Interview with Chris Murphy

I met with Rep. Chris Murphy at his New Britain campaign HQ last Friday to discuss current issues, including his recent decision to run for the Senate.



If you're interested in specific issues I raised with Rep. Murphy, you can jump to the approximate spot on the timeline (in minutes:seconds) shown below. But of course I want you to watch the entire interview, so be patient (it runs about 27 minutes).

00:01 Introduction and decision to run for Senate
02:20 Supreme Court ethics legislation
05:10 March 4th deadline to pass Federal funding bill
06:40 House Speaker John Boehner
07:45 Patriot Act re-authorization vote
09:20 Wisconsin governor's actions re: unions
14:47 Getting manufacturing back in Connecticut
17:16 Trade agreements; NAFTA
18:55 Uprisings in the Middle East
22:05 Sensible gun laws
24:55 When Congress reconvenes this week
27:06 Wrap up

Visit ChrisMurphy.com for the latest info.

What else could he say?

I mean, if I were the victim of a successful brainwashing, I'd also absolutely believe that I hadn't been brainwashed! Nobody goes around saying, "Golly, I know I've been brainwashed, but I'll still do anything they tell me to do!" No, not likely.

The typical brainwashee only functions if they don't know that their tiny little brain has been washed, rinsed, folded, and put in a drawer.

Mission accomplished, Army!

From the AP:

WASHINGTON – One of the U.S. senators allegedly targeted by an Army unit using psychological operations to help get more money and troops for the Afghanistan war says he doesn't believe he's been "brainwashed."

Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut tells CNN's "State of the Union" that he was supporting money and troop levels in Afghanistan long before the Army unit is reported to have begun its operations.

Rolling Stone's website reported last week that the Army unit was told to manipulate senators and other visiting officials. The story has led the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan to order an investigation.

Lieberman says he doesn't think there's much to the story and calls it "weird."

Union Thug

Via @Joshua_holland1 on Twitter:

Just another typical lazy and overpaid union member, seen at the on-going protest in Wisconsin.

Meanwhile, Gov. Walker just stated today that the pro-union protests haven't swayed him in the least.

He's starting to sound like Captain Smith not long after the Titanic scraped the edge of that iceberg!

(retweeted by @RealSaramerica)

Governor Walker is a boob

Right? I mean, the guy falls for a ridiculous prank phone call, which is bad enough. But then he stupidly talks about planting "troublemakers" into the anti-Walker citizen's protest at the Wisconsin state capitol!

Jon Stewart discussed the phone call and other stupid Walkerisms here:

The Daily Show - Crisis in Dairyland - Scott Walker Prank Call
Tags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

So rather than actually negotiate with the Democrats (who are listening to the will of the vast majority of Wisconsinites), Walker is hoping the missing senators are dumb enough to show back up and go into session so his Republican dominated legislature will bust the union's right to collective bargaining.

It gets even better. Today Madison Police Chief Noble Wray wants the governor to explain his remarks.

From Channel3000.com:

In a statement released on Thursday, Wray expressed concern over the governor's remarks during the call.

“I spent a good deal of time overnight thinking about Governor Walker’s response, during his news conference yesterday, to the suggestion that his administration ‘thought about’ planting troublemakers among those who are peacefully protesting his bill. I would like to hear more of an explanation from Governor Walker as to what exactly was being considered, and to what degree it was discussed by his cabinet members. I find it very unsettling and troubling that anyone would consider creating safety risks for our citizens and law enforcement officers. Our department works hard dialoging with those who are exercising their First Amendment right, those from both sides of the issue, to make sure we are doing everything we can to ensure they can demonstrate safely. I am concerned that anyone would try to undermine these relationships. I have a responsibility to the community, and to the men and women of this department - who are working long hours protecting and serving this community – to find out more about what was being considered by state leaders," Wray said in a statement.

In addition, the Madison Police Department also released a separate statement, praising the preparedness of its officers, saying they are “trained for crowd situations where an agitator or provocateur may try to create safety risks for citizens and officers.” The department also commended all protesters for being peaceful during their rallies at the Capitol.

Not smart to alienate the local police chief. Or to talk about basically inciting a riot in a peaceful crowd. Gov. Walker is starting to look like a total idiot.

Which is what you'd expect from a boob like him.

2011 Special Election Results

From the Hartford Courant:

SENATE
6th - Berlin, part of Farmington, New Britain
• Terry Bielinski Gerratana (D, WF) ✔
4,565 Votes (Unofficial)
• Timothy T. Stewart (R)
4,231 Votes (Unofficial)

13th: Part of Cheshire, Meriden, Middlefield, part of Middletown
• Thomas E. Bruenn, (D, WF)
4,755 Votes (Unofficial)
• Len Suzio (R, Independent) ✔
6,465 Votes (Unofficial)

27th: Part of Darien, part of Stamford
• Carlo Leone (D) ✔
4,740 Votes (Unofficial)
• Bob Kolenberg (R)
4,202 Votes (Unofficial)

HOUSE
20th: Part of West Hartford
• Joe Verrengia (D) ✔
1,510 Votes (Unofficial)
• Allen Hoffman (R, Connecticut for Lieberman)
860 Votes (Unofficial)

25th: Part of New Britain
• Robert Sanchez (D, WF) ✔
763 Votes (Unofficial)
• Richard Marzi (Write-In)
3 Votes (Unofficial)

36th: Chester, Deep River, Essex, Haddam
• Phillip J. Miller (D) ✔
2,751 Votes (Unofficial)
• Janet Peckinpaugh (R)
2,526 Votes (Unofficial)

99th: Part of East Haven
• James M. Albis (D, WF) ✔
1,423 Votes (Unofficial)
• Linda Monaco (R)
1,331 Votes (Unofficial)

101st: Part of Guilford, Madison
• Joan M. Walker (D),
1,520 Votes (Unofficial)
• Noreen S. Kokoruda (R) ✔
2,119 Votes (Unofficial)

126th: Part of Bridgeport
• Charlie L. Stallworth (D) ✔
473 Votes (Unofficial)
• James Keyser (R)
82 Votes (Unofficial)
Five petitioning candidates
• Mark P. Trojanowski
58 Votes (Unofficial)
• Carlos Silva
89 Votes (Unofficial)
• Robert T. Keeley Jr.
191 Votes (Unofficial)
• Thomas R. Lombard
34 Votes (Unofficial)
• Verna Kearney
373 Votes (Unofficial)

Polls are open today!

If you live in one of the districts listed below, you need to get out and vote today!

Polls are open until 8:00 p.m. today in the following communities for the special elections:

· State Senate district 6, covering Berlin, New Britain, and part of Farmington
· State Senate district 13, covering Meriden, Middlefield, and parts of Cheshire and Middletown
· State Senate district 27, covering parts of Darien and Stamford
· General Assembly district 20, covering part of West Hartford
· General Assembly district 25, covering parts of new Britain
· General Assembly district 36, covering the towns of Chester, Deep River, Essex and Haddam
· General Assembly district 99, covering part of East Haven
· General Assembly district 101, covering the town of Madison and part of Guilford
· General Assembly district 126, covering part of Bridgeport

Voters can go to the Secretary of the State’s website www.sots.ct.gov to see if they are registered to vote and where their polling place is located.

Save the FITP

(Sorry about the CAPS. I didn't write this thing, but the message is important enough to overlook them.)

IMPORTANT ALERT! SAVE THE FITP! IMPORTANT ALERT! You need to do this TODAY, Tuesday Feb. 21st:

THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT IS ABOUT TO PULL THE PLUG ON THE FILM INDUSTRY TRAINING PROGRAM! THE FUTURE OF THE FITP WILL BE DECIDED DURING A WORK SESSION OF THE DEVELOPMENT SUBCOMMITTEE THIS COMING WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2012 AT 11:00AM IN ROOM 2600 OF THE LEGISLATIVE OFFICE BUILDING IN HARTFORD.

UNFORTUNATELY, THE MEETING IS CLOSED AND THERE WILL BE NO PUBLIC TESTIMONY ALLOWED. THIS IS VERY UNFAIR BECAUSE MANY PEOPLE WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK ON BEHALF OF THE FITP!

WE ARE ASKING EVERYONE TO SEND URGENT EMAILS TO GOVERNOR MALLOY, STATE OFFICIALS, AND MEMBERS OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO USE YOUR OWN WORDS, BUT BELOW ARE A FEW PARAGRAPHS TO HELP YOU WRITE YOUR EMAILS. (THE EMAIL ADDRESSES ARE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE):

1.) The FITP was founded in 2008 and has been administered by the Office of Workforce Competitiveness (OWC). When Governor Malloy took office, he transferred OWC from the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) to the Department of Labor (DOL) along with the funding allocated for a 2012 FITP. The DOL Commissioner recently testified that he does not want the FITP and that he will eliminate the program and keep the money. It is shocking that our labor commissioner does not even care about growing the Connecticut labor force in the film, television, and digital media industry!!

2.) The FITP works hand in glove with the Connecticut motion picture tax credits and is essential to further growth in this industry. The FITP website has received 200 inquiries about a 2012 program and with the state film tax credits still attracting many projects to shoot here, now is NOT the time to discontinue workforce education!

3.) Over the four years of the FITP’s existence, graduates have worked continually in this freelance industry. They have consistently and aggressively sought union or non-union professional experience wherever available, whether paid, voluntary, or internship in nature. Some FITP graduates have found long-term positions with well-known studios and production companies

4.) A recent statistical analysis documented almost 12,000 days of freelance work generated by the FITP during its four years of existence. In 2011, the total number of FITP days worked more than doubled the total days worked for the previous three years of the program. This represents a significant jump in the growth of the film industry workforce in Connecticut and the statistics do not even include the established professional workforce already existing in the state! We have over 200 emails asking for applications for a 2012 FITP. This great program is just starting to produce results! Now is not the time to end it!

5.) The Connecticut FITP has proven remarkably successful, creating a comprehensive learning experience designed to be completely relevant to actual work in this growing industry. The FITP has made significant progress toward perfecting a formula for a successful workforce teaching modality. The program has been reviewed in several film journal articles as “the best in the country.”

PLEASE SEND YOUR EMAILS TO THE FOLLOWING STATE OFFICIALS. SIMPLY COPY EACH ADDRESS AND DROP IT INTO THE "TO:" BOX AT THE TOP OF YOUR EMAIL. NOTE: IT WILL BE MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE TO SEND EACH EMAIL INDIVIDUALLY, RATHER THAN AS A "BLAST" TO ALL THE NAMES BELOW. THESE ARE IMPORTANT PEOPLE WHO WILL RESPOND BETTER IF THEY ARE TREATED RESPECTFULLY.

IT IS VITAL THAT YOU SEND YOUR EMAIL AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. (MONDAY IS A HOLIDAY AND THE COMMITTEE MEETS ON WEDNESDAY AT 11AM)


Governor.Malloy@cga.ct.gov GOVERNOR

Glenn.Marshall@ct.gov COMMISSIONER, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Catherine.Smith@ct.gov COMMISSIONER, DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

George.Norfleet@ct.gov DIRECTOR, CT OFFICE OF FILM, TELEVISION, AND DIGITAL MEDIA


DEVELOPMENT SUBCOMMITTEE #5

Bob.Duff@cga.ct.gov CHAIRPERSON

Bryan.Hurlburt@cga.ct.gov CHAIRPERSON

Joe.Markley@cga.ct.gov

Craig.Miner@cga.ct.gov

Charles.Clemons@cga.ct.gov

Peter.Villano@cga.ct.gov

Gregory.Haddad@cga.ct.gov

Roberta.Willis@cga.ct.gov

Patricia.Miller@cga.ct.gov

Whit.Betts@housegop.ct.gov

Sandy.Nafis@cga.ct.gov

Tony.Hwang@cga.ct.gov

Kevin.Ryan@cga.ct.gov

Themis.Klarides@housegop.ct.gov

Diana.Urban@cga.ct.gov

Andrew.Maynard@cga.ct.gov

IF YOU VALUE YOUR FITP EXPERIENCE AND WANT TO HELP OTHER CT RESIDENTS RECEIVE THE WORKFORCE EDUCATION YOU HAD, PLEASE TAKE A FEW MOMENTS TO WRITE EMAILS TO EACH OF THE ABOVE STATE OFFICIALS. SINCE WE CANNOT SPEAK TO THEM IN PERSON, THIS IS THE ONLY WAY WE CAN VOICE SUPPORT FOR THE FITP. THIS IS LITERALLY THE 11TH HOUR AND THE FITP WILL DISAPPEAR WITHOUT YOUR HELP. IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR NEED HELP, PLEASE SEND AN EMAIL TO savethefitp@optimum.net. WE WILL RESPOND PROMPTLY. THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

SAVE THE FITP! SAVE THE FITP! SAVE THE FITP!

Wisconsin activists rally

There is a huge protest going on in Wisconsin for the last several days, and it's becoming something of a showdown with anti-union Republicans.

My pal Melissa Ryan (aka Caffeinated Geek Girl) has been in the thick of things since this began. Her tweets are full of first-person insights and photos. Follow her @MelissaRyan. The photo above is from her Twitter.

From FireDogLake:

Multiple outlets have confirmed that Senate Democrats in Wisconsin boarded a bus and left the state, denying the Republican majority the quorum needed to pass their budget repair bill, which strips away collective bargaining rights for public employees. Sen. Jon Erpenbach told WisPolitics that the Democrats were left with no choice:

Asked how long they were prepared to remain outside Wisconsin, the Middleton Dem demurred.

“The question is when are the Republicans going to sit down seriously with the other side on this issue and try to work something out,” Erpenbach said. “When are we going to be reasonable about this and slow things down?” [...]

Erpenbach said Republicans should look at how the proposed changes are tearing the state apart and realize a different path is needed.

“This isn’t anything that we do lightly at all. This isn’t a prank. This isn’t a joke. This is Democrats standing together saying slow down.”

This comes as protests continue to rage inside and outside the Capitol. The Department of Administration counts nine arrests so far, and as for crowd size, the same agency (conservatively) estimates 25,000 out in force, including 5,000 inside the Rotunda. Governor Scott Walker again threatened to call out the National Guard if the protests got “out of hand.” The Center for Media and Democracy’s PR Watch has live updates of the rally.

Wisconsin has become the critical start point for a much broader assault on worker’s rights and unions. Ohio has seen similar protests over a very similar bill. And states like Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, New Hampshire, New Jersey and New Mexico are considering additional limits on public employee rights, though not to the extent of Ohio and Wisconsin.

The origins, as I wrote about Monday, come from ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council, a key driver in the conservative movement. One reason why you see similar bills from Republicans pop up in multiple states is ALEC, which pushes an agenda for state legislators to pick up and run with. We know that ALEC brought together Walker and southern state Governors after the elections to discuss so-called “right-to-work” legislation. We know that ALEC commended Walker for his first successful piece of legislation, the bill slashing business taxes that created the budget deficit which he is now exploiting to take away public employee rights. They are basically behind all of this.

This fight could now play out over many weeks, depending on how long state Democrats – or the Governor – hold out. And I don’t think the working families rallying in Madison have any quit in them, either.

UPDATE: John Boehner has come out in favor of Gov. Walker in Wisconsin. Walker himself demanded that Democrats come back to work and allow the bill to move forward. Hosni doesn’t like it much when the people don’t obey his demands.

UPDATE II: A poll for Building a Stronger Wisconsin finds pretty sharp opposition to the union-busting bill:

One-third of those surveyed last night said they backed Walker’s proposal to increase how much public employees pay for their health care and pensions.

Almost 27 percent said they believed public employees should pay more for their health care and retirement benefits, but Walker’s plan went too far. Another 35 percent said they opposed the proposal as “an attack on unions and Wisconsin workers.”

When told the proposal also included stripping public employees of their ability to collectively bargain on any issue other than wages, support for the proposal dropped slightly to just less than 32 percent.

Thirty-two percent said they supported the increased employee contributions, but thought the collective bargaining piece went too far. Thirty-three percent opposed it as an attack on unions and workers.

UPDATE III: State Sen. Chris Larson talked to Greg Sargent and basically said the Democrats won’t come back until this assault on workers ends.

“Each of us is in a secure location,” he told me, confirming that they were not all together but were monitoring events on the Web and on Twitter. Larson refused to say whether he and his fellow Dems had left the state, as some have speculated.

“We’re going to be staying away until we hear that they are taking the right to organize seriously,” Larson continued, referring to Republicans. “They’re going after 50 years of history in one week. Until they take that off the table, it’s a non-starter.”

As we've seen recently, the pro-democracy protests in Egypt have spawned similar protests against unfair governmental practices.

This isn't necessarily limited to international or even national events...a few weeks ago, Milford's Republican members of the Planning & Zoning Committee walked out from doing the business of the city rather than let a Democrat be elected for a second consecutive year as chairwoman.

But the difference is, this was simply a GOP partisan protest, instead of a fight for what's right. And the upside of all of this is that Susan Shaw won reelection anyway, just a few nights ago, with support from a lone Republican who was able to rise above simple partisan politics and cast a vote with the Democrats to put Shaw back into the chair.

So, when Egypt fights for Democracy; or Wisconsin fights for worker's rights, it's a good thing. When partisan Republicans fight for something just because...well, it ain't such a good thing.

New taxes unveiled

Gov. Malloy has just released details of the new tax plan which, as fully expected, includes many tax increases.

The theme seems to be "shared sacrifice", something that hasn't been addressed by previous GOP administrations. Rather than show any leadership, Gov. Rell simply punted the issue to the next governor. Gov. Malloy is willing to take charge and do what's necessary to fix the problem.

This video from the Courant/Fox CT explains some of the broad points. Note that even if all the increases are passed, Malloy will still need to cut government and get state employees to agree to givebacks in order to balance the budget.

 

GOP Chairman Chris Healy's remarks shows a complete lack of reality when addressing the budget crisis. He obviously wants to score political points without offering any realistic solutions. We all knew this was going to be a brutal process, and we encourage the Republicans to come up with helpful suggestions. Unfortunately, we can't meet the massive budget simply by cutting government, despite Healy's wishes.

Shared sacrifice will be required to see all of us through this crisis. The means we all have to do our part.

The absolute best thing on Twitter

If you're not following @MayorEmanuel on Twitter yet, you don't know what you're missing!

The famously foul-mouthed former White House Chief of Staff and present candidate for Mayor of Chicago Rahm Emanuel has finally commented on his even fouler-mouthed alter ego who resides on Twitter, a digital doppelganger known as "Mayor Emanuel".

From WLSAM.com:

Emanuel acknowledged the fake Emanuel's popularity and admitted to being amused by the often graphic posts.

"Are you kidding? This guy or gal, whoever writes, has garnered a huge following and a lot of people say, 'I just read your tweet,' and I go 'what?'"

The person, who goes by the handle MayorEmanuel, has accumulated over 24,000 followers and capitalizes on the Chicago mayoral candidate's notoriously foul tongue and hot temper.

The person behind the mysterious tweets uses foul language in nearly every post he or she makes but keeps the posts relative to the candidate's day-to-day schedule.

If you click on the link to WLS radio above, there's a link to the interview. Click ahead to about 14:15 in the interview for the pertinent segment. Actually the entire interview is worth a listen if you want to get some insight on how this guy thinks.

But if I was the guy who created "MayorEmanual" (along with such notable characters as "Quaxelrod") and I lived anywhere within an eight-hour drive of Chicago...well, I'd probably think twice about fessing up!

Attorney General Jepsen investigating Facebook fraud

My State Rep in the House Assembly, Kim Rose (D-118), has brought to light an attempt by an internet scammer to fraudulently obtain funds by posing as her.

Attorney General George Jepsen has said he'll look into the complaint. The CT Post has more:

Attorney General George Jepsen has launched an investigation into a Facebook scam that temporarily created a fake account in the name state representative from Milford. The scammer who stole Rep. Kim Rose's identity then asked for money through Facebook messages and was able to receive a payment from at least one person.

Jepsen sent a letter to Facebook on Monday explaining that his office will be investigating "because of the real and immediate danger of financial fraud and identity theft associated with this scam."

He requested that the social networking company send his office information about its procedures for "detecting and disabling fradulent accounts."

I received a FB "friend request" from the person posing as Kim, and then, thinking it was her, I accepted it. Usually I check to see the list of friends they have, and if there's a lot of people I know, I tend to accept it.

Because, let's face facts, on Facebook you're only as good as the number of "friends" you have. And occasionally, some scammer will slip through and "friend" you.

Kim saw that I friended this idiot, and she sent me a tactful note that this person wasn't her, and I should unfriend him/her. Which I did. So I didn't get scammed.

But, sadly, there was at least one victim:

Rose said she discovered three weeks ago that someone had, without her knowledge, created a Facebook account in her name. From that account, the person became "friends" with Rose's actual Facebook and real life acquaitances and then began using Facebook chat and messaging to harass those people and ask for money. The messages told recipients that they had won money and had to send a payment to the fake Rose account to pay for taxes.

AG Jepsen is working on resolving this kind of scam, and is seeking to bring the scammer to justice and also prevent this from happening again:

"My hope is to work cooperatively with Facebook to ensure that is users in Connecticut and elsewhere are provided adequate security and receive quick and effective responses when security breaches occur," Jepsen said in a statement.

Read more: http://www.ctpost.com/default/article/AG-Jepsen-looking-into-Facebook-fraud-that-struck-1014513.php#ixzz1E4Y1Q1D0

This sure ain't gonna help Baba-booey!

Howard Stern's on-air producer, Gary Della'bate, is seeking a position on Greenwich's Parks & Recreation Committee. A Greenwich RTM member, Coline Jenkins, spoke up against the appointment, citing Mr. Booey's participation in on-air stunts that aren't exactly family friendly.

From the CT Post:

A Representative Town Meeting member who called Stern's satellite radio show offensive to women says she found a bag of fecal matter in her mailbox Sunday with an anonymous note attached.

"Ha Ha!! U Stink!!! Go Howard!" the note read, according to a copy provided to Greenwich Time by Coline Jenkins.

"On Monday, I will bring the bag of feces and anonymous note to the postmaster of Old Greenwich and file a criminal complaint, as it is a federal offense to tamper with the mail," Jenkins wrote to fellow RTM members of District 6/Old Greenwich.

Read more...

Well, that sure ain't gonna help Gary in staid old Greenwich!

I have some experience with small town politics, when after a year of exemplary service to the City as a member of the MGAT committee to help provide government access TV to cable subscribers, I was unceremoniously dumped from the committee by the Republican dominated Board of Aldermen. With no warning or reason given, and not even a word to the committee chairman that they were considering it.

So I'm sure I'll be able to sympathize with Gary if he doesn't get the position he's seeking.

There is a positive side here, though...

Nobody ever put doody in anyone's mailbox because of me!

Pro-choice candidates in special elections

NARAL just released a list of endorsed candidates running in the special elections on Feb. 22nd. Here's their press release:

NARAL Pro-Choice Connecticut PAC Endorses Pro-Choice Candidates for the Special Election

NARAL Pro-Choice Connecticut PAC has announced endorsements for the Special Election in State Senate & House races across Connecticut. The group is non-partisan, and endorsements are given only to candidates who request an endorsement and are deemed by the PAC to be 100% pro-choice.

In State Senate races, the PAC endorsed:
Terry Gerratona (6)
Thomas Bruenn (13).

In State House races, NARAL Pro-Choice Connecticut PAC has endorsed:
Robert Sanchez (25)
Phil Miller (36)
James Albis (99)
and a dual endorsement of Noreen Kokoruda and Joan Walker (101).

“Our endorsed candidates support the full range of women’s reproductive health,” said Cari Pierdes, NARAL Pro-Choice Connecticut PAC Chair. “These candidates understand that being pro-choice means providing women with information and availability to birth control, emergency contraception, prenatal care and safe and legal abortion!”

NARAL Pro-Choice Connecticut PAC's website is pro-choicect.org

Also, voter registration for the special elections ends at noon on Feb. 18th, so get down and register if you haven't already.

Polls will be open from 6 a.m. until 8 p.m. on Feb. 22, in the following communities for the special elections: State Senate District 6, covering Berlin, New Britain, and part of Farmington; District 13, covering Meriden, Middlefield, and parts of Cheshire and Middletown; and District 27, covering parts of Darien and Stamford. Special elections will also take place in the following General Assembly Districts: District 20, covering part of West Hartford; District 25, covering parts of new Britain; District 36, covering the towns of Chester, Deep River, Essex and Haddam; District 99, covering part of East Haven; District 101, covering the town of Madison and part of Guilford; and District 126, covering part of Bridgeport.

Voters can visit the Secretary of the State’s Web site at sots.ct.gov to see if they are registered to vote and where their polling place is located. They can also find out information about absentee ballots and a list of candidates for the special elections.

More thoughts on Egypt

So the latest is the ruling Egyptian military has suspended the constitution and dissolved the largely pro-Mubarak parliament as the first steps towards democracy.

That's the good news. The slightly worrisome news is that they plan to rule the country for six months. It worries me, because that's plenty of time for them to become entrenched in their power, and after that long they just might be a little reticent about turning over the government to any democratically-elected party.

But then again, (from CNN):

Egypt's military dissolved the country's Parliament and suspended its Constitution Sunday following the ouster of longtime leader Hosni Mubarak, telling Egyptians it would be in charge for six months or until elections can be held.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces said it would appoint a committee to propose changes to the Constitution, which would then be submitted to voters. The council will have the power to issue new laws during the transition period, according to a communique read on state television.

Sameh Shoukry, Egypt's ambassador to the United States, said Sunday that the generals have made restoring security and reviving the economy its top priorities.

That last bit is encouraging. Rather than the wholesale anarchy that we allowed in Iraq after we "liberated" them ("They're free now, so that means they're free to loot!"), the Egyptian military seems to want to take care of the citizens and prevent that sort of chaos.

It'll probably be several weeks before we see sure signs of democracy. They'll need to adopt a new temporary constitution that's more tolerant of opposition political parties, and they'll have to create a blueprint for fair and legal elections.

All things considered, this may be the very best thing that happened in the region in more than ten years.

My advice to Mubarak

UPDATE 11:10AM: OK, so suddenly the MSM is going batshit about Mubarak having fled Cairo and reportedly has stepped down. The situation is still in a state of flux, and the latest reports bring up many more questions than answers. Will Mubarak still wield power from a less volatile city? What will the interim government look like? Will Mubarak's choice for VP assume the Presidency? Stay tuned...



Didja get it?

Real good, Bob. Way to trivialize a potentially disastrous situation!

(in my defense, I'm still taking cold medication, so I can't be held totally responsible for my actions. I think that's known in legal circles as "The Dayquil Defense"!)

Egypt showing restraint

UPDATE: Mubarak to the entire world - "I'm stayin', bitches!"

UPDATE 2: OK, so now Mubarak is apparently handing over power to his VP, but he's not leaving the country. He's almost as bad as Joe Lieberman, who quit last month but for some reason is hanging on for another two years.

And Mubarak will certainly have full control of the government (especially the Army, which is still loyal to him). If the populace makes it a general strike, chances are good that many of those loyal to Mubarak will switch to the opposition. Look Hosni, it's fucking inevitable...just give it up, clean out the treasury (de rigueur for fleeing dictators), and get the fuck out of Egypt!

(...and why do my fingers tend to type "Eqypt" rather than "Egypt"?)

Thinking about all the other "peaceful revolutions" that have turned into massive blood baths (Tienanmen Square, anyone?) and it dawned on me that, despite the hired thugs and government control of the internet, the Egyptian government has shown quite a bit of restraint when dealing with the protesters.

That's not to say there hasn't been violence, but so far we've been spared the awful spectacle of tanks rolling into Tahrir Square, firing indiscriminately into the crowd. Hosni Mubarak is scheduled to speak to the nation (and the world) shortly, and my sincere hope is that he'll step down peacefully and allow for an orderly transition to a real democracy.

The impact of a peaceful change of government won't be lost on the rest of the world. Governments from nations like China and North Korea will certainly do their best to repress news of the event, since it threatens their very hold on power.

Right now we really are at one of those moments in history. Hopefully it will look more like the fall of the Berlin Wall than the tragedy in Tienanmen Square.

Waiting for the speech to begin shortly...

More on the Egypt situation

Vagabondblogger (photo credit above) wrote another insightful comment on the blog that I think deserves it's own post. It sheds some light on something I've often suspected, that our State Department maybe isn't really all that helpful.

Plus, I'm still fuzzy-headed from the massive amounts of cold medicine that I've been taking, so it saves me the effort of having to actually think of something intelligent to write (not that that's ever stopped me before!)

Let me add some information regarding those TV scenes of American State Department cars running down people. On January 31 I heard about an hours worth of shooting coming from south of my neighborhood. When I went outside our boab stated it was coming from Toubra prison. As we have all heard the Mubarak regime released prisoners from several prisons in the Cairo and Alexandria vicinities. While I was outside I bumped into an Egyptian neighbor, who was toting a supply of litre Pepsis home. We were watching as people were packing up vans and leaving. He stated that those were American Embassy vans, and I should be careful. 15 American Embassy vans had been stolen the week before from the area around Tahrir Square (the embassy is not far from there.) He said thugs had taken them, were carrying guns, could be very dangerous and that I should not approach any of the vehicles, as they might shoot or kill me.

This fact was known throughout the Egyptian community early this week, yet we find out about it only today. Most likely, the State Department was about on top of this (since they evacuated like a bunch of panic ridden pussies) as they were about the January 24th event and the 6th of April students group, i.e. they have no clue.

After living overseas since 1997, I can't possibly express how disgusted I am in the State Department. They are totally worthless, and should just change their name to The Chamber of Commerce. I'll just leave it there. I'd almost go so far as recommend we cut their budget. I really can't find anything useful that they do, except add extra pages to my passport.

Updates from Egypt

A frequent reader of my blog, Vagabondblogger (who took the photo above), lives and works in Egypt. For the last few weeks I've been very concerned about her safety. She wrote me via Facebook about a week ago (which I missed for reasons explained below) and today she posted a comment. I think this deserves it's own post, and I'd like to say that many people here are very relieved that she's safe and back home:

Hey! We were evacuated from Cairo on Tuesday and arrived safely in Houston late yesterday afternoon. The evacuation was more stressful than living in Cairo during the demonstrations. BTW, I messaged you on FB on Jan. 26(?), so check your messages.

(CTBob: Sorry, I totally missed it! I was in Newport for four days for my birthday, and my cognizant abilities were running very low, most likely due to excessive partying. My bad.)

I will say this, even after watching the news last night and today, my choice was to stay in Cairo. But, I was not given a choice. What you see on TeeVee is what is happening in Tahrir Square. I don't, as do many others, live in Tahrir Square. For the most part, the outer neighborhoods and suburbs are very safe, for the time being. The troublemakers are the plainclothes police and Egyptian Mafia (hired thugs.)

I have photos and was hoping to post some stuff on my photoblog: vagabondbloggersproject365.blogspot.com

You will notice that I haven't posted anything since last week, due to no Internet. And I have been busy since arriving in Houston.

Please be aware that what is happening in Tahrir Square is not happening throughout Cairo. Also, no kawagas (foreigners) have been hurt, except by Mubarak supporters, during these demonstrations. We feel safer in Cairo, than we do in Houston (gun totin') Texas.

With today's events of Mubarak having his thugs go after journalists (last I heard many were evacuated), I am concerned that we will see another Tianamen Square (the students should have plenty of phone videos though.) When we in the USA wake up EST at 6AM tomorrow, the mosques will be letting out from Friday Prayers, and it could very well be a very bloody day. I hope not. What that man has done to his country confounds and disgusts me. Egyptians are wonderful people, and I am very afraid for them.

Here's the Facebook message I missed from last week:

You expressed some interest previously about what's happening in Egypt. If you are still interested and/or want to pass on information here are some links:
Twitter: #jan25 and #egypt
Also: The Guardian's live blog:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/jan/27/egypt-protests
And a Mother Jones article, which updates daily:
http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/01/whats-happening-egypt-explained
Also; Al Masry Al Youm News:
http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en
Egyptian Chronicles blog:
http://www.egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com/
and The Arabist:
http://www.arabist.net/

And finally, I'm heartened by Chris Murphy's tweet from a few days ago, since it shows that there ARE people in Congress who are deeply concerned about the situation in Eqypt:

"Whatever happens in Egypt, U.S. has to come out on the right side of liberation history...for once. #egypt"

Chris Murphy for Senate

Today I've added my endorsement for Chris Murphy to become our next senator, and you have a chance to do the same and help Chris get 1,000 personal endorsements by next weekend.

Visit ChrisMurphy.com and add your name to the endorsement list.

The last thing we need is a long and bitter struggle for the Democratic nomination, which would only help the Tea Baggers and the Republicans get more votes in the end. So let's all give Rep. Murphy a big showing of support, and hopefully we'll avoid the sort of battle that we expect to see on the GOP side.

And if you sign up, you'll get to see YOUR name on the list of endorsers, too!

(didja see the amazingly clever way I got around their "first names only" limitation? I'm so awesome!)