Times are Mon 10/18 and 10/25 12.30pm, Wed 10/20 and Fri 10/29 5pm
Set your DVR ! Length is about an hour
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Gun Control
Since it is so easy to traffic guns from state to state, this is largely a federal matter, but there are a couple of issues that need attention. One is that those who have a protection order against them in a domestic violence situation are no longer permitted to buy a gun for the duration , but there is no provision in State Law for guns they already possess be removed from them for safe keeping. I want to change that.
Another issue is that there was a bill in the legislature to require gun owners who lose their guns or have them stolen to report it to the police. Unless you are in the habit of losing guns, this is perhaps once in a lifetime experience and so hardly an onerous requirement. However my opponent voted against it. Apparently for some, a stellar rating with the NRA is important. For me I would seek only one stellar rating, and that is from the citizens of the 67th district
Another issue is that there was a bill in the legislature to require gun owners who lose their guns or have them stolen to report it to the police. Unless you are in the habit of losing guns, this is perhaps once in a lifetime experience and so hardly an onerous requirement. However my opponent voted against it. Apparently for some, a stellar rating with the NRA is important. For me I would seek only one stellar rating, and that is from the citizens of the 67th district
Road Safety
Traffic Deaths are still too high in the State. I want more money to the Police to crack down on DUI and investigate new technology to make sobriety check points easier to run.
Also, I note my opponent voted against Motorcycle Training Courses for new licensees. These are particularly effective at reducing the number and severity of motorcycle accidents. Freedom to roam the roads is one thing, but the freedom to roam untutored and likely have others to pay to put you back in one piece is another matter altogether
Also, I note my opponent voted against Motorcycle Training Courses for new licensees. These are particularly effective at reducing the number and severity of motorcycle accidents. Freedom to roam the roads is one thing, but the freedom to roam untutored and likely have others to pay to put you back in one piece is another matter altogether
Immigration
There is a lot of holier than thou on this subject . We must remember that for every immigrant that breaks a law of a country not his own, by coming here, there is an American who is willing to break the laws of his own country by hiring him. Also while the immigrant will break laws to choose poverty over destitution, the American will break the laws of his own country just to save a couple of bucks by not hiring his or her fellow countryman. That said we are adults and this is an adult problem to fix and we should never take out our frustrations over our inability to fix the problem on the kids. So I applaud the recent bill that the legislature passed giving the kids of illegal immigrants in- state tuition at state universities and I think it unfair of my opponent to vote against it. The kids did not ask to come here, they did the work, they got into college. So why should they be penalized?
Energy / Electricity
As you know Connecticut has the highest electricity rates in the Northeast. Obviously we must continue to make sure that we are not burdened with costs that should properly be born by somebody else, but we must not shortchange the long term reliability of the distribution grid.
Failure in this area can be expensive for business to endure or make provision for. I support an expanded state effort to subsidize solar power installations particularly in commercial buildings, since solar cells produce the most power precisely when and where it is needed most, that is on hot summer afternoons
and save money by reducing the strain on the grid when it would be otherwise stretched to the limit and liable to fail.
Failure in this area can be expensive for business to endure or make provision for. I support an expanded state effort to subsidize solar power installations particularly in commercial buildings, since solar cells produce the most power precisely when and where it is needed most, that is on hot summer afternoons
and save money by reducing the strain on the grid when it would be otherwise stretched to the limit and liable to fail.
Health Care
Health care is driven by two forces, fear and the desire for choice and control.
Fear is the fear that you cannot get the proper treatment or if you do, the fear that it will bankrupt you. Beyond fear is the desire for choice and control over your health care. Therefore I support Sustinet as the first step on the road to a basic system that can cover everybody, a system that gets the job done and removes the element of fear from the health care equation, a Walmart system if you will. For those who prefer to shop at Lord and Taylor or Nordstrom, there will always be private insurers who can provide you with your every desire in the field of health care delivery. Such care is more costly to deliver but I want to make sure that these costs are paid by those who desire the ultimate level of choice, not those whose primary motivation is fear. My opponent voted against all health care legislation that came up. He may be happy with the current mess, I am not.
Fear is the fear that you cannot get the proper treatment or if you do, the fear that it will bankrupt you. Beyond fear is the desire for choice and control over your health care. Therefore I support Sustinet as the first step on the road to a basic system that can cover everybody, a system that gets the job done and removes the element of fear from the health care equation, a Walmart system if you will. For those who prefer to shop at Lord and Taylor or Nordstrom, there will always be private insurers who can provide you with your every desire in the field of health care delivery. Such care is more costly to deliver but I want to make sure that these costs are paid by those who desire the ultimate level of choice, not those whose primary motivation is fear. My opponent voted against all health care legislation that came up. He may be happy with the current mess, I am not.
The Debate
Debate Wrap up
Many items were discussed in the debate and my impression is that my opponent Clark Chapin is as smart and diligent as any legislator in Hartford, if not more so. However, when asked how he would fill the Budget Hole, he came up with a few cuts that would at most amount to a few million dollars. This says to me that neither the Republicans nor the Democrats up in Hartford have a clue what to do.
They all feel powerless in face of the fiscal tsunami which is about to overwhelm them. It is the worst case scenarion. I know about worst case scenarios and I have a plan. My plan, as discussed in previous blog posts takes us into areas that not many are comfortable about talking, drugs, guns and prisons. This plan should result in annually roughly $1.5 billion in direct savings and $1.5 billion in new revenues derived from new economic activity which will result from the reduction of violence in our cities. Of course new economic activity means new jobs too.
(Watch it on CTV 21 Mon 10/18 and 10/25 12.30pm, Wed 10/20 and Fri 10/29 5pm )
Other items that came up
Farm Preservation
Yes we agree largely
East West Connector.
There is a hill in the way. Let us concentrate on modest traffic improvements, left turn lanes and such
Obama's idea to extend the school year. I think this is a terrible idea ( I suggested that Obama had lost his marbles on this one) Besides the extra 17 days will be in June and July and do all our schools have air conditioning? I think not, so there would be an attention deficit all around.
Reorganising State Government. First, let us look at the function of government and what it should and should not be doing before we consider the shape of it, otherwise it will be like reorganizing the deckchairs on the Titanic.
State Employee Give Backs. There is room for some here.
Many items were discussed in the debate and my impression is that my opponent Clark Chapin is as smart and diligent as any legislator in Hartford, if not more so. However, when asked how he would fill the Budget Hole, he came up with a few cuts that would at most amount to a few million dollars. This says to me that neither the Republicans nor the Democrats up in Hartford have a clue what to do.
They all feel powerless in face of the fiscal tsunami which is about to overwhelm them. It is the worst case scenarion. I know about worst case scenarios and I have a plan. My plan, as discussed in previous blog posts takes us into areas that not many are comfortable about talking, drugs, guns and prisons. This plan should result in annually roughly $1.5 billion in direct savings and $1.5 billion in new revenues derived from new economic activity which will result from the reduction of violence in our cities. Of course new economic activity means new jobs too.
(Watch it on CTV 21 Mon 10/18 and 10/25 12.30pm, Wed 10/20 and Fri 10/29 5pm )
Other items that came up
Farm Preservation
Yes we agree largely
East West Connector.
There is a hill in the way. Let us concentrate on modest traffic improvements, left turn lanes and such
Obama's idea to extend the school year. I think this is a terrible idea ( I suggested that Obama had lost his marbles on this one) Besides the extra 17 days will be in June and July and do all our schools have air conditioning? I think not, so there would be an attention deficit all around.
Reorganising State Government. First, let us look at the function of government and what it should and should not be doing before we consider the shape of it, otherwise it will be like reorganizing the deckchairs on the Titanic.
State Employee Give Backs. There is room for some here.
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