20 December 2009

Dems Meet Monday (12/21): Comptroller Wyman, JP appointments, 2010 Schedule On Tap

The Democratic Town Committee will meet on Monday, December 21st for its December meeting and holiday gathering at 7 p.m. at New Britain City Hall 27 West Main Street. Guests for the meeting will include State Comptroller Nancy Wyman.

The winter solstice gathering will include Justice of the Peace appointments and the 2010 political calendar. The Justice of the Peace appointments involve new nominees. The terms of Justices of the Peace who were sworn in after the 2008 Presidential Election will not expire until 2012 and do not require re-nomination. The committee encourages Democrats to fill JP vacancies if they are donating a minimum of two hours per month to a civic, church or charitable organization.

Members and friends are invited to bring a non-perishable food item or a donation to benefit New Britain's Spanish Speaking Center .

Petitions for seats on the Democratic Town Committee for the 2010-2012 term will be available beginning Wednesday, January 13th and will be due back to the Registrar of Voters by Wednesday, January 27th. Based on current enrollment the Democratic Town Committee is likely to expand from 48 to 52 members with new seats being added in Voting Districts 4, 5, 10 and 13. For more information e-mail newbritaindemocrat@gmail.com or call 860-416-0665.


City Hall Update: Majority Leader Seeks Internet Access To Meetings

City government will become more open and accessible to citizens if a proposal by Majority Leader Phil Sherwood is implemented. In a story by Jennifer Abel carried in the print edition of The New Britain Herald Friday, December 18th, Sherwood favors establishing a policy that would post audio and video recordings of the twice-a-month City Council meetings on line at www.new-britain.net. The meetings are now taped and broadcast on Nutmeg TV and DVDs of the proceedings are available to the public.

"We already record the meetings which air on Nutmeg TV and we have the DVDs but very rarely does someone request to view them," Sherwood told the Herald. "In fact, I don't think most people even know they can look at the DVDs. But if we can put it on the City Council page people can call them up and view them at anytime if they couldn't make the meeting due to weather or some other reason."

Sherwood also said the technology may be available to stream meetings live on the Internet. According to the Herald, Mayor Stewart did not oppose the use of the Internet for posting meetings as long as Sherwood "has a mechanism to pay for it."

Cities across the country are strengthening "sunshine" policies by using the web to post or stream public meetings, either by using their existing capacity or through upgrading technology and websites. The city's current capacity and the issue of accessing the meetings on the web will be raised at the Council in January.

NBC-Comcast Merger Raises Fears of Excessive Concentration of Power In Media

Advocates of net neutrality and a free press are warning that a merger of NBC Universal and Comcast "is a dangerous attempt by media moguls to seize control of both media content and distribution, and to use this control to squeeze consumers."

The issue will come before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Justice Department, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that have regulatory authority on the merger. Reformers are urging President Obama "to make good on his campaign pledge to act 'against the excessive concentration of [media] power in the hands of any one corporation, interest or small group.'"

Comcast, the nation’s largest cable company and the second largest Internet provider, would merge with one of the world’s biggest producers of TV shows and movies. Opponents say the consequences of merger will be:

•Higher Prices: With Comcast in control of everything from MSNBC, Bravo and E! to Universal Pictures, they’ll be able to raise prices for their competitors that will be passed on to you.

•Fewer Choices: Comcast would have a near-media monopoly in some communities, controlling cable and Internet access as well as local TV stations. They could push NBC shows ahead of other local and independent voices and programs, making it even harder to find alternatives on cable.

•Less Innovation: This merged Goliath could control what you watch and how you watch it, starving online video competitors or making you subscribe to Comcast to watch TV on the Internet.

To sign a petition and learn more visit www.freepress.net

State Convention May 21-22 In Hartford

The opening rounds for what are expected to be multi-candidate contests for Governor and Secretary of the State in the Democratic Party will begin on May 21-22 when the 2010 nominating convention will be held at the Connecticut Expo Center in Hartford.

The nominating convention, made up of delegates selected by Town Committees, will field candidates for United States Senator, Governor, Lt. Governor, Secretary of the State, Treasurer, Comptroller and Attorney General. New Britain sends 31 delegates to the state and congressional conventions and chooses state legislative candidates at the town committee or in conventions for state senator and the 22nd and 24th state representative districts.

End Quote: On Joe Lieberman

He is the face of corrosive political vanity, dishonesty, greed, arrogance and untrustworthiness. He is everything we tell the kiddies not to be when they grow up. He must not be allowed to keep his stature in the Democratic party he loathes and betrays; he must not be allowed to hold his committee assignments or perks. So what if he threatens to quit the coalition? He isn’t in it. He brings nothing to it. He isn’t worth the shoe polish that would smear on his rear end when he is kicked over to the nutjob right where he so loves to be.

Author Denis Horgan -- www.denishorgan.com