It's obviously been a while since my last post. Like, two years while. I'm getting the old me going again. Check out my new blog. I'm going in a bit of a different direction. My new blog is Grassroots Intellectualism.

Mr. Flatto, the Elementary School is That Way --->

Fairfield First Selectman Ken Flatto's only real job is to keep tax expenses down. Fairfield already has an incredible school system, and most public systems are fairly efficient. Besides the requisite tidy-up projects, taxes are a priority.

So one can imagine frustration when Mr. Flatto understates the cost of a project. Especially, one may notice, when he underestimates that cost by a FULL $10 MILLION.

It's an education renovation and upgrade project in one of the town's elementary schools. Clearly, Mr. Flatto's own elementary school had a bit of an asbestos problem that affected his ability to add whole numbers.

Adios '08, by the way!

Jerry Brown and a Quick Rant

Another straight man for gay rights: California Attorney General Jerry Brown unexpectedly joined the fight to reverse a ban on gay marriage, telling the state Supreme Court on Friday the voter-approved ban violates the constitutional right to liberty.

I am conservative. Always have been, always will be. So I have never been able to understand what my radical right wing brothers have seen wrong with gay marriage. Sure, you guys are afraid of coming out of the closet yourselves for fear of ridicule and banishment by your peers, I understand that. But why can't sassy Joe and his pixy-horse denim jacket marry Billy Big Man? I mean, it is us, the conservatives, the Republicans, who have always claimed to be the defenders of liberty, the liberators of the slaves and poor. But maybe you'll just accuse me of being gay - supporting "gaydom" or being a "gaylord"... or just a faggot. But you can chalk me up as another straight man for gay rights.

It seems to be popular culture to oppose gay marriage. The blacks proved it on Prop 8, and mine is only one of two states in the Union to allow it. Look, an interesting essay over here holds this issue up to the light a bit more, but I really don't see why people don't understand that gay rights include gay marriage.

Our President-elect has stated his opposition to gay marriage plenty of times. Change.gov states: "Barack Obama supports full civil unions that give same-sex couples legal rights and privileges equal to those of married couples." 

Alright, but weren't blacks supposedly provided with "legal rights and privileges equal to those of whites?" How is Obama's support of the civil union not, quite literally, a new incarnation of the "separate but equal" clause that he opposes so strongly?

I guess it is. I have decided to have a guest speaker construct the last third of my argument. Fast-forward 1:30 into the video, and if you are offended by four letter words, break out the earmuffs:

In conclusion, thank you AT Jerry Brown

Jose Feliciano on NPR

Jose Feliciano, the writer of Feliz Navidad, lives in Fairfield County. He was on NPR's Talk of the Nation on Christmas Day - listen to the show here, it's good stuff. 

He says about five minutes into the show, when asked if he ever gets tired of his own song, "Naw.. the only people who may get tired of it are the atheists, but then who cares?" Funny line - being agnostic myself, bordering now on - well now not atheism itself, but more of a complete fundamental disapproval of faith - even I find it very funny. Do yourself a favor and listen to the show.

A Quick Bio

Alright, so I'll start off with the requisite resume. I have been a political blogger since the 7th grade, starting over here (please don't judge me, it's a bit embarrassing... you're lucky I'm even showing you this). Since then, I have been blogging at a steady pace on a number of blogs, including, this one, this one and, most recently, this one. I have achieved moderate success on the national scale with my most recent blog, but I have since decided that I want to focus on local politics, which is the reason for this move.

I am also a political writer for a number of newspapers. I am a reporter and columnist for the Fairfield Minuteman, the Register Citizen and the Bridgeport Banner. I have worked as an intern in the district office of now lame-duck Congressman Christopher Shays, who recently lost to Mr. Jim Himes. For this reason, expect my reporting on Mr. Himes to be a bit bias, possibly bordering occasionally on volatile. 

Personally, I live in Fairfield, Connecticut, and I am a senior in high school at Fairfield Prep, a local Jesuit school. I have been accepted into Fordham University, where I plan on attending. I plan on joining ROTC during college, and possibly going to law school shortly thereafter. Outside of writing and school, I enjoy things most high school students do - I love hanging out with friends, I am a big skier, and I enjoy playing sports. Unlike most high school students, I am currently listening to the call of a Long Tailed Duck on yesterday's NPR Talk of the Nation. Needless to say, I guess I like to learn... useless information. 

Politically, I am a moderate conservative - I am entirely fiscally conservative and capitalist, but I begin to shake from the party line on social issues. I am in support of gay marriage and the entire separation of Church and state. In fact, I generally consider my pro-life stance to be my only socially right-leaning stance. Look forward to daily posts on everything Connecticut. Hopefully, you'll find me humorous and interesting, so stop by whenever you can!

*I am putting this bio in my "My Links" section on the right hand side.