yes we did

President-elect Barack Obama's remarks in Chicago

By The Associated Press – 41 minutes ago

Text of Democrat Barack Obama's speech in Chicago after winning the presidential election, as transcribed by CQ Transcriptions:

___

OBAMA: Hello, Chicago.

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen, by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different, that their voices could be that difference.

It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled. Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states.

We are, and always will be, the United States of America.

It's the answer that led those who've been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this date in this election at this defining moment change has come to America.

A little bit earlier this evening, I received an extraordinarily gracious call from Senator McCain.

Senator McCain fought long and hard in this campaign. And he's fought even longer and harder for the country that he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine. We are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader.

I congratulate him; I congratulate Governor Palin for all that they've achieved. And I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.

I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart, and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton ... and rode with on the train home to Delaware, the vice president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

And I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last 16 years ... the rock of our family, the love of my life, the nation's next first lady ... Michelle Obama.

Sasha and Malia ... I love you both more than you can imagine. And you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us ...to the new White House.

And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother's watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight. I know that my debt to them is beyond measure.

To my sister Maya, my sister Alma, all my other brothers and sisters, thank you so much for all the support that you've given me. I am grateful to them.

And to my campaign manager, David Plouffe ... the unsung hero of this campaign, who built the best — the best political campaign, I think, in the history of the United States of America.

To my chief strategist David Axelrod ... who's been a partner with me every step of the way.

To the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics ... you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done.

But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to. It belongs to you. It belongs to you.

I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington. It began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston. It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give $5 and $10 and $20 to the cause.

It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy ... who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep.

It drew strength from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on doors of perfect strangers, and from the millions of Americans who volunteered and organized and proved that more than two centuries later a government of the people, by the people, and for the people has not perished from the Earth.

This is your victory.

And I know you didn't do this just to win an election. And I know you didn't do it for me.

You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime — two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century.

Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us.

There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after the children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage or pay their doctors' bills or save enough for their child's college education.

There's new energy to harness, new jobs to be created, new schools to build, and threats to meet, alliances to repair.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.

I promise you, we as a people will get there.

AUDIENCE: Yes we can! Yes we can! Yes we can!

OBAMA: There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as president. And we know the government can't solve every problem.

But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And, above all, I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation, the only way it's been done in America for 221 years — block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

What began 21 months ago in the depths of winter cannot end on this autumn night.

This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were.

It can't happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other.

Let us remember that, if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers.

In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people. Let's resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.

Let's remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House, a party founded on the values of self-reliance and individual liberty and national unity.

Those are values that we all share. And while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress.

As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.

And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too.

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces, to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world, our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand.

To those — to those who would tear the world down: We will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security: We support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright: Tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope.

That's the true genius of America: that America can change. Our union can be perfected. What we've already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight's about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing: Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons — because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America — the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs, a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

AUDIENCE: Yes we can.

OBAMA: When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

AUDIENCE: Yes we can.

OBAMA: She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that We Shall Overcome. Yes we can.

AUDIENCE: Yes we can.

OBAMA: A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination.

And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change.

Yes we can.

AUDIENCE: Yes we can.

OBAMA: America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves — if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment.

This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.

Thank you. God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America.

you know i almost didn't vote

for or against the constitutional convention. it was at the top of the ballot and didn't really stand out. i remembered it was supposed to be on the ballot at the last minute and i checked "NO" i didn't want the convention. we don't NEED it

if you don't wish to marry someone of the same sex DON'T. no one is forcing you. same sex couples are NOT going to turn YOU gay. you're either gay or not (i guess there are one or two people in the entire universe who are neither or both). same sex couples are NOT going to prevent hetero couples from marrying. they are NOT a threat to anyone. to this day, i just don't understand the negativity, the fear, the prejudice. i just don't

No Convention, Say Constitution State Voters

There will not be a Constitutional Convention in Connecticut, at least until 2028.

Voters in Connecticut have decided against holding a convention to amend the state's constitution, dealing a major blow to opponents of same-sex marriage.

The Associated Press reports, with 45 precincts counted, the question failed 61 percent to 39 percent.

Proponents of a convention had viewed it as the easiest path toward overturning last month's state Supreme Court ruling that found banning gay marriage unconstitutional...........

State To Allow Same-Sex Weddings Beginning Nov. 12

By ALAINE GRIFFIN |The Hartford Courant
There will be a moment in her wedding that Geraldine Artis has looked forward to for many years.

"Suzanne is planning to sing to me. She sings so beautifully," said Artis, 39, of her partner, Suzanne Artis, 37, after learning Monday that same-sex couples would be able to get married in Connecticut beginning Nov. 12.

On that day, the state Supreme Court's Oct. 10 decision legalizing same-sex marriage will officially become effective. That same day, the plaintiffs in Kerrigan et al v. Commissioner of Public Health et al, and their attorneys from Boston-based Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, will return to Superior Court in New Haven, the state court where the legal case began four years ago.

During that hearing, Judge Jonathan Silbert is expected to enter final judgment in the case ordering the state to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, according to the Boston group. Couples from throughout the state will then be able to get marriage licenses at town clerks' offices statewide and from public health departments in Bridgeport, New Haven and Middletown................

yes WE DID

President Elect Barack Obama. (Photo: AP)

i just voted

and babies, IT'S A MESS OUT THERE


i have never seen it SO crowded at 6 am. it took me 36 minutes total. i have NEVER been more than the 3rd person to vote. EVER. until today that is

you know what you have to do today

DO IT

a little bit of

unusual connecticut history.

When vampire panic struck Jewett City

By Megan Bard

GRISWOLD, Conn.—In May of 1854, the Ray family of Jewett City was frantic.

The large farming family was dying from a devastating disease that caused strong young adults to waste away. Consumption, now known as tuberculosis, was spreading through its ranks with a vengeance.

The family had exhausted traditional means of prevention and were left with one recourse: exhume the bodies of two sons who died from the disease and burn them "on the spot," as a local newspaper recounted some eight years after the event.

The Rays believed they needed to kill the dead to keep them from feeding on the living.

Last Thursday, state Archaeologist Nicholas Bellantoni and municipal historian Mary Deveau were to take visitors on a walk through history and discuss the plight of the Ray family and what are now known as the Jewett City vampires. The walk was the final stroll sponsored by The Last Green Valley's Walktober celebration.

"People were frightened. It was a final effort to save the living," Bellantoni said of the practice.

Griswold and Bellantoni both hold prominent places in what folklorists describe as the New England vampire belief................

i thought people knew what tuberculosis was by the 1850s. perhaps not in outlaying counties?

i don't know flat stanley

but he did spend a day with barack obama!

(and helped three boys with a school assignment as well)

Obama's Letter Was Answer To A Little Boy's Request

By LORETTA WALDMAN |The Hartford Courant
WEST HARTFORD — - When Amy Mondschein dashed into Solomon Schechter Day School last Thursday, the head of the school and her son's teacher were waiting. The Enfield resident, whose son is a second-grader at the Jewish day school, was running late that day. Was she in trouble?

Far from it.

An envelope addressed to her son, Aron, 7, had been delivered to the school that morning. It was from Barack Obama, senator from Illinois and Democratic presidential candidate. "They were all excited," Mondschein said. "The whole school was abuzz. They took a picture of [Aron]. He was like a little celebrity."
A little more than a month earlier, teacher Joyce Ben-KiKi had Aron and his classmates each send letters to a famous person as part of a language arts lesson. Ben-KiKi wrapped the exercise around well-known children's book character "Flat Stanley," so along with the letters, the children each tucked a Flat Stanley figure they had made into each envelope.

"I told them not to expect a letter back," Ben-KiKi said. "I told them these people are very busy and most likely will not write back."...........

have to post it again

yes WE can

you know i'm NOT going to link to the article directly

on second thought i AM going to link to the article directly. i really AM torn about this. i really DO have a heart and i really DO feel for the parents

this article, along with the other horrible tragedy that happened with a gun and a child from connecticut (within the past few months) are horror stories.

while discussing the first incident (the child found a gun in his parent's bedroom and shot and killed himself) with someone at work, my workmate felt the parents should not be (further) punished. they had suffered enough. while i agree there is no way i could possibly understand the suffering they must be going through, what they did by leaving a gun around was what i REALLY cannot understand even more.

now to have not only the people who were running this machine gun shoot ALLOW YOUNGSTERS TO FIRE THEM but having a parent (who is a doctor not jed clampett) ALLOW HIS 8 YEAR OLD SON to shoot that uzi................(don't need to finish my sentence)

here's the courant article

Boy Killed Firing Submachine Gun At Firearms Expo

By MARK SPENCER and DAVID OWENS
Eight-year-old Christopher Bizilj died after accidentally shooting himself in the head in what was supposed to be among the safest possible settings for youngsters to handle firearms.

The third-grader from Ashford, a well-liked "all-American boy," was attending a "Machine Gun Shoot & Firearms Expo" on Sunday at the long-established Westfield Sportsman's Club in Massachusetts. While shooting, he was supervised by a trained professional and within sight of his father, Dr. Charles Bizilj, the medical director of emergency and critical care at Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford.

Yet something went horribly wrong.

What some, including a longtime club member and retired gun designer, found most startling was that the boy was firing a 9mm, Micro Uzi submachine gun, a weapon that weighs about 5 pounds and can fire 1,200 rounds a minute.
..................

and here's something from gun guys

Tragedy at Massachusetts Machine Gun Shoot

(We are pleased to include the following blog post from Freedom States Alliance affiliate, the New England Coalition To Prevent Gun Violence).

I think machine gun shoots are pathetic events.

Basically, it’s a bunch of guys who get together and blow things up. They are drawn by the chance to shoot a variety of fully automatic weapons at targets like cars (probably some sort of road rage release) and other things that look “cool” when they get shot and blow up.

While these gatherings strike me as both sad and silly I understand that they are legal and that there are men who get a thrill from the destructive power of firearms. These events will, no doubt, continue to take place across this county...............

An 8-Year-Old Unintentionally Killed Himself With A Fully Automatic Uzi At the Westfield Machine Gun Shoot — His Father, Present At the Shooting, Heads Emergency Medicine At Conn. Hospital

hmmmmmmm

nbc 30 got a redesign. go check it out! it is my personal opinion (and after all, it IS about me me me) it is far easier to use AND it contains more info/articles.

stop on by

oh it's NOW NBCCONNECTICUT dot com although i typed in nbc30 and it still got me there

i don't care HOW effing drunk you are

............how can you forget you have a dog tied to your vehicle? throw the book at moson. i have no sympathy for him AT ALL

NO EXCUSE FOR THIS. NONE AT ALL

Forgotten Dog Dragged, Dies, Police Say

A dog died after its owner forgot he tied it to the back of a pickup truck, went for a drive and dragged it for a mile, police said.

Police arrested the dog's owner, Brian Moson, 35, of Suffield, Sunday night after a passerby noticed the 5-year-old Australian Shepherd being dragged along River Boulevard, police said.

Moson was about a mile from his home when two cars pulled him over, boxed him in and untied the dog from the trailer hitch, police said.

Neighbors bundled the dog in blankets and rushed it to VCA Boston Road Animal Hospital in Springfield, Mass. but the dog was too badly injured and had to be euthanized, police said..............

a rose on october 27 2008

these pictures were taken yesterday morning at 7:45 am (27 0ctober 2008)

well here it is

we all know how i feel - and like i said yesterday, why not endorse him a WHILE AGO? why wait until now?

We Endorse Obama For President

INSPIRING, UNIFYING He would make the nation proud

In its 244-year history, The Courant has endorsed only one Democratic candidate for president, Bill Clinton. Today we endorse a second Democrat, Sen. Barack Obama, with the hope that if elected, he governs from the middle as Mr. Clinton did. Mr. Obama must resist serving only his party's interests and instead serve the greater interests of a worried nation.

America is starved for a leader who can restore pride and once again make the nation a beacon for the world, or in the words of Massachusetts Gov. John Winthrop in 1630, "a city on a hill — with the eyes of all people upon us."

Mr. Obama has the right qualities of leadership, the elevating, can-do message that "we are the ones we have been waiting for" and the calm temperament for these anxious times. He has the counsel of such trusted figures as former Republican Secretary of State Colin Powell and investment legend Warren Buffett...

our newspaper.........(it's ABOUT TIME dontcha know)

i don't follow who (or is that whom) papers endorse. connecticut is a notoriously democratic state. it's rather shocking they've only endorsed TWO democrats in 244 years. (wow, our paper is 244 years old!)

'Hartford Courant' To Endorse Obama, Only 2nd Democrat Ever
By Dexter Hill
NEW YORK The Hartford Courant will endorse Sen. Obama this weekend, making it the newspaper’s second endorsement of a Democratic presidential candidate in its 244-year history. The pro-Obama editorial will appear on the newspaper’s Web site late Saturday afternoon and in the print edition on Sunday, E&P has learned.

The St. Petersburg Times in key swing state Florida also endorsed Obama in an online posting today (see excerpt below).

The Hartford endorsement selects the Democratic candidate because of his leadership qualities. It calls America “starved for a leader who can restore pride and once again make the nation a beacon for the world,” and argues that Obama is the candidate who could do it. The editorial projects that the Illinois senator would govern from the middle and maintain a calm temperament if elected president.
.................

da liebs

backpeddlin'. i'm not buying it. he's a load. too late to make nice nice with our next president, barack obama! a bit too little a bit too late

Lieberman Says He Keeps Campaign Comments Within Bounds

By MARK PAZNIOKAS |The Hartford Courant
Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, one of John McCain's closest political allies, said Friday he does not believe that Barack Obama is unprepared to be president.

"I'm saying he is less prepared than McCain," Lieberman said.

But what about Sarah Palin?

Is she ready?................

lock your cars!

oh and just so you know, i was trying to avoid one of those medians (for traffic calming MY BIG FAT ASS) on asylum the other morning - ON MY WAY TO WORK - sober, at 3 am AND I HIT A CURB. i did some damage to my car. i'm NOT happy. i can't wait till winter..........

Items Stolen From Unlocked Cars In West Hartford

By JOSH KOVNER |The Hartford Courant

WEST HARTFORD — - Police are investigating five thefts from unlocked cars that occurred late Tuesday and early Wednesday on Shady Lane, Whetton Road, Westborough Drive and Uplands Drive.

Among the stolen items were GPS devices, an iPod, a laptop computer and satellite radios.

"All the cars were unlocked," said Capt. Paul Melanson, head of detectives. "Smashing windows makes noise and attracts attention."

Drug users trade stolen electronic items for narcotics, Melanson said. Town police urge residents to lock their cars, leave nothing in plain sight and bring equipment inside.

Shady Lane is off Asylum Avenue; Whetton runs between Asylum and Albany avenues; Uplands and Westborough are off Mountain Road...........

i don't know anything about

the 'reverend' rapid cabot freeman. i DO know people who practice wicca do NOT worship the devil. most people you ask wouldn't know this. they automatically associate wicca with devil worship. i'm telling you, please don't. one has NOTHING to do with another. in wicca, PEOPLE DO NOT WORSHIP THE DEVIL. just know that

Sprague witchcraft controversy
By News Channel 8's Tina Detelj

Sprague (WTNH) -- A Norwich priest says he is a victim of religious discrimination and retaliation because he's a Wiccan priest.

Rusty Freeman, also known as Rev. Rapid Cabot Freeman, says he's being discriminated against because of his religion -- he's a witch.

"It's about the whole older mentality of 'we don't want none of that witchcraft in our town,'" Rev. Rapid Cabot Freeman said.

The Grist Mill community room above the Sprague Library is where Freeman wants to perform a Samhain ceremony celebrating the Celtic New Year when witches believe the veil between the living and the dead is the thinnest.

"It's basically saying to the people, we lost in our life, that we miss and we love you," Rev. Freeman said.

But, his Halloween plans were halted. The First Selectman says he didn't follow proper procedures.

"It's about following the process," First Selectman Catherine Osten said. "We are a process oriented town and we expect people to follow the process and he has not.".........

You Call It Hallowe'en... We Call It Samhain Author: Peg Aloi

or just read ANY article over at witchvox

more on the devil that was george reardon

love your children and always know where they are and what they are doing and WHO they are doing it with. BELIEVE your children when they tell you stories about evil like this. it happened years ago with reardon, but it STILL happens today.

keep them safe

Questions Haunt Two Of Reardon's Earliest Victims

By HILARY WALDMAN
ALBANY, N.Y. - By the time she reached her mid-30s, Ellen Manning had a degree in English and a respectable job with the state of New York. She had a large group of friends, a supportive family, a nice house and a cat she loved.

Still, she had always felt somewhat adrift.

She had dated, but never fallen in love. She didn't have a family of her own. She wondered if, perhaps, she might have been able to accomplish more.

Those aren't especially unusual thoughts for someone moving into the early throes of middle age. But there was something else lurking in the back of Manning's mind. And, in 1987, as she watched and read stories about child sexual abuse and its emotional consequences, the memories of her own past came bubbling forward.
Manning couldn't help but wonder if her own melancholy might have something to do with a man who lived next door when she was growing up, a young medical student named George Reardon.

Manning is among the first known victims of the late Dr. George Reardon, former chief of endocrinology at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center who has been accused of sexually molesting an untold number of children during his 30-year career in Hartford. For her it is too late to join more than 100 other victims who are now suing St. Francis, saying the hospital was negligent in its supervision of him.

And while it was two decades ago that Manning began asking herself how Reardon's abuse affected her, and trying to get officials in Connecticut to stop him, she never spoke publicly about it — until now.......

i never under stood this

phenomenon. as usual, Helen Ubiñas writes a spot on piece.

i want to add, this is just NOT happening in the black community. it happens in all communities. look at whitey bulger. look at the ey-talians

Telling The Cops Isn't An Easy Call

Helen Ubiñas
The second time, she was frantic.

We'd met years earlier, when I'd written a column about mothers trying to protect one of society's biggest long shots: black sons. She was unluckier than most; she was trying to raise four boys and had already lost one when he was shot and killed in Hartford.

And now here she was, calling me years later about another son, hoping I could somehow better her odds.
Just a few weeks earlier, he'd come home holding his mouth, blood gushing through his fingers. He'd been pistol-whipped by another boy who was after a mutual friend but turned on her son instead.

Call the police, she demanded.

No way, he said. He was no snitch.

She could barely contain herself; that insipid snitching code was why her son's murder remains unsolved. As a cruel sidebar, one of the young men rumored responsible is buried in the same cemetery.
..................

and there IS joy in mudville tonight

the mighty j d drew DID NOT strike out

Red Sox rally from 7-0 deficit to stay alive

By Jimmy Golen
AP Sports

BOSTON—Fenway Park fell silent, and the Boston Red Sox were on the verge of going down without a whimper.
Then baseball's comeback kings did it again.
Trailing by seven runs with seven outs left in their season, the Red Sox pulled off the biggest postseason rally since 1929. Boston staved off elimination in the AL championship series with an 8-7 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday night when J.D. Drew singled home the winning run with two outs in the ninth.
"The first six innings we did nothing. They had their way with us every way possible," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said after a draining 4-hour, 8-minute thriller. "And then this place came unglued, and we've seen that before. But because of the situation we're in, it just -- that was pretty magical."...........

Pics from sitting still

you really MUST check out her blog if you're a sox fan. some mighty tasty pictures

a perfect moon

october 15, 2008

ravings of a semi-sane madwoman: a thought or two-actually a real raving in this case#links#links

ravings of a semi-sane madwoman: a thought or two-actually a real raving in this case#links#links

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

this is wonderful news. my heart is full of joy. i'm sure there are those that will do everything within their power to overturn this. i never understood it. it's fear of course. the country is NOT going to 'turn' gay if you allow gay people to have the rights they, along with EVERYONE ELSE not only deserve but HAVE by the laws of this nation. you can't EXCLUDE someone if they are gay (it's my belief 99% of people are born with their homosexuality or heterosexuality). you cannot NOT allow gay people to marry. they have partners, they fall in love. they need the legal rights just like all OTHER married couples are afforded. to me, love is love. to me, a family is a family if it involves love, respect and nurturing NO MATTER HOW THAT FAMILY IS MADE UP

State Supreme Court Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage

By DANIELA ALTIMARI
The state Supreme Court on Friday delivered gay and lesbian couples the validation they have long been seeking — the right to marry.

In a 4-3 decision, the court ruled that same-sex couples cannot be prevented from marrying — and that civil unions, those marriage-like legal arrangements that Connecticut has offered to gay people since 2005, are not an acceptable substitute.

"Interpreting our state constitutional provisions in accordance with firmly established equal protection principles leads inevitably to the conclusion that gay persons are entitled to marry the ... same-sex partner of their choice," Justice Richard Palmer wrote. "To decide otherwise would require us to apply one set of constitutional principles to gay persons and another to all others."

The 85-page ruling means that thousands of gay couples soon will be able to marry in Connecticut, perhaps as early as next month. It also provides fresh fuel to opponents of same-sex marriage, who are pushing for a mechanism that would permit them to amend the state constitution to prohibit same-sex unions..............

Judges: Conn. Nation's Third State To Allow Same-Sex Weddings

Expert: 'It's Another Court Saying That Separate But Equal Is Not OK'

HARTFORD, Conn. -- The idea that civil unions could be a satisfying but less contentious substitute to gay marriage was knocked down Friday by Connecticut's Supreme Court.

---

Read The Decision
Dissent 1
Dissent 2
Dissent 3
There is no substitute, the justices ruled 4-3 as they made the state the nation's third to allow same-sex weddings.
The ruling might not have been as earthshaking as the one in Massachusetts that allowed gay marriage for the first time in the U.S., or the one in California that made it legal on the other side of the country and in the nation's most populous state. But it cut into the view that there is some solid middle ground on an issue that has inflamed passions on both sides."It's another court saying that separate but equal is not OK," said Edward Stein, a professor at the Cardozo School of Law in New York City. "As state courts start to say this ... gradually, over time, there might be a consensus that emerges."Same-sex weddings are expected to begin in Connecticut in less than a month. Out-of-staters will be eligible, but few other states are likely to recognize the unions...............
Reverend willing and able to tie the same sex knot
by News Channel 8's Crystal Haynes

(WTNH) -- Many Connecticut residents are sharply divided on the issue of same sex marriage, but so are the clergy. News Channel 8 talked to a reverend who says she is ready to help any couples in love tie the knot.

There has been outrage and overwhelming joy over the state Supreme Court's decision to allow gay marriage.

Reverend Kathleen McTigue says she agrees with the decision saying, "One of the core values in our religion is the teaching that all human beings are of infinite worth and value and every human life weighs the same."

"Fundamentally it is the truth that they are simply not treated equally. Marriage under the law is a civil right and it has not been granted to them equally," Reverend McTigue said.

As a Unitarian minister, Reverend McTigue stopped signing marriage licenses four years ago because if she couldn't sign for everyone, she wouldn't sign for anyone..................

trees

it is a picture i took this morning. i just used paint shop pro - the brushstrokes option

monsters in the hood

this morning at about 3 am

(cool lights, huh?)

i'm literally speechless (really, i am)

Woman sues over wrong hair color
By DANIEL TEPFER

BRIDGEPORT -- A Stratford woman is seeing red after learning that blondes don't always have more fun.

Charlotte Feeney filed suit against the cosmetics firm L'Oreal Inc. after apparently grabbing the wrong tube of hair color and dyeing her "naturally blond" hair a dark brown.

But Superior Court Judge Richard Gilardi on Monday brushed off Feeney's lawsuit.

Gilardi ruled that Feeney had presented no evidence supporting her claim of negligence against the hair care company. "The plaintiff submitted no facts, no opinions and no standards to substantiate either of the allegations," he stated.

Feeney's lawyer, David Laudano, said he hadn't seen the judge's decision and couldn't comment. Feeney could not be reached for comment.

According to the lawsuit, Feeney on Aug. 27, 2003, purchased a tube of L'Oreal permanent hair color from a local supermarket to touch up her naturally blond hair.........

if you're in the new england area this sunday

it's the 5th annual knit/crochet for the cure at webs in northampton mass

5th Annual Knit/Crochet for the Cure: October 12th from 12:00pm to 4:00pm

We are once again partnering with the Cancer Connection for this wonderful event. Please join us for an afternoon of knitting, inspiration and camaraderie. We will knit squares to be sewn into blankets for those dealing with a cancer diagnosis. We'll be using Valley Superwash, so we recommend bringing along a size 7 needle, but gauge does vary by knitter, so we suggest bringing an assortment. Spinners bring your wheels! Rigid Heddle Weavers bring your looms! Join us for an afternoon of hope. The event is free, but please register.

FOUR YEARS LATER

that's right FOUR YEARS LATER (that is unfathomable to me. it really is), the police decide to search billy smolinski's truck. i just don't understand who the police were/are protecting (well i am guessing i know who they were protecting, i just don't know WHY). how else would one explain the lack of cooperation, care and concern from the police?

Police Search Vehicle Of Man Missing Since 2004

HARTFORD, Conn. -- On Tuesday, police searched the truck of a Waterbury man who has been missing for more than four years.
Billy Smolinski disappeared from his Waterbury home in 2004.
State police did a forensic analysis of Smolinski's truck looking for evidence such as fingerprints and blood.
Janice Smolinski was sharing her son's story at a missing person's conference in Denver on Wednesday night when she heard about the search.
"All along we had thought there was a problem with the truck, and we still do," she said.
She said his family thinks the truck might hold clues because it was parked in the wrong place in his driveway.
"It was parked at Billy's house at the end of his driveway, and we had brought that to the police's attention at the beginning when Billy first went missing," she said.........

da liebs, at it again

foaming at the mouth while talking about killing people

he's a wad, plain and simple

Lieberman: ‘I Worry About’ Whether Obama Has ‘The Right Stuff To Bomb Iran’»

In an interview with the right-wing magazine Newsmax yesterday, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) called Sen. Barack Obama’s worldview “naive.” Asked if Obama had “the right stuff to bomb Iran if it came to that level,” Lieberman replied, “I worry about that“:

ASHLEY MARTELLA: Alirght, Iran has sworn to exterminate Israel as well as attack the United States. Does Barack Obama have the right stuff to bomb Iran if it came to that level?

SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN: Well, I worry about that. I worry that Sen. Obama’s world view is naive. Sen. McCain has been around awhile. He’s learned some things. I’ve traveled the world with him a lot. He’s, he will be the kind of president who our allies will trust, but who our enemies will fear. And in a dangerous world, al Qaeda, Iran, Iran trying to get a nuclear weapons, we want a president who our enemies will fear. I don’t believe that Sen. Obama will be that kind of president. I believe he’s naive to think that people like Ahmadinejad and Tehran Iran will somehow become America’s friend just by…..........

unfortunately this comes far too late

to have stopped those idiotic AND DANGEROUS (and useless and stupid and insane) traffic 'calming' islands on asylum avenue between steele and trout brook

west hartford LEAVE THE FIRE DEPARTMENT IN TACT (and the police and the schools too). no one wants THAT touched. what we want touched are projects like useless TRAFFIC CALMING ISLANDS WHERE THEY ARE NOT ONLY NOT WANTED THEY ARE NOT NEEDED

West Hartford Voters Again Reject Budget Plan

By JOSH KOVNER And VANESSA DE LA TORRE |The Hartford Courant

WEST HARTFORD - Voters on Tuesday shot down the $213.4 million budget, 6,152 to 4,844, and Mayor Scott Slifka said the council will consider about $800,000 worth of cuts when it meets to pass a new spending plan next Tuesday.

The budget passed in five of 20 voting districts. In June, only one voting district passed the budget.

Pete Lukawicz, 58, a home-improvement contractor, said he couldn't support the budget in this economic climate. It would have raised spending by $11 million, or 5.8 percent, though much of that is in salaries and benefits that are set by collective bargaining.

"I don't mind paying higher taxes for higher services, and I know costs are going up everywhere. I also think that people who work for the town should be paid commensurate with their private counterparts. But the tax increase over the last several years has exceeded the general inflation rate,'' said Lukawicz, a 12-year town resident........

in the hood

VERY early this morn

sorry

wow, i never even thought of this. sometimes i don’t give picture credits if i link directly to a site i got them from. let’s say something knitted if i’m raving about a particular knitting pattern or the finished food product of a recipe that sounds good to me - or something or other. (i'm usually good on the nutmeg grater (most of the pictures there are local and mine) and ravings of a semi-sane madwoman but i guess i'm NOT too good on the reformed pirate

in the future i will make sure to note if a picture is NOT mine. i am normally careful about such things, but i guess i thought a direct link to the person’s site featuring the picture was good enough. my intentions were honorable. i was never trying to take credit for the pictures OR steal bandwith (i always d/l them to my hard drive)

it’s not ok and to those i have offended i apologize. i will be wicked careful in the future.

oh, that's a self portrait of me. of me BY me

oh da liebs

SHUT THE F**K UP

you ignorant sack o' shite. as anyone can tell you, espcially jon stewart and david letterman, mccain didn't hop in his buggy and high tail it back to dc until way AFTER the crisis began. he lied to letterman. he told him he couldn't be on his show becuase he HAD to leave to get back to dc to heal the world. did he go back to dc? not yet. he sat with the vapid ms curic for some kind of interview. did he go back to dc? NOT YET you silly! he stayed overnight in a hotel in nyc. did he go back to dc? well NOT first thing in the morning, but yes, he EVENTUALLY went back to dc to SAVE THE ENTIRE PLANET SINGLE HANDEDY

Lieberman: McCain 'important' to financial deal
By Sam Youngman
Sen. Joseph Lieberman said Sunday that Republican presidential candidate John McCain's decision to come off the campaign trail and return to Washington was instrumental to the bipartisan compromise addressing the financial crisis that was forged over the weekend.

Lieberman, the Connecticut independent and 2000 Democratic vice presidential candidate, said McCain showed "characteristic guts" in making the decision to temporarily suspend his campaign last week as Congress contemplated a $700 billion bailout plan for Wall Street.
"I honestly don't think that this would had have happened as timely as it did if Sen. McCain had not come back and been a bridgebuilder," Lieberman said to reporters on a conference call Sunday afternoon.

Democrats have blasted McCain's involvement on Capitol Hill, attacking the Arizona Republican for injecting presidential politics into tense negotiations.
..................

ravings of a semi-sane madwoman: i don't really care if john mccain gambles or not

ravings of a semi-sane madwoman: i don't really care if john mccain gambles or not

saturday in the rain

september 27 2008

ravings of a semi-sane madwoman: oh no, paul newman died

ravings of a semi-sane madwoman: oh no, paul newman died

follow up to yesterday's posting on first lt. Thomas J. Brown

i never met the man, but i guess this is the sort of man he was:


Fallen Soldier Requested Charity In Lieu Of Donations

(what does THAT say about the man? lots, it says lots about him. i mean in A GOOD way of course)

A few weeks ago, First Lt. Thomas J. Brown and his family talked about what no family wants to discuss. They discussed his wishes in the event that anything should happen to him.
Brown, 26, died in Iraq on Tuesday, the U.S. Army said Wednesday.
He grew up in Shelton with his mother, Carol, and twin brother Timothy.
Thomas Brown asked that anyone wishing to make donations make them to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
His family said he was a charismatic young man who could win you over with his smile, his family said.
Brown played Little League and youth soccer.
“I've been hearing a lot from people calling up and reminiscing. They just said that everyone is taking something away from having known Tom. He's just outstanding moral character, just the person he is -- he's just changed everyone's lives,” Timothy Brown said..........

to the family and friends of First Lt. Thomas J. Brown

my thoughts and prayers are with you. i am so very sorry for your loss and OUR loss in connecticut and in america as well.

Soldier Who Grew Up In Shelton Killed In Iraq

HARTFORD, Conn. -- A soldier who grew up in Connecticut died in Iraq on Tuesday, the U.S. Army said Wednesday.
First Lt. Thomas J. Brown, 26, grew up in Shelton with his mother and twin brother, where he played Little League and youth soccer.
The Army said Brown was shot during an ambush while patrolling in Salman Pak, Iraq, which is about 15 miles south of Baghdad. It is near an old military facility that was once a key center of Iraq's biological and chemical weapons program. Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., called Brown's death a tremendous loss.
Shelton Mayor Michael Lauretti said Brown's family will get support from the community......

Lt. Thomas J. Brown

Army Officer From Shelton Killed In Iraq

By DAVID OWENS The Hartford Courant

An Army officer who grew up in Shelton was fatally injured Tuesday in Iraq when the patrol he was leading came under enemy small arms fire.First Lt. Thomas J. Brown, 26, was leading his soldiers on a patrol in Salman Pak, Iraq, according to the Army. Brown was serving with 2nd Battalion of the 6th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, based in Baumholder, Germany."Ever since Tom was young, he always wanted to go into the military," said Carol Brown, the soldier's mother. Carol Brown said she and her late husband insisted that their son, who is a twin, first go to college. He graduated from George Mason University."He tried working, but he found life behind a desk was not for him," Carol Brown said. So Thomas Brown applied for and was accepted to Army Officer Candidate School. In addition to earning an officer's commission, he earned Airborne wings and a Ranger tab.......

perfect posies

(mums actually)

ah, the end of teh season

as i live and breathe

it's juan mar-teen in a tie!

i NEVER thought i'd see the day

(at the the half door)

aye aye matey avast an ahoy!!!

ye DO know what today be?

ye chumbucket ye!

yes me harties, it IS talk like a pirate day

aye even a bilge rat blog or two like THIS knows what today be!!!

My pirate name is:

Iron Charity Flint

A pirate's life isn't easy; it takes a tough person. That's okay with you, though, since you a tough person. Like the rock flint, you're hard and sharp. But, also like flint, you're easily chipped, and sparky. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

picture: the tethered cow

i AM the kind of person who says

i EFFING TOLD YOU SO

i told you here

and

here

and

here

and

here

i told you black and blue square not only emptied the town coffers (where is all of the money we were going to get back so our taxes wouldn't rise????????? how come no one is putting up a stink about that??????????) but would DRIVE STORES OUT OF THE CENTER AND BLACK AND BLUE SQUARE ITSELF. why? the rents keep going up and up and up. the stores jack their prices and NO ONE CAN AFFORD TO SHOP THERE

sit-n-knit was the ONLY reason i was going to the center. they moved a while ago to wintonbury mall in bloomfield. there's PARKING. PLENTY OF PARKING AND GUESS WHAT? it's FREE FREE FREE (on that note, when i went to northampton last month, their parking is quite reasonable. there are no meters at the parking spots. there's a little machine thing that spits out tickets. you put in a certain amout of money and it gives you a ticket with a time on it. you place that ticket on your windshield. how much is it to park in northampton you ask. IT'S FIFTEEN CENTS AN HOUR. yes, you read that correctly IT'S FIFTEEN CENTS AN HOUR. can you imagine that in west hartford??????)

but my peeps i digress. what i wanted to tell y'all was

and like an id-jit i didn't ask if i could name names so i won't

but i digress once again

a store that has been an institution in the center is MOVING. they've found another place in west hartford at far far far less rent. and what else do i have to tell you my peeps? well at least ONE store IN BLACK AND BLUE SQUARE is moving out. yup - has it even been a year? they're going at the end of 2008. there is a very good chance another store is going as well, however i cannot confirm that one.

that's only the ones i know about. i'm sure i don't know about the others contemplating MOVING OUT OF THE CENTER THANKS TO BLACK AND BLUE

way to go west hartford!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

flora

more fungi

the big clumpy ones are growing on the ground right in front of/at the base of trees. the second picture from the top - those are growing midway UP ON the tree trunk (out of the tree itself)