Coming Monday: The residency of Bridgeport’s Civil Service Commission president.
Weekend Update: This shit is too funny. Check out the video of former City Councilman Keith Cougar Rodgerson adding some spice to Ann Coulter’s downtown Tea Party Friday afternoon.
Cougie decided to give Annie an ear-splitting dose of Ray Charles from his apartment overlooking her speech on Baldwin Plaza. He received an infraction for creating a public disturbance. Jesus, that happens at every City Council meeting. Check it out. And thanks to Connecticut Bob as well.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Abg01gokXqY
Sign Here, Please
In the bad old days of absentee ballots when you never knew who’d vote out of the local cemetery or geriatric ward, it was not uncommon for absentee electors to defeat the machine turnout.
Say what? My old newspaper buds Jim Callahan, John Gilmore and Bob Fredericks were on cemetery watch. What bodies would be unearthed to vote? That’s right, the master of all absentee ballot magicians Mario Testa had this dove-out-of-hat deft to emerge victorious even though the opponent had defeated him (or his candidate) on the machines. The current version of Mario, the Democratic town chairman, is not nearly as aggressive as the old days. Maybe too many peeps watching? Or maybe they just ran out of shovels?
But I needed to check the absentee ballot action as we approach City Council primaries on Tuesday. So far most of the action is on the East Side in that bastion of Latin politics called the 137th District. Endorsed candidates Lydia Martinez, former council member and state representative and Manny Ayala are being challenged by Maria Valle and Christina Ayala. Maria is an incumbent council member who was thrown under the bus by town committee members, the endorsement powers.
On the East Side it doesn’t take much to fall out of favor. Fight one day, kiss and make up the next, roll around on the ground the next. Good grief, State Rep. Andres Ayala got into a fight with his uncle Tito last year and had to fend off a primary challenge. So it goes.
Anyhoo, here’s the deal: the majority of returned absentee ballots to the Town Clerk’s Office have come from the 137th District. As of Thursday, among the 143 returned absentee ballots from four district primaries roughly 100 were for the 137th District. So don’t be shocked if more actually vote by AB on the East Side than paper ballot come Tuesday. Another 100 or so absentee ballots could come in. What could we have, a 10 percent turnout? For a majority of the four districts that would represent roughly 350 votes respectively.
Nurse Pay
Mayor Bill Finch and labor negotiators moved closer to resolving the pay dispute between school nurses and Superintendent of Schools John Ramos who decided not to compensate the nurses this summer even though they had a deal for summers-off pay in exchange for no raises for four years.
From what I’m told, following discussions the past two days between the Finch administration and Board of Ed officials, nurses will receive letters on Monday explaining that the BOE will make good on the agreement. I’ll follow up on Monday.
A Slam Dunk?
Mayor Finch and Economic Development Director Donald Eversley announced a development agreement with the Simon Konover Company and a partner company headed by Tate George, former UConn basketball star, to revitalize a piece of the old Carpenter Steel site in the East End. This was late breaking news from Thursday night so worth repeating today because this is the first significant economic development initiative Finch can call his own.
Let’s hope Tate performs a little more magic than the last hoop star that announced a big deal for the city, Magic Johnson. See Finch news release below. Check out the video link here from the news announcement courtesy of our friends at Doing It Local:
doingitlocal.com/video/gallery/Seaview-Plaza-1-0
The Simon Konover Company and The George Group LLC Chosen to Develop Seaview Plaza
Joint Project by Bridgeport Port Authority and City of Bridgeport to Yield Retail/Commercial and Public Access for former Carpenter Steel Site
BRIDGEPORT, CT (September 10, 2009) – The Bridgeport Port Authority and the City of Bridgeport have selected a proposal by The Simon Konover Company of West Hartford, Conn., and The George Group, LLC of New Jersey & Florida to develop the remaining unused 15.8 acre portion of the former Carpenter Steel site into a 152,000 square foot mixed-use commercial/retail center.
The announcement was made during a press conference today in the Mayor’s Conference Room, City Hall Annex, 999 Broad St.
Located at the intersection of Stratford and Seaview Avenues in the City’s East End, the project, to be named Seaview Plaza, is expected to generate hundreds of new jobs, provide a home for both existing and new Bridgeport businesses, generate significant tax revenues and lease fees to the Port & City, and add much needed retail services to the adjoining neighborhoods.
“This is a great day for Bridgeport and the East End,” said Mayor Bill Finch. “This project will restore both first-class retail and waterfront access to a neighborhood that has been deprived of both, for many years. We’re pleased to have two very enthusiastic development partners put their stamp on this part of the City.”
The Seaview Plaza plan includes an anchor grocery, pharmacy, a waterfront restaurant, a gas station & convenience store, and opportunities for multiple smaller retail and commercial/office uses. Also planned are a waterfront park for recreation and fishing and a community center.
“This is the fruit of a year-long planning process and a competitive Request for Proposals, with great input from the East End NRZ committee and the state of Connecticut,” said Donald Eversley, Bridgeport’s Director of Planning & Economic Development, who coined the name “Seaview Plaza” and programmed the overall concept for the development. “The visibility, desirable location and easy access from I-95 will also give the development a citywide and regional draw to help ensure its success.”
The Connecticut Departments of Environmental Protection, Economic & Community Development, and Transportation were all instrumental in shaping the uses for this site that was until recently considered as a location for a container barge shipping operation.
“Too often, retail and commercial development overlooks under-served urban communities and markets,” said Simon Konover, Chairman of the Board of The Simon Konover Company. “Many developers tend to build in suburban areas and miss the opportunity to strengthen our cities by putting underutilized properties back into productive use, and supporting smart-growth strategies that create sustainable communities. Our effort seeks to change that model.”
“While we intend to deliver a first-class retail and small office center to serve the city’s needs, we want to create a model that provides business opportunities, jobs, community open space, and a place for the neighborhood to shop and enjoy,” added Tate George, the principal of The George Group. “We believe that our project will play an important role in helping create a development that will serve both the financial interests of the city and enhance the social fabric of the community.”
In the coming months, the Bridgeport Port Authority and The Simon Konover-George team will negotiate a land development agreement, setting out all the parameters for the development. Once the Port Authority Board of Directors approves the plan, The Simon Konover-George team will undertake a local and state permitting process, which is expected to be completed by early next summer. During that time, the developers plan to reach out to national, regional and local retailers, seek their commitments for space, and close financing on the deal. Construction would begin immediately thereafter, and plans are to open the first set of stores by late summer 2011.
“We are excited about Bridgeport and appreciate the leadership shown by Mayor Finch, Donald Eversley and Port Authority Chairman Denis O’Malley,” said Konover. “And we believe retailers will feel the same way and make this a success for everyone in the community.”
About The Simon Konover Company
The Simon Konover Company and its affiliates have developed and managed retail centers, commercial buildings, market-rate apartments and affordable housing facilities throughout the state and across the northeast. Current projects include a new retail center in Holyoke, MA; the Dye House mill reconstruction in Manchester, CT; and a multi-use center with retail, office and residential components in East Lyme, CT. For more information about The Simon Konover Company, go to www.simonkonover.com.
About The George Group
The George Group (owned by former UConn basketball star Tate George) is presently developing projects including Baxter Terrace in Newark, NJ; the Targeted Neighborhood Abandoned and Vacant Properties Restoration Project in the West Ward of Newark, NJ; and the Arcadian Gardens site in East Orange, NJ. For more information about The George Group, go to www.thegeorgegroup.net
News release from SuBy
Bysiewicz: Voter Registration Deadline for Municipal Primaries Monday at Noon
Primary Elections September 15, 2009; Secretary of the State Reminding Voters They Can Register In-Person Until 12:00 P.M. Monday Sept. 14th
Hartford: Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz today is reminding Connecticut voters they can still register to vote for municipal primaries scheduled for September 15, 2009. Eligible voters in communities holding September primaries can register to vote in person until 12:00 noon on Monday September 14th at their Registrar of Voters office. The mail-in voter registration deadline was yesterday, Thursday September 10th.
“Crucial budget and educational issues are facing many towns in Connecticut as voters go to the polls to choose municipal leaders this year, so it is imperative to register to vote!” said Secretary Bysiewicz. “Anyone who wants a say in the future direction of their community in these tough times should make sure they go to town hall and fill out the registration card in person by 12:00 noon on September 14th. This is especially true for those who missed the mail-in registration deadline.”
Polls will open statewide from 6:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. for the Municipal primaries on Tuesday September 15th. The majority of Connecticut’s municipalities will hold a General Election for municipal candidates on November 3, 2009. A complete list of primaries taking place on September 15th is attached:
Boy!!! It really pisses me off that “Johnny the Nose” is sitting in for Jim Buchanan at 4pm on WICC one week before a primary. It is outrageous that this son of a bitch can sit there night after night talking about all his favorite candidates and how they can make Bridgeport great again. (The phat phart couldn’t do it while he was in office but he knows what is needed now … give me a break!!!)
WICC is so transparent. What happened to objective journalism? I guess huge radio fees from politicians running for office is more important.
I hope, by George, that Tate can throw in a 3-pointer and not an Air Ball. Too bad Nick Swisher couldn’t be part of this deal.
Riccio got the ball rolling for the RFP and everyone else is taking the bows. “Success has many Fathers, while failure is an orphan.”
Perhaps Denis O’Malley could elaborate on this deal and I also find the Riccio expense account story a non-story. Except for the Savino bowl being purchased out of town.
I hope the Reaper can pipe us aboard on the rest of this story.
www .youtube.com/watch?v=-4CxbjRXwhY
I also heard that the PA and GBTA are going to set up the “Joe Riccio Got Thrown Under the Bus Stop Memorial” at that location.
I concur with the below pauses to remember and never forget.
Non-issue is right. If you really want to be shocked, look at all the other credit card usage that is going on by our so-called leaders and supervisors. Take a look at David Dunn’s credit habits!
Let us never forget. 09-11-01
MY HEART HURTS:
Today is the 8th anniversary of 9/11. It seems like it was yesterday. I have been watching reruns of that day’s events. I still have trouble digesting what happened on that day.
To all of the survivors of the people that died that day I say I am sorry for your loss.
To the families of my brother firefighters who died that day please accept my condolences.
To the families of all the other emergency workers that made the supreme sacrifice please accept my condolences.
To the families of those brave Americans on that flight they crashed in Pennsylvania please accept my condolences.
To the families of the Pentagon workers that died that day please accept my condolences.
To all Americans we cannot forget this day. I will never forget; I will remember.
I was Wondering which slate has employed John Adao to get the Dine-Inn absentee vote. They are being induced with shots of Absinthe for their vote.
In the words of Ernie Newton … The Dining Center. The Dinan Center’s never been the same.
In the old days you could get your hair done and vote AB at the same time. It was called the Blue Hair Teaser Special. This way they wouldn’t have to comb out all over the place for their ABs.
Weighing in on the 138th race.
This is a very difficult race to call. Normally the incumbents have a huge leg up on the challengers. However this is a team that truly ignores the old saying “there is no I in team.” It’s all about me, me, me. They could very easily be running around the district telling their voters just vote for me and whomever else you feel like. This is the scenario for a disaster.
The early AB numbers show no distinct advantage for either side which should be an advantage for the challengers. In the past the ABs coming out of the senior centers resembled Christmas card mailings. Now there is hardly a peep.
The fact that the Fardys are as much a part of the machine as the machine is could very well have slowed some of this trickery.
Traditionally you look to ID the people who vote and then get them out. With many new faces in the race it may come down to who can motivate the voters who do not normally vote in a primary and get out that vote.
I am looking for a mixed bag of results here. I do not see any slate sweeping. This may very well go down to next Wednesday to see who ends up on top.
RE 9/11 …
From the New York Times website:
“Eight years ago, hijacked passenger jets destroyed the World Trade Center. The ritual of commemorating this, the bloodiest foreign attack on United States soil, will be repeated on Friday near the pit where the Twin Towers once stood. Silence will solemnize the moments when the buildings were struck and the moments when they fell; politicians and family members of victims will offer words of grief and inspiration; and the official list of victims will be read, name by name, 2,752 in total, one more than last year.
“The day could not be more different than Sept. 11, 2001: It is rainy and gray, with whipping winds …”
Even last September, I was unable to feel any grief, unable to mourn those that lost their lives that day. The anger I felt, and continue to feel (although it is slowly fading), made it difficult for me to express the sympathy that I feel for those who lost loved ones that day in 2001.
On a lighter note …
Coming up at the Fairfield Theater Company’s “Martini and A Movie” program: “Gimme Shelter”, the documentary of the Rolling Stones’ legendary and notorious November 1969 ‘comeback’ tour of the U.S. Tuesday, September 15, 8:00 PM Tickets: FREE. Doors Open at 7:00 PM. This is a great film, one of the best documentaries on rock and roll music (and one of the music’s foremost bands). Here’s the Allmovie.com Review:
“This musical documentary concerns the Rolling Stones and their tragic free concert at Altamont Speedway near San Francisco in early December 1969. The event was all but destroyed by violence that marked the end of the peace and love euphoria of the 1960s. The night began smoothly, with the supercharged Flying Burrito Brothers opening up for the Rolling Stones and performing the truck-driving classic ‘Six Days on the Road’ and Tina Turner giving a sensually charged performance. But on this particular evening, the Stones made the fateful (and disastrous) decision to hire the Oakland chapter of the Hell’s Angels motorcycle gang as bodyguards and bouncers. It was a foolhardy, careless choice that turned the night into an unmitigated disaster; halfway through the Stones’ act, the Angels killed one black spectator, and injured several others who were present (including Jefferson Airplane’s lead singer Marty Balin). In the film, we watch Mick Jagger — ere an ebullient, charismatic performer of bisexual charm — reduced to standing on stage like a frightened child with his finger in his mouth in wake of the violence. Unsurprisingly, the Grateful Dead refused to perform after the violence erupted; the picture ends on a despairing note, with the Stones repeatedly watching a film of the murder. Celebrated documentarians Albert and David Maysles directed and Haskell Wexler shot the film, with heightened instinct and control; as a result, this film is considered one of the greatest rock documentaries ever made. Stones songs performed include ‘Brown Sugar,’ ‘Under My Thumb,’ and ‘Sympathy for the Devil.'”
THIS IS A FREE EVENT!!!
The Web Signore has revealed that an occult hand has filed a number absentee ballots from the 137th Aldermanic District. It almost spoils the fun to watch too closely. It makes potential cheaters nervous. It may curtail them from reaching their full potential.
Lennie is pretty much in the ballpark on potential absentee shenanigans. The board has rightly identified targets of opportunity in senior centers. Mike Daly and John Gilmore at The Post pretty much exploded the outstanding cheat operation at the Dinan Center years ago and gave everyone a road map to check on other senior centers.
ABs in the rest of the community are a little more tricky and tougher for outsiders to follow (outside of what Lennie has done to claw them in the act).
To cheat–ahem–enhance absentee ballot participation, you either need both sides in cahoots or have one side that is really dumb politically. In the 138th, both sides are really smart politically. No one is going to mess around, as the board pointed out.
As Lennie says without saying it, this leaves the 137th. I don’t know what specific cemetery they have dug up, but it certainly looks like someone has been trying to conjure up the spirit of Connie Mulvihill. Perhaps we need to see if there are any lit candles in St. Augustine’s Cemetery on Arctic Street.
This is a purely theoretical conversation, of course.
Newly registered voters (within a year) from newly vacant housing units, or apartment buildings with a high turnover are good starting places for absentee activity.
Look for two sides that appear to have post-graduate degrees in practical politics. If that exists, no one is going to step on someone’s cheat list because the other guy might step on theirs.
A good op will have a surge of ballots received at the Town Clerk Monday and Tuesday.
It is marginally more difficult to mess with paper ballots than it was 30 years ago. When ballot weepers managed to successfully open up the election system, they undid decades of work to make the vote more secure in the United States. Welcome to Baghdad.
Enlightened,
Let me shine a light on the process. The game now is to dupe people who are not qualified to vote by AB to vote anyway. A canvasser will suggest to an elderly person that they might not feel well on Election Day so they should apply for the AB just in case.
And then when the AB appears or a day or two later, so does the canvasser to help the person fill out the form. Even if they can’t fill it out, if they see where the person intended on voting for the opposition, it simply never makes it to the mailbox. The cheating now preys on the elderly who do not make for good witnesses should there be an investigation later on.
If you have an operative inside a building with limited access, you don’t need to get involved with phony registrations to do the dirty deed.
But maybe Lennie can reminisce about Bobby Katz and the empty building he had downtown that always turned out big numbers of Republican ABs (or Dems if he was playing games in a given election.)
I may be mistaken and would appreciate a correction if I am, but I believe that no reason is needed to vote by AB according to new statutes.
Right on, Grin. That was then, and so it is now. The Dinan stories back in the ’70s were great because the reporters got interviews with seniors who were obviously around the bend–before the Dinan (political) staff figured out what that nice Mr. Daly and Mr. Gilmore were up to.
Katz was a magnet because he was not only the owner of the building in question but the Republican leader in the South End as well. There were a couple other apartment buildings further down State Street where the votes were controlled by Democratic committeemen who didn’t own the buildings. Political murder was committed there as well.
Katz got (deserved) attention because he was so out in the open. But Democratic meowing about Katz in the South End sometimes came off as “He can’t do that. That’s what WE do.”
Maybe someone out there can tell me who it was that was “hung” alongside of a dummy dressed like Katz (there were 2) by The Young Lords on East Main St. There were a few former and current elected officials (members?) present.
Before we get awash in nostalgia for the good old bad days, Our Leader has set the company line for new absentees to be cast (above those already in) between now and Tuesday at 1:00.
I’m going with 85.
I reason both sides are chumps and they have had unfortunate warning they are being watched.
It will be interesting to see if those AB’s are cut with switchblades. This would make a great East Side Story.
And who says en-lightening doesn’t strike twice. I heard of one hairdresser who bragged that she had pulled off a Hat-Trick at Dinan.
Bobby Katz used to put out bowls of cream for his votes. Jack Prince could tell you a story or two about Katz and his kittens.
I know one Democratic Town Committee district leader who will offer to buy you a beer at the local dive. He gets ’em wholesale, if you know what I mean …
When Katz fought with his kittens was that called the Kitty-Katz fight?
Votes, votes, who’s got the votes.
Where will the votes come from? What areas will have the big turnouts?
Will there be cemetery voters?
There actually was a tombstone voter years ago. The dearly departed voter was discovered by Telegram reporter Anna Maria Virzi (give credit where credit is due). But dubious absentee ballots have come in many forms throughout the city’s glorious political history.
Take for example activities at the formerly owned nursing home facility, the Dinan Center. That was a bastion of votes for Democrats.
One primary season Mike Daly and I discovered the 300-bed facility had been subjected to a heavy voter registration drive during a primary season. There were a few hundred Democrats registered and only a handful of Republicans. The numbers seemed out of whack.
So, Mike and I trucked over there and decided to find some interview candidates. Now, it must be said that extreme care has to be exercised in a nursing home. Patients can be frail and easily confused by detailed questions from strangers. It was not our intention to upset any patients.
But we were lucky.
Passing one room we saw a woman, well dressed and reading a book. We approached her gingerly and introduced ourselves.
We asked her if she had registered to vote recently. Yes, she said, and we did it by absentee ballot. People had come through and said it was a good idea and we should stay aware of local affairs. So far, so good. The lady spoke clearly and with a full understanding of the campaign process–or so we thought.
So, may we be so bold, we politely asked, as to inquire who you voted for?
She said she voted for “that man who ran the A&P downtown,” she said, an obvious reference to the late Mayor John C. Mandanici.
Interesting, we thought.
Since her reactions to us were positive, we pressed a bit. We see it’s been a while since you were a registered voter, we said. How did you come after all these years to decide on registering as a Democrat?
“Democrat?” she said with indignation. “Young man, I’ve been a Republican all my life. My family has been Republican for generations going back to Coolidge!” she declared.
But you voted in a Democratic primary? The guy from the A&P is Mayor Mandanici, he’s a Democrat, we offered.
Her indignation was unbelievable. And then, we were discovered by the staff and shown the door.
Later we learned many of the residents signed voter registration cards mixed in with other papers the facility needed signed.
The old days? Are they back?
My father’s family started out dirt poor. The house Dad was born in had no electricity or running water. (They didn’t have electricity until he was about eleven years old.) A few of ’em went to college and made out alright; my father went to law school at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, on the G.I. bill, one of the first American soldiers to acquire an education that way. Most of the rest of my kinfolk went to work on the land or took employment in the automobile services industry, working in auto parts stores, etc. Most of ’em wouldn’t know what affluence is if it crawled out of the woods and bit them on the ass. AND THEY’RE ALL REPUBLICANS!!! I don’t get it. I couldn’t vote Republican if you held a gun to my head; I’d take the bullet on general principals.
“… I’d take the bullet on general principals.”
I’m paying for the bullet. But Local Eyes needs to know if your have a preference for the caliber.
Local Eyes can test the bullet on his own head.
Perhaps between the “eyes”!
The dead, the incarcerated, the drug- and alcohol-incapacitated, all will be well-represented on election day.
The old days? Are you kidding? Chris Caruso got it wrong in ’07. There were no voting machines or ballots floating in the deceptively calm waters off Seaside Park. He should’ve been looking at the absentee ballots. Holding up the declaration with a lawsuit only put off the inevitable; the names and addresses on the absentee ballots should’ve been checked by a neutral third party. Only then would an explanation of the 270 vote margin been possible.
Coming up at the Fairfield Theater Company’s “Martini and A Movie” program: “Gimme Shelter”, the documentary of the Rolling Stones’ legendary and notorious November 1969 ‘comeback’ tour of the U.S. Tuesday, September 15, 8:00 PM Tickets: FREE. Doors Open at 7:00 PM. This is a great film, one of the best documentaries on rock and roll music (and one of the music’s foremost bands). Here’s the Allmovie.com Review:
“This musical documentary concerns the Rolling Stones and their tragic free concert at Altamont Speedway near San Francisco in early December 1969. The event was all but destroyed by violence that marked the end of the peace and love euphoria of the 1960s. The night began smoothly, with the supercharged Flying Burrito Brothers opening up for the Rolling Stones and performing the truck-driving classic ‘Six Days on the Road’ and Tina Turner giving a sensually charged performance. But on this particular evening, the Stones made the fateful (and disastrous) decision to hire the Oakland chapter of the Hell’s Angels motorcycle gang as bodyguards and bouncers. It was a foolhardy, careless choice that turned the night into an unmitigated disaster; halfway through the Stones’ act, the Angels killed one black spectator, and injured several others who were present (including Jefferson Airplane’s lead singer Marty Balin). In the film, we watch Mick Jagger–ere an ebullient, charismatic performer of bisexual charm–reduced to standing on stage like a frightened child with his finger in his mouth in wake of the violence. Unsurprisingly, the Grateful Dead refused to perform after the violence erupted; the picture ends on a despairing note, with the Stones repeatedly watching a film of the murder. Celebrated documentarians Albert and David Maysles directed and Haskell Wexler shot the film, with heightened instinct and control; as a result, this film is considered one of the greatest rock documentaries ever made. Stones songs performed include ‘Brown Sugar,’ ‘Under My Thumb,’ and ‘Sympathy for the Devil.'”
THIS IS A FREE EVENT!!!
Kid:
Anyone who has been around two or three election cycles should know the AB game. If someone gets swamped by ABs in Bridgeport, it is their own fault. Their organizers should see it coming and be able to take steps above or below the table to deal with it.
That’s fact. Not what is right. Not what is legal. You can usually keep it legal and not have it moral or right.
The candidates don’t have to know what is going on. Their “supporters” hope they are doing a favor and hope for a favor in return. Some leaders discourage the process, others look the other way.
It is probably cleaner today than 20 years ago.
It is theoretically more difficult to paper the town now that you have to sign out ballot applications. Like campaign finance laws, you can get around it.
The law says you are not supposed to use ABs for convenience. That’s the biggest laugh. Absentee voting down county is huge because Republicans in Greenwich, etc., are “out of town,” meaning they don’t want to stand around with the little people to vote.
Laws are at the Secretary of State Web site.
Say, don’t we have a candidate for secretary of state around here someplace?
www .ct.gov/sots/LIB/sots/ElectionServices/Misc/ABchartwarningREV9_051.pdf
If we went through enough Rolling Stones songs we could probably find titles to fit all principal characters.
Uh, I’m not sure I should have suggested THAT.
Maybe not song titles, but lyric quotes to be sure. Like these choice passages:
“Raise your glass to the hard-working people
Let’s drink to the uncounted heads
Let’s think of the wavering millions
Who need leaders but get gamblers instead
“Spare a thought for the stay-at-home voter
His empty eyes gaze at strange beauty shows
And a parade of the gray-suited grafters
A choice of cancer or polio”
Ramos on the Rocks. Nurses vote to pull plug on Ramos. They claim he hasn’t been straight up!
Does Ramos have a DNR bracelet on his wrist?
Ramos only cares about Ramos, and his raises which he gladly takes, and his friends from Hartford who get raises as often as he does.
Raises from the dead. Is that a Resurrection or just an Assumption on my part.
Perhaps Lennie could moderate a seance trying to conjure up the spirits of the late greats Eddie Sandula and John D. Guman.
It could be a very Enlightening evening. Maybe see if we could get a rise out of Solomon Roth!
“I met a girl who sang the blues
And I asked her for some happy news,
But she just smiled and turned away.
I went down to the sacred store
Where I’d heard the music years before,
But the man there said the music wouldn’t play.
“And in the streets: the children screamed,
The lovers cried, and the poets dreamed.
But not a word was spoken;
The church bells all were broken.
And the three men I admire most:
The father, son, and the holy ghost,
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died”
Ann Coulter speaks not for America.
The city did not have to be embarrassed by Cougar once again.
Yahooy, do you have a room for rent? I hear Cougie is looking for a place.
I know that you’re in love with him ’cause I saw you dancing in the gym. Don’t mind me. I am home and goofy in my turtle shell. I am looking forward to the USC/Ohio State game. Happy weekend all.
Cougar’s YouTube video has nothing on this one:
www .thefoxnation.com/acorn/2009/09/10/explosive-undercover-acorn-video
My skin is boiled to the mother f***ing top right now. How the hell do outsiders come into Bridgeport and call it the Bridgeport tea party?? Those right-wing nuts do not live here and they were threaten Bpt residents; watch now watch now!!!
www .youtube.com/watch?v=1UKIeLfOYiA
“… they were threaten Bpt residents …”
Do you car to share with us the name of the college you go to? You should spend less time worrying about Republicans and spend that saved time learning to write.
Careful, Señor Gonzalez. I criticized his lack of spelling and grammatical skills and Anna chewed me a small new one for my trouble.
Republicans are the racist party. They are classless. How the hell do you threaten other people’s lives!!! November 3, I am voting Democrat!
Don’t hold back now …
The Racist Party? Painting with a bit of a wide brush, no?
donj, here is a cause you might find worth joining:
Dear Supporter,
Police shot and killed Mark Anthony Barmore, a 23-year-old black man, in a church day care center a few weeks ago in Rockford, Illinois. We have also learned that one officer involved in this killing has been accused of several other questionable police shootings. As you can imagine, tension is running high in the Rockford community and we are deeply concerned.
I thought you should know what the NAACP is doing about it.
Today I will be leading a delegation of NAACP leaders and staff to launch the NAACP’s investigation of this police killing and the police department itself.
In Rockford today, we will address a rally of community leaders and report on NAACP’s engagement with the Department of Justice to thoroughly investigate this awful tragedy.
We are also working with Congress to require the establishment of national standards for use of force, and training in use of force, for law enforcement officers. Currently, there are as many use-of-force policies as there are law enforcement agencies in our Nation today, and there are as many interpretations of those policies as there are law enforcement officers. This lack of uniformity is one of the core reasons behind the tragedy in Rockford and in too many other instances across the Nation.
We thank the Department of Justice for taking this case seriously through the outreach efforts its Community Relations Service. But to help re-establish trust in the community and to ensure that the Rockford police department is operating with integrity, we need a federal investigation into this case. Please, sign our petition urging the Department of Justice to conduct a full investigation of this shooting and the ongoing use of force by the Rockford police department.
So what actually happened in Rockford? Eyewitnesses say that outside a church day care center, Mr. Barmore encountered two police officers who apparently were looking for him on an allegation of domestic violence. He ran inside the church, and the officers followed him, guns drawn, without a warrant. After Mr. Barmore entered a small boiler room, the police demanded he come out. He slowly exited the room with his hands up. Then, witnesses say, police shot him — in front of small children in the day care center.
While he lay face down, witnesses say, police shot him three more times in the back! Additionally, officers have been using intimidation tactics against witnesses, such as sitting outside their homes and slowly driving by their homes.
We all must act to stop this kind of police abuse, so I need your help now.
Please, sign the petition and help us promote smart and safe law enforcement policies. I will be keeping you updated on the killing in Rockford and our efforts to investigate it – and prevent future tragedies.
Sincerely,
Benjamin Todd Jealous
President and CEO
NAACP
My response:
While you are at it, say and do something about the Black on Black killings in Chicago.
What a threesome? Cougar! Coulter!! Anna!!!
It’s a blog Joel, let me remind you. And number 2 I sure know in a couple of years I will me making more than you, enough said, end of story. Did you ever go to college by the way? Hmmm. And yes I will worry about Republicans that come here and mess with our residents. Your party is a disgusting racist no-good party that still thinks we are living 50 years ago and that is a fact. Instead of inviting voters to see how good your party is, the mainstream right-wing nuts are driving away independents. Say what you want to say but this will not attract independent voters. If these were Democrats I would say the same thing, the Republican party is a disgusting party and pretty soon they will be extinct. Miller is beating Wilson in a new poll and that is great news for the Dems. If we can pick up this racist guy named Wilson’s seat then this would really show them something. Remember this is South Carolina. Republicans hate to see when a black person is rising and they hate to see a wise Latina woman!!!
Lol you talk about my spelling hahaha. You can’t even spell care!!!!!!!!! It is not spelled “car” hahaha lmfao. You’re a typical Republican; always criticizing but yet making the same mistakes everyone else does and that my friend is a fact. Thanks for proving it in your post. Good night.
Philistine of the Week?
Keith Rodgerson.
Joe Wilson of South Carolina was a close second.
Hey Lennie, riddle me this.
Is it a convenience or a contrived fact that the developer for the Seaview Avenue site was only selected AFTER Joe Riccio was fired???
Jeff Lightman was running around town with blueprints of this proposal at the end of last year even before it went out to bid. Could this be another reason why Finch shed no tears over the firing of Riccio?
I’m wondering who the lucky “winner” is in the RFP sweepstakes for the former Black Rock Bank & Trust Co. building.
Let’s drink to the hard-working people
Let’s drink to the lowly of birth
Raise your glass to the good and the evil
Let’s drink to the salt of the earth
Say a prayer for the common foot soldier
Spare a thought for his back-breaking work
Say a prayer for his wife and his children
Who burn the fires and who still till the earth
Raise your glass to the hard-working people
Let’s drink to the uncounted heads
Let’s think of the wavering millions
Who need leaders but get gamblers instead
Spare a thought for the stay-at-home voter
His empty eyes gaze at strange beauty shows
And a parade of the gray-suited grafters
A choice of cancer or polio
Oh, there’s twenty-thousand grandmas
Wave their hankies in the air
All burning up their pensions
And shouting, “It’s not fair!”
There’s a regiment of soldiers
Standing looking on
And the queen is bravely shouting,
“What the hell is going on?”
With a blood-curdling “tally-ho”
She charged into the ranks
And blessed all those grandmas who
With their dying breaths screamed, “Thanks!”
Me, I’m just waiting so patiently
With my woman on the floor
We’re just trying to do this jig-saw puzzle
Before it rains anymore
one, two, three
If you close the door
the night could last forever
Leave the sunshine out
and say hello to never
All the people are dancing
and they’re having such fun
I wish it could happen to me
But if you close the door
I’d never have to see the day again
If you close the door
the night could last forever
Leave the wine glass out
and drink a toast to never
Oh, someday I know
someone will look into my eyes
And say hello
you’re my very special one
But if you close the door
I’d never have to see the day again
Dark party bars, shiny Cadillac cars
and the people on subways and trains
Looking gray in the rain, as they stand disarrayed
oh, but people look well in the dark
And if you close the door
the night could last forever
Leave the sunshine out
and say hello to never
All the people are dancing
and they’re having such fun
I wish it could happen to me
‘Cause if you close the door
I’d never have to see the day again
Damn B Kid, between you and donj you are driving people off this blog in droves. Your long boring posts are hard to scroll by; if you have to have no life at least keep the boring posts short.