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September 30, 2008
Congress Acts Like School Kids, So Why Can't Children Vote? They CAN!
Tuesday September 30, 2008
The Blogster found it only mildly amusing yesterday. While staring open-mouthed at the failed vote on the $700-billion bailout in the House of Representatives, the Dow simultaneously bounced down by 700 points. Then Republicans blamed House Speaker Nancy Pelois for spoiling the atmosphere by blaming the Bush administration in a statement on the floor.
It was too reminiscent of a grade-school recess gone bad.
And then comes word that Scholastic News has opened its quadrennial Kids' Election Poll, which is now open at WWW.SCHOLASTIC.COM/VOTE.
Children can get on-line in their classrooms, libraries and homes and vote for John McCain or Barack Obama.
"Since 1940, the outcome of the Scholastic Election Poll has mirrored the outcome of the general election in every election but two (in 1948 when students chose Thomas E. Dewey over Harry S. Truman and in 1960 when more students voted for Richard M. Nixon than for John F. Kennedy)," said Jennifer Boggs at the New York-based magazine and Web site.
Many kids have also been issued paper ballots through ScholasticNews (grades 1-6) and Junior Scholastic (grades6-8), which are read by more than 25 million students and teachers each year.
Now, if only the kids could teach members of Congress how to play nicely with each other.
Posted by Ken on 12:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 29, 2008
Auditors Find Disconnect From "SMART" Agencies
Monday September 29, 2008
It's only a coincidence that this morning, as Jodi Rell enjoys the first day of a week-long visit with her daughter's family, including young Tyler her grandson, out in Denver, the Auditors of Public Accounts issued a report critical of her former office: lieutenant governor.
The report for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2005, 2006 and 2007 found that the office routinely skirted established purchase-order requirements. In 5 out of 25 expenditures tested by the auditors, the goods or services were ordered before a REQUIRED purchase order was put into place through the Department of Administrative Services..
The state DAS, which supervises about 20 state agencies on purchases, said the culprit was not current Republican Lt. Gov. Mike Fedele, who's running the day-to-day operations of the state this week while Rell vacations, but Democrat Kevin Sullivan.
Remember Sullivan?
He was the big loser in the reorganization of the top of state government after the resignation of John Rowland on July 1, 2004. Jodi Rell rose to the top spot, then Senate President Pro Tempore Sullivan was booted to LG, where he served until Fedele took over in January 2007.
Auditor Bob Jaekle of Stratford just told the Blogster that the DAS handling of some agency administration dates back to the reign of Gov. Lowell Weicker, who served one term after forcing the personal income tax on us.
"Weicker started having DAS handle the business functions of his office and lieutenant governor, then several years ago, they began covering 'smart' agencies," Jaekle said. "Some agencies wanted it, but others didn’t. It’s certainly not uncommon now."
Jaekle said both Sullivan and Fedele "were fairly new" during the audit period.
He said the apparent flaw in the "smart" program of DAS oversight, is that shortcomings can be rationalized by both the offending agency, in this case the LG's office AND the DAS, which is suppoosed to be in control.
"To me there’s always a question who’s responsible," Jaekle said. "In this case DAS was the entity that responded to our audit findings. We’re going to eventually be doing an audit that comments on this whole smart-agency situation. When each can point a finger at each other, that's not a good situation."
Jaekle thinks that 'smart' could actually be SMART and have an acronym. How about Situation Malleable And Retains Tradition?
.…
Posted by Ken on 12:21 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 26, 2008
Blogster Commemorates the Last Days of Yankee Stadium
Friday September 26, 2008 The Blogster has received a number of inquiries, from within and without Connecticut’s political firmament, about what it was like going to that third-to-last game at Yankee Stadium on Friday,September 19.
Since I’m up in the air about ever going to the new stadium, maybe writing down some of the events will frame the past and forge a path to the future, which I imagine will include a chance for Manny Ramirez, Washington Heights’ baseball savant, to finally meet his pin-striped destiny.This story starts and ends with the thick five-by-eight-inch“Baseball Writers Association of America Official Scorebook,” which someone (former CT Post Sports Editor Mark Faller? Post sportscolumnist Chris Elsberry?) bought for me from Jack Lang of The Daily News, then the association president, in 1988.
The once-white cover is stained from years of pencil mostly. In a couple pages there are telltale mustard marks.One of those early pages, back when I was still naive enough to use pen, has the smear on the Dodger lineup from the October 9, 1988 NLCS game at the big Shea, from when Gary Libow, a former CT Post and Hartford Courant reporter, made a lame lunge at a foul ball that was no where near us, knocking over my beer.It was the night Kirk Gibson hit that homer over the Charles Chips sign in the 12th and the Mets wasted back-to-back homers by Strawberry and McReynolds. Richard M. Nixon sat behind the LA dugout that night, the scorebook notes say. Dwight Gooden ran out of gas in the ninth and gave up a game-tying two-run homer to Mike Scioscia.That was the 13th game in the scorebook.
The first was a May 27,1988 game the Mets lost to the Padres that I attended with my highschool buddy Allen Glucksman. The scorebook is up to 152 games now,with room for about another 30.It now includes page after page of attendance pools, folks who went to the various games, locations we sat, notes on special defensive plays and weird marginalia, such as the night I first heard someone in the bleachers call out to Minnesota Twins’ Hall of Famer KirbyPucket that he looked like “Spuds McKenzie” the former canine beer hawker.On April 25, 1992, the anniversary of Babe Ruth’s first appearance asa Yankee in 1922, our seats in Main Box 272 were $14.50 each. The attendance was 15,949 and McGraw Hill editor John Kosowatz won our pool. The Japanese cherry tree at the monuments to Yankee greats was flowering bright pink that day.
The day after Jerry Garcia died, August 10, 1995, I was in the bleachers with Kosowatz, Faller and Joe Militano when Yankees catcher Mike Stanley hit three consecutive homers against the Indians,including a 430-foot grand slam, but John Wetteland lost it in the ninth and the Yanks went down 10-9. Mickey Mantle was on his deathbed then and three days later, he died.It was a nice day so they played two, but the Tribe won both.
In the second game, Daryl Strawberry hit his first Yankee homer and Bernie Williams ended the game by taking a called third strike.
The guiltiest I ever felt, as a borderline Bleacher Creature waybefore the early game “Rollcall” was invented, was one time when Williams, who must have hit a homer (I can’t find the game right now) doffed his cap to us. I noticed he had a freshly shaved head and I stupidly yelled “nice haircut” and he sheepishly, sensitively put the cap backon.
There are little stories that can be dredged up from nearly all the games I’ve seen over the years where the scorebook has gone: the last three games in Cleveland before the demolition of Municipal Stadium;the occasional journey to Shea; my only trip to the Orioles old stadium; the couple games I saw at the old Tigers Stadium.
Anyway,as we say when we can't think of a transition paragraph,last Friday I took a day off from covering the state Capitol and drove down to the Bronx. I didn’t have a seat and was daunted,noting a seemingly endless string of 55,000 crowds even though theYanks were going to miss the playoffs for the first time since 1993.I couldn’t break a record going back to 1976, of attending at leastone game each year at Yankee Stadium
.I got off the Major Deegan at Fordham Road, drove east a couple blocks and parked in a 24-hour lot ($10) to avoid the horrible post-game getaway that exists now around the Stadium. I walked a couple more blocks, then up to the elevated platform for the 4 train,which about six stops later, let me off at 161st St.
The first thing I saw was the new stadium, a doppelganger of an edifice, literally across the street from left field, where a crew was hoisting the blue “YANKEE STADIUM” at that very moment on the roof.
I walked down to the quiet, late-morning sidewalk outside centerfield. Stan’s Sports Bar – called Stan’s Sportsman way back when we started frequenting it in the late-1970s– was shuttered, along with the row of souvenir shops that would bustle with commerce five short hours later.I walked around to the Yankee box office located in the vicinity of the Yankee dugout. There were maybe 10 people in the pedestrian concourse. A 60ish loiterer asked it I wanted to buy two tickets. I was flying solo, with about $150 in my pocket and declined.I figured the THIRD to last game would be a lot easier to get into than the final two, but still, the signs in front of the two windows said that night’s game was sold out.
I read the bad news, spun on my heel, walked a few steps away, then figured it never hurts to ask.“I can read the sign,” I told the young man behind the window, “but I’d like to know if you have any returned tickets for tonight.” He said yes, how much did I want to spend? “Ah, 40 bucks,” I replied.He clicked his keyboard for about 30 seconds, then replied that I could have a seat for $100. I gulped and asked where.
He pointed to a main box, section 211, gate three, practically behind home plate, the best seat I have ever paid for. I said okay, and gave him the Amex card. The grey ticket had a tan logo of the front of the stadium with the numbers 1923-2008 on it.I jammed it in my wallet, put the wallet into a front pocket of my black jeans, and got back on the subway for Manhattan, where I spent the afternoon among Louise Bourgeois's sculptures in the Guggenheim Museum.
About 4:30, I walked back to the 86th Street subway stop, but first paid a sentimental journey to Papaya King, for a 16-oz papaya and two hotdogs for $5.49.It was rush hour and the train was packed, with a fair number of people in various types of Yankees garb scattered throughout the car.
A few minutes later, I extracted myself and backed out onto the 161st Street platform.The sidewalks were now jammed with people browsing for all-thingsYankee. I headed for Stan’s, which was hopping and ordered a 24-ounce St. Pauli Girl, which cost $12. I took a swig, then pulled my 30-year-old wool pro-model Yankee hat from my little bag and put it on.
The bartenders were a little greyer but they were the same guys who’ve been there for years. For that matter, every patron over 40 looked familiar, too.
I flashed back to the late 1980s and early to mid-1990s, when our location of choice was the centerfield-most part of the rightfield bleachers, where we’d see the same people sitting in the same seats every game. It was way before assigned seats and even SEASON TICKETS for the bleachers.
The blogster got to his seat as the Orioles were in the middle of their batting practice. In front of the RF bleachers was a sign: “AIGThe Strength to be There.” Behind the bleachers was a big Bank of America sign.
In the row in front of me was the gorgeous wife of Ivan Rodriquez,the late-season addition to the lineup from the Tigers, a 13-time Gold Glove catcher,filling in for wounded Jorge Posada.
Next to me was the wife of homeplate umpire Daryl Cousins. I was in the family section. A rookie named Brett Gardner probably saved the game for pitcher Carl Pavano in the top of the 4th, when he ran into centerfield the wall and stole a Luke Scott shot that was heading over the fence.
Out over left field, where the AL East flags were arranged in order –in front of where the moon rose around 9:55 - the third-place Yanks’flag was the only one wrapped around the pole and obscured from identification.
In the top of the ninth, Derek Jeter made a run into the hole for a lead-off grounder and unleashed a patented leaping throw for the out, 6-3.Everyone stood as Mariano Rivera gained his 37th save. The Yanks won3-2, in their 6,578th game at Yankee Stadium.
Posted by Ken on 12:29 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 25, 2008
Harris, With Marble(s) in Mouth, Blasts Proligate Dems
September 25, 2008
Every once in a while, Rich Harris, Gov. Rell's PR pitbull, is let out for a walk to bite the ankles of majority Democrats.
Harris, Rell’s spokesman, said in a pointed statement yesterday that the state’s Auditors of Public Accounts already have a dozen full-time employees assigned to state Department of Social Services, so the Democrats including Comptroller Nancy Wyman would be blowing money with a $100,000 study of the agency.
“It would be hard to find a more textbook example of ‘waste’ and‘inefficiency’ than the comptroller’s plan to spend tens of thousands of dollars to have outside consultants audit DSS,” Harris said.
He went on to blast Democrats - who control the Legislature and therefore the Committee on Legislative Management that runs the Capitol complex – for profligate spending, including a recent $11,000 purchase of equipment for the speaker’s Capitol office and Democratic.“They may wish to examine, for instance, the $200,000 spent this year to chip away marble baseboards in the Legislative Office Building (LOB) and replace them with granite baseboards,” Harris said.
The Blogster thought it was closer to $250,000, but what the heck.
“Perhaps the consultants will offer a discount if they are also hired to examine the legislative branch for frivolous spending,” Harris said. “The simple fact is that the Democratic majority is desperately hoping to avoid making difficult decisions, particularly before the November elections.”
The Spanish marble baseboards were torn out this year after they were found to be cracking and they were replaced with tougher Indian granite. Several years ago, Spanish-marble details throughout the LOB began cracking, chipping and falling, some chips descending several stories to the first-floor atrium, prompting their replacement, rather than the expensive issuance of hard hats for everybody.
Larry Perosino, Speaker of the House Jim Amann’s spokesman, said in reaction to Harris’sstatements that the Democratic majorities this year saved millions of dollars when they abandoned a planned multi-million-dollar renovation and redesign of the Legislative Office Building.
It surely sounds like budget season. Can a special session be far behind?
Posted by Ken on 6:37 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 24, 2008
Dems Will Argue Tonight That Lieberman Is A Traitor
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
The Democratic State Central Committee will receive a resolution to censure U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman, the fair-weather Democrat who came dangerously close to being John McCain's vice presidential candidate.
The DSCC will meet at 7:30 in their downtown Hartford offices, but it's unclear at this point, noon, that they'll vote or even debate the resolution, which says:
"Whereas Joseph I. Lieberman sought re-election in 2006 as an independent after losing the Democratic primary; and
Whereas he has publicly endorsed and actively campaigned on behalf of Republican Presidential candidate John McCain, among others; and
Whereas he has attended and addressed the Republican National Convention thereby undercutting the election campaigns of Democratic candidates all across America; and
Whereas support of right-wing Republicans cannot be reconciled with the ideals and values of the Democratic Party, nor with the best interests of the people of America; and
Whereas these actions exhibit extraordinary disloyalty to the countless Connecticut Democrats without whom his career as an elected official would never have been possible;
Therefore, be it hereby resolved, that we, the undersigned members of the Connecticut Democratic State Central Committee, delegates to the Democratic National Convention from Connecticut, and Connecticut Democratic public officials publicly censure and repudiate the words and actions of Joseph I. Lieberman, and ask of him that he resign as a member of the Democratic Party of the state of Connecticut."
It is signed by a variety of people, mostly people who are NOT on the DSSC. Southwestern Connecticut political who support it and signed the resoilution include Rep. Jason Bartlett,D-Bethel; George Jepsen, the former chairman of the Connecticut Democratic State Central Committee and former state Senate Majority Leader from Stamford; and
Jane Maher, Oxford Democratic Town Committee member;
Posted by Ken on 12:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 23, 2008
It's Not A Deficit, It's An Anti-Smoking Effort
September 23, 2008
Nestled in Gov. Rell's latest doom-and-gloom financial projections, in the deficit that more than doubled to $300 million in a month, is some good news.Revenue from the $2-a-pack cigarette tax is expected to fall off $5.2 million short of projections.
Sarah Kaufman, spokesperson for the state Department of Revenue Services, just told Blog-o-rama that it means Connecticut smokers will huff 2.5 MILLLION fewer packs of butts this fiscal year.
Considering that there are 20 or 25 cancer sticks per pack, it means some taxpayers may be crankier and some pulomnary surgeons may have less work in the operating room, but the state's revenue loss could be a breath of fresh air, after all.
Posted by Ken on 12:23 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 18, 2008
Rowland Helps Waterbury to Highest Unemployment Rate in the State
September 18, 2008
The state Dept of Labor reported today that Connecticut unemployment rose to 6.5 percent in August, finally surpassing the national average.
The state gained a whopping 200 jobs from July into August. The state had 1.7 million jobs last month, a gain of 4,200 from a year earlier.
The Waterbury had the highest unemployment rate at 8.4 percent. Who's the city's economic development director making about $100K? John "Why Should I Resign If I've Done Nothing Wrong?' Rowland.The Danbury region had the lowest unemployment rate.
Posted by Ken on 7:31 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 16, 2008
Mag Slams UB, Harvard
Tuesday September 16, 2008
Back from counting the piping plovers on Coast Guard Beach in Eastham, the Blogster returns with evidence of a rare convergence.
"Radar" magazine, the monthly pop journal, has lumped the University of Bridgeport and Harvard University in its annual "semiscientific guide to the worst colleges in America."
The mag's September number calls UB, the "Worst College in America" and that it stays afloat only through the financial commitment of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's controversial Unification Church.
"We scoured the country for a more deserving dishonoree, we really did," Radar's September story beging. "But once again the University of Bridgeport has swept the competition in every category, not only for its meager academics, postapocalyptic campus, and downright shady administration, but we can't imagine a more terrifying place to spend four years."
It goes on, making some anti-urban comments and slams against Moon. You can find it on www.radaronline.com.
Other places of higher learning highlighted by the mag include San Diego State ("Most Degenerate Student Body") and USC ("Most Superficial"). Hampshire College in Amherst was labeled the "Biggest Rip-off," while Harvard was humorously blasted as "Most Overrated" and a place where nearly everyone graduates with academic honors.
"Welcome to the most elite nursry school in the land, where severe grade inflation ensures that the ruling class's precocious overachievers all feel like winners," the report starts.
Posted by Ken on 5:48 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 8, 2008
Rell: Let Illegals Eat Heat
Monday September 8, 2008
Gov. Rell, captured in the field this morning, had some cold words for undocumented/illegal Connecticut residents who may be planning on concocting a false Social Security number to procure some heating assistance this winter..
"The law states very clearly that if we suspect fraud in any case, including those individuals who are not legally in the country or are not legally registered as citizens, to obtain assistance that the (state Department of Social Services) may ask for Social Security numbers to ascertain eligibility. We don’t do that on an individual basis unless you suspect fraud may be in play or that someone is receiving assistance that they should not.They have already randomly checked and cross-checked people’s Social Security numbers."
Asked what undocumented/illegal aliens should do, Rell opined:
"They may have family members that would qualify, or if there’s a member of the family who is a legal resisdent in the househould, but the person who is illegally here would not on his or her own be able to qualify."
Posted by Ken on 6:06 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 2, 2008
Republican Reach For the Bleach, Birth Control
Tuesday September 2, 2008
The Blogster can't think of a better reason for the Democrats to lose the November presidential election than as retribution against the protesters who picked on Fred Biebel, Connecticut's iconic Republican, who was apparently one of the targets in yesterday's attack from the lunatic Left fringe in St. Paul.
Spraying a bleach solution at an octogenarian from Stratford (Okay, I can see doing it to Doc Gunther because sometimes he just keeps rambling on about Long Island Sound) isn't exactly bravery in the name of protest. It certainly gave the Connecticut delegation something to talk about (and embellish) for years to come.
Inside the convention, the post-Katrina guilt must have been palpable for the GOP to truncate much of the first day's activities out of fear/respect for the Gulf region's defense against Hurricane Gustav.
I couldn't help thinking that when GOP National Chairman Mike Duncan asked delegates to text in donations to the American Red Cross, he should have also suggested contributions to Planned Parenthood, in honor of the pregnant 17-year-old daughter of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who's living her own private "Juno" (the Academy Award-winning film about a pregnant high schooler, for you older types who aren't up on pop culture) and associated family values.
In case you want to track the further adventures of the Connecticut delegation from home, consider Ben Proto's campaign blog for the Connecticut Post.
Besides being the target of street assasults by left-wing nuts, here's what the Connecticut delegation has been up to.
Sunday, they registered at Maple Grove Holiday Inn and had a reception there.
Monday, before the bleach bash, they took a Mississippi River paddlewheel tour at Harriet Island in St. Paul.
Today, they're on a "Gangster Tour" of local sites, then lunch and a tour at the nearby Wabash Caves before Dinner at Manny's Steakhouse in Minneapolis.
Tomorrow they plan a shopping excursion to help prop up the local economy at the landmark Mall of America.
Thursday it's lunch at Dave and Buster's and dinner at Palomino's Restaurant before heading to the Excel Center for John McCain's acceptance speech.
Posted by Ken on 10:54 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
