One of the problems in western Connecticut that doesn't get much attention is the weak coverage of national politics. There are alot of reasons for this, but the basic one seems to be economic - they just don't make money doing it.
Case in point - today's puff piece in the Danbury News-Times on the Congressional races.
This sort of regurgitation of political spin does more harm than good. It does a disservice to the News-Times' readership and the community it serves, because it functions as an echo chamber for the carefully crafted, focus-group tested sound bytes and phony publicity stunts that political candidates and their handlers cynically substitute for real discussion of the policies they are deploying and whose interests they are serving.
Johnson is very close to the leadership team of DeLay and Blunt.That "petition" for "new leadership" was nothing but a publicity stunt, and everybody who is paying attention knew it. They were trying to spin the thing, when all that is really happening is a turnover to a top lieutenant, forced upon them by legal proceedings in Texas and the Congressional Democrats' increasingly effective campaign to raise the issue of Republican dishonesty and corruption nationally.
You'd think the News-Times and Lucas would have enough professional pride to either do real journalism on what is going on Washington, or stick to local news.
The News-Times needs to do a better job when covering the Congressional races and not fall into this type of reporting.
1. Shay's comment about Roy Blunt is so out-of touch with reality that it should of been challenged (anyone who knows national politics knows that Blunt is just as corrupt as Delay and has a paper trail to back up that claim).
2. Nancy Johnson and Tom Delay's close relationship goes back many years as well (I don't have enough time to go into this topic at this time but their history is just a google search away). Why did the News-Times fail to mention in the article about Johnson's free trip she took with her husband to Ecuador (at the expense of The Nature Conservancy, a nonprofit conservation organization which receives federal funding). This issue was a hot topic in the media when it first surfaced but it was no follow-up story and the case disappeared.
Johnson's trip also sparked criticism from Washington watchdogs. William Allison, editor-at-large at Washington's Center for Public Integrity, which studies congressional travel, had questions about the Nature Conservancy's sponsorship.
He asked why an agency that relies on money from the U.S. Agency for International Development, or AID, would take Johnson and three other House members on such a trip.
"I know money is fungible, but the Nature Conservancy gets federal money, so the question is whether taxpayer money is funneled through them for lobbying," Allison said.
04.25.22 (RADIO): WSHU Latino group call on Connecticut lawmakers to open a Danbury charter school
06.03.22 (OP-ED): KUSHNER: "Career Academy ‘a great deal for Danbury"
On September 26, 2007, ten plaintiffs filed suit in response to an arrest of aday laborers at a public park in Danbury, Connecticut. Plaintiffs amended their complaint on November 26, 2007.
The amended complaint states that plaintiffs sought to remedy the continued discriminatory and unauthorized enforcement of federal immigration laws against the Latino residents of the City of Danbury by Danbury's mayor and its police department.
Plaintiffs allege that the arrests violated their Fourth Amendment rights and the Connecticut Constitution because defendants conducted the arrests without valid warrants, in the absence of exigent circumstances, and without probable cause to believe that plaintiffs were engaged in unlawful activity. In addition, plaintiffs allege that defendants improperly stopped, detained, investigated, searched and arrested plaintiffs. Plaintiffs also allege that defendants violated their Fourteenth Amendment rights when they intentionally targeted plaintiffs, and arrested and detained them on the basis of their race, ethnicity and perceived national origin. Plaintiffs raise First Amendment, Due Process and tort claims.
Plaintiffs request declaratory relief, damages and attorneys fees.
On September 26, 2007, ten plaintiffs filed suit in response to an arrest of aday laborers at a public park in Danbury, Connecticut. Plaintiffs amended their complaint on November 26, 2007.
