Once again we would like to remind you that we are now posting at The Curious Citizen, our new blog home.
If you have not visited our new site, please do.
We remind you that if you want email notification of new posts from that site, you will have to submit your email address in the sign up box provided at the new blog.
We are posting at our new blog … The Curious Citizen.
If you are signed up for email notifications here, we suggest you visit the NEW site and sign up for the same there.
Sign up does NOT automatically transfer.
I hope to see you at The Curious Citizen!
I have been out of circulation for a while, the reasons for which I will not trouble you.
I have had time to think … and those who know me certainly realize that this is a dangerous thing!
The ‘Straight Talk’ franchise has existed since the early 1990’s. It started on Q103FM in Lakeville and was revived on CATV 6 & WHDD Radio.
Unfortunately it has been confined to the internet since September 2011 after the pathetic local media teamed up with some equally pathetic local politicians to stifle FREE SPEECH which did NOT meet their sub-standards.
NOTE: Sub-standards in this case means LIE LIKE A RUG!
I have struggled with what to do and concluded that the worst thing would be to ‘go away’. What can I do to inform the citizenry effectively?
The result is a NEW franchise!
It is comprised of a website and a blog. In the future it will expand into broadcasts which will be on the internet and local public television. I would like it to be on local public radio, however the master manipulator of local public radio has ban me from that institution. Is this not typical of NPR affiliates? Take money from the public pot and then deny free speech to others.
Join me at the NEW BLOG!
I can’t ignore the most recent email from the Roraback for Congress campaign.
Mr. Roraback’s campaign sent out an email this week entitled “Poll shows Roraback the clear choice for GOP”. For a moment I suspected I was going to be directed to Rasmussen, Gallup, Real Clear Politics … some place which had taken a professional poll concerning the Connecticut 5th Congressional District race.
Instead I am looking at a press release from an organization which seems to be more involved in image manipulation than honest polling.
From the email …
Thank you all for your continued support! It is most appreciated and incredibly heartening. The good news is that your support is well placed. The proof is in the numbers. Our campaign has released the results of a poll recently conducted by National Research, Inc., a nationally-known polling firm. The results affirm your support and confirm the belief of many Republicans throughout the 5th District: I am the candidate best able to win this seat for the GOP in November.
While this may sound wonderful, let us take a look at National Research, Inc. Here are the first paragraphs from their website:
Opinion measurement helps you understand your audience. Opinion management helps you win campaigns, trials and market share. National Research Inc. is in the opinion management business.
You need to ask the right questions. You need to survey the right audience. And you need to make sure you are using the results to your maximum benefit. We’ve got you covered.
We’ve been involved in every type of political campaign, from the municipal level to the presidential. We’ve specialized in winning tough races in swing states. We’ve conducted opinion management research for public affairs campaigns, corporate imaging and branding, competitive market positioning, and crisis management. We’ve worked with top law firms and helped them manage the opinion dynamics of potential jurors during legal pleadings.
Polling? Really? Consultants? Campaign failing? Need help?
Roraback’s email proclaims “Matched against a generic Democrat in a hypothetical ballot matchup, I beat the Democrat 50-33% (the only candidate to exceed 50%)”.
Given the field that has been defined, why are we dealing in a ‘hypothetical’? It is going to be Esty, Donovan, or Roberti on the Democrat side. Clearly this ‘poll’ is nothing short of Mr. Roraback’s campaign spending money to show us that we need to believe he is ‘the man’. Why a generic candidate? Did he do that poorly against the REAL ones?
I believe this is a deception. The Republican cronies who encouraged him to run are so intent that he be the Republican nominee they will stop at nothing to convince (or fool) us into believing that. Say it often enough and it will become true.
To be honest, I would rather give the seat to a Democrat than to elect a RINO.
I believe we Republicans have to stop apologizing for being conservatives! If we allow ourselves to be pressured into running Roraback, then we are apologizing.
Once again … Justin Bernier is the REAL Republican candidate.
First, I need to make a correction to my post from yesterday … I have learned from the Real Clear Politics website that Mr. Clark made a $100,000 loan to his campaign, therefore he is out in my book! Raise your money and show you have support!
I endorsed Mr. Bernier yesterday and I should like to make some comparisons between him and Mr. Roraback in order to show you that my choice was not made lightly.
One can easily make a distinction between these two men by visiting their campaign websites (Bernier — Roraback).
The top issue on each site is ‘Jobs and the Economy’.
The Roraback site gives you a great missive about the lousy economy, massive debt, and rampant unemployment. It calls for new leadership and courage in Washington. It outlines the problems but falls short of giving us specific solutions. Mr. Roraback is called a “life long fiscal conservative, with a record to stand on …”. Really? I should devote a post to his ‘conservative fiscal’ record. As I said yesterday, Mr. Roraback dreams of being a conservative.
The Bernier site gives you an opening missive outlining the situation, however it has more detail. To read more about Justin’s economic plan, please click here. His plan speaks of specific items for dealing with the Obamaconomy, including auditing the Federal Reserve, repealing Obamacare, and other very attractive ideas. Mr. Bernier specifically calls for healthcare reform which would include tort reform.
While Mr. Roraback advocates the repeal of Obamacare, he gives no specifics and I can guess that tort reform probably repulses him … after all he is a lawyer … which gives me yet another reason to reject his candidacy … do we really need more lawyers in Washington?
Mr. Bernier supports a balanced budget amendment … Mr. Roraback doesn’t even mention it.
Mr. Bernier advocates an ‘all of the above’ energy policy. He opposes the “Cap and Trade” scheme.
Mr. Roraback advocates a ‘safe energy’ policy. We are stewards of the environment and must practice safe exploration of energy resources. The Middle Eastern oil manipulators love that kind of talk … it means they are able to keep their hands on our throats that much longer.
Mr. Roraback states, “We have a collective obligation to those who will come after us to leave a country where air and water are clean and natural resources are husbanded responsibly. The 5th District has much worth preserving: from our large unfragmented forest tracts to our many acres of productive farmland. I have long been a leader of the fight in Hartford to protect our open spaces, and our air and water, and I will continue that work in Congress.”
Indeed he has been a fighter in Hartford, voting to borrow hundreds of millions of dollars to buy or subsidize open space in a state which is largely undeveloped. I suppose he will go to Washington and advocate borrowing money for open space too, thereby adding to the deficit. What a conservative he is! I suppose it is acceptable to saddle our future generations with this particular noble debt.
Mr. Bernier has been focused on our nations security, the care of those who have insured such, and preserving jobs for those who construct the devices which help to keep us secure. Though this process he has never abandon his conservative philosophy or sold out to the liberals.
“Justin … coordinated efforts to stop wasteful defense spending in order to fund programs our troops really needed, including body armor and hardened vehicles.”
I will leave you to study these two Republicans for yourself.
As for me … Mr. Bernier is the Republican … Mr. Roraback is the Democrat’s dream.
I am tired of the nightmare and I want to wake up.
The Waterbury Republican American reports (4/18/12) the latest on fundraising among the various candidates seeking the party nominations to run for the 5th Congressional District seat being vacated by Chris Murphy.
Since I am a Republican (and a member of Salisbury’s Republican Town Committee), I chose to talk about that race and ignore the Democrats (I can hear the hissing).
Here’s how the GOP field looks at this moment:
REPUBLICANS
Mark Greenberg: $1.1 million
Lisa Wilson-Foley: $1 million
Justin Bernier: $629,772
Andrew Roraback: $371,994
Mike Clark: $293,960
At first glance, one might say Greenberg and Wilson-Foley are the big fundraisers. Not so fast! Let us adjust the candidates who have loaned themselves money and rank them according to actual fundraising:
Justin Bernier: $629,772
Lisa Wilson-Foley: $490,000
Andrew Roraback: $371,994
Mark Greenberg: $355,000
Mike Clark: $293,960
As we move toward conventions where party nominees will be selected, it is time for Republicans to consider a choice.
I would first eliminate Wilson-Foley and Greenburg from my list. While I find redeeming qualities in both, I am offended that each would loan themselves such substantial amounts of money. This turns me off!
We are now left with three.
Mr. Bernier has raised the greatest sum of money. Mr. Roraback has done a respectable job of fundraising considering he was a late entry into the race. Mr. Clark, who is on the bottom, still deserves credit for raising what he has.
Let us take a look at them from the perspective of political posture:
Mr. Bernier is a true conservative.
Mr. Greenberg is a true conservative.
Mr. Roraback dreams that he is a conservative.
Since I want the Republicans to regain the 5th Congressional District, I would chose Justin Bernier as the candidate. He is a conservative and knows how to raise funds.
I know this sounds simple and you might say that I am shallow in how I have reached this conclusion. There are many other reasons behind my decision to support Justin Bernier for the 5th Congressional District Republican nomination and his election in November.
I will explain them in my next post …
From the Carolina Journal Online …
Is this what we are coming too? As a parent, I am becoming increasingly concerned that our children will soon belong to the state.
As long as my child is healthy, I should think it would be for my wife and I to decide what our child eats, not the government. Worse, in this case the government is forcing parents to buy the food they prescribe. What next … medications the government thinks my child should be on?
Normally I write about very local issues and frankly this one could easily happen here. Anyone who attends local Boards of Education meetings will know that they routinely talk about what the children eat and whether or not it is healthy for them.
In the past year I have witnessed such disturbing debates at the Salisbury Board of Education. One debate occupied a full forty minutes of a meeting in which the merits of Ice Cream was bantered about. Would it not be great if we spent so much time debating the level of education our children are receiving?
Maybe we can install ‘healthy lunch detectors’ at the entrance to our schools to ensure that the ignorant parents are feeding their children properly as per government order. I would even suggest we might consider community service for those parents who don’t understand that Big Brother knows all and we (as well as our children) are here to submit to the will of the system.
I can’t help but comment on this … Andrew Roraback is seeking the GOP nomination to run for Congress in the 5th District!
http://www.ctmirror.org/story/14269/roraback-officially-enters-crowded-5th-cd-race (all quotes come from this article)
I have known Andrew for many years and admit he is a NICE GUY.
Having said that, considering the condition of this economy and the turmoil in Washington, the last person I want in Congress is someone who likes to play the middle ground, or is simply a nice guy.
We need leaders who will assume and maintain firm stands in order to defend the future of our nation and its economy.
Andrew Roraback is NOT that individual.
He is part of a broken system in Connecticut, aka the Republican Party. This party has no clue as to what is happening in Connecticut, let alone what is happening at the Federal Level.
State Senator Roraback has the obvious backing of the Republican State Central Committee … witness the appearance of GOP State Party Chairman Jerry Labriola at Roraback’s announcement.
This is the field of candidates who are seeking the Party nomination and for those who have been involved in party politics, you know the Party leadership is suppose to be neutral during this process.
Are we not witnessing the manipulation of the political system? There have been numerous candidates out there (on the Republican side) since Congressman Chris Murphy decided to make his run for the U.S. Senate (January 20, 2011). Justin Bernier, Lisa Wilson-Foley, Mike Clark, and Mark Greenburg.
Where has Mr. Roraback been? Waiting for the ‘powers that be’ to ‘bless’ his candidacy?
I would suggest that Mr. Roraback only runs in a SAFE race … that is to say one which he is fairly confident he won’t lose. Let us not forget his rumblings to run for Attorney General in the last election, only to back out. I assume it became obvious that he did not have State wide support or recognition and would actually need to run a real campaign in order to win the seat, not to mention face the possibility of defeat – something he would not want in his political portfolio.
Labriola (who should be neutral at this time, I repeat) made this statement at Mr. Roraback’s announcement in Goshen, CT …
“I’m almost embarrassed by the wealth of riches we get to present to our rank and file,” he said. “Andrew has a strong record of being a fiscal conservative. His record of public service speaks for itself.”
Actually, I would be embarrassed to be Chairman Labriola. He does NOT understand his position as the supposed leader of the GOP.
I also remind you of Senator Roraback’s fiscal conservatism in 2008 when he sponsored a bill to spend $10,000 (your tax dollars) in order to place a marker on Mt. Frissell in Salisbury (Proposed bill 223) … $10,000!! Isn’t that fiscally conservative!
Roraback responded to the idea of being late getting into this race and how this would impact fundraising …
“It’s a reality,” he said. “I mean I’ve just announced on October 20th. I’ve not yet begun to raise funds and some of the other candidates in the race have the ability to write checks on their own, which is an ability that I don’t have.”
Here we go … Mr. ‘Tell You Something Pretty’ … He should have thought about fundraising … or … Is it that Labriola and the GOP State Central have already promised it to him?
If I have ever witnessed anything pathetic from the political party which I spent years supporting and working for, this is the best and greatest example of how lame the Connecticut GOP has become.
Does RINO ring a bell?
The legislators in Hartford have almost as much impact in our small communities as do the local boards.
We have suffered through years of being ignored by Hartford in this Northwest corner.
We receive small amounts of state aid, be it for our schools or towns. We have watched our friends in Hartford as they continue to deprive our sprawling corner of what few services we have. They tried to eliminate our local Probate Court, they cut the hours of our closest license branch and continue to consider closing it and making us travel farther, and they eliminated the visits by the license bus in favor of running it more in communities that are tightly configured and have mass transit.
Although we pay more per capita in taxes than most areas of Connecticut, we receive fewer services than most.
Since we are small and have fewer Representatives in Hartford, we need strong voices in the State Capitol who don’t know how to accept the word no.
We need voices in Hartford who are ‘squeaky wheels’.
We haven’t had this type of representation since the days of Senator Dell Eads (God rest her soul).
Kathy Lauretano is exactly the type of person we need to represent our area in Hartford.
She is not willing to take NO for an answer. She is not willing to ‘sit down and shut up’. She is totally capable of being ‘the squeaky wheel’.
I suggest you give her your consideration and support.
It is time to retire those in Hartford who have been part of the problem and replace them with folks like Kathy … Strong, bold, willing to stand up for our corner and not sell out to the ‘puppet masters’.
Kathy also understands that you don’t spend more than you have, nor do you squeeze more from the people because you don’t have what you want to spend.
You go Kathy! We are with you!
CT Representative Tim O’Brien (24th district) has submitted a bill (HB 5170) to tax mansions in CT.
The bill would impose a State Property Tax on homes worth $1 million or more. For those who have primary residential addresses outside of CT, they can avoid the tax by paying CT State Income Tax as if they were a resident of CT. This means they would be paying full income tax in their home State and in this state.
Can you hear the ‘sucking sound’ as our wealthy parttime and weekend residents here in NW CT sell and leave?
This is a great move for our local economy and I hope our local legislators will support it … NOT!!!
