Related links
-
Colin McEnroe's Blog
-
Fearsome, Mysterious 'Implementer' Stalks Capitol Halls
June 6, 2013
It was late Wednesday night, and lobbyist Jack Kealey of Bethany was feeling good.
-
Do You Trust State Leaders With The Lights Out?
May 31, 2013
People, there is a war going on against sunshine and clean government laws. It's coming on the heels of a 5th District congressional race marred by multiple scandals tainting both Democrats and Republicans. We ought to be screaming for tougher rules and mass resignations. Instead, we're watching calmly as they try to weaken the laws that bring their crimes to our attention.
-
Government Revealed — A Buyers' Market
May 24, 2013
Chris Donovan wanted to be a congressman. Now he's the reluctant star of a federal court multimedia show on corrupt practices, featuring a colorful lineup of bums and goodfella wannabes.
-
Road To Hell Paved With Caviar and Slippery Nipples
May 17, 2013
It's really hard to stand out as incompetent while running the city of Hartford, because almost everybody who tried to do it for the past 40 years has been either a knave, a genial idiot, an ill-tempered goose or some chimera-like combination of all three.
-
On A Trip Abroad, Finding A Bridge Back
May 9, 2013
A letter to the Irish Times Wednesday was headlined "Name for the new Liffey bridge" The body of the letter consists of "Sir — The suspension is killing me. — Yours, etc. Tom Gilsenan."
-
Besieged UConn Woman Gets No Husky Help
May 3, 2013
Last month UConn adopted a tough new vulpine husky logo that, according to coach Geno Auriemma, is a "streamlined fighting dog" that says "Don't mess with me."
-
Father's Musical Touches Song In My Heart
April 26, 2013
I won't lie to you. I can't face another column about guns or bombs. Maybe we all need a break.
-
Despite Our Depredations, We Are Not Lost
April 18, 2013
In 1912, a man named 'Abdu'l-Bahá came to the United States to give talks. He was 68 and had lived a life of poverty, persecution, imprisonment and physical peril. His long beard was white, and his posture was stooped. He wore a buff-colored fez, wrapped in a white cloth.
-
Treat Guns Like Cars, But Don't Stop There
April 12, 2013
Two of the disappointments of the post-Newtown season of gun reform are as follows:
-
Reckoning With Emotions' Powerful Political Pull
April 5, 2013
During Wednesday's debate on new gun laws, Sen. John Kissel rose and began a lengthy set of remarks with two anecdotes.
-
Errant Plays, Bad Calls Leave UConn Sidelined
March 29, 2013
No living person could explain what happened to the sports programs of the University of Connecticut in the last six months. It would take John Milton, who was so good with rebel angels being "hurled headlong flaming from the ethereal sky / With hideous ruin and combustion, down / To bottomless perdition; there to dwell / In adamantine chains and penal fire."
-
Ritter's Careful, Legal, Lucrative Career
March 22, 2013
I would like to begin by saying at no point did Thomas Ritter do anything illegal.
-
Ted Kennedy Jr.'s Disarming Candor
March 15, 2013
Not that it matters much to most politicians, but there's a fairly easy way to get on my good side, at least temporarily. I place a disproportionate weight on how they handle encounters with my son.
-
Curbs On Guns Work Better Than Old Slogans
March 8, 2013
The rhetorical failure of the week belonged to state Rep. Craig Miner who, in handing down the lame list of Republican proposals from a working group on gun violence, said, "We believe it's not the gun that kills the person. It's the person that actually kills the person. That sounds kind of cold, but that's the way it is."
-
Malloy Wants To 'Fix' The Watchdogs With A Snip
March 1, 2013
When it comes to ethics and government oversight and watchdogs, Connecticut should be like Middle Earth and rings of power. You shouldn't have to persuade people based on hypothetical scenarios. "What if the most evil person alive was trying to get a really awesome ring and use it to screw all of us?" This already happened, right? Ring control should be a given.
-
Malloy Has Taken Sandy Hook To Heart
February 22, 2013
Watch Dan Malloy closely right now, and you might see that rare thing: A politician who has ditched politics in favor of moral seriousness.
-
Municipal Storm Stars Win Golden Blizzies
February 15, 2013
The Oscars are exactly one week away, but here in Connecticut, the wait is over for the Blizzies, the awards handed out for storm-related achievement.
-
Step Right Up, See The Great Malloy
February 8, 2013
I seem to have misunderstood in some fundamental way.
-
DeStefano Takes A Bow Fearing Voters' Push
February 1, 2013
Let me put this in perspective for you.
-
Forget Truth, Reality — Ignorance Can Work
January 25, 2013
You never know. This (or any) moment could be the time you hear the snap of the umbilical cord connecting us to the notions of fact, empirical truth and the Enlightenment.
-
Where The Paranoid And Delusional Network, The Truth Disappears
January 18, 2013
The Facebook page in question links out to a thicket of medium-extremist sites.
-
Gun Debate Loaded With Red Zone Anxiety
January 11, 2013
In the bustling hallways of the state Capitol on Wednesday, the first day of this legislative session, a few of us fell to talking about Joel Gonzalez — although, tragically, nobody could remember his name.
-
Foul-Mouthed Speaker Lowers Civility Bar
January 4, 2013
One way to look at your life right now is this: Even if there's somebody at work who gets on your nerves, there's still a strong chance that you get along better with your co-workers than do the people allegedly running this country.
-
For Year That Was Hoppin', Some Stylish Name-Droppin'
December 28, 2012
Our revels aren't stinting; our cheers are not feeble.
-
Holding This Moment Long Enough To Act
December 21, 2012
One night in August, 1994, a man sitting alone in a New Haven coffee bar stood up, pulled a knife and stabbed seven people.
-
Lieberman's Farewell Marred By Compromise
December 14, 2012
One night last week, U.S. Sens. Joe Lieberman, Lindsey Graham and John McCain appeared together on Piers Morgan's CNN show, either as part of Lieberman's massive, never-ending farewell tour or as part of a series called People Who Make Piers Morgan Look (Improbably) Like A Person Of Unwavering Principle.
-
Searching The Ballot For Worthy Republicans
December 7, 2012
Let me tell you something you don't know about me.
-
We Can't Afford Poor, Downtrodden Anymore
November 30, 2012
It's Rescission Time!
-
UConn Salary Bloat Wins National Notice
November 23, 2012
University of Connecticut President Susan Herbst thinks she and her college are not famous enough, and last week she did something about it. She hired Tysen Kendig as the university's new publicity mogul for $227,500.
-
State Fiscal Crisis Needs Sex Appeal
November 16, 2012
We have some kind of looming fiscal crisis here in Connecticut, but I don't know much about it because a) it is not a cliff and b) it is not as interesting as other things I could conceivably know about.
-
McMahon's Boat Sinks Into Sea Of Millionaires
November 9, 2012
Take a moment to feel sorry for me.
-
Malloy's Softer Side Struggling To Get Free
November 2, 2012
Can Sandy help Dan?
-
McMahon And Obama Go Together Like R's And D's
October 26, 2012
This is my last chance to tell you what I think about the coming election, because The Courant enforces a period of editorial neutrality right before the vote.
-
McMahon May Have A Plan, But No Good Answers
October 19, 2012
Every few years, it's time again to point out that Mark Davis is necessary.
-
Seems Higher Ed HQ Is Located On The Dark Side
October 12, 2012
I'm going to say something that may sound a little strange, but it explains some pressing mysteries. A state building — located at 39 Woodland St. in Hartford — is possessed by evil spirits and possibly even Satan himself.
-
Murphy's Starting To Look Like Underdog
October 5, 2012
Thursday dawned gray and rainy for Democrats in Connecticut.
-
Throwing The Flag On Connecticut Candidates
September 28, 2012
Earlier this week, for one brief shining moment, our badly divided republic came together so gloriously that Paul Ryan and Barack Obama were finishing each other's sentences. Everybody agreed that the replacement refs were ruining professional football. This issue struck very close to home, because I am a Packers fan. It's a miracle I can sit up and take nourishment after Monday night, but that's my journey and not this column.
-
Worst Deadbeat? Too Close To Call
September 21, 2012
Everything is so close!
-
Time For Murphy To Get Off The Canvas
September 14, 2012
Remember the scene in "Witness" where the local bullies start taunting the Amish in their carts? One of them paints the face of Alexander Godunov with his ice cream cone. They're knocking off straw hats. And Harrison Ford clambers down out of the jitney as an Amish elder cautions him: "It's not our way."
-
It Doesn't Pay To Underestimate Manic Malloy
September 7, 2012
If I knew more about hockey, I'd know which hockey player Dan Malloy resembles at the Democratic convention.
-
'Rags To Riches' Stories A Little Thin
September 4, 2012
On Wednesday afternoon, my own radio station was going on a bit too long about how well peaches go with duck, so I flipped over to the show hosted by former Gov. John Rowland, where a caller was saying (I paraphrase): "Breathes there a man with soul so dead who never to himself has said, Ann Romney, you are one fabulous person."
-
Candidates Brooding — The Party's Over Them
August 24, 2012
The primary is over! There are supposed to be fewer candidates, not more.
-
Candidates Burn Millions For Measly Turnout
August 17, 2012
There's something wrong here.
-
Olympic Heights And Depths: The Games People Played
August 10, 2012
I grew up thinking the Olympics were boring and that the Summer Olympics looked mainly like an exhausting overnight camp I was glad my parents had not sent me to.
-
Aug. 14 Primary: Day Of Reckoning
August 3, 2012
This is the last time I will address you about issues related to the Aug. 14 primary, because the Courant does not allow us to write about the candidates on that final Sunday.
-
Candidates Run Wild In 5th District Race
July 27, 2012
One fear we harbor about our dopey Aug. 14 primary date is that freakishly low turn-out will produce a winner who is some kind horrific political mutant.
-
'Scootie' Will Take Us Where We Need To Go
May 25, 2012
We need to talk about Scootie.
-
Man Vs. Bear: Let The Games Begin
January 13, 2012
Although our state is no longer as broke as it was in 2010, we still need new revenue sources, which is why the Malloy administration has turned its attention to two very progressive ideas: online gambling and killing bears. The reasons:
-
Occupy Hartford: Police Deliver Shock And Awe
December 11, 2011
It has become clear what we must do to get the Hartford Police Department to marshal its resources and move swiftly and effectively against drug dealers, robbers and homicidal punks.
-
Butler Doing Awesome Audition For Fall Guy
November 6, 2011
Every time I see Jeffrey Butler, the president of CL&P, my overactive imagination dresses him in a Hawaiian shirt and transports him to the beach-side bar I am pretty sure he will be running on the Yucatan peninsula by this time next year.
-
When The Normal Cyclings Of The Day Stopped. Forever.
September 8, 2002
His name was John Metcalf, and if you had noticed him at a party, you might not have sought him out for conversation, because he was quiet and self-contained.
