you know what?

the way i look at it is; da liebs is the johnny damon of politics. he's turned his back on those who loved, nurtured and supported him to go over to the dark side.

it's no big deal. johnny was NEVER really a bosox and da liebs was NEVER really a democrat.
it's NOT shocking news. it's not news at all.
(even if he begged to come back - i wouldn't want 'em - EITHER of 'em)

Lieberman willing to star at Republican convention
By Manu Raju
Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), the Democratic Party’s 2000 vice presidential nominee, is leaving open the possibility of giving a keynote address on behalf of Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) at the Republican National Convention in September.
Republicans close to the McCain campaign say Lieberman’s appearance at the convention, possibly before a national primetime audience, could help make the case that the presumptive GOP nominee has a record of crossing the aisle. That could appeal to much-needed independent voters. McCain has yet to ask Lieberman to speak, either in primetime or elsewhere, at the convention. But if McCain thinks it will help make his case for the White House, as some of his allies suspect, Lieberman would be willing to speak on his behalf.
“If Sen. McCain, who I support so strongly, asked me to do it, if he thinks it will help him, I will,” Lieberman said in a brief interview. .....

i think we should all know what procter & gamble

is doing - or in this case NOT doing. they're denying an employee, carl macleod, (who happens to be a disabled veteran) the benefits and coverage that are DUE HIM. he fully disclosed he was a disabled vet to his employer. they knew. f**k them
they make SO many products (from iams pet food to febrize to dawn to tampax it's hard to list them. here's a link to the products listed on their website.) we all know they can AFFORD to cover medical benefits for mr macleod.
p&g DO THE RIGHT THING

An Ill Veteran, A Denied Claim, A Heartless Employer
Susan Campbell
Carl MacLeod enlisted in the Army, and for 20 years he traveled the world. He also accumulated a few injuries.When he was honorably discharged as a first sergeant in early 2001, he got a job as a maintenance manager at Clairol in Stamford. He told the company he was a disabled vet, and enrolled in their employee benefits plan. That same year, he and wife Kristy moved with his three and her two children from previous marriages to a house in West Haven.Later that year, Procter & Gamble bought Clairol, and MacLeod met with two company representatives to discuss benefits. He talked about his injuries, and he was reassured that nothing would change. He enrolled in the new benefits plan, and started paying premiums.And then he got sick. Years as an Army machinist exposed him to a sea of chemicals, and in February 2004, MacLeod was diagnosed with chronic solvent encephalopathy, or CSE, a degenerative neurological disease, something like a cross between MS and Lou Gehring's disease for which there is no cure. In October 2004, the VA upped his disability from 70 to 100 percent.MacLeod filed for disability benefits at work, but within four days — over a weekend, yet — P&G said no. They said his diagnosis was a result of military service, and they were not responsible. This despite their earlier reassurances, and the language of their own package plan.In November '06, a judge said the company should review its denial. P&G asked for more documentation, and then denied him again last August. MacLeod filed suit last month..............

more on justin goodman, peta, animal experiments

at unconn. this time from
nbc30
PETA Calls For Investigation Into UConn Cat Experiment
Activists: Animal Died After Holes Were Drilled Into Head

STORRS, Conn. -- Animal activities claim an experiment at the University of Connecticut resulted in the death of a cat.
The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals filed a seven-page complaint to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, asking it to investigate possible violations of the Animal Welfare Act at UConn.
Justin Goodman, an animal lover, PETA employee and UConn grad student, said a whistleblower came to him in January and told him a cat bled to death following an experiment on campus.
"They were drilling a hole into her skull so that they could place electrodes directly onto her brain," he said. "And while they were drilling a hole, she had a brain hemorrhage and started bleeding out and died."
He said news of the possible experiment gone bad was alarming.
"When you hear something terrible like a cat bleeding to death after having a hole drilled into her skull, obviously anyone would be taken aback," Goodman said............

and

wtnh, channel 8
PETA wants investigation at UConn
By News Channel 8's Bob Wilson
(WTNH) _ The University of Connecticut is responding to PETA's call for a federal investigation into research conducted on cats.
Justin Goodman investigates labs for PETA. He says an anonymous whistle blower came forward saying a cat was killed prematurely during medical research on hearing at UConn.
"These people are supposed to know what they are doing, and here they are drilling a hole into a cats head and she bleeds out, and has a brain hemorrhage before they can even conduct their experiment," Goodman said.
It is an experiment which is legal and funded by the government. UConn released a statement that says, "The PETA account, provided to the media, has several serious inaccuracies: the truth is that the cat in question was never paralyzed and did not bleed to death and the head veterinarian was present."...............

big baby

turns out it was YOUR own fault all along da liebs
again, BIG BABY

FBI: Lieberman campaign to blame for crash to its Web site

By ConnPolitics.tv Editor, on Apr 9, 2008

Stamford (AP)– Federal investigators have concluded that U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman’s 2006 re-election campaign caused the crash of its Web site the day before the Democratic primary with Ned Lamont.
The FBI says it has found no evidence supporting the Lieberman campaign’s allegations that Lamont supporters were to blame for the Web site crash.
Lieberman had implied that joe2006.com was hacked by Lamont supporters.......

and THIS interesting tidbit:
Okay, Lamont Didn’t Crash the Servers. But What Did Lieberman Do with His $387,000 Slush Fund?
By: emptywheel

In thoroughly unsurprising news today, the Ned Lamont campaign was cleared of any wrong-doing in the crash of Lieberman's server leading up to primary day in 2006. The Stamford Advocate reports that the FBI determined--way back on October 25, 2006--that Lieberman's campaign bears all responsibility for the server crash.
Case closed, right?
No. Not on the outstanding legal issues arising from the campaign, anyway.
As you might recall, the Lamont campaign filed an FEC complaint, coincidentally just two days before the whole server crash case was closed in October 2006, noting that Joe Lieberman had a campaign finance entry for "petty cash" expenditures that were way beyond the legal limits: $387,000 of "petty cash."
The Friends of Joe Lieberman committee, and Joseph I. Lieberman, individually have violated the clear and unambiguous terms of 11 C.F.R. §102.11 in at least the following three ways.
First, according to the FEC October Quarterly report filed on October 13, 2006, the Lieberman campaign has petty cash disbursements amounting to $387,561.00, which is roughly 8 percent of its total disbursements, or one out of every twelve dollars spent. On several occasions, petty cash disbursements greater than $100 were reported, as supposed payment for “volunteers.” As summary of these disbursements from the Friends of Joe Lieberman report are attached hereto. These disbursements reflect patent violations of 11 C.F.R. §102.11..........

from the hartford advocate

a story on animal abuse featuring justin goodman
Me-Ouch!
PETA member Justin Goodman says UConn has been drilling holes in the heads of cats
By Adam Bulger
PETA member and former University of Connecticut graduate student Justin Goodman is alarmed at what he says the school is doing with cats. Goodman, who made headlines (in publications that included this paper) in 2006 for exposing the treatment of Cornelius, a rhesus monkey used in experiments at UConn's Health Center, learned in January of UConn classes and experiments that he believes includes abusive and archaic practices.
An insider at UConn told Goodman about a study in the psychology department at the university's main campus in Storrs.
"This cat, who was being prepared for an experiment, she would have a hole drilled in her head [and] would be put in a sound-proof box for two to four days," Goodman said. "They would put electrodes in her brain and collect electrophysiological recordings from single neurons in her brain."............

connecticut for animals

from the cool justice report

Famous Douche Bag Case Noted In National Muzzle Awards

.....................ANNOUNCING THE 2008 JEFFERSON MUZZLES:Who were the Best Censors of Last Year?...........

.............Lewis Mills High School Principal Karissa Niehoff and Connecticut Region 10 Superintendent of Schools Paula Schwartz for not allowing a student to run for class office because she posted comments critical of school officials on an Internet blog.............

those wild and wacky

connecticut criminals are at it again!

Suspect Uses Umbrella In Windsor Locks Robbery

tell me

how a MERE 13 years is an 'appropriate' sentence for slavery and forcing minors into prostitution?

re effing diculous
Sex trafficker sentenced to 13 years in prison
NEW HAVEN, Conn.—Federal prosecutors say a man has been sentenced to 13 years in prison for his involvement in a sex trafficking operation that victimized children and young women.
more stories like this
Brian Forbes of East Hartford was sentenced in Hartford federal court. The 43-year-old pleaded guilty last year to several charges including sex trafficking of a minor and sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion.
Acting U.S. Attorney Nora Dannehy says the prison term is appropriate for someone who victimized minors and enslaved women..............

i work for a large corporation

it is drilled into us, we CAN NEVER throw out ANY information that is sensitive. NONE. EVER. we MUST dispose of it in shredder bins. that has been the case for MANY years. recently, they even went a step further. we have a 'clear desk' policy. when we are away from our desks for more than an hour OR when we leave, we MUST lock our computer screens (in my department we all have laptops and docking stations. those docking stations are locked all of the time the laptops are in them) and we MUST have all sensitive information off of our desks. we even have a laminated piece of paper which states we're gone for the day and if you are going to leave something on the desk, seek out the person's supervisor and give that document to them, do NOT leave it on an open desk. mind you, we have a LOCKED building. it's impossible to get into unless you have a key card. during normal business hours, the front doors are unlocked, but there are security guards at the front desk. you can't get past them without setting off an alarm. (the guards are there 24/7 by the way). we even have some revolving doors at other entrances where you need the key card to gain entrance. those doors are so sensitive, they will back you out if they think there are TWO of you in one compartment (it has a scanner in it. i once tried to get back in after a smoke and i was reading. i had the papers out in front of me. the door, WHICH EFFING TALKS, told me i was a bad bad bad grrrl and it backed me out).
seems to me, people's bank is the one at fault here
Taking bank trash, Fairfield man claims security lapse
BRIDGEPORT, Conn.—A Fairfield man who claims security lapses after taking bank documents from trash bins is headed to court on civil charges that he violated a restraining order won by the bank.
more stories like this
For four months, James Hastings searched through trash bins outside People's United Bank branches in Fairfield County. He pulled out bags of paperwork with private information, including customers' Social Security numbers and account information.
The bank last month won a restraining order against Hastings, 56, requiring him to not discuss the matter or distribute paperwork. He has since been interviewed by the Connecticut Post.
People's Bank said Hastings is trying to extort money and claims he asked to be hired as a "fraud consultant." Bank officials also are demanding that the information be returned.
Brent DiGiorgio, a spokesman for People's Bank, said its primary concern is protecting the customers' information that Hastings has taken. The bank promises to provide a year of free credit monitoring to customers whose information was taken and has contacted affected customers, he said.
People's trains employees abut safeguarding customer information and the bank is reviewing its policies, DiGiorgio said.........

wes craven (whom i love)

is filming a movie in connecticut! why there's such a big uproar over filming a horror movie is BEYOND me.

Wes Craven To Film Horror Movie In Former Tolland High School
By MATT BURGARD And STEPHANIE SUMMERS
Courant Staff Writers
Not surprisingly, Wes Craven likes red sauce on his spaghetti.That's the way the horror movie maestro ordered it when he stopped for a bite locally last month, ahead of ironing out the deal signed Wednesday with the town to film part of his next fright feature, "25/8," at the former high school on Old Cathole Road..........
...........Writer/director Craven and his crew of 80 or so plan to begin work on "25/8" inside and outside the vacant building April 14. He'll pay the school district $37,000 plus expenses for the privilege, Superintendent William Guzman said Thursday.The movie, written by Craven, is about a serial killer who stalks seven teenagers born the night the killer purportedly died 15 years earlier.Craven's Stamford movie company, Lucky Cricket Productions, has assured the school board that violent scenes would not be filmed at the school and a fictitious town name will be used. Filming also takes place in New Milford and Stamford.Scenes shot here will show "kids doing normal kid things," film location manager Mike Nickodem said Thursday. Characters will be filmed in the halls, at biology class and on the soccer field."Nothing on the campus that is going to be done is an untoward event," said Guzman who prefers a "good drama" to a horror flick...........

way to go governor weicker!

i always thought lowell looked like my old boss bill. both very tall, very strong men. unfortunately bill died a few years back. a YOUNG man. cancer. i went to his funeral at an air force base on cape cod. as far as funerals go, it was quite lovely and moving. i miss bill. i HATED working for him. we fought all of the time. others were intimidated by him because of his size and his power. i of course wasn't. i once even walked out of his office durning my annual review, slamming the door. years later, on a business trip we discussed that. i told him if i didn't walk out he would have had to fire me. i would have verbally AND physically assaulted him. when bill stopped being my boss (i started to report to someone else), we became the BEST of friends. one thing about bill i always admired, he treated everyone the same. from the mailroom employees to ceos. i miss you bill!
Former Connecticut governor Weicker endorses Obama
Stephanie Reitz

HARTFORD, Conn.—Former Republican senator and Connecticut independent Gov. Lowell P. Weicker Jr. endorsed Barack Obama's presidential bid Friday, saying the Illinois Democrat "has the smarts, quite frankly, to do a damn good job."
more stories like this
Weicker, 76, said Obama's positive outlook, vision for the country's future and common sense made him the obvious candidate to endorse.
"Even though I'm almost 77 years old, I want a fresh start and a young start for this country," Weicker said. "I think we've had enough of the old-timers in both parties."
Weicker, a former U.S. congressman and senator, was elected Connecticut's governor in 1990 as an independent under his "A Connecticut Party" label. He served one term.
Reached by telephone Friday while traveling in Virginia, Weicker called Democratic contender Hillary Rodham Clinton "a very capable individual," but said he did not endorse her because "it's time to get on with some new thinking in this country.".........

finally!

sit-n-knit has moved from west hartford center (yuk yuk and triple yuk) to bloomfield. i stopped by yesterday on my way home from work. the new location is HUGE AND there is plenty of FREE parking (unlike west hartford center). it's easy to get to, about 10 minutes from the old location (give or take)

so do stop by. no need to rush through the store so you can hop out to feed the parking meter. take your time. sit n knit!

uh oh, know what time it is?

it's time to reveal ANOTHER stupid connecticut criminal!
(b & e, i'm praying this one isn't related to you as well)
Police: Man Arrested After Reporting Vandalism To Stolen Car
WVIT-TV
SOMERS, Conn. - A Somers man was arrested after reporting his car was vandalized. He went to state police Wednesday to report that his 2008 Cadillac sedan was vandalized, police said.
State police determined the car was stolen after the trooper taking the vandalism report became suspicious and asked Duval how he could afford the car, police said.
Police said Duval stole the car from an Avis rental car company in Windsor Locks........

c'mon all of you stupid id-jits

if we don't do EXACTLY what da liebs says, al qaeda won't just be in iraq and iran IT WILL BE IN WEST HARTFORD CENTER (goddess forbid!), AND GREENWICH AND LITCHFIELD AND DUBUQUE AND MINNEAPOLIS AND ORLANDO AND OF COURSE BRIDGEPORT

Joe Lieberman Attacks Barack Obama On Fox News (Video) (click the link for video)
By: Jane Hamsher
There's nothing quite like seeing it live:
LIEBERMAN: Well, I think that - let me say generally that Sen. Obama doesn't come to this debate with a lot of credibility. Basically on the question of Iraq, John McCain has had the guts to stand out on his own arguing for what he thought was right. And it turned out that he was right about the surge working to improve conditions in Iraq.
If we did what Sen. Obama wanted us to do last year, Al-Qaeda in Iran would be in control of Iraq today. The whole Middle East would be in turmoil and American security and credibility would be jeopardized.
On the specific question of the 100 years, I think that's an unfortunate example of the way Sen. Obama has used it, of playing political gotcha with a national security question.........

a big ol' shout out to bill earls

i was reading buzzflash when i came across an article he wrote. a GREAT, ON THE MARK, SINCERE, INSIGHTFUL article. a truthful and sad article.

the only thing i would have done differently is cram in the article SOMEWHERE, 'da liebs is a GIANT STEAMIN' PILE O' SHITE'. the end


Bill Earls: Joe Lieberman's hypocrisy and the Hartford Courant's irony
Credit the Hartford Courant's layout editors with a sense of cruel irony.On Monday's front page, there was a four column photograph of Mrs. Autumn Letendre helping her son Dillon, 4, press his hands into cement at the dedication of a New Britain, CT park named in honor of his father, Captain Brian Letendre, who was killed in Iraq.Just to the right of that was the headline "Lieberman's Pain." It was a tie-in to a story about how badly our junior Senator feels about today's political climate.I wanted to reach for the airsick bag and, had Joe Lieberman been nearby, I'd have been tempted to hit him with a rock and say, "Feel some real pain, you hypocrite."Let's walk through it slowly, using short words so that even people who think Lieberman speaks for decency, honor, or common sense can understand.Go online and punch in "Marine, Brian Letendre," and read the many stories and tributes; you'll be awed, impressed, and incredibly saddened. Letendre was a genuine hero, a genuine patriot. We do not have enough people like this. We never will. Letendre was popular in high school, a college soccer star, the kind of boys other boys are drawn to, that girls with values -- honor, integrity, decency -- are drawn to. And he joined the Marines, maybe the world's finest fighting force, because the Marines, above, all represent and live by that warrior code that stresses brotherhood and integrity. He married his college girlfriend, and their son Dillon was born while his dad was on his first tour of Iraq during the invasion of 2003.Go online and punch in "Lieberman." An early track record of supporting Democratic issues - education initiatives, programs to lift people out of poverty, government that helped people -- and then sometime around 9/11, he went dark. By fall 2002, when the Bush Administration began lying about the threat posed by Saddam Hussein and wrongly connecting Hussein with the 9/11 attacks, Lieberman was one of the most prominent people buying into it. (Hillary Clinton bought into the same nonsense, and so did John McCain -- so, unfortunately, did most newspaper editors.)...................

my original posting on Captain Brian Letendre

it IS imperative we do something

about the cost of home heating oil (and OTHER utilities as well). i have mentioned SEVERAL times before, my father's (who will be 82 this month) last oil bill was over $700.00. who can afford that? even working families. that is a STRAIN.
Fuel dealers say customers can't pay bills, Larson proposes bill
By Susan Haigh
HARTFORD, Conn.—More than 60 days delinquent in paying her oil bill, a desperate Middletown woman recently called Peterson Oil Co., asking for help.
more stories like this
Jim Meehan, president of the Portland-based home heating oil company, said he has other customers who are more than 90 days late in paying their bills. Given the rising price of fuel, coupled with higher food costs and other expenses, many of his customers cannot afford the $1,000 it often costs to fill their oil tanks.
"We try to accommodate. It's tough," he said, adding that some customers owe $1,500 to $2,500 in back heating bills, creating a cash flow problem for his business. "They just have no way of paying it."
Meehan and a group of fuel dealers appeared at the state Capitol on Monday with U.S. Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., to support federal legislation that aims to remove the speculation in the energy futures market. An Energy Department official this month said market speculation on energy prices may have added as much as 10 percent to crude oil costs.
Larson's bill would require investors in the commodities market to be able to take delivery of the petroleum product in which they are investing. Such a move, he said, would eliminate speculators from the market.
"I think the government has to step in here and say to speculators, 'No, you're no longer going to be able to do this,'" Larson said. A U.S. Senate hearing on the issue is planned later this week........

YOU re-elected him

i didn't. he's horrid. the democratic party didn't change da liebs, YOU changed. well not really. i think you're just showing your TRUE feelings a bit more these days
Lieberman Blasts Democrats As Protectionist, Isolationist
HARTFORD, Conn. -- Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman blasted the Democratic Party Sunday as protectionist, isolationist and hyperpartisan.
Speaking on ABC's `This Week,' Lieberman said it is not the same party that made him its vice presidential candidate in 2000.
"It's not the Bill Clinton-Al Gore party, which was strong internationalists, strong on defense, pro-trade, pro-reform in our domestic government," he said. "It's been effectively taken over by a small group on the left of the party that is protectionist, isolationist and very, very hyperpartisan. So it pains me." ...............

..................McCain, he said, is "a reformer, somebody who understands ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country and remembers the other part of the Kennedy inaugural, which said that we will bear any burden, pay any price to assure the survival and sustenance of liberty. That's John McCain."
Lieberman also blasted Sen. Barak Obama for voting against a resolution to label the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist group.
"These people are responsible for killing hundreds of American soldiers," Lieberman said." Senator Obama voted against that. Now, to me, that was an irresponsible vote. And I give Senator Clinton credit; she voted for it."...........

no da liebs. iran isn't responsible for killing hundreds (make that 4,007) of american troops. YOU, king george and the whole rest of the court ARE

i just turned 55 a few days ago

i have always looked different. from the time i was a child until now - and oh, by the way, i'm NOT going to stop looking different either. i like myself. it took time, but i do. i don't want to blend. i don't want to be the grrrl next door (nothing wrong with that, it's just NOT me). i stand out. i get stared at. i'm NOT seeking that mind you (no matter what you think, i'm not). my friend philip (my best friend for years and years and years, but we no longer are in touch) and i conducted an experiment in nyc once. you figure i'd get stared at HERE but not there, right? wrong. this was years ago (i think we were about 20 give or take) but here's what we did.

in the day time, we went out. i was in a flannel shirt, jeans and construction boots (ok, they WERE silver) and little makeup. he walked away from me and observed people's reactions to me. he was in the state of disbelief. he swore to me he never noticed how many people stare at me. AND i was very low key. then we went out at night. i got all gussied up. full makeup, jewelry (well i wear my jewelry ALL of the time), clothing..... the reactions were JUST the same. neither of us had an answer.

i remember one year my old boss had a friend of his visit him at work. jim (my old boss) introduced me to his friend. at one point the friend came up to me and asked why i looked like i did since halloween had already passed (yes, this DID happen and yes it DID come from an 'adult').

not everyone is cruel and stupid. GOOD things happen to me as well. once at work this older (yup, older than me) woman came up to me and told me she looked forward to seeing me each and every day. i was a bright spot in her day - she loved seeing what i was wearing. another time in the grocery store another woman said almost the same thing, how everyone else looked alike and was rather drab. she was glad to see someone looking like me shopping in that store! and this stands out in my mind as well. i was standing in a very long line in a movie theater one day (afternoon showing). a group of young boys was in another line (it was obviously a birthday party). the birthday boy broke away and came over to me. he was calling his father and saying something like, 'dad, take a look at this lady'..........i was starting to cringe, when all of a sudden he grabbed my hand and said, 'dad, look at all the cool stuff this lady has on' (i couldn't stop smiling for DAYS afterward).

i take the bad with the good. i know i can be rather imposing. i also know if someone took the time to say hello, i wouldn't cast a spell on them, i'd say hello back!

please take the time to say hello to people who are not exactly like YOU. you may be more than pleasantly surprised!
Teenager guilty of goth murder
By Kim Pilling, PA
A 15-year-old boy was today convicted of kicking and stamping to death a young woman in a park because she was dressed as a Goth. Brendan Harris attacked Sophie Lancaster, 20, as she begged him and four other youths to stop beating her boyfriend, art student Robert Maltby. Preston Crown Court heard the assault was totally unprovoked and the two victims from Bacup, Lancashire, were singled out because they looked different to their attackers. Miss Lancaster, a gap year student, died from serious head injuries two weeks after the attack in Stubbylee Park, Bacup, in the early hours of August 11 last year, while Mr Maltby, also a Goth, survived. A jury of nine men and three women found Harris guilty of murder within hours of retiring. After the verdict trial judge Anthony Russell QC lifted an order banning identification of Harris and Ryan Herbert, 16, who had pleaded guilty to Miss Lancaster's murder. Harris had denied the murder charge but pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm to Mr Maltby after drinking two litres of cider, a bottle of Stella Artois lager and "quite a lot of" peach schnapps. ........

anybody else read this in the hartford advocate this week?

why am i NOT surprised the school board in MY town, west hartford, had stuff to HIDE?
why am i NOT surprised our taxes are going through the roof and they ARE INDEED EATING CAKE?
is anyone else as disturbed as i am?

Let Them Eat Cake
How much tax money does West Hartford's Board of Education spend on catered meals for itself? They won't tell us.
By Jennifer Abel
The current West Hartford school budget is close to $118 million, about $11,670 per student. According to the CIA World Factbook, this is more than the per capita income of 141 of Earth's 230 nations.
According to the board of education it's still not enough to teach the kids, so they're requesting an extra $7.5 million next year.
There's already grumbling in town about how taxes, once again, are rising higher than inflation. And since the school budget is over 60 percent of the town's total, much of that grumbling's directed toward school spending. It's mostly off-the-record, though, because people who speak against school spending are branded as selfish.
The budget's not presented in a line-item form that lists individual expenses. So when we first heard complaints about the board allegedly having breakfasts and lunches catered to meetings on the taxpayers' dime, we didn't know if this was a big deal or not because we couldn't go to the budget and read "Refreshments: X dollars."
Are we talking "coffee and donuts" or "five-course banquets"? A woman at the Avon Board of Ed. said she usually makes coffee for meetings; Simsbury said they'll provide a meal if they are scheduled back-to-back during the dinner hour. This sounds reasonable; is that what West Hartford's doing?...............

i didn't know about this

and even if i did, i don't know that i could live on $3.00 to $4.00 of food a day. i spend that much on coffee. i'm not being flippant. one just doesn't realize people DO have to live on $4.00 worth of food a day. i will remember that

I'm One Of The Lucky – My Hunger Ends Tuesday
Susan Campbell
Hartford's monthlong Food Stamp Project ends Tuesday, and that can't come too soon for me.For a few days or all month, project participants agree to live on $3 to $4 of food a day, roughly what a food-stamp recipient can expect these days. This is the second year for the Charter Oak Cultural Center exercise. Rabbi Donna Berman, executive director, dreamed it up as a way to make hunger more real to citizens of one of the country's richest states. Yes, people go hungry here. All around the state, clergy urged their congregations to participate, a couple of high school classes signed on, as did the entire staff at End Hunger CT — all without registering formally. "I think," said Berman, "this is bigger than we know." Last year, word spread, and all over the country, people participated, including the governor of Oregon and several members of Congress.This year, the center partnered with regional anti-hunger organizations such as Foodshare Inc., End Hunger CT as well as their recipient charity, Hands On Hartford, the former Center City Churches...........