An Open Letter to CBIA.com

The following is a letter that I wrote recently to CBIA.com over their new commercial ad-buy:

CBIA.com:

That's a cute commercial you folks are running, and a nice attempt to propagate collective amnesia, misdirected distrust, and general panic.

See, we citizens of Connecticut recognize that it was unchecked, unremitting, unbalanced "pro-business" government that got us to the sticky place we are in currently.

We are tired of scare tactics and top-down solutions.  For all your lobbying and tax cuts of the last decade, the average worker hasn't profited much.  But businesses and business owners have made a heap.  

So you and your folks broke the system and laid people off, and then you tell us that we need YOU as the fix . . . ?!  Please.

Your "scaaary" ad and its jobs figures won't make a dent.  We know who the culprits are: the private and public companies with selfish tunnel-vision, their lobbyists, and the politicians who ask how high when told to jump.

You need to recognize that the times have changed.  The same old tactics won't work.  Have some healthy shame and decency.  Save your money.  Stop running this sorry excuse for an ad and use the money to hire somebody or a bunch of somebodies.

All your commercial is going to do is draw attention to which side you are on . . . the wrong side.

Round and Round We Go

http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2009/05/02/news/metro/c3-_nhbob.txt

Mr. Burns' position and its possible, though unlikely, reinstatement continue to be a matter of great passion and moment here in town, especially among those who simply oppose the current administration.

Sunset for Souter

http://www.slate.com/id/2217434/pagenum/all/#p2

"Souter's current position on the left wing of the court owes much more to movement by the court and the country than to any lurch on his part. The current court, after all, has seven Republican appointees and has been on a steady rightward drift since the Reagan years. The Republican Party has, too. I think Souter is indeed in many ways a Republican; it's just that his sort of Republican no longer really exists."

This expresses precisely the reason I left the Republican Party after my full adult political lifetime (as well as much of my childhood and adolescence).  Those of us in the Teddy Roosevelt or Eisenhower vein of the party have been more than marginalized.  I suspect this played a huge role in Senator Specter's change of venue, especially following his vilification for his stimulus vote.

The reason I joined the Democratic Party was Mr. Obama, in the interests of full disclosure.  

Justice Souter will be missed as a man whom nobody doubts to have done always what he thought was right on a case by case basis, rather than being overridden by his own sense of ideology.  Farewell, sir.  You've certainly earned your retirement.

CT Gay Marriage Codified

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jzpRwGCQ-cTsE0JSAGf3COH_csWgD97NUA700

Connecticut finalizes and codifies gay marriage by healthy margins.  I will argue that this is a healthy and appropriate turn of events.  Gladly, compassion and justice have won out.

Irony of Ironies?

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/04/30/religion.torture/

This is a survey America will have to contend with.  How is it that certain religious factions are more accepting of torture than others, and especially more than the relatively non-religious?

Qualified Hopefulness?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/30/stocks-big-april-could-be_n_194237.html

Nobody wants to be unrealistically hopeful, but any good news is welcome.  Perhaps, just perhaps, as unpopular as the TARP and its implementation have been . . . perhaps it is working.

Banks aren't lending enough, people are still hurting, and Elizabeth Warren has been warning about waste and corruption, but maybe . . . maybe we've been well shepherded after all.

Maybe.

Aches and Pains

http://nhregister.com/articles/2009/05/01/news/a1_--_arthritis.txt

As a non-baby-boomer who deals with this, I find this troubling and have to wonder what environmental factors might play a part in this seeming epidemic of Arthritis.

Is the GOP DOA?

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/04/party-of-nobody.html

It's an interesting question regarding what is happening to the Republican Party and whether or not they will climb out of their current difficulties or be replaced with a different conservative political entity.  [I was a Republican my entire life until a year or so ago.  I decided to switch party affiliations to vote for Barack Obama in the '08 Connecticut primary.]

I ask this out of genuine curiosity - not in any way to celebrate or bemoan this turn of events.  Just like Specter's party change, it would be a big turn of events in all things political.

For instance, is this the path to renewal or a death rattle?

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/04/29/gop-set-to-launch-rebranding-effort/

Early Childhood Education

http://northhaven.ctcitizens.com/story/community-conversation-zooms-early-childhood-education

Maybe this means that cutting all day Kindergarten in this or any budget is off the table in North Haven . . . ?

Raise the Drop Out Age?!

http://nhregister.com/articles/2009/04/30/news/doc49f9da2e8648d307766500.txt

If you don't work in or around a high school, this might sound like a good idea.  Keep the kids in school and they just might learn something.

This is, in fact, a TERRIBLE idea.  There is a small number of students who are little other than distractions and even dangers in the halls of a high school.  They are either completely disrespectful and consciously disruptive of the learning process or they engage in behavior that endangers other students either directly or through negative influence.  

Oftentimes, the only way to get these students back into the learning process is to allow them to leave it, discover the difficulties that creates, and then come back.

Raising the age to 18 only forces schools to keep students longer who are likely only detrimental to what the school is achieving with the rest of the student population.  Call your representatives.  This might be good politics, but it is a lousy practical solution to the challenge of uncooperative students.

Two More Possible Infections

http://nhregister.com/articles/2009/04/30/news/doc49f9d76fc265b067049568.txt

Two more suspected cases of swine flu in CT brings the total possible cases here to five.

Gun Permit Applications Shoot Way Up

http://northhaven.ctcitizens.com/story/police-see-tremendous-rise-gun-permits

Maybe I am missing something.  I know that it is a right protected by the Constitution from a certain point of view, but why would law abiding citizens of North Haven need to carry guns?  I know they can.  Tell me why they should.

Every extra gun increases the likelihood of innocent victims.  They also vastly increase the likelihood of suicide, homicide, and the violent escalation of domestic problems.

Budget Passage

Okay, here it is.

I am asking that you vote to pass the budget coming up next month on referendum.

Here's why: it is my understanding that the next item on the educational chopping block is all-day kindergarten.  I have a pre-school age child.  I need to be able to send my child to school next year, all day.  Early childhood education is critical both to brain and social development.  It's also necessary to the schedules and professional needs of many parents.

Vote "yes" to save full day kindergarten.  That's the crux of where I stand.  Yes, it is selfish, but it is also practical on behalf of the town.  Where will these children be in their skills and abilities if they are robbed of fully HALF of their instructional time at this crucial age?

My Deepest Condolences

http://nhregister.com/articles/2009/04/29/news/metro/a1_--_girlfollo_0429.txt

There is nothing that can be said except that this is a horror and that my prayers and heart go out to the family and friends who are more than stricken by this crime.

As the Budget Turns . . .

http://zip06.theday.com/blogs/north_haven_courier/archive/2009/04/23/bof-approves-81-44-million-budget-referendum-set-for-may-19.aspx

As you already know, we are in the interregnum that occurs between the finalizes of the budget by the Board of Finance and the referendum.

Please take the time to inform your decision before you report to the polls.

Unknown Achievements in the 1st 100

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/29/obamas-first-100-days-10_n_192603.html

Some of these are a bit controversial.  I am guessing that the digital medical records, though likely inevitable, is the one most likely to stir up concern and conjecture.  If it's easier to share good information, it will be easier to make and copy mistakes, breach privacy, and expose people to possible discrimination on the basis of their private health concerns.

One more hurdle for the 21st Century.

On other notes:

Most of the other provisions would seem to be positive and relatively non-partisan.  Helping roads, schools, cities, and general government transparency are necessarily good ideas and long overdue.

Unless, of course, you feel differently, venerable early subscriber to my new blog.

Swine Flu Reaches CT

http://nhregister.com/articles/2009/04/29/news/metro/a1_--_swine.txt

Well, I suppose it's here.  Let's all wash our hands, cover our mouths, dispose of our own germy trash, and stay home from school and work should we find ourselves infected.

New North Haven Author

http://www.courant.com/community/hc-community-articleresults,0,5942637,results.formprofile?Query=12039HC

"North Haven resident Susan Fowler, adjunct philosophy professor at Quinnipiac University, has written a new book to make leadership contagious -- 'Leading with Spirit: Transforming Leadership for Social Change.'"

Not only should we applaud her success, we should embrace the tenor of her work, designed as it is to help us improve our institutions and societal expectations.

Bravo!  Now get out there and buy a copy.

Tortured Discussion

Jon Stewart just engaged in what was apparently a long and fascinating interview with Cliff May about America's use of torture.  The Daily Show was only able to air 6 minutes of it, but the entire thing is going to be on Comedy Central's website.  It is definitely something I will catch when it becomes available.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/

Paramedics Posturing

http://nhregister.com/articles/2009/04/27/news/metro/b1-nhselectmen-mon.txt

The ballot wording for the proposed paramedic program has been called into question.   I agree that it seems politically motivated, but I strongly encourage all town residents to vote in favor of the measure.  (I'm still on the fence regarding the budget measure.)

Having a paramedic program of our own can only profit the health and well-being of town residents.  This is another one of those things that people just need to find a way to invest in.  Our taxes may go up, but if what we receive is in some cases invaluable, how do we say "no"?

Instead of simply seeing our taxes as a number that comes out of our collective wallets, we need to begin thinking more long term.  How might such a service save lives and money?  How does it improve the perceived quality of the town and, hence, property values?  What price can we put on peace of mind?

Bulk Pickup

I have nothing but the greatest respect for the men and women who serve the town side of the budget, but perhaps it is time we re-visited the necessity of bulk trash pick up occuring EVERY WEEK in North Haven.

Now, I don't want anyone to lose his/her job, and I have nothing but sympathy for the fact that town side sanitation workers have not received a raise since 2006, but for the entire time I've lived here I have felt that being able to have a refrigerator picked up from my front lawn each and every week was excessive.  It should be more than possible that each of the four regions of the town (Green Acres, Montowese, Clintonville, Ridge Road) could be assigned a week in the month - first, second, third, fourth.

I have no idea how much money this would save the town, but it would be a start toward tightening our collective belts, maintaining great benefits of living here, and easing budget tensions.

Or am I entirely off track?

Paradigm Shift

Without getting into the politics and personalities involved on the national stage, I think America is entering into a new phase of the Social Contract.  For the last nearly 30 years we have been satisfied with the notions of unfettered private ambition and limited government regulation.  Recent events are foring us as a society and as a nation to reconsider the social fabric and the fundamental responsibilities of citizens and institutions.

My great hope is that in the years ahead we will see:

- a return to fiscal sanity, achieved through corporate pay caps and regulation.

- a return to safe banking, wherein risky ventures are detached from institutional saving and lending.

- a true universal health care system for all Americans, in which we recognize that the ongoing health of the citizenry is at least as vital as the health of roads and other infrastructure.

- the de-politicizing of the Washington bureaucracy so that government can spend more time solving and debating problems and LESS time trying simply to win the next election cycle.

- a re-working of the electoral college and primary systems.

- a huge shift in favor or renewable energy and green technology.

- a full and fair accounting of torture, domestic wire tapping, and enemy detention - in such a manner that the guilty are prosecuted and these crimes are not repeated in a succeeding generation or administration.

- a vigorous effort to increase the quality and availability of broadband internet access.

- high speed rail and other 21st Century technologies to improve transit and trade.

Here's a Start of Something

I am experimenting with being a blogger.  Something I have never done before.  I have been outspoken on other blogs, and I have often been an avid reader of blogs and news all my digital, adult life.

I hope this site will serve as a place for moderate voices in the community to discuss solutions and efforts in this community to make North Haven an even better place to live and raise a family.  I love a good debate, but I am not as interested as other bloggers in choosing a political side and bludgeoning my neighbors.

Let me know what you think.  I will be only too happy to get back to you!

Thank you in advance.