Death and....."Misunderstandings"?

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The New Haven Register reported that Councilman Steven DeCrescenzo (D-At Large) failed - twice - to pay property taxes, paying them only after being asked about them. Mr. DeCrescenzo claims this all is a "misunderstanding" (translation: "My Bad!").

(Disclosure: Mr. DeCrescenzo is a member of the Finance Committee of the City Council, which has questions regarding payments made to me for computer services last year.)

Even assuming this is all an innocent mistake by Mr. DeCrescenzo, this issue brings up some troubling questions:

A. If Mr. DeCrescenzo cannot manage his own tax obligations, should he be in a position to directly affect all our taxes?

B. Are there other City officials who have this "misunderstanding"?

One "misunderstanding" can be overlooked; no one is perfect. But repeat performances indicate a troubling trend. Mr. DeCrescenzo should do the honorable thing: he should remove himself from the Finance Committee.

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How does West Haven spell "ETHICS"?

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eth⋅ics /ˈɛθɪks/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [eth-iks] –plural noun

1. (used with a singular or plural verb) a system of moral principles: 'the ethics of our culture. '

2. the rules of conduct recognized in respect to a particular class of human actions or a particular group, culture, etc.: 'medical ethics' ; 'Christian ethics'

3. moral principles, as of an individual: 'my ethics forced me to resign rather than assist in this illegal attempt.' [Elliot L Richardson]

Here's to our current "Ethics" Commission:

• One member (apparently, or more truly, allegedly) accused of defrauding that member's employer (thankfully - for once - not the City) by pocketing money obtained for work performed;

• One member who - without a care about honesty and integrity, switched political party affiliation in a bald attempt to seize (for the majority Democrats) a vacated elected seat reserved for the minority party.

As a side point, this "Ethics" Commission was set up by the Borer Administration as an earnest attempt to end the long history of political abuse in West Haven; these two jokers were appointed by the current regime as political favors, mocking these efforts.

Perhaps - until we get a truly HONEST group back in City Hall, we should call this the "Politics-As-Usual" Commission.

Until then, ETHICS IN West Haven can be most correctly spelled:

P-O-L-I-T-I-C-S
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At least SOMEONE gets it....

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After the "Flub Heard 'Round the World"...

(Chief Justice Roberts not only misplaces the word "faithfully"; he changes "President of the United States" into "President to the United States")

President Obama took the Oath of Office a second time yesterday in the Map Room in the White House:

Now, some might nitpick and say this second Oath was unnecessary; others might say it's invalid because no Bible was used. Both these assertions are wrong: the second Oath was essential, and it was totally legal. As far as using a Bible, this is a tradition (dating back to Washington)...but not legally required. As for the first point....

For the uninformed, Article II of the Constitution reads:

Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." [Italics added]

And the 20th Amendment says:

1. The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin.

Through these, there are 2 major points to understand:

1. As of noon on January 20th, George W. Bush ceased to be President - the Bush Administration ceased to exist; and
2. Until the Oath of Office was administered, Barack Obama could not use any Presidential powers.

Further, Article II not only states that an Oath must be given, it also quotes the precise Oath that must be administered. There are many serious and good reasons for wanting this Oath to be exactly administered, but you'll have to read these elsewhere.

The main point behind this second Oath is that our new President wants to follow, not only the spirit and intention of the law, he will obey the letter and word of the law.

This is not only a refreshing change from the previous Administration, it stands as a shining example of how West Haven's officials should conduct our business...

Are you HEARING this, City Council?

APPOINT MR. COSCIA NOW!
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West Haven's Gang of Five

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Once again, only in West Haven....

Despite clear-cut state law, despite the City Charter, despite the opinion of the Corporation Counsel, five City Council members decided to put politics over principles. Our Gang of Five decided to put the City at risk of spending thousands of our tax dollars to defend a certainly lost cause.

Why?

Because (a) they don't believe A Better Future is a legitimate political party, and/or (b) they don't like the candidate chosen by A Better Future to replace Mr. Coppola.

I'll try to keep this simple, because these five are fools.

1. A Better Future is a legitimate party, recognized by the Secretary of State. If these people had problems on this point, they should have raised them before Coppola (and Mr. Ronan - ABF-9) were seated. This was tried in 2006, and failed. Their viewpoint seems to be "This may be the law, but I disagree with it; so I'll break the law." This is utter idiocy, worthy of George W. Bush.
   
2. I cannot say I'm a fan of Mr. Coscia; I can't even say he's the best choice for the Council. But he's the only legal choice, and must be appointed.

The five Council members can either make the law, or they can break the law; they cannot do both. And law-breakers have no legitimate place on the Council.

Our hometown's "Foolish Five" are:

• Christopher Suggs (D-5)
• Gail Burns (D-10)
• Gail Carroll (D-3)
• Nick Pascale (D-1)
• Steve DeCrescenzo (D-At Large)

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