Jonathan Kantrowitz

The US Department of State has produced the video below, narrated by actor Matt Damon, to discuss why fighting global warming and preserving natural resources is essential to combat global hunger, and why combating global hunger is an urgent foreign policy objective, not just for the current administration, but for the entire international community.

Chamber CEO Tom Donohue has hijacked the Chamber’s agenda

Preaching free enterprise, U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas J. Donohue leads the Chamber’s attack on the financial reforms essential to restore employment and the economy. He cloaks the Chamber’s staunch opposition in the most expensive rhetoric money can buy. But Donohue’s pro-business, pro-economy and pro-jobs rhetoric notwithstanding, the Chamber’s record under his leadership is none of those things. It is pro-CEO.

That is the conclusion of a report released by Change to Win entitled “Preaching Principle, Enabling Excess: How Tom Donohue Compromised the Credibility of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.” The report details how Tom Donohue has hijacked the Chamber’s agenda away from serving the interests of the business community to serving corporate CEOs.

The Report is especially timely given yesterday’s launch of the Chamber’s “Campaign for Free Enterprise,” which will reportedly spend $100 million on advertising, lobbying and politics to promote the Chamber’s anti-reform agenda. Prior to the launch, Donohue assured his board that the Chamber had “enlisted some of the savviest communications and advertising experts in the country to develop persuasive arguments and powerful messages.”

Further compromising the Chamber’s credibility as a voice for American business is Donohue’s own complicity in enabling CEO excess as a director of four scandal-ridden, publicly-traded companies. As the report highlights, these corporations engaged in the very practices that highlight the need for reform. As a member (and in some instances chair) of the compensation committee of these boards, Donohue himself approved indefensibly high pay to executives, often in the face of illusory profits, and approved misdated stock options.

When asked why the WWE requested that YouTube remove three videos which had become a political issue for Linda McMahon, company Vice President Robert Zimmerman said, “This is a continuing process that goes on. It is not related to the campaign. We constantly track illegal usage of our intellectual property. That is something that try to continuously go after.”

However, a quick search of “WWE” on YouTube’s site shows that there are more than 516,000 videos still active on the site.

“There are more than a half a million WWE videos on YouTube. WWE today asked that only three — the three that had become a political issue for Linda McMahon — be removed,” said Connecticut Democratic Party Communications Director Colleen Flanagan. “Clearly WWE, a publicly traded corporation, is acting as an agent of the McMahon campaign, presumably at the direction of Mr. or Mrs. McMahon. And that’s a violation of federal law.”

This video is still available however:

Warning: gross, sexual, violent, just like most WWE Entertainment:

Scores Reported for the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Math exam.

NAEP, also known as “The Nation’s Report Card,” is the only nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America’s students know and can do in core subjects. NAEP assesses representative samples of students in all 50 states and reports state-level results at grades 4 and 8.

NAEP is mandated by the U.S. Congress, administered by the U.S. Department of Education and overseen by the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB). This 26-member board is appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Education but remains independent of the Department. The board determines the subjects and content to be tested on NAEP and oversees the public releases of NAEP results.

Eighth Grade Math Results:

CT’s Average score increased from 282 in 2007 to 289 in 2009. (The US average increased from 280 to 282.)

The percent at or above Basic skill level improved from 73% to 78%, at or above Proficient from 35 to 40% at or above Advanced from 8 to 10%.

Fourth Grade Math Results:

CT’s Average score increased from 243 in 2007 to 245 in 2009. (The US average remained at 239.)

The percent at or above Basic skill level improved from 84% to 86%, at or above Proficient from 45 to 46% at or above Advanced from 7 to 8%.

Chris Dodd’s Senate Campaign raised $900,000 in the third quarter of 2009. Sen. Dodd’s fundraising total comes as he played a central role in the healthcare debate in July, chairing the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee mark-up in Senator Kennedy’s absence, while also recuperating from his own battle with Prostate Cancer in August. Sen. Dodd has since announced that, while monitoring his health will be a lifetime issue, he received a clean bill of health from his doctor two weeks ago.

Merrick Alpert, the Mystic businessman who is going up against the state’s Democratic party establishment by challenging U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd, reported a total of $19,619 in contributions during the third-quarter of 2009.

A group of parents, nurses, doctors, social workers, and teachers gathered with area legislators in front of the embattled treatment facility today to draw attention to the agency’s continued emptying of High Meadows, even as the Office of Health Care Access (OHCA) is in the process of ruling on an application for a ‘Certificate of Need’ — a legal requirement before any closure decisions are made.

In their effort to fight the closure, a group of parents, the Ad Hoc Organization of Families Opposed to Closing High Meadows (“Families Opposed”) has joined the state’s largest union of health care workers, District 1199/SEIU, in a Petition to be Designated an Intervenor, which was filed yesterday with OHCA. If the petition is granted, parents and the union will be able to present expert testimony before OHCA which contradicts DCF’s claims that High Meadows should be closed because its services are no longer needed.

“DCF keeps threatening me to move my son to a facility I know is not best for him,” says Marta Reyes. “I refuse to be strong-armed. The urgency and secrecy that is going on is shameful – because this is the agency that is charged with our children’s safety, yet they are acting with neglect towards the most vulnerable kids. Closing High Meadows would certainly limit access to necessary care for my son – that’s why I am a member of ‘Families Opposed’ and have petitioned to be an intervenor along with the health care workers – so we can all fight together for my son – and for other children.”

“We are proud to be partners with the families who are fighting so hard to protect their children – as any mother would fight” said Carmen Boudier, President of District 1199/SEIU. “Even before the evidence has been presented and the hearing concluded, the Commissioner of DCF and Governor Rell are doing everything they can to empty all of the beds and send these boys anywhere and everywhere — including out of state — whether or not those placements will meet their needs for mental or physical health care.”

The Democratic majority in the General Assembly fully funded High Meadows in the budget passed this summer. Many legislators are questioning the Governor’s ability to move ahead with a Certificate of Need application to close the facility. ‘Families Opposed’ contend that the Department’s actions are premature, and possibly not sanctioned by law.

“Closing High Meadows is a cruel termination of vitally needed services for some of our most vulnerable youth,” said Barbara Aichelman, a special education teacher at High Meadows. “In more than twenty years of providing services to a constantly changing population at the facility, I can honestly say that, I have seen countless success stories. I appeal to the Governor and DCF’s Commissioner; don’t put these boys at risk by cutting off the lifeline we provide for them at High Meadows.”

Jonathan Pelto
PO Box 400
Storrs, CT. 06268

October 14, 2009

State Elections Enforcement Commission
20 Trinity
Hartford, CT 06106

Re: Campaign Finance Complaint Against Jodi Rell, Thomas Filomeno and the Jodi Rell, Governor – Exploratory Committee

I am writing to request an immediate in investigation into what appear to be serious and significant violations of Connecticut’s campaign finance laws by Jodi Rell, Thomas Filomeno, Treasurer for the Jodi Rell, Governor – Exploratory Committee and the committee itself.

Violations appear to include, but may not be limited to the following;

o Failure to report significant campaign exploratory expenditures
o Failure to report significant in-kind contributions
o Illegally accepting in-kind contributions of great then $375
o Potentially accepting illegal corporate in-kind contributions
o Illegally accepting services provided by state employees, working on state time and using state resources. Services came from employees who worked for the Office of the Governor and state employees retained through a state contract. (In addition to directly benefiting the campaign exploratory committee, these services may have served as illegal coordinated expenditures).

Violations arise out of the activities related to, but not limited to the following;

o A poll developed, but apparently not utilized, under a state contract, and with the involvement of state employees, on state time in June 2008

o A focus group conducted in December 2008 that was developed under a state contract and with the involvement of state employees, on state time but utilized for political purposes. The net effect of this violation is that Jodi Rell and the Jodi Rell, Governor Exploratory Committee received the benefit of focus group worth $4,000 – $5,000 but did not pay anything nor report anything for that benefit.

o A poll that was conducted in May 2009 that was not properly accounted for on Jodi Rell, Governor Exploratory Campaign Finance Reports and apparently included the involvement of state employees, on state time. The net effect of this violation is that the Jodi Rell and the Jodi Rell, Governor Exploratory Committee received the benefit of a survey research project worth $20,000 – $30,000 but only paid and reported an expenditure of $6,000.

o In addition, Jodi Rell and the Jodi Rell, Governor exploratory campaign has received the direct and on-going benefit of information and advice provided through a $220,000 state contract. The contract purchased one third of the time of an extremely experienced, well-known and much sought have political advisor and pollster who in-turn provided Jodi Rell and the Jodi Rell, Governor Exploratory Committee with tens of thousands of dollars worth of advice and information, none of which was paid for or reported, as required on campaign finance reports.

These violations are extremely serious in nature and require immediate investigation and action by the State Elections Enforcement Commission. As required under Connecticut statute, the liability for the violations accrue directly to Jodi Rell, the candidate (or in this case the candidate exploring a run for Governor), Thomas Filomeno, the committee’s treasurer and to the actual committee – Jodi Rell, Governor Exploratory Committee.

Please contact me with any questions that might arise from this complaint.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Pelto
PO Box 400
Storrs, CT., 06268

Instead, I’m willing to bet
He wants to be Insurance’s pet:

From the Washington Post:

Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I), said Tuesday that he could not support the Finance Committee bill, citing insurers’ concerns that the fees and taxes it would impose on their industry would drive up premiums.