Free Republic

Pelosi endorses Rep. Jackson for reelectionBy Jordy Yager - 02/18/12 12:24 PM ET Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) has endorsed Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.), whose reelection bid has been plagued by an ethics investigation. Pelosi joins President Obama and several other top Democrats in their endorsement of the Chicago lawmaker as he goes up against former Democratic Rep. Debbie Halvorson (Ill.) in a fierce primary battle next month. Though Halvorson has raised only one-fifth the amount of money that Jackson has, she has waged a relentless campaign against the incumbent lawmaker, frequently pointing to the House Ethics Committee’s ongoing...

by John HillStand With Arizona The inmates are running the asylum. This Administration has served notice on every illegal alien invader across America: do not be afraid - you are above the law.Eleven illegal aliens who claimed ICE agents "violated their rights" in 2007 raids on their New Haven neighborhood have won a $350,000 settlement from the U.S. government, which also agreed to halt deportation proceedings against the plaintiffs, their attorneys said Tuesday. New Haven is American's most notorious "sanctuary city"- the first in the nation to offer identification cards to illegal immigrants, and critics including the mayor have contended...

According to a Jan. 31 Associated Press report, the notion of eliminating or dramatically reducing state income taxes is gathering steam. The AP reported that in Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma and South Carolina — all but one of which elected a Republican governor in 2010 — this idea is getting a serious look. Currently, only nine states lack an income tax. Until 1991, Connecticut was income-tax-free as well. Considering what has happened in the Constitution State since then, one really can't blame those considering repeal. In '91, Gov. Lowell P. Weicker Jr. and the legislature enacted Connecticut's first...

SNIPPET: "Moeed Abdul Salam didn't descend into radical Islam for lack of other options. He grew up in a well-off Texas household, attended a pricey boarding school and graduated from one of the state's most respected universities." SNIPPET: "It is not clear to what extent Salam's family knew of his radicalism, but on his Facebook page the month before he died, he posted an image of Anwar al-Awalki, the American al-Qaida leader who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Yemen, beside a burning American flag." SNIPPET: "The family, originally from Pakistan, immigrated to the U.S. decades ago."

Consumer group Public Knowledge on Friday accused the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and its head, former Sen. Chris Dodd, of trying to intimidate lawmakers into supporting a pair of controversial anti-piracy bills. In recent days, Dodd and other top Hollywood figures have threatened to cut off campaign donations to politicians who do not support their effort to crackdown on online copyright infringement. "Those who count on quote 'Hollywood' for support need to understand that this industry is watching very carefully who's going to stand up for them when their job is at stake. Don't ask me to write...

Congressional support for controversial online piracy legislation eroded dramatically on Wednesday in the face of an unprecedented online protest supported by tech titans such as Google, Wikipedia and Facebook. Several key senators withdrew their support from the Senate's Protect IP Act (PIPA), including Tea Party favorite Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), an elected member of his party's leadership. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who leads the Senate GOP's campaign team, said the legislation should be put on hold, while Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), a sponsor and the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, retreated from the...

SHELBURNE, Vt. — Richard Ketchum, a historian, writer and editor who co-founded a magazine about country living and wrote 17 books, has died. He was 89. Ketchum died Thursday at the Wake Robin retirement community in Shelburne. Ketchum wrote 17 books, six of which focused on the American Revolution, including "Saratoga: Turning Point of America's Revolutionary War," and "Winter Soldiers." After moving to Vermont for good in 1974 with his wife, Ketchum co-founded Blair & Ketchum's Country Journal, written for people who had moved to rural areas after growing tired of hectic city and suburban life.

A bill has been introduced in the United States Senate which will authorize the federal government to revoke the citizenship, creating practical expatriates, of American citizens. Introduced by Connecticut Independent Joe Lieberman and Massachusetts Republican Scott Brown, S 1698, the “Enemy Expatriation Act,” is a simple, 2 page document which offers apparently innocent amendments and additions to existing federal legislation. (1) That legislation, known as Title 8, “…outlines the role of aliens and nationality in the U.S. Code.” And it is just one small piece of this massive and complex law which the Enemy Expatriation Act seeks to modify, that...

Red-Wine Researcher Charged With 'Photoshop' Fraud Robert Lowes   January 13, 2012 — A University of Connecticut researcher known for touting the health benefits of red wine is guilty of 145 counts offabricating and falsifying data with image-editing software, according to a 3-year university investigation made public Wednesday. The researcher, Dipak K. Das, PhD, is a director of the university's Cardiovascular Research Center (CRC) and a professor in the Department of Surgery. The university stated in a press release thatit has frozen all externally funded research in Dr. Das's lab and turned down $890,000 in federal research grants awarded to him....

From Medical News Today, word of a major failure of peer review spanning years and 11 journals. Researcher Who Studied Benefits Of Red Wine Falsified Data Says UniversityAn extensive misconduct investigation that took three years to complete and produced a 60,000-page report, concludes that a researcher who has come to prominence in recent years for his investigations into the beneficial properties of resveratrol, a compound found in red wine, “is guilty of 145 counts of fabrication and falsification of data”.In a statement published on the university’s news website on Wednesday, the University of Connecticut (UConn) Health Center said the investigation...

HARTFORD, Conn. – A University of Connecticut researcher known for his work on red wine's benefits to cardiovascular health falsified his data in more than 100 instances, university officials said Wednesday. UConn officials said nearly a dozen scientific journals are being warned of the potential problems after publishing his studies in recent years. The researcher, Dr. Dipak Das, did some studies of resveratrol, an ingredient in red wine that has shown potential for promoting health. But Dr. Nir Barzilai, whose research team conducts resveratrol research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, told The Associated Press that...

MERIDEN - A new mosque is a welcome addition to the mix of religious institutions on East Main Street and represents the city's history of religious tolerance, said the Rev. James Olson, pastor of Center Congregational Church. "I think it's great there are Muslims in the community," Olson said Wednesday. "Part of Meriden's heritage has always been religious diversity. I think it's just a reflection of what Meriden is." The Islamic Association of Southern Connecticut Inc. received Zoning Board of Appeals approval Tuesday to occupy a former funeral home at 189 E. Main St. as a place of worship.

Smiles and even a bit of laughter mingled with tears and mournful hugs as members of the Somers Congregational United Church of Christ met Monday in wake of an overnight fire that destroyed their sanctuary. “It’s almost beyond comment,” said longtime parishioner and Somers resident Malcolm Chadbourne as he stared at the blackened rubble with his wife, Joanne Chadbourne ““We are just shocked and sad.” State and local fire officials continue to probe the cause of the Sunday night blaze that leveled much of the landmark church, sent its steeple tumbling into an inferno, left congregants numb with shock. No...

New Haven and Yale University Police captured a man they said confronted members of Occupy New Haven and pulled a gun on one of them. Around 1:13 a.m. Friday, New Haven Police said they responded to reports that a group of black men were kicking the Occupier's tents as they walked through the encampment. Justin Sabatino, one of the protesters, said he told police that the group was walking through the encampment kicking the tents yelling, "wake up." Sabatino said he confronted the men when one of them pulled out a gun and pointed it at him. Another protester, identified...

The fire appears to have been caused by hot fireplace ashes and embers, which had been discarded," said Barry Callahan, the chief fire marshal in Stamford, Connecticut. He said the fire that engulfed the large waterfront Victorian home was accidental, according to preliminary findings, but an investigating is ongoing.

You read that headline right. While the GOP candidates squabble about whether support for in-state tuition or a path to citizenship might as well be support for amnesty, the mayor of New Haven, Ct., comes right out with it. He supports amnesty — and not even stealthily. NBC Connecticut reports: New Haven Mayor John DeStefano plans to ask the state Legislature to allow illegal immigrants who live in the city to be able vote in municipal elections.DeStefano said on Tuesday that the proposal would build a more engaged community and follows the lead of other cities, the New Haven Independent...

Washington, DC – Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio is not the only one under fire from the Department of Justice for cracking down on illegal immigrants. Yesterday, the DOJ issued another scathing report accusing the East Haven, CT Police Department of discrimination against Latinos for allegedly violating their civil rights. In a 23-page letter detailing the results of a two-year investigation sent to the East Haven mayor, Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez wrote, “We find that EHPD engages in discriminatory policing against Latinos, including but not limited to targeting Latinos for discriminatory traffic enforcement, treating Latino drivers more harshly than non-Latino...

Now, back to the topic at hand. From the Fox News article: New Haven Mayor John DeStefano, a Democrat, said on Tuesday that illegal immigrants pay taxes indirectly through rent and send their children to local schools — and therefore should be able to vote. The proposal would also lead to a more engaged community, he said. Only a liberal would think that this makes sense. An illegal immigrant should have the right to vote because pays taxes through their rent and sends their children to local schools. Where do we begin? Let’s start with the fact that they are...

by John HillStand With Arizona Just one day after announcing his intent to try and block the Federal "Secure Communities" program, the mayor of "Sanctuary City" New Haven, CT announced he would be asking the state legislature to grant illegal aliens in New Haven the right to vote in municipal elections. Mayor John DeStefano argues that illegal aliens who live in New Haven pay local taxes and their kids go to school in the city, and deserve the right to vote: DeStefano said he plans to lobby the state for a “resident voting rights” bill that would allow any...

Colt is joining all the other innovative American manufacturing companies in the great stampede to the Right to Work South. From RedState… Colt Firearms appears to be one of the many Connecticut companies looking for a less hostile home. To clarify, Florida is a Right-to-Work state and Connecticut is not. Which may be why the UAW is so concerned about keeping jobs in the anti-business state:. via The Miami Herald: Colt Manufacturing Co. announced earlier this month it is bringing 63 jobs and a new regional headquarters and product manufacturing center to Kissimmee, Fla., next year. Of course, Colt’s...

A gay couple who adopted nine boys have been accused of sexually assaulting two of the children.But another adopted son of George Harasz and Doug Wirth insists his two fathers are innocent, and says his siblings have a disorder in which troubled foster children lash out at adults who try to connect with them.  Married 'fathers' Harasz and Wirth, who say they consider caring for hard-to-place children a personal challenge, adopted three sets of siblings, all boys, since 2000. George's two biological children and their mother also live at the large Victorian home in Glastonbury, Connecticut.       Accused: George Harasz,...

A typo has led to the election of the wrong man to a finance board in Derby, Conn. James J. Butler was the highest vote-getter, winning 1,526 votes for the 10-member Board of Apportionment and Taxation, which monitors the town's finances. However, his father, 72-year-old James R. Butler, was the candidate nominated by Democrats. The News Times of Danbury and New Haven Register report that he said he wants the job and that his son is not interested in public office.

Wants To Record Veterans' Memories Before Generation DisappearsThe Southington Historical Society is undertaking an oral history project to preserve the stories of local veterans of World War II before they are gone. Society President Ken DiMauro said he estimates that 450 people from Southington fought in the war. But with people of that generation move into their 80s, he said perhaps 45 to 60 are still alive. The intent, DiMauro said, is to record interviews as many as possible. "I saw the same thing happen with World War I veterans," DiMauro said. "We need to do an oral history, because...

Sen. Joe Lieberman was treated like an outcast back in 2008 when he broke from the Senate Democratic Caucus and openly opposed Barack Obama’s bid for the White House. Asked last week if he’d back Obama in 2012, the Connecticut independent said, “I don’t know what I’m going to do.” This time around, there may be more Liebermans. A number of moderate Democrats like Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar and liberals like Sen. Bernie Sanders are declining to give their unqualified support for the president, saying they’re either too focused on their own races or are calling on the White House...

Connecticut Light & Power wrestled outages down to the 12 percent level by Saturday night, restoring power to tens of thousands of people but still leaving about a dozen towns from Farmington to Union mostly cold and dark. And in his bleakest forecast yet, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said CL&P would have to substantially speed up its work pace to make its self-imposed deadline of delivering power to 99 percent of its customers before midnight Sunday. "I've been skeptical and I'm becoming increasingly skeptical by the hour," Malloy said at a Saturday evening press conference. The governor directed CL&P to...

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) -- The director of a Christian music tour on Tuesday gave an impassioned plea to a jury to spare the life of a Connecticut man convicted of killing a woman and her two daughters, saying the man is remorseful and will someday need to explain his actions to his own daughter. Mark Middlebrooks testified Tuesday in the sentencing phase of Joshua Komisarjevsky that Komisarjevsky was an "outstanding" member of the group, which traveled the United States and Western Europe in 1997 when he was about 17. Komisarjevsky worked as a lighting technician for the group.

Some 200 passengers aboard a Newark-bound Jet Blue flight were trapped on the plane for seven hours without food, water or working bathrooms after the freak snowstorm that socked the East Coast on Saturday forced the plane to land in Connecticut. Passengers said they were told they'd be let off the plane shortly after it reached Bradley International Airport at around 1:30 p.m. But hours later, Flight 504 from Fort Lauderdale was still sitting on the tarmac. "We ran out of water," passenger Andrew Carter, a reporter planning to cover the Giants-Dolphins game, told The Hartford Courant from the plane....

On Monday night, ghosts, goblins, Angry Birds, Lady Gagas and pirates will be going door to door, looking for treats. It’s Halloween and, in Connecticut and beyond, the trick or treating happens on Oct. 31. It does not matter if that falls on a Monday, Thursday or Friday. But a Connecticut lawmaker wants to change that. State Rep. Tim Larson, D-East Hartford and South Windsor, wants the state to designate Halloween as the last Saturday in October in Connecticut. “Halloween is a fun night for the whole family, but not so much when you have to race home from work,...

Connecticut to celebrate Diaper Need Awareness DayBy The Diaper Bank Oct 26, 2011 - 7:33 AM North Haven, CT - To celebrate Connecticut’s inaugural Diaper Needs Awareness Day, The Diaper Bank will host its 4th annual “Rock Your Baby” event on Thursday October 27th. The goal of the event is to honor those who have aided in the recognition of diaper needs as a pressing social issue and who have contributed to the growth of the Diaper Bank. “Rock Your Baby” will take place from 6:30-9:00pm at The Old Guitar Store, 153 East Street, New Haven, CT. Tickets are $52...

I mean seriously? Ron Paul drops in one poll and now Schiff is infatuated by Herman Cain! Just listened to his show and the first 10 minutes are like listening to some alien that has taken over Schiff's body. When you support a candidate you don't advocate another candidate or imply that your candidate is less electable than another. Slowly, bit by bit, my love for Schiff is diminishing. I gave him $300 bucks for his campaign in Connecticut and made hundreds of calls for him. Now he's just launched his own SuperPAC and now he talking about how Herman...

Call it a baby stimulus. Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy has declared Thursday “Diaper Need Awareness Day” as part of a campaign by The Nutmeg State to pressure Washington into providing free diapers to low-income families. Supporters will host a fundraiser and a panel discussion in New Haven on the public health risks for babies whose diapers aren't changed frequently enough.

HARTFORD, Conn., Oct. 24 (UPI) -- A Connecticut lawmaker says he wants to change the traditional Oct. 31 date of Halloween to the last Saturday of the month for safety and other reasons. The change would make the holiday easier for working parents, safer for trick-or-treaters and would boost the economy as well, state Rep. Tim Larson said. "Halloween is [a] fun night for the whole family, but not so much when you have to race home from work, get the kids ready for trick or treating, welcome the neighborhood children, and then try to get everyone to bed for...

At Wolcott High School one morning this week, an urgent announcement crackled over the intercom: a threatening intruder was in the building and students were told to immediately take refuge in classrooms. Doors were locked and police, with dogs, moved in. Students stayed huddled in classrooms where they were told to stay away from the windows. But what sounded like a frightening situation was just a search for narcotics. Drug-sniffing dogs combed the school while students stayed in locked classrooms, believing that an attacker was roaming the halls. Drug-free schools are an admirable goal but I wonder when we reached...

A Cheshire police officer, who was a witness during the trial of convicted killer Joshua Komisarjevsky, and his wife were both arrested by Naugatuck police in connection to a dog-theft incident, police said. Thomas and Dawn Wright, both 39, of Naugatuck, turned themselves in to the borough police department on Wednesday after learning of a warrant charging them with stealing a dog, obstructing an animal control officer and fourth-degree larceny. According to Naugatuck police spokesman Lt. Robert Harrison, a complaint was lodged with police in September after a borough resident stumbled upon a photo of a black pug posted on...

NEW CANAAN, Conn. – Daisy Franklin of Norwalk was among the nearly 100 protestors who came to the New Canaan home of General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt Saturday to take part in the first known Occupy Wall Street rally in Fairfield County. "I worked in a small Norwalk manufacturing company for 15 years until it was forced to shut down a year ago," Franklin, 55, told the crowd, using a bullhorn. "Now, I get by on less than $200 a week of unemployment for me and my daughter. When you run out of money, you run out of options. So,...

<p>The girl was unconscious and bleeding when police officers arrived at a third floor apartment in the Connecticut city of West Haven, the paper said.</p>

A 34-year-old genetic researcher with ties to Yale University will appear Monday in a Dryden courtroom, charged with the first-degree rape of a Town of Ithaca woman. Navneet K. Tyagi of New Haven, Conn. is charged with forcible sex. According to the Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office, Tyagi drove from Connecticut to the victim’s home, where he allegedly “held her captive for several hours, forcing her to engage in sexual intercourse.” He was arraigned before Judge Clauson in the Town of Dryden Court and sent to Tompkins County Jail in lieu of $500,000 cash bail. Cornell Public Safety and the New...

Continuing a fiat governance style that is right out of the Obama playbook, Democratic and Working Families Party Governor Dannel Malloy issued two executive orders yesterday that will force daycare providers and home healthcare workers in Connecticut to join unions. The orders, his ninth and tenth since taking office in January, will force the state’s 4,000 daycare providers to add over $1 million in dues to union coffers, and remove the right to secret ballot election for these workers by instituting a card check process.

...In the last ten years, Connecticut legislators have increased taxes by $10.47 billion – an average tax increase of $2,969.90 on each man, woman, and child. Connecticut taxes have increased the 2nd most per capita since 2002. These taxes are used to increase state spending programs and do not even include how local governments also increase the tax burden. If one examines only state and local taxes, Connect taxpayers pay 12.0 percent of all income each year in these liabilities – the third highest rate in the nation. Unfortunately, Connecticut does not appear to be looking to relinquish their last-place...

Four of the Senate’s top voices on foreign policy voiced their support Friday for the Obama administration’s move to formally recognize rebel leaders as the legitimate governing authority of Libya. “We welcome the Administration’s decision to recognize the Transitional National Council (TNC) as the legitimate governing authority of Libya,” said Republican Sens. John McCain (Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.) and Marco Rubio (Fla.) and Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman (Conn.) in a statement.

Rep. Allen West (R- Fla.), the lone Republican in the Congressional Black Caucus, said Tuesday morning that he is considering leaving the group in light of comments by caucus whip Rep. Andrè Carson (D-Ind.), who said at a town hall that tea-party affiliated members of Congress see African Americans as "second-class citizens" and would be happy to see blacks "hanging from a tree." "When you start using words such as lynching… that’s a reprehensible word and I think we should move away from that language," West said on Fox & Friends. "One of the things I'm starting to think about...

From Albert "Al" Hendershot: There has been a development as it pertains to database records for and about Barack H Obama. As we well know I am the one who discovered the Harrison J Bounel alias. Well, these records have been scrubbed from theses databases as of yesterday. All other records are gone except the records belonging to the "chosen one". Albert Hendershot's SSN Pull for 042-68-4425 (Obama) With His Notes Added to the Database Pull From Carl Swensson: Spent yesterday with a credit investigator (skip tracer) who has very highly specialized search software available to only those in the...

Firefighters who answered the call in Waterbury Tuesday didn't battle a raging fire, but instead were overrun by fleas. The members of Engine 2 left the scene of an abandoned house they were investigating on Taylor Street when they began to itch terribly. While on the ride back to the station, they noticed fleas all over them. "It was thousands of them," Fire Chief David Martin said. The firefighters were taken to the hospital, where they had to strip before going in for fear they might bring the fleas in with them. Covered in flea bites, they were scrubbed down...

Just learned I need to move to Connecticut - Fairfield County area (like within 30 days) . I have questions that are not for Realtors, but for Freepers. You know the ones.

EAST HAVEN — Taking a “time out” from attacking the debt ceiling crisis, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi flew to Connecticut Sunday for a private political fundraiser for friend and fellow Democrat, U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro.

Former Bridgeport Mayor Joseph Ganim, released a year ago after serving nearly seven years in prison for corruption, has expressed some interest in running again to lead Connecticut's largest city. The city's powerful Democratic boss says Ganim would like to run, but he's backing Mayor Bill Finch and discouraged Ganim from running. "He has some aspiration for running," Mario Testa, chairman of the Bridgeport Democratic Town Committee who has met with Ganim, told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "Right now I don't think it's the right time for him to jump into the rink." Testa said he does not believe...

FINE WINE, BEST ENJOYED AMONG FRIENDS AND DONORS?: Cliff Asness, the founding and managing partner of hedge fund AQR Capital, and Rutgers University professor Susan Feinberg may have irreconcilable differences about two $350 bottles of wine at Washington D.C.'s Bistro Bis, but they once found common ground in the campaign of President Barack Obama. Cliff Asness, and his wife Laurel, each gave Obama $2,300 during his 2008 campaign, according to research by the Center for Responsive Politics. Feinberg, too, was a 2008 Obama campaign donor, giving $1,700 in support of his presidential bid. Obama was just the second federal-level candidate...

Trying to stop the layoffs of at least 6,000 workers, union leaders are asking Gov. Dannel Malloy to come back to the table to work out a concession agreement that will get passed by state workers. On Tuesday, the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition sent a letter to Malloy asking to reopen talks. Larry Dorman, a SEBAC said the leaders are not necessarily asking to "renegotiate" the labor savings and concessions agreement that failed to garner enough support for ratification. SEBAC leaders have not said specifically what would be part of a new concession agreement, but they are optimistic they...

They were a busy bunch in Hartford this year. During the 5-month-long 2011 legislative session, the General Assembly passed a wide range of bills changing the rules on everything from finance and taxation to social policy. With the first Democratic governor in 20 years and a Democratic majority in the statehouse, it proved to be one of the busiest sessions in recent years. It also proved to be one of the most expensive for state residents: Lawmakers enacted the largest tax increase in the state’s history. ... The general sales and use tax rate increases from 6 to 6.35 percent;...