Problems with the Size of the Government...Again

Pop Quiz....

Which of the following best describes the Department of Children and Families: A) A blood-sucking leech B) an infectious disease C) a greedy pig D) all of the above

For some Connecticut lawmakers, the answer is all three.

The Courant reports:

""You have been a drain and a bloodsucker on the budget," state Rep. Marie Lopez Kirkley-Bey, D-Hartford, told DCF's leadership.

....

If I had what it cost for four of your kids, we could have funded summer youth employment programs throughout the state and we could have helped thousands of kids," [Kirkley-Bey] said.

...

"We've already spent $50 million, and now they're asking us to spend another $50 million," said state Rep. Toni Walker, D-New Haven. "We're just spending money on top of money without doing anything that is really impacting the kids."

...

"I have not been persuaded this will work," State Senator Handley said of the training school plan. "I'm concerned about us going blindly into another program and making the same mistakes all over again."

...

"I agree with you that the [training school] is not user-friendly for the population you are dealing with," State Rep. Hovey said. "But we're also dealing with huge financial issues in Connecticut and people don't understand how this debacle occurred. There are a lot of us sitting back here saying there are things that make you go, `Hmmmm.'""
---
Enlightening...
Our representatives should either drastically cut the budget of DCF or cut the entire department, and give education money to the school districts themselves.

Strong Support for Groton Base Within Navy

Eight former admirals of the US Navy have sent a letter to the Pentagon outlining why they believe Groton should not be closed. According to a NBC 30 news article, some of those who signed include "Adm. James D. Watkins, chief of naval operations under President Reagan; Adm. Carlisle A.H. Trost, chief of naval operations under President George H.W. Bush, and Adm. Frank B. Kelso II, who served as President Clinton's chief of naval operations."

Both Connecticut Senators Dodd and Lieberman as well as Jody Rell have praised the admirals. Without a doubt, this letter will be influential in the decision, and as things are shaping up, it becomes ever more unlikely that the base will close. This is great news for Connecticut, and the Navy will only be helped by the additional resources for submarines. Mantaining a strong military should be of the uptmost inportance, and it is better for the Penatgon to play this one on the safe side and keeping it instead of shutting it down during a time of war. During the volatile times, perhaps the more resources for the military the better. Of course, there needs to be a balance, but this base doesn't seem to be superfluous to many Connecticutians.

Eminent Domain: Close to Home

Eminent domain history happened in New London, and Congress is finally doing something about it. Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R), and Rep. John Conyers Jr., (D) from Michigan, are pushing legislation to "deny federal dollars to any project in which economic development was the reason an arm of government invoked its powers of eminent domain".

This is good news, as the recent Supreme Court decision was rather disturbing. Government's powers need to be limited, and Bush recently came out and expressed his distaste for the ruling. Ironically, Bush himself benefitted from eminent domain, as when he was a Texas Rangers executive, eminent domain was used to help build a new stadium. However, as he likes to point out, the people were given a chance to vote on the issue, and they voted for the new stadium.

It is our duty as America citizens to keep a watchful eye on the government. Supreme Court rulings such as this one just make our task even more crucial.

Dems Accept Rell's Vetoes

The Courant is reporting that even though the Democrats have majority in both Houses here in Connecticut, Rell's vetoes have thus far gone unchallenged. The article mentions "House Majority Leader Christopher Donovan, D-Meriden, said Thursday that Democrats instead are contemplating trying to pass revised versions of some vetoed bills in a special session later this year. "

Also, the article does a nice job of fitting this into the historical context of the state. "Rell signed 301 bills into law. Her nine vetoes are fewer than average for a first-year governor. Even Democratic Gov. William A. O'Neill, who vetoed only nine bills in his last four years as governor, rejected 15 bills in his first year.

....

Political analysts sometimes use vetoes as a yardstsick of a governor's ability to work with the General Assembly. Governors often veto more bills in their first year than any other.

...

Republican Thomas Meskill was the extreme example, vetoing 175 bills in 1971.Overrides have become rare in Connecticut: The last governor from a major party to suffer an override was Democrat Ella T. Grasso in 1980. It happened three times that year.

...

O'Neill and Republican John G. Rowland each served 10 years without a single override.In the four years between O'Neill and Rowland, the legislature overrode Lowell P. Weicker Jr. 17 times. But as a third-party governor, Weicker had no party allies in the legislature." (Source)

State Sen. Newton

"Rep. Stephen Dargan, who served with Newton as the co-chairman of the legislature's public safety committee from 2003 until Newton stepped down earlier this year, said he was saddened to hear from Capitol employees that Newton would resign." according to the Courant. (news link temporarily lost).

Isn't that interesting? Saddened? What is he trying to pull here? Newton is resigning amid serious allegations of bribery, yet Rep. Dargan is 'saddened.' It truly is absurd that he would say this about someone who commited such a fradulent act, and the Courant shouldn't have even printed it. Nobody claimed they were saddened when Rowland stepped down, yet their seems to be a different standard for Democrats. Indeed, Dargan makes it seem like Newton is being victimized. The Courant also has a quote from House Speaker James Amann.

"My concern is about Ernie Newton as a human being, a person," Amann said. "I know Ernie. We all have flaws. We all make mistakes - some bigger than others."

Amann is trying to dismiss this scandal as a flaw?! That is completely absurd. Accepting money is a serious crime, not a small slip-up like Amann tries to make it. He seems more than willing to forget the whole thing, forgive Newton, and move on. Was he willing to do that for Rowland?

DeStefano Hits Rell Hard

Figuratively of course. A Courant/AP article pulls out some of the quotes from DeStefano's latest "attack DVD:"

""John Rowland may be in jail, but the same old leadership with the same old policies are still in charge," a voice says as a black-and-white image of Rowland and his inmate number fades slowly into a picture of Rell. "

And it gets worse...

"DeStefano, in his video, tells viewers: "The way I win this race is by convincing people that there's a choice to be made here ... a choice between the corruption of low expectations and the choice for accomplishment."

It will get very tricky for DeStefano to paint Rell as a candidate of corruption. Voters will know she and Rowland aren't the same person, and I don't know how many people are going to buy his exceedingly negative message.

Simmons Exposes Liberal's Lies on Guantanamo

CT Representative Rob Simmons is know by many as a military expert. Simmons served a term of duty in Vietnam, serving with a Special Forces unit. Later, he joined the CIA and spent time in Asia on assignments, the only current CIA member in the House. Now, Simmons is speaking out about Guantanamo after he toured it. And what he found will surprise many people...

A Courant/AP article reports, "Detainees at Guantanamo Bay are treated well, the food is good and the medical care seems decent, Rep. Rob Simmons, R-2nd District, said Tuesday. He and nine other members of Congress took a half-day trip Monday to the Cuban military prison to see for themselves if harsh criticism leveled at the base was justified."

and...

"Guantanamo had a lot of openness I have not seen in penitentiaries in my own state," Simmons said, recalling that he felt "claustrophobic" during a recent visit to Osborn Correctional Institution in Somers. ...He also said the food was surprisingly good, including "the best institutional rice I've had."

Liberals are trying to make Guantanamo out to be America's secret torture chamber, where we hide innocent Americans away from the public eye and Constitution to torture them mercilessly. Simmons has showed us that not only are liberals wrong, but they are hurting America's image in the world based on nothing but lies. Simmons has done a good job of debunking the liberal's feckless cries. Now let's hope everyone hears him.

A Small Sigh of Relief

Lawmakers are finally getting on board with public opinion and make laws restricting the usage of eminent domain. The Courant is reporting some progress:

"The leadership of the state House and Senate have just announced that legislative hearings are going to begin to explore the some 80 state statutes that apply to eminent domain in Connecticut with an eye toward preventing what happened in New London in the future.Speaker of the House Rep. Jim Amann of Milford says they want to take a good look at the issue, including holding public hearings."

If they don't vote to either ban it or severely restrict it, plan of checking off the name of the challenging candidate next election. This issue is too important to be apathetic about.

Democratic Governor Candidates Busy Fundraising

A Courant article has released the latest figures for the campaign funds of the three major Democratic governor candidates. The amounts are as follows:

DeStefano: $460,000
Malloy: $228,100
Bysiewicz: $225,000

However, one important piece of information to note is that Malloy has been raising for only six weeks, as he didn't raise any money while being investigated. DeStefano and Bysiewicz each have about three months. So, why is Bysiewicz so long for fundraising for so long? It is difficult to say, because she appeared to be the early frontrunner. She should be fundraising larger sums of money soon- if she wants to stay in the race.

CT Falls Short in Job Growth

Wow. The Courant is reporting:

"Connecticut has the worst job stagnation in the country, with employment only slightly higher now than at the beginning of the 1990s, a federal agency said Tuesday.

...

The state has lost more than 100,000 manufacturing jobs in the last 15 years and had the lowest growth in its professional and business services sector in New England, according to a report by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

FDIC officials said in a conference call that Connecticut's lack of job growth stems from the state's slow population growth and the steady loss of manufacturing jobs."

One of the problems is that Connecticut relies too much on jobs like insurance and not enough on manufacturing jobs. When jobs are so narrowly focused on one or two sectors, cuts in those sectors can have profound effects. Democratic governor candidates will rejoice at this news for sure...