Author Archives: cxpowell

By Chris Powell Amid the controversy about gun crime and the right to bear arms, it’s strange that legislative responses like the ones enacted last week at the federal level are so indirect and tangential. Not that the new federal law is objectionable. It just doesn’t do much more than pay states for their expensesContinue reading “Targeting guns gains little; target gun criminals instead”

By Chris Powell When will Connecticut take the hint it long has been getting from its increasing population of bears, a hint that was reiterated two weeks ago when one repeatedly tried to break into houses in the Canton area, getting into at least one of them before being euthanized by environmental police? That bearContinue reading “How many bears does each town in Connecticut want?”

By Chris Powell For Father’s Day last weekend the state Department of Children and Families publicized Connecticut’s Fatherhood Initiative, a program DCF runs with the state Department of Social Services that strives to get men as involved with their children as those children are involved with welfare agencies. The social science confirming that a father’sContinue reading “End welfare’s bad incentives; and Larson braves filibuster”

By Chris Powell His innocent enthusiasms sometimes get the better of Governor Lamont, so a few weeks ago he celebrated a new country song purportedly about Connecticut by the musical impresario Rusty Gear. But the song’s only lines about the state were not really so complimentary, and criticism by the governor’s Republican challenger, Bob Stefanowski,Continue reading “Connecticut might be saved by celebrating a better song”

By Chris Powell Maybe Connecticut’s recent police accountability legislation went too far with its provision limiting the “qualified immunity” of officers against civil lawsuits, but this month’s investigative report by the state’s Hearst newspapers about misconduct in the state police showed accountability is long overdue. The Hearst report, facilitated by the new law, reviewed 900Continue reading “Why greater accountability won’t expand beyond police”

By Chris Powell Whoever would have thought that after 22 years in the state Senate and another 22 in the U.S. House of Representatives from Connecticut’s 1st District, the most Democratic district in the state, John B. Larson, raised in an East Hartford housing project, devotee of President John F. Kennedy, and holder of aContinue reading “Is Larson not liberal enough to win a Democratic primary?”

By Chris Powell While he already had signed Connecticut’s Juneteenth holiday legislation the previous month, Governor Lamont went to New London last Friday to sign the legislation again more ceremonially alongside the replica of the ship Amistad, which was visiting the city. This allowed the ceremony to evoke not only the end of slavery inContinue reading “More holidays won’t address Connecticut’s racial failings”

By Chris Powell As gasoline prices kept soaring last week, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal campaigned for re-election by declaring that oil companies are making too much money and the government should seize half their profits and give the money back to gas buyers. Through most of his 37 years in elective office, 20 of themContinue reading “Blumenthal’s scapegoating misleads as gas prices soar”

By Chris Powell Eighteen months later the political left is still stewing about and running a congressional investigation into what it calls a “coup attempt” and “insurrection” instigated by President Trump and supported by many Republicans to steal the 2020 presidential election under the pretext that it was stolen from Trump because of widespread voteContinue reading “‘Coup’ instigator may return by left still would ban guns”

By Chris Powell Government cannot use union contracts with its employees to nullify its basic obligations to the public, a federal appeals court ruled last week in a case about the Connecticut state police union contract. The contract has allowed troopers to prevent disclosure of misconduct accusations against them, thereby facilitating the state police department’sContinue reading “Stop letting union contracts override right-to-know law”