May 31, 2013 · 1:04 pm

Fooling The People, It’s A Government Job

 

When it comes to the Connecticut State Budget it does not matter which party the Governor is a member of if, the majority in the General Assembly can override any budget veto.  What really matters is the financial views and the political courage of the elected members of the General Assembly.

Unfortunately for two long under both Republican and Democratic Governors we have had too many members of the legislature that were either ignorant of economic reality or woefully short of character and courage to act responsibly.  Instead of dealing with a budget under generally accepted accounting practices they have turned to gimmickry with smoke and mirrors.  They have kicked the can of responsibility down the path to our future and they have gotten away with it. 

The people have been placated, with words of assurance as the financial foundation of our State has eroded and with it our employment opportunities.  The spinning of numbers and facts has confused and confounded the average voter into a false sense of security.

Today State officials tell us the job market is improving.  Should we believe it?  History is a great teacher.  In the past they told us the budgets were balanced while all the while the budgets were wrought with gimmicks and reflected more a fictional best seller than a truly accountable budget.

It is a fact that the unemployment rate in Connecticut has come down BUT and that is a big but, but it is not the end of the factual story.  There needs to be a more complete disclosure of facts so that we understand the real situation.

According to Connecticut labor statistics from March of 2011 through April 2013 the number of people working has continually decreased with Connecticut losing over 36,000 jobs.   There are now 67,700 less people working or looking for work than there were in May of 2010.  Some people have just given up looking for work, some have left the state, and some have retired without their positions being filled.

Lower unemployment should mean more employment opportunities but that is not always the case.  When you employ the smoke and mirror lessons of budgeting to unemployment numbers you hiding lost opportunities and denying reality. 

Doing business the same way we have done in the past and expecting different results is lunacy.  Kicking the can of responsibility forward will only continue to lessen opportunities and bring us closer to financial hardship.  It is time to make a change in the political balance of the General Assembly.

Being elected to the General Assembly is a government job but fooling the people should never be part of the job description.  It is time for a major change in Connecticut.  It is time to remove the agents of trickery, deception and gimmicks from office. 

It is time that Connecticut voters elected a legislature that more closely reflects the diverse opinions of our State.  A legislature constituted with a diversity of opinion that would provide for more open discussion, compromise and checks and balances.

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May 25, 2013 · 8:43 am

They Are Nearly Gone, A Generation Passing

Our FlagThey are nearly gone now, time has taken them away.  They are men of another generation, children of the great depression.  Boys that turned to men on the beaches of Normandy, in the sands of Iwo Jima and carnage of Pearl Harbor they remember their brothers in war and peace.

Memorial Day has a deeper meaning for them.  They were there among the dead; they carried the bodies, of fallen brothers.  They were the defenders of freedom, the lucky ones that returned home.  Their memories were strong and clear, the times they wanted to remember were the times spent with their fellow fighters.  They could not forget the carnage and destruction left by the scars of war but their love of fallen brothers ignited traditions of remembrance.

They vowed to remember; they organized and joined together in organizations like the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Army Navy Club, the Marine League and the American Legion.  Traditions of remembrance and honor for their fallen brothers were building blocks for the next generation.  No day had more meaning than Memorial Day, a day to honor the men and memories from their time at war.

They were younger then, stronger in mind and body.  Today, time has taken most of them away.  Every year there are fewer veterans of the “greatest generation” to carry on those traditions of remembrance.  The traditions have been passed to a new generation; the sacrifices will never be forgotten.

The light of freedom shines bright upon our nation, the torch of responsibility to remember has been passed, and we must never forget.  Memorial Day is time set aside to remember the sacrifice of all our fallen brothers and sisters.  The sands of time will take away a generation but the traditions of remembrance will not pass away.

When the sun rises above our land on Monday we will be given another day to remember, we will remember those that never lived to see the light of God grace their dreams and hopes.  We will join as a nation to honor those that sacrificed their lives for each of us and for our hopes and dreams.

In the evening the light of day will slow set to the darkness of the night and we will still remember, we will remember those brothers and sisters that did not return.  We will remember because we can never forget those that served, fought and died for us.

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May 14, 2013 · 9:53 pm

Remembrance and Rededication

Keith Allen Miller 5/27/48 - 9/7/67

Keith Allen Miller
5/27/48 – 9/7/67

Across America on Memorial Day weekend folks will gather to remember, honor and memorialize those that gave their lives for this great nation.  They are the men and women that sacrificed their hopes, their dreams and their future to preserve and protect the land they loved.

In Manchester there will be a special ceremony of remembrance for a fallen native son, a brother and a friend to all that knew him.  On Saturday May 25th there will be a re-dedication of a memorial in honor of Keith Allan Miller near the main entrance to Buckley School.  Keith began his education at Buckley as a first grader in 1954, the year it opened as his new neighborhood school.

The original memorial included a tree and plaque placed in his memory by the community after his death in Vietnam, but over time many forgot.  The plaque was covered by the sands of time and the Town had plans to remove the tree, they had forgotten, but those that will gather will never forget.  The plaque has been restored, the tree has been trimmed and the memorial has been enhanced.  It is time to re-dedicate the community memorial for Keith Miller.

Once again the community will gather in honor of Keith.  They will never forget the void in their hearts, the pain of loss, and the dreams destroyed.  They will remember a young man of courage, strength and love of country.  They will remember his eager willingness to serve his nation.

Those that grew up with Keith remember a little boy that could run like the wind, but they will remember him Saturday as a consummate Marine. A brave young man standing tall and strong in face of any foe, fighting for his country, a land he loved.

This Memorial Day would have been Keith’s 65th birthday, a time when many of his contemporaries retire, a time when they look back at life and recall special moments of great joy.  For them Memorial Day will mean a family gathered round and grandchildren learning family traditions.  Keith never had that chance; he was only a teenager with hopes and dreams serving as a man when suddenly his life was over, but he was not forgotten.

We will never forget his sacrifice; we will never forget the void in our lives and the pain in our hearts.  We will gather together, family and friends that remember a young man full of potential with dreams and hopes.  Community members that never knew Keith will join us to honor his service and sacrifice, Keith will not be forgotten.

On Memorial Day weekend, we are all part of that one nation under God that Keith so dearly loved.  We will remember others this weekend as we do each year, we will remember their sacrifice but for many of us this will be a weekend to remember one very special Marine.  We will remember his birthday, his life and his sacrifice; we will remember Keith Allan Miller.

In 1966 Keith could have graduated high school, gone on with his life, with dreams of young love, children, and family traditions but his goal included service to his country as a young Marine in time of war.  We can never forget.

On this Memorial Day weekend, there is a time and place to express your remembrance and honor for a native son of Manchester. Keith Miller stood for you in time of war; you can stand for him in a time of remembrance.  The community is invited to remember Keith by attending the rededication.

Schedule of events:

Meet and Greet the Miller family from 10:30 – 11:30am

Rededication ceremony to begin at 11:30am

 

For more written in honor and memory of Keith Allen Miller use the links below:

Memorial Day Honor And Remembrance

KEITH ALLEN MILLER – He Will Never Be Forgotten

They Never Asked And We Can Never Forget

 

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May 3, 2013 · 7:34 am

State Park, An Illogical Value

Make no mistake this is a wonderful stretch of spring weather.  A great time to get out and visit one of Connecticut’s many State Parks.  The visit is free until Memorial Day after that, bring your wallet and don’t be surprised by illogical signs, after all you are visiting a government run site.  Take for example Bigelow Hollow State Park the sign tell us fees are collected on weekends and holidays from Memorial Day until Labor Day.  Connecticut vehicle drivers pay $9.00 and non-residents pay $15 BUT if you arrive after 4:00m there are discounts fees.  The Connecticut car will receive a 44.5% discount while the out of state vehicle will be rewarded with a 60% discount.

That’s right our government and elected Representatives see fit to reward the non-tax paying visitor with a larger discount than the overburdened taxpayer already supporting the parks with their tax money.  Where is the logic, where is the fairness?

In any event a visit to Bigelow Hollow is worth the money and the time if you crave a rustic natural environment.  The pictures below will provide a brief glimpse of Bigelow Hollow.

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April 22, 2013 · 7:25 am

It Never Was A Living Wage, It Was Opportunity

ct grownIt was years ago, some would say long enough to be a lifetime.  It was a time when a young student looking for work learned the value of what today we call, networking.  Most of my friends were looking for work and jobs were hard to find.  Then suddenly, right there in gym class, opportunity knocked hard at my door, “If you want to work, I think you can work with me”.   A friend told me about an opportunity to work.

I went that day to talk with owner, nervous yet confident; I had a real chance to actually find work.  As it turned out the interview really wasn’t much more than an introduction, I was hired on the spot.  It wasn’t for big money, about a half dollar an hour and the boss said, “Call me Doug”.

Six days a week, sixteen hours every weekend and three or four hours four days a week, there was only one day off.  I learned commitment to a job and a work ethic, I never considered skipping work.  The company was small; it was run by three generations of the same family, Grandpa Fred, Doug and his son Charlie.

Three men that gave me an opportunity and each offered guidance and life lessons that became a part of who I am.  Fred may have been “over the hill” but the man was there every morning at 5:00am to open up.  Doug had long hours but took the time to go home for lunch every day and take his wife to dinner every Thursday.  Charlie, well he wasn’t that much older than the rest of us but he had experience and kept us busy.

Charlie taught me there were two meanings to the word, “project”.  If you were taking too long to complete a task, you were “making a project out of it”.  On the other hand if there was a task that needed to be done in detail and would take some extra time then Charlie had “a project” for you.

When I got a nickel or dime raise, it wasn’t enough to provide a “living wage” but it sure made me appreciate the value of work and compensation.  I learned a lot on that first job, it turned out to be more of an opportunity for me than I realized at the time.  I was blessed to work with those three men, each with his own distinctive personality, and each as a teacher and all with ethical business standards.

As I reflect back today it was never as much “a job” as it was an opportunity, a classroom to learn about life, work and people skills.  Every day you interacted with customers, you did manual labor and you developed a work ethic that would become part of your being.

Today when I hear politicians talk about a “living wage” I think back to my half dollar of opportunity.  I think about three generations of honest men working together not becoming wealthy on the backs of cheap labor but working side by side with students giving them an opportunity while they too struggled to “make a living”.

The value of that first job was not in compensation but in the life lessons and doors of opportunity the experience opened up.  We all knew then it was not about a “living wage” it was more about a few bucks in our pockets.  For us, it was more about money for lunch, gas, and maybe a date to go to the movies.

We never gave much thought to the life lessons, we were young and malleable.  We were also lucky, lucky to work for Fred, Doug and Charlie.  It was another time and another place, it was Pero’s Fruit Stand on Oakland Street in Manchester and it was the way a first job should be, about life not about a “living wage”.

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April 14, 2013 · 5:25 pm

Connecticut Governor Posed In Embarrassing Picture

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Remember when you used to look at the kid’s page in the newspaper and there would be a picture puzzle and the question would be what is wrong with this picture?  Well this is a picture released by Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy to announce, celebrate and commemorate the UCONN Women’s National Championship Basketball Team visiting his office.

Is there something wrong with the picture or is there something else wrong in the Governor’s office?

For starters the lamp that normally would be on the desk is on the floor and the Governor’s chair found on the right is perfectly set for gazing into outer space out the window.  Note, if the governor actually sat at the desk as it is set up all the doors and drawers of the desk would be facing the visitors to his office and not accessible to him.  On the other hand if he sits on the side of the desk with the drawers his back is to the door and his writing area is blocked by other items on the desk. 

It is obvious to even the casual observer Governor Malloy has done little or no work with this desk set up.  Is there any wonder why the Connecticut state budget and economy are in such a shamble?  

Here is some advice to the Governor:  Turn the desk around, put the chair at the desk so you can work, pick up the lamp so you can see what is happening and put note in the drawer that says debit to the left, credit to the right.

Oh there is one more item for the Governor to consider, OSHA and the State Fire Marshal would never approve of the lamp cord running across the direct path of foot placement.  It’s time for the Governor to get his act together, the State is in a financial malaise and there is work to be done.  The voters must consider we have a man in the office that can’t even set up his desk to work.   Sad isn’t it?

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March 17, 2013 · 3:28 pm

“March Madness” Is More About Life Than Just Playing Sports

trophyHigh schools across the state, colleges and university across the country competed this weekend for basketball championships.  For some it will be the culmination of a playing career for others it will be another step on the road of competition.

As a single moment in time the outcome of each game is important to the players and fans but the real reward is not found on the court in a single play or final score.  No the real value is found over a season.

Participation in high school sports is pure amateur competition.   It is the memory of the road taken together through a season that they will remember, the bonding, the thrill of victory and success they had together as a team. Win or lose the players will remember their moments of joy and the experience of the season for life. They may not recall the scores, wins and losses but 30 years from now they will remember the journey and the “brothers or sisters” they played with.  In the game of life they all won something this year; life lessons and memories.

Too often our emphasis is placed on winning and losing, too often we lose sight of the benefits of sports participation.  Too often we measure success in terms of playing time or points scored; we forget the importance and role of participation in education and life experience.  Too often we equate amateur sports participation to professional sports where winning is the only ultimate goal, where losing means coming up short and losses are never moral victories.

Soon the entire nation will turn some level of attention to “March Madness” the annual national NCAA Basketball Tournament for men and women to crown a national champion.  We will see great moments of emotion with tears of joy and tears of disappointment, but the real memory for the players will be the road traveled since October. Not all of education comes in a classroom there is much we learn about life on courts and fields.  Why would we risk losing these moments?

There is another road of “March Madness”, a political road that raises an ugly head in too many communities and too often in March.  Too often as budgets are formulated and adjusted we see politicians place sports on the chopping block.  While it may be an easy political move to create emotional support for higher spending it is “March Madness” at its’ worse.

Threatening students and using their emotions and enthusiasm to reach political goals is flat out wrong.  It is the wrong road for adult leadership and the wrong road for the long-term goals of education.  It is equally wrong to reach into the pockets of students to support sports participation as it would be to charge them to take a math or science course.

Have you ever wondered why students and parents are charged admission to view a student play basketball but are not charge to watch baseball, soccer or volleyball?  Ever wonder why taxpayers spend millions of dollars on education and yet when they want to view a student and evaluate their performance in a school play they are charged to view what their tax dollars have paid for to produce?  Just another form of “March Madness”

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