October 8, 2012
From: The Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer
Organizations
Contact: Susan Kniep,
President
Website: http://ctact.org/
Email: fctopresident@aol.com
Telephone: 860-841-8032
Senator addresses meningitis outbreak | WTNH.com Connecticut
Obstacles for Obama's health panel - The Hill's Healthwatch By Sam Baker -
10/06/12 President Obama’s plan to control Medicare
spending — an expert board of cost-cutters — might have trouble even coming
into existence. Continued at …… http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/medicare/260609-obstacles-ahead-for-obamas-health-panel
Merrill's Billboards Mix Public Service, Self-Promotion October 8, 2012,
Hartford Courant, Secretary of the State
Denise Merrill is not the first elected official in Connecticut to mount a
taxpayer-supported public service campaign that at the same time amounts to
free political advertising. But she should be the last. Incumbents already have a big enough
advantage over challengers at the polls. It's just wrong for taxpayers to help
foot the bill for campaigns that blast officeholders' names and images all over
the state. At issue is the
get-out-the-vote effort mounted by the secretary of the state's office. It
features billboards with Ms. Merrill's photograph and a message reminding
people "to vote Tuesday Nov. 6." The Outdoor Advertising Association
of Connecticut
also helped pay for the campaign, The Courant's Jon Lender reports. Ms. Merrill is not up for re-election for two
years, but the increased visibility given her by the "voter outreach"
campaign is a political plus nonetheless.
Continued at http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/editorials/hc-ed-denise-merrill-propaganda-20121008,0,2846636.story
Big stakes loom behind quiet races for
the General Assembly By Keith M. Phaneuf on October 8, 2012 While U.S. Senate candidates
Linda McMahon and Chris Murphy grab most of the headlines, there is more at
stake in this year's state legislative races than Connecticut has seen in a
decade. Though Democrats hold comfortable margins in both chambers, an
unusually large number of open seats, a sluggish economy and the specter of
right-wing super PAC funds have left the majority wary. Continued at ….. http://www.ctmirror.org/story/17649/big-stakes-loom-behind-quiet-race-general-assembly
GOP Sens. McCain and Graham tell contractors to issue layoff
notices By Jeremy Herb - 10/05/12 Sens.
Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.)
have a message for defense contractors: ignore the Obama
administration and send out mass layoff notices. Graham and McCain sent letters
to 15 defense firms Friday warning that they would block any payments from the
federal government to contractors covering the costs associated with not
following the law requiring 60 days' notice for mass layoffs. Continued at ….. http://thehill.com/blogs/defcon-hill/industry/260523-mccain-graham-tell-contractors-issue-layoff-notices
Capitol Assets: Congress's wealthiest mostly ... - shielded
from effects of deep recession
Washington Post Washington
Post October 6 The wealthiest
one-third of lawmakers were largely immune from the Great Recession, taking the fewest financial hits
and watching their investments quickly recover and rise to new heights. But
more than 20 percent of the members of the current Congress — 121 lawmakers — appeared to be worse off in 2010
than they had been six years earlier, and 24 saw their reported wealth slide
into negative territory. Those findings emerge from an ongoing examination of
congressional finances by The Washington
Post, which analyzed thousands of financial disclosure forms and public records for
all members of Congress. Most members weathered the financial crisis better
than the average American, who saw median household net worth drop 39 percent from 2007 to 2010. The
median estimated wealth of members of the current Congress rose 5 percent
during the same period, according to their reported assets and liabilities. The
wealthiest one-third of Congress gained 14 percent. Continued at …. http://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/capitol-assets-congresss-wealthiest-mostly-shielded-in-deep-recession/2012/10/06/5a70605c-102f-11e2-acc1-e927767f41cd_story.html
Jobless rate falls below 8 percent for the first time in
nearly four years
By Christopher Rugaber, Associated
Press / October 5, 2012
The US
unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent in September, the lowest unemployment
rate in 44 months. The economy also created 86,000 more jobs in July and August
than first estimated. Continued at ….. http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Latest-News-Wires/2012/1005/Jobless-rate-falls-below-8-percent-for-the-first-time-in-nearly-four-years
RECOMMENDED: What's the real
unemployment rate?
Housing still impediment to U.S. growth: Fed officials
Click to read Labor Report: www.ctdol.state.ct.us/csblr/decisions-pdf/1995/3290.pdf
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Chicago teachers vote to approve 3-year contract CBS News - 1
day ago With an average salary of $76,000, Chicago teachers are
already among the highest-paid in the nation. The district's final proposal
included an average 7 percent raise over three years, with additional raises
for experience and education. But the evaluations and job security measures
stirred the most intense debate.
Continued at …… http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505245_162-57525878/chicago-teachers-vote-to-approve-3-year-contract/
'Dysfunctional' Public
Pension Plans Need Radical Fix Now (Frank Keegan / State Budget Solutions)
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Connecticut Republicans run from Romney on Medicare
Himes:
Democrat on a tightrope
By Ana Radelat
October 5, 2012 CTMirror.org Stamford --
Rep. Jim Himes is one of Washington's tightrope walkers, trying to balance the
fiscal concerns of his wealthy district with the core principles he holds as a
Democrat. Read complete article at http://www.ctmirror.org/story/17637/himes-indefinable-democrat
Jennifer Frank, the Editor of CTMirror.org, a
well-respected on-line news publication, expresses her frustration as Linda
McMahon and Chris Murphy dodge reporters as she writes: From the beginning of her Senate campaign, Republican Linda
McMahon has been spectacularly resistant to situations she can't control. 
We're
relegated to passivity: Our mailboxes overflow with her campaign literature,
and we're overwhelmed by her TV commercials. Oh, she will take part in a
handful of debates with her Democratic rival Chris Murphy (the first is Sunday)
-- and I hope we hear solid, thoughtful answers and discussion. But talk
to a reporter for more than 10 minutes to glean more than a superficial
explanation of her position on any of the complicated issues that confront the
state and country? No.Appear on the popular
public radio show, WNPR's "Where We Live"? Forget it. The show is heard by tens of
thousands of state residents, 99 percent of whom (I would bet) are voters. Now
her Democratic rival Chris Murphy -- who has had a long history of openness and
transparency -- has clearly thought better of the public aspect of his role of
public servant. Mirror reporter Mark Pazniokas says
he's been reduced to trying to yell questions to Murphy as the candidate flees
public appearances. And Thursday night, Murphy pulled out of a long-promised
appearance Monday on "Where We Live."
These are candidates for the United States Senate, not a
do-nothing board in East Pinwheel, CT. That they're running from those who
would carefully examine their positions is nothing short of outrageous.
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Four Takeaways From Jobs Report By Ben Casselman Wall St.
Journal October 5, 2012, 9:08 AM U.S. employers added 114,000 jobs in
September, and the unemployment rate fell to 7.8%, its lowest level since
January, 2009. Economists are still digesting today’s jobs figures, but here
are a few quick takeaways. Big revisions to July, August: The Labor Department
revised up its estimate of July jobs growth to 181,000 from 141,000 and its
August estimate to 142,000 from 96,000 — a combined addition of 86,000 jobs.
That means job growth was significantly stronger over the summer than
previously believed, and suggests the slowdown last spring was shorter-lived
than initially feared. With the revisions, the economy has now added an average
of 146,000 per month over the past three months, compared to just 67,000 jobs
over the prior three months. Continue
reading at http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/10/05/four-takeaways-from-jobs-report/
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Remember Suzette Kelo,
her neighbors and their homes lost to Pfizer, which has since moved on, leaving
vacant lots behind? Land Grabs are
continuing to victimize Americans throughout our country as the following
illustrates: Special Report: The casualties of Chesapeake's land grab across ...
By Brian Grow, Joshua Schneyer
and Anna Driver Oct 2, 2012 Reuters This
June, after petitioning a Texas state agency for an exception to a 93-year-old
statute, the company effectively secured the ability to drain the gas from
beneath the Bhandari property anyway - without having
to pay the couple a penny. In fact, since January 2005, the Texas
agency has rejected just five of Chesapeake's
1,628 requests for such exceptions, a Reuters review
of agency data shows. Chesapeake has sought the most exceptions during that
time - almost twice the number sought by a subsidiary of giant rival Exxon
Mobil, Reuters found. Chesapeake says it only seeks
exceptions to the Texas statute - called Rule 37 - as a last-ditch effort, and
often because it cannot locate the land owner. The law, company
spokesman Michael Kehs said, "protects
the rights of the majority of mineral owners." Not so, say many local
residents…. "The principle of it is insane," said Calvin Tillman, a
former mayor of Dish, Texas, a small town
north of Fort Worth
where drilling has been heavy. "Not only can they take your property, but
they don't have to pay you for it." Continued at ….. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/02/us-chesapeake-landgrab-substory-idUSBRE8910E920121002
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Florida opens criminal probe into voter
registration firm By Michael Peltier
| Reuters – 14 hrs ago TALLAHASSEE, Florida
(Reuters) - Authorities in Florida
said they had opened a criminal probe into the activities of Strategic Allied
Consulting, the firm hired by the Republican Party to register new voters in
the crucial swing state ahead of next month's presidential election. A spokeswoman for the Florida Department of
Law Enforcement (FDLE) said the agency had found enough evidence to warrant a
full-blown investigation of Strategic Allied, a
Virginia-based voter registration company doing work for the Republican
National Committee and the Republican Party of Florida.
Continued at …… http://news.yahoo.com/florida-opens-criminal-probe-voter-registration-firm-232433133.html
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