After the shooting in Newtown, CT, I noticed on Facebook many people asking that the country have a “conversation” about guns. Now typically, that’s a request for some sort of dialog. However, a few of those asking for that proceeded to immediately disparage anyone who would disagree in the slightest with more restrictive gun laws. [...]

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I love the smell of eminent domain abuse in the morning. It smells like land grabs and taxpayers being soaked. A truly fragrant blast of the stuff is wafting up from Brooklyn, where developer Forest City Ratner and the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) have cleared the last man standing in the footprint of the [...]

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A bill currently working it’s way through the Connecticut Legislature would remove the statute of limitations on child sex abuse cases. On the surface that sounds like a reasonable thing to do; until, that is, you consider the very possible effect of that legislation if it is passed. Currently, under Connecticut law, a person who [...]

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It gives me no pleasure to be in the company of the majority justices in the Supreme Court’s New Haven firefighters decision, Ricci v. DeStefano, (particularly that of Justice Thomas, who only days earlier was the sole justice to support the right of high school administrators to strip search teenage girls in search of pharmaceuticals, [...]

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The Catholic internet is buzzing about a bill in the Connecticut state legislature that would mandate the state to essentially take over the finances of the Catholic church (and only the Catholic church). The hearing on the bill has been dropped so the bill may not ever be vote on, but the background hasn’t gotten [...]

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Too many people see cute monkeys of all sorts as wonderful pets. They tend to watch the trained chimps on TV and movies, and say: Oh, how wonderful. The dirty little secret is that too often these stage monkeys are pre pubertal teenagers. When the male chimps hit puberty, watch out. Testosterone is the hormone [...]

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This article has been removed by an Editor of Bloggernews at the request of the author.

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Thanksgiving has come and gone. But reasons to be cheerful/thankful still abound. For instance, say yay for free speech. Which is always under attack by somebody somewhere. Hop the last train to Clarksville, Tennessee. A libel suit could meet you at the station. Launched by pols with development interests in neighborhoods targeted for eminent domain. [...]

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 … But he’s going to make the media and punditocracy wait until he declares his choice via  text message on Saturday, after which he plans a joint appearance with his running mate at the Old State Capitol in Springfield, IL, where he announced he would run for president. [Update: It’s Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE), according [...]

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Robert Novak touched off a frenzy of speculation with his scoop that “[s]ources close to Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign are suggesting he will reveal the name of his vice presidential selection this week while Sen. Barack Obama is getting the headlines on his foreign trip.” Some of the chatter naturally focused on the identity [...]

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The other day, The Stiletto and a friend were debating the pros and cons of various McCain veep picks. The Stiletto posited a McCain-Lieberman ticket, while acknowledging the ambivalence Jews felt the first time Lieberman was tapped for the bottom half of a presidential ticket.   The Stiletto’s friend added that he didn’t think the combo [...]

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Crank the Wayback Machine to Summer, 2005. When the U.S. Supreme Court allowed New London, Connecticut, to use eminent domain to take the property of people living and doing business in the waterfront neighborhood of Fort Trumbull. The Supreme’s decision on Kelo v. New London was the cherry on an ugly sundae. New London and [...]

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New Jersey art dealer, George Wieschenberg of Lambertville, was sentenced to six years of prison for being a marijuana “farmer.” According to MSNBC, Wieschenberg, pleaded guilty to “operating a marijuana production facility,” in which he grew marijuana plants, said State Attorney General Anne Milgrim. Back in October of 2007, New Jersey State Police officers saw [...]

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Two years ago, Atlantic City, NJ lost its only Supermarket. IGA closed its doors in April 2006 forcing residents and tourists to shop at small markets or outside of the ocean resort. Since the closing, attempts have been made to convince others to replace IGA, but no new supermarket has yet to open. In late [...]

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The good news is that another politician is speaking out against prostitution on craigslist. The bad news is it’s Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. If you’ve read my posts over at MyCrimeSpace you know I’m not a big fan of Mr. Blumenthal. As far as MySpace and child predators are concerned I think Blumenthal is [...]

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A legal opinion issued Thursday in Connecticut may allow lawmakers to extend a state smoking ban to the American-Indian casinos, which claim that smoking restrictions would be a threat to tribal sovereignty. Lawmakers in Pennsylvania have debated this week to make casinos completely smoke-free or limit smoking to 25 percent of the gaming floor which [...]

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Equinox Fitness Club’s new print advertising campaign depicts four nuns – wearing habits and rosary beads around their necks – sketching the figure of a nude man. Actually two of the nuns are sketching, the other two are gawking. One of the nuns, who is seated, has her skirt hiked high enough up her thigh [...]

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February 5, 2008 may go down in political history as the day Rush Limbaugh lost his grip on Republican voters – and the day Ann Coulter may have lost her grip altogether. Despite a concerted effort by the conservative chattering class to tar Sen. John McCain as a “liberal” or a “phony Republican,” and Fmr. [...]

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Barack Obama won more than half of the 22 Super Duper Tuesday states (12 to Hillary Clinton’s  8) – but Hillary’s wins came from such delegate-rich states as her adopted home state of NY, as well as CA, MA and NJ. Overall, 49 percent of voters supported Hillary, 46 percent supported Obama. Since none of [...]

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(London, UK) The Autism Awareness Campaign UK is urging the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rt.Rev. Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of York, Rt.Rev.Dr.John Sentamu, the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormack Murphy O’Connor and other senior church leaders to speak out on the suffering of some parents, carers and people with autism and Asperger’s Syndrome on Autism Sunday [...]

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    ALONG THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL Will A  Year of Firsts Yield  More of The Same Old, Same Old?   January 30, 2008   By RB Scott Boston, Massachusetts   Note:  RB Scott, a former staff writer and editor at Time, Life, People and Sports Illustrated, frequently writes about national politics.   As  the barrow [...]

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NOTE: The piece below was published by Sunstone Magazine in November of 2005. Since, then it has been cited by many other national reporters, most recently last Sunday 12/16/07 by Tim Russert on Meet The Press. Regular updates about Romney’s pursuit of the Presidency are available at www.catchingmitt.com This piece may be reprinted or excerpted [...]

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Boston, Massachusetts As a not-particularly devout Mormon and journalist who has tracked Mitt Romney’s campaign since it began in 1993.  My aim is to correct a number of errors in The National Catholic Register’s editorial of 12/11/2007 (Romney vs. JFK http://ncregister.com/site/article/7530/ )  and to set the record straight in a few other areas. You wrote: [...]

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Cast your mind back to Susette Kelo. She and her neighbors in the waterfront neighborhood of Fort Trumbull in New London, Connecticut, had their homes and investment properties taken from them by local government and the quasi-public New London Development Corporation. Poodle to Connecticut’s Department of Economic and Community Development. Residents of Fort Trumbull were [...]

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Clad in her “asbestos pantsuit” at yesterday’s Dem debate in Las Vegas, Sen. Hillary Clinton (NY) showed the media – who heaped scorn on her for coming down with the vapors over being engaged and attacked by her opponents – that she could dish it out and take it. What she didn’t show the voters [...]

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In July Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, and daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, were sexually abused and brutally murdered by parolees Joshua Komisarjevsky and Steven Hayes, who now face the death penalty. The Hawke-Petit family – including husband and father William, who survived the attack – were members of the United Methodist Church in Cheshire, CT, [...]

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A Connecticut lawyer was sentenced to 12 years in jail on Friday for the murder of his neighbor a year ago. Jonathon Edington is a lawyer from Bridgeport, Connecticut. He attacked his neighbor on the night of August 28th of last year after his wife, Christina Edington, had reported that she suspected him of molesting [...]

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by Kerry Dexter There’s joy and celebration in the music that Rani Arbo and the men of her band, daisy mayhem, offer on Big Old Life an exuberance you can feel in the cover photos. It’s joy made all the stronger with a clear eyed view of the rocky roads walked to reach it, too. [...]

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Julie Amero, a substitute teacher previously convicted of showing porn to students, is getting a new trial. Given the evidence brought forward after the trial, I’m pretty shocked they didn’t just drop the whole matter. Stephanie Reitz of the AP is reporting (courtesy of the Washington Post): The computer was sent to a state laboratory [...]

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News Item: Resort tries to attract a younger crowd There’s a place in Connecticut called Solair that is facing a bit of a problem.  Statistically, in the not too distant future, most of their visitors will be dying off.  The median age for their current membership at this time is right around 55.  Not ‘that’ [...]

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Illegal Business Practices or “Forgetfullness?” Picture this: you go web shopping and find a stereo system you want to buy which is currently on sale for $400.  The retailer’s ad indicates that prices are good in the store or on the web.  So, because you don’t want to wait for shipping, you go to the [...]

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It is unfortunate that Nativity scene figures are the target of theft and vandals across this country each year during the Christmas holiday. As this ignorant crime increases from year to year, it shows the lack of respect that too many Americans have developed for their neighbors as well as a failed respect for private [...]

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News Item: Woman wishes others a very miserable season. Kelo vs City of New London.  Heard of it?  It was a very high profile eminent domain case that was decided in June of last year.  Susette Kelo was determined not to move from her little pink cottage to make room for a waterfront project in [...]

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The new identity theft protection and recovery service by Truston is live. The service is unique because it doesn’t require you to give up your personal information, which could be stored in a database, and used to commit identity theft if it falls into the wrong hands. In case you’ve missed the weekly stories, databases [...]

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First gypsies impersonate Dr. Phil and now someone is selling tickets to the Oprah show that smell a little “phishy.” Illinois Attorney General, Lisa Madigan warned the public in a official statement: In this case, e-mail recipients are asked to submit personal information and told they will receive tickets to The Oprah Winfrey Show after [...]

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Fresh perspectives on today’s news by: Whymrhymer Mitt Romney, the governor of Massachusetts, has apparently ‘thrown his hat in the ring’ as a candidate for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination. As a one-term governor and a one-time unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. Senate, his qualifications to run an entire country are, frankly, not overwhelming but [...]

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As you may have noticed, my entries have been mostly commentary as opposed to actual news. I’m not sure why that is, but if you all don’t mind, I’ll keep on this vein until something newsworthy happens that I can report on. I’ve done my time in line…between traffic jams, check out lines, restroom lines, [...]

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by Craig Dimitri The nation’s closest House race (of the 435 at stake on November 7) has finally been concluded.  On Wednesday, Nov. 15, three-term Rep. Rob Simmons (R) formally – and with great dignity and class – conceded defeat to Rep.-Elect Joe Courtney (D).  The Democratic challenger has been certified by the state of [...]

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Apparently, New England is not only the land of pretty white churches and gorgeous fall leaves, we’re also the land of cheapskates. In Forbes Magazine’s survey of the habits of individual state’s charitable giving, New England states were in the bottom half of the survey. Oddly, the highest ranking New England state for charitable giving [...]

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by Craig Dimitri The clock has finally struck midnight, for the re-election hopes of three-term Rep. Rob Simmons (R) in the Conn./2nd CD. But perhaps fittingly, nobody can agree on the exact margin, as the AP and both parties all disagree as to the number. After a week-long recount, in which Democratic challenger Joe Courtney‘s [...]

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by Craig Dimitri The nation’s closest House contest might be resolved by the end of the evening, Tuesday.  The ConnecticutLocalPolitics blog, run by “Genghis Conn”, reported around 8 PM Tuesday, that challenger Joe Courtney (D) has an 89-vote lead with only four towns left to recount in the Conn./2nd CD.  Courtney had an election-night lead of 167 [...]

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by Craig Dimitri The recount chaos in Connecticut’s 2nd CD continued on Tuesday, when Rep. Rob Simmons (R) moved 31 votes closer to victory, after a recount in the town of Waterford demonstrated that the town had erroneously given his Democratic challenger, Joe Courtney, that number of additional ballots.  That would appear to close the gap between [...]

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by Craig Dimitri Electoral chaos, in the nation’s closest result of the 435 House races, continued on Monday, November 13.  In the afternoon, Rep. Rob Simmons (R) had zoomed from 166 votes down to just 66, due to an error. But Monday night, a second error, this time in Lyme, turned out to have provided Simmons with an [...]

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by Craig Dimitri On Election Night, the unofficial tally showed a 167-vote margin (less than 4/100ths of 1%) held by challenger Joe Courtney (D) over Rep. Rob Simmons (R) in the Conn./2nd CD.  Over the weekend, Simmons’ hopes dwindled, as a legally-mandated recount garnered him only a single vote, shaving the lead to 166.  But on [...]

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I’ve had the opportunity to look at a lot of identity theft services, but until now – I’ve never run into one I considered “victim friendly.” I’ve written off most of the services I’ve seen — either because they were financial services products (created by those who had compromised victims themselves) — or they were [...]

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by Craig Dimitri The election in the Conn./2nd CD is still unresolved, with Joe Courtney (D) holding a 167-vote advantage over Rep. Rob Simmons (R).  But 2006 is a relative landslide, compared to 1994.  That year, Ed Munster (R) failed to unseat Rep. Sam Gejdenson (D) – by 21 votes. In 2000, the political fates [...]

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by Craig Dimitri The heated battle in the Conn.-2nd CD was deemed too close to call, heading into Election Night.   And even on Thursday evening, two days after the polls closed, it’s still too close to call.  Challenger Joe Courtney (D) is clinging to a slim lead of 167 votes (out of over 242,000 cast), [...]

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Joe Lieberman may have made history last night. Lieberman, a Democratic senator from Connecticut, defeated his opponents to regain his seat — after losing the primary election. Lieberman garnered 50 percent of the vote with Ned Lamont, who beat Lieberman in the primary, receiving 40 percent. Republican Alan Schlesinger trailed with only 10 percent of [...]

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Fresh perspectives on today’s news by: Whymrhymer Ever since Massachusetts Senator Joe Lieberman was forced to make the decision to either be a ‘good Democrat’ and toe the party line or run for reelection to the Senate as an Independent he has become a valuable commodity for the Republicans. The Republican party is helping Lieberman [...]

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by Craig Dimitri Could control of the U.S. House be determined, by the third-party candidacy of a 31-year-old Harvard graduate, in the affluent Connecticut suburbs of New York City?  Probably not.  But none of us thought that the Presidency could turn on one candidate (George W. Bush) carrying one state (Florida) by less than one-hundredth of a single percentage [...]

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by Craig Dimitri U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons (R) is seeking a fourth term in the House.  But Democratic challenger Joe Courtney – who lost to Simmons in 2002 – has battled Simmons all the way, and the race remains too close to call as we enter the final week.  Three independent polls have recently disagreed – one putting Simmons [...]

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by Craig Dimitri In what may be one of the closest House races in America, two high-prestige independent polls disagree as to who has a significant lead in Connecticut’s 4th CD.  Reuters/Zogby (using live phone calls) says Democratic challenger Diane Farrell leads Rep. Christopher Shays (R), by 51%-44%.  But MajorityWatch (using recorded phone calls) says precisely the [...]

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by Craig Dimitri Another long-time incumbent Republican is in trouble.  Democrats have three GOP incumbents in Connecticut as targets – and they are well on their way to nailing one of them.  The independent MajorityWatch poll, in a recent survey, shows challenger Chris Murphy (D) with a sizable 8% lead over long-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Nancy Johnson (R) in [...]

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