http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/ct-news/ en-us Sun, 5 Jul 2009 11:36:17 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285837/posts With Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) facing an uphill battle to win reelection next year after a series of Washington scandals battered his popularity back home, President Obama and other national Democrats are sparing no effort to help him. Despite the scandals which left his ethics called into question, the three-decade Senate veteran is not trying to shake his Beltway image. Instead, Dodd is working furiously to show the impact of his long service by racking up big legislative accomplishments - including, potentially, a health care reform bill - before the midterm elections. And some of the national Democratic Party's biggest... Politico http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285837/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 11:36:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284893/posts NEW HAVEN — The two dozen firefighters who packed into Humphrey’s East Restaurant were celebrating a coming marriage, drinking and jawboning in the boisterous style of large men with risky jobs, but Lt. Ben Vargas spent the evening trying to escape the tension surrounding his presence. During a trip to the bathroom, he found himself facing another man. Without warning, the first punch landed. When Lieutenant Vargas awoke, bloodied and splayed on the grimy floor, he was taken to the hospital. Lieutenant Vargas believes the attack, five years ago, was orchestrated by a black firefighter in retaliation for his having... New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284893/posts#comment Fri, 3 Jul 2009 15:53:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284603/posts Blanche Lincoln, AR 45% Public Policy Polling, March Barbara Boxer, CA 48% Survey USA, June 12-14 Michael Bennet, CO 34% Public Policy Polling, April 24-26 (trails Rep. Beauprez) Christopher Dodd, CO 37% Quinnipiac, April (trails several) Roland Burris, IL 17% Public Policy Polling, April 24-26 (likely to lose primary) Harry Reid, NV 34% Mason-Dixon, June 18-19 Kirsten Gillenbrand, NY 24% Marist (disapproval rating also below 50%) Byron Dorgan, ND (only poll in this red state was commissioned by DailyKOS) Also in possible danger but above 50% approval: Daniel Inouye, HI leads Republican Gov. Linda Lingle, but he'll be 86, and... various polls http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284603/posts#comment Fri, 3 Jul 2009 03:20:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2283781/posts Examiner Columnist | 6/30/09 5:55 AM News fairly unbalanced. We report. You decipher. President Obama's Supreme Court nominee, Judge Sonia Sotomayor, announced today she may sue her potential future colleagues for racial bias over yesterday's 5-4 ruling that overturned her own decision in the New Haven fire fighters discrimination lawsuit. The Supreme Court ruled in Ricci v. DeStefano Monday that an employer could not throw out the results of a promotion exam simply for fear of a lawsuit from racial minorities who fared poorly on the test. Sotomayor accused the high court's "Constitutional literalists" of bias and an "abject lack... Washington Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2283781/posts#comment Thu, 2 Jul 2009 01:54:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2283282/posts Fixing health care is simple, says Euro Pacific Capital president Peter Schiff, a possible contender for Democrat Chris Dodd’s seat in Congress. "Given our current tax code, the simplest way to bring down medical costs would be to fully tax health care benefits as wages and simultaneously increase the personal deduction by an amount significant enough to neutralize the effect of the tax increase," Schiff writes in Taki Mag. Doing so would accomplish two things. First, the uninsured would get a huge pay increase, enabling them to buy reasonably priced catastrophic policies. Second, those currently insured could opt out of... Newsmax http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2283282/posts#comment Wed, 1 Jul 2009 14:53:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2283203/posts State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has advised ethics officials to drop an investigation of whether a protest rally and other actions by the Diocese of Bridgeport constitutes lobbying, saying that the lobbying law is too broad and could violate freedom of religion in this instance. Blumenthal said at a press conference Tuesday afternoon that it's possible the church's activities fall under the lobby registration law — the diocese, for example, might have spent over the threshold of $2,000 booking buses to take parishioners to a rally at the Capitol in March to protest a bill that would have dramatically changed... The Hartford Courant http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2283203/posts#comment Wed, 1 Jul 2009 13:21:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2282918/posts Economist Peter Schiff is looking closely at joining the GOP primary to face Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), and his polling shows he would be competitive in the general election. The polling, which was conducted by Wilson Research Strategies and obtained by The Backroom, shows Dodd leading the little-known Schiff within the margin of error, 42-38. The Hill, Washington, DC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2282918/posts#comment Wed, 1 Jul 2009 01:11:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2282181/posts JUNE 30, 2009 Firefighter Justice The Supremes, Sotomayor, and racial jurisprudence. The Supreme Court closed an otherwise unremarkable term on a high note yesterday, rejecting the notion that one kind of racial bias can be remedied by another. On the last day of opinions before the Court is potentially joined by Judge Sonia Sotomayor, the Justices overturned one of her most closely scrutinized cases on workplace discrimination. The effect was to take an important step away from the practice of divvying up jobs by race. Writing for a 5-4 majority in Ricci v. deStefano, Justice Anthony Kennedy said that the... Wall St. Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2282181/posts#comment Tue, 30 Jun 2009 04:19:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281986/posts On Monday’s Newsroom program, CNN’s Jeffrey Toobin couldn’t find a consistent argument about the Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of New Haven firefighters who accused their city of reverse discrimination. Toobin first reported that Justice Kennedy, “the swing vote in this case, as in so many others,” wrote the decision, but minutes later, he labeled it as a ruling by “the five conservatives on the Court.” News Busters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281986/posts#comment Mon, 29 Jun 2009 23:45:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281838/posts WASHINGTON (AP) - Spinning a Supreme Court decision in its favor, the White House said Monday that the justices' reversal of a ruling that high court nominee Sonia Sotomayor endorsed as an appeals court judge proves that she follows judicial precedent. The high court ruled that white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., were unfairly denied promotions because of their race. Presidential spokesman Robert Gibbs said the ruling should put to rest claims by Sotomayor 's Senate critics that she's an activist judge breitbart http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281838/posts#comment Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:19:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281836/posts Hartford, CT (LifeNews.com) -- Under a new bill pro-abortion Connecticut Gov. Jodi Rell signed into law last week, an ultrasound of an unborn child can't be done without a medical reason or authorization from a physician. The bill could have a negative impact on pregnancy centers that use ultrasounds to help women considering abortion.Studies have shown that ultrasounds, which show the humanity of the unborn children throughout pregnancy, convince at least 80 percent of women considering an abortion to keep their baby.Rell claimed she signed the bill because she is concerned about the health and safety of mothers and... Life News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281836/posts#comment Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:17:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281682/posts WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court ruled Monday that white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., were unfairly denied promotions because of their race, reversing a decision that high court nominee Sonia Sotomayor endorsed as an appeals court judge. New Haven was wrong to scrap a promotion exam because no African-Americans and only two Hispanic firefighters were likely to be made lieutenants or captains based on the results, the court said Monday in a 5-4 decision. The city said that it had acted to avoid a lawsuit from minorities. The ruling could alter employment practices nationwide, potentially limiting the circumstances in which... PeoplePC Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281682/posts#comment Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:08:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281715/posts Companies don't stay in business long if they make a habit of borrowing $500,000 for capital equipment of dubious utility from which they expect a $30,000 annual return. But Phoenix Press in New Haven will do just that, and thanks to Uncle Sam and Aunt Jodi, can expect to clean up on its investment even as taxpayers and ratepayers are forced to take a bath. As reported in Forbes magazine, Phoenix will buy a 121-foot wind turbine it doesn't need and wouldn't otherwise purchase because it can get it an 83 percent discount. "A windmill doesn't make economic sense," even... Waterbury Republican-American http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281715/posts#comment Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:30:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281646/posts COURT OVERTURNS SOTOMAYOR; SIDES WITH WHITE FIREFIGHTERS Drudge http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281646/posts#comment Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:06:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2280796/posts In 1999, Enron, then a fast-growing energy company, proposed building windmills in a mountain pass east of Los Angeles. The animal-rights crowd intervened, predicting the windmills would kill the few remaining California condors. The activists won; the windmills never were built. Fast-forward to the present day. A company called Optiwind looked long and hard for a site for a test of its new windmill design that would not breed controversy. Where better than a sewage-treatment plant in Goshen, out in the middle of nowhere? Better still, the energy produced by the windmill would serve the plant, reducing costs. It's a... Waterbury Republican-American http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2280796/posts#comment Sat, 27 Jun 2009 19:13:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2279364/posts On Wednesday evening, a group of folks gathered outside local ABC affiliate WTNH on State Street in New Haven. The reason? To mark the occasion of ABC’s unprecedented departure from its self-proclaimed impartiality in reporting news and events by hosting the President’s forum on health care reform. It was a small turnout, but enthusiastic in spite of intermittent showers. Some of the protests were directed at ABC for its poor judgment, which will undoubtedly affect its already downcast ratings. Others chose to protest the top-speed government health care reform push. Boaz ItsHaky joined the group to express dissatisfaction with ABC’s... boforcongress.cp, http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2279364/posts#comment Thu, 25 Jun 2009 18:39:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2279278/posts A Connecticut church posted a controversial video on YouTube that raised questions about the treatment of children by a leader of a gay and lesbian teen mentoring group among others The video features church elders performing what looks like an exorcism, of what they refer to in the video as "homosexual demons" The video shows leaders of the Manifested Glory Ministries in a frenetic scene, screaming, "Right now I command you to leave!" At the same time a teen writhing on the ground as the adults around him implore so called "homosexual demons" to get out. The leaders yell at... http://www.fox61.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2279278/posts#comment Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:57:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2278536/posts A Connecticut church has outraged gay rights advocates by posting a video of members performing an apparent exorcism of a teen's "homosexual demons." The 20-minute video was posted on YouTube before it was taken down. Gay youth advocate Robin McHaelen (mih-KAY'-lehn) says the video appears to show abuse. She says she plans to report it to the Connecticut Department of Children and Families. The boy confirms he is 16 but otherwise has declined to comment. The Rev. Patricia McKinney of Manifested Glory Ministries in Bridgeport says he is 18 and came to the church on his own seeking help. She... Drudge http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2278536/posts#comment Wed, 24 Jun 2009 18:21:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2278278/posts WASHINGTON, D.C., June 23, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - U.S. Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), a Roman Catholic, on Sunday declared he had changed his position on same-sex "marriage," and now calls law defining marriage between a man and a woman "archaic" and "unfair."   “To my daughters, these couples are married simply because they love each other and want to build a life together," wrote Dodd on his Senate Web site. "That’s what we’ve taught them. The things that make those families different from their own pale in comparison to the commitments that bind those couples together."And, really, that’s what marriage should be. It’s... LifeSite http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2278278/posts#comment Wed, 24 Jun 2009 13:18:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2277408/posts Sound Off Connecticut is a popular conservative/libertarian call in talk show hosted by Jim Vicevich weekday mornings from 9 a.m. to noon ET. Although based in Connecticut, the show welcomes callers from all over the United States! This is your chance to sound off America! Call into the show toll free (800) 966-9842! Listen to the LIVE AUDIO STREAM at http://wtic.com - it's free and NO registration is required! If you're in southern New England listen over the air to WTIC 1080 AM, the 50,000 watt Connecticut powerhouse! Are you outside of Connecticut? Start your day off listening to Jim... http://www.wtic.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2277408/posts#comment Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:54:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2276886/posts HARTFORD - Crystal Streit is a first-time mother two months into her pregnancy when her husband left for Iraq. The 25-year-old Milford woman wasn't even showing yet at the beginning of Brian Streit's Marine deployment. But a budding, yet controversial, business sector that produces photos and videos of commercial fetal ultrasounds allowed the young father to see his daughter for the first time via the Internet, despite the thousands of miles that keep the couple separate. "I was wanting him to see it more than anything. He said it made him very homesick," she said. "It's not easy, because it's... Courant.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2276886/posts#comment Mon, 22 Jun 2009 16:25:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2276775/posts ....the dubious Democrat from the Nutmeg State said it is "offensive" the media would suggest that his wife, Jackie Clegg Dodd, has potential conflicts of interest because she sits on the boards of four pharmaceutical firms. Democrat Dodd is the point man for upcoming health-care legislation....with Sen. Ted Kennedy ailing. That's the same Chris Dodd who "just happened" to get Countrywide sweetheart mortgage loans --- the subject of a Senate Ethics Committee probe. Dodd says an ethics lawyer gave a clean bill of health on his wife's potential conflicts of interest......that raising these questions is "offensive" because husbands of female... NY POST http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2276775/posts#comment Mon, 22 Jun 2009 13:52:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2276753/posts Sound Off Connecticut is a popular conservative/libertarian call in talk show hosted by Jim Vicevich weekday mornings from 9 a.m. to noon ET. Although based in Connecticut, the show welcomes callers from all over the United States! This is your chance to sound off America! Call into the show toll free (800) 966-9842! Listen to the LIVE AUDIO STREAM at http://wtic.com - it's free and NO registration is required! If you're in southern New England listen over the air to WTIC 1080 AM, the 50,000 watt Connecticut powerhouse! Are you outside of Connecticut? Start your day off listening to Jim... http://www.wtic.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2276753/posts#comment Mon, 22 Jun 2009 13:11:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2276680/posts Sen. Chris Dodd, the dubious Democrat from the Nutmeg State, told a recent interviewer that it was "offensive" that the media would suggest that his wife, Jackie Clegg Dodd, has potential conflicts of interest because she sits on the boards of four pharmaceutical firms. With Sen. Ted Kennedy ailing, Dodd is the Democratic point man for upcoming health-care legislation. Of course, this is the 21st century. Spouses of powerful pols have their own -- often quite successful -- careers. Of course, everybody knows that Mrs. Dodd received no special consideration because of her powerful spouse -- because Sen. Dodd says... NY Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2276680/posts#comment Mon, 22 Jun 2009 09:55:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2276433/posts ...snip..."The 47-year-old former radio talk show host, who now broadcasts commentary on his Web site, urged his blog readers earlier this month to "take up arms" against Connecticut lawmakers and suggested government officials should "obey the Constitution or die." Fox News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2276433/posts#comment Sun, 21 Jun 2009 20:36:56 GMT