Radiofree West Hartford -- Curry's Ads and the McEnroe Angle by Tom Evers

September 06, 2002

Yep, its campaign season again. You can tell the poop is getting pretty thick by listening to Bill Curry's two most recent 30-second campaign ads. The first one asks Governor Rowland what he's done with all the money. Hey, that's a great ad, very funny, and it's a great opening for the Rowland campaign to actually explain what the Gov has done with all the money. Never has anyone spent (or wasted) so much money in asking his opponent to run a counter ad showing results.

Curry's second television ad is worse and it's a response to John Rowland's ad about Curry's current plan. Which is the standard democratic approach to most problems: raise taxes and raise the income tax. We get a close up of Curry's smug face telling us that he hasn't raised taxes -(chuckle, chuckle) in seventeen years! In fact, this begs the question of exactly what Curry has been doing all of these years besides palling around with Bill Clinton. A legitimate question…. experience counts in these races.

I was listening to WTIC 1080's democratic lap boy, Colin McEnroe, the other day. McEnroe, for those who don't know him, is Hartford's liberal voice (in a sea of Connecticut left-wing talk show hosts) who spends most of his time attacking Republicans (particularly Rush Limbaugh), mumbling incoherently, and speaking with the same 10 or 12 sad sacks who call his lackluster show. (For those who have listened to it, it gets worse and worse each week. It's truly low energy programming with a total lack of originality).

McEnroe explained that despite his close, personal friendship with Bill Curry, that "thinking unbiasedly" (wink, wink), that Bill isn't the "kind of guy to hold a regular job." He went on to explain that Curry is a big sports fan and a regular guy who can converse with people, and even shoot baskets with Colin's son in the driveway. (Wow! Curry can communicate at all levels!) He didn't think it was particularly important that Curry hasn't held a real job when it comes to resume experience for the Governorship. As long as he could get together with people and chat with all kinds that he's fit to take Rowland's place.

Hmmmm!

Well, I guess as long as he can shoot baskets, talk football, hang with the boys, and sit around a campfire singing songs, than damn, he's super-qualified!

I guess what this really says is that Connecticut liberals do understand Curry's weakness after all. The democrats are selling him simply as that nice boy from small town Connecticut. I mean, so what if he wants to raise the income tax on already overburdened Connecticut taxpayers, and so what, if he's been moving from political job to political job without an ounce of achievement, so what if he hasn't a plan. After all, Bill cares!

We know another "Bill" who claimed to care and he did very little beyond making headlines with Monica and embarrassing himself and his country on the world stage. Now we have another one from the land of psychobabble, without a clue, who will hug us to death, "feel our pain", and raise taxes through the roof.

An interesting thing about Curry's commercials is that they are -- substance-free. They attack Governor Rowland, they deny that Curry raised taxes "recently", and moreover, they do little in the way of explaining exactly what it is that Curry is planning to do for us (or to us). In fact, they say absolutely nothing of value to the voter.

If Governor Rowland's ads weren't so busy explaining the Rowland plan than I'd have him run a commercial that might ask:

"Hey, Bill just what have you done with your life? What have you done with all that time?"

But that wouldn't be the Republican standard line. Republicans focus on issues and ideas, Democrats focus on smears and personal attacks. Bill Curry is just another cookie cutter version of the Bill Clinton gang.

And as for Colin McEnroe, well I leave my views on him and his pathetic show for another day.

Crop Circles coming to a field near you!

Have you seen the movie Signs?

It's got the same following that actually wants to believe that UFOs land in corn fields, and white lights and symbols from the Heavens are meant to send a message to us that "we are not alone".

Well, no. We are not alone. And if you consume enough Jack Daniels and Coke you to will see white lights and receive personal messages from aliens too. Signs is meant to challenge your psyche, and get you to wonder - maybe, just maybe there are beings from outer space who can draw perfect circles.

Ok, before UFO-enthusiasts write me to complain about my near-sighted understanding of their clear vision of a future Star Trek universe, I want to make clear that I am in the majority with them and believe that there are probably other galaxies with inhabited planets, and maybe we are under surveillance from extra-terrestrial beings. Who knows? I just don't believe that they are traveling 100,000 light years to come down from Alpha Centari just to ruin some poor Midwesterner's tobacco fields. (That's every member of the American Lung Associations' dream, I'm sure.)

You would think that if they really wanted to communicate with us. They would do it in the light of day as opposed to an unlit cornfield. Why not land at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, knock on the door, and ask if President Bush is available for a little pow-wow. Or better yet, land on the CNN Center in Atlanta. I can see Wolf Blitzer out there now -- nose pressed against the flying-saucer window begging for an interview.

For starters, there is a basis for my disbelief in the authenticity all this crop circle business. Real video has shown that often crop circles are created by a group of artistic people who use wide, flat boards connected to long strings. They carefully measure an area, and using basic geometry, take to making circles, diamonds, triangles, squares and other creative shapes. And those white lights captured on film are usually flashlights belonging to the young hooligans involved in this creative and often destructive act of tomfoolery.

Sadly, while the world hems, haws, ohs and ahs over these images, looking for a deeper meaning in life, the victims in these cases -- the poor farmers -- are saddled with crop losses, forcing them to spend big bucks to make field repairs.

So what's my point? Well, before you go out and buy your crystals, read up on Wicca, and book a flight to Stonehenge, understand that it's all just a movie.

The real downside to this B movie is that local teens may take a copycat approach and try and create their own little crop circle phenomenon in a town near you.

And that would be a shame.

That's all for now!