Tag Archives: 2012

November 11, 2012 · 9:33 am

Why Today, Why This Time?

11:00 am November 11, 1918 marked the end of World War I, the world was at peace, hostilities ended and a bloody conflict became a memory.  The armies headed home and the warriors returned to civilian life.  It was that time and that date that the war to end all wars, it was over.

November 11 was set aside by President Wilson as a day of remembrance and reflection saying, “To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…”

Unfortunately, war has not ended; it continues to tear the fabric of family life with sacrifice and sorrow.  It is on this day we reflect and remember those that serve our nation with a sense of duty in war and peace.  No act of service shall go unnoticed; no sacrifice too small, all of those that serve in uniform shall be remembered on this day.

Today we remember and thank our veterans of the past and yet we shall not forget our active duty personal that on this day serve our nation, on and off the battlefield.  Our men and women serve and sometimes battle, not to gain territory but to protect our lives and preserve our freedom.

In 1954 Armistice Day was renamed to Veterans Day to better reflect the meaning of this day as a time of consideration for all the men and women that have served our nation in any and all branches of military service.  It is a date too important to be set aside as any Monday just to gain a three day weekend.  Veterans Day is November 11 a day of armistice earned with sacrifice, a time of peace in 1918 and a time of reflection in 2012.

On this day at 11:00am take the time to pause.  Take a moment to thank a veteran, reflect on the sacrifice they have given, say a prayer and remember them, for they have made your life and your world a better place.

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November 6, 2012 · 11:57 pm

Coventry Election Results

The election polls opened at 6:00am and the official results were announced at 11:30pm.

Presidential

Romney 2619

Obama 3534

Anderson 38

Johnson 88

U. S. Senate

McMahon 2726

Murphy 3178

Passdarelli 177

U. S. House

Formica1713

Courtney 4162

Bennett 84

Reale 81

State Senate

Guglielmo 3227

Eastwood 2660

State Representative

Ackert 3800

Murphy 2249

Registrar of Voters

Pope 2261

Roach 321
81% Of the voters in Coventry voted

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October 20, 2012 · 10:22 am

Spending Addiction, Mismanagement Or Presidential Material?

Apparently one billion dollars is not enough for even a single candidate to pay for his campaign this year.  Why would a candidate borrow $15 million when they have already collected a billion dollars for a political campaign?

If you had $1,000,000,000 do you think you could possibly put together a political campaign without having to borrow more?  Do you think that if you can’t even manage a BILLION dollars for a political campaign then just maybe you haven’t got the expertise to manage the national budget?

Is spending so addictive that perhaps a person’s judgment becomes so far from reality that simply math, addition and subtraction in a checkbook is more than they can handle?  Is spending such large sums of money with reckless abandonment a pattern?

Our nation is falling deeper in debt every minute; we now owe more than we ever have.  One of our political campaigns is being run like the federal government spending more than it has.  Is this a pattern of behavior that we should endorse and vote to continue?

Why on earth does Barack Obama have to borrow money from Bank of America to help pay for his campaign?  Is he so addicted to over spending that a budget means nothing on a personal level or as his record shows on a national level?

Yes, it is hard to believe but apparently Barack Obama’s billion dollar campaign budget needed a bailout.  When a billion dollars was not enough his campaign had to borrow $15,000,000 million dollars.

Doesn’t it just make you wonder with a 16 trillion dollar national debt how much more we will owe if he is elected for another four years?  Remember to vote on November 6.

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October 13, 2012 · 7:18 am

Joe Biden, the Visionary Makes a Prediction for 2012 Election

Goal setting and visualizing success are key elements in planning your approach to problems or mapping out a plan for your future.  Every bookstore has a section of self-help books and much has been written about setting goals to meet expectations.

In the world of business today having a business plan is a minimum standard for any well-run company or department.  Voters hear from politicians during every campaign about some plan they have and how successful it will be.

In 2008 we heard about a plan that would deliver “hope and change”, a plan that would improve our economy and provide jobs.  Voters embraced the plan; we were sold a costly stimulus expenditure to turn around the economy and we bought it.  Judging the success of the plan as we look back has a lot to do with your expectations and what you perceived to be the goal.

When we evaluate our success as a nation in solving our economic problems we must of course look at the expectations of the leadership that presented the plan.  We can never know for sure what their real expectations were but we do have at least one public statement that clearly gives us their own evaluation of the success.

On September 24, 2009 during a conference call with State Governors from across the country Vice-President Joe Biden gave a review of the administration’s economic stimulus plan.  Did he feel the stimulus had worked well enough to meet the administrations expectations?  In the words of Joe Biden when speaking about the economic stimulus he said, “In my wildest dreams, I never thought it would work this well.”

The call lasted 45 minutes and only four questions were allowed one of those questions came from Democratic Governor Jay Nixon of Missouri.  He was concerned about accuracy in reporting state employment figures, so he asked if states could have more time to fact check the numbers before releasing the data to the public.  Is it a surprise to find out he was told, no?

Joe made it clear the Governors need not worry about reporting numbers; he made his expectations clear and concise saying the figures are “not going to be perfect.”  So that is the level of expectation and evaluation we can now expect from the current administration based on history and experience.

Mr. Biden did have a vision of the future and the level of expectation he anticipated from the economic stimulus package he oversaw for the administration.  Today every voter also has chance to look back and judge the success of the same economic plan.  In your opinion it has either been a success or failure and you can make your own plans for the future.

At the end of the call Governor Nixon thanked the vice president for his work on the stimulus. “I cannot tell you how much we appreciate your…interest,” he said.  “Pure self-interest, Jay,” Biden responded. “If it fails, I’m dead.”  You have to wonder was Joe Biden giving us his vision of this 2012 Presidential election, if he was and he loses let’s hope he is not dead, but rather happy in retirement.

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October 4, 2012 · 10:21 am

Presidential Debate Review – Winner No Doubt

Presidential debate Mitt Romney vs An Empty Suit

There was a big uproar when Clint Eastwood used an empty chair to represent President Barack Obama at the Republican National Convention.  Now it seems he may have been on to something.

The long anticipated first Presidential debate in this election cycle was held in Denver, last night.  It’s over, the first Presidential debate is over, and even the casual observer couldn’t help but notice Mitt Romney was debating an empty suit.

There for the entire world to see stood a man that looked out of touch, confused and bewildered an empty suit if you will.  The suit stood behind a podium listening to Mitt Romney presenting a full explanation and multi-point plan for every situation and every question.  Romney looked every bit like a leader you could trust.

The debate opened with a discussion on the economy and it quickly became apparent the empty suit was not in the same league with Mr. Romney.  The first round discussion came to an end when “the suit” tossed in his towel and asked the moderator if he wanted to move on.

As with any national television event there were instant polls and analysis after the viewing and it is clear in this case there is a winner.  CBS reports the winner of the debate among undecided voters as Romney with 46% Obama 22% and 32% still undecided.  The CNN survey had 67% declare Romney the winner and 25% favoring Obama with 35% saying they were more likely to vote for Romney after the debate and 18% saying Obama with 47% still undecided.

In what may be the most revealing poll a Democratic firm; Democracy Corps conducted a debate group with independent voters in Denver.  In this group Romney was declared the winner by a 2 to 1 margin.  Romney’s gain was impressive as 42% said they would back Romney, compared to only 27% before the debate.  Romney’s favorability rating went up by 41 percentage points to 77% while Obama’s favorability rose by only 3 percentage points.

Many in the Obama corner were disappointed with their candidate for example Michael Moore saying “Obama spoke FOUR minutes longer than Romney did tonight! Didn’t feel that way, did it? That sorta says it all.” Over at MSNBC, commentator Rachel Maddow said that Romney “spent much of the night battling not just President Obama, but also the moderator of the debate, Jim Lehrer. And Mr. Romney won every exchange.”

There can be only one conclusion for President Obama, when Rachel Maddow declares Romney the winner of “every exchange” you know you lost.  There is no television commentator more vocal in support of President Obama than Rachel Maddow but last night even she saw an empty suit at the podium.

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April 15, 2012 · 7:00 pm

No Tax Increase Proposed In Coventry – Citizens To Vote

The proposed Coventry Budget was presented at a meeting on March 15th.  The Town Council listened and took action.  The Town Council has adjusted the proposed budget from a requested increase in spending of 1.73% and higher taxes to a new lower level that will not raise taxes this year in Coventry, if the current proposed budget is adopted by referendum.

Approximately six people spoke at the meeting asking questions and making suggestions.  Below is an example of what was said taken from the minutes of the meeting:

Coventry is an exceptional small New England community, as is often mentioned at the Town Council meetings we have active support with citizen volunteers stepping forward to serve their community.  One such organization Coventry Helping Hand has recently been organized to assist our neighbors, not with a handout but with helping hands.  The organizers recognize that in this economy some of our neighbors are struggling.

The Council needs to be cognizant and more mindful of the impact even a small tax increase will have on our community at this time.  While some will call this proposed increase minimal and point out that to an owner of a median valued house it would be only $1.15 per month, but that can be significant.  How many of us are aware of the number of families living on an economic edge in this town?  We have a community food bank that is currently serving about 115 to 120 clients per week.  That translates to 115 families that need assistance for even the basic need of food. 

Yes your increase is small but it is not compassionate.  I ask that you follow the lead of Coventry Helping Hands and reach out to help your neighbors, reach for your pencils to erase the small increase in your budget.  It will not solve their problems but it will not add additional hardship.  If we can find money to pay extra for green energy we should be able to find a way to help our neighbors.

According to statistics provided by State agencies and published in the Hartford Business Journal out of 61 towns in the greater Hartford region Coventry was one of 16 towns that spent more money than the total taxes collected in 2010.  Only nine municipalities had debt service in excess of their total general fund balance.  Coventry was one of only five towns to appear in both categories.  According to the Connecticut Department of Labor of the five towns, Coventry has the lowest annual wages, at $33,692.  In today’s economy of rising prices that leaves little for discretionary spending and any tax increase can be a burden.

There is a large built in increase this year since the basis of comparison was a budget inflated over actual cost last year largely due to savings in the insurance line item.  Even a zero increase this year allows for additional spending since we over budgeted last year.

The Governor has talked about shared sacrifice and too often that has been equated to higher taxes with the sacrifice coming from the taxpayers.  It is time the shared sacrifice be looked at from another side, the side of government and spending increases.  At no time in the past 25 years has a tax increase been more inappropriate than this year.  At no time has the economic hardship on our neighbors been this difficult. 

For the sake of your neighbors, I would ask that you adjust your budget to show compassion for your neighbors living is less fortunate circumstances.

This is a budget that should find widespread support among all voters in Coventry.  In a word this budget referendum vote should be YES!

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