Free Republic

The caller, identified as “Bob from West Hartford,” hit a nerve when he dialed into Gov. Ned Lamont’s Jan. 9 appearance on WTIC-1080 AM with morning hosts Ray Dunaway and Joe D’Ambrosio. “Hi Governor Lamont. In the most recent [state] budget you diverted $170 million out of gas taxes in the Special Transportation Fund,” Bob said. “That’s a myth that gets perpetrated day-in and day-out,” Lamont responded. “There is no diversion taking place, so you can put that one to rest.” Not so fast, governor. Although Lamont and fellow Democrats insist the diversion charge is a “myth,” the truth is...

I recently had the privilege of representing residents in eastern Connecticut that were opposed to the construction of the proposed state police gun range immediately adjacent to Pachaug State Forest. I personally thanked Gov. Ned Lamont for keeping his word in opposing this project. In politics, you are only as good as your word. That is why Lamont must also keep his word and not institute tolling on cars in Connecticut. Leaders in Hartford are missing the mark when it comes to tolling. They always seek to find alternate revenue sources through taxes or fees before first examining priorities, spending...

Connecticut’s legislature has passed a bill that would give the state’s Electoral College votes to the presidential candidate who wins the popular vote nationally. The state Senate voted 21-14 on Saturday to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which includes 10 states and the District of Columbia. The state House passed the measure last week, 77 to 73. The compact requires its members to cast their Electoral College ballots for the presidential candidate who wins the national popular vote. The agreement goes into effect once states representing at least 270 electoral votes — the number needed for a candidate...

Connecticut’s governor called the National Rifle Association (NRA) a terrorist organization in an interview Tuesday. Gov. Dannel Malloy, a Democrat, also said his state would "boycott" the NRA and said the organization has been acting like a "terrorist organization," in an interview with Fox61. He also believes the NRA has changed throughout the past 20 years. "They act, quite frankly, in some cases as a terrorist organization," Malloy said. "You want to make safer guns? We will boycott your company. That's who they are. That's what they do."

Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy (D.) said Friday that America has a "violence culture," and he expressed surprise at the idea that European countries even allow Americans to visit. Malloy, who is the least popular governor in the entire country, has made gun control a central issue of his, co-founding States for Gun Safety to cooperate with other northeastern states to prevent gun violence. MSNBC host Chris Hayes asked Malloy whether the students who have started the "Never Again" movement after the shooting in Parkland, Fla., can sustain pressure on to enact stricter gun laws. "I do. Listen, 25 percent of...

Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy warned Wednesday that mass shootings are being planned all over the country, and that everyone is likely to be affected as the tragic incidents continue to proliferate. "This is coming to your neighborhood," the Democratic governor said on CNN. "This could affect your grandchild, or your child. You're going to see people in your state killed in restaurants, and movie theaters, and schools, and in churches."

BELOIT — Gov. Scott Walker on Tuesday signaled he’s open to charging tolls on Wisconsin’s Interstates, but with a key condition: linking it to a reduction in the state’s 30.9-cent-per-gallon gas tax. Walker also said an impasse over the state’s next transportation budget risks costly delays to billion-dollar highway projects now under construction. That includes a $1.2 billion expansion of Interstate 39-90 from the Madison area to the Illinois state line. The Interstate formed the backdrop for Walker’s remarks in a press conference at a Beloit rest stop. Republicans who control the state Assembly have proposed seeking federal approval to...

According to the fiscal analyst, income-tax collections declined this year for the first time since the recession due to lower earnings at the top. Many wealthy residents decamped for lower-tax states after Mr. Malloy and his Republican predecessor Jodi Rell raised the top individual rate on more than $500,000 of income to 6.99% from 5%. In the past five years 27,400 Connecticut residents, including Ms. Rell, have moved to no-income-tax Florida, and seven of the state’s eight counties have lost population since 2010. Population flight has depressed economic growth—Connecticut’s real GDP has shrunk by 0.1% since 2010—as well as home...

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — President Donald Trump has reappointed Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to serve on a bipartisan group of governors that reviews matters involving the National Guard and homeland defense, despite past clashes between the two men.

Connecticut has a new anti-gun law. Governor Dannel Malloy signed the law that makes it illegal for any person subject to a temporary restraining order ("TRO") to possess a firearm of any sort. People subject to a temporary restraining order must surrender all firearms to the police within 24 hours or face jail time. The new law deprives citizens who have been convicted of no crime of their Constitutional rights without due process...

Gov. Malloy wants Connecticut to become the first state in the nation to ban sales of guns and ammunition to anyone on the federal government’s terror watch lists. He says he will do it by Executive Order and does not need the approval of the State Legislature. The announcement was seen live on News 8 and wtnh.com this afternoon. The Governor said he does not know if anyone in Connecticut is on the ‘watch list’ but is working directly with the White House to gain access, saying that if Congress won’t act, then the states will. According to some reports,...

On Thursday, Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy announced plans to issue an executive order barring anyone listed on federal terrorist watch lists from purchasing a gun in the state. But while the idea of “no fly, no gun” has found growing support following the mass shooting in San Bernardino last week, including that of President Obama, experts say such a policy may be unconstitutional. The problem lies with the terrorist watch lists themselves, which are both secret and routinely updated without the typical due process given to those who are accused of breaking the law, such as court proceedings. Without a...

With the Litchfield hills and Connecticut in our rear-view mirror as we move our 101-year-old manufacturing company to South Carolina, we are nostalgic, excited, and disappointed.

Connecticut's governor is blasting the governor of Indiana for signing the state's controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act, calling it discriminatory against the gay community and asking for its repeal. The Indiana measure, which Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R) signed last week, prohibits state laws that "substantially burden" a person's ability to follow his or her religious beliefs. The definition of "person" includes religious institutions, businesses and associations. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Tuesday that the law is covering "outright bigotry" in Indiana. "The reality is, the governor is not a stupid man, but he’s done stupid...

How do you know that you’ve won the argument? It’s usually when your opponent expands the scope of the issues well beyond their deliberately narrow parameters in the pursuit of more favorable terrain. Connecticut’s Gov. Dannel Malloy is desperately searching for higher ground. On Monday, Malloy humiliated himself and his state when he imposed a ban on state-sponsored travel to Indiana in protest of that state’s Religious Freedom and Restoration Act. Unable to respond to the fact that his state also has a RFRA that is even more protective of the sensibilities of religious adherents, Malloy has taken to making...

CONNECTICUT TO BOYCOTT INDIANA OVER RFRA, FORGETS IT HAS ITS OWN By Emily Zanotti on 3.30.15 Presient Obama isn't the only person who has selective memory when it comes to voting for and passing a Religious Freedom Restoration Act. This morning, the governor of Connecticut, Dan Malloy, announced that he would be the first governor in the union to sign an executive order limiting state-sponsored travel to Indiana because of Indiana's ostensibly "discriminatory practices."

Mike Pence is a bigot, according to one of his fellow governors. “When you see a bigot you have to call him on it,” Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” Story Continued Below Malloy, the incoming chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, on Monday signed an executive order banning state-funded travel to Indiana in response to a "religious freedom" law signed last week by Pence. Critics say the law, known as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, would allow businesses to discriminate against gays and lesbians; Pence insists it’s meant only to protect religious communities from government encroachment...

If you’re a billionaire living in Connecticut, chances are the tax department is keeping an eye on you. In a state home to some of the richest Americans, tax officials go to some lengths to keep them—or, more accurately, keep the billions of dollars in revenue their income taxes generate. Connecticut tax officials track quarterly estimated payments of 100 high net-worth taxpayers and can tell when payments are down. Of that number, about a half-dozen taxpayers have an effect on revenue that’s noticed in the legislature and Department of Revenue Services. […] Two years ago, tax officials were alarmed that...

Obama Wrapping Up California Fundraising Trip October 11 2014 DARLENE SUPERVILLE President Barack Obama on Saturday wrapped up a week that saw him raise campaign money for Democrats on both coasts. Obama attended a "round table" discussion at the home of Democratic donor and Zynga founder Mark Pincus and his wife, Ali, with about 25 supporters who paid up to $32,400 for the privilege, according to Democratic officials. It was Obama's fourth California fundraiser in three days and was closed to media coverage. This coming week brings more of the same for the president, including his long-anticipated, first appearance at...

HARTFORD - A broad coalition of environmental, economic, regional and construction groups urged Connecticut's gubernatorial candidates Tuesday to conduct a debate focused on transportation issues, and to consider higher taxes and tolls to pay for the state's dire transportation needs. The activists put out a four-point program they said the state's next governor must consider, and expressed concern about the possibility that massive federal funding for highways and mass transit might dry up in the next few years. The coalition's key issues are: •Making certain that state revenue that is supposed to be devoted to transportation - such as gas...