Recent Posts

The Sheriff’s Office said it was conducting an internal review into “alleged discrepancies” in statements that Deputy Titsworth might have made in the wreck’s aftermath.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/homepagelatest/tort-claim-alleges-illegal-u-turn-by-tulsa-county-sheriff/article_644fab5e-077e-5f53-89a5-9532f85d642e.html

Was there a mechanism that could have kept the southern states from seceding at that point in time? Other than war that is. That is what I am trying to discern, not the why.

There is quite a lot written on this.   There were leading politicians on both sides that thought the states did have the right to secede.  Lincoln, and others, did not.  (Obviously)  The war settled that, except for some idiots in TX that still claim they have that right.  (They don't.)

Do developers only like home runs so to speak? Above $500k limits the potential buyers tremendously, as does the simple fact that not everyone with that kind of money even wants to live downtown. Are a bunch of singles and doubles not acceptable?

I understand that financing is only granted to those that can forecast positive cash flow in order to pay the note. But does the likelihood of selling the units ever play into it? Is it impossible to build at a price point low enough to sell units at a lower price?

Was there a mechanism that could have kept the southern states from seceding at that point in time? Other than war that is. That is what I am trying to discern, not the why.

War is generally considered a failure of politics, that or it's end state. What mechanism can override when people want to go to war?

I posted this on an unrelated thread but is more relevant here: A lot of developers seemed to pull back or slow down with the oil crash. The View looks held up, only the hotel is being built in the Santa Fe square and who knows what or when anything will come of the Nordam redevelopment. Oil is less than 10% of the economy so while that is still a big deal, it seems like investors should keep going due to the rest of the economy doing so well. I have started to see listings "for rent" in the heart of downtown which used to rarely ever happen (they all had long wait lists).

Maybe they are scared of a few vacancies or having to lower prices a bit and don't want to make it harder for themselves. I understand that but also think the overall rise in rents and demand to live in urban areas will rise faster, especially if the new developments get built. This is part of the reason we need affordable condos downtown: to ease the  financial burden on the developers: rather than a massive mortgage or upfront payment, they sell the condos and get paid back much earlier.

I think the Nordam spot would be a perfect place to put some good efficient condos in! Many would pay $100k-$250k for a nice spot they could own downtown. Many do that in places like Little Rock, Des Moines and other mid-sized cities already. It would take a huge upfront investment, but someone should try to build a 6-12 story building with  about 60-100 units with a parking garage.

Rather than ~20 units at $500k (like the Davenport which I assume is not getting built at this point), developers should be scrambling to capture the market that is guaranteed to be there. Yes, the margins will be less than apartments or a hotel, but it is an untapped market. You cannot buy condos in the IDL under $500k. That excludes virtually everyone.

Anyone with about $10 million interested in building a 60-100 unit condo? Could probably make quite a bit and if for some reason they don't all sell, you could rent some to weather the storm. Nice condos around downtown are going for $100-$250k so the market is there. that next-level walkability is worth a premium too so $150k+ should be easily doable.

Man,  you are making me jealous.    That area where you are, Cimarron Canyon and related, is just sublime.   One of my favorite places on earth. 

You know where to find us!

Just FYI, I don't know if you've gotten much into gravel riding but MC and I are working on putting on a gravel ride or race out here for next April out through the Valle Vidal and back in Ponil Canyon.  I'm trying to figure out if we can fit it in between the Landrun 100 out in Stillwater and the DK-200 in Emporia in late May/Eary June.

The southern states did say they could succeed, because they did.

The succession papers from the southern states made very clear why they were doing so. It was slavery. The overreach they cited by the federal government was working to get rid of slavery.

I've posted quotes from a number of the state's succession statements in the past. I can do so again.

Was there a mechanism that could have kept the southern states from seceding at that point in time? Other than war that is. That is what I am trying to discern, not the why.

Eh...it's downtown Tulsa.  To me, anything with life is better than these F'ing parking lots.

Sad but true when you consider that over half of downtown remains parking or empty lots. However, this particular location acts as a chokehold for southeastern development in the Blue Dome/East Village area. The highway exit ramp would've otherwise been the stopper so about like losing a block of potential urban/walkable area.

Still, it would be nice to see a bit faster progress on all of those almost ~$1 billion in potential downtown projects, especially in NE downtown. The View looks held up, only the hotel is being built in the Santa Fe square and who knows what or when anything will come of the Nordam redevelopment.

A lot of developers seemed to pull back or slow down with the oil crash. Oil is less than 10% of the economy so while that is still a big deal, it seems like investors should keep going due to the rest of the economy doing so well. I have started to see listings "for rent" in the heart of downtown which used to rarely ever happen (they all had long wait lists).

Maybe they are scared of a few vacancies or having to lower prices a bit and don't want to make it harder for themselves. I understand that but also think the overall rise in rents and demand to live in urban areas will rise faster, especially if the new developments get built. This is part of the reason we need affordable condos downtown: to ease the  financial burden on the developers: rather than a massive mortgage or upfront payment, they sell the condos and get paid back much earlier. The Nordam spot would be a perfect place to put some good efficient condos in! Many would pay $100k-$250k for a nice spot they could own downtown. Many do that in places like Little Rock, Des Moines and other mid-sized cities already.

I'm under the impression that secession at the time was viewed as a check on the federal government, which everyone was skeptical of (rightly so it would seem). And it was generally understood that states could in fact secede and leave the union. Is that not accurate?

If it is, then Lee was not a traitor at all. He was conquered. Ya know, like the Indians. But he let his white privileged let him get pardoned. ;-)

From Wikipedia (the sources I believe are all from one or two biographies):
The evidence cited in favor of the claim that Lee opposed slavery included his direct statements and his actions before and during the war, including Lee's support of the work by his wife and her mother to liberate slaves and fund their move to Liberia,[69] the success of his wife and daughter in setting up an illegal school for slaves on the Arlington plantation,[70] the freeing of Custis' slaves in 1862, and, as the Confederacy's position in the war became desperate, his petitioning slaveholders in 1864–65 to allow slaves to volunteer for the Army with manumission offered as a reward for outstanding service.[71][72]

The southern states did say they could succeed, because they did.

The succession papers from the southern states made very clear why they were doing so. It was slavery. The overreach they cited by the federal government was working to get rid of slavery.

I've posted quotes from a number of the state's succession statements in the past. I can do so again.

Let's not forget that Grant is on the $50, that should make him more valuable as a president. 

Some of you missed the deadline to surrender those all into me by midnight.

There’s not much we can do to fight against White Supremacists in America, but this is something we CAN do. You'll thank me afterwards for getting those out of your wallet conscience.
Then we can go to work on all the supremacist symbolism here:



...and to think they thought they could get away with that.