Let's just scrap the Bill of Rights...it's such a hassle! View Comment

stevecolarossi-There's a lot more to this story than meets the eye. The two unfortunate targets of these credible threats were not promptly INFORMED OFFICIALLY of their imminent danger. They learned that they were in jeopardy through concerned students who knew of the source via Facebook and Twitter. The entire school staff was informed in an impromtu assembly where the dearth of information was a travesty. Rather than immediately relay potentially life-saving notice to the targets, they, and everyone else was kept in the dark with an idiotic non-informational announcement that went something like: "Threats against two staff members' lives occured on Facebook, but we can't say who was threatened, what the threat was, or who made it. Have a nice day." That is overt negligence on the part of both the police and the school district. Any reasonable person would agree that employees who are the targets of threats against their lives are legally entitled to notification. Further, it is likely that the alleged perpetrator of the threats did not act alone and that another student(s) may indeed be involved in inciting and planning the threats. Such involvement constitutes criminal conspiracy and makes the whole incident more troubling. District Administrators and Police officials responsible for the decision to delay informing the intended victims erroneously acted out of concern about the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). They were careful not to violate the rights of students engaged in criminal activity. They were far less concerned with the lives and safety of Norwalk High School employees and their families. The concern over FERPA is erroneous because when one issues threats on the internet, one loses any expectation of privacy. Secondly, when one enters into a criminal conspiracy with another to threaten the life of another citizen on the internet, the misconduct is also outside of the school. FERPA does not apply. Intimidating teachers, school administrators, and frightening their families is serious criminality. It deserves no quarter. Thank God that none of these vile threats were carried out. Had things gone awry, and we know that they sometimes do, the malfeasance of not notifying the potential victims would be ever-so-much more glaring. View Comment

When I'm waiting in line for mental screening under ObamaCare, just like at today's Motor Vehicle Dept., I only hope that I'm sitting next to you. I will demonstrate how the damage done to a man stripped of his liberty will enrage him and drive him to take matters into his own, bare hands. It could be a bad day for you, guns or no. View Comment

@Ken P Jr. Your commentary is so astute. The ruling elite does not limit its self-proclaimed "mastermind" status to reserving armed protection to themselves and their loved ones, it also extends the "proper for me, but not for thee" philosophy to their retirement plans, their health care, their transportation options, and their job security. We are "peasants" to be ruled. View Comment

"Your gun protects you from nothing." That statement is ridiculous on its face. If that assertion were true, why would we arm every arm of security in our society...the military, the police, the penal system, private security contractors, and body guards? Being armed sets one above those who are disarmed when coercion becomes the last mode of negotiation. Frankly, I couldn't care less if you are uncomfortable with my exercise of my rights. I have never abused my liberty and make no apology to the likes of you for being armed. Just as when one votes, speaks one's mind, or chooses to attend a particular place of worship, it's NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS. It's a natural right. Deal with it. View Comment

@ TimT: See the two recent Supreme court decisions, Chicago v. McDonald and District of Columbia v. Heller. The right to bear arms IS NOT A COLLECTIVE RIGHT held by the state. The court stated that it is an INDIVIDUAL RIGHT. The "militia" is legally defined as ALL able bodied adults. You are unfamiliar with recent landmark decisions. Your claim that "The Second Amendment doesn’t apply to individuals." is simply wrong. In fact, RIGHTS never accrue to the state, they are the legal domain of individuals. POWERS are granted to various parts of the government by law. Tim, it is you that has erred. The clause ..."a well regulated militia" is the subordinate clause. The subject is "the People." Go to the blackboard and write..."shall not be infringed" 100 times! View Comment

@Loveithere: One's rights are not to be abridged before any abuse occurs. Your example of "...You are not allowed to incite violence or threaten the president..." cites an illegal act. You wouldn't muzzle a citizen who "might" threaten or incite before any abuse occurred. That is a "Bill of Attainder" and violates due process. Millions of law abiding citizens have the very weapons you demonize. You are proposing that they are to be coerced into surrendering those arms ex post facto, even though they have never committed any wrong. View Comment

The horrendous abuse that occurred in Newtown does not authorize the spreading of falsehoods, disinformation, and propaganda. The claim that " 40 percent of gun sales to take place without background checks" comes, not from actual sales figures, but from a tiny survey sample of 251 people conducted twenty years ago. Most of the survey covered sales before the Brady Act instituted mandatory federal background checks in early 1994. The propaganda techniques in play here include: "assertion", "appeal to authority", and most sinister-"the Big Lie." In other words..."What I say is true because I say so and if I repeat it loud enough and often enough, it becomes MORE true." A more interesting fact is that despite exponential growth in gun ownership, gun deaths are at their lowest since the early 1990s. Further, of those reduced gun deaths, those resulting from the use of ALL rifles, stands at .012%. That means that more than 3X as many deaths result from falling off ladders as are caused by rifles. Yet, no one is calling for a ban on ladders, limiting homeowners to ladders with less than 7 rungs, requiring permits for step ladders , and banning extension ladders outright. Why? Because such clamor would be seen for what it is...foolish, emotional demogoguery. Finally, while there is no constitutional right to ascend a ladder, the right to protect one's life and property are prominent in the Bill of Rights. We do not hear calls to silence those who misuse their first amendment rights to echo false and malicious lies that tread upon the rights of others. Should liars be banned from blogging or marching in the street? After all they don't NEED to promulgate misleading half-truths on the internet. Perhaps if they had to register with the government, take a course in the correct exposition of logic, and were limited to using only quill pens, ONLY TRUTH would be heard. View Comment

All good wishes to Michael Lyons. Lord knows he's going to need all the good will he can muster. Former superintendent Marks saddled the district with her bad faith negotiations with school staff, a foolish and incomprehensible pilot program for teacher evaluation, and numerous bad hires. In short, Dr. Marks stuck it to Norwalk tax payers, parents, and students in a big way. She stocked the upper echelons of the district's central office administration and school building leadership with incompetent carpetbaggers, many of whom are retirees from other states and "rejects" from other districts. Then she promptly QUIT. Thanks Dr. Susan Marks, where are you now?! Her horrible mismanagement makes the reign of Sal Corda look like the Age of Pericles. Wake up Norwalk parents. The Norwalk Public Schools are being eviscerated by a flock of non-Norwalkers that have no interest in your kids or your property values. This has been the norm for some time now. Today, your $100+ million dollar school system is being run by feckless "place-holders." Don't take my word for it. Check out the empty suit Central Office where "interim" positions are billed at around $1K per person, per day! It's time to ring the bells at the Board of Education. Norwalk deserves proper, committed leadership, not this phony shell game. The horrendous managerial incompetence at both the district and building level in our system is becoming the norm. There's always money for six figure administrative salaries, but books, paper, and pencils are in short supply! What an outrage! View Comment

JJH, you're a genius! I nominate you to be the Norwalk Commissar of Eugenic Policy. You can wield your wisdom to determine which children are"wanted" and "unwanted", which have "health problems" that are "too severe", and which might require excessively expensive "special education." I can hardly wait for you and masterminds like you to create your dark dystopia. Long Live the State! We Live for the Fatherland! View Comment

The rejection of President "Downgrade" is more widespread than just here at The Norwalk Daily Voice: Rasmussen: Romney +4 Gallup: Romney +5 ABC/WashPost: Romney +1 Politico Romney +2 RCP Avg. Romney +0.9 http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/us/general_election_romney_vs_obama-1171.html#polls View Comment

Mr. Hannan has conveniently omitted mention of several important considerations in his paen to Mother Earth: 1. Rachel Carson's predictions concerning DDT have been proven wrong. The claims made in Silent Spring are largely dismissed by scientists. Todd Seavey of the American Council on Health and Science has noted: "No DDT-related human fatalities or chronic illnesses have ever been recorded, even among the DDT-soaked workers in anti-malarial programs or among prisoners who were fed DDT as volunteer test subjects — let alone among the 600 million to 1 billion who lived in repeatedly-sprayed dwellings at the height of the substance's use. The only recorded cases of DDT poisoning were from massive accidental or suicidal ingestions, and even in these cases, it was probably the kerosene solvent rather than the DDT itself that caused illness. Reports of injury to birds could not be verified, even when one researcher force-fed DDT-laced worms to baby robins. Reports of fish kills have been greatly exaggerated, resulting from faulty data or aberrant, massive spills or overuse of the chemical that do not hint at a general danger in its use." Some groups, such as Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund, have made allowances for the new evidence and have changed their position from demanding a worldwide DDT ban, to now consenting to its limited use. The monumental effect of her work has been disastrous, particularly in Africa, where the unnecessary ban of DDT has cost millions of lives to diseases like malaria. 2. The environmental movement has been co-opted by radicals of the political left. The worthy goals of conservation and ecological stewardship are now subverted and subservient to an anti-capitalist, no growth, anti-Western agenda. Scratching the surface of the "Big Green" watermelon reveals the bright red core of Marxist ideology beneath. 3. The brief history of Earth Day neglects to include one of the principal founders on stage in Philadelphia at that first celebration. The emcee, and also a key speaker, was Ira Einhorn, a notorious radical of that era, friend to Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffman. It's no surprise that Mr. Hannan has "forgotten" Mr. Einhorn, the environmental movement has disowned him ever since Einhorn became even more famous for the brutal murder of his girlfriend, Holly Maddux, in 1977. Einhorn crushed Maddux's skull, stuffed her into a trunk in his apartment, and went about his business of "saving the planet." While out on bail during his trial, he fled to Europe, and remained at large until 1997. He is now serving a life sentence. View Comment

The point is that those on death row are very likely to have their sentences commuted once Connecticut removes the death penalty from the books. Today, all the politicians supporting this dumb idea claim it won't happen, but defense attorneys predict otherwise when the condemned appeal in court. It won't take long for the other shoe to drop, and soon after, the taxpayers can subsidize the care and feeding of these vicious killers. That is the new definintion of justice and democracy in Connecticut. Bravo Malloy! View Comment

How long now until there are candlelight vigils to commute the sentences of the Butchers of Cheshire, Steven Hayes and Joshua Komisarjevsky? Will we hear State Rep. Pat Billie-Miller explain to Dr. Petit, how justice is served by sparing these two fiends and their fellow murderers on death row? Maybe Gov. Malloy will visit one of the hand-wringing sessions and recount the brutal actions that befell the Petits in their home: how the two young daughters were raped, strangled, and set on fire; how their mother was likewise annihilated; and how Dr. Petit, had his skull fractured and, thrown down the cellar stairs and left for dead, crawled out of his burning house. I'm sure the Governor can justify to Mr. Petit that all of the pain he endures each and every day, all of the those days during two murder trials, will be alleviated by the "enlightened" repeal of our law. What a travesty, Neither Gov. Malloy nor any of his supporters like Ms. Billie-Miller will ever offer any such justifications. They are the "masterminds", the "anointed", who know better than the people of Connecticut, who consistently support the death penalty by a wide margin. Concerning Hayes and Komisarjevsky, support is 76-18 percent favoring execution. Support for the death penalty in general, is at 65-23 percent. Is this respect for the will of the people? Public opinion be damned. Brutal murderers will now be enjoying: weightlifting, TV, three-meals-a-day, medical care, library privileges, mail from friends and family, conversation, games of chess, clean clothes, the cold, crisp morning air, and the warmth of the sun. The families of victims will experience: betrayal, heavy hearts, lingering memories, self doubt, anger, and gnawing pain. The victims...will be silent in their graves. View Comment

The headline misleads us! Cafero and Franz received FAILING grades! (A grade of 60, by the way, is a squeaker, but still a passing grade) They are out to poison the air and water. They're tree rapers, polluters who seek to foul our rivers and kill little bunnies! It is mere coincidence that they also happen to be Republicans Everyone knows that Democrats are the only true protectors of trees, rainbows, and unicorns. Oh, those EEEEVIL Republicans! What is the true political agenda of the "popular front" group, Connecticut League of Conservation Voters? Where do they get their funding? Who are their officers and trustees? What actions have they effected and what is their record? What is their claim to legitimacy? By what criteria and rationale do they "grade" legislators? Is their criticism and scorn meted out objectively or is it skewed? Are they truly the "bi-partisan group they claim to be? Whom do they hold up as "Friends" of the environment and why? Do they act in concert with other groups on environmental projects? If so, with whom? Do they truly act in the public interest or are they environmental "green shirts" who abuse valid concerns to bully public officials? Further, what are the voting and policy records of Messrs. Cafero and Franz concerning such matters over a period of many years? Hmmmmmm... These are the questions that used to be asked by "journalists" View Comment

Picture this: Chief Dastardly of the Darien Police Dept. sits in his darkened lair, the police station, plotting how to thwart the massive Occupy Darien protests led by the heroic humanitarian Margaret Raque. Twirling his greasy moustache he sneers, "Let's stop a train and search it for murderers!" (cue up musical theme) Dumb, dumb, dummmmmmmmmmmmmb! Theater of the Absurd at its very best. View Comment

Four loser hypocrites mouthing foolish Marxist dogma now qualifies as a news story? ...Really Daily Norwalk? This is truly the most pathetic excuse for journalism I've witnessed in some time. The Daily Norwalk attempts to promote an otherwise "non-story" here. These people are prime beneficiaries of market capitalism living on Connecticut's Gold Coast in DARIEN! The irony of it makes my hair hurt. As if that were not absurd enough, we are then treated to comments like: "Okay, so the guy who's your boss, who presumably makes more money than you--would you say he works even harder than you?" Such statements parrot Marx's Labor Theory of Value, as if effort were the only factor which determines value. What about quality, scarcity, and utility for starters? Such lazy thinking is no more than ignorant propaganda on parade. Shape up Daily Norwalk. View Comment

"Those 53 bags of dope weren't mine. I was just holding them for Wanda!" ...uh...really? View Comment

Drug dealing: Check. Bank Robbery: Check Drug use: Check Serial Lying: Check Criminal Fraud: Check Assault: Check Using a Friend: Check Slander: Check Professional Mooch: Check Good Mother? View Comment

Al Sharpton is a racist and provocateur of the most vile kind. He perpetrated the awful Tawana Brawley hoax and was ordered by the court to pay 350K for his slander. He made outrageous slurs against Jews before and during the deadly Crown Heights riots. He was a party to the attacks on Freddie's Fashion Mart, a Jewish owned business in NYC, in which seven people were killed by gunfire and arson. "Reverend" Al owed $1.5 million in unpaid taxes and penalties as of 2008, and had a tax lien put on him as a result. Further, he was fined $285K by the Federal Elections Commission for misuse of campaign funds in 2009. This was on top of the $100K he was forced to pay for similar offenses in 2004. It is fitting that such a fraud would come to support McDowell, herself a felon with multiple convictions, in her quest to worm out of an attempt to defraud the Norwalk Housing Authority, the public schools, and the taxpayers. She is far from the diligent mother the spin meisters would portray. This issue is NOT about race. It's about dishonesty. View Comment