Connecticut
Post posts about what is happening in the State of Connecticut.
Beyond 2008, a review of the websites
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Fri, 11/16/2007 - 18:06Recently, I saw a Facebook status update that said, “Arielle Reich is www.danmalloy.com”. It got my curious and I went to look at www.danmalloy.com. It redirected to a Wordpress blog which is described as “a forum for discussing progressive solutions for Connecticut's future.” The most recent post on the blog was written by Arielle. There is no ‘Paid for by…” line at the bottom of the pages and the contributors are people who are contributing posts, instead of money. The lists includes former members of Mayor Malloy’s campaign staff, as well as union and elected officials. It isn’t a campaign site, right now, but it is a wise move. Get people in the habit of coming to your site. Build the traffic. The problem, however, is that since it redirects to a Wordpress site, it doesn’t really do anything to boost traffic rankings in Google or other systems.
So, I thought I would look to see what other possible candidates for elections after 2008 might be doing. www.nedlamont.com remains an active site. There is a recent post about Ned’s trip to the Middle East. It retains a high Google Page Rank rating, but is only getting minimal traffic.
George Jepsen, who has been making the rounds of notable Democratic events still has his domain, which was originally registered in 1999. However, it is due to expire later this month. The domain does not currently point at an active server. I’ve spoken with George and the domain isn’t going to expire and he’s thinking about what his website should have going forward.
At first glance, it appeared that Dick Blumenthal hadn’t registered a domain. DickBlumenthal.com is currently available. Dick had better grab it soon, before someone else does. However, www.richardblumenthal.com is registered. The registration was updated last month but the website is listed as ‘Coming Soon.”
Susan Bysiewicz, who, like Dick and George is a regular at Democratic events, has not grabbed the site SusanBysiewicz.com That might be because too few people know how to spell her last name.
John DeStefano’s domain is still registered. It expires February 2008. Like many of the other sites, it is ‘Under Construction’.
Also on the list is Audrey Blondin. Her website, www.AudreyBlondin.com still points to her 2006 Secretary of State run. Audrey is clearly interested in the Secretary of State position if Susan decides to run for another office, and keeping the old site as is, is probably a good move.
Mayor Malloy and Ned Lamont are being smart in keeping alive their presences online. Will other potential candidates do the same? It will be interesting to see.
Watching Sicko
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Thu, 11/15/2007 - 12:49For months, Kim and I have talked about watching Michael Moore’s documentary ‘Sicko’, but never gotten around to it. When it first came out, we invited various State Reps near where we lived to come see it with us. They all declined. Perhaps they were embarrassed about having failed to pass meaningful healthcare reform last session. They should be.
What got us to do it this time, was Democracy for America holding Sicko Houseparties. We didn’t try as hard to invite State Reps to attend this time. We had too many other things going on. We did managed to contact one State Rep, who did not attend.
Yet we ended up crowding between 15 and 20 people in our living room to watch Sicko, to discuss healthcare reform, and to join in a conference call with Michael Moore. The group ended up being a lot of the same old activists that we met when Dr. Dean was trying to get Americans to focus on healthcare reform during the 2004 Presidential campaign.
One new face to me was Paul Wessel. He is a campaign organizer for www.healthcare4every1.org. He spoke about efforts here in Connecticut and former Speaker of the CT House Irv Stolberg offered insights into the legislative process.
If you haven’t watched Sicko yet, please do. If you haven’t signed up on healthcare4everyone1.org, please do. Most importantly, find time to talk with friends, family and neighbors about the importance of meaningful healthcare reform.
(Cross-posted at MyLeftNutmeg)
The State of Student Free Speech
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Mon, 11/12/2007 - 13:38Last Thursday, the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy, sponsored a discussion at Quinnipiac University School of Law concerning “The State of Student Free Speech”, particularly as it relates to the Avery Doninger case. I grew up in Williamstown, MA, and frequently would go to events at Williams College, so it was great to see Avery at the discussion, following the topic at least as well as many of the law school students there.
The discussion started off with a welcome from Brad Saxton, Dean of Quinnipiac Law. This was followed by a great exposition of the issues by Professor Emeritus Martin B. Margulies. Prof. Margulies has followed the case closely, having filed an amicus brief in the initial hearing as part of the Connecticut ACLU, and for the hearing before the Second Circuit, as a member of the American Constitution Society.
NaNaWriMo and Autumn Leaves.
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Mon, 11/12/2007 - 10:32The past few days, I’ve been spending a bit of time off line. I’m still managing to get at least one blog post up everyday, and get at least 1,667 words of the novel written each day. I’m holding my own on the never-ending influx of emails. So, it doesn’t feel like I’m making any headway, but it doesn’t feel like I’m losing ground either.
Yesterday, Fiona and I went for a hike in the Naugatuck State Forest. The day before, we went with Kim to Sperry Falls. Both days, Barley came along for a romp in the woods. (See our photos on Flickr.)
Apparently we weren’t the only ones taking advantage of a beautiful fall weekend to take our dogs for a walk in the woods. Heather, whose blog I found via MyBlogLog took her dog, Lily for some walks in the Ohio foliage.
But perhaps these autumnal strolls are good for the writing anyway. Yesterday, I received a NaNoWriMo ‘pep talk from Sue Grafton’. In her email to all NaNoWriMo participants, she writes of her dreams for her novels,
The pacing will be relentless, yet the story will ebb and flow in a manner that will produce both thrilling surprises and quiet moments where the reader can reflect on what's gone before.
This weekend was filled with quiet moments of reflection, and it showed up in the sections of the story. I’m that the pace will quicken before I know it.
Operation Lysistrata
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Sun, 11/11/2007 - 13:18My earliest memory of Aristophanes’ plays was reading a copy of The Frogs, which my older brother had. Other than the crude jokes early on in it, I don’t remember much. Years later, a friend in college produced a modern adaptation of a Greek play as her senior project. I don’t recall if it was Aristophanes. I seem to remember it using large puppets, having a Greek chorus, and I having something to do with sex and war.
Was it Lysistrata? I don’t know. However, this week, people around Fairfield, CT will have a special opportunity to see a production of Lysistrata, or perhaps more accurately, a documentary about the Lysistrata Project.
In January 2003, two women in New York City, Kathryn Blume and Sharron Bower, thought to organize readings of the ancient Greek play by Aristophanes, Lysistrata, as a protest of the imminent preemptive war on Iraq. Originally conceived as a local event, however, over the course of a several weeks, word of the Lysistrata Project quickly gained momentum and became a worldwide happening for peace. On March 3, 2003 over 1,000 simultaneous productions of Lysistrata were performed in 59 countries around the globe.
The film "Operation Lysistrata" shows how two women transformed their individual aspirations for peace into a movement which allowed the global community to share in their vision, using grassroots activism, conflict resolution, community building and the role of art in a functioning democracy.
There will be a screening on Monday, November 12, 2007 at The Fairfield Theatre , 70 Sanford St, Fairfield, CT at 7:30 PM. It should be a fun evening. It makes me think of the great quote attributed to Emma Goldman, “If I can't dance, I don't want to be part of your revolution.” If our political activism, even on matters as important as trying to stop a senseless war, can be filled with fun and art, then I worry people will burn out to quickly and the efforts will fail.
