Maureen Dowd, who was unsparing in her treatments of Hillary Clinton, holds forth on Sarah Palin.
Excerpt:

Enthusiastic Republicans don’t see the choice of Palin as affirmative action, despite her thin résumé and gaping absence of foreign policy aknowledge, because they expect Republicans to put an underqualified “babe,” as Rush Limbaugh calls her, on the ticket. They have a tradition of nominating fun, bantamweight cheerleaders from the West, like the previous Miss Congeniality types Dan Quayle and W., and then letting them learn on the job. So they crash into the globe a few times while they’re learning to drive, what’s the big deal?

Meanwhile Politico, which posted an editorial critical of McCain’s choice of Palin, tells us that the piece was, well, not well received by McCain supporters reading them.
Excerpt:

Rarely have we been flooded with more e-mail, the most generous of which suggested we are dimwits, and much of it calling us names not fit to print. It was an especially stark example of something that in America’s polarized political culture is a common phenomenon: reporters and activists viewing the same facts through radically different prisms.

Locally, I attended the Bob Duff community barbecue, met some of the local folks, exchanged pleasantries with the next Congressman from CT04; and enjoyed the fantastic weather.

Tomorrow is the Labor Day parade in Newtown, held annually since 1962, the largest if not the only event of its kind in the state; with a cast of thousands and featuring Governor Rell, Congressman Murphy (depending on the status of his wife’s pregnancy), Constitutional Officers Dick Blumenthal, Susan Bysiewicz, Nancy Wyman (maybe), and Denise Nappier (occasionally); and more perfect late summer weather.

Open thread.

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Former Common Council member Herb Grant has been out of office for close to a year, yet here he is, still working diligently on behalf of Norwalk shepherding the television coverage of Common Council meetings. The Hour reports:

Within weeks, Norwalk Common Council meetings could be televised on Cablevision Channel 79.

Council members hatched the idea last September during one of their informal bipartisan meetings. Since then, the city has received grant money to purchase the wiring and camera.

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At the end of the day, nothing scares political junkies more than campaign strategies that slice and dice the electorate into manageable chunks of issue driven GOTV. McCain’s campaign surely looked at the Democratic ticket and said hrmm. In comes Alaska governor Sarah Palin. And the howls from the left are at full screech. ChrisMC posted campaign junkie Paul Begalia’s comments earlier, which are about are very telling about what is really being said in the Obama war room. Let’s start with panic. Begalia should know, he ran Bill Clinton’s war room along the same lines, which we should all remember well. The pandering to the soccer mom begat the pandering to the Nascar dad and all the sobriquets that campaigners thrust on a voter bloc that needs to hear that the koolaid is just around the corner.

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Former Clinton political operative Paul Begala articulates a pointed critique and points out a serious problem with the Palin pick:

For a man who is 72 years old and has had four bouts with cancer to have chosen someone so completely unqualified to become president is shockingly irresponsible. Suddenly, McCain’s age and health become central issues in the campaign, as does his judgment.

This is not just spin and political posturing. This raises real issues. Begala concludes:

For months, the McCainiacs have said they will run on his judgment and experience. In his first presidential decision, John McCain has shown he is willing to endanger his country, potentially leaving it in the hands of someone who simply has no business being a heartbeat away from the most powerful, complicated, difficult job in human history.

Well said.

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It’s somewhat unfortunate that Norwalk’s Emergency preparedness education effort chose the cult name “Plan 9″ for the serious idea that there are 9 things that every household should have on hand for an emergency. The Ed Wood film, Plan 9 From Outer Space, is legendary–maybe for providing Don Rumsfeld with ideas for quotes. How can we forget, And remember my friends, future events such as these will effect you in the future…. Look, up in the sky, it’s a plane, it’s a bird, it’s a saucer! 

Saucer?! You mean the kind from up there?

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Captain Peter Decker introduced steam power to Oyster cultivation in outfitting his sloop, the Early Bird, according to a 1901 NY Times article, with a steam powered dredging apparatus in 1872. This was technology innovation that put Norwalk on the map for a few years. The oyster industry in South Norwalk was very important, at least to the United States Bureau of Fisheries, in 1881:

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The New Haven Independent reports that former Branford Corporate Counsel, The Marcus Law Firm, is being sued by the Town for legal malpractice.

…This lawsuit comes against a backdrop of an ongoing political fight between two Democratic factions in Branford;…

It is not every day that a law firm gets sued, especially when the moving party is a town. Ed Marcus issued a furious statement aimed at the town for filing the suit. Specifically he targeted the town’s first selectman, Democrat “Unk” DaRos … DaRos regained his job in a three-way race last year riding in part on anti-Marcus sentiment.

[Marcus’] close ally, former State Sen. Bruce Morris, is married to Cheryl Morris, the candidate who beat [Republican John Opie] in 2005 and then tapped Marcus to become Branford’s town counsel. (Morris was the person DaRos subsequently unseated in 2007.)

Following this? It took me a few reads.
Complicated, but there is a whole lot going on here.
Marcus is a serious and dangerous opponent. That is why I’m not going to say much that might be characterized as critical of him, for fear of being sued. I’m not kidding:

Marcus said that after he successfully defends this “political lawsuit,” he will “unfortunately for the town seek damages against the Town and other parties that may be appropriate, for defamation, slander and the increase that may occur in our professional liability insurance.” He has made similar threats in the past.

Feel that - this is the real deal.
The Independent piece includes:

…the Marcus lawsuit, … may well shine light on the inner workings of the lawyering [in the subject case]. This could be accomplished through the discovery process, as the town seeks documents, emails and other material to establish its case. But Marcus gave every indication he would fight such a move. “We are not going to be bullied or intimidated by DaRos and company and we will do whatever is necessary to protect our position in this matter.” [Emphasis added]

This may prove to be a rare opportunity for us average folks to learn how the game is played. We’ll be following it closely.
Source: New Haven Independent.

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As of a little before 3:00 PM on Thursday August 28, Fox News is reporting that the last minute buzz is around Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty based on the fact that each has canceled stuff on his schedule, freeing them up to get on the McCain train if the call comes.

A catalog of early contenders as of February provided courtesy of Right Wing News.

The New York Times offers its run down of the contenders.

The Hill Reports that Virginia Congressman Cantor, is on the short list, and is not on the speakers roster (so far).

Persistent rumors about Senator Lieberman as McCain’s number two lead to Karl Rove, a supporter of Mitt Romney, to get actively involved. Lieberman’s pro-choice status is said to be a deal breaker.

Former Pennsylvania Governor and Homeland Security placeholder Tom Ridge is a late-inning favorite amongst some. Louisiana Governor Jindal’s been mentioned. Even Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson is still a dark horse choice, albeit mostly as an attractive individual (in reaction to Joe Biden).

The most entertaining favorite is the choice of Republican and “conservative” Connecticut bloggers, who fawn over GILF Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

Ideologues on the right are deeply frustrated to begin with. Political operatives who prefer to win than be Right continue to calculate the angles. Chris Shays is crapping his pants because he can’t triangulate his way between the political Scylla and Charybdis this time.

There are 27 compelling reasons for choosing Charlie Crist. Fifty-four if you consider the fact that Florida is a toss-up on everybody’s map, and that if McCain loses Florida, he loses. My two-cents is on Crist.

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Junkyard fires do happen. The question is how many times becomes too many times. It’s a good thing Mike Geake has called for the incident reports from the Fire Department. But why stop there? How about all the customer service complaints, that have come in over the years regarding operations? Are there police incidents worth looking into as well? In short a full 360 degree look at the impact of the operation on City resources.

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When President Jimmy Cater invited Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin for 12 days of secret peace negotiations at Camp David, it led to the to eventual Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty. Oh we should be so lucky with the latest attempt and ending the Hatfield and McCoy’s simmering feud over the management of the Norwalk Museum. Doug Hempstead plays the role of Jimmy Carter and the Friends of the Norwalk Museum and the Historical Commission play Egypt and Israel.

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