How ironic that we vilify black men and Muslims for their violent tendencies, when between 54 and 63 percent of the mass shootings in the U.S. since 1982 have been committed by white men. White men make up the majority of males in our country. Some might say statistically that makes sense. Some might say white men are the enemy. I say let’s stop exclaiming that all people who share the same ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, and religious beliefs are the same. They are not, any more than all white men are the same.
Our differences are killing us — in spirit
Posted inPolitics
Behind Democrats’ win, a senator and one million phone calls
Jenna Shapiro woke up miserable the day after Donald J. Trump’s election in 2016. The daughter of Democratic activists, Shapiro had canvassed for Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire and worked on phone banks at Wesleyan, where she was a senior contemplating a career in teaching. “I felt like I hadn’t done enough, not nearly enough,” Shapiro said. “I never want to wake up after another election believing I hadn’t done everything I could for a candidate I believed in.” She woke up happy this year, having put off teaching to help run the Democratic GOTV campaign in Connecticut.
Posted inEducation
High school graduation rates going up, but many students still unprepared for college
It has become an annual tradition — politicians and school officials gather to celebrate that more students in Connecticut are graduating each year from high school. This year was no different. But before anyone gets too excited about this jump in graduation rates – from 83 to 88 percent over the last seven years – data shows that many students are not learning what they should before they leave high school.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
How would you vote if there had been no polls?
When I ask my Democratic friends who they believe is the best candidate for governor, all save one, respond Oz Griebel. When I ask them who they plan to vote for, they all respond “Ned Lamont.” I ask why. The answer is universal, Oz Griebel can’t win and they fear Bob Stefanowski .
When I ask my Republican friends who they believe is the best candidate for governor, all save none, respond Oz Griebel. When I ask them who they plan to vote for, they respond “Bob Stefanowski.” I ask why. The answer is universal, Oz Griebel can’t win and they fear Ned Lamont.
Posted inPolitics
Hayes not your typical freshman, will join group of black lawmakers with growing influence
WASHINGTON – When she’s sworn into the next Congress, Rep.-elect Jahana Hayes will not be your typical freshman lawmaker with limited influence. Instead, she will be joining a group with the outsized clout — and the ability to potentially block Nancy Pelosi’s bid to be re-elected Speaker of the House.
Posted inHealth
Midterm election boosts Medicaid expansion, but challenges remain
Medicaid — which has been a political football between Washington and state capitols during the past decade — scored big in Tuesday’s election. Following the vote, nearly 500,000 uninsured adults in five states are poised to gain Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act, advocates estimate.
Posted inNews
Connecticut’s leadership bluer than blue (but room for you, too)
As if it were possible, Connecticut’s government last week got even bluer than it was before Election Day, but the new governor-elect has opened his dialogue with the public with a different message: unity.
Posted inPolitics
Crowds, humidity, aging machines were problems at the polls
Large numbers of University of Connecticut students showed up to register to vote in Mansfield on Election Day, threatening to outstrip the town’s ability to finish the process before the 8 p.m. deadline. Large numbers of University of Connecticut students showed up to register to vote in Mansfield on Election Day, threatening to outstrip the […]
Posted inPolitics
Wave of new women Dems hope to impact legislative agenda
Female candidates helped boost Democratic clout in the General Assembly during the midterm election and now they’d like to see the issues they campaigned on — issues like paid family and medical leave — at the top of the agenda in the next legislative session.
Posted inMoney
Lamont launches economic revitalization tour in southeastern CT
Gov.-elect Ned Lamont launched a series of strategic economic development tours Friday with a visit to Connecticut’s southeastern corner, saying the region exemplifies the state’s potential for growth.
Posted inNews
Malloy has one more budget to tackle
After eight years of grappling with Connecticut’s finances, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has one more budget to tackle: offering Gov.-elect Ned Lamont strategies to avert a multi-billion-dollar deficit in state finances.
Posted inPolitics
A blue wave? Actually, the blues got bluer, but the reds also got redder
A blue wave swept across Connecticut to give Democrats solid majorities in the General Assembly, but the race for governor offered little sign of a political realignment: If anything, the reds got redder and the blues got bluer on the state’s electoral map.
Almost 100 towns voted more strongly in favor of the party they had chosen in 2014.
Posted inPolitics
Lamont intends to tap network of business, non-profit contacts
Connecticut’s governor-elect, Ned Lamont, is a Democrat who became a liberal anti-war icon during a U.S. Senate campaign a dozen years ago, but he made clear Thursday he also is a well-connected Greenwich businessman intent on using a network of high-level business contacts to help populate his administration.
Posted inHealth
Trump administration proposes new rule requiring separate premium bills for abortion coverage
The Trump administration wants insurers that offer plans through Access Health CT, Connecticut’s Affordable Care Act exchange, and other exchanges nationwide, to send people separate monthly bills for the cost of their abortion coverage — in addition to the bill they get for their regular premium costs.
Posted inPolitics
No leadership challenges seen in new General Assembly
The Senate Democratic caucus unanimously voted Thursday to retain the leadership team of Senate President Pro Tem Martin M. Looney of New Haven and Bob Duff of Norwalk as Sen. Gary Winfield of New Haven declined to pursue Duff’s post.