Malloy makes it official

(photo by Christine Stuart/CT News Junkie)
Dan Malloy announced he is definitely running for governor today. Malloy, former long time mayor of Stamford, said in his speech:

“Connecticut is still a great state, but the fact is we’ve fallen behind,” said Malloy. “Our problem isn’t that we can’t do better, it’s that we don’t demand better. I’m running for Governor because I’m tired of watching Hartford from the outside and seeing it mired in mediocrity. I want to lead the charge in demanding a better, more vibrant Connecticut.”

Continued Malloy, “Connecticut has become a place where being dead last in job growth doesn’t raise an eyebrow. Having the worst achievement gap in the country gets yawned at. Having more debt per capita than any state in the nation gets accepted as a way of life. Getting shut out of federal funding gets a shrug of the shoulders. Enough’s enough – it’s time to demand better.”

Ned Lamont commented today on Dan's announcement saying, "I welcome Dan to the race. Connecticut is facing significant challenges, and I look forward to a serious discussion of the best way to bring jobs back our towns and cities and get our state back on track."

I'm sure a lot of politics junkies in the state are looking forward to seeing these two candidates face off in a debate, which I'm hoping will occur well before the state convention in three months.

Schiff says to invest in offshore gold

Republican senate candidate and financial pitchman Peter Schiff once again is encouraging Americans to invest in overseas funds rather than work to bolster the US economy.

At a gathering of Tea Party supporters in North Haven (as reported in the CT Mirror) Schiff extolled the virtues of buying gold offshore and burying it in your backyard. Coincidentally, Schiff also announced that he's close to launching a company named "Euro Pacific Precious Metals".

Guess what you can buy from them?

Schiff is somewhat famous in the financial community, sometimes called "Dr. Doom" for his negative forecasts regarding the US economy. His cynical prognostications are somewhat self-serving, considering he is the owner of "Euro Pacific Capital", a brokerage firm that lists TWO major continents in its name that don't include the one where the United States is located!

"Do you expect me to talk?"
"No Mr. Bond, I expect the US economy to die!"
In nearly every single news story about this guy, they refer to how he brilliantly predicted the economic crisis a few years before it happened. Let me tell you something; all Schiff did was look at the numbers and make some projections. I have a friend who was telling me the exact same thing way back in early 2006, only he wasn't on CNBC saying it. At the time, I was very busy covering the 2006 senate campaign and essentially brushed his concerns aside.

And that's exactly what the financial community did back then. Many people absolutely knew the market wasn't sustainable and a crash was inevitable. Instead of trying to fix it, all they did was figure out ways to cash in before the bubble burst!

By the way, I now firmly believe that my friend is the reincarnation of Nostradamus, and I insist he only speak to me in quatrains!

Schiff sees the U.S. economy unraveling. The debt is unsustainable, made tolerable for the moment only by interest rates kept artificially low by a meddling central bank, the Federal Reserve.

He likens the government's fiscal and monetary policies to a Ponzi scheme, destined to collapse when when China and other foreign lenders finally cut off credit.

"At some point, they are going to look at the U.S. and decide we can't pay it back," he said.

The dollar will crash. Interest rates will rise, fueling inflation that could leave currency worthless. And that's where the gold comes in.

"You have to have real money, gold and silver," Schiff said. (emphasis mine)

Schiff also compared the future US economy to the runaway inflation of the post-WWI German Weimar Republic.

Now here is Peter Schiff, and instead of suggesting long-term solutions and a workable plan to economic recovery, he tells the gullible crowd at the gathering (and let's face it; these people don't set the bar very high when it comes to skepticism) that the best solution is to buy gold from Australia and bury in their backyards.

"I love gooooooold!"
Schiff may have a long way to go to convince these people he's the one they should support. The Tea Partiers try to wrap themselves in a veneer of Libertarianism, but all too often their own words betray them as far-right Republicans:

It was unclear if Schiff found the right demographic at the Holiday Inn for his pitch about gold or his candidacy. Organizers had to pass the hat to offset the $650 cost of the conference room, and not even Tea Party leaders like predicting where the movement's activists will show up on election day.

Tanya Bachand, one of the organizers, said she likes Schiff's economic message, but a significant portion of the movement are opposed to abortion.

"He's pro-choice, and that's difficult," she said. (emphasis mine)

That, coupled with Schiff's reluctance to commit to tightening the borders against illegal immigrants, may make his candidacy a tough sell to the TPers.

Me, I'm gonna get a list of the dupes who attended the event, and buy myself a metal detector and a shovel!

A clueless Republican in 4th CD race

CTBob: Dan Debicella may be trying to capitalize on some Tea Bagger-esque anti-Congress feelings, but that doesn't hide the fact that the guy is absolutely clueless when it comes to the facts! He even contradicts his OWN Governor.

Judging from his fundamental comprehension problems, the 4th CD is in DEEP trouble if this guy somehow manages to slither into office!

(reposted from the New Canaan Democrats)

Debicella vs. Rell
by David Kostek

Last week, the New Canaan Republican Town Committee endorsed Dan Debicella of Shelton in the race to challenge Congressman Jim Himes. Debicella responded to the news of receiving New Canaan GOP support, and took the opportunity to demonstrate how little he knows about the work of Congress:

“Every family should ask themselves, ‘What have I gotten from the stimulus?’ and the answer from almost everyone is nothing,” Debicella said.

That comment is amazing. Let’s contrast it with the comments of Governor Rell, who has to actually govern:

Quarterly review of federal stimulus funds and the initiatives they support show gains in jobs created and retained as well as a dramatic increase in spending for assistance programs, health and welfare services, the environment and crime prevention, Governor M. Jodi Rell said today.

“We have been able to keep thousands of people working, particularly in education, and provide safety nets for those who have lost their jobs in this unstable economy,” Governor Rell said.

Crime prevention. Keeping your neighbors in jobs. Keeping your schools staffed properly. Extending unemployment benefits. Oh, and providing a $275 BILLION income tax cut to 95% of American tax payers. In the face of these documentable facts, Debicella claims that families in Fairfield county got “nothing.”

Let’s do some REAL numbers for Dan (again, all reported to the governor by state agencies in her Republican administration):

* Jobs created/retained – 6,184 (up from 6,110 in October)
* Unemployment benefits – $1.1 billion
* Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program – $59 million
* General Assistance – More than 7,400 home-delivered meals to Connecticut senior citizens
* Health – 5,000 additional rotavirus vaccinations administered to children
* Public Safety – 130 Internet Crimes against Children cases have been opened, more than doubling the number (54) in October; 10 full-time forensic officers have been hired; 6,369 DNA profiles have been processed, compared to 39 in October
* Energy and the Environment – 90 more Department of Transportation trucks have been retrofitted to reduce diesel emissions (bringing the total to 140); 700 more housing units have received energy audits through the Weatherization Program and 180 units have been weatherized

Debicella offers nothing more that GOP talking points. Congressional Democrats offer real solutions to real problems. If you can’t even SEE the problems people face, Dan, you don’t deserve to represent them.

Found Art: Domolition

Milford. March 6, 2010.
Beware Domo.

Larry Kirwan and Black 47

Musician and author Larry Kirwan will be doing a reading from his new novel, "Rockin' The Bronx", at the Labyrinth Bookstore (Google map) 290 York St. in New Haven at 6PM Thursday March 11th and then playing with Black 47 at Toads later in the evening for an 8:30PM show.

Here's a video I shot back in 2007 with a crappy Fuji digital camera. Notice the extremely clever way I spliced in a second angle during the chorus to make it look like a fancy two-camera shoot. Yes, I'm that good! Hell, I won't be surprised if you can't hear the music over the thundering sound of my overwhelming awesomeness!

AG candidates at the Milford DTC

Last week at our monthly DTC meeting (the one where we allowed you-know-who to speak) two candidates for Attorney General spoke.

Susan Bysiewicz (susan2010.com) discussed her many accomplishments from her years as Secretary of State, and what she would do if elected Attorney General.



Former state senate Majority Leader George Jepsen (georgejepsen2010.com) also spoke and discussed why he is seeking the office.

Chris Shays discusses deep doo-doo

Former Congressman Chris Shays helpfully crawled out from under his rock in Maryland and, because he saw his shadow, we're now faced with six more weeks of his bullshit.

In an email to Lennie Grimaldi's Only in Bridgeport and Tom Dudchek's CT Capitol Report, Shays used some uncharacteristically scatological language to describe the state's financial situation.

Hmm...Shays is using naughty language? Just who does he think he is...a blogger?!?

From Capitol Report:

'Betsi and I wrestled with the fact I would relish the challenge of leading our state; felt a moral obligation to step forward; and believed I could effectively move our state government in a different direction.

The fact is "the state is in deep shit." I say it that way because folks in Hartford (press included) and the public seem to have no clue how bad things are.

Never mind what he and Betsi wrestled with, Shays doesn't mention anything new nor helpful, and his comments can simply be seen as his typical self-serving quest for attention. Everybody's gonna be all like, "Gee, he used a naughty word! This fella' must mean business!"

That thing about "the folks in Hartford and the public" not having a clue how bad things are is something of an insult. Apparently we're all saddled with the intellectual capacity of pre-schoolers, because we're simply too stupid to realize that there's a budget crisis going on!

Well thank god that Chris is here to fix everything! I'm sure he'll leap into the governor's race and run a great campaign and win and take care of that mess in Hartford:

That's a challenge I could have sunk my teeth in. But for the present I have a different role.

Oh. Okay, fine. Well, thanks for all the help, Chris.

There goes a guy who really knows his shit!

Photo exhibit displays Connecticut politicians

Connecticut photographer Tim Coffey currently has an exhibit of his unique portraits of 55 past and present Connecticut politicians at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford.

When I'd asked her if she'd seen it yet, Christine Stuart from CT News Junkie raved about the exhibit, so I decided to help publicize it. Click the image above to enlarge it and get an idea of the portraits exhibited.

From a press release:

Stamford Photographer Tim Coffey has photographed 55 of the state’s leading politicians for a photography exhibit that will open Monday, March 1st at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford . The title of the exhibit is "The Art of Politics". Included in the exhibit is Connecticut’s full Congressional delegation and many of the state’s leaders from both political parties.

Dodd, Fedele, Lieberman, McKinney , Blumenthal, Cafero, Bysiewicz, McMahon, Malloy, Weicker, and Lamont are just some of the politicians Coffey photographed. (See below for the full list of those who participated.)

Over a three month span, Coffey made repeated trips to Hartford and traveled to various towns and cities throughout the state to take the portraits. Each politician is dramatically lit against a black background. Unique to this exhibit, Coffey asked each politician questions about today’s political landscape. A quote from each is included with each portrait.

The exhibit runs from now through March 12th. The LOB is open weekdays 8 am to 5 pm. (It is not open on weekends this time of year.) The exhibit is hung in the Upper Concourse, the long corridor which connects the LOB to the Capitol building.

There is a stand alone website for the exhibit: www.coffeyphoto.com. This is a way for more people to see the exhibit who might have a tough time traveling to Hartford.

More on the debate

This morning there's a lot of analysis of the Senate debate last night featuring Attorney General Dick Blumenthal and Mystic businessman Merrick Alpert.

Christine Stuart has a great write up over at CT News Junkie. I sat next to Christine in the press section, which was in the last two rows in the side section even though the theater was roughly half empty. We mostly resorted to taking handwritten notes because we didn't know they allowed laptops into the theater. They banned all cameras from the theater as if the dissemination of a photo or two of the debate would have brought about the end of the free world.

Another reporter commented that she was jealous that I was taking notes with a black fine-point Bic Grip-Roller pen, which made my notes very readable in the darkened theater while she thoughtlessly brought only a pencil. Rookie. She often had to use her Blackberry to illuminate her work. She also coughed several times during the debate, and I gave a thought to loudly "shushing" her, but decided against it.

(I learned in journalism school that using minor details like these often help illustrate a story while simultaneously boring the living shit out of the reader)

CT Blogger posted videos from the debate over at My Left Nutmeg, and Jon Kantrowitz also discussed the debate there.

Aldon Hynes has his take over at Orient Lodge.

The crowd in the theater was well behaved as there were no Tea Baggers present. Outside, there were roughly 15 members of a carpenter's union showing their support for Blumenthal, while maybe a half-dozen Alpert boosters held signs and answered questions.

After the event members of the media were somewhat annoyed that the attorney general left immediately. From what I'd heard, there was an understanding that Mr. Blumenthal would be available for the Q&A backstage right after the debate. Mr. Alpert presented himself for questions, and I have the entire Q&A video below.

Note: I just bought a mono-pod to hold the camera more steady, but I didn't realize how much I was swinging the camera side to side. I promise on my next video to hold it much steadier. You have to agree that even working journalists like myself have a bit of a learning curve when it comes to new equipment.

Some DTCs not allowing Alpert to speak

According to an opinion piece written by Merrick Alpert in the Hartford Courant, Alpert claims he was denied the opportunity to speak at several Democratic Town Committee meetings in the state:

"...I have been locked out of Democratic town committee meetings out of fear that the rank and file members of the party might hear my message."

Following tonight's Senate debate in Hartford with Richard Blumenthal (I'll have more tomorrow) Alpert answered questions. I brought up the Courant piece, as I'm a member of the Milford Democratic Town Committee.

As a Democrat, if this is true I find it reprehensible that any DTC would deny the opportunity for a declared Democratic candidate for national office to speak to their members. Alpert appeared at the Milford DTC recently and was welcomed even by those who are firmly in favor of Richard Blumenthal. Because our party is supposed to be big enough to hear all voices.

Tonight on the 11:00 News on WFSB-3, they mentioned the issue which I brought up. It felt good that one of my questions prompted coverage by the local news. Like I'm a real journalist that brought up a valid question or something!

Alpert answered my question below: