Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations

The following is a message from Doug Schwartz �of New London who fought for the property rights of Susette Kelo and continues that fight today on behalf of all Americans�.

From Doug Schwartz:� There appears to be no real opposition to the nomination of Chase Rogers to be the next CT Chief Justice. I just spoke to one of those involved in the 2003 Norwalk eminent domain case she ruled in, and in the course of a 2-hour conversation, I got an earful. She did NOTHING to protect the property rights of the victims in that case, and pretended to go through the motions. There were several good avenues open to her to overturn the taking, had she so desired. I will spare the details, you all have seen this movie before. Just a few quotes from one of the victims:

"Not for the public good, for a few people to get rich."
"Let's face it, it's all political."
"Her decision was filled with errors & contradictions."

I will be there.� I called the committee, and the guy I spoke to believes that after govt. officials get their chance to speak at the start of the hearing, the nominee will be up. Press accounts have speculated that this could take several hours. So the public may not get a chance until late in the afternoon or perhaps the evening.

I would urge everyone who can not be there in person to submit written comments. The committee will not decide tomorrow, they will do so in a couple of weeks. This is THE most important constitutional office in CT, the world's oldest continuous alleged democracy. If she will not protect our property rights, what ones will she protect from those thieves in the state and local governments?

The emails of each of the committee members can be found on this page: http://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/menu/MemberList.asp?comm_code=JUD&doc_type= If you have to work and want to know if the hearing is still going on late enough to allow you a chance to testify, you can email me during the day, as the building has wireless internet access. Or call me on my cell: 860-514-0788. Doug Schwartz

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INFORMATIVE CABLE PROGRAMS ON WEST HARTFORD�S BUDGET AND HOME SCHOOLING

April Dates re Budget

Friday, April 6, 9 PM

Wednesday, April 11, 9:30� PM

Monday, April 16, 9 PM

West Hartford Cable TV, Channel 5

On the aforementioned dates and times, those who have access to West Hartford�s Community Cable can view� TAX TALK.� Tax Talk was prerecorded by Theresa McGrath and Judy Aron who are officers in the West Hartford Taxpayers Association.� They will be discussing the town�s budget for fiscal year 2007-2008.��

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April Dates re Home Schooling

Thursday, April 5, at 9 PM

Friday, April 13 at 9 PM

Tuesday, April 17 at 9:30 PM

On the aforementioned dates and times, those who have access to West Hartford�s Community Cable can view a discussion by Judy Aron and her guests Deborah Stevenson of NHELD and Alan Schaeffer of Separation of School and State on Judy�s cable TV show "What You Should Know" .�� The following will direct you to Judy�s website:� www.yedies.blogspot.com

The WHCTV schedule is here http://www.whctv.org/Schedule1.htm

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Thursday, April 19, 2007

The Federalist Society's

Hartford Lawyers Chapter

INVITATION TO ATTEND

Presentation by Clint Bolick

President and General Counsel of the

Alliance for School Choice

Co-founder and former Litigation Director of the

Institute for Justice

Clint Bolick will Speak on

"The Case For an Activist Judiciary"

Date/Time: Thurs., April 19, 2007, 12:00-1:30 p.m.

Location:� Goodwin Hotel, One Haynes Street, Hartford, CT

Directions and Parking:� http://www.goodwinhotel.com/Default.aspx?tabid=2712

A complimentary lunch will be provided.

RSVP: Brian Freeman, 275-8310, bfreeman@rc.com

Important - Please Note:� Parking is available in the Goodwin Place garage (off Ann Street, on the west side of the building) for a reduced rate of $7.� A voucher for the reduced rate will be available to you at the event.� For headcount purposes, please RSVP to Brian Freeman, 275-8310, bfreeman@rc.com as soon as possible if you will be coming.

Free and open to the public. Please feel free to pass along this invitation to any others who might be interested. This will be in a small venue with ample opportunity for audience questions and discussion.

Clint Bolick is president and general counsel of the Phoenix-based Alliance for School Choice, the nation's leading advocacy organization for school choice. Focused on the educational needs of economically or otherwise disadvantaged schoolchildren, the Alliance was launched on May 17, 2004, the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, to help fulfill the promise of educational opportunities for children who desperately need them. In 2005, the Alliance spearheaded the most successful legislative year ever for the school choice movement, resulting in two new and five expanded school choice programs and providing high-quality educational options to more than 100,000 disadvantaged children. Previously, Bolick co-founded and served as vice president of the Institute for Justice, a Washington, D.C.-based libertarian public interest firm. Bolick led the litigation team that defended the constitutionality of school choice programs across the nation, which culminated in 2002 in the successful defense of the Cleveland program in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision, Zelman v. Simmons-Harris. In 2003, American Lawyer recognized Bolick as one of the nation's three lawyers of the year in light of his legal work in support of school choice. In 2003, Bolick recounted the experiences of 12 years of school choice litigation in Voucher Wars: Waging the Legal Battle Over School Choice, published by the Cato Institute. His newest book, David's Hammer: The Case for an Activist Judiciary, was published in 2007.

Links:

Alliance for School Choice: http://www.allianceforschoolchoice.org/about.aspx?p=5&i=10

David's Hammer: The Case for an Activist Judiciary:

http://www.amazon.com/Davids-Hammer-Case-Activist-Judiciary/dp/1933995033/ref=sr_1_2/002-5346576-5228845?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1174510544&sr=1-2

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