I’m not a huge fan of term limits, but if I could cherry pick one for a pol, I’d send Chris Dodd to the pit pile.
His latest declaration about possibly nationalizing banks had me sticking fingers down my throat. But, being the open person that I am I’m willing to be persuaded why he should be reelected in 2010 which will be an interesting cycle because it’s also a gubernatorial year.
Feel free to list all the reasons the senator should be returned for (yikes) another six years. What has he done for Connecticut? What has he done for Bridgeport? Also feel free to suggest a replacement.
Hey, what’s going on with Steelpointe? The site, it appears, will be spruced up. See news release from Mayor Bill Finch below:
East Side Street Closures to Allow Work on SteelPoint Site
BRIDGEPORT, CT (Feb. 20, 2009) – Beginning Monday, Feb. 23, several streets in the Steel Point redevelopment area will be closed as part of cooperative effort by the City of Bridgeport and Bridgeport Landing Development to secure and beautify the site. The street closures are intended to discourage illegal dumping, and to allow the City to prioritize ongoing maintenance on the most heavily trafficked streets on the peninsula.
The following portions of city streets will be temporarily closed to car and pedestrian traffic:
East Main Street south of Stratford Avenue to Bridgeport Harbor;
Pierpont Street west of Pembroke Street to East Main Street;
Maiden Lane east of Pembroke Street to the Yellow Mill Channel;
Ann Street between Pembroke Street and Waterview Avenue; and
Hough Avenue (south of I-95) between Ann Street and Stratford Avenue.In addition, Pembroke Street, south of Stratford Ave. and California Street, east of Pembroke Street are set to remain open to provide access to the M.O.V.E. Yacht Club, the Pequonnock Yacht Club, and Tallmadge Bros.
Dodd has certainly done himself some harm. The fact that you see not one, but two Republicans openly considering challenging him, tells you how grave the situation has become.
Rumors are flying on the other side of the aisle of course. Although a primary challenge is still impossible, it is no longer unthinkable.
But the more likely scenario would be that Dodd, who BTW is not raising money yet, will let it be known at some point that he’ll be moving on to some ambassadorial post or take another place in the Milky Way that is WDC. Which will lead to a frenzy of speculation around Blumenthal and Murphy.
Lennie, just for some weekend fun let’s say Blumenthal goes all in (which he would). What are the permutations of chair shuffling for Constitutional Officers on both sides of the aisle? And do you see a steel-cage death match between Caliguri and Simmons?
Chris MC, that certainly would open things up if Dodd bails on another run. Bloomer jumps in and then we’d probably see George Jepsen run for AG. George had been making the rounds for a run in case Dick ran for governor. I would think the GOP is hoping Dodd stays in. They’d rather run against Dodd than Dick. Now if the AG seat becomes available would someone like GOP former U.S. Attorney for CT Kevin O’Connor run for that? He’d be an attractive candidate. Caliguri, Simmons, perhaps Chris Shays against Dodd? Some are pushing Shays to run, but he’s in a spot because he’s not a man of wealth, he needs a job and he’s trying to pay off a campaign debt.
If Blumenthal goes for Senate, Susan Bysiewicz runs for AG, I think. That would be interesting, because she would be counting on the base of voters that supported Lamont to get her the nomination.
But Jepson was a high-profile switch to Lamont at a point when Lamont needed it, and became Lamont’s campaign chair or co-chair.
Dunno if anybody else (Democrats) would want to jump in beyond that.
How much support does O’Connor have amongst Republicans?
I don’t think Shays. As you say, he has two significant problems on his hands.
Caligiuri seems to have a lot of appeal, but the Republicans will have to enlighten us there. Simmons is Healy’s guy though, I think.
Here’s a question–is there a “Rell wing” of the Republican Party? You know, Party people who believe in fiscally irresponsible, do-nothing, rearrange-the-deck-chairs-while-the-ship-is-going-down types?
Connecticut’s motto is The Land of Steady Habits. For violating that standard, I hereby nominate Dodd as pukehead of the year!
In other news, Sweden–the country known for its socialist government–has said NO to a government bailout of Saab, the formerly state-owned car company now owned by General Motors.
www .creativeclass.com/creative_class/2009/02/20/just-say-no < -- read all about it. Rick Santelli, take note.
I for one hope Dodd is all done screwing Connecticut. Early in his tenure as senator he seemed more concerned with Central & South America than he did Connecticut. Here is a man with 35 years in the senate and he could not even get a helicopter contract for Sikorsky. The presidential helicopter went elsewhere. One would think with a senator with 35 years of service we would be rolling in Federal money. Not with this creep.
I am not sure Blumenthal is the right guy either, he seems a little uptight to me. In any case Dodd has to go. Maybe he can move to Iowa.
Hi OIB friends. I am so excited to be involved with a great new company that will do for Wind Power what the iPod did for music. It’s call The Wings of Endeavor. We want to produce, assemble, distribute and utilize our product right here in CT, with all American Parts and all local labor. Check out our article in the CT post. I feel so privileged to be involved with this new company and to be part of something I really believe we can help our area, our state and New England grow jobs, boost local business and attract new business. I am the head of government and community relations and the best thing is that my company has no party, it just wants to help. (Ok, we want to make a little money too.)
www .connpost.com/ci_11742207
If anyone wants more information contact me at michele@endeavorsinvesting.com
I’m writing a song titled: MCAT got a job.
I have great respect and admiration for inventors. For 8 years now, I have been holding on to 2 ideas having to do with rotary devices. The cost of patenting, design and development forced me to keep them to myself for the time being. I worked for Hunter Douglas the makers of Horizontal and Vertical blinds. In 2000 they released a new (so they say) vertical blind. When we started the fabrication and delivery of the new blind, complaints and returns started to come in. My boss made it clear that I was doing something wrong and would stand by me as I fabricated the blinds and he could not find what I was doing wrong. One day I told him that HD had fucked up on the design and that weather was also a factor. I told him to have HD send down their engineer and I will show him who screwed up and where. Four months later, a guy walked up to me at the plant and introduced himself. He told me that he was an engineer from HD and he wanted to watch as I fabricated the blinds to see what I was doing wrong (what nerve). I did several blinds in front of him and he saw nothing wrong with what I did. I asked him if he really checked or tested the blinds. He said yeas and explained the HD quality assurance program. I told him straight out that HD had fucked up on the design and failed to consider weather conditions in different parts of the country. He got mad and told me that he was one of 5 engineers who worked on the design and that there is nothing wrong with it. I took one of the blinds I had just made and inspected by him; I put it up on the bench vertically and dropped it and told him to check it now. It was jammed and would not work properly. I showed him where the problems were and I didn’t even get a thank-you from my boss or HD. I later found out while doing a patent search that the vertical blind was actually invented by some other guy and HD bought the patent rights. Not only was the engineer stupid, he was a freakin’ lying punk.
*** Joel, I enjoy your stories, however you should keep them short because the longer you ramble on the more the story changes its main idea & realism. *** Example- you started with having a new song called “MCAT, got a job”! Then you move to inventions, (rotary devices) which you’ve had 2 ideas for invention or patent for about 8 yrs. now! From there you talk about making new (yr. 2000) vertical Hunter Douglas blinds, which the manufacturing plant is in New Jersey! Also, you felt H/D messed up on the design, ’cause the blinds tend to mess up due to the weather conditions @ times. Also, if you made the blinds, wouldn’t the place have a quality control inspector right there to check the blinds for rejects? Also, why would it go back to one of the 5 engineers to be inspected? And last but not least, you stand the blind up vertically on a bench & drop it and now it’s jammed! Whoa! Then you tell the (inspector/engineer) to check it & sure enough Joel’s done it again! *** WOW! It was a nice sunny day so “weather” didn’t play into the factor of the blind jamming & once Joel showed the (inspector/engineer) the areas where the problems were, “Bingo”; yet not even a thanks! And to top it all off, the patent wasn’t even H/D’s; they had brought the patent rights. This bit of info. found after a “personal” patent search conducted by Joel of course! *** Who’s better than you! ***
You MOJO of anyone, have some real nerve to talk about rambling. What the hell are you now? An expert in literature or some English teacher? Why don’t you spend some time on your grammar and punctuation? You just revealed your biggest liability as a Councilman and a blogger.
If you found my comment to be too long, I question whether you ever bothered to read the materials provided to council members during the course of their duties. You surely didn’t completely read, let alone understood the only two lines you read from the Steel Point contract.
Go ahead an threaten me. I won’t be able to make sense of the written threat anyway.
*** Just pointing out how wonderful you make yourself sound & how irregular your stories tend to be! You attack people on this forum with false rumors & outside-the-box opinions, then have the nerve to lie about how wonderful of a councilman you were & so on. You want to project that you’re so smart & only end up sounding stupid most of the time. Also, I don’t have to threaten anyone, life in Bpt. is like a carousel; sooner or later what goes around comes around! ***
MCAT Good luck with the new company. I hope it makes out well. Connecticut can only benefit.
*** Good for Sweden for not bailing out Saab/G.M. I wonder how Sweden’s banking industry is doing after taking control of & nationalizing its banks? Then selling a % to good solid financial private investors wishing & willing to invest & or get back into the banking business again! *** As for Dodd, it’s time for him to move on in life & do something different, away from politics. He’s lost touch with the everyday American citizen. ***
MCAT, here is my comment to the post article.
Entrepreneurs/Inventors are the best bet for job creation and boosting the economy. A Patent gives its owner a legal monopoly for 20 years. This means that Mr. Kelly can guarantee jobs, unless someone else comes up with a better design and gets a patent. For too long patented ideas by Connecticut residents and companies have been sold to companies who then fabricate the items elsewhere, taking away job creation opportunities with them. Wake up Finch.
BTW MCAT, Do you know who T. Boone Pickens is?
Pickens is a Texas oil tycoon who spent million of dollars on Swift Boat Veterans TV ads last year and promoting wind energy. This guy is loaded and really believes in wind energy for the future. Look him up.
Also last year, Tom McCarthy introduced a resolution that would open the doors for energy creation initiatives in Bridgeport (it passed as I recall) which you should look into.
MCAT, can you get us the Patent or Patent pending number of Mr. Kelley’s invention so we may check it out at www .USPTO.gov?
Lennie, the question should be:
Is Dodd a Done Dud?
MCAT: Good for you!!! I think it’s terrific that an accomplished professional as you can contribute to a thoroughly worthwhile venture that can only help our citizenry. Godspeed.
Joel: F-bomb deleted.
Joel, I will try to have a nice informational exchange here as long as you don’t continue to insult my intelligence. Of course I know who T. Boone Pickins is and he is none too pleased with Mr. Kelley, who built a better mouse trap. I will give you a link to some articles and the patent application which should be finalized any week now. We have two prototypes made and this March a 3rd prototype will begin working in Santa Barbara. We have sites lined up from Kailu-Kona Airport to Tuscany Italy. We at Wings of Endeavor are setting up the corporate structure and our pilot region is the Northeast focusing in Connecticut. Bridgeport has pretty good wind and since this application can be also used in water this area is the logical choice. Here are some sites that include the patent application. The picture in the post is a little deceiving because we want to mass-produce smaller units because this device is so much more efficient and economical and due to the fact that it operates at much lower wind speeds it is not necessary that they be nearly as high as current propellers, although they can be. Picture a small bi-plane on a pole, oscillating at about 15 times a minute, gently blowing up and down in the wind. It creates linear energy which can generate electricity through a gear box; pump oil and water and other things because it uses hydraulics and also creates compressed air, so it can be used to create air conditioning and refrigeration. It’s such a gentle movement that we have a picture of a little bird riding up and down on the wing. There will be video of the working prototype on line next week. Anyway more info below.
www .W2energycorp.com
www .rexresearch.com/kelley/kelley.htm
www .newburyportnews.com/punews/local_story_157235023.html
MCAT, thank you for the links. These are the kind of materials and subjects that I’ve always enjoyed other than the political stuff. I’m sorry for making you feel insulted; it was not my intention to insult, but to look at the other side of the coin and “Pickens” your brain. Now that I’ve found my Mojo, I will aim my insulting energy at it instead.
As for T. Boone Pickens, beware! In the 1970s he was heavily involved in hostile takeovers of companies all over America. Mr. Kelley’s invention poses a threat to his investments in wind energy. Make sure he doesn’t become the majority investor at W2energy.
P.S.
Thank you Wondering and Yahooy, for your well wishes. I couldn’t picture a better outcome for myself than this one.
How about a Bridgeporter for the United States Senate? That might be the only thing that can help us at this point.
Duke,
Which joke of a politician do you suggest?
Ralph Mojica. The man is so qualified, I could not resist voting for him when he ran against me.
It’s time for both Lieberman and Dodd to be put out to pasture, or the glue factory. And how ’bout the SEC while we’re cleaning house? Seems that the government watchdogs over there didn’t see shit while Bernie Madoff was ripping off investors around the world to the tune of 50 BILLION DOLLARS. Were those guys asleep at the switch, or what?!
Duke, let’s see who we can send to DC as a senator:
1. Gomes (ED) great BS artist, will fit in well with the BS artists already there.
2. Tom McCarthy can do what he does here, agree all the time with the president just like he does Finch.
3. Bob Curwen. Once he gets there he can apply for all the other jobs in DC like he does here.
4. Bill Finch he will fit right in he will vote yes without knowing what he is voting for. Just like the rest who voted in the stimulus plan without reading it.
5. Rich Paoletto, he needs a change of scenery.
6. Jim Holloway, he can mumble his way through a filibuster.
7. Andre Baker, he can go to Virginia and charge drinks instead of the Bronx.
8. Danny Roach, he can appoint the person in charge of department of aging.
9. Warren Blunt he can test all the new restaurants on a federal credit card.
10. Mitch Robles once there he can put the whole South End on his payroll instead of just family members.
How is this for a start? Anybody else have a candidate from Bridgeport for Dodd’s seat?
I second Danny Roach. He owns a bar with a smoke-filled back room. That’s a big plus for learning how to make deals in DC.
Wondering- I agree with the Robles pick. He will step down and appoint EZE to the seat. I am hearing from my sources that not only is EZ not going to Hartford he isn’t even showing up to work in Bridgeport. He must be in DC learning from Dodd.
Term limits are not a good idea. Both Dodd and Lieberman have been talking out of their respective assholes for a long time. So far all the talk about nationalizing the banks is just that: TALK. And that is all it will ever be. The corporate greenheads would go crazy if Uncle Sam took their disgustingly large “bonuses” away, sold off the corporate jets … Did you know that unless you have an account in your name, Bank of America will charge $6.00 to cash a check drawn on one of their accounts? What kind of shit is that?! They tried to persuade me to open a checking account with them, “It’ll only cost you a one-time $15.00 fee.” I replied that I do my banking at Fairfield County Bank and that as a fifty-year-old man I’m entitled to free checking there. Of course, the teller didn’t believe me and countered by extolling the virtues of Bank of America: We have so many branches!” she crowed. Yes, I replied, Bank of America has spread everywhere, like untreated cancer or the odor of a finely crafted fart.
I do my banking at a smaller concern; they didn’t offer mortgages to people with subprime credit, so their holdings are pretty damned sound. At any rate, it wasn’t just the lenders that created the global money crunch. All of those subprime mortgages were bundled together and sold as securities, a process known as “securitization” (a rather Wall Street-sounding word). So the greedy, predatory bastards that sold pie in the sky to first-time home buyers with lousy credit histories just got the ball rolling. The greedy, unconscionable bastards that trade securities sold these bundled mortgages to their clients as sound investments. (It goes without saying that no one mentioned the very real possibility that at least a few of the lendees might go into default on the mortgages because they couldn’t afford to pay the vig after the APR reset.)
Joel Gonzalez,
Thanks for your supportive comments. I had to wonder myself how the exhibitors were chosen for that event. I did some networking and made a couple of connections so it wasn’t a total waste of time (that I could’ve spend job hunting). I even got a backpack, very practical for those of who are members of the “itinerant” fraternity. It’s part of the uniform, don’cha know. As I said a few days ago, there were a few “faith-based” recovery programs that extolled the power of Christ as a healer. (Just once I’d like to hear one of those clean-cut Baptist youth ministers shout “Jesus can save your ass!”)
What Connecticut needs is a new wind-powered company and someone local to champion its cause–with MCAT on the job, our prospects seem bright.
What Bridgeport already has is a mayor who has requested more funds from the recent stimulus bill than anyone else in Connecticut. Mayor Finch has submitted 39% of all requests, outperforming all others. He who requests more, gets more.
www .stimuluswatch.org/project/by_city/Bridgeport/CT
Finally, Mojo–that guru of online blogging–wants to know how Sweden handled their banking crisis.
Short answer: destroy shareholder equity in the bad banks and quickly return them to private owners.
www .nytimes.com/2008/09/23/business/worldbusiness/23krona.html
Is there really not a single Bridgeporter fit to be a U.S. Senator? Shays???
You ain’t worth a penny.
Shares of the Journal Register traded for less than 1 cent Friday.
www .connpost.com/ci_11756752