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The May Fish Wrap

Green on Dannel, The Big Sizzle

After a brief flirtation, Rick Green, Courant columnist and blogger, has pretty much had it with the Republican Party.

Mr. Green switched parties not so long ago -- possibly from independent, the chosen designation of putative “objective” journalists, to Republican – so as to have the opportunity of voting in a Republican primary.

This was in the dark days before Dannel Malloy, then Dan Malloy, became governor and began “sizzling.”

The trouble with extended metaphors – “Malloy's Big Appetite: The Steak And The Sizzle” -- is that they’re a little like an unhappy marriage: Once you’ve made the proposal, you’re stuck with the consequences throughout the column.

Sunk in an unhappy metaphor, Mr. Green unfurls his true colors:

“Republicans, left to ponder the dubious vision of fringe legislators such as Len Suzio and Joe Markley, sustain themselves on the increasingly inane radio commentary of John Rowland, now elbowing his way back to the table. In reality, they have been steamed and pureed by a Democratic governor who is closely following a traditional Democratic recipe.”

There’s more cookery, unfortunately:

“Chef Dannel has been loading on the calories… He's doubled portions for the University of Connecticut Health Center plan, which now weighs in at almost $900 million, and, if promises are to be believed, will one day yield a gut-busting 16,400 jobs… A proposed billion-dollar upgrade to train travel is merely the first item on the transportation menu, so Malloy's ordered up the $600 million busway, a forward-thinking but highly risky plan, to get Connecticut commuters out of their cars and into buses... There's so much on Malloy's plate it might not matter whether everything actually succeeds by the time Election Day rolls around again in 2014. After years of a starvation diet, this gastronomic governor is offering a little something for everyone…Foley [Tom, Mr. Malloy’s Republican opponent in the gubernatorial campaign], back managing his companies but keeping a watchful eye on gubernatorial politics, told me that Malloy's ‘bigger and more expensive government’ diet lacks any discipline… Actually, I think Malloy knows just what he is doing. We just don't know how big his appetite is yet…”
Thoughtless ideas, wretched prose and tummy turning commentary.

Larson Finds Mutual Understanding In Communist China

Connecticut 1st District Rep. John Larson, U.S. House Democratic Caucus Chairman, was in fascist China at the end of May cannoodling with Lu Yongxiang, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

According to an abbreviated report from Beijing:

“As long as China and the United States continue candid dialogues and deep cooperation while accommodating each other's grave concerns and core interests, the two sides are bound to see advancements in their relationship, said Lu Yongxiang, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

"’Enhancing Sino-U.S. cooperation will exert profound impacts on regional and global peace, stability and prosperity,’ Lu said.

“Larson, who is on an unofficial visit to China, agreed with Lu's view, saying that close mutual understanding is a cornerstone of bilateral ties.

“During his tour, Larson also paid a visit to Pingquan County in north China's Hebei Province to inaugurate a computer laboratory sponsored by UPS, a global logistics giant.

“Larson was invited by the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs, and will conclude his six-day tour on Friday.”
When Mr. Larson returns home, he may be surprised to learn that Pakistan has requested China to build a naval base at its south-western port of Gwadar. Pakistan, according to a story in the Financial Times, “expects the Chinese navy to maintain a regular presence there, a plan likely to alarm both India and the US.”

Mr. Larson, however, is not a politician who is easily alarmed.

War Powers Act? What War Powers Act?

ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper reports that the fearsome War Powers Act, enacted by congress to assert its constitutional co-responsibility when the U.S. military is engaged in active service in foreign parts, has now gone the way of the dodo bird, a flightless native of Mauritus, discovered in 1598 and extinct by 1681.

The War Powers Act was dispatched with a brief letter sent by President Barack Obama to congressional leaders in which Mr. Obama suggested that the U.S. military role in Libya is so inconsequential that, in the words of Mr. Tapper, “he does not need to seek congressional approval.”

“Since April 4,” the president wrote, “U.S. participation has consisted of: (1) non-kinetic support to the NATO-led operation, including intelligence, logistical support, and search and rescue assistance; (2) aircraft that have assisted in the suppression and destruction of air defenses in support of the no-fly zone; and (3) since April 23, precision strikes by unmanned aerial vehicles against a limited set of clearly defined targets in support of the NATO-led coalition's efforts.”

Mr. Obama sought the advice and consent of the United Nations but not the U.S. Congress when he began to drop non-kinetic bombs on Libya. This ticked off some congressmen, but their fury paled in comparison to the agita produced by former President Ronald Reagan’s affair with the Contras then fighting the Communist led government of the Ortega brothers in Nicaragua (pronounced NEE-KA-RA-GUA, and please roll the “r”).

Co-incidentally, leftist cartoonist Ted Rall is being persecuted for having produced anti-Obama propaganda, a problem that does not torment Gary Trudeau of Doonsbury fame:
"There’s been a push among political cartoonists to get our work into the big editorial blogs and online magazines that seem poised to displace traditional print political magazines like The Progressive. In the past, editorial rejections had numerous causes: low budgets, lack of space, an editor who simply preferred another creator’s work over yours.
"Now there’ s a new cause for refusal: Too tough on the president."

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