Rodin at the the Sculpture Garden of the B. Gerald Cantor Center in Palo, Alto, California

After creating this intriguing slide show, I have been pondering for several days why I am so drawn to Auguste Rodin.

I am pondering why, as part of a mostly business trip to California, I just had to make the 55 minute trip from Marin County to Santa Clara County ( I consumed nearly 12 hours just to travel from Connecticut to the Bay Area and time was very precious to me) to visit this Rodin collection. After all, with the limited amount of time I had, I was turning down the opportunity to see a much acclaimed show at the De Young Museum of French 19th century masterpieces from the Musee d'Orsay in Paris.

Why does Rodin's vision fascinate me?

It all began with an enlarged slide of Rodin's Thinker which I saw projected on a a screen as part of my CC-Humanities Art course at Columbia. My instructor was telling the class just how overpowering a figure Rodin was and that his 'monumental' works are inspiring.

Well now, it's hard to get excited by an enlarged slide...

So, I made the trek to the Museum of Modern Art on 53rd Street, where Rodin's Balzac is displayed. It impressed me, no doubt--a single replica, much, much larger than life standing in the museum's outdoor garden. Rodin said of this piece: "Nothing else that I have done satisfies me as much, because nothing else cost me so much effort, nothing else so profoundly summarizes what I believe to be the secret of law of my art. "

Years have passed ....

Last year, the Stamford Museum and Nature Arts Center had a exhibition entitled " Rodin in his own Words: Selections from the the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Collection" , featuring a limited number of smaller casts, many of which were apparently cast posthumously. There were photographs of his larger works as well as an excellently documented exposition on the lost-wax casting process, Rodin's favorite mode of sculptural reproduction.

Then a visit to the Philadelphia Museum's Late Renoir show in August of this year brought me in contact with their collection of Rodins. (See my recent blog on this show)

So, when I read in a guide book about the Cantors donating their collection of over 200 Rodins to The Stanford museum in 1999, I knew I had to make the trip down.

The outdoor sculpture garden contains 20 pieces comfortably spaced out over an acre. These include: the massive Gates of Hell, with figures inspired by Dantes's Inferno and presided over by The Thinker at its apex, Adam and Eve (flanking the GOH), The Three Shades, The Martyr, a Nude Study of Jeanne D'Arc.

The Spirit of Eternal Repose is the male nude captured from an upward perspective with outstretched arm and leaning towards one of two fir trees. He exudes grace, charm and harmony. It is as if Rodin is reaching deep into his soul to reflect the inner spiritual peace that man is capable of reaching.

This peace is in contrast to the eternal struggle of man's sensuality TO OVERCOME his reason and restraint; this peace is often tragically terminated by the triumph of the sexual drive over discipline that is depicted in panel after panel in the lascivious scenes of debauchery and lust in the GOH.

Enjoy the slide show as much as I enjoyed seeing the originals.

A bit of background to the Gates of Hell.

In 1880, the Ministere of Beaux Arts in Paris, commissioned Rodin "to execute, for the sum of 8,000 francs, the model of a decorative gate in bas-relief for the Musee des arts decoratives representing the Divine Comedy of Dante."

Rodin began his research by reading Dante several times, drawing hundreds of pages of studies in his sketchbook and executing dozens of maquettes (scale models); he then studied gates of the baptistry in Florence and especially Ghiberti's "Gates of Paradise."

Order and Efficiency at the Airports: Hats off to TSA

Traveling on Thanksgiving week has proven that we as a nation we can pull together.

The check-in experience at San Francisco International Airport is a a case in point.

My flight to Chicago was scheduled to leave at 6 AM. Arriving at the rental drop off area at 4:20 AM was cutting it rather close.

I took the Air Car over to Terminal 3 and arrived at United at 5PM with a doily filled with luggage. The first thing I noticed was a line of passengers stretching a full city block. I was directed to the luggage counter. I was quickly ticketed as one of the personnel labeled my baggage.

Then at 5:15, I go to the back end of the check-in line with what seems to be 100+ people ahead of me. A quick glance at the boarding tickets indicates that my plane begins boarding at 5:21 in a mere 6 minutes.

Would I be processed in time? I had no doubt!

The line started to move rapidly and by 5:35 I approached the TSA screening area. Here we divided into two lines to speed up the process.

I simple imitated the actions of those people directly in front of me. Grab some plastic trays and place all belongings, cell phone,wallet, ipad, coins, pens, etc in them.

Then off comes my shoes and into the grey bin along with flight bag and then under the x-ray scanner.

Then I go through the metal detector. It goes off. I remove the rest of the few coins that escaped my first attempt to clear my pockets. At the same time, a pleasant screener asks me if my flight bag has a computer. I answer yes and so she removes it saying that computers must always be free standing at the screening area.

And that's it. I seize my camera, heavy topcoat, flight bag, computer and the rest of my belongings. Then shoes are laced up.

It's now 5:45 and I have less than 15 minutes to find my gate. No time to buy a newspaper, I reflect. As I approach the gate an attendant greets me asking if I'm on this flight. As soon as I nod, she responds that I am the last passenger to board the 737.

I made it as I instinctively knew I would...

I settled into my aisle seat at 5:55. As I did, I could not help sensing that the airport personnel all conspired to get me through the gate in time.

We all displayed grace under pressure!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Celebrating National Aviation Month with The Birthday of Wiley Post

Wiley Post Stand Alongside his Lockheed Vega, The Winnie Mae

at Floyd Bennett Airfield, Brooklyn , New York

Wiley Post (November 22, 1898-August 15, 1935) and his navigator Harold Gatty took off from Roosevelt Field on Long Island, N.Y. in a Lockheed Vega aircraft for what would be an historic flight around the world. They made 14 stops.

8 days and 15 hours and 51 minutes later, on July 1, they arrived back after covering 15, 474 miles setting a new world record for around the world flight. Until then, the record was held by Hugo Eckener flying a Graf Zeppelin with a time of 21 days.

He had lunch at the White House on July 6th and the following day rode in a ticker-tape parade in New York City.

On July 15, 1933, flying solo with an auto-pilot to aid in navigation, Post took off from Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, NY, to again set a world record by circumnavigating the globe in 7 days and 19 hours; this time he cut off 21 hours off his previous record.

On this flight he made 11 stops and, despite inclement Atlantic weather, flew non-stop from New York to Berlin in a record time of 26 hours.

Over 50,000 people greeted him as he landed at Floyd Bennett. For this accomplishment he was again given a ticker tape parade in New York.

Next year Post began exploring high- altitude long distance flight with the financial support of Frank Phillips of the Phillips Petroleum Company. He developed a pressure suit that allowed him to pilot an aircraft and reach an altitude of 50, 000 feet and fly in the jet stream.

However, he was only partially successful in a number of non-stop transcontinental flights because of mechanical failures. On one flight he flew from Los Angeles to Cleveland, Ohio, a distance of 2035 miles, at an average ground speed of 279 mph in a 179 MPH aircraft!

Post and Will Rogers perished in a flight up in Alaska as Post began surveying a mail-and-passenger route from the West Coast to Russia.

The author wishes to thank not only Wikipedia, but also acepilots.com for their in-depth coverage of the key events in Post's adventurous life.

Image source (1)

Fighting Breaks Out and Arrests are Made in London and California Over Tuition Increases

The following summary of events is based upon despatches appearing in the New York Times and the San Francisco Chronicle.

According to the Times article, A coalition of Liberal Democrats and Conservatives have agreed to raise tuition costs. In American dollars the proposed raises means that old cap of $5264 is now being waived; the new costs will range from $9600 to $14, 400.

In the late 1990's there was no charge for tuition.

This follows the Liberal Democrat's promise last year to abolish tuition completely. So, in protest, about 52,000 students gathered near Parliament on November 10th; students fought with police, lit flares, threw projectiles including eggs and bottles and shattered windows of the building housing the Conservative party.

35 students were arrested and 14 were injured.

In California, hundreds of students gathered in front a building in San Francisco where the Regents were meeting to discuss proposed tuition increases. Almost 100 police in riot gear stood outside to fend off any student advances during this second of three days of deliberation.

Students attempted to storm the building and were repelled with pepper spray and batons. A skirmish started in which one officer lost his baton and purportedly drew his weapon when he heard that students planned to disarm him. More students pressed forward and during the scuffle "several officers fell backward down the stairs."

Police arrested 11 protestors.

Last November the regents raised fees 32% which touched off protests. Now the proposal is to raise them again by 8%. This means that the current tuition of $10, 302 will rise to $11, 124 by next fall. In California, about half the students pay no tuition because of financial aid. So, those that do not qualify must pay more to help subsidize that do qualify.

Currently the subsidies are valid where family income is less than $70,000.

Large University systems such as the one in England are in trouble because due to the severe economic times, the government has less tax revenue to support higher education. California's government has a massive deficit of $26 Billion dollars and is looking for ways to cut back on education subsidies.

The Regents is looking to the federal government to increase research grants, is trying to increase number out-of-state enrollments (these students pay more for tuition) and delaying the pay-out of maximum retirement benefits from age 62-65.

It is understandable that students in both countries are frustrated, angry and pushed to the extreme by these massive hikes in fees. Their only outlet appears to be congregating to protest and the protesting has oftenled to violence as we have seen.


Legislators, regents and private individuals and foundations must work together to find solutions to keep universal education open to all.

Tune in to learn more on this continuing saga.

I wish to commend two outstanding journalists for their respective stories : Sarah Lyall of the New York Times and Nanette Asimov of The San Francisco Chronicle (Regents Meeting: Face-
Off Over UC Tuition, November 18, 2010).

Thanksgiving at the Airport Gates: Arrive Early and Thank God to be Alive

Viral videos are abounding on the web with low resolution images of what the x-ray style screenings look like.

Private body parts are not clearly discernable.

Gizmodo has just released a you tube video of 100 body scans that the Orlando, Florida U.S. Marshalls office saved and 'released.' As of 7 AM Eastern, over 1 million seven-hundred thousand (1,719,605) global visits have been made to their website.

What's the uproar about?

Well, Thanksgiving is around the corner and perhaps up to 10 million passengers (2 million on a regular day) will be checked by TSA in the three days prior to the holiday at the 68 airports which have this latest technology.

The choice is clear at these airports. You can either go through the low radiation or TSA can perform a full body pat-down that will begin at the hips proceeding downward and then upward on the inside of your legs up to the groin--two times. Private body parts are excluded.

John Tyner called attention to this procedure; at San Diego airport, he refused the x-ray procedure and when subject to the pat-down warned the TSA agent to keep his hands off his 'junk.'

So he was detained, threatened with a $10,000 lawsuit, refused to submit to the pat-down, was refunded his ticket and left the airport.

All these events Tyner recorded on his cellphone which was posted on the web and it's now the rage of the media.

So where do we go from here?

Janet Napolitano, the head of Homeland Security has appeared publicly to announce that she is open to modification of the procedures. "If there are adjustments we need to make to these procedures, we will make them...We have an open ear; we will listen," she said.

Since 9/11 heightened security measures have thwarted a number of would be bombers; there has been the shoe bomber Richard Reid; on December 22, 2001, he attempted to blow up AA Flight 63 by igniting a detonator cord and luckily was foiled. Then the underwear bomber Umar Farook Abdulmutallub was apprehended aboard NW flight 253 as he tried unsuccessfully to ignite PETN explosive hidden in his underwear. ( luckily, PETN is very difficult to ignite; it is classified as a secondary explosive)

Hats off to homeland security, vigilant and brave passengers and flight attendants for the fantastic job of creating an atmosphere where would be terrorists have been thwarted and often prevented in their conspiracies, attempts, plots, etc.

The American public must be patient. The options are clear. One need not board an airliner.

There are alternate means of transport.

Flying is a luxury, not an entitlement.

Welcome to the 21st century. We are fighting a war of terror which is also a war to avoid terror.
The collective safety of hundreds of passengers are at stake.

As Thomas Jefferson wrote 200 hundred years ago: "The price of freedom is eternal vigilance."

Get to the airport early-- early in the day and two hours before flight. Bring your i-pods, i-pads,
videos and reading material.

Report suspicious behavior and have a safe holiday.

Why Connecticut Should Consider Ranked Choice Voting System

Kudos to Steve Hill Open Forum writer at the San Francisco Chronicle.

His article The New Politics of Local Elections should go a long way to ending the interminable partisan smear campaigns that we in Connecticut are subjected to.

The answer is ranked choice voting or instant runoff voting which he himself fathered.

Here's how it works. The voter is asked to rank his top three choices for the position of Mayor. Assuming that no one candidate achieves a majority of votes cast, then the numbers two and eventually the number three choice(s) of the eliminated runners are distributed accordingly until one of the two top runners achieves a majority of the votes.

In the Oakland, California mayoral election, the eventual winner after many rounds was Jean Quan-- simply because she broke new ground in bipartisanship; as she campaigned she urged all voters to write in her name for first choice and also urged them to place her name for number two or number three ( if they planned to rank an opponent first.)

She had something good to say about all the runners; in other words, she reached out to other candidates.--thus spreading cooperation and good will for her opponents.

This good will worked in her favor.

She told citizens: "In case I don't win, I think Rebecca [an opponent] should be your second choice." Thus Quan got three times more runoff votes from Rebecca's supporters than did her main rival Don Perata.

Perata ran a largely negative campaign. He was the front-runner and typically spent more money attacking Kwan. Perhaps, he should have spent more time forming coalitions and building ties with the other candidates. Then he could have stayed front-runner.

Oakland voters are more amenable to the new mode; in the June, 2006 mayoral election, 83, 000 voters visited the polls; this year the number jumped 43% as 119, 000 voters participated. And 99.7% cast a valid vote.

In addition to Oakland, San Leandro, San Francisco and Minneapolis are all employing ranked choice voting.

Shouldn't we in Connecticut consider ranked choice voting as a mode of ending the mud-slinging politics that dominates our elections and continues to drive voters away from the polls?

Who is in Charge in Iraq--8 Months After Elections and Nearly 8 Years After Invasion?

According to an article in the Christian Science Monitor, the Iraqi Parliament meeting behind closed doors elected a speaker and President. This allows Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to form a coalition government.

8 months ago, the electorate gave" former Prime Minister Ayad Al-lawi secular Iraqiya coalition two more seats than al-Maliki's Shiite bloc."

"But neither won nearly enough seats to from a majority, prompting ballot recounts, accusations of fraud, and months in which political leaders flew off to other countries, but did not meet among themselves."

And, of course, will the Sunni minority be given any and/or adequate representation in the government, as well?

Does this sound like chaos?

Do we still hear about weekly car bombings, more civilian deaths and more unrest?

Do terrorists still strike at will?

Has our government correctly determined that the center of Al-Queda activity has now shifted to Afghanistan and Pakistan?

Do we not have close to 200,000 American personnel in Afghanistan including 100,000 troops, independent special operations forces and hundreds of civilian teams of American security contractors equal to the number of troops?

Did not Bush II declare that confirmed reports of Weapons of Mass Destruction was behind his pre-emptive strike to topple Sadaam Hussein and our invasion of his country on March 19, 2003?

Did not Bush announce two months later on May 1, 2003- aboard the U.S. Abraham Lincoln outside San Diego- that our 'mission is accomplished?'

Did he not say in that speech that "men and women in every culture need liberty like they need food and water. Everywhere that freedom arrives, humanity rejoices?"

What small comfort have we given the Iraqi nation-- 7 years later, yes 7 full years later-- that still has no stabilizing government?

What small comfort have we given Iraq when she sees the US forces--which assured some degree of stability and freedom from terror--abandon her to fight the war for freedom in neighboring Afghanistan?

The Point may be: did Bush Junior make the right Decision as we remember over 4,400 men and women who have sacrificed their lives in Iraq?

Two Delayed Coastal Election Results are in: Foley Concedes Connecticut Gubernatorai Race and Kwan Defeats Perata in Oakland

Six days after election day on Tuesday, November 2nd, Connecticut Republican governor hopeful Tom Foley conceded the top state spot to Dan Malloy of Stamford. After a weekend of investigation and review, Foley admitted that Malloy bested him by 5,637 votes.

Besides Bridgeport, six other municipalities ran out of ballots, which had to be photocopied and then hand counted.

Now, to the mayoral race in Oakland, California, the position once held by governor-elect Jerry Brown.

On Thursday, November 11th, Mayoral hopeful and former state Senator Dan Perata conceded the election to councilwoman Jean Quan who will become Oakland's first female and Asian American mayor.

Kwan won by 51-49% by a complicated ranked-choice voting: voters are allowed to pick first, second and third choices. Should a candidate not receive a majority (it was Perata 35-24 over Kwan after first place ballots were initially counted), the last place candidates are eliminated and then their votes are redistributed until one a candidate exceeds the majority bar.

Veterans Day, Glenbrook, Stamford: The Flags are Blowing at Union Memorial Church

Hundreds of flags are blowing in the wind at Union Memorial Church in Stamford to celebrate Veterans Day, November 11, 2010; the Church is a fixture in the community for over 100 years

A Salute to Those Proud Brave Warriors Who Have Defended Our Shores of Liberty

Will Foley File Suit in Connecticut's Gubernatorial Race?

The race for Governor has slowed to a snail's pace?

It is probably wise for Foley who supposedly trails Malloy by about 5,000 votes to wait until the November 16th deadline to file a suit in Superior Court claiming fraud, mismnagement, lack of transparency in the 'official' counting of the votes, especially in Bridgeport.

Meanwhile over the weekend about 50 vocal CT residents descended on the historic Hartford courthouse demanding that the Mayor of Bridgeport step down for his alleged incompetence.

Autumn 2010, Connecticut Slideshow

This is great time of year to capture the changing colors of autumn here in lower Fairfield County. Enjoy the slide show

Celebrating National Aviation Month with The Birthday of Jacqueline Auriol

Jacqueline Ariol (1917-2000) was the one of the first female pilots to break the sound barrier and set five world speed records.

On June 22, 1962, she set her fifth speed record at Istres, France. Here's a brief description from Hargrave:

"After weeks of preparation, she took off in a Dassault Mirage IIIC, determined to break Jacqueline Cochran's record. Her first attempt failed when she passed inside one of the turn points. Officials redesigned the course, adding six points. By late afternoon, she was again airborne. Flying at 37,000 feet, Madame Auriol covered 63 miles in 3 minutes and 23 seconds, a speed of 1149.65 mph. She exceeded Miss Cochran's record by 367 mph and broke the men's record set in 1959."

Born to a wealthy shipbuilder and timber importer, she graduated from the University of Nantes and then studied art at the Ecole du Louvre in Paris. She married the son of the future President of France and was for a time the official tea pourer of the Elysee Palace.

During WW II, she joined the French resistance in its fight to undermine the German occupation. After the war her life changed dramatically when her face was crushed in seaplane accident where she was a passenger. She required some 20+ plastic surgery operations (during which time she did not see her two boys) and then emerged to a new life.

Energized and spiritually transformed, she went on to earn her military license and became qualified as the world's first woman test pilot.

Her tragedies and successes are recounted in her 1970 autobiography: I Live to Fly.

Image source (1)

Best Reporting for Southwest Connecticut: "Down and out in Westport"

Kudos to  the  Fairfield County Weekly's November 4th edition.

John F.Hoctor's excellent article-- about how Westport's Gillespie Center in the heart of the downtown has been catering to the needs of its homeless for 25 years-- is very timely and poignant.

A few pertinent facts he shares with us: In the Stamford-Norwalk area over 51% of the sheltered homeless have jobs; of homeless families living in shelters 36% are employed.

The Westport shelter is administered by Homes with Hope, an interfaith housing association.A whopping 59% of their budget is from private sources and 26% if from grants and 13% from events and programs and 5% from churches and service clubs.

Hoctor follows in detail the lives of two residents of Gillespie: "Ralph" and "Sally" two survivors in "the heart of a bucolic bastion of suburban opulence."

The article is worth the time to read and spread the word around about Westport's commendable efforts to take care of its less fortunate residents.

Time to bring this article up to date.

Jeff Weiser retiring CEO of Homes with Hope

Jeff Weiser recently retired in December, 2019 as Director and CEO of Home with Hope after serving for the last 9 years. Click here for a  tribute to all the good he has done including expanding the number of beds provided each night to 115 via 44 supportive housing units. 

Jeff is being replaced by Helen McAlinden who began her position on January 6th earlier this year. 

Connecticut Gubernatorial Election is Still in the Air

It's a see-saw election result for both Stamford's ex-mayor Dan Malloy and Greenwich's Tom Foley--with no clear winner.

Latest published reports indicate that Malloy is ahead by about 3,000 votes. But the Foley camp is claiming that Bridgeport polling stations have scores of uncounted votes piling up waiting to be counted.

It was also reported that several thousand Malloy write-in (??) votes appear to be sent from the same parking lot in Bridgeport.

There are about 4,500 homeless souls in southwest Fairfield County according to the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness. And we know the shelters are at max.

Can there be some many homeless registered voters sleeping in their parked cars in in Park City (nickname for Bridgeport.)

What is fact and what is fiction?

Tune in later today as Connecticut's Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz announces her findings from Hartford.

Greg Mortonson: Educating One Child at A Time: the Practical Approach to NCLB

Greg Mortonson Surrounded by a Group of Students

He's climbed K-2 in the Himmalayas--step by step!

Though born in Minnesota, he grew up in Tanzania, near Mt. Kilimanjaro where his father helped establish a teaching medical center.

From humble beginnings and modest means, Greg Mortonson is proof positive that indeed performing small acts of kindness--repeatedly--can literally change the world.

He founded his first of many schools in the mountain region of Pakistan; he has continued to find funding and establish schools in the rural mountainous areas separating southern Afghanistan and Pakistan-near hostile terrorist strongholds.

Over the course of the last 15 years, he has established over 131 schools which provide education to over 58,000 children, 44,000 of which are girls. (this is in an traditionist Islamic culture which frowns upon educating its female residents) .

In 2009, Pakistan awarded Greg its "Star of Pakistan" medal given for meritorious public service in promoting girls's literacy and education and establishing schools in Pakistan.

He meets often with tribal elders, respects their advice; he has convinced the US military brass, General David Petraus, Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff, General Stanley McChrystal and others to negotiate peace through education rather than through weapons deployment and guerrilla, special ops warfare.

He has convinced Obama and the military commanders that there is no military solution to bringing war to an end.

Afghanistan has proven itself to be the graveyard of empires through three millenia: neither the Mongols under Genghis Khan the Greeks under Alexander , the Ottomans and the Russians were able to eithe unite the tribal chiefs or defeat them.

Greg Mortonson, the humanintarian, has demonstrated that tribal peoples want education badly, especially for their girls, and he is supplying them with it.

Image source (1)

Coastal Gubernatorial Races: Jerry Brown is the Phoenix and Molloy versus Foley is Up in the Air

When I awoke at 4AM, I watched a You Tube of Gov. Jerry Brown's 'victory speech'?? from Sacramento, Ca. (eclipsing Meg Whitman).

But the tone of his words spoke of divisions deep divisions political, economic, of pain of suffering that could as he said last for years....

He spoke of his {phoenix like rise] 28 year hiatus since he last served as governor from 1975-1982.

Then his tone suddenly shifted...He spoke about his ' missionary zeal' about the courage, energy, commitment he now brings,( tempered, enriched, we know by years and years of 'public service) 'to transform the breakdown we now witness in Washington and Sacramento into a breakthrough.'

Welcome back, Jerry!

Meanwhile, back in Connecticut, the race for Governor is too close to call. It was expected that Molloy would win. But the registrar of Bridgeport elections underestimated the turnout and the polling locales ran out of ballots in mid-afternoon . So, they had to photocopy new ones and do head counts--which will incite legal challenges.

May the best man win!

Columbia Ivy Football Team Under Coach Wilson is on the Rise

I recently attended the Homecoming game against Dartmouth. It was thoroughly enjoyable watching our ascendant team coming from behind to lead Big Green 21-17 in the 4th quarter, only to be upended by our opponents TD to squeak out a 24-17 win. The halftime highlight was the appearance of our player classmates-- members of the 1961 Ivy Championship team. It was great seeing Tommy Vassel, Russ Warren, Herb Gerstein and Ed Little being honored.

The following weekend, I was at the magnificent Yale Bowl for a beautiful fall day; despite a soporific first half that saw the Bulldogs eclipse the Lions by 31-7, the second half was marked by our team scoring three TD's and holding Yale scoreless. Again, we came up just short of victory. It was exciting to be surrounded by so many of the parents of our players, who were so vocal and excited during the second half.

Kudos to Coach Norries Wilson who has built a spirited talented squad, let by quarterback Sean Brackett, running back Nick Gerst and tackle Alex Gross. I predict the team, which beat Princeton 42-14, will show its true colors against Harvard and then Cornell on successive weekends

Will They Pick up All the Political Signs?

My neighbors, next door and across the street, have large LINDA signs on their front lawns.

Linda is of course Linda McMahon republican candidate to fill the seat of retiring democratic senator Chris Dodd.

She has stimulated the recessionary southern New England economy.

She has thus far spent $120 Million of her own fortune.

I am staring at a staggering pile of 40 direct mail solicitations--about one-half are from Linda.

A large LINDA billboard sign recently appeared at exit 29 on the I-95 (Bridgeport) that reads in bold print LINDA: Because She's Bought Everything Else!

Is is time for Linda to take her signs down?

Both Advocate (the Hearst Newspaper Group) and the New York Times have thrown their support behind her opponent.

So, who will win tomorrow?