Undercurrents

To quote the eloquent Gomer Pyle: Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!

As the Senate (and let’s not forget Ms. Pelosi and many of her fellow House colleagues in this realm) is likely to hand Bush another victory in the pending FISA vote (today);  the Rasmussen report yesterday reveals that the percentage of voters who give Congress good or excellent ratings has fallen to single digits for the first time in Rasmussen Reports tracking history. The report notes that this month, just 9% say Congress is doing a good or excellent job. This is down from a whopping 11% last month! Most voters (52%) say Congress is doing a poor job, which ties the record high in that dubious category.  Of course it should be noted that the four Connecticut House Dems voted against against both the war supplemental and against retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies included in the FISA bill.

The full report is pasted below or can be found at this link. (more…)

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Nashawn Williams was brutally attacked by racist whites in Plainfield while waiting for a school bus in Oct 2007.  Minister Cornell Lewis will bring the family to Hartford for a Press Conference on Saturday July 12th at 11 AM.  This is the first time Nashawn Williams will publicly speak about the attack and having a group of whites taunt the family while inside their home.  Police are trying to close the case; no witnesses or arrests.

Place: Charter Oak Cultural Center

Address: 21 Charter Oak Avenue, Hartford

Date/Time: Saturday, July 12 at 11 AM

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Hartford cares. Hundreds from Hartford and surrounding towns showed up to prove this. Under canopies, a dozen community groups set up to hand out literature, candy, magnets, and let people know what they offered. Knox Parks Foundation, Rebuilding Hartford, My Sister’s Place, CREC, Community Renewal Team, and Hartford Public Access were among these organizations.

A “Wall of Commitment” (giant posterboard) was set up for attendees to write on. Many used this as a place to publicly promise to make changes in their actions as related to Hartford; others used it to say what they are already doing (what organizations they are affiliated with) or what they think about the city. (more…)

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People who know me know that I am not by nature a secretive person. Nor am I known for keeping my opinions to myself.

So it is with a great sense of relief that I can now disclose that for almost nine months I’ve been working with lawyers from New Haven Legal Assistance on a case involving allegations of involuntary servitude, assault and abuse and violations of wage and hour laws at a bakery in New Haven. The twist is this: because the conditions to which our clients (six of the employees) were subjected were so bad, we were actually able to get *help* for them from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In fact, when the employer found out that the employees were planning to sue, ICE swooped in, removed our clients, and turned them over to social workers from the International Institute in Bridgeport. The In’tl. Inst. folks are presently housing our clients in an undisclosed location, and we are hopeful that in addition to bringing this civil lawsuit we will also be able to help them obtain work authorizations and visas.

Here’s the story as reported by the New Haven Independent online and here’s the Courant article.

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Thank goodness for a Ct General Assembly that finally uses its super-majority to override one of many gubernatorial veto’s over the years, HB 5105 An Act Concerning the Minimum Wage

Some grim statistics:

A report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities notes that the Wealth INEQUALITY grew more in Connecticut than any other state (2004 -2006). Some statistics from their report are:

1. The richest 20 percent of families have average incomes 8.0 times as large as the poorest 20 percent of families; this ratio was 4.6 in the late 1980s;
2. This growth in income inequality is largest in the nation;
3. The very richest families - top 5% - have average incomes 14.8 times as large as the poorest 20 percent of families;
4. The gap between Connecticut’s richest and poorest families is 7th largest in the nation;
5. The average income of the poorest fifth and middle fifth of families did not significantly change, while the richest fifth of families rose by $20,000 from $148K to $169K (more…)

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I can’t believe he just died.  This article is a nice tribute to him:

Click here.   

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It’s a pretty well-known fact if you’re one of the millions of people who read your daily newspaper online. Many papers, including the Courant, provide some form of “public forum” that allows readers (or anyone) to post comments on a specific news item. Some are tightly moderated, or require that you register before you can post. Others, like the Topix forums to which the Courant articles link, can be used and abused by just about anyone. (more…)

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I spent eight minutes with Dennis House in an interview that will be aired Sunday morning at 11 on WFSB’s “Face the State.”  I think I was able to keep my seething core from blowing on camera, but I did manage to utter ”thug” and “fascist.”  Check it out.  And if you haven’t signed my petition, drop me an email at sfournier1945@yahoo.com  and I’ll pay you a visit. 

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In the neo-democratic institutions of the 21st Century, the inalienable right of the people to opt out of debate and decision-making has created a new social order: decidership. Americans live in a decidership, and it has rather suddenly replaced the republic we have been relinquishing over the past 20 years or so. (more…)

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