i want to print his name

and i want everyone to know what he (allegedly - since he's pled NOT GUILTY and he's not gone to trial yet) has done to his two greyhounds (retired from racing and adopted by him). one was dumped from a car in connecticut. HALF the weight she/he should be. the other dumped in rhode island and dead

Dog lovers protest outside Danielson court in animal cruelty caseBy DUSTIN RACIOPPI
Norwich BulletinDanielson, Conn. -
Louise Coleman felt remiss Wednesday morning as she stood outside Danielson Superior Court with five other protesters, each holding a greyhound on a leash. Last May and June, Coleman, director of the Hopkinton, Mass., dog adoption agency Greyhound Friends Inc., allowed Kevin Schneider, an acquaintance of hers, to adopt two greyhounds. She said it was a mistake that won’t happen again. Schneider pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of animal cruelty after being arrested Jan. 18 by Troop D in Danielson. His case was continued until March. According to Eva Longo of the Northeast Connecticut Council of Government’s Animal Control Division, Schneider, who lives in Watertown, Mass., dumped a dog on the side of Route 6 in Killingly after months of what appeared to be improper care of the animal.According to a written account from Michael McCann, president of The Greyhound Project, a Killingly man watched Oct. 27 as someone in a black sport utility vehicle let the dog out while the vehicle was still rolling...............

John Shishmanian/ NorwichBulletin.com
Protesters meet outside Danielson Superior Court Wednesday, January 30, 2008 after the arraignment of Kevin Schneider of Watertown, Mass. on animal cruelty charges. From left are Michael McCann of Boston, Virginia Gamache and her grandson Izy Roby of Willimantic, Linda Jensen and Jennifer Donley, both of Plainfield.

now we can have

MORE buttons made! i am still proudly displaying my "the kiss" (between da liebs and king george) button. now i get a NEW 'the kiss' button! chrissy and king george! how lucky CAN a grrrl get i ax y'all?

(courtesy think progress - SOTU: Bush Gets A Kiss )

ravings of a semi-sane madwoman: once again i'm NOT preaching#links#links

ravings of a semi-sane madwoman: once again i'm NOT preaching#links#links

daisy waiting for her mom

(while mom was eating brunch at the half door this past weekend)

daisy could NOT have been sweeter if she tried. what a face!

whew!

you guys did it and i'm PROUD! one of the evil ones, one of king george's court is NOT going to give your commencement address! get up stand up...stand up for your rights

you really have made me proud!

Karl Rove drops prep school speech
Karl Rove Withdraws From Conn. Prep School Commencement Speech After Students Protest
Following protests from students, former presidential adviser Karl Rove has withdrawn as this year's commencement speaker at a prestigious prep school, the school's headmaster said Monday. The choice of Rove as speaker for the June commencement at Choate Rosemary Hall had led some students to plan to walk out of the ceremony. Others had sought to bring comedian Stephen Colbert to campus for an alternate speech.
Instead of commencement, Rove now will speak at the school on Feb. 11, headmaster Edward J. Shanahan said. Shanahan said he will deliver the commencement address at the school, the alma mater of John F. Kennedy and Adlai Stevenson........

and here's the orignial article from the student newspaper (BEFORE karl was dropped as commencement speaker)
Karl Rove to be Class of ’08 Commencement Speaker
By Alexandra Cooper ’09
In an email to the Choate community, on Tuesday, January 15, Headmaster Ed Shanahan announced that Karl Rove will replace Senator John Warner as the commencement speaker on June 8th, 2008. Mr. Rove served as the former Deputy White House Chief of Staff under George W. Bush’s administration, and was a key player in Bush’s election as president. Before Rove worked for the current Bush administration, he spent much of his career as a political advisor for primarily Republican candidates, such as Senator John Ashcroft. Mr. Rove will join a long list of Commencement speakers that have included journalists such as Peter Jennings, politicians from both parties such as Dick Cheney (when he was Secretary of Defense) and Senator Chris Dodd. “We select speakers from all walks of life, with different points of view. That is what we should be doing as an educational institution. We should be putting in front of students and faculty a wide spectrum of ideas,” commented Headmaster Shanahan, “We have commencement speakers from outside of the school community so that someone comes in with a message for graduating students about the world that they are about to engage in. Karl Rove is somebody who has dedicated a significant portion of his life to service, and has been an extremely influential person.”........

LEGO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lego Brick Turns 50!

MaryEllen Fillo JAVA

It'll be a big party this afternoon at 1:58 p.m. at Lego headquarters in Enfield as the company marks the 50th year of the famous Lego brick.Some career highlights of the brick:There are about 62 Lego bricks for every one of the world's 6 billion inhabitants. .............

(unfortunately i didn't see this until now. the story was written yesterday so we all MISSED THE PARTY) dang it

(lego posting on the reformed pirate)

lego games

picture of lego sculpture: http://www.lugnet.com/~1444/sculpture/space

from

the cool justice report
Via Hartford Business Journal http://www.hartfordbusiness.com/news4373.html
i had NO idea this was happening in our fair state (so it's happening ALL over). shocking

OUTRAGEOUS & DESPICABLE: Connecticut Gulag
Connecticut's Secret Prisoners Contract With Feds Codifies Secret Political Prison System AG’s office contests FOI Cover documents about federal detainee sheld in state prisons By Laura Schreier Hartford Business Journal Staff Writer 01/28/08
Federal officials admit they keep detainees in covert prisons around the world, most notably at Guantanamo Bay, where many were held for years before their names were released to the public. But it comes as a surprise to some state officials that federal detainees are also held, secretly, right here in Connecticut. It’s all part of a contract between state and federal authorities: In exchange for a per-inmate fee, state officials agree to house federal prisoners arrested by homeland security. Connecticut has had such a contract with the federal government since 1995, but it was only after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that new regulations clamped down on information about those prisoners. According to legal arguments by state Assistant Attorney General Henri Alexandre, state authorities are prohibited from releasing any information about the federal detainees held behind bars in Connecticut prisons. That means that Connecticut could be holding detainees at any time, without a formal charge, said Lisa Siegel, counsel with the state’s Freedom of Information Commission. “This is a surprise to all of us, that there are secret prisons [in the state],” Siegel said. “The real harm of this regulation is that people are held now — we can’t get any information on them.” ...........

a shout out to principal donald j. slater

i went to hall (LONGGGGGGGGGGGG before principal slater's term mind you). i didn't realize the current principal had been stationed in iraq. i for one am glad you're home (even though it's been a couple of years) safe and sound. thank you for serving

Service Gave Official New Perspective
In November 2003, Donald J. Slater, principal of West Hartford's Hall High School, announced he was headed to Iraq for a tour of duty with the Connecticut Army National Guard's 118th Area Support Medical Battalion. Slater, whose Newington-based unit assisted with medical aid and evacuations in Iraq, would spend 17 months away including pre- and post-deployment operations. Since his return to work at Hall in March 2005, Slater said he has gained new perspectives on leadership and education.Almost three years have passed since Slater returned from Iraq after a yearlong deployment. He has held the top job at Hall since 2002, first on an interim basis and then as principal.Slater, 42, prefers not to discuss the details of his work in Iraq. But, he is quick to acknowledge how his tour of duty in the Middle East has affected him as an educator and leader of one of the top high schools in the state........

in my

original posting i KNEW the id cards were a mistake. i KNEW nothing good would come of them.

Mayor: E-mail shows immigration raid timing wasn't coincidence
By John Christoffersen
NEW HAVEN, Conn.—An e-mail sent by local immigration officials to their agency head the day after the city adopted an ID program for illegal immigrants suggests the timing of a raid soon thereafter was not coincidental, the city's mayor said.
more stories like this
Regional Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers told agency Director Julie Myers in a June 5 e-mail that New Haven's Board of Aldermen had voted 25-1 the previous night to make the city the nation's first to offer illegal immigrants ID cards.
City officials said the cards would help immigrants better integrate into mainstream culture by allowing them access to bank accounts and other services.
On June 6, ICE agents swept through the city and detained an estimated 30 illegal immigrants. Critics contend the raid was retaliation for the adoption of the ID program, a charge the agency has steadfastly denied.
In the e-mail to Myers, obtained by The Associated Press through a federal Freedom of Information Act request, agents wrote that because of the recent vote, the raid would likely draw significant news coverage..........

i KNOW this can be done

50 homes for 50 cats (or perhaps less than 50 homes if some take more than one cat). i'd be first in line EXCEPT i am wickedly allergic to cats. i love them, but i cannot live with them. there ARE 50 homes in connecticut and southern mass for these cats. it should BE NO PROBLEM.

50 Cats Need New Home Fast

EAST GRANBY, Conn. -- The clock is ticking for dozens of cats in East Granby that are facing a deadline with death. A woman caring for the cats is getting evicted, and if the animals don't get a new home by next week, they could be put-down. Holly Harris has rescued animals for more than two decades. In essence, she runs her own no-kill shelter of sorts. She spends her own money to vaccinate and fix the animals she takes in.
Recently though, the fire marshal deemed the apartment and barn in which she and the cats live unsafe and illegal. This means that she has only four days to find a good place for 50 cats to live.........

........Anyone who wants to help out and adopt one of the cats can reach Harris anytime by e-mailing her or by calling her at 860-371-9496. ...........

stupid connecticut criminals

( beth and ernie, do you know this dude too???)

Police: Driver arrested with pot after throwing bottles at truck
HARTFORD, Conn. -- State police say they found a half-pound of marijuana in a Waterbury man's car after they pulled him over for throwing bottles at a truck on Interstate 84.They say a trucker driving in East Hartford called police around 2 a.m. Thursday to report a road rage incident. The trucker, Francis Lescher of New Jersey, said a driver would not let him pass, then started slowing down and throwing bottles at his truck..........

when i read this yesterday

it absolutely STUNNED me. but then i realized, it was BOUND to happen, no?
i wonder what the good people of waterbury (home of holyland, usa don't forget) have to say about this?

Home / News / Local / Conn.
Disgraced ex-governor plans to take job in city with corrupt past
By John Christoffersen
NEW HAVEN, Conn.—Former Gov. John G. Rowland, who resigned amid an impeachment probe and spent 10 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to a corruption charge, plans to take a job marketing his hometown of Waterbury, a city with its own history of political scandal.

more stories like thisWaterbury Mayor Michael J. Jarjura has offered him a job as the city's economic development coordinator, but not everyone thinks Rowland is the right fit for a city that has sent two previous mayors to jail.

"I believe he's the absolutely worst person for the job," Lawrence DePillo, an unsuccessful mayoral candidate in Waterbury, said Wednesday. "It's another black eye for Waterbury."

Former Waterbury Mayor Philip A. Giordano is serving 37 years in prison for sexually abusing two girls. A decade earlier, former Mayor Joseph Santopietro was convicted of embezzling federal funds, bank fraud and tax evasion.

...................

YOUR (certainly not MINE)

senator from connecticut. democrat? NOT in this lifetime!

Lieberman tapped to McCain 'leadership team' in Conn
HARTFORD, Conn. -- Sen. Joe Lieberman has been named a chairman of Republican presidential hopeful John McCain's state leadership team.Lieberman, an Independent who caucuses with Senate Democrats, has endorsed the Arizona senator and campaigned for him in Florida, Michigan, New Hampshire and South Carolina. He is heading McCain's Connecticut campaign with Republican Rep. Christopher Shays.George Jepsen, former state Democratic Party chairman who supported Ned Lamont's successful challenge of Lieberman in the 2006 Democratic primary, said Lieberman's endorsement of McCain is an affront to Democrats who believed Lieberman when he said two years ago that he was committed to helping put a Democrat in the White House in 2008.........

it is january 22nd. blog for choice day

and it is the anniversary of roe v. wade. this year we've been asked why we 'vote' pro choice. well i don't think of myself as 'voting' pro choice. i just think of myself as PRO CHOICE. NO, NOT PRO ABORTION. PRO CHOICE. there is a great difference. i don't advocate abortion. i do advocate birth control and reproductive EDUCATION.

however, when a woman chooses to have an abortion, it is her right to do so. it is her right to feel safe doing so. it is her right for that choice to remain PRIVATE if it is her decision to have it so. it is her right to have a choice if there are health reasons (hers or that of the fetus). it is her right to have a choice if there are circumstances which may make having a child a tragedy. it is her choice and should be respected. it is her choice and NOT some old white rich dude's choice. it is HER choice and not YOUR GOD'S choice.

in almost all cases it is not an easy choice. but it is HER choice to make. it is HER BODY and HER MIND AND HER HEART.

we must never let back room abortions take place again. we must protect this choice we have and not let it be taken away by those who speak false words and judge us as evil. (by the way even those that 'oppose' choice have had abortions. they keep it deeply hidden because of the stigma they perceive. they keep it deeply hidden because of how their families and their men will react. well we all know many many many women who have made the choice to terminate a pregnancy. and yes, they DO come from all walks of life. all religions and all political views)

it's MY choice and i'm not letting YOU or anyone else take it from me

lassie says timmy fell down the well

well maxie saved george morris (it's the same thing)

Pint-Sized Pooch Gets Help For Fallen Owner
Maxie was on a mission.

The 4-year-old shih tzu romped away from owner George Morris while on a walk about 5 a.m. Friday, but the early morning game soon turned serious.

While going after the dog, the 69-year-old Morris slipped on ice in his condominium's parking lot and couldn't get up. That's when Maxie sounded the alarm........

ned lamont and benazir bhutto

i thought this was interesting. ned knew benazir from harvard and received a card (in the mail) from her after her death (of course it was mailed prior).

Late Card Evokes Memories
Ned Lamont And Benazir Bhutto Shared A Friendship Going Back To The 1970s

By CHRISTOPHER KEATING Capitol Bureau Chief

In the late 1980s, two college friends exchanged letters, congratulating each other on the political victories each had recently enjoyed.One had just been elected third selectman of Greenwich.The other had just been elected prime minister of Pakistan.

It was just a small event in the friendship of Democrat Ned Lamont and Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in Pakistan Dec. 27 as she attempted to regain power.About a week into the new year, Lamont received a late-arriving Christmas card from Bhutto, mailed days before she was killed, becoming the fourth member of her family to die as a result of political violence.The card read, "Praying for Peace in the World and Happiness for your Family in 2008."Lamont had not seen his old friend in four years — when they reminisced over lunch about their days together as undergraduates at Harvard, when she was known on campus as "Pinkie."..............

photo: EARLY THIS MONTH, about two weeks after his old college friend and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in Pakistan, Ned Lamont received this Christmas card from her. Lamont made friends with Bhutto when both were undergraduates at Harvard. (MICHAEL MCANDREWS / January 17, 2008)

for all connecticut teachers

and their students

Wednesday, January 16, 2008
URGENT MESSAGE FOR CT'S YOUNG WRITERS & THEIR TEACHERS
If this information could be shared with Connecticut teachers, it would be greatly appreciated.
DEADLINE FEBRUARY 1st! POSTMARK
The Connecticut State University System and IMPAC Control Systems Inc. present the annual Young Writers competition, for students ages 13-18 during the school year.Contestants are encouraged to submit any prose or poetry to IMPAC-CSUS Young Writers 2008. The young writers competition in Connecticut has given more than $150,000 to Connecticut's best young writers since 1998. About 4,000 young writers have participated in the program.Poets and writers in each of Connecticut's eight counties win $1,000 prizes annually, awarded during ceremonies at the four CSU System campuses. Public, private or home school teachers must sign the form and nominate the poets and writers. About a dozen finalists in prose and poetry from each county are invited to the regional ceremonies.
News Release At Governor Rell's Site
Link To Web Site With More Information:
Link To Entry Form:
Young Writer Melanie Lieberman, Rockville High, Talks With WTIC's Ray & DianeThank you very much!
via andy thibault at cool justice

is it just me?

shouldn't chris shays be MORE concerned with bringing our men and women home from afghanistan and iraq (at LEAST in ONE piece) and NOT so very worried about kazillionaires taking steroids? what the f**k is WRONG with that picture? our men and women are being severely wounded AND killed and our lawmakers are meeting over major league baseball (and now perhaps the effing rap industry). am i mad? YOU BET I'M MAD

hey chris shays WAKE THE HELL UP AND SAVE THE PEOPLE WHO REALLY NEED SAVING. at LEAST be concerned with RETURNING VETERANS WELFARE.

Risk Firing, Strike To Get Drugs Out, Shays Tells Selig
By DANIELLE SESSA And SCOTT SOSHNICK Bloomberg News
Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig must rid the sport of steroids even if it leads to his firing or provokes a players' strike, a Connecticut member of the congressional committee holding hearings on the issue said.U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays, R-4th District, also said Congress will step in if widespread use of performance-enhancing drugs in baseball continues.Shays is a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which next week will examine the findings from former Sen. George Mitchell's report on drugs in baseball that named more than 80 players, including seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens..........

both of THESE 'men' should be in a cage

for the rest of their lives. this is one of THE worst cases i have ever heard about.

Plainville animal cruelty
by News Channel 8's Annie Rourke
Plainville (WTNH) _ Two brothers are charged in a horrifying case of animal abuse. This comes after a pet pit bull bites a young boy's arm.
A very disturbing case in Plainville. Police say, a little boy was taken to the hospital after being bitten on the arm by his uncle's pit bull. But it didn't end there. Now, that boy's father is behind bars, while his uncle is facing charges. And, the dog has been put down.
No one is home at the Farmington Avenue house in Plainville where the brothers live. Severino Cruz, 32, and 27-year-old Enrique Cruz were both arrested. This comes after a horrific crime occurred Sunday afternoon. A three-year-old pit bull, kept in a cage in the basement, got loose and bit Severino's 8-year-old son Nick.
Police say the bite was no severe but enough for him to get checked out.
"The dog bit the son Nick," Captain Peter Costanzo of the Plainville Police Department said. "At which point, Enrique took Nick to the hospital for treatment."
When the father heard about the attack, he took matters into his own hands. "Severino came home at that point in time and in a fit of rage, took a power drill and drilled the dog's head several times," Costanzo said.
The dog, back in the cage at this time, had no way to get away.
"He held the dog by his collar with his chain and drilled the holes in the dog," Costanzo noted................

i had NO idea witch hazel was a connecticut commodity

my mother, when i was a girl, touted it's benefits. i've used it all of my life. as a matter of fact, for a couple of years i STOPPED using it. i had some peeling of my skin on the sides of my nose. no matter how much i sloughed that skin on a DAILY BASIS, it just kept on peeling. the ONLY thing that helped it (and i tried EVERYTHING including prescriptions) was WITCH HAZEL.

i don't have any stock in the company. i don't work for the company. i don't know anyone that works for the company (to the best of my knowledge that is). i am not affiliated with the company in ANY way. i'm telling you all right now, GO GET SOME WITCH HAZEL AND USE IT EVERY DAY

Thursday, January 10, 2008Empire of Witch Hazel It begins with good old boys in the woods and ends with a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in East Hampton that supplies the world with this time-honored potion

By Daniel D'Ambrosio

On a crisp, cold afternoon in early December, Russ Galas fired up his Stihl chainsaw and revved the engine to full throttle, undercutting a tenuously leaning snag before dropping it expertly to the forest floor in the 24,000-acre Pachaug State Forest in eastern Connecticut, the state's largest forest.
It was the kind of maneuver that could result in a nasty gash to a body part, or worse, for a less experienced hand. But Galas, 45, has spent many hours in the woods with a chainsaw over the past eight years, cutting witch hazel for his friend Mike Dzurnak.
Dzurnak, 52, whose father and grandfather both cut witch hazel in these woods before him, is one of about eight "brush cutters" in the state who harvest Connecticut's near-monopoly on the worldwide supply of this plant, prized for its qualities as a natural astringent. This year, Dzurnak will supply some 300 tons of chipped witch hazel to American Distilling & Mfg. Inc. in nearby East Hampton, cutting from November to March...........

dickinson's witch hazel

flower picture: bbc.co.uk