I really want to give a rebuttal to Saturday's News-Times editorial but I'm preparing for today's debate between Nancy Johnson and Chris Murphy. I'll bring you every angle form the debate including interviews with the two candidates and all the spin from their handlers.

And no, I've haven't forgotten my piece on Johnson tirade over Murphy new ad, I'm just looking for a very special piece of video footage which should but to end all of Johnson's silly claims.

And no, I've haven't forgotten about my special comment regarding comments from Mayor Mark Boughton and City Clerk Jean Natale. I'm putting the finishing touches on that gem of a post...oh, 2007 can't come fast enough.

Getting feedback from yesterday's outage and the new alert system. I majority of my emails responses stated that they either did not get a call or they received a call around 2:30. If you received (or didn't receive) a call, please leave a comment or just drop an email at hatcityblog@yahoo.com. At 75,000 per year, we should know if this system really worked or not.

I'll post from the debate later.

It's a shame that the newspaper El Canillita only publishes their paper in Spanish. Those of us who speak only English miss out on some of the great articles and op-ed pieces that you won't get in the News-Times.

Here's a piece from Wilson Hernandez, founder of the Ecuadorian Center. He wrote a piece on the Amish community and the hardship they endured this past week.

(Translated from El Canillita, 10/13/06)

The first time I heared of the Amish community from someone who had visited Lancaster, PA, what particularly impressed me was the apparently simple manner in which the visitor said they lived. It seemed to me curious that in a country so ultramodern, a group of people would live with simplicity, humility and in permanent peace with their neighbors.

Since then I have had the thought that some day I should visit the Amish. At first, because the bucolic setting would transport me, at least mentally, to my own past. Besides, I am compelled by my own curiosity to want to see for myself whether what I heard was true.

The Amish are a protestant religious community, descending from Swiss immigrants, whose members spoke a German dialect within the community and English in their dealings with the outside world. They restrict the use of modern technology like cars and electricity. They live simply, work on farms, use horses as transportation, wear simple clothes, educate their children in their own way. When their children reach 14 years old, their education ends and they begin working full time on the family farms. The Amish are a strongly united group that defends pacifism and keeps closed off from the outer world. When their children reach 17 years of age, they’re permitted to leave the community in order to put to the test their way of life. If they want to stay, they’re allowed to stay outside. But if they return to the community, they return forever.

As I learned some of the details of their lifestyle and religious and social concepts, views that many see as strange and anchored in the past, I particularly noticed the moral strength and solid character that the Amish must cultivate in order to be able to resist the immense external pressure from a frivolous, conflict-ridden, and modernistic society (civlilized, we call it).

But the most surprising thing about the Amish, was yet to be revealed to me, When a neighbor, angry with God and beset by feelings of guilt that weren’t very clear, dementedly took the lives of five innocent girls and wounded others, everyone thought that that the Amish families that family members in such a brutal act would be enraged with the killer and his relatives and, here the leaders of the Lancaster Amish community they surprised us by showing stoicism, nobility, and perhaps a rare wisdom. When we all felt a burning anger, they showed us the Christian face of serenity, the sublime gesture of forgiveness and the majestic decision to seek reconciliation and peace.

The Amish have given us a lesson that it behooves us never to forget. “It is a sin to refuse to forgive.” These words, spoken by Mr. Enos Miller, grandfather of two of the murdered children, capture the purity of heart of the people and the immense wisdom with which they know how to face the horrors of modern life.

Neither wrath, nor revenge nor the blind search for reasons and the guilty heal wounds caused by hatred and insanity. Only forgiveness, reconciliation and understanding of their disorders can lead to peace.

The xenophobes should read this the next time they call this man ignorant.

Oh man, this man has really gone off the deep end now.

The assclown of the 4th Congressional District, Republican Chris Shays, is now...get this folks...claiming that there was no torture done at Abu Ghraib. He made this insane comment at a Congressional debate at Congregation B'nai Israel on Wednesday night.

Think I'm kidding? Well watch People-Powered media in action.

Shays: Then the next question is, well what has the US done? Well it has been accused of doing torture. That's what it's been accused of. Now I've seen what happened in Abu Ghraib, and Abu Ghraib was not torture, it was outrageous, outrageous involvement of National Guard troops from Maryland who were involved in a sex ring and they took pictures of soldiers who were naked. And they did other things that were just outrageous. But it wasn't torture.

It's difficult though how the dialogue in the rest of the world about that when you have news media all around the world saying we're torturing people. The bottom line for me is this. We follow the Geneva Convention period. That's what we do.

Matthew Gertz of MLN posted that the Stamford Advocate ripped Shays apart over this utterly idiotic comment.

Amnesty International officials and Shays' challengers in the 4th District said it was absurd for the Republican incumbent to call the acts at the Iraqi prison anything but torture.

"This is outrageous for a sitting congressman who was shown pictures (of Abu Ghraib) that were not even available to the public because they were supposed to be more provocative," said Joshua Rubenstein, Northeast regional director for Amnesty International. "The photographs did not only depict humiliating and degrading treatment of prisoners. They showed prisoners who were killed."

[...]

Shays defended his comments yesterday, saying he doesn't doubt that there has been torture at other prisons, but not at Abu Ghraib.

"I saw probably 600 pictures of really gross, perverted stuff," Shays said. "The bottom line was it was sex. . . . It wasn't primarily about torture."

Shays defined torture as anything that could cause mental or physical pain or sleep depravation.

Asked about pictures showing mistreatment of detainees mentioned by Amnesty International, Shays said he did not see those images and "we also don't know where those could have been from."

You know what to do.
(a cross post from ConnecticutBLOG)

As of 3:00, I haven't heard from one person who received a call from City Hall notifying them of the power outage that kncokced out power in Danbury and Bethel.

Here are the details on the new system from a News-Times article dated September 30th.

The city will soon launch a new phone alert system that's designed to notify Danbury residents of special meetings, road work, snow emergencies and other emergency or city-related information.

The system, which is called Connect-CTY and is managed by an outside service provider, will allow the city to notify neighborhoods in minutes or the entire city within 30 minutes.

The city uses a reverse 911 system, but it can take hours to alert residents, said Fire Chief Peter Siecienski.

"In light of events like Hurricane Katrina, we wanted a better, faster way to notify residents," he said.

Siecienski, who said Danbury is the first in the state to use such a system, pitched the idea of getting the new program, which costs about $75,000 a year. City officials were trained on the system Friday and plan to use it as soon as it's needed.

Now, unless I'm wrong here, based on this article, city officials were trained on this system last month therefore, it should be in effect now. Also, if I'm correct, a major power outage would be the kind of thing you would want to notify people about right?

If that's the case, what happened?

If you received (or didn't receive) a call from the new alert system, please post a comment.

UPDATE: I just called City Hall and it seems like they did use the system but again (and I'm being honest here) I nor any of my sources get a phone call. Seeing that I have about 30 contacts that I called throughout the week, you would think one of them would have received a call. Now, maybe it's because some of the people I know have unlisted numbers or block calling abilities on their phone...I don't know but, if you didn't get a call 1.) leave a comment in this post and 2.) call City Hall and let then know that you didn't get a ring.

A power outage is nothing compared to a real serious emergency and if something really bad goes down, you want to know about it. This goes double to all the seniors who read this site and didn't get notice as I'm real concerned that none of you guys got a ring from City Hall.

If your from Danbury and you did or didn't get a call, leave a comment here and let us know. If Boughton's system is broken, the only way it's going to get fixed is by feedback.

Call City Hall andhave them explain why you didn't get an alert message. At 75,000 per year, you should want to know what happened.

UPDATE 2: Okay, it's 3:40 and I talked to every person I know and not one received a phone call.

If you received (or didn't receive) a call today, please let us know by dropping a comment. If you have an alert message on your answering machine, save it and send an email to hatcityblog@yahoo.com.

UPDATE 3:This would make a great News-Times online poll (hint).

Wow, that was strange.

There was quite a big power outage this afternoon in Danbury. I'd say the outage started around 1:15 or so and lasted until about 2:30.

Now this wasn't a small outage...no, this blackout was pretty wide spread. I jumped in my car to see the area effected and from what I can determine, the area hit ranged from Berkshire shopping plaza area, over to Sanp Pit, and down to the hospital.

When you add verything on White Street up to possibly to the University to that list, it's safe to say that this was no normal outage and more like a entire grid going down.

I'll try and call Northeast Utilities to find out what happened later.

Note to anyone from the News-Times who reads my blog: Could you let us know what the hell happened with the power? You guys can probably get the info faster than me right now and it would suck if I scooped you on this easy story.

While you're at it, could you look into why the new emergency system the mayor was touting didn't seem to work. I don't know of anyone who received a call updating us on the situation. Again, since this was no normal backout, you would think the new system would have been used to inform people of the situation so Northeast Utilities wouldn't need to answer hundreds of calls from concerned people.

Just sayin'

UPDATE:Well, seems liek the News-Times was on the case afterall. Based on their news alert, the problem was the result of a unspecified "problem" at an electrical substation on Triangle Street.

Today's power problems in Bethel and Danbury are due to an unspecified "problem" at an electrical substation on Triangle Street.

As of 30 minutes ago, 18,000 customers in Bethel and Danbury were in the dark, according to Mitch Gross, a spokesman with Northeast Utilities.

At 2:35 p.m., Capt. Robert Myles of the Danbury Police Department told The News-Times that power is gradually returning. He said that Connecticut Light and Power told police that power should be completely restored in no more than two hours.

Traffic lights are out at various intersections in Danbury do not have power. Danbury police are at major intersections directing traffic.

The problems started at about 1:30 p.m.

Danbury police are reporting everything east of Interstate 84. The Danbury Fair mall, on the city's westside, has electricity, according to police dispatchers.

The Connecticut Light and Power Web site reports 40 percent of Danbury is in the dark, along with 60 percent of Bethel.

They say that the power failed in Bethel as well but again, from my driving, once I got to the hospital and drove towards North Street (by the old DMV), everyhting was fine. I went to the Union Savings on North Street (across from the North Street shopping plaza) and they didn't even know that there was a powrer outage.

I'll update you with more once I get more info. If you're at work and want to know if your home was effected, go to the Northeast Uttilities website for more info.

Again, where was the notifcation system from City Hall? Isn't this the type of situation where the system would have been used and if so, what happened? I know I didn't get a call nor did any of my sources in the city...

It seems like Governor Rell was a tad bit dishonest when it comes to her accepting campaign contributions from state contractors and John DeStefano is calling her out on it.

From DeStefano's press release:

The DeStefano gubernatorial campaign filed a complaint today with the Elections Enforcement Commission concerning the October 10th filing of the "Jodi Rell 06" campaign finance report. Reviewing the report, it's clear that Gov. Rell accepted money from state contractors, but broke the law by not reporting it.

"Since starting her campaign Gov. Rell has maintained that she will not take money from state contractors," said Derek Slap – Director of Communications for the DeStefano campaign. "Gov. Rell has consistently broken that promise. Now, with her recent filing, it's apparent the governor has crossed a line: she and her campaign are breaking the law by hiding the fact that she is taking money from state contractors."

Chapter 150 sec. 9-333j of Connecticut 's campaign financing laws specifies: "Each statement filed under subsection (a), (e) or (f) of this section shall include.... for each individual who contributes in excess of one thousand dollars in the aggregate... a statement including whether the business with which he is associated has a contract with the state which is valued at more than five thousand dollars."


In at least three instances Rell's campaign failed to identify state contractors on its October filing, a direct violation of the aforementioned law. The Department of Administrative Services shows contracts for several companies whose employees gave more than $1000 to Rell in the aggregate.

(1) William J. J McGrath's $2,500 contribution on 9/19/06 is not marked as a state contractor contribution. His employer, Halloran & Sage has at least a $50,000 contract with the state.

(2) Deborah Poerio's $2,500 contribution on7/11/06 is not marked as a state-contractor contribution. Her employer, Manchester Memorial hospital has at least a $40,000 contract with the state.

(3) Norman Marieb's $2,500 contribution on 7/19/06 is not marked as a state-contractor contribution. Her employer, Hospital of St. Raphael , has at least a $40,000 contract with the state.


It is likely that these examples represent only a small portion of state contractors that have not been reported in the October filing. This is because DAS does not record all state contracts. There are good reasons to believe that the following also have state contracts:

(1) Rupesh R. Shah's $1,500 and Jane M. Swift's $2,000 contribution on 9/19/06 are both not marked as state contractor contributions. They are both directors at WellCare.

(2) Steven H. Kaplan's $1,250 contribution on 9/7/06 is not marked as a state-contractor contribution. He is the president of the University of New Haven.

(3) Dijuana K. Lewis' $1,500 contribution on 8/30/06 is not marked as a state-contractor contribution. She is the president of Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield.

During Monday night's debate the Garde theatre in New London , Gov. Rell said, "I pride myself on being the only governor to not take special interest money to fund my campaign."

It's now clear that the Rell campaign is willing to break the law to perpetuate that myth.

"We believe the Elections Enforcement Commission should immediately launch an investigation so this matter can be resolved before Election Day. Voters deserve to know the truth," said Slap.

Now, lets go to the video tape and watch as DeStefano rips Gov. Rell's claim that she didn't take any contributions from special interest groups or state contractors. Pay particular attention as Rell refuses to answer any of DeStefano's charges.



Finally, lets go back in time and see what the print media had to say about Rell's contributions.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell - whose office only last weekend issued a statement declaring that she wasn't accepting campaign contributions from state contractors and lobbyists - has received a total of at least $175,000 from more than 200 individuals employed by state contractors and two others identified themselves as lobbyists, state records show.

[...]

The reports filed by the governor's campaign committee with the secretary of the state's office reveal that dozens of her biggest benefactors between November 2005 and June 2006 weren't low-level employees at companies that hold state contracts, but high-ranking executives.

Those who filled out a space on Rell's campaign contribution forms identifying themselves as employees of a state contractor, each of whom gave $2,500 to the governor, include:

* Five top officials at three of the biggest insurance companies in Connecticut: Ronald A. Williams of Farmington, president of Aetna; Alan M. Bennett of Madison, chief financial officer at Aetna; Craig R. Callen of Hartford, an Aetna senior vice president; David Johnson of West Hartford, chief financial officer of The Hartford; and Jay S. Fishman of Englewood, N.J., the chief executive officer, chairman, and president of St Paul Travelers.

* Three senior officials at Fairfield-based General Electric: Chairman Michael Neal of Weston, Chief Financial Officer Keith Sherin of Weston, and Vice President and Senior Tax Counsel John Samuels of Greenwich.

* Three principals in MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings Inc., a New York firm that invests in both public and private companies: Ronald Perelman, the financier who serves as the firm's chairman; Howard Gittis, its vice chairman and chief accounting officer; and Barry Schwartz, its executive vice president and general counsel.

* Key executives at various other companies, including: George David of Avon, chief executive officer of United Technologies Corp.; Nathaniel D. Woodson of North Haven, chief executive office of the New Haven-based utility United Illuminating Co.; Michael J. Critelli of Darien, chief executive officer of Stamford-based Pitney Bowes; Larry R. Gottesdiner, chief executive officer of Northland Investment Corp., which owns the Goodwin Hotel and other Hartford properties; and Diane P. Wilson of Berlin, chief financial officer of Vertex Inc., a New Britain-based software and development firm.

Similarly, 59 individuals associated with firms with state contracts also have contributed $1,000 each to Rell.
They included Carl Johnson of Farmington, a partner Blum, Shapiro & Co. P.C.; James S. Ciarcia of Rocky Hill, a financial analyst at Northeast Utilities; William M. Samuelson of Cheshire, director of business and professional banking at Webster Bank; William Huntley, president of racing, sports, and gaming technology at New York-based Scientific Games Corp.; and Charles DiBona of Stamford, a broker at Marsh & McLennan.

The chief spokesman in the governor's office, Judd Everhart, trumpeted Rell's support for tough campaign finance laws in a statement issued last Saturday, when Rell and several legislative leaders were honored by three national watchdog groups.

The statement said the governor was "setting the tone for Connecticut's reforms" by following the requirements of legislation that has not yet taken effect, adding that "her campaign is not accepting contributions from contractors, lobbyists, and other sources banned from gubernatorial campaigns beginning in 2010."

Seems like the current governor has a history of imitating her predecessor and DeStefano's complaint will bring the whole issue of Rell's questionable dealings with state contractors back to the front burner.

Blogger was down for most of the morning. Thankfully, they fixed the problem and this blog is back online.

Working on a piece about Nancy Johnson's hissy fit from yesterday. She's scared of Chris Murphy latest ad on her and for good reason...the ad is deadly and will seriously hurt Johnson. Nancy put together a hastily done press conference where David Cappiello attempted to debunk the ad as false.

Lets just say that I don't think he watched the ad.

I have this story from every angle since I was at the 5th CD convention and videotaped the entire thing. You'll see why this is so important when I post my full report with Murphy's ad, Nancy's hissy fit, and a special bonus video which will put the nail in Johnson's coffin.

I just noticed that my bloggger time setting was set for the Pacific time zone. Stupid me should have noticed this a while ago since I always had to fix the time on my blog entries.

When I fixed the time setting for Eastern time, all my blog entires adjusted by three hours and now, I'll have to go back and fix all my posts again.

AGH!

Just ignore the time stamp for a while, they're three hours off and fixing the posts is gonna take a while.

Sorry.

NOTE: Don't think I forgot about my special comment. It's coming real soon.

This just happened.

A small plane crashed into a high-rise on the Upper East Side, setting off a fire and startling New Yorkers, police said.

Fire Department spokeswoman Emily Rahimi said an aircraft struck struck the 20th floor of a building on East 72nd Street. Witnesses said the crash caused a loud noise, and burning and falling debris was seen. Flames were seen shooting out of the windows. Video from the scene showed at least three apartments in the high rise fully engulfed in flames.

There was no immediate word on any deaths or injuries.

It was not immediately known if it was a terrorist act.

No time to upload any video right now. Turn on CNN or MSNBC now.

UPDATE: Channel 4 (WNBC) is doing a great job covering this story. I recommend that you tune to that channel for news updatesAlso, check with 1010AM (WINS) for traffic updates. They stream their broadcasts online ad you can listen by clicking here.

Finally, if you commute from the city, you should check with Metro-North just in case there's a change in schedule.

Disgusting.

When the congressional page scandal broke last month, Democrats across the country saw a chance to lambaste Republican leadership - including Diane Farrell, who called on House Speaker Dennis Hastert to step down.

But when Sen. Edward M. Kennedy came to Connecticut last week to help her campaign, Rep. Christopher Shays hit back.

"I know the speaker didn't go over a bridge and leave a young person in the water, and then have a press conference the next day," said Shays, R-4th District, referring to the 1969 incident in which the Massachusetts Democrat drove a car that plunged into the water and a young campaign worker died.

"Dennis Hastert didn't kill anybody," he added.

Desperate, desperate politician.

Please help Diane Farrell kick Chris Shays' ass in November.

I've been receiving a great deal of feedback on this site lately and although a love the response, I want to bring an end to anonymous comments.

Why? The reason is simple. I've had to ban people who posted racist comments anonymously and I hate doing that because it's a pain in the ass for me to track people down. When you don't post comments anonymously, it makes my life much easier to alert ISPs when people get out of control. I'm not asking for your real name here, just use a screenname when you post a comment.

No name, no post, nuff said.

Here's more feedback from people who were either watched or attended Monday night's DeStefano-Rell debate.

My wife has always held Jodi Rell in disdain for two reasons; she's a Republican and that she never finished her education. That lack of education was laid bare for all to see last night.

Her car tax proposal is proof positive that she just doesn't get it. We have a 1987 Jeep Cherokee that costs us 40 bucks. Big Deal! What's 40 bucks in the grand scheme of things. We pay over 4,000 for our house and really don't get much in the way of services. Show me Real relief, not this bait and swith BS, and I will be eternally grateful. If some bozo wants to buy a 50,000 dollar BMW that they really don't need, then they can afford to pay the property taxes on it. Also under her plan, any vehicle with commercial and combination plates would not qualify for the rebate. So everybody with a pick-up truck would be ineligible. Nice way to stick it to working people. Are you comprehending this "hard working man" (our newest troll)?

I was frankly embarassed for her. Her claim to not have made any mistakes and her bungled Senate endorsement were absolutely painful. I actually cringed. She is truly the Accidental Governor.

Who actually called her Granny Clean? I read it here about a month ago and can't get it out of my head. It's the best one I've ever heard.

[...]

I wasn't there, but watching the videos I was really impressed with John DeStefano and believe he won the debate hands down!!!! There he was discussing the real facts that most people are feeling, like high energy prices, like health care costs, transportation problems, and giving solutions to these problems. He was definitely in command of the facts. All Jodi Rell could offer was a rosy fake picture stating everything was okay and don't let any one try and confuse you with the facts! She looked like she should have been giving a speech at the women's Auxiliary Club for their next bake sale, instead of a Governor's debate, for which she was totally unprepared!

She came across as someone who was just filling the office until they could find someone more qualified. And the debate proved without doubt that John DeStefano is more than qualified and should be our next governor!

His response, "I pray I'll never be in politics so long as to give an answer like that." was priceless and will go down as one of the greatest comments in the debate!!!

[...]

Michael Rell was very very upset by the signs that read

Brains are over-rated , Vote for Rell

Bush and Rell,C Students All the Way

and

College Drop-outs for Rell

I Never Finished Either.

I must give him credit though. He left New London without stealing an automobile or committing a felony. Must be that good clean upbringing.

Here are the poll results from three of the major blogs in Connecticut.

ConnecticutBLOG/My Left Nutmeg

Connecticut Local Politics

Hey,

Do you own a resturant or bar? Do you have a play or show you like ot promote? Running a festival anytime soon.

Then I'm the guy for you!

HatCItyBLOG is wants to promote all the things you can do in the Danbury area. I'll bring my multi-talented team to photograph, videotape and do a full report on your gig and post it on this blog.

As this site is getting more attention in Fairfield County, you should take advantage of the situation, let me do a write-up on you, and get some free exposure (you'll have to cough up a couple of bucks if you want the video file on DVD and/or CD).

If your interested, feel free to email me at hatcityblog@yahoo.com. Over the next few days, I'll be rolling out various interviews I did with different resturants and businesses at the Taste of Danbury so you'll have an idea of what I'm talking about.

This site is one of the most popular town-oriented sites in Connecticut (honestly, their only a few :-) and and video footage I post can be embedded (displayed) on your own site. There is plenty to do in Danbury so email me and let me help ou get the word out.

INSTANT CLASSIC

"I pray I'll never be in politics so long as to give an answer like that."

John DeStefano's response to Jodi Rell's wishy-washy answer to which candidate she supports for senate. By far the funniest thing I've seen in this campaign.

So, Rell's not Superwoman afterall.

If there was ever a time DeStefano needed to make a big impact in this race, it during this debate and it seemed that the mayor delivered the goods and came out on top (especially in the second half).

DeStefano's attacks on Rell were quick, direct and right on the money and when the governor didn't have a response to the mayor's attack over her campaign contributions, it seemed like she just ran out of gas. In fact, it seemed like she did more ducking and dodging questions and avoiding DeStefano's criticisms and that didn't make her look to good.

I thought a key moment for DeStefano was when asked to give one mistake he made as mayor and stated the Long Wharf Mall project. For a politician to own up and say something like that (which was the truth) took guts and you could sense that he sincere in his statement. On the other hand, I almost fell out of my chair when Gov Rell pulled a President Bush moment and stated that she couldn't think of ONE mistake she made in her two and a half years as governor. The boos from the crowd were so loud that I was waiting for the tomatoes to come flying at her.

And her closing statement...oh my, cue up the violins!

As Lisa Moody handed out the tissues, Rell stated her tear jerking sob story by stating that she never thought she would be governor (ah, didn't you create a exploratory committee a few years back...I think it was for 2002), throws in the good ol' "I saved the sub base" line (oh, I'm sorry, I thought Joe Lieberman saved the base), kicks up the emotional level with the cancer survivor line (audience moans again), and finished it all off by talking about...well, herself.

In short, more about me, less about what she can do as governor.
Here, watch the video highlight for yourself and decide.


In all, I think both were off to a slow start but clearly during the second half, DeStefano clearly pulls out ahead and takes the win.

What do you think.

Who won the debate
	John DeStefano
	Jodi Rell
	tie
Free polls from Pollhost.com

I know this is a little off Hat City topic but just keep this in mind when you think about the nuclear bomb that went off in North Korea today...

George W. pulled Bandar aside.

"Bandar, I guess you're the best asshole who knows about the world. Explain to me one thing."

"Governor, what is it?"

"Why should I care about North Korea?"

Bandar said he didn't really know. It was one of the few countries that he did not work on for King Fahd.

"I get these briefings on all parts of the world," Bush said, "and everybody is talking to me about North Korea."

"I'll tell you what, Governor," Bandar said. "One reason should make you care about North Korea."

"All right, smart alek," Bush said, "tell me."

"The 38,000 American troops right on the border." ..."If nothing else counts, this counts. One shot across the border and you lose half these people immediately. You lose 15,000 Americans in a chemical or biological or even regular attack. The United State of America is at war instantly."

"Hmmm," Bush said. "I wish those assholes would put things just point-blank to me. I get half a book telling me about the history of North Korea."

"Now I tell you another answer to that. You don't want to care about North Korea anymore?" Bandar asked. The Saudis wanted America to focus on the Middle East and not get drawn into a conflict in East Asia.

"I didn't say that," Bush replied.

"But if you don't, you withdrawl those troops back. Then it becomes a local conflict. Then you have the whole time to decide, 'Should I get involved? Not involved?' Etc."

At that moment, Colin Powell approached.

"Colin," Bush said, "come here. Bandar and I were shooting the bull, just two fighter pilots shooting the bull." He didn't mention the topic.

"Mr. Governor," Bandar said, "General Powell is almost a fighter pilot. He can shoot the bull almost as good as us."

Bob Woodward
State of Denial
2006

Nuff said.

The Fairfield County Business Weekly did a feature story on the proposed sports complex that's in the early preliminary stage of development.
Although it's better to give the entire article a read, here are some highlights.

Local investors are in the preliminary stages of planning a $20 million-plus sports and convention center a half-mile from Interstate 84's exit 2 on Danbury's west side. If all goes according to early planning, the complex could open within three years.

The center's arena would have 5,500 fixed theater-style seats for basketball or ice hockey games, with another 500 seats set up on the arena floor for boxing events, and another 1,600 for concerts and other events for a total 7,100 seats. That compares to the 5-year-old, 10,000-seat Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport.

[...]

The 7,100-square-foot enclosed building would be designed to support ice hockey, basketball, arena football and soccer teams and games, Haddad said, and can be used for conventions, home shows, auto shows, concerts and even circuses. Initial planning includes a large kitchen to cater meals for up to 1,200 people on the arena floor to fill a need in the city for a large banquet venue; a large family restaurant where patrons will watch televised away games of home teams, a gym and fitness center and maybe a sports apparel store, each of which would be accessible from both the parking lot and the arena.

[...]

Last Tuesday evening the Common Council appointed an ad hoc committee that will hear a presentation by Haddad and Rizzo and draw up a proposal to option the city property, and could report back to the full council in November with a recommendation for a vote.

[...]

The center would be across the street from the 242-room Sheraton Hotel and within a mile of a half-dozen smaller hotels. "We even have a preliminary concept of a shuttle bus network that would stop at the hotels, commuter parking lots and larger complexes and bring them to the rink" to limit the amount of local traffic for events, Haddad said. "We've done an awful lot of work on this."

There are many positives as well as some negatives in terms of building a complex in West Danbury and many things would need to come together in order for this to make this complex a reality.

With this idea still in the early stage, we'll have to wait to see the developer's proposal to the ad-hoc committee and take things from there.

Take a look at Nancy Johnson's statement regarding the Mark Foley scandal. Pay particular attention to the item in bold.

If any leader from either party tried to cover up this information at the expense of the safety of our children, then they should resign their position immediately.

It would be reprehensible if any Republican leader intentionally covered up the full facts of the case, and it would be equally reprehensible if Democrat leaders sat on this information for a year in order to release it 30 days before an election.

I want an investigation to go forward to find out answers to these questions.

Without citing ANY evidence, Johnson wants to inject in the voters minds her conspiracy theory that Democratic leaders used the release of the Foley messages as a politcal ploy.

Although there is mounting evidence that House Speaker Dennis Hassert and other Republican leaders did indeed attempt to put Foley's situation under the rug, Johnson somehow feels the need to paint House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) as people who timed the release of this information just in time for the November elections.

Oh yeah, lets not forget the fact that the person who gave the messages to the media is a Congressional aide who's a lifelong registered Republican. I guess Nancy didn't get that memo.

Johnson's statement echoes those of other Republicans who've been making the rounds on the various talk shows. The most outspoken has been Freshman Rep. Patrick McHenry and when the Congressman was grilled by Wolf Blitzer about his accusatons and asked to provide evidence to support his claim (A TOTAL OF FIVE TIMES), McHenry was rendered speechless.
Watch the video clip here. Transcript is below.

MCHENRY: The question remains, though: What person, group or political entity had these nasty instant messages and possessed the e-mails in order to solicit this story? And in a partisan environment like we’re in right now in Washington, four weeks out from a national election, that question must be asked.

BLITZER: So what you’re suggesting - and correct me if I'm wrong, because you've been doing this for the last few days - that Democrats are behind the timing of the release of this information? Is that your accusation?

MCHENRY: Well, look, all the fact points lead to one question: Did Rahm Emanuel or Nancy Pelosi have any involvement on the strategic or tactical level? This morning on "This Week with George Stephanopoulos," the question was asked of Rahm Emanuel. His reaction was he did not see the instant messages or e-mails. He repeatedly said, he did not see. I've asked him to testify under oath to assure the American people that he was not involved in this issue in any way, shape or form.

BLITZER: Do you have any evidence at all that Democrats or others might have been behind the timing of this scandal?

MCHENRY: Look, let's be honest…

BLITZER: Do you have any evidence to back that charge up?

MCHENRY: No, no, actually, if the Democrats had any issue with saying this, putting all the facts out on the table, they would say, certainly, I'll testify under oath that I had no involvement in it. They’ve said no.

BLITZER: Well, you don't have any evidence, though, right?

MCHENRY: Well, look at the fact points.

BLITZER: Yes or no, do you have any evidence, Congressman?

MCHENRY: Do you have any evidence that they weren’t involved?

BLITZER: I'm just asking if you're just throwing out an accusation or if you have any hard evidence.

MCHENRY: No. It's a question, Wolf. The question remains, were they involved? And if they were not involved, they need to say clearly. And it's a question. It's not an accusation.

Caught red-handed.

Like Congressman McHenry, Johnson should be treated to the same round of questions by members of the media and the public at large. Republicans like McHenry and Johnson should not be allowed to freely give the impression that Democrats are somehow behind the timing of Foley's messages without citing any evidence to back up their baseless claim.

Oh, this interview is sweet. Nancy Johnson talks like she has a handful of marbles in her mouth as she can't think of a lie fast enough when asked if she ever challenged the Presiden't policy in Iraq.

And what a nice job she did defending Dennis Hassert. Class act.

Okay, this is becoming annoying.

For the second time in a week, the News-Times does an article on Greg Seabury and illegal immigration.

At first, I couldn't believe it. TWO ARTICLES in a week on Seabury's new found desire to tackle immigration? Although Seabury has been campaigning for MONTHS and has been a Common Council member for years, with less than four week until the election, and after the dust-up over the eleven day laborers, Seabury magically has something to say about the immigration issue.

As I stated before, Stevie Wonder can see what's going on here. Seabury, at the last minute, is using a hot-button issue for political points. There is no record of Seabury EVER calling an ad-hoc committee to address any issue regarding immigration (i.e., the Council addressing the location of the day laborer pick up spot on Kennedy). To add insult to injury, the News-Times runs this hit piece in their Sunday edition, their most popular day.

What is going on here?

What we have here is someone who thinks that he can use immigration to his advantage since his challenger's mother is a critic of Mayor Boughton's administration. A simple look at his record would expose this YET the News-Times ignores that fine detail and writes yet another piece on Seabury's new found desire to tackle immigration. To add insult to injury, the News-Times make it seems like Taborsak isn't serious about the issue and claims that he was unreachable for contact.

Take a look at this comment left on the News-Times website for a clearer understanding on what's going on here. It's obvious that this message is from someone in Taborsak's campaign and is pretty pissed off and rightfully so.

Posted by: scamp123 Sun, Oct 08 2006
The News Times contacted the Taborsak Headquarters late Friday afternoon to ask Joe Taborsak to comment on Mr. Seabury’s press release which had been released to the News Times much earlier in the week. Only after having to be asked did the News Times fax a copy of the press release to the Taborsak HQ. Mr. Taborsak was out knocking on doors and could not be reached for comment. It seems that Seabury has the magical ability to lead the News Times around by its nose as they publish a story every time Mr. Seabury sneezes while the Taborsak campaign has yet to have ANY of its many press released even mentioned. Joe Taborsak has been endorsed by much fine organization while Seabury lists none on his web site yet the News Times refuses to let the public know. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON???? Why doesn’t the News Times do something useful and publish Seabury’s voting record? When the only news paper in town acts as an arm of the Republican Party, perhaps it is time for Democrats and Independents to stop buying it. Perhaps when the News Times is finally sold they should rename the paper “The Danbury Republican”, or “The Seabury Times”.

Seabury issues a press release on an issue that will sell copies and the News-Times jumps all over it.

Forget about looking into Seabury's record and writing about what he did AND DIDN'T DO in addressing immigration IN ANY WAY while being a member of the ruling political party on the Common Council.

Forget the fact that Seabury is making an issue of immigration with less than a month before the eleciton.

Forget the fact that the News-Times allowed Seabury to re-state his position on drivers licenses, giving him a chance to re-address the issue and target illegal immigrants as he wasn't specific in the first article (implying that he was making up as he was going along).

Seabury also calls for limiting driver's licenses to legal residents -- already the law -- and opposes granting in-state tuition to illegal immigrants, a proposal that failed in 2005 but could be resurrected in a future legislative session.

A bill providing in-state tuition for illegal immigrants was defeated, while the federal government requires that driver licenses only be granted to legal residents, Taborsak said.

Forget the fact that the News-Times didn't press him on various vague statements he made in the first article. For instance...

Seabury wasn't specific about legislation to penalize contractors who hire illegal immigrants.

Forget the fact that Seabury is making an issue of this in an attempt to link Joe Taborsak with his mother who is a critic of Boughton's handling of the day laborer situation.

And forget the fact that the News-Times hasn't written a story on any of Taborsak's press releases, fails to point out that Taborsak is endorsed by several organizations while Seabury has NOTHING on his website.

I've seen a few campaigns in my time including the laughable Lieberman campaign during the primary and the moves from Seabury echoes that of the junior senator during the last weeks of his campaign. Desperate tactics and saying just about anything for votes. Could it be that Seabury's internals don't look so good seeing that he's going for a seat that was easily held by Democrat Lew Wallace?

The editors at the News-Times should be more careful when running articles like this. They should know what Seabury is doing here and writing articles like this without challenging Seabury on his record and/or the timing of his suddden new found stance on immigration (he didn't talk about this months prior to this point) is a disservice to the voting public. IT's almost like Seabury did a poll in his district and/or received advise from someone to use the Danbury 11 issue to his advantage.

Is that the type of politican we need representing us in Hartofrd? Someone who takes advantage of a situation instead of simply campaigning on his past record? If poltics in Connecticut has proved anything, it's that empty promises are cheap and meaningless. Remember the Republicans using gay marrigage and faith-based issues to their advantage in 2004? Empty promises from Republicans then, and empty promises from Republicans now.

At the very least, they should simply look at Seabury's record, question him over the timing of his new found stance on the issue, and ask him critical questions such as why didn't he try to do anything when he was in a position to do something on the Comon Council. For a newspaper to fall for these political tactics should concern everyone.

Well, at least I hope they got Taborsak's picture right this time.

I'll leave you with this videoclip. Watch it and think about it.

I'll heard through the grapevine that the Mayor made a comment about blogs on a Public Access show. Because of this and a "pleasant" conversation I had with a certain City Clerk, I feel that a response is needed.

Now, this will take some time (as in days) to get put together since I'm pretty busy right now. I'm going to be a daddy soon and I have a baby room to finish. I just didn't want anyone to think that I wouldn't have something to say about his remark...just give me time to get everything together.

Baby comes first, then blogging. Once I post my comment, you'll understand why I took my time in giving my rebuttal. Trust me.

UPDATE: Forgetting to use the spell check is killing me...