Pathetic, old, John Blankley desperately tries to catch a Kennedy's coat tails

Look, Drew, it's JFK himself, sending down his little great-nephew to save my campaign!

Daer Christopher Fountain:

Did you watch the State of the Union Address last night, and were you repulsed by the President's demeanor and divisiveness? Leadership was not on display.

As an immigrant who loves America, I think of our country as the representation of a united world, yet last night we witnessed overt divisiveness, instead of the unity required of any leader. 

But what joy and hope was restored by U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy, III in his response. He called out the current Administration's political bullying as we fight to maintain our country's reputation as the beacon of hope in this troubled world.

I have met Joe (and yes, he always says, "Call me Joe.") [Aww, ain't that nice of him? So humble, young Joe, a man of no acomplishments] and he reminded me so much of the leadership displayed by his great-uncle, President John F. Kennedy, and by his grandfather, Sen. Robert Kennedy, that inspired our nation and the world fifty years ago.

Please join me in my effort to stand for unity and progress. I am inspired by a new, young Kennedy and I am hopeful that together we will move our country forward again.

All my best,

John Blankley

This is why it's so important for Trump to reload the federal courts: Judge discovers yet another heretofore unknown Constitutional right: "the right to say goodbye".

It's these special X-ray glasses that help me discover hidden Constitutional rights

Judge (an Obama appointee, d'uh) orders release of illegal alien so that he can "put his affairs in order and say goodbye to his loved ones".

On Monday Judge Forrest ordered the release from custody Ravidath Ragbir, an alien who ICE had detained and was preparing to deport. Judge Forrest twice notes that the government was in complete conformity with statutory law: “The Court in fact agrees with the Government that the statutory scheme—when one picks the path through the thicket in the corn maze—allows them to do what was done here.” And: “The Court agrees that the statutory scheme governing petitioner’s status is properly read to allow for his removal without further right of contest.”

This should be the end of the matter then, shouldn’t it?

Not to Judge Forrest, who offers us this flourish of “legal reasoning”:

There is, and ought to be in this great country, the freedom to say goodbye. That is, the freedom to hug one’s spouse and children, the freedom to organize the myriad of human affairs that collect over time. It ought to be—and it has never before been—that those who have lived without incident in this country for years are subject to treatment we associate with regimes we revile as unjust ...  regimes where those who have lived long in a country may be taken without notice from streets, home and work. And sent away.

Methinks Judge Forrest is angling for this year’s Anthony Kennedy Award for Most Emotive Judicial Writing. Prof. David Bernstein of Scalia Law School calls Judge Forrest’s opinion  “the most lawless judicial decision I think I’ve ever read.”

By the way, who is Ragbir? The Washington Post yesterday filled in some of the blanks:

Ragbir is the director of the immigrant advocacy group New Sanctuary Coalition in New York, a collection of 150 faith-based organizations. He became a lawful U.S. resident in 1994. In 2000, he was convicted of wire fraud and conspiracy for accepting fraudulent loan applications while working at a mortgage lender. [Yet Judge Forrest says Ragbir has lived in the country “without incident.”]

After serving a prison sentence, he was ordered deported based on his conviction. He spent about two years in detention but was released under supervision in 2008 while his case moved through immigration courts. Over the following decade, he became a prominent voice in New York’s immigrant community, testifying before the city council and once meeting with President Barack Obama’s transition team to discuss immigration policy, according to his attorneys.

In other words, Ragbir has been slated for deportation for nearly 10 years. Seems like that was plenty of time to arrange to say goodbye and get his affairs in order.

Professor Bernstein labels this "the most lawless decision he's ever read", but judge Forrest has plenty of competition, including her peers who have been so busy annulling the President's lawful authority to exercise his executive powers. 

Still, Forrest is certainly in the running.

A (very) quick sale, for a home asking $5 million, plus, AND it's a contemporary!

759 Lake Avenue (below the Merritt, backing up to Butternut Hollow), asking $5.2 million, reports a contract after just nine days on the market. I like it very much, and was relieved to learn from its description that it's ben "reimagined" from its original Peter Ogden designed. With all due respect to that late architect, I was never struck by his vision, and that view has been generally shared by many buyers during the past two decades: most of the Ogden homes I'm aware of have been razed and replaced.

I'm guessing that the owners, at best, will break even on this sale. They paid $4.1 for it in 2007, performed the aforesaid "reimagining", added 1,000 sq. ft. and, it appears, replaced all the windows with modern ones. Given Greenwich pricing for such work, the re-do may well have exceeded one million dollars.

Still and all, a $5 million sale, without a price cut, is impressive. 

Award winning modern masterpiece, offered for the first time since its visionary renovation by Joeb Moore, is set on 3.4 secluded acres in Mid-Country with a pool, tennis court, expansive stone terraces and detached studio with a kitchenette. Originally designed by Peter Ogden this masterfully reimagined four bedroom, one level home was recognized by Elle Decor as 'The Most Enviable Glass House' and received first place from CTC&G Innovation in Design. Open floor plan, wonderful indoor/outdoor flow and floor to ceiling thermal pane Low-E windows framing the outstanding natural views. Scandinavian-inspired walnut panelled kitchen opens into a family room with a two sided fireplace and large dining area overlooking the backyard; enchanting glass enclosed home office.

At some point, this house has got to be a bargain

7 Cherry Valley Road, which has been on the market since 2010, where it started at $1.980 million and has been dropping oh-so-slowly ever since, hit $1.295 yesterday. I've probably only toured it twice in the past eight years, but as I recall, it's a perfectly decent house in need of modernizing, but not necessarily a total re-do. 

Of course, that may be not be the case, because if a new owner would have to completely rewire and replumb it, say, it may make more sense to just  tear it down and start again; perhaps why the hasn't sold in all this time. As a building lot, it has some wetlands issues, and the Merritt isn't far away — I personally don't think I'd build new here, but again, at some price, this ought to work for someone.

maybe.

What could possibly go wrong? Europe welcomes back returning jihadists

Awww, but they're so cute!

Thousands of them, in fact, with many more to come as ISIS dissolves as a coherent fighting force.

With the Islamic State (ISIS) heading for collapse, Belgium is bracing for the return of hundreds of jihadi fighters deserting the ranks of the Islamic Caliphate in Syria and Iraq. The western European country, which pursued a liberal immigration policy in recent decades, produced the highest number of foreign ISIS fighters per capita of EU countries — up to 700 in total.

More than 100 foreign fighters have returned to the country so far and more as expected to arrive, largely thanks to Trump administration’s “annihilation” strategy against the Islamist group.

Belgium’s capital Brussels, which also serves as the de-facto capital of the European Union, has emerged as a major center of Islamist activity in Europe. The Muslim-dominated Molenbeek district of Brussels has been described by the media as the “Europe’s crucible of terror” and a “no-go-zone” even for the Belgian police.  ....

With hundreds of battle-hardened Islamic State terrorists returning to the country, Belgium faces the biggest national crisis since the end of the Second World War. German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported the situation in Belgium developing :

More than 100 foreign fighters have returned to Belgium, with more to follow. Some want to leave their past behind, others want to “disappear” and pose a headache for the authorities.

European governments have been warned for years to be prepared for some dreaded homecomings — radicalized citizens returning from “Islamic State” (IS) war zones. As the global coalition retakes territory that IS once claimed as its “caliphate,” some fighters who hold European passports are expected to make full use of them.

Belgium is the European country with the highest per capita number of so-called foreign terrorist fighters and the prospect of weapons-trained, ideologically hostile individuals showing up back in their old neighborhoods makes everyone nervous. Earlier returnees trying to start anew refuse to discuss their reintegration. (…)

Local officials are being forced to manage this situation largely on their own due to a lack of federal initiatives.

Germany, France, and the UK, with a large number of ISIS fighters returning home, face a similar dilemma.

The German government is actively seeking the return of ‘ISIS-brides’ and their children, citing“humanitarian considerations and Germany’s duty to protect its citizens.” Many of these women may have participated in acts of terror and their children have undergone indoctrination by ISIS instructors.

Germany’s Foreign Ministry has intensified its diplomatic efforts to bring back the wives and children of ISIS fighters despite repeated warnings by country’s intelligence agencies.

“We see the danger of children who socialized with and were indoctrinated by jihadists returning to Germany from the war zones,” the chief of Germany’s domestic intelligence agency BfV, Hans-Georg Maassen, warned last October. “This could allow a new generation of jihadists to be raised here.”

Germany isn’t the only European country welcoming back Islamic State fighters — or war criminals, to be precise.

The British government is offering taxpayer-funded housing and other economic and welfare benefits to the returning ISIS terrorists. “The plans — code-named Operation Constrain — could see returning ISIS fanatics jump to the top of council house waiting lists and offered counseling,” British daily The Sun reported in October. The plan also offers provision for psychological counseling for ‘traumatized’ jihadis.

Not willing to be outdone, the Scandinavian country of Denmark is running its hilarious “Hug a Jihadi” program. Yes, that’s the official name of the program. The Danish police running the program believe that “helping young extremists is the best way to keep the peace” and “[t]reating them harshly” or “with suspicion” will make “them more of a danger to society.”

According to the EU counter-terrorism coordinator Gilles de Kerchove, out of 5,000 jihadis who left Europe to join ISIS around 1,500 are now back home. Nearly 1,000 ISIS terrorists holding European nationalities have reportedly been killed in Syria and Iraq. Those who manage to survive the Islamic State’s military collapse will be heading home to Europe.

AND JUST IN TIME FOR TONIGHT'S STATE OF THE UNION ADRESS, THIS:

In an astonishing turnaround, Chuck Schumer now supports Trump's immigration plan

The Wall: "Until the American People are convinced that we will stop the flow of primarily low-skilled, illegal immigrants, we will make no progress in dealing with those illegal immigrants already here, and rationalizing our current system of legal immigration. It's plain and simple".

"When we use the term "undocumented workers" we convey to the American Public that we are not serious about combating illegal immigration."

And so on. The entire two-minute clip is fun watching: he even stresses that the people assaulting our borders are "illegal aliens"! When can we welcome you back to the fight, Chuck?

Color me skeptical: Hartford Democrats want tolls, but balk at a revenue "lock box"

Bridge maintenance as brought to you by    Ct DOT and hartford

According to the Democrats pushing for highway tolls, we're passing up $800 million in revenue:" To put that revenue grab in perspective, the same linked-to article says that Massachusetts, a far larger state, collects $434 million in annual toll revenue. So the Democrats have some pretty hefty toll rates in mind.

Furthermore, there's this: "While state voters will have the opportunity in November to vote on an amendment to the Constitution to create a so-called lock box for transit-improvement funding, the issue remains a tough vote for lawmakers who have continued to defeat the proposal in recent years even as the Special Transportation Fund is on track to become insolvent."

There's no question that the state needs money to start maintaining its roads and bridges, but that's because our legislatures have systematically looted the gasoline tax revenues, supposedly earmarked for transportation, and spent it on their social service programs and state employee pension obligations. That, and spending billions on pie-in-the-sky fast trains to nowhere (assuming you agree with me that New Britain is "nowhere". The Democrats' resistance to a proposal to keep toll revenue reserved exclusively to transportation needs says everything you need to know about their plans and intentions for using any new revenue.

And it's not for improved highways.

Pecksland Road continues to underperform

124 Pecksland Road, which sold for full price: $3.495 million after just 24 days on the market back in 2006, finally reports a contingent contract. "Renovated" (new roof, copper gutters and kitchen appliances) in early 2015, it's been on the market since December of that year and now, 783 days later, after dropping its price down to $2.449, seems to have found a buyer.

Here, possibly, is a chance to have the seller pay his own renovation costs

It could work, at the right price

52 Doubling Road has cut its price from $3.395 million to $2.995, and that's down from its 2014 ask of $3.750. The house is up a long, steep driveway from Doubling, but once there, it's quite nice, and relatively (there's a neighboring house) private. The property backs up to the late Rene Anselmo's lot on North Street, which adds to that private feeling, but because the rear of this house sits on a cliff overlooking Doubling, the "front" yard serves as the "back yard" with a pool, possible badminton court, etc. Disconcerting upon first encounter, but you could learn to live with it.

The previous owners put it on the market in 2008 for $4.695 million, which was not only poor timing, but an excellent example of seller madness — it eventually sold to the current owners for $2.250 in 2012. There's been extensive renovation performed since then, so if you could pick it up for, say, $2.5ish, it'd probably be a decent deal, if you can handle the odd design.