April 11, 2012
From The Federation of Connecticut
Taxpayer Organizations, Inc.
Contact Susan Kniep, President
Website: http://ctact.org/
Email: fctopresident@aol.com
Telephone: 860-841-8032
With House vote, Malloy poised to sign death
penalty repeal By Keith M. Phaneuf CTMirror.org April
12, 2012 On an 86-62 vote, the House of Representatives gave final legislative
approval Wednesday night to a bill repealing the death penalty for future
crimes, leaving Connecticut one step away from becoming the 17th state to
abolish capital punishment. The bill, which Gov. Dannel P.
Malloy has pledged to sign, advanced
after a 9 1/2-hour debate focused largely on a provision that still mandates
capital punishment for Connecticut's
11 death row inmates. Continued at
…… http://ctmirror.org/story/15980/house-approval-malloys-signature-final-step-needed-repeal-death-penalty
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Gas prices may have peaked Andrew Restuccia - 04/11/12 05:07 PM ET
Gasoline prices, which have vexed President Obama politically in recent months, may have reached their
peak, according to energy analysts.
Prices at the pump reached nearly $3.94 last Friday, the highest point
this year, according to AAA. But prices have decreased slightly over the last
five days, reversing increases that began in December of last year. Analysts say prices could continue to
decline. Continued at ….. http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/221069-analysts-gas-prices-may-have-peaked
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Rhode Island's
Bondholders Are Nervous About Providence's Shaky Finances (Ted Nesi / WPRI-TV) Local
pensions now short $2.3B Treasurer holds meeting on city, town
pensions April 10, 2012 By Ted Nesi, WPRI.com Reporter Continued at …. http://www.wpri.com/dpp/news/politics/raimondo-investors-nervous-about-providence
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Obama administration
diverts $500M to IRS to implement healthcare reform law Date: April 10, 2012 By: Sam Baker Source: The Hill The Obama
administration is quietly diverting about $500 million to the IRS to help
implement Obamacare. The transfers are legal, but
several have raised concerns about spending money on a law that the Supreme
Court might shoot down in mere months. Read article at http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/health-reform-implementation/220475-white-house-has-diverted-500m-to-irs-to-implement-health-law
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TOP SECRET AMERICA
A Washington
Post Investigation
Monitoring America |
washingtonpost.com - Washington Post ...
Nine years after the terrorist attacks of 2001, the United States
is assembling a vast domestic intelligence apparatus to collect information
about Americans, using the FBI, local police, state homeland security offices
and military criminal investigators. Read the
complete article at http://projects.washingtonpost.com/top-secret-america/articles/monitoring-america/
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From the Federation – GREAT NEWS!
Dan Lavallo is back and here is what he has to
say: Welcome
to the CtTalking.com Daily Newsletter Each day we will update the issues being
discussed on www.CtTalking.com. We hope you will
join the conversations. You will be treated with respect here and we expect
that you treat others readers the same way. Our goal is to raise the level of
conversation on issues important to all of us in Connecticut. We wish you a wonderful
day. Dan Lovallo and George Gombossy Co-Publishers.
And in keeping with Dan’s goal to keep us informed check out
one of his latest postings More money for state employees 04-09-2012 10:15:15
AM Political appointees and other
non-unionized state workers in Connecticut are embracing April with open
arms. That's because it is bonus time. Contrary to popular opinion,
state government did not deep-six those controversial longevity bonuses for all
state employees, during last year's budget negotiations. Some employees,
particularly those who work for Gov. Dannel P.
Malloy, D/WFP, [...]...»
So for those Dan Lavallo fans who
appreciated his no nonsense accurate reporting on the issues of the day, here
is your chance to again get on board with Dan at www.CtTalking.com where you can sign up for his daily alerts or just Click here . Susan
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School Pushouts
|
A Plague of Hopelessness Perpetrated
by Zombie Schools
By Dr Armand Fusco - Educator
and Author - March 2012
|
Recently, I had an opportunity to interview
Dr. Armand Fusco on his recent publication - School Pushouts:
A Plague of Hopelessness Perpetrated by Zombie Schools - on
my cable program Tax Talk which aires on East
Hartford’s Cable Station 5 at 8:15 PM on Friday evenings. The following is an email I recently received
from a viewer who expressed his thoughts on the excellent presentation by Dr.
Fusco. Those wishing to receive a copy
of the DVD to air the one hour program on their local cable channel please
contact me at 860-841-8032 or fctopresident@aol.com. Susan Kniep
From John, an East Hartford resident: On Friday evening,
April 6, 2012, I was pleased to view an excellent cable access program on East
Hartford Community Television, entitled 'Tax Talk' featuring guest, Dr.
Armand Fusco. Dr. Fusco held my interest throughout the program with his superb
treatise of the state of the declining public school system in the State of CT.
Kudos are also extended to Chuck Treat who helped to organize the graphic
displays which offered excellent visual support for Dr. Fusco's claims. This
program should be aired on every public access channel in the State. Dr Fusco
is not afraid to tell it like it is. As a former school administrator, he is
well aware of the inherent flaws of the current educational system, which
reward the status quo and union demands rather than ideas to improve the
public school system in the US.
This program should be required vewing for every
parent who is concerned with the education of their child in the global economy
we now live in. I hope this program is aired again. Such a valuable resource as
the wisdom of Dr. Fusco needs to be shared with as many people as
possible.
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From the Yankee Institute:
MSNBC's Joe Scarborough Comes to Stamford
Have Brunch with Morning Joe! Saturday, May 5, 2012, 10:30 AM
Stamford Sheraton at 700 East Main Street, Stamford, CT
Tickets are $40 per person and include parking
Want a picture with Joe? Come at 10 a.m. for a photo op.
Tickets are $250 and include one photo for an individual or couple as well as
brunch and free parking.
All questions should be directed to Jessica at (860)
282-0722 or jessica@yankeeinstitute.org.
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More GSA giveaways -
New York Post By GERRY
SHIELDS April 10, 2012 WASHINGTON — A
federal agency already under fire for spending $823,000 on an outrageous Las
Vegas conference is now being criticized for rampant abuse in an employee
rewards program that left $28,000 worth of iPods
either stolen or missing. The General Services Administration’s “Hats Off”
program also resulted in people in charge of the system getting most of the
incentive gifts, which included GPS systems and DVD players. Employees bartered
with prizes and supervisors received taxpayer-funded gifts from their
employees, according to a preliminary Inspector General’s report obtained
yesterday by The Post. The program started five years ago with employees
receiving mugs, mousepads and backpacks with GSA
logos on them for good service, which cost the agency $47,000. But over the
next four years, it accelerated into the high-end electronics and ballooned up
to $212,000 by 2009. http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/more_gsa_giveaways_OqnW3ePJjIwpjCSstPdlPL?utm_medium=rss&utm_content=National
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Walker administration:
Survey shows collective bargaining reforms ...working Apr 10 2012 LA CROSSE, Wis.
-- Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's collective bargaining reforms are working.
That's what the administration is saying after releasing a survey from school
districts from across the state. The Department of Public Instruction survey
comes from more than 80% of school districts in the state. It shows most class
sizes have stayed the same, there have been fewer teacher layoffs, and property
taxes were kept in check. Article
is continued at …… http://www.news8000.com/news/Walker-administration-Survey-shows-collective-bargaining-reforms-working/-/326/10476212/-/opan6/-/
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Taxpayers
could have to cover Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s bad loan By DAVE HELLING and STEVE KRASKE April 6, 2012 The Kansas
City Star Taxpayers could be on the hook for up to $1.1 million to cover a bad
loan for U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s car wash in Grandview, the Small Business
Administration said Friday. SBA officials said the agency had guaranteed
roughly 75 percent of the 2002 Bank of America loan to the firm that owns the
business, Cleaver Company LLC. In a lawsuit filed March 30, Bank of America said
the company — along with Cleaver and his wife, Dianne — owed more than $1.46
million in principal and interest on the loan. That means the SBA, a federal
agency charged with helping small businesses, could end up paying the bank
three-fourths of Cleaver’s principal and interest debt, or roughly $1.085
million, if the Democratic congressman’s company cannot meet its obligations. Article is continued at ….. http://www.kansascity.com/2012/04/06/3540958/taxpayers-could-have-to-cover.html
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Law Shrouds
Details of Congressional Trips Abroad by Justin Elliott
| @elliottjustin ProPublica, April 11, 2012, 10:24 a.m. Members
of Congress normally have to disclose where they travel overseas, whom they
visit and how much the trip cost — but not under a little-known State
Department program that keeps those details and others a secret. When
members of Congress or their staffers travel on a private group's dime, they
are subject to a long list of requirements and restrictions, thanks to the Jack
Abramoff scandal and that infamous picture [1] of the grinning
super-lobbyist with a congressman at a famous Scottish golf course. Reforms in
2007 include preapproval of trips by the House or
Senate ethics committee, rules barring lobbyists' involvement, limits on the
length of a trip, and mandatory, prompt public disclosure of the cost,
itinerary, purpose and so on. But under a little-known
exception, if a trip abroad that originates in the U.S. is paid for by a foreign
government, virtually none of those restrictions and disclosure requirements
applies. Last week, we wrote [2] about the
Democratic House member from American Samoa, Eni
Faleomavaega; his unusual interest in defending Bahrain during the crackdown on
protests there last year; and his friend's lobbying firm that promotes the Gulf
nation. Faleomavaega was in [3] Bahrain last week, his second such trip in the
last year that Bahrain
paid for. On the first trip, he was accompanied by the president of the Bahrain
American Council, which operates out of the lobbying firm’s Washington, D.C.,
offices Continued at …… http://www.propublica.org/article/details-of-congressional-trips-abroad-a-secret
Related: Meet Bahrain's Best Friend in Congress
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Another Obama
Administration Attempt at Solar Power Central Planning Goes Bust Ronald Bailey | April 3,
2012 Solar Trust of America which aimed
to build a solar power plant in the California desert using parabolic mirrors
has filed for bankruptcy. Reuters reports: Solar Trust of America LLC, which holds the
development rights for the world's largest solar power project, on Monday filed
for bankruptcy protection after its majority owner began insolvency proceedings
in Germany.
The Oakland-based
company has held rights for the 1,000-megawatt Blythe Solar Power Project in
the Southern California desert, which last April won $2.1 billion of conditional
loan guarantees from the U.S.
Department of Energy. It is unclear how the
bankruptcy will affect that project...
Solar Trust of America
and several affiliates filed for protection from creditors with the U.S. bankruptcy court in Delaware. It estimated to have as much as
$10 million of assets, and between $50 million and $100 million of liabilities.
Continued at …… http://reason.com/blog/2012/04/03/another-attempt-at-solar-power-central-p
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With
court approval of bank deal, Connecticut
homeowners can get help Mon, 04/09/2012 - 3:41pm
By Ana Radelat CTMirror.org
Court approval of a $26 billion deal between the nation's
biggest banks and the Justice Department and all 50 states means Connecticut homeowners
who may be eligible for federal aid can apply for a number of new programs for
help.
Homeowners who were foreclosed upon by Ally Bank, Bank of America, Citbank, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo can apply for a settlement amount of
between $1,500 and $1,800. The banks will try to track down those who qualify
for the money. But those who think the banks lack their most current contact
information can fill out a "settlement borrowers form" provided by
the Connecticut attorney general or contact the banks directly, http://www.ct.gov/ag/cwp/view.asp?a=2105&q=498966. Perhaps the most
important aspect of the deal, which a federal court approved last week, is the
help it would give homeowners who have "underwater" mortgages
serviced by the five banks. They could seek to reduce their loans' principal to
current market value, which could mean cuts of $100,000 or more. Article is continued at ….
http://www.ctmirror.org/blogs/court-approval-bank-deal-connecticut-homeowners-can-get-help
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Despite home value
declines, property taxes continue to make up a high share ... of local tax revenues by CTW Features nwitimes.com
, April 8, 2012 According to most recent S&P/Case-Shiller
Home Price Index, home prices are near 2003 price levels. That said, property taxes remain historically low.
U.S. Census Bureau data of state and local tax collections
for the final quarter of 2011 show a small increase in property taxes paid on a
year-over-year basis. For 2011, approximately $469 billion of such tax was paid
by property owners. Continued at http://www.nwitimes.com/lifestyles/home-and-garden/despite-home-value-declines-property-taxes-continue-to-make-up/article_a90ca455-c385-5fd1-b965-0096dc4f21b1.html
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Colorado ballot
proposals would end property taxes,
let most use pot
By Tim
Hoover The Denver Post April 8 2012 A
wave of ballot initiatives with subjects ranging from the elimination of
property taxes to allowing 21-year-olds to carry concealed handguns without a
permit have been filed in Colorado. So far, there's only one initiative that's
actually been approved for the November ballot, and that's Amendment 64, which
would legalize limited possession of marijuana and allow for all people — not
just those with doctors' permission — to buy it at pot shops….. Initiative 77
aims to end property taxes by 2017. The initiative says that if voters by the
end of 2016 didn't approve different taxes to offset the elimination of
property tax revenue, there would have to be "equivalent cuts in spending
that shall not affect primary and secondary education, local law enforcement
agencies or fire protection." Continued at …… http://www.denverpost.com/legislature/ci_20349434/colorado-ballot-proposals-would-end-property-taxes-let
Also read WASHTENAW COUNTY: County commissioners
split on personal property tax repeal http://www.heritage.com/articles/2012/04/08/heritagewest/news/doc4f804f8825856248734163.txt
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