Falderal's Oil Slicked Waterloo

In 2008, the euphoria of the Obama campaign resembled the excitement one feels while being taken up into a cresting wave. That sucking down towards the ocean bottom and adrenaline inducing vertical pull, as you are uplifted to the precipice is in my mind a great metaphor for those who supported the anointed one from Chicago. Phrases like the title of Obama’s book; The Audacity of Hope, and campaign trifles like Hope and Change had a cross generational effect not seen in many, many years. They got caught up into his wave.

The problem with the excitement of being pulled up into a wave whether it is real or metaphorical, is the inevitable crash down into the sand, rock, and rubble that can leave one beaten and battered and questioning whether becoming one with the wave was really worth it. For those caught up into it accidentally, or out of some sort of desire to be part of the crowd, the fall is not quite as poignant as it is for those who came into it full steam with all faculties working.

I have waited long enough to comment on everything oil slick. But, I really wanted time to see what was happening before espousing on this ludicrous situation.

First of all, let me state I am someone who would love to get off the grid and live a total energy independent lifestyle.  But, let’s face it; that ain’t happening anytime too soon and like everyone else I must look at the energy situation with some common sense. We are going to be dependent on oil for a long time to come, especially if our retarded Government keeps delaying funding research and capital investment in clean energy infrastructure. Or using whatever is already there like nuclear energy for instance. They would rather fund failed and failing social programs instead of investing in the economy of the future.

The BP Deepwater Horizon Disaster pains everyone. The mistakes, PR problems and lack of leadership all over the board could be postulated on and analyzed until the end of time, and probably will be. But, there are some very common sense issues at stake here that go beyond the technological issues of plugging the leak.

As usual, the finger pointing has taken precedence over the actual solving of the problem. I have been waiting for Lord Falderal to blame the Bush Administration, since…well…hell…why not?

We are all to blame.

I drive a car, most likely you, dear reader drive a car or operate machinery that requires crude. We love our electric lights, conveniences, etc. We consume, consume, consume and expect companies like BP to provide the supply for our demand. Rightfully, so. The last time I checked (although it is waning) we are a capitalistic society and operate on the principles of supply and demand.

BP is a company beholden to stockholders looking to make a profit. In so doing they provide not only our insatiable desire for oil, but also a good living for many thousands of people in the Gulf area, just like ExxonMobil, Chevron, or any of the other companies we take our oil business to.

Like any other business, they are going to look for ways to save money and provide larger profits and dividends for their investors. I realize this is a concept the guy posing as President in the White House doesn’t quite grasp, but nonetheless, it is what it is.

BP fucked up hard. They cut the wrong corners. On a moral level it is indefensible, but on a business level it is a decision based on historical precedent. They calculated (incorrectly) the variables associated with the possibility of a huge event and decided their course of action in developing safety measures and the appropriate responses would be designed to save a little money. It ain’t right, but you can see how it could happen.

Now they are the demons. BP’s response has been lackluster, they have tossed out PR screw up after PR screw up and the nation wants their collective heads on a stick.

I believe they are doing what any company would do and this is what we have to deal with. So we deal with it. We do the best we can. We don’t have a choice. But, we need some leadership on our end and that is where we are truly screwed because we don’t have it.

Lord Falderal has behaved far worse than BP has in my opinion. I believe the die has been cast for good ol’ Falderal and this is indeed his Waterloo. There has been no leadership from the very beginning. All he has done is threaten and cajole BP with absolutely no constructive plan whatsoever. If I were Tony Hayward or any other executive at BP, I would have told Falderal to pound sand when they forced BP to set up the $20 billion Escrow account under threat of legal ramifications. I would write off the White House, Congress, and the Senate and say; You know what? Deal with this your own damn selves.

It is Falderal’s job to protect the American people and our environment, not to play sophomoric power games. Given his chance to step up to the plate and show some leadership potential he has failed miserably. On Day 1, there should have been made available the full force of the stateside military, Army Corps of Engineers, Coast Guard and every private contractor we could find regardless of who caused the spill and where the blame fell. I mean, wtf?

There are so many examples of Falderal’s lack of leadership and petty little power plays. Governor Jindal asks for help with sand burms…nothing. Why? Because it is coming from Jindal and we can’t let him overshadow Fadleral and actually come up with a feasible solution. It took him far longer to make a visit to the Gulf than it did Bush to tour the wreckage from Katrina. We won’t accept foreign help because it may violate the Jone’s Act, even though the countries willing to help have more expertise and success in cleaning up oil spills than we do. It goes on and on and on. But, again it doesn’t matter; just fix the goddamn situation already.

As usual, the media is absolutely no help in all of this. Their emotion stirring controversies that may or may not actually be valid only make the overall problem worse. I don’t give a rat’s ass that Tony Hayward was racing yachts while Obama was playing golf during the crisis. I REALLY don’t need to be looking at the oil plume 24/7. This is a tragedy. It’s like watching your Mom get hit by a train over and over again.

Speaking of tragedy. What about the people who died in the disaster? There has been scant coverage of their lives and the families they left behind. They are just as heroic as the victims of 9/11, so how about some respect?

There is no good to come out of this at any level. The only possible glimmer of something shiny and pink may be that people will start thinking about losing the crude addiction more seriously. And, we may finally be able to consider Falderal a pathetic one termer, but even that is hollow in light of this awful situation.

The wave is crashing into shore and it is covered in the death of an ecosystem and the ruining of countless lives.

Connecticut GOP Needs an Enema

 It should be blatantly obvious I support Rob Simmons in his Senate campaign to replace epic thief Chris Dodd in Connecticut. I’ve stated pretty strongly I think, my opinion on his opponents.

Sadly, the Connecticut GOP in a move both embarrassing to real Republicans and insulting to someone like Simmons who has given his entire career to public service, voted to get behind WWE former CEO Linda McMahon as their Senate candidate. On the surface, I can claim to be completely shocked and appalled by this horrific misstep, but I understand how it happened.

McMahon has the dough, plain and simple. She is a shiny new penny and Rob is the tried and true gold standard. Unfortunately, shallow people fall for the wiles of a shiny new penny almost every time. It is wrong and it’s disgusting when applied to politics, but it is fairly predictable. And, although there is a plethora of things I would like to say about the delegates that get sent to these conventions and allowed to vote, I am going to keep my mouth shut and just rant on other topics.

I say it was predictable because after all it was McMahon’s $16 million bucks of research money which turned the spotlight on Dickie Blumenthal’s (the Democratic challenger), lies about being a Vietnam Veteran when he wasn’t. That was a pretty serious blow to Blumenthal’s campaign and whilst Republicans should be grateful for it, it is no reason to get behind someone who is even more despicable than Blumenthal.

Blumenthal is a sneaky little weasel that has been able to keep his shenanigans from being uncovered by the liberal press. He is a master at staying under the radar screen as far as his actions go. However, he is also brilliant at staying in the spotlight by attending ceremonies and innocuous events. That’s a politician not a public servant. Held to his actual record, Dickie would look pretty evil, ineffective and an amazing waster of taxpayer dollars.

McMahon, well, her character is displayed right out in the open with no filter whatsoever, and she is arrogant enough to believe people will toss aside the image she portrayed as the CEO of a violent, deviant sex promoting and vulgar company in favor of a more caring obsequious Senator-type visage. Those millions are obviously serving her well in this image makeover she has been crafting over the last 18 or so months. She has been able to dazzle the Republican delegates and intends on doing the same for Connecticut voters.

Where the GOP really F’ed up is in buying into the money over message principle. Yes, money does win elections. However, tactically speaking, when you have a candidate with both the ability to raise a considerable amount of money from his potential constituents and has the right message and ability to deliver on that message, then you have a real winner. McMahon may have the personal dough to throw at this thing, but she lacks the integrity, knowledge and ability to empathize with real people.

As the man says: you can’t fix stupid and although this is a blaring injustice on the part of the Connecticut GOP, there is hope.

Simmons has spent virtually nothing getting his message out and the result is he only lost to this scumbag by just over 100 delegate votes. That’s impressive and should serve as a harbinger of how Simmons does business. It also means that he has a campaign fund large enough to merit a primary. That is good for Connecticut voters. I am willing to bet Rob’s message will sink in more with real voters over the types of political hacks that vote in conventions. (Oops, I let my opinion slip there. I will do a post on delegates sometime in the future.)

Primaries kind of suck. They cost a lot of money and cause hard feelings within their respective parties. Time and time again, allies who could be productive in congress with each other working on real issues, become enemies and the whole Democratic process becomes more screwed up. In this case though a primary is warranted as I and many others believe the duped delegates do not represent what real voters want in a candidate.

Simmons will have to pull out all the stops in fighting McMahon in a primary, but he can do it. His people are going to have to put together the right kind of message delivery in terms of serious content mixed with a little mud slinging. What Simmons has in his favor is the fact the mud is for real when it comes to McMahon and not just a bunch of low blows thrown out there to garner support.

I urge all Connecticut Republicans tired of the systematic belittling of our wishes by this Government to go out and vote for Rob and toss this piece of garbage, attention seeking jackass out of the political ring and back into the gutter where she belongs. That way we can start working on punting Dickie Blumenthal into retirement and save us all a lot of dough.

G.I. Dickie

Here’s a tip: If you are going to run in a Senate race and one of your opponents is a decorated War Veteran, don’t falsely claim you served in the same War, you know, unless you really did.

Back in my home state Connecticut; the race is really cooking for Master Thief Chris Dodd’s soon to be vacant Senate seat. I love this race because the comedic value is gigantic. Two of the candidates are amusing as hell.

We have a horrendous purveyor of sex, violence, and all manner of depravity in Linda McMahon, a Republican and part owner of the WWE. Then there is Attorney General Dick Blumenthal, a Democrat who has a penchant for suing and bullying small businesspeople because he doesn’t have enough game to stand out on the National playing field, and has darkened the doorway of the Attorney General’s office since Christ was a Corporal in the foot guard. 

Fortunately, in Connecticut there is an anomaly to political races all over the country; a candidate people can actually get behind with confidence. Republican Rob Simmons. From all the words I have committed to Simmons you would think I was working on the campaign, or was just otherwise kissing his ass. Well, I am not a campaign worker and I have no need to brown nose the man, it is just so rare that a real public servant throws their hat in the ring.

Seldom do I get to showcase a solid and committed candidate. I know in these times it isn’t en vogue to get behind a successful, older white male, considered to be part of the “establishment”. But, there are a few good ones left and Rob is one of them.

I said it before and I will state it one more time, it is almost insulting that Simmons has to suffer battling two such candidates for a seat he is so obviously more qualified to have.

However, this post is not about Simmons qualifications, you can read about that here: http://blogofirreverence.blogspot.com/search?q=simmons&updated-max=2010-02-09T20%3A25%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=20

What I want to talk about is Dick Blumenthal falsely claiming, or at least having alluded to serving in Vietnam. The New York Times recently published an article explaining what Dick Blumenthal’s time spent as a Marine really looked like in opposition to what he says at ceremonies and campaign stops.

Par example. Here is a quote from a 2008 address to Veterans and Senior Citizens in Norwalk, CT:

“We have learned something important since the days that I served in Vietnam. And you exemplify it. Whatever we think about the war, whatever we call it — Afghanistan or Iraq — we owe our military men and women unconditional support.”

The Times claims the truth is Dickie did everything he could to avoid Vietnam and he did, successfully. Dickie received five deferments, so he could attend Harvard, which on its face isn’t really a big deal, a lot of soldiers did the same thing. However, when it looked like the last deferment might not happen, Dickie worked hard to land himself a far less dangerous gig with the Marine Reserve. You know what those guys do? Arrange perilous local activities and events like organizing Toys for Tots campaigns.

Here is the Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/18/nyregion/18blumenthal.html

Dickie is pretty disgusting at baseline in the way he manipulates and uses ambiguity in his speeches in order to speak out of two sides of his face. He would like you to think he is Joe Lieberman-esque only without Joe’s ability to give frank, honest assessments that may not be popular with his constituents. Dickie wants to make everyone happy even though he has no intention of doing that in actual practice. He will smile at you while twisting the knife up under your rib cage. Oh wait, he’s not trained to do that, but I bet he can wrap up a toy GI Joe nice and pretty.

Using ambiguity or flat out mis-truths when speaking of time served in the Military is particularly disgusting. I don’t care if as a politician you play fast and loose with facts when it comes to shoring up your platform, that’s SOP and people will either see it for what it really is, or not. But, when you claim to have served this country overseas in the line of fire when you haven’t, well, that is particularly despicable and steals away a little piece of valor from all those who have given their lives, limbs, or sanity to make sure we all deservingly or not, get to enjoy the lives we do. 

We reap what we sow in this life and I am glad that FINALLY someone has exposed Dickie for what he really is; a brilliant user of language as power, media savvy about his image and more importantly a dishonest, egotistical, hypocrite whose time in public office should have run out years ago.

Ironically, it was not the NYT that came up with the research, which led to their article. Big surprise, it’s not like they would ever have said anything negative about Dickie on their own. It was Linda McMahon’s crack research team that provided the leads for the NYT to run with. Her campaign likes to brag that they have $16 million to toss at tactical research avenues in order to discredit her opponents. I see this as good for Simmons as he has nothing to hide or run from. For Blumenthal, all I can do is laugh. McMahon’s money is exactly what was needed to expose him for what he really is.

As I finish up this post, it is T-minus 9 minutes until Dickie gets on TV and explains himself. This should be good. Expect an update.

Rob, I hope you sent a nice Thank You note to Linda. She just may be the best thing your campaign has seen yet!

UPDATE:

And, this is his reply:

http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/news/connecticut/blumenthal-admits-he-misspoke-about-vietnam-era-service

Lame.

Well, you can't defend the indefensible. There was a great moment during the news conference during the introduction where the presenter referred to an event for veterans where Dickie stood in the rain giving a speech for 4-5 minutes. This was supposed to show Dickie's true commitment to his country and Veterans and diffuse the issue at hand. Damn, that's good stuff right there!

And, Then There Were Three, Arrested That Is

I always prefer writing on the larger political issues that affect us all, yet the most disturbing, ludicrous, and wildly entertaining stories seem to always occur at the local levels.

Remember the story about the Mayor, the Police Chief, and the Kidney? You can find it here: http://blogofirreverence.blogspot.com/2010/04/good-police-chief-bad-mayor.html Well, there’s an interesting side story that gives some insight into the type of person the Mayor featured in the article is, and whom she surrounds herself with.

It seems the Mayor of East Haven, CT, the only Mayor in the State of Connecticut to ever be arrested by her own Police Chief (oh, by the way her Assistant was arrested with her) and consequently took a very vague opportunity in which to put said Chief on leave, has been the impetus for the perfect trifecta of political arrests. Her Assistant Director of Administration and Management has been arrested for criminal weapons possession, theft of a firearm, and fourth degree larceny in the neighboring town of Branford.

Ralph Mauro the arrestee appears to have a penchant for illegal sub machine guns and stolen shotguns as well. As I often like to say; no innocent man buys an illegal gun. Or, in this case, steals one! Of course, one must remember until he goes to court these are only "allegations".

I am all about 2^nd Amendment rights and even though I am not a member of the NRA, I have no problem with those who are. That is as long as their weapons are legal and…uh…not stolen. This person is obviously an idiot at baseline, but let me tell you about what one of his responsibilities as the Mayor’s political shill are.

In the position of Assistant Director of Administration and Management, Ralph Mauro is responsible for such things as controlling the purse strings for the Police Department. How about that? Interesting, huh?

Ten years ago this guy was fired by previous Mayor Joe Maturo, also mentioned in the above referenced blog post, for stealing Town time, carrying a gun, (surprise, surprise) and eavesdropping on his co-workers at the City Hall Finance Department. He’s considered a real grade A scumbag by anyone’s standards and is the perfect example of who not to have in a public position of power.

For some further perspective into the case of Lenny Gallo, the Police Chief who was put on leave by the Mayor after a preliminary, actually BEFORE a preliminary report of a Justice Department investigation into the East Haven Police; consider this, Mauro denied the Chief money for training and personnel. What was in the Justice Department’s preliminary report; the recommendation for more training and personnel. Something every police department in America could use but doesn’t have the funding for. This report could have been sent to any department in the United States and would have been accurate.

Here is a copy of the report:

http://media2.wtnh.com/_local/documents/DOJ.pdf

My point in this case is my outrage that someone such as this, hired by an idiot Mayor has the power to deny a real public servant the funding needed to protect his town and its residents, and then is orchestral by association in the suspension of said public servant who has committed no crime or has causality for which to be reprimanded. That's a complete outrage.

So, to reiterate we have a Mayor, her Assistant Erica Berg, (some say her lover, but I won’t comment on that) and some gangster wannabe in a dangerous position of power, all arrested within one year. Yet, we have a well-respected Police Chief whose only desire is to do his job and protect his Town, sitting at home on administrative leave. Nice. Real, nice.

Normally, I bristle at the idea of litigating what should essentially be a personnel and Human Resources issue, but in this case, I hope Lenny sues the pantsuit off of East Haven and gets a huge chunk of change because he deserves it. And, quite frankly, the Town deserves the hit for electing this piece of garbage Mayor in the first place.

Incidentally, the Mayor has be unavailable for comment on the Mauro situation and no action has been taken on the part of the Town to keep this miscreant away from Town Hall. In fact, Mauro showed up for work the next day. The Town's lame excuse was that the arrest is a personal issue and not job related and they wanted to see how the situation played out. Really? So, you couldn't give Lenny the same courtesy and wait for the full Justice Department Report before taking action? Apparently, in East Haven it's OK to be a thief and carry around guns illegally, but if you are an honest Police Chief with a legal gun by the way, you get stripped of your badge, weapon, and car and get sent packing. Seems fair. in the alternate evil universe! As the kids say, WTF and OMG!


These kinds of witch-hunts are what really get in the way of the progress of not just Towns, but the country as a whole. Egos, agendas, corruption; all bad business.

By the way, as I was placing pictures onto this post, I felt like I was creating a new Rogue's Gallery. Nice work East Haven!

Go Arizona! Wake Up On Immigration

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." – Emma Lazarus

Yeah, that’s right. That’s the essence of these United States. This is the ideal we stand for and on which this country was founded.

But, lo have we veered from that ideal in the last hundred or so years, to the point where it takes the huevos of one Governor to implement a law that not only embraces racial profiling, but gives local law enforcement powers they should never have.

However, what Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has done by signing the State’s controversial new immigration law is send a very clear message to everyone, including our dysfunctional President and Congress, that the issue has gone too far and we need real change. This response may be extreme, but it is needed in order to extend the immigration debate to the point where real action is taken.

Washington Democrats and Republicans have been pussy footing around immigration for years. Neither party wants to sufficiently piss off their diverse voter bases to the point where they jump ship to the other party. What has happened is that Brewer captaining her State through a devastating hit to their economy, did what the Federal Government refused to do: act.

It’s hard unless you live in the Southwest to get a real feel for how badly things have gone. Here in San Diego, everyday I look at the local news and see how truly problematic illegal immigration is. California is toast financially and a good deal of the reason is the taxes spent on dealing with illegal aliens. Arizona faces the same problems.

I give Governor Brewer credit. It took some guts to follow through with this law especially given she is in a really ugly primary battle and could jeopardize her political career with this move. That is a good public servant right there. This country needs more people like her serving in the Government.

The real problem is; it’s a crappy law all around and it is going to cause all sorts of major problems administrating. I’m not sure it will save any taxpayer money when it is all said and done.

The more important thing the law has done is get people talking again, and talking for real, not just expressing vapid opinions and fostering the kind of hatemongering that goes along with the immigration issue. It has people acting constructively.

The problems go deep with immigration. It’s the flaws in a lot of our systems that causes these huge chasms between how we should act and how we do act towards immigration.

It’s a matter of attitudes that will dictate how we eventually fix our immigration system. We as a country have to first go back to our roots and realize; we want immigrants. The United States needs legal immigrants. These are folks just like our ancestors looking to find a better way, and we hold the key.  It is hard to even conceive what the idea of freedom means to these people because we live it everyday and unfortunately take it for granted. The majority of people coming into this country aren’t looking for a free ride and we have a duty to help them achieve the very best they can. This country needs productive people so we can continue to evolve.

What is needed are stronger and stricter front-end processing rules and laws. This country needs to spend the resources at the beginning of the process and not the end, through after the fact enforcement. Too much time and money is spent trying to keep people out, and throwing people out, that the idea of prevention has been lost. If we have comprehensive screening processes that help immigrants and don’t scare them, then we would see the problem disappear over time.

Don’t get me wrong, I mean tough rules on the front end. But, they should be compassionate as well. We need to keep National Security in mind whilst considering who is allowed in and who we reject, but not to the point where good people are scared into scheming their way past our borders and living like outlaws in and amongst us; that’s not what this country is about, we are a welcoming country.

Liberals love to call Conservatives hate mongers when we get tough on immigration laws. They view us as racist. My opinion is that is because it is the easiest way out for Liberals to just brand us in such a manner and not look any deeper than that.

True Conservatives look at illegal immigration for what it is: a drain on our system and resources. It is one thing when our tax dollars go to aid legal citizens of this country; it is quite another when we are basically funding criminals to live amongst us. That does not mean we are not welcoming to legal immigrants. It’s folly to think we want to keep people out entirely. Yes, there are some that do and unfortunately we have to suffer them.

I said before, we need immigrants. I didn’t just state it as some kind of feel good rhetoric directed at underscoring the opening quote; I said it because we need them on a global level in order for our country to progress. The largest area we need immigrants for is the workforce, especially since this moron of a President keeps pushing his quasi-Socialist agenda.

As the United States advances, our workforce matures. The access to better education means Americans are unwilling to task at some of the more menial jobs needed to build as a capitalistic society. Tasks immigrants are happy to work at and are skilled at as well. I know some people will read this as some sort of elitist justification, but it’s not. It’s the truth. For some reason, a good portion of the working people in the United States feel some jobs are just way too beneath them to dignify. Well, someone needs to do them!

The issues are huge and cumbersome, but what Arizona has done is get people thinking again. It takes that kind of measure to spark a real movement. It is just too bad it is not the right measure.

Wrestling Government: Simmons vs. McMahon

I am a great lover of money.

Money is fabulous. Good cold hard cash gives the ability not only to survive, but also to thrive. In a way this country’s raison d’etre is currency and there is really nothing wrong with that. I am actually very lenient when it comes to the means with which money is accumulated with the exception of stealing. However, when it comes to an individuals’ ambition to be a public servant, I believe money should never be a factor, especially when it comes to campaigns.

Left up to me all facets of Government would follow the edict of a 10^th Century Monastic Priory; with the legislature as the priory monks, the President as the Bishop and the People as Pope. All levels of Government would operate from bare bones offices with little or no comforts and the sole purpose of serving the people. They would eat horse-bread softened with weak ale, and spend every waking moment of their term working. Their campaigns would be financed evenly through a very sparse fund made up of taxes. The system would be heavily enforced by the public and the second any legislator, or the President, were observed partaking in anything other than what is rationed, they would unceremoniously be dismissed back into private life.

This way anyone fool enough to run for office would do so with only the best of intentions; that is to serve and not be self-serving. We could avoid those egomaniacal people who feel they should somehow be able to buy their way into government, so they can feel loved, or because it is just the “next thing to do” on their life agenda. We could also avoid the sons and daughters of millionaires who devoid of any need to do anything, decide to run for public office because “they want to make a difference”. Yes, only those with a religious like zeal to serve would run for office.

Ok, my fantasies aside, this is what I really want to talk about. A few months ago I wrote a post about the Senate Race in Connecticut, and the feud between Republican candidates Rob Simmons and Linda McMahon. See it here:

http://blogofirreverence.blogspot.com/2010/02/rob-simmons-vs-linda-mcmahon-smackdown.html  

Linda McMahon is the perfect example of pure narcissistic foulness to be found in recent political history (with the exception of Lord Falderal, he’s the gold standard), while Rob Simmons is the perfect example of the aforementioned public servant.

McMahon is rich, seriously rich, and she doesn’t even try to hide the fact she is using her dough to try and buy her way into the Senate. Which is not incongruous to her character. This is a person who has made her fortune through morally reprehensible means. McMahon and her husband Vince are the owners of the WWE. That alone should give some perspective to the situation.

In other words, she has become rich by advocating violence, sexual depravity, drug use, and myriad other deplorable business undertakings the likes of which could make Larry Flynt blush.

Now McMahon is using that dough to change her persona into that of the ultimate Polly Anna, eschewing values, female empowerment, and appearing to be as boring as Barbara Boxer, or Nancy Pelosi. The question is will all that money be able to erase McMahon’s involvement in such antics as; kicking her husband in the nads in a wrestling ring after he cheated on her with a female wrestler (all scripted), allowing and in fact, supporting scenes in the ring simulating necrophilia, or one of my favs, defending wrestlers employed by the WWE who took part in such austere film renderings as: Girls Chloroform Girls, Tied, Gagged & Frightened, and who could forget, Dirty Soled Dolls.

She has also used her position to obstruct justice (she was never formerly charged of this, it is my opinion) by alerting a Doctor who prescribed steroids to her wrestlers of an impending Federal Investigation against him. This allegedly allowed said doctor to break company with certain pieces of evidence, which would have shed a poor light on McMahon, her husband and their company. The doctor was sentenced to time in a Federal prison and although McMahon’s husband was also brought up on charges he was not convicted. Here is a fun read:

http://www.theday.com/article/20100409/NWS12/100409727/1017

As part of her Polly Anna disguise, McMahon has claimed she is a DC outsider and is wildly against special interest groups. This despite the fact the WWE spent a cool million + bucks lobbying both houses as well as various Federal Agencies. Well, I guess in relative terms she is an outsider, a mil won’t buy you much at the Federal level these days. But, it does prove she is a huge liar; as does a vetting form she filled out for Governor M. Jodi Rell when she was being considered as an appointee to the Connecticut State Board of Education in 2009. Out of 29 questions, she answered five to the negative, when proving out found she may have had a lapse in memory. You can check it out here:

http://articles.courant.com/2010-04-04/news/hc-mcmahon-questionnaire-0404.artapr04_1_linda-mcmahon-answers-wrestling

To be fair, I did say in the beginning of this post I have no problem with a little leniency towards how the money is made. After all if there is a demand, I say go ahead and supply. Truth to be told, I would enjoy McMahon’s company say, at a bar, or cocktail party, or maybe an illegal cock fight, but not ever and I mean ever, would I want to see such a person in Government.

In Connecticut, everywhere you look Linda McMahon has an ad. She is trying to win the campaign based on market saturation. That’s dangerous. She realizes the only way she can possibly win is by a complete image overhaul and money tends to be pretty effective in achieving that end. Of course, it is an image overhaul, not a character overhaul. Nothing can change her character. She will always be someone who stood behind violence, drug abuse, and morally reprehensible behavior.

What voters need to do is take the initiative and look at the character of the person running and not the purse they are operating from. A guy like Rob Simmons isn’t in it for the money, the need to be admired, or some other sinister desire. He’s a guy who has done nothing but serve the public his entire career. Through his Military service, time spent in the CIA and Congress, plus his other achievements; Simmons has proven the people are what motivate his actions. THAT is a public servant. I am not sure what the hell Linda McMahon is.

I must admit she has given me a newfound respect for Jesse Ventura!

Good Police Chief, Bad Mayor

Nestled between New Haven, CT to its West, and Branford, CT to the East is a town called East Haven. It’s a unique kind of place. It’s not a destination point you will see in any travel magazine, nor is it particularly famous for anything outside of the immediate area.

The town has characteristics reminiscent of both its book end neighbors. New Haven has graced the place with its urban influences on the West side and Branford; a beautiful coastal suburb with lots of money, history, and tourist attractions give East Haven an interesting confluence of culture and population towards it’s West. It even has a beach area; think Jersey Shore only a little poorer.

What East Haven lacks in sights, culture, and history it makes up for in the proud people who live there. The town has become a caricature of Italian American stereotypes due to its once largely Italian American population, a demographic that has been changing over the last 20 or so years. Unlike most of the towns around it, East Haven has been slow to gentrify and proudly so.

The citizens seem to almost relish in the guido and mob jokes set upon them by morning DJ’s even to the point where there is a traditional song parody called Christmas time in East Haven played during the Holidays. Check it out, it’s funny as hell and gives you a great perspective on the place.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCd1HHLVY5g

I said it has been slow to gentrify, but for a while it had been attracting a wealthier crowd during the late 1990’s on up until a couple years ago. People interested in locating deeper into New England either from New York or what is known as the “gold coast” of Connecticut saw East Haven as a more economically feasible place to land than the wealthier towns to the East.

This was thanks to a Mayor who was the perfect embodiment of the essence of the Town itself. Joe Maturo was a former firefighting, master electrician, working class guy who served the town for six terms. He was wildly popular and worked tirelessly to get his town as much attention as he could. It was easy for him because he had no problem getting the attention of people with his easy charm and ability to do exactly what his constituents wanted him to.

When Joe was elected, he put together a crack team of Town officials committed to the same goal he had; making East Haven a place people wanted to come to while maintaining it’s proud heritage. He was a force.

Enter Lenny Gallo, veteran police officer retired from the New Haven Police Department. Lenny became Joe’s Police Chief. Lenny is old school for sure and in East Haven, CT that is the only kind of cop to have.

Joe and Lenny became almost legendary. They worked their asses off and they played their asses off too. They were as popular out on the town as they were in the town. Even when they socialized they were talking about initiatives and how great the town was and what they were going to do next and so on and so on. They lived and breathed East Haven. The dedication was like none I have ever seen.

The amazing thing was; beyond the cursory need to belong to a party, Joe really didn’t play politics much. Of course, he played it a little; everyone in Government has to, but not to the point of any real scandal. Like any successful politician Joe had friends on both sides of the aisle.

Why am I talking about some guido town in Connecticut from my comfy home in San Diego? I’ll tell you why.

21 votes booted Joe out of the Mayor’s office in 2007. 21 votes. Hardly a mandate, although you would think it was by the way the winner of those 21 votes acted.  The victor, a nobody, known as April Capone Almon is a truly despicable human being who upon winning the Mayor’s office by such a slim margin declared Joe to have been a demon sent from Hell, and the people who worked for him his minions.  She made no secret that she would disband the “old boy’s club” that Joe had allegedly formed including Lenny Gallo. Of course she would be an expert on such things given her experience as a part time disc jockey and salesperson at Verizon, the extent of her life experience. Sounds like a President I know!

Fast-forward a year into her term.

One fine day at the beach aforementioned, one of Lenny’s officers was ticketing cars to be towed away that were parked illegally. It is important to note this officer is a Republican; the Mayor is a Democrat. The Mayor happened to be in the area (hopefully not in a swimsuit) and took issue with the officer having the cars towed. She got on the phone with the police dispatcher and asked to speak with Lenny. Lenny wasn’t available so she basically lost it using language any sailor would be proud of, (or me for that matter) and demanded that the cop call off the tow trucks stating she was the Mayor and her power superseded the Chief’s. Can you say “power trip”?

Well, the Mayor got arrested for that little incident and the true war began. She alleged the Chief arrested her based on purely political motivation since the officer was a Republican and this happened to take place during an election year. I honestly don’t know what party affiliation Lenny is. The police and prosecutor who issued the warrant maintained the Mayor was arrested because she broke the law by interfering with an officer. To the right is her mug shot. Purdy isn’t she?


Here is the dispatch audio tape. Great Stuff!


http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/news/new_haven_cty/news_wtnh_easthaven_exclusive_mayor_recording_200909032252_rev1

The charges were eventually dropped but you can imagine the outcry on both sides and she did win her re-election. What a fiasco. The woman is so clearly into aggrandizing herself it is unbelievable. Her speeches and media manner are so transparent it is painful to watch. Seeing her makes you want to shower, but then listening to her, or reading her quotes makes you want to pull your skin off altogether. 

Hell-bent on revenge, Capone Almon took advantage of an incident that happened on the Chief’s watch where his officers were accused of racial profiling. The Department of Justice was brought in due to a complaint lodged by the folks alleging the profiling. Capone Almon was more than happy to oblige an investigation into Lenny’s department.

Any small town police department investigated by the DOJ is going to suffer some scalding critiques. There is just not enough money in the budget of any town in this country to have a perfectly systematic police department. Ok, maybe that is a generalization. In some towns where there are new agey renaissance chiefs, more effort may be put into sensitivity training, but East Haven ain’t one of them.

East Haven’s police department is run just fine and the town is not subject to anymore or less crime than a town of equal size and demographics. In other words, Lenny does the kind of job you would expect from a 40-year police veteran and he is perfect for East Haven. The Mayor however, is not.

Consider this; the DOJ sends the Mayor a preliminary report stating very predictable deficiencies in the department. In fact, it could have been a form letter sent to just about any department in the United States. Read it here: 

http://media2.wtnh.com/_local/documents/DOJ.pdf

Upon reading the preliminary report, this dirt bag Mayor puts Lenny on paid administrative leave, the first disciplinary action in his career. Police Chiefs are protected by State Statute and cannot be fired or suspended without cause. There was no causality stated in this report; there is no cause to discipline Lenny. However, the Mayor and her equally stupid Town Attorney decided this was the best course of action. Any guesses as to how much this is going to cost East Haven taxpayers to litigate?

On the very same day, there is a story in the paper about the Mayor donating one of her kidneys to someone she doesn’t even really know from Facebook. Aw, isn’t that sweet? Want to know when she started chatting with this dude? Right after the incident at the beach. Interesting. That is probably one of the most twisted publicity stunts I have ever heard of. It seems farfetched, but not for this person.

The bottom line is; it is a sad state of affairs when a person is so insecure she has to run for office to get acceptance and then recklessly drag down people who actually care about what they do. I wish Lenny all the luck in the world. And, to that thing that calls herself the Mayor; karma is coming to get you.

And, here is a little tip Mayor; if you want to be in the public spotlight so much, spend less time on Facebook and more time with a stylist.