), failure to address the time required to satisfy these community association specific legal requirements may not only undermine the relationships between the parties, but resulting damage to the financing entity may expose the association to potential legal liability for which no insurance coverage is available.  This risk must, therefore, be adequately identified and managed by the parties.

The good news is that all of this is achievable, and has been successfully navigated in the context of PPA agreements for commercial and institutional building solar projects.  There is no reason why these issues cannot be addressed for community association solar energy projects as well, if community associations are careful to work with investors and installers who are familiar with such projects, and have legal representation to help them through the process.

Cuando disenas una estrategia de Word of Mouth, debes llegar al momento donde se evaluan posibles hubs para ayudar a propagar la idea, causa, o producto; y es cuando muchas veces valoramos erroneamente a una figura publica.  Y no por la persona, sino por los objetivos de la estrategia, la audiencia objetivo y muchas otras metricas.

Adweek Media y Harris condujeron una encuesta en Estados Unidos, que buscaba observar a celebridades y su persuasion en ese mercado. Entre los resultados, vemos que el 23% de los encuestados opina que las estrellas de cine o TV son las menos convincentes al estar apoyando un producto; contrario al 21% que piensa que los Atletas son mucho mas convincentes al apoyar un producto.

Celebrity Endorsements That Are Most Persuasive (% of U.S. Adults by Age Segment)

Source: HarrisInteractive, November 2009

Recuerdo haber leido un estudio hace varios meses, y me llamo la atencion el dato de que en America Latina, se tiende a confiar mas en las figuras politicas de lo que confian en Europa o en EEUU, principalmente los menores de 23 annios (no recuerdo la edad exacta). 

Saludos,

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091116 Sungmin – Kamp New York Bag Endorsement

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