A Danbury-based choir group found that flyers for their appearance at New Milford's Oktoberfest shindig have been disappearing and initially thought it could be due to the fact that its name contains the world's most unfortunate homophone.
The lederhosen-clad Danbury Arion Singing Society is composed of residents of German descent but is named for Arion, a mythical Greek poet whose most notable feat was singing to some dolphins who whisked him away from bloodthirsty pirates. The group was founded in 1911—back when the unrelated term Aryan was just beginning to be kicked around in the fatherland by racial theorists who believed that they descended from the ancient Indo-Iranian people of the same name.
"It could be pranksters; it could be some people who mistake Arion for Aryan," says Gunther Bohnsack, vice president of the group and the chairman of Oktoberfest. He also suspects the Town of Bethel and State of Connecticut because the signs were placed on local roads and state highways. Bohnsack says that half of the signs have been swiped.
"The name has caused some problems in the past. "We've had some nasty phone calls and people usually calm down when we explain it to them," says Bohnsack.
You can see the choir do their thing at New Milford's Oktoberfest.
UPDATE 09.03.07: While I'm at the U.S. Open, you can read up on last weekend's Oktoberfest by clicking here.
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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.
There is a difference...
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.
