On a non-Danbury note, if there is one thing people should be keeping an eye on, it's the scare and fear tactics the Bush Administration are using in their justification of the horrible FISA bill.
For those who don't know, President Bush, Joe Lieberman and Chris Shays want to grant retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies who may have been illegally monitoring OUR phone calls and emails without a warrant.
In honor of this disgraceful act, Keith Olbermann offered this "Special Comment" that basically sums up my feelings about the war-mongers that used fear-tactics in their justification for this senseless war.
Hopefully, I can convince the producers of Olbermann's show can pay a visit to Danbury.
Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman reluctantly acknowledged Thursday he does not believe waterboarding is torture, but he thinks the interrogation technique should be used only under the most extreme circumstances.
Lieberman was one of 45 senators who voted Wednesday in opposition to a bill that would limit the CIA to the 19 interrogation techniques outlined in the Army field manual. That manual prohibits waterboarding, a method in which detainees are typically strapped to a bench and have water poured into their mouth and nose, making them feel as if they will drown.
"We are at war," Lieberman said. "I know enough from public statements made by Osama bin Laden and others, as well as classified information I see, to know the terrorists are actively planning, plotting to attack us again. I want our government to be able to gather information again within both the law and Geneva Convention."
In the worst-case scenario -- when there is an imminent threat of a nuclear attack on American soil -- Lieberman said the president should be able to certify the use of waterboarding on a detainee suspected of knowing vital details of the plot.
"You want to be able to use emergency tech to try to get the information out of that person," Lieberman said.
But Lieberman believes such authority has limits. He does not believe the president could authorize having hot coals pressed on someone's flesh to obtain information.
The difference, he said, is that waterboarding is mostly psychological and there is no permanent physical damage.
Yeah, like the permanent physical damage to this man's brain...
Since DINOBoy thinks waterboarding is cool and it's not like the military is using hot coals on someone, someone should pose this question to Lieberman, McCain, or our President.
Q: Mr. President, Sen. McCain, Sen. Lieberman, you’ve all recently made clear your support for waterboarding as an interrogation technique. Since, in your estimation, waterboarding is a legal, effective and harmless tool, is it therefore your belief that it would be acceptable and appropriate for enemy nations and organizations to waterboard captured American servicemen and women? If so, can you explain how this stance is consistent with your frequently stated “support” for our nation’s troops?
Following up on WFAN's Mike Francesa and Chris Russo, critique of Congressman Chris Shays' over-the-top browbeating of Roger Clemens trainer Brian McNamee, News channel 12 filed this report.
Shays was unavailable for comment=Shays ran to his spider hole to hide.
Congressman Murhpy announces online tax resource center
Time: 11:38 AM
Thank goodness we have a Congressman who understands the power of the internet.
Via Congressman Chris Murphy's press release:
Today, Congressman Chris Murphy (CT-5) announced a new feature on his web site, an Online Tax Resource Center, to assist families in preparing their 2007 returns and in achieving all deductions, credits, and refunds that are owed to them.
“The annual task of filing your taxes can be a time consuming process. The goal of my Online Tax Resource Center is to provide as much information as possible in one place so that you can take care of your taxes as quickly as possible,” said Murphy.
The Online Tax Resource Center includes information about:
· The economic stimulus package recently signed into law, which allows tax rebates of up to $600 per individual, up to $1,200 per couple, plus $300 per child to be sent as early as mid-May.
· Free tax preparation services. If your 2007 adjusted gross income was $54,000 or less, you can use Free File to prepare and file your Federal Income Tax Return online. Other resources available are the Tax Counseling for the Elderly program and the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program.
· The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which is a federal income tax credit for people who work but have low incomes.
· The Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). This tax was in the news this year because Congress had to act to ensure that 23 million Americans, including more than 72,000 in Connecticut’s Fifth District, did not get hit with this tax that was originally intended for wealthy families to pay their share of taxes.
· How to track your refund.
· The Taxpayer Advocate Service, which is an independent organization inside the IRS. The purpose of the service is to assist taxpayers who are facing economic harm or who have tax problems that have not been resolved through normal channels.
· Federal and state resources, and useful phone numbers.
Backlash of Mayor Boughton's latest anti-immigrant policy is still spreading across the nation media and blogs.
The Huffington Post is the latest to lash out against the last honest man and link his rhetoric to other instances of anti-immigrant xenophobia such as those put on display in Hazelton PA and in Arizona.
Danbury, Connecticut Mayor Mark D. Boughton is just the latest elected official who wants to act locally to solve a national problem. If he has his way, Danbury police officers will be required to work with Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officials (ICE) to round up undocumented workers living in his city.
All across the country, local governments are stepping in where they feel the federal government has failed. Last year in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, local leaders passed the "Illegal Immigration Relief Act," which penalized businesses for hiring undocumented immigrants. Gov. Janet Napolitano of Arizona also signed a law requiring employers to ensure that all job candidates were legal residents. These efforts try to limit immigrant access to social services, housing, and employment. Supporters claim this is the only way they can stop immigrants from overusing public goods. Critics claim they are misguided, divisive, and ultimately ineffectual.
Our immigration system is clearly broken. After last summer's failed attempt at reform, I understand why people are frustrated. We need stronger borders, a functioning guest worker program, and a pathway to citizenship for people already here. We also need to face up to the fact that many communities could not function without immigrants and that most immigrants, documented or not, are law-abiding, hard-working individuals who are trying to make a better life for themselves and their children -- what generations of foreign-born Americans have always done.
Piecemeal efforts such as those proposed by Mayor Boughton are not only unfair, they are misguided. They cut off our nose to spite our face and blame immigrants for larger, more basic problems. What's really happening in a place like Danbury? The economy of this once-flourishing "hatting capital of the world" hasn't recovered from the industry's decline. And when the economy suffers, safety, education, and city services suffer as well.
[...]
The economy is another arena in which the federal government has failed to act effectively. So, if citizens want to act locally in response, why not get at the real problem? Instead of spending precious local resources to penalize mostly hardworking individuals, why not direct them toward alleviating social problems that affect all of us? It costs a lot of money and time to raid factories. Why not use those same dollars to make health care more accessible and housing more affordable?
Again, these problems can't be solved entirely by local cities and towns. But it seems to me that Mayor Boughton has his priorities wrong. If he really wants to make Danbury better, act locally to ameliorate the true roots of what's bothering all of us and what is really at the heart of anti-immigrant sentiment.
The immigrant residents of this small city have been subjected to every injustice. Police regularly engage in racial profiling, making “driving while brown” the most common motor vehicle violation. Anti-immigrant groups parade their bigotry in the street and in the local media, receiving constant encouragement from Mayor Mark Boughton, who has made a name for himself with his attacks on immigrant communities. And over it all is the constant threat of raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, who in 2006 entrapped and detained 11 Latino day laborers here for the crime of wanting to work.
In the face of this relentless animosity, some immigrant families began moving out of Danbury. Many more felt powerless. Mayor Boughton then took his anti-immigrant policies one step further, announcing last fall that Danbury would authorize the police department to train with ICE agents so officers could work under ICE supervision, carrying out raids and enforcing federal immigration laws. After several contentious city council meetings, the matter was scheduled for a final vote on Feb. 6.
Previously, Boughton had rejected calls for participation in the so-called ICE ACCESS program, claiming that immigration enforcement was a matter for the federal government. The flip-flop reflected his willingness to cater to the most reactionary and bigoted elements. It also reflected his belief that the immigrant community in Danbury was firmly under control.
In January, Boughton may have begun to see his mistake. The Brazilian and Ecuadorian communities hosted meetings numbering in the hundreds, something that had never happened before. But conventional wisdom said that no more than a few hundred people—both pro- and anti-immigrant—would show up for the city council meeting.
On Feb. 6, Main Street resembled a ghost town: shops were closed in solidarity with the immigrant community and most were papered over with hundreds of pink flyers opposing the ICE ACCESS proposal. At evening, crowds began to swell around City Hall.
Long before the city council meeting was scheduled to begin the crowd numbered in the hundreds, creating a sense of enthusiasm and militancy as people chanted, waved pink flyers and sang. The numbers continued to grow until more than three thousand people forced the police to shut down the street to accommodate the protest.
Local anti-immigrant forces showed their true colors by turning out less than a half-dozen people and ridiculously declaring that the thousands of protesters were actually “bussed in” from outside the city.
The Feb. 6 demonstration is one of the largest to occur in decades in this town of only 75,000 people. Mayor Boughton has dropped one drop of water too many into the glass and it has begun to overflow.
Funny what happens when the media has more information on what's happening in Danbury besides the mayor's soundbites...
Oh, yesterday was a banner day as Connecticut's goofiest Congressman Chris Shays made a complete ass of himself on Capitol Hill that ignited the anger of WFAN's Mike and the Mad Dog sports show. Here's my crosspost from MLN of all the action including my video clips that's picking up stream on the major national blogs.
There he goes again...
Once again, Chris Shays embarrasses the state of Connecticut with one of the most embarrassing tirades to date. Our congressman from the fourth district took grandstanding to a whole new level with his browbeating of Roger Clemens trainer Brian McNamee during today's House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on steroids in baseball.
Living up to his famous nickname, Russo took Shays to the woodshed and became Jim Himes' biggest supporter...all in the classic Mad Dog fashion that's made Russo famous.
Get your popcorn ready folks...if you haven't seen Russo do his thing before, then you're in for a treat.
Now, this is what I call "must-see" TV!
Francesa and Russo gives the play by play on Shays' rant.
UPDATE: The crew at Crooks and Liars just picked up on my post and added this tidbit:
You’ve got to hand it to Chris (blogger rage) Shays and the Republicans on this one. They take a non-partisan issue, and turn it into a partisan defense of Roger Clemens and inflame one of NY’s (and the nation’s) biggest sports talk shows “Mike and the Mad Dog.” Chris Russo lives in Shays district (voted for him once) and was so incensed by Crazy Shaysie’s antics that he’s going to help Jim Himes get elected.
Mad Dog: “Here’s the thing about Shays. I’m gonna go out of my way in November. We’re gonna get him the hell out of Connecticut. We’re gonna get Himes in there.”
This is great news for Himes because Mike & Mad Dog own drive time radio on the AM dial in the NY/CT area. Growing up in NY, I listened to the launch of WFAN and I try to watch them whenever I take a break from the blogging world during the day. (which isn’t that often) If you live in the area and are a sports fan—give their show a call at 718-937-6666.
HatCityBLOG FLASHBACK: Attorney Michael Boyle criticizes Boughton's immigration stance
Wednesday, February 13, 2008 Time: 1:16 PM
Although this was from a year ago, note attorney Michael Boyle's remarks about using local police to enforce immigration law as well as his thoughts on the Danbury 11 case.
As the last honest man in Danbury continues his crusade to mislead the public about the opposition to his lastest political stunt, more media outlets aren't taking the bait and are hitting back hard.
Republican Mayor Boughton, one of the main proponents of the bill, said in an interview with the New York Times that “the intention is to target criminal aliens,” to stop document forgery and drug smuggling. The mayor and other council members insisted there would not be sweeps or roundups. However, members of Danbury’s immigrant population reacted with anger and fear, citing already high levels of police harassment and racial profiling in this city of 80,000 to 90,000 residents, more than a third of whom are foreign born.
In one instance, a social worker with American citizenship described being stopped three times in one month. “I can’t change the way I look; I’m short, I’m brown, and boy do I have a Brazilian accent!” she said. The police sniffed her car for drugs and asked if she knew what was going on in the alley behind a nearby pizza parlor (hatcityblog.com).
The passage of ICE ACCESS is only the latest in a series of repressive measures targeting immigrants in Danbury, whose number has burgeoned over the past decade. Like many small cities and suburbs across the US, once centers of manufacturing and trade, Danbury had seen its main street boarded up as factories closed and big box stores and malls replaced local tradesmen.
Downtown Danbury—once known as the “Hatting Capital of the World”—had become an economic wasteland in the 1980s. However, the tides of globalization flow two ways, and over the course of the 1990s immigrants were drawn to the area by low-paying service and construction jobs, as well as educational opportunities at Western Connecticut State University and proximity to New York City, less than an hour and a half away. According to the Hartford Courant, from 1990 to 2000 the city’s population grew by 14 percent, the largest growth of any city of comparable size in the state.
By 2006, Danbury had a greater proportion of foreign-born residents than any other city in Connecticut, a total of 34 percent, up 7 percent since 2000 alone, according to census data.
The city has a sizeable community from Brazil, as well as Connecticut’s largest population of people from Cambodia, the Dominican Republic and Ecuador, and the second largest population in the state from India. As a result, Main Street was revitalized with businesses and restaurants largely owned by and catering to the needs of the new immigrant community.
The Chamber of Commerce and City Hall have seized on this economic growth to attract additional investment, and boast of Danbury being “a multicultural, multi-industrial city united in purpose and bursting with energy and pride,” as Mayor Mark Boughton said in his annual State of the City address at the Greater Danbury Chamber of Commerce annual award luncheon in 2005 (Fairfield County Business Journal, 26 December 2005).
However, as economic polarization between the town’s working people—immigrant and non-immigrant alike—and the town’s wealthier residents increases, Mayor Boughton has whipped up anti-immigrant sentiments to deflect social tensions. No newcomer himself, Boughton, age 43, traces his ancestry in Danbury back 300 years. He just won his fourth two-year term in office to become the city’s longest-serving Republican mayor.
Boughton’s anti-immigrant bias has been confirmed in his appearances on right-wing demagogue Lou Dobbs’ show on CNN. Rumored to have national political aspirations, Boughton campaigned on behalf of similarly pro-big business Mitt Romney for Republican Party presidential nominee until he dropped out of the race last week. He now supports McCain, though his stance on illegal immigration remains closer to Romney’s desire to ship all undocumented workers out of the US.
Boughton has also used “quality of life” legislation to intimidate and harass immigrant residents. Housing inspection teams have been sent out to find the telltale multiple satellite dishes or numerous cars in driveways indicating subdivided homes where dozens of mostly immigrant workers live in basements and attics.
A crackdown on backyard volleyball games, a favorite pastime of the Ecuadorian community, was undertaken in the summer of 2005 on the pretext that they were occasions for illegal activity. Already back in April 2005, the mayor tried to deputize police as federal immigration officers, but Leonard C. Boyle, commissioner of the State Department of Public Safety, denied his request, saying the city and state had other means of enforcement (New York Times, 2 August 2005).
Local residents are right to fear that the police will use the new deputization from the INS to hunt for illegal immigrants. In 2006, a police sting operation in the town park where day laborers wait for jobs picked up 11 illegal immigrants by offering them work, and then arrested them.
However, the turn to police intimidation and use of immigrants as scapegoats in Danbury is far from unique. An increasing number of immigrants live in the towns, small cities and suburbs in the United States that have been hardest hit by the recent economic downturn, not just traditional magnets like New York and Los Angeles. Isolated in ethnic enclaves, often with limited language skills and few resources or legal protection, immigrant workers are amongst the most exploited.
“I’ve seen young men who are 17 or 18 years old, and their family has sent them to help support their family in Ecuador,” Maria-Cinta Lowe, executive director of the Hispanic Center of Greater Danbury, told the Hartford Courant. “I’ve had people tell me, ‘I thought I would find heaven, and I found hell.’”
The terms "Main Street" and "immigrant business community" can be used somewhat synonymously in Danbury. While a few banks and insurance companies remain downtown, ethnic restaurants; exotic gift shops; media outlets specializing in foreign CDs and DVDs; travel agencies; and beauty salons, tax agencies and medical offices that have bi- or trilingual staff have carved a niche for themselves in the area that the Danbury Fair Mall dried up in the late-'80s.
"Ten years ago, this place was a ghost town," said an owner of a 30-year downtown staple who preferred not to be named. "They are upset because they worked for this, and fear it could be a ghost town again."
Mayor Mark Boughton says it's all one big misunderstanding. He has pointed out that in previous protests, many of those who have stood in front of City Hall have been activist kids bused in from area colleges. "That's fair in America," he told us, "but they don't show the sentiment of Danbury."
4,000+ people don't show the sentiment of Danbury? NOw, who's out of touch?
"If I got all the misinformation that comes from activists and is printed in a few biweekly newspapers, I'd be pretty upset too," says Boughton.
Oh trust me, I'm going to deal with this lie is a BIG, BIG way really, really soon.
He has "no idea" if people are leaving Danbury over this. And the "big economic issue is the [national] economy. We're at all time low in issuing building permits."
Boughton's Dec. 14 State of the City Address indicated a rosy economy, noting that "While the downturn in the residential real estate market has impacted many areas, Danbury continues to be a desirable place to raise a family. Our business community continues to enjoy a positive economic climate and a positive outlook."
"That was before the housing crash," Boughton says; foreclosures, he adds, have since increased in and around Danbury.
Don't worry, I'm going to deal with this lie also.
Moreover, he says, "If you tailor your business to a small segment of the population, it's going to be at risk. This is a chance for these businesses to expand and adapt and reach a broader audience."
A Elise Marciano talking-point, way to show your true colors Mark!
As for Tribuna's decision to drop its support: "They are under a lot of pressure from people who are against this; advertisers have dropped out because of it."
Categorically not true, says Lima. "We may have had one or two people who have stopped taking out ads because they can no longer afford to," she says. "We're doing this because most of our staff are immigrants, and because we know how hard it is to come here. We don't forget that."
Man, Boughton even lying about the Tribuna? Wow, talk about chopping off the hand that fed you...stunning.
As for the dishonest one claiming that the Community News spread lies and fear throughout the community, editor Breno da Mata knocks it out of the park.
"It's two police officers who will go after violent criminals," says Breno da Mata, editor of the Portugese-language Comunidade News. "That is my understanding, and that is what we've been reporting."
He added "I doubt Mark Boughton reads Portuguese so maybe someone mis-translated it for him, but I think this is a matter of politics...
"People are scared because they don't trust Mark Boughton," da Mata adds, "not because they read my newspaper or misunderstand what the police and city say."
And history has shown that one should not trust ONE WORD that comes out of this mayor's mouth:
• Numerous lies about the parade ordinance and lies about being serious in fixing the parade ordinance.
• Numerous misleading statements about being serious in fixing the sex offender ordinance.
• Getting along with the Democrats over 90 percent of the time.
• Taking credit for projects which were started under the previous administration while blaming the problems of the city on the previous administration.
• Claiming that the charter states that first 30 minutes of the Common Council meeting is for public speaking and that it can not be extended.
• Stating that he didn't want to shell out money for broadcasting meetings at City Hall because the cost (which rose every time he talked about it in the press) WHILE having no problem proposing a "doggie park" which would have cost taxpayers aprox 15,000.
• No idea about the Galante money.
• Not telling the whole story about the latest bond package inhis presentation to the land trust.
It's finally great to see that the media is catching on to what's really going on here and why they should always be critical when interviewing the mayor and I'm glad to have been of service.
...and if you think this is good, wait till you see the local access show that's in the works.
With the FAA attempting to lower air congestion in the Tri-State area and proposing to allow 250 airplanes per day to fly over lower Fairfield County. Municipalities in the Greater Danbury area have combined their forces to oppose this program.
On Sunday's Connecticut Newsmakers, Ridgefield's First Selectman and spokesman for the Alliance for Sensible Airspace Planning Rudy Marconi details the problems with the proposal from the FAA and the efforts municipalities in the area are combatting this effort by the feds to increase the level of noise pollution in our area.
Since I'm taking a bit of downtime to re-organize the site, I wanted to point out something from the primary that should shed a bit off light on the anti-immigrant spin machine at Deer Hill Ave.
Let's look beyond the unethical use of the emergency 911 system for political purposes and other silliness the last honest man in Danbury and take a look at the recent primary results that's left our mayor scratching his head.
As you're aware, the Republican primary pitted the flip-flopping, double talking Mitt Romney against the most hated politician in the anti-immigrant movement, John McCain. Let's look at what the the anti-immigrant message boards had to say about McCain:
Have GOP Voters forgotten that just a few months ago, John McCain stood hand-in-hand with liberal icon Ted Kennedy pushing for the largest amnesty for illegal aliens in American history? While Rasmussen polling showed that Americans following the legislation very closely opposed it 3 to 1 (69% to 23%), McCain ignored the massive public outcry!
[...]
John McCain refused to listen to Americans and went so far as to call members of the Senate who refused to support the McKennedy Amnesty "Racists"! John McCain showed no regard for American voices and instead called those who disagreed with him petty names. Who was John McCain listening to? He was listening to the US Chamber of Commerce and the racist illegal alien support groups like La Raza (The Race) whom he openly coordinated the effort with.
[...]
There are good reasons why Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Laura Ingram, Hugh Hewitt, and Michelle Malkin are heavily criticizing John McCain. There are good reasons for Ronald Reagan's son, Michael to condemn the McCain candidacy. There are good reasons why ALIPAC, NumbersUSA, and almost every other organization in America fighting against Amnesty and illegal immigration, while supporting Border Security, are screaming NO to McCain!
The principles of this nation are at stake. The value of our votes is at stake. The survival of the United States, in its current form, is at stake.
We must stop the McClintObama Amnesty Plan. We must stop twenty million illegal aliens from becoming voters by 2010. We must race against time to warn every GOP voter before Super Tuesday, because we must do all we can to stop John McCain.
Let's look at what the head moron leader of the local anti-immigrant/hate group had to say about McCain on her low traffic/information site:
If McCain wins the Republican nomination, most of the media have indicated they will interpret that as a vote for McCain's pro-illegal-immigration policies. That may even embolden Congress to try again to pass an amnesty THIS year.
[...]
SUPPORT IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT !! GIVE McCain the boot!!!
"I am honored to have these Republican leaders as part of my team in Connecticut. They will be strong surrogates for our message of keeping taxes low, strengthening our military, and bringing fiscal responsibility to Washington. I am thankful for their support and I look forward to working with them over the coming months."
Boy, with all that venom towards Mr. Amnesty, with illegal immigration the so-called top issue in Danbury, and a mayor who was Co-Chair for Connecticut Romney For President, you would think that Mitt enforce the law" Romney would crush McCain in the primary.
Republican John McCain swept all 10 towns in the Danbury area en route to an easy victory in Connecticut's GOP primary with about 52 percent of the vote. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney received about 33 percent.
Oh, this can't be true. Let's look at the chart and see how the vote count broke down per ward:
• What happened to that "illegal immigration" issue that's such a "hot topic?"
• Amnesty McCain beats Romney IN EVERY WARD IN DANBURY?
• The CO-CHAIR FOR CONNECTICUT FOR ROMNEY couldn't even deliver his OWN CITY for his candidate?
Could it be that illegal immigration isn't the "top issue" in Danbury as the anti-immigrant pro-Boughton apologists community wants you to believe? In any case, it's rather embarrassing for the co-chair of the Romney campaign to not deliver Danbury (or ANY WARD IN DANBURY) for his candidate.
After BOMBING in Danbury, I wonder how Romney feels about the mayor who's better known as Mark Nielsen's BFF?
No wonder our mayor's head turned red when Councilman Paul Rotello made these remarks during the ICE ACCESS debate last week.
Danbury was big news last week. Satellite trucks from Connecticut and New York City television stations were on hand.
The New York stations created maps so viewers unfamiliar with Danbury would know the exact location -- there it is, in Connecticut but on the New York border.
Were these television stations publicizing Danbury's nice restaurants? Its lakes and parks? Its community events? Its churches? Its history? Its hospital? Its university?
No, of course not. Danbury was once again in the news for all the wrong reasons, portrayed as a city overrun by anger and illegal immigrants.
Can the city blame "the media" for this? No. This spectacle was orchestrated by Danbury's top elected officials.
It started last October when members of the Common Council decided to make a campaign issue of forming a police partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
They wrote a letter to Mayor Mark Boughton, who thought it would be a dandy idea for the council to get involved in the running of the Danbury Police Department.
And the fun was on. It culminated Wednesday night when the council voted to authorize the police to work with ICE -- as a cordon of police officers stood around City Hall and thousands of people chanted in the streets.
The police department works with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. It is the police department that should decide if such partnerships are beneficial, not the politicians.
[...]
This decision did not require a public spectacle. It did not require a council vote -- as ICE spokesmen made clear to The News-Times.
When Boughton and the council decided to politicize the issue, people concerned about ICE went political too.
They assumed the worst about what would happen -- from racial profiling against legal immigrants and citizens to mass roundups of illegal immigrants. And why not? If this was just about routine law enforcement, it would have been left to the police department, not the politicians.
[...]
Sadly, Police Chief Al Baker has come out of this controversy looking pretty weak. He was silent at first, saying he wanted to stay out of the politics.
Then he found his voice and showed he was perfectly capable of handling any law enforcement issue that comes up.
But the mayor and the council wouldn't leave law enforcement to the chief. No, they needed to have their spectacle.
Now it will be the job of the chief to heal the wounds that were needlessly opened by this controversy between the police department, the immigrant community and others in Danbury.
The mayor's shown no interest in bringing people together. He's laughably issuing recounts of the crowd that gathered Wednesday night outside City Hall.
The council's shown no interest in bringing people together. It saw this controversy spiraling out of control, dividing this city, damaging Danbury's image. But the council refused to step back and leave a law enforcement matter to the police department.
Danbury's weathered many challenges over the years and triumphed over them. It will weather this one, too.
Perhaps the city's religious communities can show the way. Unfortunately, Danbury's elected officials have shown they lack the leadership qualities needed at a moment like this.
To back up the News-Times editorial, I'm going to do something that's been in the works since this whole "using ICE ACCESS for political purposes" started.
From local media pundits/anti-immigrant supporters who spread unchallenged LIES since October, and Boughton's latest laughable PR stunt,to comments from members of the council who had audacity to blame the spread of so-called "misinformation" on immigrant newspapers and people who opposed the program, I'm going to set the record straight once and for all.
Thanks to the News-Times for staying on top of this story from day one and seeing the true nature of this program...wait till I add my information to the story and go on MY media campaign.
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.