smoke fire and angels is due out

on september 24th. it's the story of the avon mountain accident and those that it effected (far and wide). my friend mark robinson wrote it AND the proceeds from this book are going to a fund for the victims and their families. from what i've read (the first six chapters), it's mighty impressive.

the holidays are fast approaching. this would be a great gift for EVERYONE on your lists. please go to his website and read his story: smoke, fire and angels

note: mark tells me the book will be available at borders. however, they're gonna get THEIR cut. soooooooooo, please consider ordering it directly from mark's website above. no one gets a cut. the proceeds go to the fund.

i've already put in my INITIAL order (there will be more).

the smoke, fire and angels facebook page

just a couple of my previous postings

here
here
and
here

today is our day of caring

i don't know if it's national or just local (the actual name 'the day of caring'). my company ENCOURAGES volunteer work any way, any day of the year.

this day of caring, i'm going out and doing something for seniors in a local town (it was supposed to be yard work but it's raining and i don't think that's going to fly).

i can't think of a better way to honor those lost in 9/11 - than for us to help others that may need just a tiny bit of assistance. no one is forcing anyone to volunteer. it has to be real and it has to be from the heart. do you have an extra hour or two a week? a month? there are little brothers and sisters that need big brothers and sisters. there are infants in hospitals that need holding and rocking (not to mention knitted or crocheted blankets and caps), there are the elderly who could always use a meal or someone to dust for them or make them laugh, there is the local food bank that could use a hand packing produce, there is recording a book for the blind, there are so very many things. think about that extra couple of hours you have and what you really want to do with them.


Honoring the Dead by Serving the Living
Survivor Works to Grow A Day of Good Deeds

By Neely Tucker

Washington Post Staff Write

NEW YORK -- The taxi is blowing down FDR Drive, heading south, Ground Zero a mile or so ahead. Jay Winuk is letting a humid breeze blow in through an open window as he considers his dead brother's legacy and the meaning of 9/11.

For eight years, he and fellow public-relations executive David Paine have worked to make the anniversary of the terrorist attacks a national moment of something other than sorrow, something other than the day, amid thousands of other tragedies, Winuk's brother Glenn died while trying to rescue people in the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

Now on the cusp of a huge success, with congressional and presidential approval officially recognizing Sept. 11 as a day for people to do a good deed -- any good deed -- Winuk is adamant about what he doesn't want this day to become.............

united way day of caring central and northeast connecticut

i'm williung to shell out $.47 a month

to get my emergency 911 system updated. wow, this would be WONDERFUL if it happened. pictures and text messages and videos. it will not only help the victims but it will better aid the responders

i don't mind paying my taxes (or even an additional charge to a phone company or a town or whatever) for services like THIS or EDUCATION


West Hartford Gets Reports On Plans For 911 Improvements
By BILL LEUKHARDT The Hartford Courant

WEST HARTFORD — - Emergency call centers statewide are close to being able to receive emergency text messages, videos and pictures along with phone calls, the state's public safety commissioner told the town council Tuesday.

John Danaher said state telecommunication experts have been working for several years on plans to switch 911 reporting centers from the copper-wire technology now used in land-line phones to fiber-optic cables, enabling use of Internet-based calls, 911 texting and transmission of videos and pictures.

No state in the nation has this system yet, but Connecticut and California are closest to implementing the cutting-edge change, Danaher said.

He attended the meeting to talk about the state's research after reading a news report that the council would be discussing a proposal by council member Shari Cantor, who is urging the town to explore what's needed to make 911 texting a reality.

Prior to Danaher's talk, Cantor said she raised the issue in part because of the violent death of Alice Morrin, the Vernon woman who was shot to death by her estranged husband, James Morrin, on June 28...........

another must read from andy thibault at

the cool justice report

it's scary and sad and embarrassing. even though my skin isn't brown, i'm STILL afraid if things like this CONTINUE TO HAPPEN IN MY COUNTRY

Blockhead Judge To Profiling Victim: `I'm Not Listening ...'

Culminating Indignity
For Indian-American Falsely Incarcerated

"She Had No Interest
In The False Arrest."
-- Poet & Professor Ravi Shankar,
Central Connecticut State University

Official Proceedings
Criminal Court Of The State Of New York
Docket No.: 2009NY05478
Arraignment
Presiding, Judge Ruth Pickholz

By ANDY THIBAULT
The Cool Justice Report
www.cooljustice.blogspot.com
Sept. 9, 2009

EDITOR'S NOTE: This column is available for reprint courtesy of The Cool Justice Report, http://cooljustice.blogspot.com

Poet Ravi Shankar was profiled, wrongly arrested and locked up for 36 hours in New York City. Even after cops called Shankar a "sand nigger" and hummed "Here Comes The Bride" as he walked in a manacled procession at 100 Centre St., the Central Connecticut State University professor had yet to endure his greatest indignity.
During his incarceration on a weekend in July, Shankar slept upright on a bench in perhaps several 20-and 30-minute interludes. There were fights among the many bodies on the floor in the holding tank. Shankar notice that virtually all of those held were minorities, some of them accused of petty crimes such as loitering, walking through a park at the wrong time [trespassing] or operating without a peddler's license.



Everyone shared the stench of the open-air toilet. Then, it got worse.

Shankar met Judge Ruth Pickholz.

Shankar's public defender, Victor Castelli, had reached an understanding with the prosecutor, Matthew Montana. There was a big mistake. Charges would be dropped.

"The warrant is not him, judge," Castelli said. "It says it's a 5' 10" white male [weighing 140 pounds] on the description that the police showed him …"...........

if you have to go into hartford today (around the downtown area)

DON'T

make other plans. call in sick. walk. sounds like it is NOT going to be too nice out there

Downtown Hartford To Experience Congestion Wednesday As Celebrity-Filled Seminar Comes To Town

By REGINE LABOSSIERE The Hartford Courant

HARTFORD— - Commuters, be warned: Wednesday morning's commute into downtown Hartford is expected to be a nightmare.

Thanks to Gen. Colin Powell, Laura Bush, Joe Montana, Rudy Giuliani and others, downtown Hartford will experience celebrity and traffic gridlock. They are taking part in a sold-out business seminar at the XL Center called "Get Motivated" at which they will speak to thousands of attendees via satellite from 8 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Hoping to combat what is sure to be extra congestion, businesses and state offices are recommending that employees work from home, leave early for work, carpool, ride a bicycle or take public transportation.....

and here's a link to the nbc 30/connecticut traffic page

GOOD LUCK Y'ALL (i don't go into hartford. i go northish)

a big shout out to jennifer martin

her friends and family. i know it was very hard for them (the friends and family that is) to let you go. i also know from talking to your brother (yes, i've forgiven him. everyone knows you CANNOT STAY MAD at juan marteen) you HAD to go. please be well always. this is one hell of a selfless act


Off to Kabul
Hartford nurse Jennifer Martin is taking on the challenge of her life in Afghanistan
By Daniel D'Ambrosio

On Sunday, Connecticut nurse Jennifer Martin flew out of Boston for the first leg of her two-day journey to Kabul, Afghanistan. Following stopovers in London and Dubai, where she secured a multi-entry visa, Martin, 34, arrived at the CURE International hospital in the capital of this war-weary nation, and took over as director of nursing in the 100-bed facility first salvaged by Coalition Forces in 2005, according to CURE. She'll supervise a staff of 90 nurses in CURE'S largest facility.

Quick to laugh, her face framed by curly red hair, Martin explained in a West Hartford coffee shop last week that she had spent three weeks in Kabul last summer volunteering for CURE, a nonprofit launched in 1996 to bring health care to women and children in some of the world's most impoverished countries. And now she was going back.....

pic: from the advocate

Jennifer Martin moved to Kabul to help run a nursing facility in war-torn Afghanistan.

rep. chris murphy seems to have some stones

he's out and about and using his HEAD and taking steps in a positive direction. why can't the REST of you grow some stones too?

thanks chris for not just talking the talk, but walking the walk!


U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy Says He's Willing To Switch Health Plans
By DON STACOM The Hartford Courant
NEW BRITAIN — - U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy says he's willing to do more than just talk about health care reform: He'll try it himself.

"Everyone should have some scratch in the game," Murphy told a crowd of state retirees Thursday. "I should be willing to put myself at risk."

Murphy, a second-term Democrat representing the 5th District, said that if President Barack Obama's reform initiative becomes law, he'd get off the general health insurance plan that members of Congress enjoy.

Addressing about 60 retirees at the AFSCME Council 4 headquarters, Murphy said that he'll promote that idea to Democrats and Republicans alike when Congress returns from its break.

"I think members of Congress should be willing to come off the federal system, and I'll be pushing to have them go on a health insurance exchange," Murphy said.

The Obama plan would create a government-backed nonprofit insurance option to compete against private insurers.......