Houston as a playground - An Entrepreneur's dream. HoustonChronicle.com($$$)
The 36-year-old native Houstonian is known for being a social entrepreneur and large-scale dreamer. He hopes, after years of owning and operating an organic furniture store, he can harness Houston's artisan and maker community by connecting them with the equipment they need to produce local, handmade products, in turn driving down the cost for home goods.
Libre, backed by the Koch brothers, aims to raise GOP standing by Hispanics. Ashley Parker, NY Times via HoustonChronicle.com ($$$)
But the group has also drawn the ire of some Hispanic and immigration advocacy groups by raising concerns about some of President Barack Obama's more sweeping executive actions on immigration, and by pouring money into House races to help defeat two Hispanic lawmakers - Pete Gallego of Texas and Joe Garcia of Florida, both Democrats - because they supported the president's health care plan, among other issues Libre opposes.The New Urbanist, progressive businessman is presented as an idealist and a dreamer, the free-market group? Out of touch with those they are trying to reach. (The NY Times doesn't mention that the groups speaking out against Libre are, themselves, partisan Democrat groups.)
The point is that, when you hear about political advocacy by business, it's important to remember that the calls for exclusion are only being made with one side in mind. Businesses who promote the goals and values of the ruling and courtesan class are encouraged to get involved.
Critics on the Left will dismiss this as just more rambling against so-called "liberal media bias". That's fine, I've long given up trying to make them understand that the media is biased on the side of the ruling class,. Those who still discount media bias on party terms (instead of ideological as it exists) are typically partisans who are told what to think and who very happy to do so,
For the rest of us, how we're presented the news still matters.
So, while I'm OK with this entrepreneur being praised, it should be noted that his business model relies, more than somewhat, on public monies, including land-grants and subsidies just as the Koch's does. My ideal is to get rid of the cronyism and let businesses compete. I would think that a business model of Kaplan's (Green, locally produced) would succeed in certain areas of Houston where such things matter.
Mr. Kaplan should have the chance to succeed, as should the Koch brothers. And both have the free speech right, in America, to advocate for their cause. What's truly disturbing here is that the editors of the Chronicle obviously think one business should not have that right. That blind-spot the Chron carries editorially is a detriment to their business and political coverage.
