Politics
Entries related to things political.
On the NonCampaign Trail
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Sun, 09/16/2007 - 10:54September weekends in Connecticut are wonderful times to get out and view some of the beauty of our state. On even years, there are major state and federal political campaigns going on. On odd years, there are municipal elections, and the curious noncampaign trail.
Yesterday, Kim, Fiona and I went to three campaign events. The first two were sponsored by town committees to support the municipal candidates and the third was a CCAG barbeque. At each of these events, there were major figures not currently running for office, but sounding and looking a lot like candidates. Perhaps at these small gatherings we can see some of the themes for coming elections.
Dick Blumenthal spoke about fighting hard for the people of Connecticut. Susan Bysiewicz spoke about getting people more involved in elections and in their state. Chris Murphy was noted for his victory in the fifth congressional district and Ned Lamont was noted as the bellweather in terms of getting Democrats to stand up and talk about the issues that matter. Both Chris and Ned made comments thanking people for their support.
George Jepsen was on the noncampaign trail as well talking about key democratic values, and Audrey Blondin, who didn’t get any opportunities to speak that I saw, was constantly working in the background.
There are a lot of important municipal elections this year. Next year will be big elections as we elect a new president, have congressional elections and see how the new campaign finance laws affect state elections. There is a lot less mystery about these elections. The exciting races to watch are all the potential 2010 candidates on the NonCampaign Trail.
The continuing quest for the teachable moment
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Fri, 09/14/2007 - 15:27I’ve been writing a lot about the Avery Doninger Civil Rights case over the past few weeks. Besides what I’ve placed on the website, I’ve also contacted various people around the state and the country that should have an interest in finding the teachable moments from this.
One such message was one that I wrote to Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz.
Random reactions to this evening’s speeches
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Thu, 09/13/2007 - 22:30Initially, I thought that that the windows in the background of President Bush’s address to the nation looked somehow eerie, sort of like images from a horror movie. I expected some black lagoon like creature to some through the window. As I got more used to it, I wondered if we would see Markos Moulitsas Zúniga’s head pop up with a bunch of supporters and then have him rush in.
My mind wandered to think about how much it reminded me of http://vietnam.vassar.edu/doc14.html >Nixon’s "Vietnamization," speech of November 3, 1969. Although I must say that Nixon’s speech was much better.
I then thought about some of the work I’ve been doing with systems like Second Life, and it struck me that Bush almost appeared life like. The biggest problem, however, was the speech itself. I suspect a good Markov Chain Generator could have done a better job.
As to the responses, Jack Reed did quite well. I also thought that Joe Biden did a good job, although I wondered if he has been sitting next to Mike Gravel a little too much recently. I hope neither of them were tapping their feet. Rudy Giuliani returned me to the initial horror movie motif. The way his eyes bulged as he spoke made me think that whatever had been lurking outside the window and already gotten to him.
For me, however, the only person who looked or sounded presidential was John Edwards during his paid advertisement.
Poets and Writers For Avery
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Thu, 09/13/2007 - 12:13Those of us for whom writing is a key part of our lives, hold a special reverence for our Freedom of Speech, so it is no surprise that a several notable poets and writers will be holding a special fundraiser for the Avery Doninger Appeal fund. Avery is the student at Lewis Mills High School who was barred from running for class office because of a blog post she had written at home.
The event will take place at 1 PM on Sunday, October 14th at The Bistro East, Litchfield Inn in Litchfield Connecticut. Noted writers include the novelist Wally Lamb as well as Ravi Shankar, Amy Ma, Franz Douskey, Rand Cooper, Jon Andersen, Ron Winter, Margot Schilpp, Oscar De Los Santos and Louis "The Coin" Colavecchio.
There will be several bands playing as well, including My Day As A Bear, Adrenaline, Young Vick, Accolade and The Positive Downside.
The suggested minimum donation is $25 and $10 for students, but I would encourage you to dig deep and give as much as you can. Checks can be made out to:
Atty. Jon L. Schoenhorn IOLTA Account
with "Avery Doninger appeal" written on the reference line.
Jon L. Schoenhorn &Associates, LLC
108 Oak Street
Hartford, Connecticut 06106-1514
Donations can also be made online at http://defendfreespeech.chipin.com/avery-doninger-appeal-to-2nd-circuit.
Please, give what you can, and if you can make it to this great event, please be there.
To The Fightin’ 6th Marines on Sept 11th
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Tue, 09/11/2007 - 10:48This morning, I received an email from Greg at Rhymes with Right. Last night, he put up a blog post, Support A Marine. In it, he urges people to send letters to the Fightin’ 6th Marines. This morning he has another post, In Memoriam -- 9/11/2001. I have sent the following email to the Marines, pulling in my own thoughts from 9/11. Please consider writing a letter yourself.
Six years ago today, my wife had an early morning appointment at the obstetrician’s office. Our daughter was due about a month later. Everything had gone fine. As she stood at the counter scheduling her next appointment, she looked up at the television screen and saw something horrible, smoke billowing out of the World Trade Centers.
She called me up and we talked on the phone as we watched the second plane hit. At the time, we were living in Stamford CT, a short commute from New York City. I had worked in New York and knew a lot of people that worked in the World Trade Centers. I had even worked in a building right next to them years ago and used to walk through them regularly on my way to work.
The freedom and security we have here in America is very important. It includes the freedom to criticize our government and state our disagreement with its policies and actions. I do not believe that we should have gone into Iraq the way we did and I believe that we should bring as many members of the armed services home from Iraq as quickly as possible.
Some people may try to characterize this as lack of support for our men and women in uniform. That is not the case. They are doing important work and they have my utmost respect. I pray for our servicemen and women serving in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and around the world. I pray for their families. I cherish the freedom they defend.
So, on this sixth anniversary of September 11th, my thoughts and prayers go out to the men and women of the USMC Regimental Combat Team (RCT) 6 serving in Iraq. Be well, be safe, and come home soon to the heroes’ welcome you deserve.
