Fairway Oaks was built on northern Florida wasteland by 10,000 volunteers, including Carter, in a record 17-day blitz organized by the charity Habitat for Humanity. The second blitz. Destroyed homes faster than the first.
Eight years later it is better known for cockroaches, mildew and mysterious skin rashes. Sounds a lot like the Cahtah economy.
A forthcoming legal battle over Fairway Oaks threatens the reputation of a charity envied for the calibre of its celebrity supporters, who range from Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt to Colin Firth, Christian Bale and Helena Bonham Carter. Yes, the BSA is green with envy.
The case could challenge the bedrock philosophy behind Habitat for Humanity, claiming that using volunteers, rather than professional builders, is causing as many problems as it solves. But even in Peanutville, there's some with sense.
Some residents dismiss their neighbours worries. Diennal Fields, 51, said people did not know how to look after their homes: Its simple stuff: if there is mildew, dont get a lawyer, get a bottle of bleach. Wait till Diennal finds out he's tangling with the ATLA and the DNC. Toast.
#1
Mildew and cockroaches don't sound like construction issues. It would be interesting to know what percentage of the current owners were the orginal homeowners.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/04/2009 0:12 Comments ||
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#2
Mildew could be related to construction - if a vapor barrier is not properly installed, for instance.
Cockroaches, however, just happen.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
01/04/2009 0:47 Comments ||
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#3
you just cant give people who have had there entire life provided for them as an entitlement something that requires upkeep and expect anything different.
Locally we have several apartment complexes that are 'housing authority' -- brand new condos that were actually nice. The county had a rent subsidy program for them and at a moderate income ($18 K) you were not eligible to move there. less than 3 years later, and most of them are thrashed out and barely habitable.
you cast pearls before swine, and they trample them into the mud. you can take the dirtballs ouy of the projects, but you cant take the projects out of the dirtballs
Posted by: Abu do you love ||
01/04/2009 1:43 Comments ||
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#4
Seldom works on a grand scale either. Pruitt-Igoe is but one example.
#5
There's a 100% correlation between LaKooka German Palmetto Bugs Roaches and living in Florida. Hell get used to 'em. Name 'em. I still miss Blue Velvet a pet and racing roach from mai childhood.
#6
A forthcoming legal battle over Fairway Oaks threatens the reputation of a charity envied for the calibre of its celebrity supporters, who range from Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt to Colin Firth, Christian Bale and Helena Bonham Carter.
Caliber of celebrities, please meet the caliber of outrage, .223, ranging from 0 meters to 250 meters.
#7
To be fair & balanced, the article should mention what has become of northern Florida housing NOT built by Habitat for Humanity over the same time frame. Humidity, heat & bugs respect no housing in that climate.
#8
I don't think volunteers are be the problem. Habitat houses stood when Hurricane Andrew took out neighborhoods built by "Professional" builders. It seems the professional builders were skimping on nails and boards. Andrew revealed that the contractors had committed many building code violations. Habitat went above and beyond the building code, and their houses stood.
The idea a "blitz" and the presence of Mr. Carter may have contributed to sloppy planning in choosing a site. Celebrities can be a distraction.
Super Hose asks a good question: are these the original owners? Habitat usually screens people very carefully. They're not being given a house; they have to be able to pay back a modest loan, and they have to put in at least 300 hours of sweat equity in the construction.
Abu, Habitat isn't housing authority, and renting is not the same as owning. When people own their own homes, they take better care of them. Housing authorities are notorious for bureaucratic muddles and neglecting property, and not screening tenants properly.
The Habitat houses in our area are well built and well kept. The County housing in our area is well maintained but the tenants can be problematic.
#14
jeesh. I can't stand Hollywood but the apparent moral of this story was that next time they should stay home and not lift a hand so they don't get sued.
Don't be dissing no beetles, now. As J.B. Haldane pointed out, God must be quite fond of them seeing as how he made 300,000 some species of the little critters.
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, tapped in December by President-elect Barack Obama to serve as secretary of Commerce, has withdrawn his name for the position, citing a pending investigation into a company that has done business with his state.
"Let me say unequivocally that I and my Administration have acted properly in all matters and that this investigation will bear out that fact," he said Sunday in a report by NBC News' Andrea Mitchell. "But I have concluded that the ongoing investigation also would have forced an untenable delay in the confirmation process."
He said he plans to continue in his role as governor. "I appreciate the confidence President-elect Obama has shown in me, and value our friendship and working partnership. I told him that I am eager to serve in the future in any way he deems useful. And like all Americans, I pray for his success and the success of our beloved country."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/04/2009 13:37 ||
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#1
"spend more time with my famiy"
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/04/2009 14:02 Comments ||
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#2
or family, even
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/04/2009 14:02 Comments ||
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#4
I hear the sound of knives being sharpened in the background. One hopes the continuing investigation reveals all sorts of interesting things.
Richardson has been rather slimy for a while. He was a baseball player too, remember.
Now if this also leads to him resigning as governor ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/04/2009 14:16 Comments ||
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#5
Two former state Treasurers (NM-Name that Party) are serving time in federal prison for kickback schemes.
When NM became a state, the federal statehood act mandated that state income derived from the then major business, mining, had to be invested not spent. The return on investment was the income the state could use for annual operations other than the usual taxes; sales, personal income, fees, et al. Well, it's been a hundred years and copper mining is still going in the southwest part of the state. That's a heck of lot of capital build up*. So those who can influence on 'where' the money is invested seem to get a lot of 'gifts' in graft re-election coffers or for operations/personages of special interest.
* Also buried in the story is that the state was a significant holder in Big Oil. The Gov has coasted for the last couple years and spending freely upon that income. [It's fun speaking down on Big Oil while garnering big returns - shocked, shocked to discover there's gambling going on here.] Now that oil has crashed, he sorely wanted to be out of town before the new session of the legislature meets and has to deal with a big short fall from the prior budget.
#7
He never wanted that job. He wanted State. Bill can easily get out of this scandal. This gives him a convenient way out. Richardson is already sick of **Obama and his "wet behind the ear" decisions.
**The Old Testament author Obadiah comes up as a spell check suggestion when typing Obama. What an insult to the Old Testament. Fred, I don't blame you for it. I'm sure it wasn't intentional. :-)
#8
You have to hand to Barry, he hasn't even entered office and he has already helped to end two corrupt political careers. (crossing fingers that hillary is the next to fall)
More from the files of the original Kulture of Korruption
From TFA:
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid didn't want Rep. Jesse Jackson in the Senate, a point he made clear to Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich in a conversation about filling Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. I wonder what J3 did to deserve this spite from his erstwhile comrades?
The Nevada Democrat made one call to Blagojevich on Dec. 3 to discuss the seat vacated by the president-elect, Reid spokesman Jim Manley confirmed. Six days later, authorities arrested Blagojevich for allegedly trying to sell Obama's seat. I couldn't have written this graf better myself.Maybe Reid was trying to trade up. Dunno...
Reid accused Blagojevich Saturday of leaking and distorting conversations about the process of filling the vacant seat. You made the call, Harry. Didn't you?
Three words, Senator Reid: Appearance of impropriety. Delving into a political situation in another state that was precious little of your very business.
Think the regular news will make this point to Reid: that this wasn't this matter of his concern?
#7
Goodness. First it came out that Representative Jackson was feeding information on corrupt politicians to the Feds, now that the Democratic leadership doesn't want him. How soon before the gentleman decides he's really a Republican?
An upstate New York developer donated $100,000 to former President Bill Clinton's foundation in November 2004, around the same time that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton helped secure millions of dollars in federal assistance for the businessman's mall project.
Mrs. Clinton helped enact legislation allowing the developer, Robert J. Congel, to use tax-exempt bonds to help finance the construction of the Destiny USA entertainment and shopping complex, an expansion of the Carousel Center in Syracuse. Mrs. Clinton also helped secure a provision in a highway bill that set aside $5 million for Destiny USA roadway construction.
The bill with the tax-free bonds provision became law in October 2004, weeks before the donation, and the highway bill with the set-aside became law in August 2005, about nine months after the donation.
Mr. Congel and Philippe Reines, a spokesman for Mrs. Clinton, both said there was no connection between his donation and her legislative work on his project's behalf. Mr. Reines said Mrs. Clinton supported the expansion of Carousel mall "purely as part of her unwavering commitment to improving upstate New York's struggling economy, and nothing more."
Mr. Clinton set up his foundation as he was leaving the White House and as his wife was transforming herself from first lady to United States senator from New York. The William J. Clinton Foundation finances Mr. Clinton's presidential library in Little Rock, Ark., as well as programs that work on AIDS, poverty, climate change and other causes worldwide.
Donations to charities favored by lawmakers have been a recent ethics flashpoint in Congress, including the controversy over Representative Charles B. Rangel's fund-raising from businesses with interests before the House Ways and Means Committee, which he leads, for a center named after him at the City College of New York. In 2007, Congress enacted a law requiring companies and their lobbyists to disclose donations to charities associated with lawmakers.
But there is no law requiring former presidents to disclose money they collect for their foundations.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/04/2009 00:00 ||
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Like it or not, roughly 7,000 employees of New York City file 32-page disclosure forms each year divulging personal information about their family finances in an effort to bolster confidence in open government.
But when Caroline Kennedy was employed by the city Department of Education from 2002 to 2004, as the chief executive of the Office of Strategic Partnerships, she was not required to file, even though two people who worked for her had to disclose information about their finances.
City officials have offered a variety of explanations over the last few weeks why Ms. Kennedy did not have to meet this filing requirement despite her title and the responsibilities she has cited in her efforts to convince the public that she has the experience to take Hillary Rodham Clinton's seat in the Senate.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
01/04/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Dang it, she is NOT "Ms. Kennedy". She is Mrs. Schollsberg. Her maiden name was Kennedy.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
01/04/2009 0:45 Comments ||
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#2
.... she was not required to file, even though two people who worked for her had to disclose information about their finances.
#6
Ahhh, but they missed New York City Law Number 102.6.4.A.f.: "Kennedys earning $1 per year shall, you know, be exempt from the disclosure requirements."
(CNN) -- Sen. John Cornyn weighed in on Minnesota's close and still unresolved U.S. Senate race, saying Friday that no one should be seated until a winner is made official by both Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie and Gov. Tim Pawlenty. Sen. John Cornyn says Republican senators will filibuster if the Democrats try to seat Al Franken.
Democratic challenger Al Franken holds a lead of about 50 votes over Republican incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman, but this number does not reflect what could be more than a thousand improperly rejected absentee ballots still to be tallied. No matter the results, officials have said there will almost certainly be court challenges.
Minnesota's other senator, Democrat Amy Klobuchar, told the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune this week that if the state Canvassing Board -- which is tasked with tallying votes -- certifies a winner, the Senate should "consider seating that person pending litigation."
Klobuchar's statement prompted Cornyn, a Republican from Texas and the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, to threaten a filibuster to block Democrats from seating Franken before an official certificate is signed by Ritchie and Pawlenty.
The governor and secretary of state are barred by Minnesota law from making the election official until all legal proceedings have been completed.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/04/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
They can't really want to seat him. He is going to be a trainwreck.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/04/2009 0:14 Comments ||
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#2
For every bad piece of legislation the Dems would foist on us, the Repubs could reply, "and it was voted in by a comedian!" And they'd be right.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/04/2009 0:31 Comments ||
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#4
The crime scene that was this senate race is contaminated. There can be no honest outcomes from the incompetent and corrupt way this election was handled. Florida got it's sh*t together this year compared to to Minnesota.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
01/04/2009 1:16 Comments ||
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#5
Letting Franken be seated might not be a horrible idea for the Republicans.
Trunks could use a vile, polarizing figure like Franken. He could be the workhouse that gets more republicans elected next time.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
01/04/2009 1:35 Comments ||
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#6
And refusing to seat Franken or even holding the matter up would give the demagogues on the left a great deal of fodder. This is a losing battle for the Republicans, seat him and use him to highlight our corrupt electoral system.
#7
Seat the silly bastard and let Coleman's legal efforts continue. We're already off the bizarro scale with Obama, why worry. He'll be entertaining to watch.
#9
If its that close, give the Minnesotans their new Senator so the rest of the country can see them for what they are - a joke. Seriously to treat the concept of a republic as such to send this person to Washington clearly signals that the state treats the process like the theater that Louisiana has for so many generations. Just another step in the process of arrested adolescent development impacting and undermining the structures of self government.
#10
The Senate really deserves Franken. His behavior and intellect is just a little more transparent than the rest of the chamber(f%&$ing clown college).
#11
"There can be no honest outcomes from the incompetent and corrupt way this election was handled."
Alaska Paul: You may be correct to suggest that the Minnesota senate race is proof of incompetence. The underbelly of Minnesota elections has been exposed simply because of the extreme closeness of the vote count. If the same scenario were to occur in any other state you would see a similar clusterfuck. And in many cases much worse. As for the allegations of corruption in Minnesota elections it might be helpful to put this in historical context. Consider some past Senate races from Lyndon Johnson to Robert Torricelli. Or maybe even uhem Ted Stevens from Alaska.
#13
WTF is wrong with the people in Minnesota that they let an intellectual midget like Franken get close enough to where he could steal the election?
Are people in Minnesota that fecking stupid? Someone seed the water with birth control agents - the nation doesn't need mouthbreating droolers like that breeding.
#15
"Are people in Minnesota that fecking stupid?"
OS, this disorder is not unique to Minnesota. I'm willing to bet you could see a simmilar situation in any state from the upper midwest or Northeast coast. It's not all that complex. Start with a state that is traditionally liberal with an active voting electorate. Then nominate someone who is willing publically announce they will blow organized labor. Seeing as how this wasn't a landslide is testimate to the fact that even the rubes had their reservations about Franken.
#16
You want to see some bitterness? Here is a comment on the same subject from a pi$$ed off reader at AoS:
Minnesota is the worst state in the union and everyone from there can go straight to hell. They elect professional wrestlers, (Ventura) Islamists, (Ellison) Shitheads (Frankin)... It is a flat, frozen wasteland full of white trash and Somali cab drivers who wont carry seeing eye dogs in their cabs. It is bitter cold or blazing hot. The state bird is the mosqueto. Their bridges fall down because of pigeon crap. They think Prince makes good music....
I wasted 4 years of my life on a girl from Minnesota who turned out to be a perfect microcosom of the crappy hellhole; Flat, stupid, cold and liberal.
Minnesota sucks.
Man, tell us how you REALLY feel.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
01/04/2009 14:42 Comments ||
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#17
Looking at Franken taking the Senate there, I think he is close to the mark.
People in Minnesota are now beating out western PA (Murtha's district) in the competition for "The Stupidest Place in America".
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
