Monday, December 31, 2007

Milford Ends Year With No First Night Celebration

Last year the town of Milford rang in the new year with the "First Night" celebration, one that is repeated throughout many communities. Last years celebration was appropriate for all ages and included arts and crafts, indoor play activities, music food and drink.

The celebration was cancelled this year due to lack of funds, and community involvement and leadership. The town clerk called it quite "sad" but hopes it will be on again next year.

This day I wish everyone a safe and happy holiday, and especially take responsibility for yourself and loved ones and do not "Drink and Drive."

Friday, December 28, 2007

Local Retailers Face Hardship in 2008

The year is coming to a close and the Federal Reserve has indicated there is a good chance of a National Recession. The numbers on the economy continue to disappoint economists with the poorest performing sectors being in Banking and Real Estate. Retailers also saw a disappointing holiday season as they indicated their sales were off.

Locally here in Milford I have noticed a more obvious growth of retail vacancies in plazas like the one here on Cherry Street where half the plaza appears up for lease. Milford has a very large retail base many of it from national chains like the new Lowes, Sears, and large chain stores. Should shoppers continue to curb spending into the the future the dynamic of our retail markets could dramatically change as major retail corporations rethink ways to contain losses and keep their finances on track.

Cramer from "Mad Money" the popular CNBC Cable show said that he is not concerned about all the dismal economic news, he believes that none of it is Germain in the face of Strong employment numbers throughout the country. He has no intention of sounding the "alarm" on the economy but said should the employment numbers rise to high un-employment in addition to the slumping economy, than his entire optimistic opinion will dramatically change to one of serious concern.

The current sentiment is that the economy will continue to slump into 2008, the Fed will continue to take corrective measures, and the dollar may very well continue its decline as the U.S. struggles to maintain control over the health of and continuity of our debt mired nation.

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Christmas Santa Vs. Jesus.

This year while sending out my Christmas cards I carefully thought to find ones that said "Happy Holidays" as Christmas means different things to different people. We are a culture of diversity celebrating all aspects of tradition across all religions. These include Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and some I cannot even think of.

We try not to be insensitive to others, but in my search for the meaning of the holiday I asked several kids about what it was we celebrate on Christmas and many of them had not a clue. The only thing they had on their minds was Santa, the holiday carols, gifts, and decorations.

Quite sadly in the documentary "Supersize Me" more kids can positively ID Ronald McDonald than Jesus Christ, and of course the clouded meaning of the holiday does not stop there. Those who are vocal about Dec. 25Th being the celebration of the birth of Christ are told to take it out of school, city hall, and in essence to pack up any mangers and put them in the privacy of your own home. Those who are courageous enough to display mangers for public display are closely guarding them, especially after several vandals have damaged mangers at churches.

This year I must ask all of you who celebrate Christmas whose birthday do you think it is?

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

NASA Discovers 10Th Planet

And no, I do not think this was the star Jesus was born under, even though it looks like a cross in the sky.

Eris was just named a little over a year ago, and many scientists prior to its naming have known it as 2003 UB 313. The discovery of this planet was attributed to perturbations in the neighboring planets.

These perturbations, or disruptions in planetary dynamics is what led to the search for the mystery planet also known as planet X during the search phase. This planet may have also been depicted by the ancient Sumerians as Nibiru. For many years Eris has evaded detection because of its elliptical orbit that travels outside the norm of our regular planets. The size of Eris is estimated at 1.27 times the size of Pluto making it a dwarf planet.

While there is some controversy as to the date this planet will be visible it is expected to pass closest to the Sun in the year 2258 completing a 557 year orbit. However this number does not agree with that of the ancient Sumerians and the Aztec's who claim Planet X will pass our Sun as soon as 2012 completing a 3,600 year orbit. For this reason it is entirely possible that Eris is not the same planet mentioned in the ancient tablets.

However, this new planet also has aroused the attention of some in the religious community who have said on numerous videos on the web that Nibiru at its closest point will dramatically impact the Earth. There already may be some strange coincidences going on now, some in particular is the magnetic disruptions at the earths poles, and the accelerated slowing of the Earth's rotation. These could very well lead to extreme cosmic influence over Earthly dynamics resulting in the unbeliavable stories mentioned in the Bible.

At its closest point Eris will look like a "Bright Orange" cross in the sky, (only visible with a telescope) likened to the description's of the "End of Days" written in the bible. How the ancient Sumerians knew of our planetary arrangement in the solar system is yet another astounding mystery to emerge from the Iraqi region. Unfortunately, the U.S. led invasion into Iraq has resulted in the loss of many priceless artifacts belonging to the ancient Sumerians who were the first modern civilization to accurately chart the Solar system.

One last point to mention "Eris" is the greek goddess of "strife" and "discord" perhaps a fitting name for the celestial object that may have been responsible for colliding with our planet earth, hence creating our moon. Also Eris may not be a planet as it has been the subject of the same scientific disagreement as Pluto.

Religious zealots can relax, I gave this my best shot and can firmly conclude that this is not the "death star" mentioned in the bible. It does not even to appear to be the mystery planet mentioned by the Sumerians either.

For any avid planet watchers, hold on to your telescope because Eris will not be visible to the northern hemsiphere until the latter part of 2009. To get details on NASA'a 10th planet see the SPT or South Pole Telescope.

Friday, December 21, 2007

Happy Holidays

This is a sincere holiday wish to all of you that have visited this website and have called me and spoken with me in the past. The Frank Campaign party will be held tomorrow at my home all are welcome to attend please remember to RSVP prior to your arrival. My phone number is (203)247-4357.

This years party is open to all friends, family, and supporters of freedom and liberty, and good healthy holiday fun. To all those who have helped thus far, thanks for your support this past year.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Connecticut Sues To Keep Lights On

TEN Company, a subsidiary of Energy East, also involved with UI in our Devon Power Plant project, is trying to shut off the electric on ten of our government office buildings.

These buildings include important government facilities such as the Legislative Office Building, State Supreme Court, our Armory, our Dept of Environmental protection, and six others.

The reason for the "shut off", according to Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, is because of a pricing dispute. Blumenthal alleges "Fraud," a claim TEN denies, on the part that they are taking advantage of its monopoly on energy. Blumenthal has taken this matter before the court seeking an injunction to halt the shutdown of energy to the affected state office buildings.

Blumenthal decried to the media "we will not let Connecticut be held hostage by this company." The issue before the court is wether or not the state was fradulently overcharged 14 Million since the early 90's.

Rohback the attorney representing TEN in court offered the entire heating and piping systems up for state purchase. He alleges that the state contract is not that profitable and is willing to put them up for sale.

In lieu of this lawsuit the TEN Cos. prefer not to do business with the state and are aiming to withdraw service, or render it to another provider.

My personal opinion to bring this home, goes along with what I said in earlier posts about the greed, and antics of corporate energy in CT. I would much prefer choice and free enterprise when it comes to energy, but unfortunately we have a monopoly in town. Thankfully, that is changing if anyone would like to see emerging energy alternatives click This Link.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Joe Liberman Endorses John McCain

This endorsement was no surprise to me, it is about what I expected from Joe Lieberman once a Democrat, and now a party flip flop. Many people in my circles have argued that any 2008 Presidential candidate should be aware that Joe has become the "third rail" of politics.

This opinion of mine, has to do with his politics of party betrayal as demonstrated by Joe in the last Senate race where he "back stabbed" his own party when he lost fair and square to Ned Lamont. I also call him the "third rail" because many of my friends who study political science have said that he was Al Gore's biggest mistake, and essentially, his pro-war hawkish stance in that election cost Gore the needed votes to win the Presidency. Joe Lieberman's politics have more in common with CIA counter intelligence mole tactics, than a U.S. Senator.

John McCain is who I expected Joe to endorse, this is because McCain is the only ex-veteran running in 08 that is intent on staying the course in the current Middle East conflict. He is also in support of America's global "military empire" agenda.

His closest "weapon building" supporters here in CT must be proud of his endorsement, as CT has a very large military industrial lobby that stands to reap big profits from protracted wars. Lets not forget that Sikorsky sells WAR helicopters, Electric Boat sells WAR submarines, United Technologies WAR electronics, Hubble sells WAR satellites, and many other big WAR profiteers here in our state. How could they not love "hawkish Joe" and this endorsement of his?

If I may put it in a few short words, it all boils down to WAR, PROFITS, and contempt for what it is you want for America "PEACE." Unfortunately, Joe Lieberman is so pro-war that he would have endorsed "Dracula" if he were on the Presidential ballot. Instead we got our U.S. Senator throw his support to the most militarily aggressive candidate in the Presidential lot, ex-pow and military officer John McCain. Thank you Joe, for once again forgetting you were once a Democrat, and thanks again for throwing more of Ct's votes to the only true Republican peace candidate Ron Paul.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

A Message From Me (Rocco J. Frank Jr.)

This is my first webcast this year and contains my rebuttal to Speaker Jim Amann's 2007 Legislative Update that was mailed to everyone in the 118th district. Feel free to link to, and share, my video with whomever you wish. This video is not yet posted to Youtube and may not be because of file size limitations.

Enjoy the video, and feel free to share your comments.

Monday, December 17, 2007

Underdog Ron Paul Raises Est. 6 Million in One Day

Yesterday was the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, a critical point in American history where the ejecting of British tea off ships in Boston Harbor spurred a revolution that set America, (and Americans) free from British tyranny.

In the name of that emblematic event over 100 thousand Ron Paul supporters threw their money to Ron Paul breaking an all time one day record once held by John Kerry. So far, he has a solid 6 plus million processed on his website, and today and over the next few days, payments made by check, e-check, paypal, and cash donations are being counted. It is estimated that the final tally could go as high as 7 million dollars making this dark horse hard to ignore.

The media has largely ignored Ron Paul, and many commentators have expressed their belief that the American people do not want a Libertarian leaning Republican in the White House. This opinion aside, even if he loses the Presidential bid, the energy and message set in motion will be hard to ignore.

All people, especially the young, want a return to the "late great America" not the new post "9/11 America" where we have un-imaginable debt, endless war, endangered entitlement promises, a bubble government, and a steady erosion of our liberty. Ron Paul is emblematic of hope and his revolution and supporters speak that message by inverting the word "love", much in the same way John Lennon did, when speaking about this modern day "revolution."

Friday, December 14, 2007

Tainted Toys For our Tots.

This is an issue that I have been looking at for a while, and it came full force to my attention when our CT Senator Chris Dodd became very agitated and vocal with not only the Chinese who taint our toys with lead but also deliver a sleuth of other unfit for consumption food products.

Dodd is correct that the WTO has rules that allow for consumer protection, but the WTO and China's most favored nation status are all, in my opinion a bunch of globalist malarkey with the true purposes being tariff evasion. The U.S. has been slow to respond, and parents are still largely uninformed about what toys they have, or are currently using, that contain lead.

What is all the fuss about lead, you may have far worse than lead in your mouth right now as dentists have put mercury laced dental amalgam in millions of Americans teeth, you brush with and drink toxic fluoride not to mention what else we do to our brains with Dr. prescribed medications and countless hours holding a microwave cell phone to our heads. But we are now to assume that lead is to be added to the mix?

While I know everything mentioned above is unhealthy for your brain, and instances of neurological disorders, educational deficiencies, and increases in cancer are occurring, never was I insightful enough to see children being poisoned by the toys they play with.

According to wikipedia symptoms of lead poisoning include neurological problems, such as reduced cognitive abilities, or nausea, abdominal pain, irritability, insomnia, metal taste in oral cavity, excess lethargy or hyperactivity, headache and, in extreme cases, seizure and coma. Thank heavens for our Senator for protecting Americans. Show Dodd your support for keeping these unsafe products out of our country.

Anyone who has children this year may want to buy toys that are made in Mexico.




Perhaps our childrens learning disorders, and Americas education problems are linked to these environmental factors that impair their ability to think. In history, never has such a problem become so pervase since the Romans put lead plumbing in their entire city, and in their wine.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Moveon.org Addresses Rosa Delauro

Last Tuesday I received an E-Mail calling for an antiwar rally hosted by Moveon.org. The rally was to be held today in New Haven and directed at Rosa Delauro. There have been few details sent to me thus far about our Congresswoman's response to the rally, however I do plan on doing a follow up ASAP. (My immediate thought is that todays snow storm changed things.)

The nature of this Rally is to stop Pres. Bush from possibly invading Iran to save face in light of the intelligence report that indicates he has known Iran not to be a threat for nearly six months now. If these intelligence reports are in fact the gauge of accuracy we must remember the last intelligence fiasco in Iraq involving bogus threat assessment reports.

While peace is good, and most Americans want peace, we quite strangely ignore the only Presidential candidate who has a solid peace voting record and peace platform (Ron Paul). Instead, CFR'S and hawks like Rudy Giuliani and Hillary Clinton seem to be getting all the voter support, money and attention.

Pardon me, if I offend anyone by saying that the less than reputable intelligence community has marred my and Mr. Bushes view on whether or not to believe any report/s. While no one wants a madman running loose with an atom bomb in the world, let alone America, I can certainly say that this is not one of those things that America can afford to screw up.

For now, I advocate peace with strong border protections and an awesome and unforgettable retaliatory response to any nation that dare tread on us. As for Iran I believe Russia, China, Israel and all its neighbors need to step up to the plate and defend their sovereignty against any would be aggressors or mad men.

Hopefully Rosa Delauro agrees with the Moveon.org crowd and takes any threats to the U.S. before congress (not Bush), so Americans can decide threats as a country for a change.

My thanks to those who stood tall today and acted on behalf of those who could not.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Taxing Citizens on Their Ability to Pay

This is a novel idea that I have, and yet one I believe in strongly, why not tax citizens on their ability to pay rather than confiscate their very land, home, and belongings for the sole purpose of collecting taxes?

To me the most tyrannical laws on the books are those laws that allow for our government to confiscate and tax property. Taxes in America began as "voluntary Compliance" a term that still exists to this day in our IRS tax code. However "Voluntary" is not all that you would expect it to mean.

"Voluntary Compliance" is merely a misuse of the English language as there is nothing voluntary about having the FED's padlock your business, confiscate your home, and peruse through your personal belongings. "Voluntary Compliance" means nothing when local town's place liens against your home, and eventually end up owning it or force you off your land because you are choosing food and medicine ahead of your taxes.

In a great democratic republic no one should be afraid of their government, let alone have that fear cause you stress and harm as you lay in the cold, hungry, and sick. The very thought of of a person having to chose paying the government ahead of their own pursuit of happiness, once an inalienable right written in the constitution, is unjust un-American and inhumane.

There is no greater conviction of mine that our labor is ours, and our land should remain ours and the only true way to maintain our own personal property ahead of the illusion of ownership, is to assign tax debt as exactly that debt. Debt to be paid not out of confiscation, intimidation, or fear tactics, but rather sound collection practices, based on our individual ability to pay such a debt without harm to ourselves.

Today's post is a reminder of the position I stated in my agenda, as to why I oppose any practice that renders or inhibits individual property rights. Quite simply American's should have the most basic rights of food, shelter, and medicine protected without fear of any loss thereof due to tax debt and or poverty.

The only good news for now is that Americans are so poor the FEDS are getting "FED" up with the amount of loot so many battered broke American's have. Read the latest link.

http://www.etaxes.com/seizures.html

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Struggling to Find Worthwhile Charities

The continued benevolence of Masonic programs hosted by the Scottish Rite Masons and my personal fraternity Daytime Lodge no. 144 has been actively seeking charities who work to help others regain a footing on their lives.

Charities under consideration may include, but are not limited to, education, food for the hungry, shelter for the homeless, and transitional employment and training programs for the jobless. Our incredibly successful and growing charitable events like the Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot and the ComputerFox computer recycling program are a continued approach to offering needy people a hand up, while helping those who live a lifelong dependency in hospitals, or with disabilities an aggregate contribution to aid in their lifelong journey.

So far this year, the combined charitable contributions of the ComputerFox and Masonry has helped raise funds for Earthplace in Westport, the Circle of Care at New Haven Hospital, the gifting of several computers to children whose parents cannot afford one, and sent a truckload of old monitors to less developed nations "For Free."

Our charitable programs now involve apportioning a substantial amount of funds to a wave of new charities in 2008. If you feel, you know or are part of a charity that meets the criteria of lending needy people a "hand up" than contact me at (203) 647-0380 to inquire about an application for funds.

Monday, December 10, 2007

Amann Dream's He is Governor LOL!

The December 6Th edition of the Milford Weekly was quite amusing, as Rep. Amann is featured smirking on the front page and aspiring to become our state Governor. This delusion of grandeur was a shock, especially since I thought his "crush" comment was about as arrogant, grandiose and over the top as he could get.

Some of the locals I spoke with in town, have been chuckling about Mr. Amann's unconventional way's of leadership. Bafoon style leadership that separate him from the masses. I have heard all kinds of stories about Mr. Amann from how he plans on fixing up our Johnathan Law High School to how he started a fire there as a kid.

The amount of diverging opinions about our overzealous, and yet very generous (with your CT tax dollars) leader is almost too much to think about. While the last election for mayor was somewhat of a political carnival, with guest appearances from Joe Lieberman, Ned Lamont, and a host of hypocritical endorsements I certainly promise not to subject the already disenfranchised voters of the 118th with anymore carnival like political theatrics.

Mr. Amann having run unopposed in the last election has not even a clue what people think of him. It has been four long years since his last contested election, and I imagine that the sprawling growth of Milford combined with its aggregate cyclical turnover has left him quite exposed to a new breed of voters.

If these voters are likened to the ones I read about on the web, Mr. Amann may be in for an upset come the 2008 election. I can can imagine nothing more embarrassing than to announce you will "crush" any "idiot" who runs against you, then announce your bid for Governor and lose your election to a Computer Repairman who recently arrived to Milford from Westport.

Mr. Amann if you are reading this, than you must know how my loss for words must amuse you. Should that smirk I always see on your face be indicative of your signature as our representative, than I look forward to 2008 where I can seriously bring to the table my Independent non partisan leadership. Smirk free leadership that will address our community problems free from the grandiosity, tyrannical remarks and delusions of grandeur.

Friday, December 7, 2007

Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941

Today is Pearl Harbor Day, the day Japanese staged and executed an early morning surprise submarine and air strike against our Pacific fleet docked in Hawaii. After the attack 2,350 American civilians and soldiers were killed with another 1,178 injured. Twentyone U.S. ships were damaged with the U.S. Arizona blown apart.

Franklin Delano Rosevelt called December 7, 1941 a "a day that will live in infamy" and so it has as today I remember in my blog the living and deceased heroes of that horrible and tradgic day. May we all take pause and a moment of silence for all those lives lost not only in Hawaii but throughout Europe in WW2.

This day should also be scrutinized, as to the actions of FDR because many are of the opinion that Pearl Harbor was no surprise at all. There have been long standing assertions that the only surprise was that our military was completely and utterly unprepared. All the warnings were there, the video shared below is an excerpt from the History Channel and should give us all anough proof that Americans need to continue to remain distrusting of the motivations of our leaders who often do not respect the lives of the people they represent.

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Pentagon Patents May Contain The Solution To U.S. Oil Crisis

Whenever I hear mention of my agenda's UFO comment, it makes me laugh. It is a reminder of the "selective reception", and "selective perception" of some folks in the general public who think I am talking about reptilian creatures from Mars.

In my extensive agenda there is a one line mention that I am an avid supporter of the "Freedom of Information Act." even if that includes "outlandish things" like UFO's or Unidentified Flying objects, not "Martians or Aliens from space."

This is a position I took after learning about John F. Kennedy and his concern over political secrecy. JFK said that in order for a government to be trustworthy it needs to be "Transparent" and that "Secrecy is repugnant in a free society." This was also repeated by Eisenhower, and numerous other elected officials. Jimmy Carter also had a position and a belief on the subject of political secrecy.

Although my opinion is not exactly the same, I am against almost all secrecy in government. I am also a Mason of which is a secret society but unlike our government it is a open fraternity of which anyone can join. But I assure the general public that there is more concern to be had with the Secrecy of government agencies like the Federal Reserve System's monetary policy impacting our dollar value and our towns purchasing power.

This secrecy thing is nothing new, The Freedom of Information Act has revealed the truth about many important issues like Vietnam and the Gulf of Tonkin, The USS Liberty, The Atom Bomb, Human experimentation, etc.. etc..

I believe that if our government has technology that could end the global energy problem, or help stop global warming, than by all means they owe it to us by now. Even if that means calling on Skunkworks do develop a commercial application of a military energy patent.

For all you folks that may not know what this technology is, should remember that the SR71, and the F117 were both government UFO's until they decided to let us in on their secret. The same goes with the jet engine that has transformed global transportation.

I am of the opinion, that when these technologies are compared to what is buried in the Pentagons secret patent vaults, one will discover projects like the F117 are nothing more than emblematic "Tinker Toys" for our amusement.

I believe the government is suppressing technology and patents that could help with our energy independence, and for this reason alone I believe investigation, exposure and hopefully discovery will force debate on energy alternatives and fair patent laws that free us from the bondage of oil.

The craft depicted above was spotted thousands of times and is rumored (on the web) as being a government craft called the TR3B. The detail of this craft are unknown but countless photos attest to its existence as possibly a U.S. technology hopefully to be revealed soon.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

America's Antiwar Reporters Dismissed and Deceased

Recently I have been learning that America's top antiwar reporters have been under fire for criticizing the pro-war policies of the Bush administration. There are four reporters that I have questions about and each will be explained below.

The first target of the corporate controlled media empire is Dan Rather. Dan Rather is a veteran reporter who has been on the television since I was a young Kid. His voice and opinion has been heard around the world, and Dan has made himself a household name with many baby boomers who have come to know him.Sadly Dan Rather was dismissed from CBS when he discovered the Bush administration forged documents in the Kilian story. The issue would not go away, but Dan Rather was eventually dismissed and the Killian case is now the subject of a 70 Million Dollar Lawsuit between CBS and Dan Rather. Dan still does do reporting but he has been moved into virtual obscurity and away from the main stream media.

The next media giant now silenced and gagged is Phil Donahue. Phil had his very popular television show on MSNBC that was cancelled. According to wikipedia "MSNBC cancelled the show, citing low viewership. Despite the reasons given by MSNBC, AllYourTV.com reported it had received a copy of an internal NBC memo that mentioned that Donahue had to be fired because he would be a "difficult public face for NBC in a time of war"

The third media giant to be eviscerated from the airways is Peter Jennings. According to Wikipedia, "his coverage was not without controversy though. After conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh blasted Jennings for supposedly denigrating President George W. Bush on-air during September 11." Rush later apologized and retracted his remarks, but the fact remains that Peter Jennings died at the age of 67 from lung cancer. Many of his closest supporters believe that his death was suspicious in lieu of his anti Bush comments. However, no connection or proof has ever been presented that any foul play occurred.

One last person to add to this list is Gulf war 1 correspondent Peter Arnett who was also fired in lieu of his war stance and allegations of using untrue anti-war reporting information that did not jive with the "climate of fear" that many reporters at big news agencies feared. According to wikipedia "when Arnett's remarks sparked a "firestorm of protest", NBC initially defended him, saying he had given the interview as a professional courtesy and that his remarks were "analytical in nature". A day later, though, NBC, MSNBC and National Geographic all severed their relationships with Arnett."

This post today is intended to get your attention as to a possible pattern, and I respectfully ask all of the readers of this post to empower yourself and embed these reporters faces and stories into your lives regardless of opinion. Should there ever be any question of free speech in America these brave reporters are the front line casualties of the "information war."

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Amann's 2007 Legislative Update

Today, in my mailbox arrived the Jim Amann 2007 legislative update. This was a very exciting document to read because for certain I expected to read about all the wonderful things that Jim had in store for us here in Milford.

Eagerly I read the entire document from cover to cover and at first glance I saw all these wonderful things that Jim touted about. They all sounded absolutely wonderful until I came to think how much of Jim's hard work in 2007 has made my life and the life of the CT people I know any better. But the bigger question remains how well has Jim addressed the issues of Milford's residents, the issues that were so passionately debated in the last election for mayor?

If we are to use that standard than absolutely nothing in his 2007 legislative update has any bearing on your life. He has not addressed the state law resulting in unfair property assessments, he has not touched the issue pertaining to your outrageous electric bill, he has not mentioned a word about Broadwater, a massive Liquefied natural gas facility underway off our coast. Jim did not address the 14.5 billion state debt crisis, nor did he touch on crime and early parole of violent felons due to prison construction and overcrowding. Jim has not addressed state tax burdens, or our state energy conservation in lieu of the "peak Oil" crisis, and most disconcerting he has not mentioned a word about why a massive carcinogenic mercury polluting power plant is reopening in the heart of our district. A plant that is using a brand new power grid the taxpayers built with no remittance of a savings to us.

So how did Jim represent us? To begin lets address each point in his legislative update and see how any of this helps you or your family.

Point 1: Keeping Our Kids Safe, Megan's Law, Jessica's Law. I would of voted in favor of these laws but certainly I would not tout it as an accomplishment to my district. These laws are aimed at so few predators that it is of little concern to the main issues mentioned above in our district. Most everyone in Milford is a law abiding citizen, and I pray we never have the problems of Bridgeport, New Haven or Big cities in America.

Point 2: Improvements to Husky Health care. Point one is pay more money out to Dr.'s and hospitals. (I suppose Jim feels they charge too little.) Point 2 is newborn enrollment for the first 4 months of life. Point 3 is an outreach program to find more qualified residents. (How is this is going to be funded is my main question.)

But to recap the challenges facing Husky, Jim failed to address the big issues, first the Federal Wellcare raid in Fla. has put a major portion of the Husky program at risk, and sent Gov. Rell scrambling for solutions, but more importantly the Bush administration has been cutting money to the SCHIP program that includes Husky. Looks like Jim did manage to expand a financially troubled program without being able to first procure the lost federal funds, let alone the additional funds his touted expansion will require. As the funds dry up faster, expect Dr's. to avoid Husky a like a "midnight drunk" making any SCHIP card holders have a more unpleasant experience than they already know.

Point 3: Teachers Retirement: Bonds were used to honor a contract that was due the teachers in the first place. (I assume that this problem resulted from financially misplaced Lottery proceeds that he has not mentioned.) Quite sadly this mistake now marks 25 years of your children's future debt, but Amann touts a savings of 2.8 Billion! Make no mistake here, this is not an achievement but rather a case of "pay up" or "get sued."

More curious, what is the actual amount due if this 2.6 billion is just the savings? To begin on this point I will say again that absolutely CT needs to honor its contracts to teachers, but a 2.8 Billion dollar savings just sounds like "Voodoo Economics to me." That translates to $100,000 per each retired teacher. That is just the underfunded savings part for 28,040 retired teachers in this state. This does not add up, unless the cost of retiring a teacher in CT is upward of $1,000,000.00 per teacher. In that case the underfunded pension and mismanaged lottery money should be the least of Amann's concerns.

Point 4: Investments for Milford: This part is just aggregate to what I said earlier about Jim and his less than sincere use of appropriations. My previous post (highlighted) deals with this issue very eloquently, and to see yet another person brandishing a giant state welfare check just proves the Robin Hood mentality of our Speaker who buys your vote with other peoples tax money. See my previous post: Amann and Welfare Bonding One other point not mentioned in Jim's Money for Milford section is his $140,000.00 check to St. Mary's Catholic School. I guess churches being exempt from property taxes is not enough, Jim has to give our state tax dollars to fund controversy engaging those who believe in a separation of Church and State. Meanwhile CT, cannot meet its own legal obligations ordered by a Supreme Court judge in the Sheff v. Oneill legal loss.

Point 5: Devon Revitalization: This project has been a long ongoing project, it has the potential of being really good if handled properly, however the Devon revitalization committee is comprised of religious clergy and politicos, not a single architect, designer or engineer yet this panel continues to tout "smart growth." "Smart Growth" is an idea originated by architect "Peter Caltrope" in the 1970's that has become quite controversial. Some communities have rejected "Smart Growth" with the opinion that it has turned into an ideological cult movement aimed at circumventing the zoning and planning laws. Laws we are all forced to follow while municipalities enjoy more freedom and in some cases broadened powers of eminent domain.

I believe that Amann or any politician for that matter is not qualified or educated enough to be on a panel that is responsible for urban planning and design. He is neither an Architect nor an engineer but rather an ideological politician who endorsed a candidate Kerry Rowland who called the Devon revitalization a "Waste," further demonstrating his marred judgement. The 7 plus million in my view is mis-prioritized. One point in particular is $3,000,000.00 to expand our local government complex of which I respectfully object to, as I believe in shrinking government and keeping it out of our lives, not making it bigger.

Point 6: Money for Milford Projects: All the same points apply here as in Point 4. This is just more State Welfare at the expense of bonding debt. Essentially it represents your children's future being mortgaged for special interests many of which do not even pay tax. This model is identical to the Federal Debt model of spending without regard to consequence of debt. The USA is 9.5 Trillion in debt and CT 14.5 Billion in debt. This failed at the federal level and will fail even worse at the state level.

Point 7: Hollywood East, this about the only other thing we can agree on, besides honoring a state teachers contract. Hollywood east brings money to local businesses, and develops community pride. This is a small step in the right direction, however, it was not a principal focal point of Milford's Residents during the last Mayoral election. Although, I agree having big screen actors run around our city is exciting, in other ways it can be challenging, as these film crews create traffic jams, close down our streets and offer a modicum of financial relief to local businesses. This will become even more exciting, should Hollywood East actually invest commercially in Devon, of which, to my knowledge, they have not.

In conclusion what is important to note here is that the brochure that has been sent out to you, has missed all of the vital issues that we in town raised during the Kerri, Richetelli mayoral race. His legislative report is more indicative of Mr. Amann's disconnect from the voice of the people he claims to represent. One last major point in particular is the high Cost of energy and his poor choices. To explain, Jim opposed the State's Attorney's advice regarding the "Windfall Profits Tax." Instead he Introduced H.B. 7432 returning UI lost profits, and stopped the Gas tax plan making our gasoline even more expensive.

Jim has sent us all a brochure reminding us of how disconnected he is from our true social needs. While I personally enjoyed all the photos of Jim with our children, I will not be so naive as to think that is somehow representation. Our children deserve more than a proponent of industrial mercury polluters, like UI, who have put us all at risk for grave diseases, more especially children.

Monday, December 3, 2007

A Bad Economy Can Land You In CT's Debtors Prison

While the founders of our great nation abhorred the notion of a debtors prison, special interests from several areas of society pushed legislators hard to draft laws that force you to pay up or go to jail.

While no court in this great state would ever dare to use the term "debtors prison" they instead speak the legalese equivalent of "contempt of court." When it comes to paying up "Contempt of Court" and "Debtors Prison" is essentially the same thing. Both represent an individual going to jail for owing money.

This is particularly of grave concern in a bad economic period, because your loss of a job, decline in business, or failure to sell your home could very easily translate to a criminal act.

At the federal level the top jailers are the IRS and the contemptible failure to pay your income tax, file on time, or not report to the agencies satisfaction. However do not be too concerned about the law, because there is no law even requiring a person to pay an income tax but the IRS is all about collecting. According to several experts on the IRS and Tom Cryer a constitutional attorney "there is no law even requiring a person to pay." However do not tell that to Ed and former CT Citizen Elaine Brown a dentist in NH now in Federal Prison on tax charges. No one is exempt from the tax mafia not even U.S. Congressman James Trafficante who is in prison for not paying the tax.

At the state level we have similar but different circumstances. There is the constant flood of divorced people who get regularly incarcerated for not paying, or not paying enough child support, alimony, or what ever the judge orders in court. The process of having a court threaten you with debtors prison will last as long as your contentious other decides to subjugate you to the draconian logic of the judicial officer brandishing his gavel. Our legislators in Hartford drafted the debtors prison legislation under the belief that this is the only way to get people to pay up.

The harsh choice of having a judicial gavel pointed at you demanding your "money or your freedom" has also got the attention of the credit card companies who want to get in on the collection process. With millions of Americans having negative savings for the first time in history, the risk and exposure to the big banks is growing exponentially. Foreclosures, are the first hardship for homeowners, the next is bank Levy's and liens on anything remaining of value, and the IRS also jumps in to tax you on loan money you saved due to the bank selling your home at a loss. In many cases a bank will try to insulate against these losses by going to court and getting a court order against your bank account/s resulting in you bouncing checks, and missing other payments.

These court orders take no mercy on those who receive them, courts will allow banks to take Veterans checks, Social Security checks, and force the elderly, sick, and poor to lose the only access to the few dollars they have. The Federal poverty level of $14,000 per year has been routinely confiscated to the point where the sick and elderly have been dumped on the street for the benefit of collecting a debt. The panic to collect is spreading to all aspects of society, including our hospitals, who ask us about every asset we own upon signing in, and the brazen new generation of attorneys so eager to represent these big establishments to quell their own financial woes.

The need to collect a debt is something I respect as a business man, as I have several customer debts of my own that I try to collect, but under no circumstance is the money I am owed so important that I could stand to ruin a persons life over a few bucks.

The very nature of a debtors prison is abhorrent to me, and what is most alarming is when people who owe money are not even afforded the protections of living at the Federal poverty level. When a court of law would go so far as to confiscate a persons Social security check, or veterans check to satisfy a corporation I take issue with the lack of protections afforded society.

It is my opinion that the entire idea of "debtors prison" has no place in America, CT, or anywhere where freedom rings. Nor do I believe that a person should be stripped of their ability to afford the basics of food and minimal shelter, because of a bad debt situation. People and corporations should be accountable to their own lending mistakes, and courts ought not be used as collection agencies for special interests and big corporations.