A picture says a thousands words, so while the House and Senate passed the state budget, the details alas, will require time to digest, and who knows if Rell will sign the thing. But if you’re Larry Cafero, or a Republican who thinks that your voice is being heard, I think solitaire players of Connecticut beg to differ. Sort of like the Connecticut legislative elections in general, the Republican lose seats and the population elects legislators who get to play solitaire. UPDATE: Rell says no signature but no veto either.
Reps are identified as Rep. Barbara L. Lambert, D-Milford and Rep. John F. Hennessy, D-Bridgeport. I think its Rep. Genga’s computer on ESPN.
UPDATE 2: Ken Dixon has the interviews with the legislators::
Neither Lambert nor Hennessy would apologize for their game-playing Tuesday and Cafero, R-Norwalk, didn’t ask for any.
In fact, during a typical debate, many of the 151 House members and 36 senators are on their computers reading bill analyses, responding to constitute e-mail, scanning on-line newspapers, keeping up with major-league baseball and, yes, playing a little solitaire, which is programmed into every legislative laptop.
On session days like Monday, there are always a half dozen or so smokers who gather at any one time, nowhere near the debate, under the portico at the south entrance of the Capitol, near Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s parking space. Others lounge back in House staff offices and caucus rooms.Lambert believes it was the first time she played solitaire in the House chamber.
“We had a lull and I had it on my screen,” said Lambert, adding that she had thoroughly studied the various budgets introduced over the last few months and there was nothing Cafero could say to change her mind from supporting the Democratic package.“You do not have to look at Larry to know exactly what he’s doing with his theatrics,” Lambert said. “Larry wasn’t discussing anything that was new. My mind was made up in our caucuses. I knew what our changes were and what the governor proposed.” Lambert said she was fully aware of Cafero’s argument.
“I was still listening to him,” Lambert said. “I asked Jack what he was doing and this is probably the first time I’ve played solitaire. I have no excuses because I work very, very hard and I was certainly listening intently, but Larry was really going on. I respect Larry as an individual. He’s humorous. There’s laughter when he’s talking. He should know I always look at him.”Hennessy, a member of the legislative Finance Committee, said he was also paying attention. “I was listening to every word that Larry said,” he said in an afternoon phone interview.
“I’ve heard it all before,” he said. “I’ve been engaged in the budget process all these months. I knew how I was going to vote. There was certainly no disrespect to the minority leader. It’s easy to pay attention. It was a 13-hour day and at the moment in time, I was taking a little a break.”
Wow…outstanding picture! that should be on national news!!!! Thank you…..but why am i so depressed?
Ignorance is bliss? …but, then again, you had your suspicions all along, neh? It is a great photo.
Maybe it's time for a roadtrip with the video camera. I think that I've just found a font of funny (weird, not ha ha) material.
At least it wasn't poker.
Here is the thing…we know that you have "already made up your mind" we know that. But you are asking US to work more so you can spend more of our money…thats the issue, the LEAST you could do is actually act like YOUR working.
So one question…when it come the time where you vote on your own pay increases, how are you going to vote?
Not to take sides with the legislators who were playing computer games, but we have to put this into the context of a budget struggle that began a long time ago, and there have no doubt been hundreds of speeches, many of them thinly disguised political campaigning. I don't know what Larry Cafero was saying at the time the picture was taken, and so I can't judge that the legislators were (or were not) missing anything of substance. How many of us have sat at meetings, distracted by something, but half-listening for something of substance to be said, at which time we have paid appropriate attention?
just imagine what they are up to when the press isn't looking in. and the picture says a lot more than being bored…..it says i really don't care. and that is sad. but your comments are a testament of how and why the state is where it is. you don't care either.
you hear that sucking sound???? thats the sound of educated, high earning, taxpayers leaving the state. …..thats the sound of global corporations who once liked doing business here expanding or outright moving elsewhere.
Mega Message: Two Democrats already have made up their minds to raise our taxes, and really do not care what the rest of us think.
Hartford Photographer Jessica Hill took the picture. Nobody should be surprized that someone is shooting pictures over your shoulder. Her stock just went way up. It is an excellent picture.
From her website, this quote; "I am the Photo Editor at the Journal Inquirer, a 40k afternoon daily newspaper in Connecticut and I have been a regular stringer for the AP in Hartford for the past six years."
Sessions of the legislature are "public meetings" and fair game for self-employed "stringers" for AP or MAD magazine. It was a mistake to presume news photgraphers would be strictly focused on the speaker
Norwalkcoach, I found this podcast from NPR to be illuminating, The Myth of Multitasking:
http://www.sciencefriday.com/program/archives/200...
Long ago, maybe, these legislative meetings might have actually been a place where you could speak to your fellow legislators and sway them to support your view on an issue, make an amendment or whatever. These days, these floor speeches do nothing. They aren't covered by the media, the public doesn't see or hear them and no one cares. How are issues framed and vetted in the real world. Through online discussion groups, chats, blogs, tweets and emails. There's an instant record, there are links to supporting documents. Public policy is failing because the rules of engagement were crafted in the dark ages before instant communication. Cafero would have been more effective blasting a list of recommended cuts to his colleagues on the floor right then, then speaking about it. Yet Cafero admits to Dixon he doesn't even turn on his lap top. "I don't know how to turn my computer on, I am embarrassed to say, and I certainly would not know how to get on a solitaire site is there is such a thing, I don't know."
The solitaire players, news surfers, email responders and especially the ones with dark screens, all demonstrate that no effort was being made to tweak this budget.
The picture says our legislative body is broken.