As Aristotle instructed, “the virtue of a citizen is the capacity to rule and to be ruled”.

The secret meetings and usurpation of our state and federal constitution by the King and Prince of Hartford are stunning.  For Governor Malloy and Senate Pro Tem Don Williams, rule of law matters not.  They are the King and Prince, not to be bothered with trivialities. 

Hartford runs like an oligarchy of social engineers most interested in benefiting themselves and their special interests, to the detriment of the rest of us.  Even the Courant Editorial Board recognizes the stunning abuse of power and disregard for the public, or transparency in government operations (see below).   

A few examples, in this session our legislators:

• Using the Emergency Certification process to disallow public comment, imposed the most restrictive gun control law in the country, usurping our Second Amendment rights, with 40%+ of the GOP going along
• Passed a law to provide illegal aliens driver licenses telling us it will make us safer and reduce costs; if a person is illegally in our country, they should be arrested and deported, in accordance with our rule of law; or change the law
• In secret, created and passed a budget that further enslaves we citizens, our children and theirs with debt and taxes, and cements us in an economic malaise encouraging more citizens and businesses to leave the state; an immoral budget using more chicanery and then portrayed by proponents as courageous and responsible

Each of these far-reaching state laws was enacted using parliamentary gimmicks and questionable Constitutional grounds, both state and federal. 

“Therefore the good citizen will need to know both how to rule and to be ruled.”   Aristotle

I’m thinking we’re not doing a very good job. 

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From the Courant Editorial Board …

A big part of the problem is the growing penchant of the state’s elected leaders to pull down government’s shades so the bill-paying public can’t see inside. These leaders have fallen in love with secrecy and out of love with what used to be a cherished Connecticut value, transparency.

Mr. Malloy began the war on openness two years ago by downsizing the so-called watchdog agencies, which include the state Freedom of Information Commission, and putting them under a gubernatorial appointee.

The increased number of attempts this session to close government to the public, as well as the number of bills negotiated in secret and given no public hearing, are worrisome.

Lawmakers and the governor even met in secret this session — contradicting established how-a-bill-becomes-law process — to write legislation allowing more of government to frolic behind closed doors.

The budget uses way too many one-shot revenue sources, creating problems in the following biennium. It raises “new” taxes, despite the governor’s denials. It takes $6 billion off-budget in a breathtaking move that might draw judicial scrutiny. It relies more heavily than it should on an unstable revenue source — gaming. It again delays the full implementation of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.

How much more lipstick can Mr. Malloy and the Democrats put on this pig?

The full article can be found here:  http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/editorials/hc-ed-legislative-session-rollercoaster-20130605,0,2233602.story