Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations

Connecticut: Had 53 percent of the $44.8 billion it owes long-term. Made full pension contribution three times from 2005 to 2010. Cut pension and retiree health benefits in 2011. The governor has proposed a plan to reach 80 percent funding by 2025.�� Read more at� http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2012/06/18/snapshots_of_10_states_with_biggest_pension_gaps/

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***SCANDALS APLENTY****

Report: Secret Service partied hard at the Vineyard

By David Jackson, USA TODAY Report: Secret Service 'Animal House' on Martha's Vineyard�� Fox News is reporting that the service has earned "an 'Animal House' reputation" during President Obama's vacations on Martha's Vineyard. "Local residents say wild parties, fights and late-night carousing involving Secret Service members have become commonplace in recent years at the Vineyard, a favorite getaway for the First Family and longtime destination for upper-crust members of the Northeastern political, media and business establishment," says Fox. Continued at �.. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2012/06/report-obama-secret-service-partied-hard-on-marthas-vineyard/1#.T-DOIpGFpkg

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Federal authorities looking into consulting contracts involving former Conn. Gov. Rowland

Husband of candidate: Federal authorities looking into his contract with former Conn. governor SUSAN HAIGH Associated Press

June 18, 2012 - 8:02 pm EDT HARTFORD, Conn. � A federal grand jury is looking into consulting work former Gov. John G. Rowland performed for a nursing home company owned by the spouse of Republican 5th Congressional District candidate Lisa Wilson-Foley, her husband confirmed Monday.

Brian Foley told The Associated Press that his firm, Apple Rehab, was asked two months ago to provide documents about the six-month contract Rowland had with the company. The former Republican governor, who resigned from office in 2004 and later served time in federal prison camp on a corruption-related charge, was paid $5,000 a month for his services while he was also a volunteer for Wilson-Foley's campaign. http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/5891aef639a642cc9862b9ccead3af93/CT--Connecticut-House-Rowland

BREAKING NEWS ON DONOVAN SCANDAL:� Probable cause hearing on 5th District campaign finance director arrest postponed (document) Posted on Tue. Jun 19, 2012, 1:12pm HARTFORD � Robert Braddock, Christopher Donovan�s former campaign finance director, has agreed to put off his probable cause hearing on charges of concealing the identity of donors to Donovan�s 5th District congressional race. Read Story

UCONN �� According to the June 19, 2012 New York Post� article captioned Baruch in a 'fix' with DA over grade scandal - New York Post �Manhattan prosecutors are investigating the grade-inflation and forgery scandal that has rocked the prestigious business school at CUNY�s Baruch College, The Post has learned.�.� That scandal however appears to be of no concern to UConn as reported by the� Hartford Courant in its article today captioned UConn Supporting New Business Dean Despite Scandal At Baruch.�

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Obama's Ambassador Nominee Has Withdrawn Over His Sexy Email Exchange With A WSJ Reporter �Business Insider‎ - by Grace Wyler‎ - June 18, 2012 Brett McGurk, the diplomat President Obama nominated to be his ambassador to Iraq, withdrew his name from consideration today, just one week after a racy email exchange between McGurk and Wall Street Journal reporter Gina Chon became public.� The New York Times reports that McGurk submitted his letter of withdrawal on Monday, citing Republican resistance to his confirmation, which has been fueled by the scandal.� Chon resigned from the WSJ last week amid public scrutiny over the emails, which were sent in 2008, when she was a Baghdad correspondent for the Journal, and McGurk was a senior advisor for then-President George W. Bush.�� Continued at �.. http://www.businessinsider.com/obamas-iraq-ambassador-nominee-has-withdrawn-over-his-sexy-email-exchange-with-a-wsj-reporter-2012-6

Chris Donovan's Bet On Union Backing Will Fall Short June 18, 2012|By PATRICK SCULLY | OTHER OPINION, The Hartford Courant State Speaker of the House Chris Donovan's instinctive reaction to FBI allegations of fraud in his congressional campaign fundraising operation was to circle the wagons with his troops � labor union members. He also chose as his new campaign manager an experienced leader of those troops. What does this mean for the speaker's chance to win the 5th District Congressional race? It means his people are on board to possibly push him over the primary finish line in August. Unless they change strategy, however, it's a recipe for losing November's general election.� Continued at �.. http://articles.courant.com/2012-06-18/news/hc-op-scully-chris-donovan-bet-on-labor-will-fall--20120618_1_new-campaign-manager-unaffiliated-voters-senate-district

ALEC, Senior Arizona State Legislators Linked To FBI Probe Nick R. Martin & Ryan J. Reilly June 15, 2012, 5:43 PM 28775� At first blush, the FBI�s recent investigations into Arizona politicians appeared to be limited to just a handful of low-level state lawmakers who have been charged with federal crimes. But records uncovered this week by TPM show at least one of the probes has been linked to some of the most powerful politicians in the state government as well as a shadowy conservative group known as ALEC, which has drawn national scrutiny for its outsized influence in state capitols across the country. The investigation centers on an Arizona super lobbyist who was hired in 2009 by undercover federal agents. The agents posed as high rollers from what they said was a New York City company called Longford Solutions LLC. They came to town looking to make hefty deals to buy land from local governments and allegedly offered gifts like sports tickets to help grease the wheels. The probe has already led to the indictment of state Rep. Ben Arredondo (D) on charges of bribery and attempted extortion. He has pleaded not guilty. Federal authorities say the inquiry is still ongoing. Continued at �� http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/06/fbi_longford_arizona_legislators_alec.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TPMmuckraker+%28TPMmuckraker%29

Looks like the State Employee Fired In Food Stamp Scandal - Hartford Courant� could be REHIRED as noted by Chris Powell of the Journal Inquirer Newspaper within the article Powell: That's what Malloy gets for trying to be governor | Darien Times By Chris Powell� Journal Inquirer� Sunday, June 17, 2012� Governor Malloy always said he supported collective bargaining for public employees, and last week he got a big, fat dose of it. A state labor arbiter began ruling that many if not most of the 103 state employees fired for improperly claiming emergency food stamp money should get their jobs back. It's not that the Malloy administration judged the cases wrong. The arbiter just decided that the improper claims constituted "mistakes" rather than fraud and that the employees should suffer only brief suspensions and repay the money rather than lose their jobs -- that the discipline first imposed was too severe. Continued at �� http://www.darientimes.com/4583/powell-thats-what-malloy-gets-for-trying-to-be-governor/

Fifteen Days Are Up For Donovan. May We Have A Decision, Please?� 06-18-2012 10:00:32 AM� With Democratic Party 5th District CT-congressional candidate Christopher Donovan�s campaign spinning out of control, after his campaign finance manager was arrested in an FBI sting operation, the candidate went into damage control. First, Donovan insisted he did no wrong and was unaware of his staff�s campaign fund raising activities. Second, he said he would step aside as CT Speaker of the House for last week�s one day special session. Third, he would not drop out of the campaign. And fourth, he would hire Stanley Twardy, a former U.S. attorney appointed by two Republican party presidents, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, to conduct an internal investigation. The goal was for Twardy to have his probe completed within 15 days. Well, the 15 days are up. Now what? Continued at �� http://cttalking.com/politics/fifteen-days-are-up-for-donovan-may-we-have-a-decision-please/

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How do you spell senator? With a capital $

Check to see where your State Tax Dollars are Going

State Employee Salaries, Benefits, Pensions, Vendors and more at

The State of Connecticut Transparency Website

transparency.CT.gov.

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US Sets Another Record on Defence Sales, Already WASHINGTON, Jun 15 2012 (IPS) - The United States is set to far surpass previous records for defence sales this year, according to U.S. officials. �Despite the global economic strain, demand for U.S. defence products and services is stronger than ever,� Andrew J. Shapiro, an assistant secretary in the U.S. State Department, said on Thursday. He confirmed that the U.S., long the world�s largest weapons exporter, has already seen more than 50 billion dollars in government-to-government military sales this fiscal year. Continued at �. http://www.ipsnews.net/2012/06/u-s-sets-another-record-on-defence-sales-already/

CT State Troopers In Open Revolt �Posted by Dan Lovallo on Jun 18, 2012 | Leave a Comment� Any doubts about the rift between the CT State Police union, representing troopers, and the leadership of the CT State Police can be put to rest. There is an all out war. The union is about to stage a first-of-its-kind no-confidence vote on the leadership of Public Safety Commissoner Reuben Bradford and Col. Danny Stebbins. There are numerous reasons why this vote is about to take place. Continued at �.. http://cttalking.com/government/colonel-stebbins-take-our-uniform-off-why-we-have-no-confidence/

Families fight for financial freedom Eric Nalder and Lise Olsen June 16, 2012� Across the country, disabled veterans' families are waging bitter battles with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, trying to remove VA-appointed fiduciaries from their lives and their bank accounts. Two activist attorneys, Doug Rosinski, of Columbia, S.C., and and Katrina Eagle, of San Diego, have taken on the VA in cases involving allegations of bureaucratic mistreatment. Both said regional program managers sometimes overlook the misdeeds of paid fiduciaries while coming down hard on veterans' relatives who do the work for nothing. Continued at �� http://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Families-fight-for-financial-freedom-3639395.php

State intervention: Coming to a school near you?� By Jacqueline Rabe Thomas� CTMirror.org on June 15, 2012 Connecticut's education commissioner will announce as early as next week which low-performing schools the state will likely intervene in during the 2012-2013 school year. As many as nine superintendents have offered up their schools for state intervention."We are considering how severe the problem is at the given school when making these decisions," Stefan Pryor said Friday during an interview�� The districts include Bridgeport, Danbury, Hartford, New Haven, New London, New Britain, Norwich, Norwalk and Waterbury. Collectively, these districts house 23 of the 26 worst schools in the state. Read more http://www.ctmirror.org/story/16662/state-intervention-coming-school-near-you

Obama�s �Dream� policy hailed by Hispanics, but with caution

By Ana Radelat with Neena Satija and Aroosa Masroor�� Washington -- President Obama's move to halt the deportation of immigrant youths is being praised as "life-changing" by advocates in Connecticut and across the nation, but its impact is unclear among disaffected Hispanic voters upset at the administration's record-setting deportation rate.� A poll by Latino Decisions taken earlier this year in swing states with large Hispanic voter populations found 53 percent of Latinos said they were less enthusiastic about Obama in 2012 than they had been in 2009.� Continued at �.. http://www.ctmirror.org/story/16668/obama%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%98dream%E2%80%99-policy-hailed-hispanics-some-say-it%E2%80%99s-not-enough

Thanks to Dodd, Connecticut lawmakers disclose mortgages

By Ana Radelat� June 18, 2012� Washington -- For the first time ever, Connecticut's congressional delegation and other members of the U.S. House and Senate must now disclose information about their personal mortgages.� They can thank former Connecticut Sen. Christopher Dodd, whose controversial receipt of a questionable home mortgage deal four years ago inspired the new requirement.

The Greek Vote, Germany Bashing And The Forgotten Reforms� Forbes� June 18, 2012 Greek, French and Egyptian voters went to the polls Sunday. In what was supposed to be a turning point for Egyptian democracy, voters turned out in small numbers to cast their ballots for the Muslim or establishment candidate. They well understood the military had assumed control and the election was meaningless. In Europe, Greek voters remained evenly divided between the center-right and the Left, which promised to jettison the austerity of the Euro bailout agreement. Continued at .......� http://www.forbes.com/sites/paulroderickgregory/2012/06/17/the-greek-vote-blame-germany-and-the-forgotten-reforms/

SEC taps Thomas J. Butler, Wall Street veteran, to oversee ratings ... Agencies June 15, 2012� Kevin G Hall, McClatchy Newspapers: "Consumer advocacy groups voiced concern over the appointment Friday of a Wall Street veteran to be the chief overseer of credit-rating agencies, which were found by two government inquiries to have been major causes of the 2008 financial crisis. The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that Thomas J. Butler has been appointed the new head of the Office of Credit Ratings. He starts Monday." Continued at .......� http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/06/15/152547/sec-taps-thomas-j-butler-wall.html

Oops! Aetna discloses political donations - Jun. 14, 2012

CNN A regulatory filing shows Aetna made more than $7 million in donations to conservative political groups. NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Insurance giant Aetna inadvertently disclosed more than $7 million in donations to conservative political groups in a regulatory filing made earlier this year, according to a Washington-based advocacy group.Documents obtained and distributed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington show that Aetna made a $3 million donation to the American Action Network and a $4.05 million donation to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in 2011. Continued at �� http://money.cnn.com/2012/06/14/news/economy/aetna-political-contributions/index.htm

Greek pro-bailout parties secure ruling majority | Reuters By Renee Maltezou and Harry Papachristou ATHENS | Sun Jun 17, 2012 (Reuters) - Parties supporting a bailout saving Greece from bankruptcy won a slim parliamentary majority on Sunday, beating radical leftists who rejected austerity and bringing relief to the euro zone which was braced for fresh financial turmoil. The election result looked likely to yield a coalition government led by conservative New Democracy but leaves an emboldened SYRIZA bloc to rally angry opposition in the streets to the punishing terms of the bailout. Official results released by the interior ministry, with 97 percent of ballots counted, showed New Democracy taking 29.7 percent of the vote, with SYRIZA on 26.9. The PASOK Socialists were set to take 12.3 percent of the vote. Because of a 50-seat bonus given to the party which comes first, that would give New Democracy and PASOK 162 seats in the 300-seat parliament, in an alliance broadly committed to the 130 billion euros ($164 billion) bailout. Germany signaled there may be some leeway on the timeframe for cuts demanded in return for the aid. The result buys time for the euro zone, which was braced for a SYRIZA victory and the prospect of having to cut debt-ridden Greece loose, potentially unleashing shocks that could break up the single currency. Continued at �.. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/17/us-greece-election-idUSBRE85F05320120617