The last week and a half has been full of law school (labor law paper due on how the National Labor Relations Board deals with e-mail - not to the employees' advantage, I assure you). But I have been mulling some stuff over that you might be interested in, and will have a column tomorrow.

 

In free speech world, Avery Doninger's lawyers argued before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan yesterday. Both Aldon Hynes and Andy Thibault have the goods.

 

Based on the questions I read from the three-judge panel, I fear they are leaning toward agreeing with the school douchebag and upholding the censoring of Doninger. It should go to the Supreme Court, where Doninger will probably lose. How much can we gag and blindfold kids and count on a Constitutional republic in the future?

 

UTC wants to buy Diebold. Gasp. Like George David needs any more money or influence.

 

Upcoming Civil Rights Events: Love Makes a Family will be having an organizing meeting at Asylum Hill Congregational Church Tuesday, March 11 at 7 p.m.

 

"Now is a critical time to be a part of the movement for Marriage Equality in Connecticut. Come join Love Makes a Family's Field team for an exciting discussion of:

* The status of the statewide campaign for equality
* The positions of local legislators
*Upcoming Events and Actions in the area

RSVP to Gannon at Gannon@lmfct.org or 860-525-7777 x314

Link to more stupendous student speech news...

 

The arrogance of power may lead to corruption, but for Eddie Perez, Johnny Law ain't too far behind.

 

In this morning's Hartford Courant, Jeffrey Cohen and Dan Goren explain how deep the state is digging into the Mayor's business. This doesn't sound like a fishing expedition.

State criminal investigators probing possible political corruption at Hartford city hall have asked for payment records related to the city's $1 billion school construction program — the first evidence of a connection between the investigation and the project.

The investigators have asked for and received payment records for Diggs Construction — the city's project manager on several school building projects — and for C&R Development, the construction manager for Noah Webster MicroSociety Magnet School, according to documents obtained by The Courant through a freedom of information request to the city treasurer's office.

The five pages of school payment documents, made available Tuesday by City Treasurer Kathleen Palm Devine, consist of computer-generated lists of payments. The payments to Diggs date from 2002 to 2004; the payments to C&R Development date from 2004 to 2007.

Four executives of Diggs Construction of Kansas, or their relatives, as early as April 2007, had given the Mayor a total of $1,000 in cash towards his re-election bid.

 

Joseph DeSanti, the local operations manager for Diggs, told the Courant he knew nothing. Mary DeSanti, possibly his wife, gave $250 to Perez.

 

The Courant quotes the man known for his obfuscation and silence, City Corporation Counsel John Rose Jr, as saying that "dozens of people from the city have been called to testify."

 

This probe is a drain on city resources and time. How many man hours of labor have been lost trying to determing the extent of Honest Eddie's dishonesty?

 

How long before we have Mayor Calixto Torres?

Link...

 

My friend emailed me to tell me about this festival called "All Points West" happening in NYC this summer. Radiohead, Spearhead, Jack Johnson, New Pornographers, the list goes on and on.

 

Don't pay attention to me (even though it is my birthday). GO. Here. Now. APWFestival.com

 

After talking to the third most powerful Democrat in the United States House of Representatives, Congressman John Larson, about impeachment for 15 minutes last week, I felt like banging my head against the wall.

 

To lessen my pain, I called attorney Steve Fournier, Hartford's main man on impeachment.

 

Thanks to a column by the Hartford Courant's Rick Green, Larson called Fournier and the two sat down for more than an hour a month back to discuss impeachment as the sole remedy for the lawlessness of President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

 

I figured that Larson, when I corralled him at a fundraiser he threw for Jim Himes at Arch Street Tavern in Hartford, was the same Larson Fournier talked to in a Congressional office surrounded by aides.

 

But when Steve and I compared notes, we found reason to celebrate, as Larson seems to have taken baby steps towards holding the executive branch accountable for its many unconstitutional missteps.

 

Mind you, Larson the political persona is still miles from espousing outright impeachment. Nevertheless, his evolution towards a point of view of upholding the rule of law is worth documenting.

Link...

 

Former Waterbury Mayor Phillip A. Giordano filed a motion in U.S. District Court in Bridgeport this week to vacate his 444-month sentence for depriving children of their civil rights under color of law.

 

Giordano has a new lawyer, Aaron J. Romano of Fernandez and Romano from Bloomfield, and in the 15 page motion filed Feb. 19, Romano claims that Giordano's former lawyer, Andrew B. Bowman, "ineffectively" assisted Giordano. Download the .pdf here.

 

Additionally, Giordano's motion lists five other reasons why his sentence should be vacated. Among them, Giordano says that "newly discovered evidence that defendant was not the father of one of the victims would have likely resulted in an acquittal."

 

Romano alleges that since the question of Giordano's sentence is still before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, a final judgment has not be issued in the case, and this motion to review the sentence can be made.

 

The motion to vacate the sentence rests mostly on Giordano's contention that his previous counsel was incompetent.

 

"Counsel for Defendant that counsel failed to adequately investigate the case, failed to interview witness, failed to consult with client, failed to make proper objections, failed to pursue proper legal theories and otherwise failed to perform as counsel is so obligated under the Sixth Amendment," the complaint reads.

 

Giordano, who was a lawyer, claimed that his Bowman waived a speedy trial "without fully informing his client of the legal ramifications."

 

The complaint goes on for five pages, listing reasons why Giordano's lawyer was a bum and why Giordano deserves to be freed from jail.

 

Among the other reasons that Giordano's sentence should be vacated, a newly performed DNA test done on one of his victims ordered by the Waterbury Juvenile Court confirmed that Giordano was not the father.

Link...

 

Congressman John Larson took a few minutes at the fundraiser for Jim Himes last night to answer a bunch of my questions, some of which I will turn into my column for next week. But he had some interesting thoughts about Obama and his Congressional priorities for the coming session.

 

Since I have a snow day and am trying to do some fun stuff that I want to do rather than law school homework, I figured I'd share. Larson may have iterated this sentiment elsewhere, but I thought that his words were worth repeating:

 

"I was in Europe talking to members of Parliament, in England. Obama intrigued them. They wanted to know if it could be that America could seize the possibility only America has? They told me that people in the United States don’t see how the rest of the world looks at America," Larson said.

 

"When a boy from Egypt or a child from Iran wakes up and sees that the president of the United States looks like them, they understand that democracy can work," Larson continued. "It would be the biggest thing for democracy building since the Marshall Plan. And I can see at home, in Hartford, Bridgeport, New Haven, even in my home town of East Hartford, how a young African-American could wake up and see President Obama and say, 'Yes, it can happen here in America.'"

Link...

 

When a candidate for Congress talks at a fundraiser and says his opponent has misplaced priorities, it sounds like a pretty pedestrian critique.

 

Yet when Jim Himes, the Democratic candidate for Connecticut's Fourth Congressional District seat, leveled it against his opponent, incumbent Republican Chris Shays for Shays' conduct in recent baseball hearings, it hit home.

 

Shays, who sits on the House Committee for Oversight and Government Reform (which is incidentally misspelled on Shays' website), has been an asinine attack dog during the recent hearings on steroid use in Major League Baseball.

 

Himes wants to know why Shays was so hard on Brian McNamee, the infamous drug-dealing former trainer of ace pitcher Roger Clemens, but let other people, like, say, Erik Prinze, the CEO of Blackwater USA, walk through the Oversight hearings untouched.

 

"Shays was silent with Lurita Doan, Donald Rumsfeld and Erik Prinze," Himes said. "Then he makes a stand with McNamee. His priorities are messed up. It's what you focus on."

 

Himes and I scratched the surface about how, if he were in Shays seat, he would have grilled Prinze, and how Shays wasted his opportunities to hold Republican operatives like Doan and warmongers like Rumsfeld accountable.

 

But Himes had to schmooze with the 50 or so donors and Young Democrats at the fundraiser Congressman John Larson was throwing for him at Hartford's Arch Street Tavern Thursday night.

Link...

 

Two employees of the Connecticut Department of Children and Families have filed separate job discrimination lawsuits in the past three business days.

 

That makes 110 job discrimination lawsuits alleging sex, race, disability or other issues pending in state and federal courts against the state of Connecticut, according to state Attornery General Richard Blumenthal.

 

"These lawsuits make a vast variety of claims, and some may have no merit and some may have more merit," Blumenthal said in a phone interview Tuesday afternoon.

 

"Certainly we wish there were no claims of discrimination, but we work vigorously to advise departments or agencies as to steps that they can take to avoid problems to the extent that there are legal issues involved," he said.

 

He did not have a breakdown on which agency had the most claims pending against it, or which claims were the most common, or how old the claims were, but he promised to have a list for inspection in the near future.

 

The two suits filed in Federal District Court in New Haven against DCF since February 14 claim disability discrimination and racial and age discrimination.

Link...

 

My friend Fahd Vahidy never ceases to amaze me.

 

Last week, I called Fahd to see if he wanted to play some chess or grab a bite to eat. I got his voicemail instead.

 

He called me back a day or so later, from a northbound train. Turns out, Fahd, a Hartford resident, has no time for horsing around.

 

Fahd is executive director of Public Allies Connecticut in Bridgeport and he was down in Washington, D.C. with a crew of Nutmeggers to discuss with the staff of our Congressional delegation (minus Joe Lieberman's office, who wouldn't meet with him) Public Allies' latest achievements.

 

Public Allies, founded in 1992, is a not-for-profit leadership platform that serves 15 communities nationwide. Its mission is to grow a diverse leadership base of young people aged 18-30 by employing young people to become Allies.

Link...

 

Spring is just around the corner. In just a few hours from now, pitchers and catchers report to the St. Louis Cardinals training facility in Jupiter, FL. Hooray.

 

Since it is freezing and yuck outside in Connecticut, and it was yuck inside Congress yesterday with Mr. Clemens potentially perjuring himself, I thought happy baseball thoughts would be in order.

 

A few years ago, I had the luck to be able to show up to the first day of pitchers and catchers reporting for Spring Training at the Marlins' facility, which they share with the Cardinals.

We love baseball because it means summer, playing and fun. And at the first day of camp, I found some people who were there for love of the game. And, of course, the autographs.

 

Link for more photos...

 

Congressman Joe Courtney's office displayed a responsiveness heretofore unseen in Connecticut Congressional representation. I had a noon deadline for a story today, and I needed some information from the Congressman's office.

 

After years of dealing with the dead letter offices of entrenched incumbents like Joe Lieberman, Nancy Johnson and Gary Franks, who once watched a golf match on television while I tried to discuss his new book with him, I didn't have any hope of talking to the Congressman.

 

I figured I had a better chance of getting the story through the legislative assistant who worked on the topic I was writing about. But the policy aide didn't return my 9 a.m. call.

 

No, Brian Farber, Courtney's spokesperson, got back to me, and said maybe he could have Courtney on the phone by 10:30. I couldn't believe it. A Congressman, returning a call, in under two hours? In Connecticut? Is this a dream?

 

I was awake when my phone rang at 10:40 and it was Rep. Courtney. We spoke for about 15 minutes as he was driving down Route 2. As if I need to say it, this sets the bar very high for Congressional representatives in the future.

 

Anyways, Congressman Courtney and I discussed funding for youth groups like AmeriCorps and Public Allies, presidential politics, and the AFL-CIO's number one legislative priority, the Card Check Act.

Link...

 

What if Sen. John McCain chose M. Jodi Rell as a running mate? A political junkie friend suggested this plausibility to me the other night.

 

It makes sense. She's got stratospheric approval ratings, and her appearance on the ticket could combat the Republican stereotype of being an all-white men's club, and go towards defeating whatever diversity the Democratic ticket is sure to toss out there.

 

But back here in Connecticut, we're wise to her shenanigans. I hope. I think. Her recent proposal to splinter ConnDOT doesn't make much sense. But I'll report more on that later.

 

The billboard ban comes at an inopportune moment for her. At the same time she declared billboards as eyesores, her 10-foot tall face was popping up around major interstates in Connecticut promoting her One Thing energy efficiency initiative.

 

Yet the biggest gaffe of the week, month, year, term for me was her reversal on her promise to shut down the Connecticut Juvenile Training School (aka CJTS). Hartford Courant ace reporter Colin Poitras slogged through this broken promise Sunday, Feb. 10:

"Nearly three years after pledging to close the troubled Connecticut Juvenile Training School for boys in Middletown, Gov. M. Jodi Rell is not only keeping the high-security facility open, but is more than doubling the number of children there.

Rell has included $8 million in her proposed mid-term budget to expand the school's programs to handle an additional 120 children.

Robert Genuario, Rell's budget czar, said the additional beds are needed to handle an anticipated surge in the state's juvenile population when a new law raising the maximum juvenile age from 15 to 17 takes effect in 2010. The 16- and 17-year-olds who get into trouble now are processed in adult courts, prisons and jails."

Yeah, so, that great governor there is now presiding over the largest prison population in state history, with no plans to slow it down. I suppose we should be overjoyed that she isn't sending our prisoners to Virginia.

 

What will it take for Connecticut to wake up and smell the coffee? And just when I think, yeah, a vice presidential Rell would make us rid of her, I shudder at the thought of Michael Fedele for another six or more years.

 

I suppose we get the leadership we deserve. Or something like that.

Link...

Ed. Note: This is my print column, written on Feb. 5, run on Feb. 6 in the Hartford News.

 

Yep. I pulled the lever for Obama this morning. In the pouring rain, I moseyed to Grace Lutheran Church, filled in the appropriate bubble, and cast my vote for the freshman Senator from Illinois.

 

As I took pictures in the Hartford Civic Center Monday evening and listened to Obama, I was skeptical. I understand it is likely that Teddy "Camelot, Jr." Kennedy knighted Barack and brought him to the Round Table because of a personal grudge against the Clintons.

 

I understand that most of what Obama promises – affordable college, universal health care, regular raises in minimum wages, raises for teachers, an end to the Iraq War, an end to the War in Afghanistan, 40 mpg fuel standards - he may never deliver upon. But he's talking a language that isn't perpetual warfare, terror and fear.

 

I also understand that once the primary is over, and the corporate wing of the Democratic Party - the Democratic Leadership Council – assumes control of the Dems' platform, his rhetoric may change. Although Obama is not a member of the DLC, he has taken campaign contributions from them.

Link...

 

"I grew up with guns and I like 'em," isn't a sentence you normally hear from a Democrat.

 

But former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford, Jr. is not your regular Democrat. He's a Blue Dog Democrat from Memphis.

 

And Wednesday night at Quinnipiac University's Alumni Hall in Hamden, CT, Ford professed his love for guns and God in front 200 students, faculty and community members.

 

As part of Quinnipiac's Black History Month celebration, Ford, who lost a hotly-contested 2006 Senate contest to Republican Robert Corker, addressed the challenges facing America, namely, energy independence, creating global peace and stability and restoring America's brand image abroad.

Link...