By Chris Powell Anyone who thinks that Donald Trump is the country’s biggest demagogue should examine the remarks made by Connecticut U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy last Saturday as the Democratic State Convention nominated him for a third term. Trump, Murphy said, “wants to turn us against each other,” as if Murphy’s party isn’t preaching asContinue reading “Murphy challenges Trump for biggest demagogue”
Author Archives: cxpowell
Hartford’s new archbishop eyes the poverty factory
By Chris Powell When he was installed two weeks ago, Hartford’s new Catholic archbishop, Christopher J. Coyne, said he has several big objectives, though he conceded that with two of them he may be dreaming. Coyne’s most practical objective is simply restoring the local church and regaining parishioners. “In recent years,” Coyne said, “we haveContinue reading “Hartford’s new archbishop eyes the poverty factory”
Don’t leave hospitals’ fate to a big game of chicken
By Chris Powell A big game of chicken may determine what becomes of Waterbury Hospital, Manchester Memorial Hospital, and Rockville General Hospital in Vernon. Yale New Haven Health, which two years ago agreed to purchase the three struggling hospitals from Prospect Medical Holdings for $435 million, now is suing Prospect to nullify the agreement. YaleContinue reading “Don’t leave hospitals’ fate to a big game of chicken”
Slush fund paves the way for subsidizing strikes
By Chris Powell Connecticut state government’s mad dash to the far left produced another ridiculous moment last week when, as the Connecticut Mirror reported, “with no explanation and scant debate” the state House of Representatives approved a bill to establish what essentially would be a slush fund at the disposal of state Comptroller Sean Scanlon.Continue reading “Slush fund paves the way for subsidizing strikes”
Can state legislators resist clamor to bust ‘guardrails’?
By Chris Powell Last week’s projections of more than a billion dollars in unexpected state government tax revenue over the next two years have strengthened demands for more spending in the last days of the General Assembly’s current session. Legislators already had been grabbing furiously at the remnants of federal pandemic emergency aid, and theContinue reading “Can state legislators resist clamor to bust ‘guardrails’?”
Must Connecticut subsidize more illegal immigration?
By Chris Powell Connecticut’s state government seems to think that illegal immigration isn’t a problem here, just — maybe — in other states. The other day state officials gathered with advocates of illegal immigration at the state Capitol to congratulate themselves on what a Connecticut Mirror report called the “explosive” demand for state insurance coverageContinue reading “Must Connecticut subsidize more illegal immigration?”
Palestine would murder protesting U.S. students
By Chris Powell At Yale University in New Haven, the University of Connecticut in Storrs, and a score of other institutions of higher education, students are protesting the support being given by the United States to Israel in its war with the Hamas regime in Gaza. The students want their colleges to dissociate themselves fromContinue reading “Palestine would murder protesting U.S. students”
Environmental Rights Amendment could justify almost anything
By Chris Powell Belief that the world, or at least Connecticut, can be changed by grand but empty proclamations isn’t confined to the Lamont administration and its environmental protection commissioner, Katie Dykes, who recently tried to proclaim the prohibition of gasoline-powered cars. The belief infects much other environmental advocacy in the state, as indicated byContinue reading “Environmental Rights Amendment could justify almost anything”
Wild ‘Kia boyz’ represent Connecticut’s grim future
By Chris Powell What may prove to be Connecticut’s best journalism for many years was a 44-minute video documentary of sorts posted last week on YouTube by freelancer Andrew Callaghan and brought to the state’s attention by CTCapitolReport.com. Callaghan gained the confidence of three teenage gangsters from Bridgeport and video-recorded them on their daily rampagesContinue reading “Wild ‘Kia boyz’ represent Connecticut’s grim future”
Turn ‘nips’ into ‘caferos’; and Southbury defies FOI
By Chris Powell Connecticut won’t be getting any relief this year from the plague of tiny liquor bottles littering the state. Legislation proposed by state Rep. Joe Gresko, D-Stratford, to allow municipalities to prohibit sale of the “nips” failed to get out of a committee in the General Assembly this month. Of course the liquorContinue reading “Turn ‘nips’ into ‘caferos’; and Southbury defies FOI”
Chris Powell column 