Practice Management Member Conversations

This message has been cross posted to the following Discussion Forums: Practice Management Member Conversations and Small Project Practitioners .
-------------------------------------------
Is anybody else having heartburn over Hillary Clinton's husband and chief campaigner stumping at the AIA Convention?  Can we at least offer equal time to Dr. Ben Carson, Scott Walker or Marco Rubio?  How blatant can we get?
-------------------------------------------
Robin Miller AIA
MSH Architects
Sioux Falls SD
-------------------------------------------

I am. With a touch of indigestion. Keep the politics out of the AIA.

-------------------------------------------
Douglas Elting AIA
Visions in Architecture
Lincoln NE
-------------------------------------------

sigh........ ;-( what a sad  day  for architects and architecture  that even we can't stop and  look for the  good  in something.  the  collective  focus  on negativity to the  exclusion of what  might  be  possible, is  going to be the ruin of  us all.  

is  he expensive? probably 
is he  a democrat? yes
does that make  him an anathema?  hardly.  it makes him an intelligent  and articulate person with things  to offer  on a  wide  variety of  subjects, in spite of his well documented flaws.
and  if  you don't like  his speech (if  it  is a  "speech") walk out or stand  up and  turn your backs  on him like the  shining example  set  by ny's finest.
we're a long way down the  slippery slope  to dystopia, no reason to stop now.

-------------------------------------------
Eugene Ely AIA, LEED AP
San Jose, CA
-------------------------------------------



Original Message:
Sent: 02-11-2015 17:30
From: Douglas Elting
Subject: AIA Convention

I am. With a touch of indigestion. Keep the politics out of the AIA.

-------------------------------------------
Douglas Elting AIA
Visions in Architecture
Lincoln NE
-------------------------------------------

Definitely, but it should be George W. Bush, another former president, not a candidate.

-------------------------------------------
Thomas Massey AIA
Chevy Chase MD
-------------------------------------------

~Rasing Hand.mov~       Is this a valuable use of our dues?    He averages $195,000 per speech.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/05/23/first-on-cnn-bill-clintons-106-million-speech-circuit-windfall/.

-------------------------------------------
Douglas Hammond AIA, ACHA
c|a ARCHITECTS
Long Beach CA
-------------------------------------------

Please remember we have a collaboration with Clinton Global Inititative to deal with community resiliency and health issues as discussed in a "Take Five" piece by EVP / CEO Ivy:

http://www.aia.org/practicing/AIAB100164

AIA and GCI share a goal to improve communites and people's lives. 

-------------------------------------------
RK Stewart FAIA
Founder
RK Stewart Consultants
Salt Lake City UT
-------------------------------------------



Original Message:
Sent: 02-11-2015 18:12
From: Douglas Hammond
Subject: AIA Convention

~Rasing Hand.mov~       Is this a valuable use of our dues?    He averages $195,000 per speech.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/05/23/first-on-cnn-bill-clintons-106-million-speech-circuit-windfall/.

-------------------------------------------
Douglas Hammond AIA, ACHA
c|a ARCHITECTS
Long Beach CA
-------------------------------------------

To amplify what RK said:

AIA has a relationship with Bill Clinton through their participation in the Clinton Global Initiative, which is what I would assume he would talk about.  I have never heard an AIA speaker give a political talk at a convention or other meeting.

It might interest you that Dr. Carson has spoken at Grassroots in the past.  

In general, if you look at where the Archipac has spent it's resources, they are almost evenly divided by party.  

Personally, I only want to hear from a politician talk about areas where I, as an architect, are concerned.  I could see Dr. Carson speaking about the connection between architecture and health.  I am sure that President Clinton will talk about how architects can make the world a better place to live, the work of the Clinton Global Initiative (which if you look at who they have had speak to them and in the behalf is totally non-partisan) and the role we can play in bringing their goals to reality.  Other politicians, especially those you named, have nothing to add besides strictly partisan rhetoric.  I get the fact that one can say "My Party: Good; Other Party: Bad.  That's not what I believe will happen here.

As far as fees, my "guess" is that because the Institute partners with the CGI, there is a highly reduced fee.

I would also point out that this is one speaker.  There will be two other keynote presentations.  If you make a decision to attend or not based on a single keynote, that seems short sighted.  You don't want to hear Clinton?  Great, there are a number of other activities you can attend instead.



-------------------------------------------
Walter Hainsfurther FAIA
Kurtz Associates Architects
Des Plaines IL
-------------------------------------------



Original Message:
Sent: 02-11-2015 19:01
From: RK Stewart
Subject: AIA Convention

Please remember we have a collaboration with Clinton Global Inititative to deal with community resiliency and health issues as discussed in a "Take Five" piece by EVP / CEO Ivy:

http://www.aia.org/practicing/AIAB100164

AIA and GCI share a goal to improve communites and people's lives. 

-------------------------------------------
RK Stewart FAIA
Founder
RK Stewart Consultants
Salt Lake City UT
-------------------------------------------

I don't know if you have seen Bill Clinton give a speech about what the Clinton Global Initiative is doing to help people all over the world, but it is not a campaign speech.  He is doing great work, and I feel grateful that he can carve out time in his busy life to speak to us at our convention.  I saw him at Greenbuild a few years ago and he was topical and most informative.  If any of the other people mentioned has anything remotely close to what Clinton is doing, and can relate it to our profession, then they should be invited also.

-------------------------------------------
William Wiedower AIA
Heiple & Wiedower Architects
Little Rock AR
-------------------------------------------

No Heartburn at all. The  difference is  Bill Clinton is a private citizen  is not running for President  and actually does something to better the world.   Carson , Walker and Rubio are potentially running for president and any speech they give has political implications .   If Hillary Clinton was asked to speak  I would have an issue because  she is also a potential presidential candidate. 


-------------------------------------------
David DeFilippo AIA
Tsoi/Kobus Associates; Cambridge, MA
Cambridge MA
-------------------------------------------



Original Message:
Sent: 02-11-2015 18:59
From: William Wiedower
Subject: AIA Convention

I don't know if you have seen Bill Clinton give a speech about what the Clinton Global Initiative is doing to help people all over the world, but it is not a campaign speech.  He is doing great work, and I feel grateful that he can carve out time in his busy life to speak to us at our convention.  I saw him at Greenbuild a few years ago and he was topical and most informative.  If any of the other people mentioned has anything remotely close to what Clinton is doing, and can relate it to our profession, then they should be invited also.

-------------------------------------------
William Wiedower AIA
Heiple & Wiedower Architects
Little Rock AR
-------------------------------------------

Perhaps not an informed decision. By their behavior, AIA "leadership" is clearly focused on issues that are most-often associated with left/progressive/liberal/etc. policies and approaches. This is nothing new. Nonetheless, given the timing, I would have thought a more balanced mix of keynotes would be considered. So, it seems, the decision to have Mr. C speak is less than prudent, or it is a fairly straightforward statement of "this is who we are, take it or leave it." 

-------------------------------------------
Scott Braley FAIA
Principal Consultant
Braley Consulting & Training
Atlanta GA
-------------------------------------------

An excellent selection considering his ongoing efforts through CGI to improve the world in which we live.

-------------------------------------------
Eric Wessels AIA
SBA Architects
Dallas Center IA
-------------------------------------------



Original Message:
Sent: 02-11-2015 19:09
From: Scott Braley
Subject: AIA Convention

Perhaps not an informed decision. By their behavior, AIA "leadership" is clearly focused on issues that are most-often associated with left/progressive/liberal/etc. policies and approaches. This is nothing new. Nonetheless, given the timing, I would have thought a more balanced mix of keynotes would be considered. So, it seems, the decision to have Mr. C speak is less than prudent, or it is a fairly straightforward statement of "this is who we are, take it or leave it." 

-------------------------------------------
Scott Braley FAIA
Principal Consultant
Braley Consulting & Training
Atlanta GA
-------------------------------------------

A keynote speaker should speak to the issues affecting our profession.
President Clinton has committed his time after leaving office to improving the world, focusing on the environment, housing, and human rights.
Issues closely aligned with our profession.
If the others you mentioned have done the same, I would say they might  be considered. Perhaps they were approached? What topic would they speak on?
However a candidate for office should not be asked to speak during an election year.

President Clinton ( regardless of your politics) has earned the right to be referred to as PRESIDENT Clinton.

 

-------------------------------------------
Betty Trent AIA
Architecture Plus
Austin TX
-------------------------------------------

How you respond to Mr. Millers question may depend upon how your local chapter behaves.  My (former) local chapter promoted the Al Gore film, invited Harry Reid to speak last time he ran for re-election, and then also invited Vann Jones to speak to the chapter.  I protested the Reid invitation, especially so for an election year, but was assured it was "not political".

I may have been born at night, but it wasn't last night.  Everyone has the right to their political beliefs, but AIA should not be a partisan political theater. 

And the Global climate stuff?  Anyone else notice the news reports lately that the temperature numbers have been fudged upward for years?  Pardon me for wondering if we haven't been conned about this for years.

-------------------------------------------
Klaus Steinke
Principal
Klaus Steinke Architect
Las Vegas NV
-------------------------------------------

Amen to Ms. Miller and Mr. Steinke! For years I have been distressed by the increased politicization of the AIA and the strong bend to the Left the managing members clearly have. Some of the nonsense and political positions it has advocated have made me seriously wonder why I am a member supporting this group that does not support me.

What on God's green Earth does a disbarred, impeached, womanizing politician have to say to a gathering of architects? As a female this is particularly galling given his past as a sexual predator. I thought the AIA could not top its past insult to women architects when they lumped them into a convention focus with handicapped and gay architects (really!?) but the insensitivity and political bias the AIA displays with this choice is indeed disappointing.



-------------------------------------------
Nea May AIA
Principal
Poole & Poole Architecture, LLC
Midlothian VA
-------------------------------------------



Original Message:
Sent: 02-14-2015 02:25
From: Klaus Steinke
Subject: AIA Convention

How you respond to Mr. Millers question may depend upon how your local chapter behaves.  My (former) local chapter promoted the Al Gore film, invited Harry Reid to speak last time he ran for re-election, and then also invited Vann Jones to speak to the chapter.  I protested the Reid invitation, especially so for an election year, but was assured it was "not political".

I may have been born at night, but it wasn't last night.  Everyone has the right to their political beliefs, but AIA should not be a partisan political theater. 

And the Global climate stuff?  Anyone else notice the news reports lately that the temperature numbers have been fudged upward for years?  Pardon me for wondering if we haven't been conned about this for years.

-------------------------------------------
Klaus Steinke
Principal
Klaus Steinke Architect
Las Vegas NV
-------------------------------------------

there's  politics .....and  there's head  in the sand willful ignorance  of more facts than you can shake a  stick at. take a  run out  to Lake  Mead in a  spare  moment.  and  then  come back and  tell us  the  lake has never  looked  better.  that  will be more  believable than your  imagined global  climate  hoax conspiracy  theory.

that "AIA shouldn't be a partisan political theater" advice  didn't last long  either. but  i'll grant that  you didn't start  it.
-------------------------------------------
Eugene Ely AIA, LEED AP

San Jose, CA
-------------------------------------------



Original Message:
Sent: 02-14-2015 02:25
From: Klaus Steinke
Subject: AIA Convention

How you respond to Mr. Millers question may depend upon how your local chapter behaves.  My (former) local chapter promoted the Al Gore film, invited Harry Reid to speak last time he ran for re-election, and then also invited Vann Jones to speak to the chapter.  I protested the Reid invitation, especially so for an election year, but was assured it was "not political".

I may have been born at night, but it wasn't last night.  Everyone has the right to their political beliefs, but AIA should not be a partisan political theater. 

And the Global climate stuff?  Anyone else notice the news reports lately that the temperature numbers have been fudged upward for years?  Pardon me for wondering if we haven't been conned about this for years.

-------------------------------------------
Klaus Steinke
Principal
Klaus Steinke Architect
Las Vegas NV
-------------------------------------------

There's science, and then there's adjusted science.  Turns out that temperatures have not been rising according to the man-made Global Warming model, so the eminent and trusted scientists have "helped" things along. 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/environment/globalwarming/11395516/The-fiddling-with-temperature-data-is-the-biggest-science-scandal-ever.html

Of course, you can find articles that says the CIA is manipulating the weather, and that the US can say goodbye to cold winters.  Guess that's not happening this year, huh?

What bothers me the most is the screams of rigid orthodoxy that rise whenever the darling sacred cows of this age are questioned.  In the mid '70's we were staring at a new ice age.  In the mid '80's the water in Lake Mead ran through the overflow spillways.

True science means to be always questioning your theorems and conclusions.  The data should be reliable.  Today we get  unquestioned theorems and conclusions, and manipulated data.  It's like "science" has turned into the church, and climate deniers into Galileo.  And just who is willfully ignorant when you accept conclusions based on false data?

And what happens if some story breaks on that scandal involving that pedophile Friend of Bill while he's in town addressing all those architects?  How's that work for repositioning the Institute?

-------------------------------------------
Klaus Steinke
Principal
Klaus Steinke Architect
Las Vegas NV
-------------------------------------------



Original Message:
Sent: 02-16-2015 23:46
From: Eugene Ely
Subject: AIA Convention


there's  politics .....and  there's head  in the sand willful ignorance  of more facts than you can shake a  stick at. take a  run out  to Lake  Mead in a  spare  moment.  and  then  come back and  tell us  the  lake has never  looked  better.  that  will be more  believable than your  imagined global  climate  hoax conspiracy  theory.

that "AIA shouldn't be a partisan political theater" advice  didn't last long  either. but  i'll grant that  you didn't start  it.
-------------------------------------------
Eugene Ely AIA, LEED AP

San Jose, CA
-------------------------------------------

No - I don't.  

-------------------------------------------
Christopher Johnson AIA
Principal Architect
Johnson Architecture
Fresno CA
-------------------------------------------

I could not agree more with Robin Miller's assessment of the convention. I am really tired of the one sided political bend of the AIA. It should be representing all members and perhaps, more importantly, reaching out to influence both sides of the political aisle. Instead there is a constant focus on issues that are only tangentially related to helping architects but sacred cows to the Left while fundamental issues that effect practicing architects each day are relegated to forum issues where architect business owners reach out to help each other.

I wish the AIA would take a page from the ABA handbook and actually work to advocate for architects rather than pet social issues.

-------------------------------------------
Nea May Poole, AIA, LEED AP
Principal
Poole & Poole Architecture, LLC
Midlothian VA
-------------------------------------------