i don't like the idea of censorship

but i DO like the idea of people who are responsible. who treat women as equals. who treat people of all colors as equal. yes, people who have a sense of humor but also have a soul. when one is responsible for publishing a college newspaper, they really should think hard about publishing articles (even 'satirical' - their word NOT mine) stating rape isn't all that bad. especially for unattractive women (you know what happened earlier this year with THAT) AND about publishing articles about pissing on a young grrrl locked in a closet. (the grrrl in the 'cartoon' was latino. i am MORE concerned with the gender of the character than the ethnicity. of course that too is a factor). well think twice unless you go to kkk university. then i would understand (you know what i mean)

i want to know what these MEN are thinking. yes the person who wrote rape is fun had a dick (and IS a dick) and the person who is responsible for publishing THAT and THIS NEW 'cartoon' has a dick and IS a dick as well.

the cartoonist is unidentified (and NOT a student at ccsu) however, the EDITOR IS mark rowan and the RAPE IS FUN author is john petroski. i think we should ALL remember those names.
Cartoon Prompts Protests Against College Paper in Conn.
HARTFORD, Conn. The student-run newspaper at Central Connecticut State University is under fire for publishing a cartoon this week that critics call racist and sexist. The three-frame comic, titled "Polydongs," features two characters who mention locking a "14-year-old Latino girl" in a closet and urinating on her. It was published in Wednesday's edition of The Recorder, a weekly newspaper distributed free on campus. "We are outraged about this cartoon, which only dehumanizes women and especially Latino women," said Francisco Donis, a psychology professor and president of the university's Latin American Association. The Student Media Board met Friday to discuss the cartoon, and members of the Latin American Association and Latin American Student Organization planned to gather in a separate meeting to discuss their response. Some plan to seek the removal of student editor Mark Rowan and to take other steps to make the campus more welcoming to Hispanics and other minority groups. "A lot of Latinos don't feel very welcome here at Central," Donis said. "In the last few years, the environment here at Central has deteriorated." ..........

CCSU Student Paper Causes Stir With Comic
'Polydongs' Depicts Kidnapped Latina Locked In Closet

NEW BRITAIN, CT -- Central Connecticut State University students and faculty said Thursday they are livid over a controversial comic strip featured in the school newspaper, The Recorder.
The comic strip, dubbed "Polydongs," depicts explicit images surrounding the humiliation and degradation of a 14-year-old Latina girl. The paper printed a disclaimer saying it "does not support the kidnapping of (and subsequent urinating on) children of any age or ethnicity."
Said CCSU professor Katharine Hermes of the strip: "It's disturbing that it would appear as a cartoon, suggesting that there's something funny about this, although I couldn't find anything funny in it."


The comic is not the The Recorder's first brush with public outrage. Last February, an opinion piece was published detailing how less attractive and overweight women "may benefit" from being raped.
Many called for the resignation of the student paper's executive editor, Mark Rowan, though he is still at the helm./................

CCSU Cartoon Arouses Fury
By MATT BURGARD Courant Staff Writer
NEW BRITAIN - The campus newspaper at Central Connecticut State University, which came under fire earlier this year for printing a satirical article extolling the virtues of rape, is the target of angry protests again after it printed a comic strip this week that made reference to locking a teenage Hispanic girl in a closet and urinating on her.Francisco Donis, a professor at the university and president of its Latin American Association, said the group plans to submit a letter today calling for the ouster of Mark Rowan, the editor of The Recorder."I would like to see him removed from his position because he clearly does not understand how the things he prints hurt people," Donis said..............
...........Earlier this year, Miller convened a special task force after the Recorder printed a controversial satire in which student editor John Petroski likened rape to a "magical experience" that has been a benefit to society for centuries.The article - which defended rape as a way for "ugly women" to enjoy sex - sparked protests by dozens of students, including women's and gay rights groups.The task force, which included Rowan and other members of the Recorder staff, concluded that the paper had a right to print offensive material, but should strive to be sensitive to minority groups who have different perspectives than the paper's mostly white staff.................

THERE IS NOTHING FUNNY ABOUT BEING RAPED OR ABOUT A 14 YEAR OLD BEING LOCKED UP AND PISSED ON. NOTHING

mark your calendars!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please cross-post.
2nd Annual Maple Farm Sanctuary Picnic Fundraiser
October 21, 2007 12p-5p 101 North Avenue Mendon, MA $10 admission fee includes:
Vegan food prepared by Dawn Herbele and Ken Yukimura of Fusion Cafe
Live music from vegan artists Joshua English, 27 and others
Special presentations by MFS founder Cheri Ezell and former political prisoner Peter Young
Silent auction
Guided sanctuary tours
and more...Maple Farm Sanctuary is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. We are a farm animal sanctuary providing lifelong homes for abused, abandoned and unwanted farmed animals while promoting veganism and respect for all life through public information. Maple Farm Sanctuary has taken in a fraction of the billions of farmed animals that are bought, sold, tormented and slaughtered by the meat, dairy and fur industries. They live the remainder of their lives in peace, free to roam and meander the land.
www.maplefarmsanctuary.org www.myspace.com/maplefarmsanctuary

i worked very hard on this!

slide show

and i finally gave it to my friend nikki (as a wedding shower present). it didn't come out EXACTLY as the one on the cover of vogue knitting magazine's 25th anniversary issue. i used natural plant dyed cotton. it really was very easy to do, just time consuming. the part that took me the LONGEST was sewing the damn beads on AND then sewing each flower on individually. dang i HATED that (i do NOT sew)

oh i believe nicky epstein designed the scarf

free speech (especially for avery doninger)

this wrong MUST be righted

via cool justice report

Ten Poets & Writers For Avery Doninger At Free Speech Festival With Five Live Bands; Wally Lamb Tops Bill

FLYER ATTACHED; plz FORWARD at will
The Bistro East, Litchfield Inn1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 14, 2007
Novelist Wally Lamb will be among 10 poets and writers reading from their works in a celebration honoring free speech freedom fighter Avery Doninger Sunday, Oct. 14, 2007 at the Litchfield Inn's Bistro East Ballroom. Also, other special guests might show up at the last moment.The event begins at 1 p.m. and includes live music by four high school bands. Hors d'oeuvres, cheese and fruit will be served and there will be a cash bar.Doninger, a senior at Lewis S. Mills High School in Burlington, has civil rights actions pending in the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City and U.S. District Court in New Haven. She and her mother, Lauren Doninger, sued Principal Karissa Niehoff and Superintendent Paula Schwartz after they removed Avery from the ballot for Class of 2008 secretary.Avery Doninger was among a group of four students who lobbied the community for support of an annual battle of the bands sponsored by the Student Council. Schwartz became very upset after taxpayers called her and she cancelled the event known as Jamfest. Doninger subsequently referred to administrators in a live journal blog as central office douchebags, and Schwartz's son found the posting a couple weeks later. While Avery Doninger was banned from school office, another student who called Schwartz a dirty whore was given an award and lauded for citizenship.School officials suppressed the write-in vote in which Doninger was elected by a plurality. Schwartz refused to accept Doninger's apology for her choice of words. During an assembly, Niehoff banned free-speech and Team Avery t-shirts and seized at least one shirt.The Doningers are seeking -- among other remedies -- an apology for civil rights violations, recognition of the write-in victory and sharing of the secretary position with the administration-backed candidate.U.S. District Judge Mark Kravitz denied a motion for a preliminary injunction and his ruling is being appealed to the Second Circuit...............

(more if you click the link above)

justice for billy

watch tv tonight and tomorrow morning

tonight during "without a trace" on cbs (hartford channel 3 regular and usually channel 2 on your cable box) there will be a very brief segment on billy smolinski, jr.
tomorrow morning on the early show (also cbs) at 7:18 am, the fbi will be discussing billy's case.



justice for billy

what ARE

you people thinking?

Perez wins Hartford primary

because not enough of our men and women are dying

da liebs wants to send more to their certain deaths (and worse)

Lieberman blames Iran for Iraq attacks, asks if invasion should be authorized

Nick Juliano
Update: Lieberman asks if Iraq war should be expanded 'in Iranian territory'
Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, who is among the Senate's fiercest hawks, blamed Iran for the deaths of "hundreds of American troops," and claimed the US has evidence that Iran is training insurgents outside Tehran before sending them to Iraq. He asked whether the US should expand its invasion into Iran.
"Is it time to give you authority, in pursuit of your mission in Iraq, to pursue those Iranian Quds Force operations in Iranian territory, in order to protect Americas troops in Iraq," Lieberman (I-CT) asked at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee.......

YOU elected him, YOU reign him in

picture: www.fema.gov/kids/images/k2k/cfi01.jpg

a new website

connecticut for animals

if you are unsure

the person who is following you or trying to pull you over is a police officer, drive (SLOWLY) to the nearest police station (or hospital). then you can let the person approach your vehicle. of course if they are in a fully MARKED police car then yeah, PULL OVER. if they are not, use your head, use good judgement. always be safe.

Man impersonating Milford police assaults woman ,
Milford (WTNH) _ Police are looking for a man who sexually assaulted a woman while pretending be a Milford police officer.
Police say the impersonator followed the victim in a gray Crown Victoria, with tinted windows and police lights, before pulling her over on North Street in Milford.
When the victim got out of her vehicle he used physical force and touched her inappropriately, then took off southbound down North street. The victim followed the man to Boston Post Road, but lost sight of him there.
The suspect is described as being a white male, standing about 6' tall and weighing 160 lbs. He has short cropped brown hair, brown eyes and no facial hair. ..................

i leave work early on fridays

i stopped at my pop's house yesterday right after work. i had (yet another) eye doctor's appointment. i wanted to make a quick pit stop before continuing on to the center. when i walked in, popi had the tv on. it looked like some sort of accident. yes, avon mountain again. i've mentioned several times how i drove over that mountain for YEARS. i worked in avon park south and lived in west hartford. twice a day EVERY day. most days it was white knuckle driving even in good weather. it wasn't the 'mountain' as much as who else was driving around you. people are nuts. they speed, they follow too closely (even in horrid, snowy, icy or rainy weather) they put their makeup on or read the paper or talk on their cell phones. changes were made and they are GOOD changes but NOT enough changes. i still go out that way on occasion. my doctor is in avon and i have friends in that area. i want to be safe and i want everyone else to be safe too. oh another thing, you CAN'T keep trucks off of route 44. where are they going to go instead? they CAN'T all be sent through farmington center on route 4 (who the f**k decided to have a highway exit and entrance in farmington when everyone knew the town was NOT going to allow the 'historic' route 4 district through the center of town be widened??????). where else are they going to go?

Crash Brings Back Memories Of 2005 Avon Fatal Crashes

Friday’s crash on Avon Mountain has brought back memories from two tragic crashes nearby from 2005.
On Friday morning, a truck driven by Robert Rauch crashed into the Nassau's Furniture store near the intersection of Route 44 and Route 10.
Rauch was taken via Lifestar to Hartford Hospital, where is reported to be in guarded condition.
Mike Bondra, a witness to the crash, spoke with NBC 30's Tom Lewis and said that the recent crash brought back memories from the first crash in 2005.
"I couldn't believe it was happening again," he said.
Witnesses told NBC 30 that it is a miracle the truck did not hit any other cars.
Helen Silansky, a witness, said, "I Just saw all the commotion that was going on and then saw the truck going by and my son-in-law was in this accident that happened two years ago here, so I just got absolutely upset about the whole thing."
On July 29, 2005, a truck careened out of control down Avon Mountain Road, triggering a fiery crash that killed four people and injured dozens. The truck, owned by American Crushing & Recycling LLC of Bloomfield, had a history of brake problems..............

from what i've seen on the television news coverage, mr rauch is a hero. one person said she saw him driving on the mountain and he was proceeding cautiously. then when he realized his brakes went, he keep blaring his horn. he also went out of his way (obviously) to avoid the many cars all over the bottom of the mountain. i wish him well.

the first thing i did when i was at my popi's was to call my friend mark, at work. he was in the FIRST accident and was brought by life star to the hospital. mark is a very special person. he's writing a book about the accident (the FIRST one) with NONE of the money from that book going to him. i was privileged to read the first four chapters and it was amazing. i have to keep after him to FINISH though.

"In a split second it all happened" -- Witnesses describe latest Avon Mountain crash

Avon (WTNH) _ A big crash and a big puff of smoke -- that's what Mark Guimond heard and saw on Avon Mountain this morning as a tractor trailer crashed into the Nassau's Furniture store on Route 44 and Route 10.
"We looked to our right and there was buried, when the smoke cleared it was buried -- a tractor trailer. There was maybe 10-15 feet left of him hanging out of the building. It looked to me like he was carrying shingles," said Guimond, who works for a landscaping company.
The truck, driven by Robert Rauch of New Jersey, indeed was transporting roofing materials from Baltimore, Maryland to Canton.
Tammy Burns had just dropped her kids off at pre-school and was in traffic at the stop light when she saw the truck coming right at her............

welcome back!

to the men and women of the 1048th transportation company! thanks for serving BUT i'm sure glad y'all are HOME. safe

National Guard troops returning after year in Iraq

--A National Guard unit is heading back to Connecticut after spending the last year in Iraq.
Members of the Stratford-based 1048th Transportation Company are due to arrive 6 a.m. Thursday at the Army Aviation Support Facility in Windsor Locks.
The 120 troops operated dozens of tractor trailer trucks to transport cargo, bulk water and fuel. The unit was also called to help out in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in September 2005 by transporting food and water to parts of Louisiana.

anyone need a babysitter?

just ask connecticut dcs for a reference!

Woman charged with leaving 2 youngsters alone at Foxwoods

WATERBURY, Conn. --A Waterbury woman supervising two children for the state Department of Children and Families has been arrested on charges of leaving the youngsters alone at Foxwoods Resort Casino
Louise T. Andolina was charged with two counts of leaving a child unattended in a place of public accommodation.
"I thought it was safe there because it was occupied," said Andolina, who was supervising the girls, 9 and 11, for the state agency over the weekend. "I gave them $5 apiece to play."
Andolina, 78, said the girls were in the casino's arcade for 20 or 30 minutes Saturday night and said she did not know the casino closed at midnight. Other unaccompanied children and a security guard also were in the arcade, she said..............

and some people thought i was..................

(different....................)

from extreme craft via deputy dog (or deputy dog via extreme craft)

comes the top ten physically modified peeps

because west hartford center isn't crowded enough

(can there BE any more SUVs in any other town???) - on september 12th, the second cow parade will begin.

ok ok, i LIKE the cows. they're cool. i go VERY early in the morning before anything opens up.
(and i had no idea the inventor was from west hartford)
and if you click the link, besides the rest of the article, there is an interactive cow painting graphic!

There's Moola In Them Thar Cows

By JANICE PODSADA Courant Staff Writer

WEST HARTFORD - Who would think Connecticut is home to a herd of globe-trotting cows?Beaded, bejeweled, bronzed, sometimes even be-winged, these painted ladies have popped up on six continents.Since 1999, more than 50 cities have held cow parades. Typically sponsored by the local business community, the parades - really outdoor exhibits - feature lifesize, fiberglass cow sculptures that have been fancifully decorated by local artists.
But whether the cow parade is in New York City, Moscow, Paris, Istanbul or Harrisburg, Pa., it originates in West Hartford, home to CowParade Holdings Corp.Founded by Jerry Elbaum, 67, a West Hartford lawyer, the privately held company's business consists of selling the licensing rights and providing expertise to people who want to hold an official cow parade in their city.A cow parade is a deceptively simple event: A city contracts with CowParade Holdings and the company joins with a local partner who then solicits local sponsors and artists. A year later, the whimsical cows make their debut........

the man IS living in a fantasy world

really he is. he's, at this point, delusional

Sen. Lieberman talks about progress in Iraq

By Chief Political Correspondent Mark Davis
......................"To me there's some significant progress happening in Iraq militarily. Al-Qaeda is on the run, Sunni tribal leaders have become our allies, death caused by sectarian assassination in Baghdad has gone down more than 50 percent," Sen. Lieberman said.Lieberman says he's frustrated by the limited progress made by the Maliki government but does not favor pushing him out."It is a choice that we have now in Iraq between this elected government struggling to make its way forward on the one hand and Al-Qaeda and Iran on the other hand.Lieberman is suggesting the U.S. should push for new provincial elections instead of trying to oust the current Iraqi government."The Sunni's, who boycotted the last election, are ready to come out again. Let let democracy work," Sen. Lieberman said........

does he think THIS is progress: Plane Carrying 4 U.S. Lawmakers Is Fired On in Iraq

an apology

i was minding my own bid-nez as everyone who knows me knows i am want to do. (yeah right). i wanted to get some shots of my sunflower. every year i plant sunflowers at the half door. (i did miss last year but that was a fluke). anyway, after i planted them this year, a person who shall remain nameless (romo) covered the area in mulch. i was livid. only one flower came up. i planted all types, big, small, gigantic and tiny. only ONE came up, the GIGANTIC one. it slowly grew and grew (and i do mean slowly). it's well over 6' tall with a sturdy thick stalk. it does have a flower on the top, BUT it's not yet bloomed. i'll keep my eye on it

anyway, as i was saying..........i need to say i'm sorry............

i went back inside and was enjoying a lovely beverage when i turned around and saw THIS:

(i'm told it's now well over 255,000 safe man person hours. it's, i believe he said 500,000)

of course i couldn't resist gently sharing my thoughts on black and blue square with the two nice gentleman seated at the table in back of me. i let it all out. in my own defense i DID preface my tirade with 'i know YOU'RE not responsible for this travesty. i know YOU are just working and feeding your families'. i am certain they were becoming uneasy and wondering who this nutjob was. i was making my own self uneasy.....i shut up (which is a rarity) for a bit and sent them over a drink. they were both very good sports and i do apologize. working on a project and being responsible for the idea of the project (or the TOWN GIVING THE PROJECT 50 SOMETHING MILLION DOLLARS WITHOUT THE TOWNSPEOPLE'S PERMISSION) is a totally different thing.

this is rather surprising

not that i don't like senator dodd. i do. i wish he'd grow a bigger three piece set though AND get tougher with king george and his court. DEMAND they stop. i know the senate can't impeach unless congress starts impeachment proceedings first, BUT senator dodd could certainly bring charges of crimes against humanity............

Fire Fighters to back Dodd in surprise move

By Sam Youngman
International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) President Harold Schaitberger told The Hill Monday that Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) has won the union’s coveted endorsement.
In an exclusive interview with The Hill, Schaitberger said Dodd was the candidate who had “earned their support,” and that his long legislative record on labor’s behalf was the key to winning the endorsement.
Schaitberger declined to comment on why other candidates, particularly those considered to be frontrunners, came up short. He said the Democratic field was strong but added that Dodd separated himself from the others by going beyond support for their legislative agenda and being “the guy who really carries our water” dating back to 1976......

is this a possibility?

yes, of course it is. i don't think it has high odds of happening though. but one never knows, do one?

da liebs! i haven't done a posting on his highness (he IS a member of king george's court after all) in a while.

where's the barf bag when you REALLY need it?

Say It Ain't So! Is Lieberman In the Running for Attorney General?

Posted by GottaLaff

This post, written by GottaLaff, originally appeared on Cliff Schecter's Blog
That's what Marjorie Cohn is saying on The Thom Hartmann Show. The talk started a few hours ago, from what they're saying. (not that it didn't occur to any of us earlier, but it's going around now) Per Cohn:
* It would stop the Senate investigations dead in their tracks.
* It would guarantee a Senate confirmation.
* It would change the balance of power in the Senate, in favor of the Republicans.
* And it smells of Karl Rove.
Her advice? Barrage the Senate with calls. Make sure this doesn't happen. It would be an unmitigated disaster.
CLIFF NOTE: On the bright side, if I am correct in my understanding of CT law, if this were to occur the GOP Governor gets to put in a placeholder Republican until 2008. Then there is a special election, and no GOPer is winning in CT with one year as an incumbent (expecially considering their choices).
We will get a real progressive like, I don't know, some guy named Lamont. And the Senate organizing arrangement does not change, so the miscreants do not take over. And Lieberman is then irrelevant forever. Just food for thought. ..........

i want to do

THIS

i just sent my boss and his boss the link

i really can't think of a BETTER team building exercise!

pizza on the grill

(tofu pizza top, cheese pizza bottom)

Pizza or bread dough (it was way too hot to make dough this weekend so I bought some. It really WAS the first time I bought it. You know what, it wasn’t bad AT ALL – got it at Whole Foods)
Tomatoes (I used heirloom and a variety of grape and cherry tomatoes. Purple, red, orange, yellow, green) - washed
Olive oil
Sea salt
Pepper
Herbs of your choice
Cheese of your choice (I used parm and gouda and muenster for my pop’s pizza) and I used
TOFU (for my pizza)
Mushrooms (I bought a pack of variety mushrooms. Oyster, shiitake, etc) -- cleaned
Artichoke hearts (I used canned and didn’t cook them with the tomatoes. If you used frozen, I would cook them)
Onions (I used a Vidalia)
Corn meal (all I had some some polenta and I used that)
Spray oil for the grill grates

I made little rounds (well none of them actually turned out ROUND) of dough and placed them in some corn meal. I let them rise a bit. (be sure you put a tiny bit of olive oil on BOTH sides of the dough BEFORE you place one side down in the cornmeal. This will also help prevent sticking on the grill)

In the meantime, line a baking sheet or cookie sheet with foil. Place some sliced tomatoes and grape/cherry tomatoes (if the cherry tomatoes were larger, I cut them in half. If they were small, I left them whole) on the sheet. Slice up some onion and place it on the sheet too along with the cleaned mushrooms. If you have any other vegetables lying around, throw them on the sheet too. Sprinkle liberally with sea salt (really go out and make the investment. Table salt WILL NOT do. It won’t) and pepper. Use any herbs that strike your fancy as well. Drizzle some (GOOD) olive oil (it’s up to you how much) over vegetables. Place under broiler for about 5 to 8 minutes. Turn or stir the vegetables once or twice so nothing gets burned. Let cool a bit then pour into a large bowl and stir.

Toss the little dough rounds onto your grill (I have a charcoal one, not gas. So I let the coals – I ONLY use lump/hardwood charcoal- burn down and get white hot. Remember to oil those grates!!!) CORN MEAL SIDE UP. Cook for a few minutes until you have some char marks – BUT DO NOT burn. Really they shouldn’t be on there MORE than five minutes. I also put them around the edges of the grill – in the indirect heat. Take them inside (unless you have a work surface outside). Place corn meal side down and on the side you cooked a bit which is UP now), place a tiny bit of parm (if you are using cheese). Then liberally place your tomato mixture. Top with some shredded cheese of your choice OR tofu (I freeze it for a couple of weeks, then defrost it. It takes on a chewy consistency). Bring back out to the grill and place corn meal side down. Cover grill and let cook for about five minutes (don’t try to move them before five minutes because they’ll stick. After about five minutes check the doneness. If they need more time, let them sit there. If not REMOVE AND ENJOY!

i'm old

i remember patrick as a VERY young kid. almost a baby. (he's STILL a young kid of course but i mean a little boy) i knew his father back (we worked together for more years than lots of people have been married) in the day but i didn't become friends with him until a bit later. when patrick was a boy. even though i don't see patrick's parents very often, they still have a very large part of my heart. they're dear, caring people.

i'm excited for him. i wonder how patrick will feel inking a friend of his pops?????

A CARTOON CLASS with Jon Squier of Collinsville when he was 8 influenced Patrick MacDonald's life. Meanwhile, the local artist, known for his ironic, humorous designs, developed an interest in tattooing. Now MacDonald is 22, and the two are opening a business together. A grand opening of the Main Street business is planned for Sept. 29. (RICK HARTFORD / August 22, 2007)

Boyhood Hero Is Tattoo Partner

By MARK SPENCER Courant Staff Writer CANTON - When Patrick MacDonald was in the fifth grade he wrote an essay about his hero, Jon Squier.He had met Squier, a local artist and gallery owner, when MacDonald was 8 and his mother had enrolled him a cartoon drawing class Squier taught.MacDonald took the class, which fed his love of drawing, again and again. By the time he was in fifth grade he realized how hard it was to make a living as an artist. Squier was actually doing it - "living the dream" as MacDonald puts it - and as far as he was concerned, Squier was the man

These days, Squier and MacDonald are still teacher and pupil, though the roles seem to switch back and forth effortlessly between the two as they work together at Jon Art Tattoo, which Squier recently opened at 100 Main St. in Collinsville.Squier, 50, grew up in Cheshire and spent a good part of the 1980s as a street artist in New York City. He moved to Canton in the early 1990s and opened Jon Art Gallery, also on Main Street in Collinsville, where he sold his own work and that of other artists.......

connecticut stop of the day

bloodroot restaurant

(and YES you can go if you are male and YES you can go even if you are a carnivore)

.....A NY Times article called Bloodroot "A Salon for Activists". Yes, lively political conversation is usually as close as the next table, posters for animal and women's rights are in clear view, but mostly people come from all around to eat our good food and enjoy a relaxing atmosphere.
There's no cash register and no waitressing. Place your order with a woman seated behind a desk after making your choice from the blackboard menu. Enjoy your food either in our comfortable dining room or on our patio in good weather, and bus your own table when you are through.
Things are a little different here. It's evident from the moment you step inside the door. This is a feminist vegetarian restaurant. ...

the road up mt equinox

Certain rows of dubious flapping tongues
Have questioned what is termed 'your happiness'
But I stand mute
For I see
You hold the gift of mirth
And that is worth more than
All the lines of tears
That can be licked from analytical lips

i believe that is how the poem went. i am certain i have a copy of it somewhere. perhaps in my parents attic. it was written for me while i was in high school by my best friend (at the time and for many many many years afterward. we haven't spoken though in well over ten years) phillip

(i had told him a story of how my parents brought me and my sistettes, while we were all little grrrls, on a road trip to mt equinox. it was NOT a pleasant trip)

super

chick sisters

(a game on the peta website. pam anderson goes after kfc and frees a bunch o' boids in the process)

whew!

pilar maria aureliana buendias can rest easy now! (well at least where the appellate court of connecticut is concerned)
awwwwwww poor poor downey. it was a 'difficult time' for him (i do NOT blame his family though. the sins of the father are NOT my sins and all. so i DO have sympathy for them)



Rell Pulls Judge's Name
Downey Opts Out Of Appellate Bid



By MARK PAZNIOKAS And CHRISTOPHER KEATING Courant Staff Writers



Gov. M. Jodi Rell withdrew her nomination of Judge John R. Downey to the Appellate Court on Wednesday, one day after Downey's views on illegal immigrants roiled his confirmation hearing.Downey asked Rell to withdraw his name in the face of a legislative inquiry about his statements in Superior Court that undocumented immigrants had no right to the state's civil courts."I respect Judge Downey's decision," Rell said in a terse statement released shortly before 6 p.m. "I'm sure it was a difficult one for him and his family."...........

so does this mean if my name was pilar maria aureliana buendias

i would have to have PROOF of american citizenship BEFORE judge john downey would hear my case?

would he demand proof of my american citizenship BEFORE hearing my case if my name was suzie phelps?

i think we ALL know the answer
what i don't understand is WHY is he still being questioned. obviously he is NOT a fit for the position

Confirmation hearing continued for controversial judge

by Chief Capitol Correspondent Mark DavisPosted Aug. 21, 2007
Hartford (WTNH) _ The nominee for the state Appellate Court fielded questions this afternoon from state lawmakers during his confirmation hearing, but will be continued as lawmakers review new information.
Judge John Downey, 56, has been on the Superior Court bench for over six years and the things he has said on and off the bench are coming back to haunt him.......
....But Downey has bigger problems. In a court transcript of a wrongful death case from last year, Downey questions a lawyer:
DOWNEY: What was the person's name?LAWYER: Juan Ricardo Brito was the full name. DOWNEY: I presume he had all his documentation as to his being legal here in the U.S.?LAWYER: I believe so. That hasn't been raised as an issue by anyone. DOWNEY: Well, it might be an issue in Judge Downey's court because I believe that no one has a right to sue in the State of Connecticut court system unless they're authorized to sue. .............
..........Under questioning today, Downey said he was aware of the Supreme Court ruling and was just playing verbal intellectual tennis with the lawyer.
"It was just an intellectual position I took with another bright, able attorney to see what his response would be before we launched into the rest of the case.
But lawmakers on the committee say they have other transcripts from other trials. One divorce case Downey refused to hear because the couple did not have documentation of citizenship. ..........

he's trying to dance but guess what? downey NEVER paid the piper!

Nominee In Doubt
Apparent Discrepancy Stalls Downey's Confirmation

By MARK PAZNIOKAS Courant Staff Writer
The nomination of Judge John R. Downey to the Appellate Court stalled after legislators questioned whether Downey had misled them earlier Tuesday by downplaying a suggestion he made last year that illegal immigrants had no right to use the courts.The legislature's judiciary committee postponed action on Downey's confirmation after obtaining two transcripts in which the judge, in 2002, emphatically stated that illegal immigrants have no right to the state's civil courts. Legislators say he ignored case law and the state constitution.The transcripts raise questions about his truthfulness and his command of the constitution and the law, said the committee's Democratic co-chairmen, Sen. Andrew McDonald of Stamford and Rep. Michael P. Lawlor of East Haven............

this to me is not only unbelievable

but UNACCEPTABLE

four teenagers SHOOTING BB GUNS at passing cars - hitting a police car AND jeff hawke IN THE EYE (blinding him in that eye, perhaps temporarily perhaps for good) AND three of them GET PROBATION AND HAVE TO WRITE AN ESSAY? (the fourth is yet to come before the judge). i wish they published the judge's name in this story. i sure would have liked to put it in this post. she or he made one hell of a LOUSY DECISION here.

and parents, why the f**k are you buying your kids bb guns in the first place? there is NO reason on this goddess' earth a kid or a teenager should HAVE a bb gun. NONE
(oh and mr hawke i'm very sorry this happened to you. both the shooting AND the guilty parties NOT being properly punished. shite, at the VERY LEAST the judge SHOULD HAVE sentenced ALL OF THEM to do things for you. wash your car, mow your lawn, do chores FOR A VERY LONG TIME. but nope, AN ESSAY)

Man shot in the eye expected harsher punishment for suspects

by News Channel 8's Jamie Muro
New Haven(WTNH) _ A Guilford man shot in the eye with a BB was ready to turn the other cheek until the punishment for the culprits came down. Jeff Hawke of Guilford was expecting a harsh punishment, but now he says he would at least like to sit down with the teenagers and ask them why they felt they needed to shoot at passing cars. Meanwhile, he continues to wonder if his left eye will ever get back to the way it once was.
"My vision is still blurry, I'm having a tough time driving," says Hawke.
Hawke never thought it would be driving that would lead to so many problems with his sight. Last month, North Branford Police arrested four teenagers atop a hill on Foxon Road who had opened fire on passing cars with automatic BB guns. ....

i KNOW we all have at the very LEAST

some USED DVDs we can spare FOR OUR TROOPS!

Operation DVD of Connecticut

In an effort to further support our troops, AMVETS Department of Connecticut is joining with AMVETS across the nation in launching Operation DVD to provide a safe form of entertainment and distraction for our troops overseas. Safe entertainment is a concept that is difficult at best for our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan. Even baseball and softball games are no longer possible because of snipers, mines, bombs and other terrorist activities. Through Operation DVD, AMVETS has a goal of collecting 1 million new and used DVDs for our troops. If you have not heard of the program, please take a few minutes to check it out at www.OperationDVD-ct.us .

les fleur du mal

i think these are morning glories but i don't know for sure. they did close up by about 11:00 am. taken sunday morning august 19th 2007

(note: looks like they ARE morning glories and their name is "milky way")

seven families, seven stories

including one from connecticut

this is from 2005, but it could very well be from TODAY. we must remember those lost (not just in this war but all wars before) and we MUST demand an end to this insanity

Coming Home: Seven Families Lay Their Fallen Soldiers to Rest. A Photo Essay

Anthony Swofford

For a moment, imagine the coffins empty, the burial grounds free of people, free of despair. Imagine the young men and their young bodies doing the work of youth. Imagine the parents watching a television drama or chatting on the porch with their neighbors. Pretend the death-folded flags are stacked on a sergeant’s supply shelf, gathering dust rather than grief.This is, of course, a foolish and dangerous game. It’s the game the Bush administration would prefer we play, but more corpses are en route, and more broken bodies, shattered psyches, damaged souls.My combat death fantasies began before I joined the Marine Corps. They started with Platoon, and the not-so-friendly-fire casualty of Sergeant Elias, his arms outstretched in martyrdom and splendor. Willem Dafoe’s character had fought both the Viet Cong and the Army’s own demons with veracity and courage. Good men die tragically, and the best die in combat. I’d grown up around the military, and, without being aware of it, internalized the military’s obscene power and culture. I had pallets full of honor and sacrifice waiting on the docks, manifested for shipment to lands foreign, dangerous, and strange. My father had survived combat in Vietnam, but I might go fight for my country and die, tragically and heroically—I’d die in the storied bloody fields of American history where my father had not.By the time I arrived in Saudi Arabia to fight in the 1991 Gulf War, my fantasies had been replaced by the very real facts that surrounded me, in the buildup of troops and the matériel carried on my body: rifle, pistol, grenades, a radio with which I might call in 500-pound bombs. I was here to kill, and people on the other side of that sand berm wanted to kill me. The romance of a combat death evaporates when combat arrives.......

cockfighting in bloomfield

thank the goddess animal control officer christine sparks HEARD the sounds of roosters crowing and investigated.

i'm only sorry this story does NOT have the name of the man who has the warrant out on him. i'd like to know it AND publish it. perhaps if this scum had part of his anatamy surgically removed and fake ones attached he'd learn his lesson

Police Raid Alleged Cockfighting Operation

By CAROLYN MOREAU The Hartford Courant
BLOOMFIELD - Police broke up what they described as a well-organized cockfighting operation in Bloomfield early Thursday morning, seizing 14 roosters and 17 hens.Some of the roosters had had their spurs surgically removed, their combs cut away, and feathers on their legs, rear ends and backs were shaved. Police said that fighting birds regularly have their spurs removed so that artificial metal spurs can be attached. Metal spurs cause more severe injuries in a cockfight and these injuries are more visible to spectators if the lower feathers are removed.Some of the roosters carried scars typically seen in fighting cocks, police said. Police entered the home at 10 Sandra Drive shortly after 6 a.m.. They'd obtained a search warrant after Bloomfield Animal Control Officer Christine Sparks heard the sound of roosters crowing while investigating an unrelated animal control problem on Sandra Drive...........

FINALLY

ryan riddle gets his benefits. WHICH of course are due him. being SHOT in iraq and all....

Southington vet to receive benefits

by News Channel 8's Alan Cohn

Southington (WTNH) _ The Veteran's Administration has reversed its initial decision to deny benefits to a soldier injured in Iraq.
For months, the VA stubbornly stuck to its decision that it could not find any evidence that Ryan Riddle was shot in Baghdad and deserved combat-related benefits.
Riddle received the call from VA's Director of Benefits and he could not be more relieved saying, "I thought it was about time. Thank God everything has been made right. It's a big relief off my shoulder, like someone came and picked up that boulder off my shoulder."
Riddle's military records were lost after he was discharged from the Army, and when he first applied for combat-related benefits, the VA told him for all they knew he was "shot on the streets of Hartford."................

please understand. i do NOT condone

THIS

as a matter of fact, a person would be taking their life in their hands by attempting this with any kitty i personally know.

i just HAD to share though

welcome home to

the 143rd Combat Support Battalion!!!

thank you for serving but we sure are wicked happy you're home now (and we pray here to STAY)

Waterbury guard unit returns from Iraq

by News Channel 8's Tricia Taskey

Waterbury (WTNH) _ It was a happy homecoming Wednesday for dozens of members of a National Guard Unit out of Waterbury.
Seventy soldiers from the 143rd Combat Support Battalion arrived home Wednesday morning after a year of deployment in Iraq.
Mothers, fathers, wives, husbands and children waited as the bus holding their loved ones finally arrived.
"Nobody knows what parents go through when they have a child in the service. People talk about the war, but nobody knows what goes on until you have your own child is there," said Lucy Cruz, mother of soldier.
"You're being thrust from a 2-person household to a single parent. You're a mom and a dad, doing everything. Get this one to baseball practice, this one to dance. Don't forget cough medicine on the way home so you're not going out in the middle of the night to get it," said Melissa Couture, wife of soldier........

and here's a video of some of the homecoming

i was going to wait until this weekend

to write a review of my favorite new tv show, john from cincinnati. the last episode of season one (and, as it turns out FOREVER) aired sunday night. i watched it monday on demand. the review is (yes, i'm still going to write it) going to be rather long and i just don't have the time right now. i specifically waited until the last show to write the review.

yesterday, i read the show was CANCELLED already. i think i read it on cnn, but not sure. (i just saw this too HBO Cancels 'John From Cincinnati')

my friend chris (he loves it as much as i do) and i are in deep despair. we are going to contact some lawyers and sue hbo for them wasting our time (THAT my dears was humor. we're not in the same league as the several million dollar pants lawsuit dude).

chris and i are PISSED

john from cincinnati

speaking of my new specks....

my eye doctor is in the center. i dreaded going BUT i did have to pick up my new glasses AND i had to stop at sit-n-knit on lasalle road. i needed a few more skeins of the BEAUTIFUL and SOFT natural focus ecologie cotton (100% pima dyed with plant dyes. the colors are subtle and gentle). i have enough for the edging, i needed three other colors for the flowers.

i'm making THIS:






















for a friend of mine (wedding shower gift). the cover version is not made out of cotton, but i wanted to use it. each flower has a crystal sewn in the center. it's lovely. you make the edging first (which is the part i'm working on). then the individual flowers. they get sewn onto the edging (which has been folded in half and sewn in an oval)





i digress. i wanted to go down boulevard then take a right onto woodrow or four mile or whatever - then a right onto farmington ave so i wouldn't have to maneuver through the center itself. NOOOOOOOOOOO CONSTRUCTION corner of bouleavard and main. NO LIGHT four stop signs. it was UGLY. i get to the eye doctor (a sweatbomb i will say) and pick up my new specs. i'm not quite sure about them. i'm having an issue or two. i'll wear them a few days and see if i bond with them. anyway, i was going to leave my car in the doc's parking lot (shared with other bid-nez') but it was hot and i was cranky so i drove to lasalle. CONSTRUCTION farmington and lasalle. UGLY UGLY UGLY. the two GOOD parts were i found a parking spot RIGHT in front of sit-n-knit (thank the great parking spot goddess her own bad self) and of course sit-n-knit itself. i just LOVE LOVE LOVE that store! (barbara and richard got a new kitty too. her name is pearl)

anyway, i picked up a few more skeins, picked up some sock yarn (made out of corn) and a couple of other yarns i can't remember at this second. i DO have my eye on some incredible wool crepe from mountain colors. hand dyed and gorgeous. have to think about that though

anyway - I HATE WHAT THEY'RE DOING TO MY TOWN

these people have an imaginary lil' friend

jesus, JUST like king george does!

Jesus Appears On Manchester Kitchen Cabinets

(i just got new glasses YESTERDAY and i don't see him)

let's hear it for russ feingold

telling da liebs what we should ALL be telling da liebs (we have a constitution. it's as simple as that)

Some senators still care about liberties

PETER URBAN purban@ctpost.com

Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold earns my "Brett Favre Medal of Courage" award.
With time running out before the Senate's August recess, Feingold kept his eye on the ball — refusing to give Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman a pass for his continued coddling of the Bush administration.
At issue was a Senate bill expanding (for at least the next six months) the ability of the Bush administration to listen in on foreign conversations as part of its war on terror.
The measure, which was signed into law on Sunday, allows the attorney general and the director of national intelligence to "authorize the acquisition of foreign intelligence information" without the approval of the special court established by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
Civil libertarians claim the bill goes too far because virtually any conversation on foreign soil could be tapped. (That could include telephone interviews between, say, this reporter and Rep. Christopher Shays, R-4, when he is in Iraq, or those helpful hotline folks working in Bangladesh.)
Most Democrats in Congress also questioned giving broader powers to the Bush administration, given its track record. As they see it, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has not been very forthright about the entire eavesdropping program.............

that's right da liebs wants to see

just how many countries we can equip to KILL KILL KILL at the higest body count


da liebs has the NERVE to say this will cement the relationship into an important one! i don't understand people who think like this. think only in terms of weapsons and destruction and killing

i hope everyone who voted for da liebs is sorry. i am sorry FOR them

Lieberman to push for India and U.S. nuclear deal in Congress

By Gavin Rabinowitz, Associated Press Writer

NEW DELHI --Sen. Joe Lieberman said Sunday he would work to ensure the United States accepts a nuclear deal that allows the shipment of nuclear fuel and technology to India.
The broad nuclear deal, which was recently agreed upon by officials and lawmakers in Washington and New Delhi, has run into some resistance in both countries and must still be passed by Congress.
"I will do everything I can to help see it through the United States Senate," Lieberman, I-Conn., told reporters during a three-day visit to India.
Lieberman said he hoped the agreement would transform the U.S.-India relationship "into the most important bilateral relationship we have in the next century of our history."
The senator, who met with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and leaders of the opposition, said he was confident the bill would pass in both houses...............

in memory of jeffrey lucey

to his friends, family and comrades, i am very sorry

to george bush and big dick. i blame YOU for his death
(and tens of thousands of other deaths)

What War Did to Jeffrey Lucey.
An American Suicide

by John B. Judis

n July 26, the parents of Jeffrey Lucey, an Iraq vet who committed suicide, filed suit in Massachusetts against the Department of Veterans Affairs for "wrongful death" and "medical malpractice." The Luceys could win their case. In April 2007, the VA's Inspector General concluded that the VA Medical Center in Leeds had made mistakes in dealing with Jeffrey Lucey. But the questions about this case go beyond the already well-documented incompetence of the Veterans Administration. They involve the effect of the Iraq war on the mental health of American soldiers.
Jeffrey Lucey was born in Springfield and raised in Belchertown, a small town in central Massachusetts. After graduating from Belchertown high school in 1999, he enlisted in the Marine Reserves, where he was assigned to the 6th Motor Transport Battalion. The 6th Motors, as they were called, participated in the invasion of Iraq in March 2003. Moving northward, they ran into heavy resistance in Nasiriyah, where a thousand Iraqis, including many civilians, died in the fighting. In April, Lucey wrote his girlfriend that he had done "immoral" things. "I have done so much immoral shit during the last month that life is never going to seem the same, and all I want is to erase the past month, pretend it didn't happen."
In July, the 6th Motors returned home. When Lucey first filled out discharge papers, he wrote that he had memories of dead people, but his friends in his unit advised him that if he wrote things like that, he would be retained for psychiatric evaluation. In the debriefing questionnaire, he checked "no" to the question asking whether he needed psychiatric help. .......

(by the way, unless you have a strong stomach, do NOT google image camel spiders)

once again, i ask you to head on over to

immigration orange and check out

citizen's for boycotting chiquita

(please)

follow up to da liebs and da evangelical 'waiting for the rapture' christians

remember, the video? i posted it last week (or the week before)



Joe Lieberman Defends Speech to Fundamentalist Christian War-mongers



Posted by Sarah Posner at 12:00 PM on August 6, 2007.

Sarah Posner: Senator "liberated" from Democratic Party says end-of-days scenario is "private theological matter."




In his Salon interview with Walter Shapiro this morning, Joe Lieberman defends his speech to Christians United for Israel last month. The goods:
You got a lot of criticism from bloggers for making a recent speech to Christians United for Israel. Everybody in politics makes speeches to groups that they haven't fully researched. Did you know exactly what you were endorsing when you spoke to them?
I know that they were very supportive of Israel, as I am. That they were supportive of the war in Iraq, which I am. And that they were very agitated about the rise of this particular Iranian regime. So I certainly didn't know -- and I don't know -- I go before groups all the time when I don't agree with them on everything.
So you are not endorsing their belief that the Rapture is imminent and that war in the Middle East presages that.

I have seen some things where Pastor [John] Hagee himself, the founder of the group, doesn't give support to that notion. But that's a private theological matter. Two reasons I went. One is a sign of my independence and liberation. I'm a believer that the more people you have in politics, the better. And that includes people of faith. If that is their motivation -- and no pun intended -- God bless them.............

original posting (and DO click on it JUST to watch the video): the best part is...

chris dodd vs bill o'wrongly

and we all know who i think kicked ass

(that o'wrongly is a giant gatsu piedi. i really DO believe it's ALL an act. no one can be such a dope)

Sen Dodd Confronts Bill O'Reilly About Smearing YearlyKos Convention
(video at the link)

yeah, i know it's from huffington. i know i don't like linking there (OR kos for that matter. but i thought it worth it in this instance)

i hope they catch the slime

who shot this seal. i hope the vets at mystic are able to rehab him as well. it doesn't look good for the eye, but if they can save him, that would be just grand!

Seal Found Shot On Bridgeport Beach

MYSTIC, Conn. -- A harbor seal brought to Mystic Aquarium after stranding itself on a Bridgeport beach had been shot in the eye, aquarium officials said Wednesday.
The 5-foot, 212-pound male seal was found injured Tuesday on the beach at Seaside Park, and was brought to the aquarium, which handles rescue and rehabilitation in Connecticut and Rhode Island.
"Through radiographs last night, a foreign object was found lodged behind the eye wound," said Cynthia Davis, a member of the aquarium's Marine Mammal Rescue Team.That object turned out to be a bullet.
"His left eye is not functional and at this time he has a poor prognosis for recovering his vision," veterinarian Cara Field said. "There's a great risk of infection occurring, so if he does well we may have to do surgery to remove the eye."
Surgeons then would be able to recover the bullet, and authorities can try to trace it back to whoever shot the seal..........

Injured seal had gunshot wound

DANIEL TEPFER dtepfer@ctpost.com

BRIDGEPORT — An injured harbor seal that lumbered onto the beach Tuesday at Seaside Park and languished there for an afternoon was suffering from a gunshot wound.
A gash above the seal's left eye, following a medical examination Wednesday, was determined to be a bullet lodged in the creature's head.
"This is a very unfortunate situation and we have notified the Bridgeport Police Department," said Tim Gray, spokesman for the Mystic Aquarium and Institute for Exploration.
Police Lt. James Viadero said officials here are awaiting information from the aquarium before proceeding with an investigation.
After leaving the water Tuesday afternoon, the 212-pound adult male had stretched out on the sand of West Beach for several hours. Dozens of beachgoers and spectators gathered around the beached seal, which resisted efforts to prod it back into Long Island Sound.
Specialists at Mystic were called to the scene to investigate the seal's then-unknown malady, and it was taken back to the aquarium's facilities in eastern Connecticut...........

picture: An adult harbor seal rolls in the sand on the beach at Seaside Park in Bridgeport on Tuesday. (Ned Gerard/Connecticut Post)

and

Destiny Rhodes, 7, and her cousin Jayquan Torres, 9, get a close look at an adult harbor seal that spent much of Tuesday afternoon on the beach at Seaside Park in Bridgeport. (Ned Gerard/Connecticut Post)

this is a no biggie

but it pleases me a great deal to point out a da liebs f**k up

Lieberman fumble spoils voting records

PETER URBAN purban@ctpost.com

WASHINGTON — Sen. Joe Lieberman spoiled the perfect voting record of two fellow senators Wednesday in a blunder that drew guffaws from at least a few of his colleagues.
As chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Lieberman assured members that they could remain and finish up business when a vote was called in the Senate chamber.
Lieberman told the members that the vote would be "held open" as a courtesy for them but it turned out he was mistaken. The tally was closed, and 12 of the 17 members of the committee failed to have their vote recorded.
Among those who missed the vote were Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, and Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. Neither had missed a vote this session.
Lieberman also missed the vote, his sixth of the session........

more charges to gault

and i don't care WHAT those women say, they KNEW what was going on. how the hell can you have a 14 or 15 year old grrrl in your house and NOT know what gault was doing to her, with her, at her? the answer is YOU DO KNOW. if you suspected the grrrl was being abused by her family (and i'm NOT implying she was mind you) THEN YOU GO TO THE AUTHORITIES. you don't leave her in your house along with gault and gault's OTHER 'wife'.

i would ask ms cray at this point what HER relationship with gault was like. what did SHE do with him. what did he do to her and with her? that's what i'd like to know.

NO EXCUSES you three.

no no no - there was no innocence in that house from the three adults

Charges added in case of girl found locked in small room

(West Hartford-WTNH) _ Authorities added kidnapping charges today against a man and two women accused in the yearlong disappearance of a teenage runaway who was found locked in a hidden room in their home.
Adam Gault, his common law wife, and another woman who were all living in the house at the time were back in court. Their lawyers tell us that their clients are innocent, but court documents paint a disturbing picture of gault's relationship with the girl.
Gault, 41, was faceing tougher charges today and his arrest warrant contained shocking and graphic new information.
It says the 15 year old girl found hidden in a closet in Gault's West Hartford home had an abortion in May, and DNA testing points to Gault as the father.......
.........Kimberly Cray, 26, was also charged with kidnapping.
"The kidnapping is based on the fact that since my client lived in the house she must have been aware of what was going on," says Cray's Attorney Michael Georgetti, "and that's simply not true."
A friend of Cray's was in court to offer support. She says Cray saw Adam Gault as someone who saved her from a life of abuse and thought Gault was doing the same for the 15 year old in the closet................

Charges Added In Case Of Girl Found Locked In Small Room

HARTFORD, Conn. -- A man accused in the yearlong disappearance of a teenage runaway was a match for DNA collected after she had an abortion, according to a warrant for his arrest Wednesday on an additional sexual assault charge.
Police also added kidnapping charges Wednesday against the man, Adam Gault, 41, and two women who lived with him in the West Hartford home where the missing Bloomfield girl was found in June, locked in a small storage room.
All three made brief appearances in Hartford Superior Court to face new charges of kidnapping. They did not enter pleas. All three previously pleaded not guilty to charges including reckless endangerment..........

the thing is, i really don't see any great contrasts

between these vets. now or then. they're all heroes

thank you ALL for serving

War Talk Exposes Contrasts
New Vets Strangers To Older Vets' Trials

By JESSE HAMILTON Courant Staff Writer MIDDLETOWN - The distance between the gray-haired men in the audience and the young men at the head of the room was maybe 25 feet, but the gulf between their experiences of war was vast.Four men in their 20s sat before an audience in the rear of the Russell Library on Wednesday night, speaking the new language of war, the vocabulary of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. They came to relate their fresh war memories, to tell people what they saw and did, and how they felt.Two of those who came to listen were Vietnam veterans, and their comments exposed the great contrast between America's wars and what a difference three decades made. From Jack Coyle, who wore a Vietnam veteran's cap: Did you get enough food and water over there? What's the real morale level? In Vietnam, the firefights were less frequent than the troubles with disease and vermin; how was it this time? And what about post-traumatic stress disorder?........

the thing is, i really don'

hey da liebs you steamin' piece o' you know what

the iraqis were NOT OUR ENEMIES until WE ivaded their country. THEY DIDN'T FLY PLANES INTO THE WORLD TRADE CENTER, THE PENTAGON AND A FIELD IN PA. they could have cared less about us. sure now some of them (lots actually) want to 'get' us. who wouldn't want to fight back someone who illegally, unjustly and immorally invaded THEIR country? i know I WOULD fight back tooth and nail.

da liebs WAKE UP. stop singing that one note. WE DO NOT BELONG IN IRAQ. we never did. we wreaked havoc, chaos and despair over there. we f**ked up badly. when are YOU going to see the light?

Lieberman escalates attack on Iraq critics


By Manu Raju
July 31, 2007
Ever since Connecticut Democrats refused to back him for a fourth term in Congress, Joe Lieberman has been burnishing his independent credentials in the narrowly divided Senate while becoming increasingly critical of the Democratic Party on the war in Iraq.Lieberman, the Democrats’ 2000 vice presidential nominee, insists he is not actively considering joining the Republican Party. But he is keeping that possibility wide open as his disenchantment grows with Democratic leaders. The main sticking points are their attempts to end the war in Iraq and their hesitation to take a harder line against Iran.“I think either [Democrats] are, in my opinion, respectfully, naïve in thinking we can somehow defeat this enemy with talk, or they’re simply hesitant to use American power, including military power,” Lieberman said in a wide-ranging interview with The Hill. “There is a very strong group within the party that I think doesn’t take the threat of Islamist terrorism seriously enough.”Lieberman says he is annoyed by the mudslinging on Capitol Hill and Democrats’ unwillingness to work with President Bush. But his critics say he has contributed to that polarization by his rhetoric and refusal to compel Bush to find a new way forward in Iraq.............

yesterday was the second anniversay of the avon mountain crash

i've written about it several times. i travelled over that mountain for years and years. even on GOOD days, it was white knuckle driving. not so much if you were alone and no other cars were around you. it was when there WERE others on the road (which was 99.9% of the time). people are idiots. on your tail. even in snow and ice. they've taken steps to cut down on the idiocy. they've marked the road better. they've put up more signs. they have added police 'pull over areas'. it's STILL not pretty though.



my friend mark was in that accident. he was airlifted out. he doesn't remember anything about the accident at all. however, he is reconstructing it. he's talking to everyone he can that was involved. it's changed his life. not that he wasn't a good man before (he was), he just is a far better man now. he's writing a book. i was privileged to read the first four chapters. it's amazing. the amount of research he's put into it. the people he's talked to (including those that directly helped to save his life; a doctor on his way to work, someone who was working at avon old farms inn who heard the accident and rushed out. several firefighters and police and on and on) and the places he's been. oh, one more thing. all of the profits from the book are going to the families of those affected by this tragedy.



2nd anniversary of Avon Mountain crash



Sunday Marks 2-Year Anniversary Of Avon Crash