A proposal about including Islamic prayers during an invocation at the Hartford city council has prompted controversy.

http://www.courant.com/community/hartford/hc-hartford-council-islam-20100908,0,7673619.story

The Cook Political Report has weighed in on the increasingly interesting battle between U.S. Rep. Jim Himes and Republican Dan Debicella in the Fourth Congressional District.

Himes, a Harvard graduate and Rhodes Scholar, captured the seat in 2008 in an upset against U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays, who had held the district for the previous 21 years.

The Cook Report has changed the race from "Likely D to Lean D'' - meaning that Himes still has an advantage. But the race has been getting much more national attention, including being placed on the CNN Top 100 list of the most vulnerable U.S. House races. It was also cited recently by the National Journal as one of five "bellwether'' races to watch.

The outcome of the race could show which way the national winds are blowing. Himes won the battle in 2008 when a large number of Bridgeport Democrats came out to support candidate Barack Obama. Shays had won the previous two races in tough battles against Democrat Diane Farrell - after cruising to many previous victories that were often by large margins in the earlier years.

Historically, liberal Republicans have held the seat in lower Fairfield County, which includes the highly affluent towns of Greenwich, New Canaan, and Darien. Before Shays, U.S. Rep. Stewart McKinney led the district for 17 years. Before McKinney, the seat was held by Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. of Greenwich.

Brian K. Hill is a military veteran who's served around the globe, an attorney with a law degree from Howard University and an independent write-in candidate for U.S. Senate.

He says he's running because he's concerned about the direction of the country. "There's too much blind partisanship in Washington,'' Hill said during a brief interview this morning. 

Hill defines himself as a moderate. He is an unaffiliated voter who finds something to admire in both Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan.

He's conservative on fiscal matters, saying he believes the federal government needs to reign in spending. "The amount of waste in government is obscene,'' said Hill, who is 40 and lives in Windsor.

He doesn't have the big warchests of his major party rivals, Linda McMahon and Richard Blumenthal. Yet he is ready to take them on.

In a tv ad debuting today, Hill criticizes both McMahon and Blumenthal. "Same circus, different clowns,'' is the ad's tagline, displayed over photographs of McMahon and Blumenthal. 

About a half-dozen citizens have contacted state ethics officials in the past few days, offering to serve on the Citizen's Ethics Advisory Board - which has been missing six of its nine allotted members for months, while legislative leaders have been slow in exercising their duty to appoint replacements to the three vacancies.

"I did hear from a number of people who were interested in the positions, and I forwarded all of their information to the appointing authorities," Carol Carson, director of the Office of State Ethics, said this week.

The Courant reported last Sunday that the ethics board had to cancel a scheduled meeting Aug. 19 because one of its remaining six members was out of the country on vacation - which meant it lacked the quorum of six required to hold a lawful meeting. State law says vacancies on the key watchdog board must be filled within 30 days, but two of the three openings date back at least six months.

We've seen plenty of political ads featuring candidates' spouses, kids and BFFs.

U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy has enlisted his Cheshire neighbor, Lauren Korman, to start in his first ad of the 2010 election cycle.

The 30-second spot seeks to promote the two-term Democrat as a neighborly guy who understands the hardships faced by everyday Americans.

"He's always knocking on doors to keep in touch,'' Korman tells the camera. "He knows things are tough.''

The ad highlights Murphy's "buy American" initiative and his recent concerns about federal spending.

N.Y. Sen. Charles Schumer was sharply critical of Richard Blumenthal when the Connecticut Attorney General was waging a battle against the Cross-Sound Cable.

But that's all in the distant past. Schumer came to Connecticut today to campaign with his fellow Democrat and raise some cash for his U.S. Senate bid.

Schumer accompanied Blumenthal on a visit to a Manchester manufacturing firm, AdChem Manufacturing Technologies, and to a senior center in Glastonbury. Tonight the two men are set to headline a fundraiser at the Hartford Club to benefit Blumenthal's campaign (the amount of money the fundraiser was expected to generate was not disclosed by the campaign.) 

"He has a record of fighting,'' Schumer said of Blumenthal. "He is desperately needed in Washington."

Schumer said Blumenthal is "doing well" because he has "an amazing record. And you compare that to his opponent's record and wow -- there's not even a contest,'' he added.

Ted Mann of The Day asked Schumer to assess Blumenthal's Republican opponent Linda McMahon's record. "I know that she formed a whole big wrestling company. But in terms of doing anything successfully to help middle-class families, I haven't heard of a thing."

Just as things are heating up in the weeks before the Nov. 2 election comes word that Colleen Flanagan is coming back.

"With a little over seven weeks until election day, the Connecticut Democratic Party has kicked into high gear. As part of that effort, I'm joining the party to do some communications and strategic consulting on races up and down the ballot'' Flanagan wrote in an email to reporters.

"I'll be working closely with party Communications Director Kate Hansen, and you'll be hearing a lot from both of us. There's a lot to get done over the next 50-or-so days, and I'm excited to be back at the party during this critical election cycle."

Flanagan left the state party earlier this year after U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd announced he wasn't running for reelection to take a job with Dodd. 

The firefighters union was always a big fan of Chris Dodds' and now that the senator is  stepping aside, the union is transferring its affections to Dodd's fellow Democrat.

The Uniformed Professional Fire Fighters Association of Connecticut will officially endorse Attorney General Richard Blumenthal's candidacy at a press conference Monday.

The endorsement is the result of a "careful examination of the records of both candidates for United States Senate on issues important to Professional Fire Fighters in Connecticut,'' a press release announcing the endorsement states.

The association, the state affiliate of the International Association of Fire Fighters, represents 4,500 professional fire fighters in 60 local unions across the state.

Thousands of law enforcement officers gathered at the state Armory in Hartford on Friday as Trooper Kenneth Hall was eulogized as "a man among men, a Marine among Marines, and a trooper among troopers.''

http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-trooper-killed-memorial-0911-20100910,0,5314014.story

http://www.courant.com/news/breaking/hc-pajak-arrest-vermont-0910-20100909,0,3798741.story

The Redskins vs. the Cowboys is one of the biggest longtime rivalries in the NFL, dating back decades.

It's a big game on Sunday night, and it's the site of a big fundraiser for U.S. Rep. John B. Larson of East Hartford.

Our colleague, Rick Green, has the details at http://blogs.courant.com/rick_green/2010/09/are-you-ready-for-some-footbal.html

Larson is running in the First Congressional District against Republican Ann Brickley and Green Party candidate Kenneth Krayeske.

 Republican Tom Foley and Democrat Dannel Malloy are out with new television commercials as they head into the final seven weeks before the November 2 election.

Foley focuses on Malloy's record as mayor, saying that taxes and spending increased during Malloy's 14-year tenure. While thousands of jobs were created in the early Malloy years, the city has lost 13,000 jobs since the peak employment year of 2000, according to state labor statistics. The unemployment rate increased by about 58 percent between 1995 and 2009 - when Malloy stepped down after not seeking re-election.

Malloy's 60-second commercial is an innovative approach in Connecticut politics as Malloy displays a stopwatch to say that he has only 60 seconds to tell the story of his tenure in Stamford. As the commercial progresses, Malloy mentions how many seconds he has left to tell his story.

After saying that he "helped small businesses grow'' and cut spending, Malloy ends the commercial by saying, "I'm out of time, so it's time we get to work.''

At least one third of all Connecticut tax filers pay no state income tax at all - and Tom Marsh says that should end.

As the Independent Party candidate on the ballot for governor, Marsh says that "everybody who is receiving a paycheck'' should pay into the state coffers - even if it is only $100 per year - in order to battle the state's projected $3.4 billion budget deficit.

"Everybody needs to have a little skin in the game,'' said Marsh, who is serving in his third term as the first selectman of Chester in Middlesex County. "People need a reason to be engaged in the government.''

With various exemptions and credits, thousands of Connecticut residents currently pay nothing at all. Even though Connecticut is a wealthy state, nearly 40 percent of the filers earned $35,000 or less in 2007, according to public tax records. Under the state's progressive income tax that exempts those at low incomes, the filers below $35,000 paid a combined total of 1.3 percent of the income taxes. At the upper end, the top 20 percent of earners paid about 80 percent of the overall state income tax that was collected, and the top 1.3 percent paid 35 percent of the income tax.

Marsh's two opponents in the governor's race - Republican Tom Foley of Greenwich and Democrat Dannel Malloy of Stamford - both rejected his idea about the state income tax.

"We shouldn't increase any taxes in Connecticut as a means of solving the looming budget deficit,'' Foley said in an interview. "I'm surprised. Tom Marsh has been traveling around the state a lot. I'm shocked.''

Marsh should realize that Connecticut voters are not in the mood - "and don't have the ability to pay more tax in Connecticut,'' Foley said.

Roy Occhiogrosso, the chief strategist for Malloy, said the state needs to create more jobs, rather than collecting more taxes from those with the lowest incomes.

"You're talking about people who are not making a lot of money,'' Occhiogrosso said. "A couple hundred bucks might not sound like a lot of money to some people, but it is to them. ... No way.''

Marsh rejected the views of those who say it is bad tax policy to impose a tax on the poorest residents. He noted that the state legislature has raised the cigarette tax multiple times - to the current level of $3 per pack - even though many poor people are smokers and are forced to pay the tax. The poor also pay gasoline taxes, Social Security taxes, sales taxes and other taxes.

"It's a false argument to say you're taking advantage of those who can least afford it,'' said Marsh, who represents an affluent, riverfront town of about 4,000 residents.

Under the state tax law, married couples who file jointly with an adjusted gross income of $24,000 or less pay no state income tax. But with the property tax credit of $500 for automobiles or real estate, couples earning as high as $43,600 do not owe any state income tax.

While state legislators have offered various estimates through the years, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Revenue Services said the state does not officially calculate the number of filers who pay no state income tax.

Marsh, who turns 51 next week, started his campaign for governor as a Republican before dropping out to run as an independent. He collected the necessary 7,500 signatures to receive a spot on the ballot under the Independent Party.

With large deficits on the horizon, Marsh says that examining the tax structure is necessary as he blames the state legislature for the state's fiscal problems.

"I see the freight train that is coming down the tracks and the absolute dysfunction that the legislative and executive branches have shown in the last couple of sessions,'' Marsh said. "We've already maxed out our borrowing capability.''

Besides seeking changes in the income tax, Marsh said the state also needs to examine the numerous exemptions to the state's sales tax. The exemptions have been added at various times through the years - either by lobbying from various industries or legislators. Some legislators have called for a comprehensive review of the various tax credits that have been inserted into the tax code through the years.

Marsh is calling for an immediate end to the sales tax exemptions on car washes and tax preparation services, which are currently tax free.

"Everybody in or out,'' Marsh said, adding that the list of exemptions needs to be simplified. "This is an excellent opportunity to revisit what we've done.''

As a third-party candidate with less than $100,000 for his campaign, Marsh has been trying to spread the word about his race for governor. He is not broadcasting any television commercials because he lacks the millions of dollars that will be spent by his rivals - Foley and Malloy.

"We're not going to get into big media,'' Marsh said.

Former Congressman Rob Simmons has endorsed former television anchor woman Janet Peckinpaugh's bid to win his old seat.

"Janet Peckinpaugh is a trusted, independent voice in Connecticut," Simmons said in an email circulated by the Peckinpaugh campaign. "She will be a terrific Representative of Eastern Connecticut...and I am enthusiastically endorsing her candidacy."

Simmons called Peckinpaugh an "articulate spokeswoman for the issues that really matter to people: creating jobs through small business advocacy, standing up for the men and women who proudly wear the uniform of the United States military, fighting for SUBASE-New London, working to jumpstart action on Route 11 in Southeastern Connecticut, and representing all the people who feel like they've been left out of the loop by Nancy Pelosi's biggest supporter - Joe Courtney."

Anyone willing to place a bet on whether Simmons will endorse that other female pol with blonde hair who made her name in a field other than politics and is running for federal office this year?

Unemployment and job insecurity take center stage in U.S. Senate candidate Linda McMahon's latest TV ad.

"A lot of people ask me why I'm running for Senate,'' McMahon says. "Here's why: this lunch box. It represents a lot of people who've lost jobs. Washington has created the perfect job-killing storm with higher taxes, deficit spending and expensive health care mandates. We need experienced job-creators in Washington, not more job-killers.''

There is a real contradiction, though, between the battered metal lunch box and the gleaming white kitchen, with its goose-neck faucet and vintage subway tile, that serves as the ad's backdrop.

U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy's new ad features his neighbor and portrays him as a fiscal watchdog.

But the spot, Murphy's first of the 2010 cycle, is less than truthful, asserts Murphy's Republican opponent, Sam Caligiuri. The ad "is a blatant attempt to mislead voters about his record and the failed, fiscally irresponsible policies he has supported in Congress,'' Caligiuri said in a press release.

The ad says that Murphy, a Democrat, voted against 'the budget', but in fact, he "he has voted for every federal budget that has come before him. The only thing he voted against was a procedural budget vote, after this Congress became the first in 35 years to fail to pass a budget resolution,'' Caligiuri said. 

"He threw in this election year 'no' vote because he knows that his record of being a tax-and-spend Pelosi loyalist means that he is out of step with that voters in Connecticut's Fifth District want. He has an utter lack of credibility as a fiscal conservative, having voted for trillions of dollars in deficit spending with his 'yes' votes to the Wall Street bailouts, the federal takeover of health care, the pork-filled stimulus package, and every federal budget since he has been in Congress.  When he makes false claims like this, how can we trust anything else he says?" Caligiuri said.

Murphy's campaign, Kenny Curran, lashed back at Caligiuri for going negative. "We are getting a great response from Chris' positive television ad because it represents exactly the kind of representative Chris is - one who listens to people in Connecticut, stands by his word even when it means taking an unpopular vote with his party's leadership, and works with Republicans and Democrats to create jobs in Connecticut,'' Curran said in an email. "It says a lot about Senator Caligiuri that he chooses to attack Chris over a purely positive ad.''

Then Curran lobs a jab of his own. "Caligiuri just keeps attacking without offering any real solutions, because he knows his record on fiscal responsibility is pretty awful.  Whether it was running Waterbury's budget into bankruptcy as the President of the Board of Alderman, engineering a $10 million tax increase at the last minute to try to fix the mess he created, or using his position as State Senator to push for earmarks for skate ramps, water parks, and golf courses, Senator Caligiuri's got a lot to answer for.''

Curran is apparently referring to a vote in Dec., 2000, when Caligiuri served as an alderman in Waterbury. As reported here before, the city was on the brink of insolvency and Mayor Philip A. Giordano sought the emergency, $10 million tax increase as a way to stave off a state takeover of the city's finances.

The supplemental property tax levy cost the average homeowner in the Brass City an extra $130. Along with the tax hike, the board of alderman endorsed a spending cap and directed the mayor to cut spending by 3 percent.

Caliguri was president of the board and worked on the plan with Giordano. It was approved by the Republican-controlled board by a vote of 8-7, which broke along party lines.

The Murphy camp is borrowing a page from the playbook of former Caligiuri opponent Mark Greenberg, who used a similar tactic in advance of the GOP primary in August.

The McMahon campaign is poised to launch a targeted initiative to reach a key demographic: Women for Linda aims "to make sure our next U.S. Senator will stand up for Connecticut families,'' trumpets the campaign's website.

Watch for WFL t-shirt and bumper stickers; will they all come in the same lovely shade of orchid that dominates the website?

"Women for Linda includes women of all ages who believe Washington needs more female lawmakers. In 234 years, Connecticut has never been represented by a woman in the U.S. Senate,'' the group states. "As a mother and a grandmother, Linda understands the challenges women face, and she knows that right now, women across Connecticut and our country are struggling to keep up with the bills and put food on the table. But just as families are cutting back, we see government racking up debt that will fall on the backs of our children and grandchildren.''

Ed Patru, Linda McMahon's spokesman, just released a lengthy statement on this morning's Q poll:

"Connecticut voters are anxious about the state of the economy and frustrated that the career politicians just don't get it. They are moving toward Linda because she gets it. She's been a working mother who's had to balance raising a family with a career; she's been bankrupt and she's started over. She doesn't have to pretend she knows what's it's like to experience economic anxiety and hardship, because she's actually lived it. And unlike the career politicians, she doesn't have to pretend she understands how small businesses create jobs because she's actually built a business and created jobs. She has the right kinds of experience, right now.

"Dick Blumenthal is just another politician and Connecticut can't afford more of the same. He says he's fighting for ordinary people, but he supported a partisan assault on health care that made health care more expensive while cutting over $500 billion from Medicare. He supports the President's national energy tax that will increase electricity bills by $1,000 per household, raise gas prices by 68 cents a gallon and will cost Connecticut another 13,600 jobs. He says he supports lower taxes, but he voted for the largest tax in Connecticut history. Dick Blumenthal just doesn't get it.

"Since January, Dick Blumenthal's 41-point lead in the polls has all but evaporated. While Linda has been focused on economic recovery and job creation, Blumenthal has been waiting out the clock and relying on his political allies to run negative attacks against Linda - attacks that were paid for by tens of thousands of dollars secretly funneled from the Blumenthal estate.

"This will be an election, not a coronation. And in November, Connecticut voters will have a clear choice between a career politician who doesn't get it and a proven job creator who does."