TO: Jeffery Kurz, Editorial Page Editor
FROM: Lou Arata
DATE: February 23, 2022

RE: Connecticut Imbalance and the Washington Connection

COVID-19 guidelines have been in place and changed often since March 2020, supposedly following the “science.” It is now being discussed that a fourth shot, a “second booster” called by some, will now be needed. What has always been the case with this pandemic, is that this has really been about control- especially control of the ballot box. With absolute control, any political party will be able to wreak havoc with our constitutional republic, make whatever changes to our laws it pleases and nullify local control and individual freedom of choice.

Connecticut legislators in Hartford have floated the idea of creating regional school boards and instituting a statewide property tax. They can do this because there is no balance of power in Connecticut. The Connecticut legislature has been controlled by the Democrat Party for 40 years. All of the Connecticut Congressional and Senate representatives are Democrats. It was British politician, Lord Acton in 1887 who wrote, “Absolute power corrupts absolutely”. That is why whatever the Biden administration attempts, Connecticut is sure to follow and support.

As out of touch as the Biden administration is, recording one of the highest disapproval ratings for a sitting president, so is Connecticut U.S. Senator Dick Blumenthal who was “excited and honored” to congregate with the Connecticut People’s World Committee, an affiliate of the Communist Party USA at their 102nd anniversary.

I do not believe that what is best for you is actually on the minds of our politicians. Our government continues to grow, and get paid, while the rest of the population must try and fend for themselves; unless you want to be part of the growing number of people fully dependent on the government for financial handouts and the care and education (indoctrination) of your children.

Perhaps not so obvious is one way the federal government is growing its socialist tentacles. The ability of the government to dangle the financial carrot of subsidies and direct funding for vital programs makes independent programs hostage to federal mandates. The federal mask mandate for businesses of 100 employees or more gets struct down by the Supreme Court but SCOTUS upholds that same mandate for most health-care workers because most health-care facilities take federal dollars through Medicare and Medicaid.

Public schools only receive about 8% of their funding from the federal government but that’s enough to steer curriculums away from reading, writing and arithmetic to indoctrinating young minds with divisive ideologies like critical race theory (CRT) and non-gender specific athletic competition.

If you don’t do as you’re told, you lose your funding.

Where does this stop? If the federal government can mandate health-medical workers and care providers because they accept federal money, what about those individuals who take part in receiving Medicare and Medicaid? Could federal student loans require a student to take “woke” courses?

This is scary stuff and a horrible precedent may have been set. Many people don’t know what tyranny is, even when it’s staring them right in the face.

President Joe Biden and his administration have failed the American people at every turn. According to the most recent Associated Press poll, with an approval rating of only 42%, a staggering 56% of respondents disapprove of Joe Biden’s performance. He has failed to protect jobs in the US energy sector (gasoline prices), failed the women of Afghanistan, failed the US military (having left weaponry and sophisticated technology for our enemies) and our allies around the world who now view us as an unreliable and untrustworthy partner. He has failed on his Inauguration Day promise to be a unifier (his intent on breaking the filibuster rule, which guarantees the minority voice in the Senate). He failed on his promise to “defeat” COVID and to bring back bipartisan deal making. In 2021, President Biden signed 77 executive orders, 41 presidential memos, 173 proclamations, and 25 notices. Each relies on different authority for implementation but each circumvents the regular legislative process and the elected members of the House and Senate. He has failed to stop over 2 million illegal immigrants, many unvaccinated, from coming into our country or to secure our southern border and he has failed to own participation in the Hunter Biden cover up weeks prior to the 2020 presidential election.

Yet, with all the above documented failures, you never hear a word from the Connecticut Democrat Party or our elected Democrat representatives on any of these topics, except for the party spin and talking points, attempting to deflect any and all negative attention or responsibility. Then they have the nerve to say it’s someone else’s fault.

We must see the dangers inherent in these policies and work to change the direction of Connecticut. This can only be achieved by voting to improve integrity and bring balance back to our politics honoring the rule of law and protection of personal property and individual liberty- and move away from the chaos and destruction of tearing down this country.

TO:                        Jeff Kurz, Editorial Page Editor

FROM:                  Lou Arata

DATE:                    August 30, 2021

RE:                        Nation in Crisis

I watched a bit of Mike Lindell’s, (the MyPillow Guy), Cyber Symposium on FrankSpeech.com and while the content was mostly a bit heady with advanced mathematics, it is abundantly clear that mathematically speaking, the “Trump won” argument is now very compelling. The laws of probability, for anyone who studied them in school, come with a margin of error. Even given a broad margin, it would seem Trump won the 2020 presidential election by a landslide.

According to Lindell, while he and those working within his voter fraud operation face violence and cyber-attacks to themselves and their research, I wonder what the final outcome will be when his group presents to the US Supreme Court their case with new evidence of vote manipulation by the Chinese? Steve Bannon seems to be acting as a supporter and a sceptic simultaneously, which I find intriguing. I also ponder why the mainstream media won’t give it a sniff of coverage, to what is being exposed by the Symposium presenters. Lend your ears and maybe open your mind?

Meanwhile, the current Biden/Harris administration is hellbent on dismantling our institutions and values and making everything about race. Even grade schoolers are talking about how mixed up our country is. (That reminds me of the tale when John D. Rockefeller heard stock tips from a shoeshine boy and he then turned around and liquidated his stock holdings, just before the Great Depression market crash.)

Let’s look at what else is obvious: Biden’s ratings are in freefall, Afghanistan is a cluster mess and international embarrassment, our southern border is in crisis and COVID-19 spreading fiasco, consumer pricing is up 5.4%, we’re still having discussions of election fraud, there’s pandemic mishandling and continual “science” flip-flopping and the woke movement has gone off-the-rails wild. It’s looking like there should be, has to be, an opposition landslide in 2022. Historically, the incumbent party will lose seats in the mid-term election.

Did I mention the debt ceiling is now over $24 trillion and growing, BLM & ANTIFA violence and destruction continue and there’s record black-on-black killings in our major cities? How about the “anonymous” buyers of Hunter Biden’s “artwork?” Why must ALL the buyers be “anonymous?” Is it Chinese recompense?

Supporters of the Biden/Harris administration agenda pawn off much of the above as far-right conspiracy theory. However, the majority of the population now rejects that excuse. Sleepy Joe Biden took the Oath of Office and has failed, utterly, to uphold those promises for the American people.

We all knew of his mental decline before the election and he fails to speak directly to the public or hold live press briefings. He only takes predetermined questions from assigned White House Press Corps reporters! When Biden does actually speak, he has to read off a teleprompter or prepared cue cards. Then he marches offstage like a child going in the house for some SpaghettiOs. This is not how an open society is supposed to work.

In a recent interview on Fox News, former White House physician Dr. Ronny Jackson, who served both Presidents Obama and Trump, called on Biden to leave office— saying Biden was no longer “cognitively prepared” to be president of the United States. He further stated, regarding the dumbfounding Afghanistan withdrawal, where Biden left a dizzying stockpile of military armaments and our latest technologies for our enemies, that China and Russia will love to get their hands on;

“…Biden’s just been in hiding again, as he always has… And you know, honestly, it is time for him to leave. I’ve been saying this for a long time… And I think a lot of this is relevant to his cognitive ability. But he’s, he’s created a national security disaster for this country right now. And it’s time for him to move on and somebody else needs to do this job. He is not fit to be our commander in chief. It’s time for him to resign.

The unfortunate reality is then, we’d be stuck with the least acceptable 2020 Democrat candidate for President, actually becoming President; the cackling Kamala Harris. So, if not her, next we’d be looking at the current speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. And you thought this country couldn’t possibly have more problems…

We need to have our conservative leaders in Washington D.C. actually step up and start governing like patriotic Americans by enforcing our borders and pushing back the communist insurgency into our present political agenda. Start with the protection of our Constitutional rights and all the Amendments. Equality before the law is unequivocally essential to a free society.

The greatest voices, I find, are of those naturalized American citizens who became such by following our legal immigration process and the rule of law. They love their newfound freedom and individual rights, ownership and protection of personal property and personal choice. Most of those new citizens came from oppressed societies lacking basic human rights. Many of their stories echo a disbelief of how absurd the left in this country sounds, wanting to change and abolish much of our history, tear down our statues, remove GOD from our dialogue and limit what words we can and cannot use. Those inept minds seeking to reform our education system and our free and open society, never learned the adage that “to study history is essential to not repeating it.”

TO: CT Mirror
FROM: Lou Arata
DATE: August 27, 2021

RE: Destruction of Our Constitutional Republic

What the socialists are now trying to do is use race as the wedge in our society to gain full control of the police and the military. Class differentiation has never been successful because you may change your class, like millionaire athletes complaining about oppression, but race is always with you. This racial confluence was successful for Mao, as it was in Brazil for Lula DaSilva, who used race to bring about his revolution. He gained support of all minorities and raised himself into power, while allowing big business to continue operation, much like what we see China doing today. The CCP allows big business to operate under the watchful eye and control of the Communist party, which controls every aspect of the government and society. Sadly, the human rights abuses of the CCP continue and the world does nothing in response.

The reality here is quite obvious- power and control are sought by both political parties, as well as most bureaucracies, such as Big Government, Big Tech, foreign nations and multinational corporations. So are unions and your local Board of Education. Just about everyone can be added to the list. Therefore, where are we headed?

There is a reason for the seriousness of the political divide in America and why the process of compromise has been lost. Both major parties no longer fully support our Constitutional liberties and freedoms expressed in our Founding documents. One political party, the Democrat party, is actively advancing a socialist agenda that will bring the United States under more global control and a Marxist transformation of our Constitutional Republic. As scary and perhaps far-fetched as that might sound, maybe too hard for some to accept, please understand, proof is right in front of your eyes.

The Biden administration’s current agenda is pushing racial reform and spending restructuring, and the reorganization of our legal system, military and law enforcement. All of these topics are derived from Marxist revolutionary doctrine. A revolution is the breaking down of the existing power structures and turning it into something else. The revolution here in this country is well underway with most citizens blind to the process being thrust upon them.

Examples of the Biden agenda of eliminating our energy infrastructure and fossil fuel industry along with the onset of inflation, will assist in bankrupting the nation. Energy price hikes (gasoline is up 30% since January 2021) clearly point to the decrease of spending power for the great majority of Americans who earn under the top 10% threshold. Those that can least afford the ravages of inflation are stuck in this radical plan. Consumer goods manufacturers keep prices steady, but that 3.7-ounce bar of soap you were accustomed to buying, still has similar packaging, but is now only 2.6 ounces or 30% less for the same money. Getting the picture?

Packing the Supreme Court is a way of removing the independence of the court and furthering a politicization of the courts, to follow government wishes and not the neutrality and objectivity for the people. However, what is standing in the way of this Marxist reform is our Constitutional Republic. Our three branches of independent but equal powers, the Judicial, Legislative and Executive branches, make it very difficult for revolutionaries to bring Marxist control over every aspect of American society, which is their intent.

As government continues to grow and exercise more control over society with ever increasing social mandates, taxation and reforms, many via executive orders, the percentage of our population dependent solely on the government skyrockets. The Marxist influence on the long-term political change of this country becomes more apparent as well.

A primary fact that we need to acknowledge is that the country is being pushed into a socialist/Marxist revolution by the far left. The strategy is to fundamentally break down the existing power structures in the military and society by removing patriotic conservatives, veterans, gun owners and conservative Christians. Only by repressing those conservative elements can the reduction or elimination of those loyal to the Constitution and to the people, take place. Purging or minimizing the loyalty of conservative elements and replacing soldiers and police loyal to the new regime, a socialist America, and increasing the population of those loyal to the government, outlines the real war that’s taking place.

If more people would actually study world history and be taught in school the strengths of capitalist principles, with particular emphasis on the United States’ influence on the freedom of people around the world, it would be most evident to all that we are indeed the last stand for individual rights and the protection of personal property and personal liberty. It’s the continuous increase in governmental taxes which are slowly dwindling personal wealth from the majority of our citizens and benefiting wealth accumulation for the top 1% group of individuals.

The left wants to have chaos in the streets because it instills fear in the citizenry. We have all seen what has become of cities like Portland, OR and their woke uprising. Leftist Mayors are not enforcing the rule of law, even though the great majority of the country, and especially those minority communities within the effected cities, want a greater police presence for their individual and business safety. The lack of prosecution is by design to enrage the populace. As policing becomes more federalized, they take away local control and autonomy and the right of states to self-governance. It’s the state’s self-governance that is the foundation of our Constitutional Republic. What woke folks want are an army and a federalized police force that resembles that of Venezuela or Cuba, where dissention is crushed and total control and loyalty is given to the regime. Not to the people.

According to an October 29, 2013 Investors Business Daily report, Breitbart.com and Diane Sawyer for ABC News, covered the story of then President Obama purging 197 US Military officers in a five-year span. He referred to it as, “my military” and an answer of “No” to a litmus test question, the main point being “Would you fire on an American citizen?” would have you replaced. It was reported that many of the officers were removed for arbitrary or no reason given, among them were 37 Four Star Generals.

Reforms in the name of equity, reparations and policing are being employed to use race rather than class, to overturn the existing structures of our society, assisting the creation of a new breed of law enforcement, loyal to the regime. Rahm Emanuel, Obama’s first Chief of Staff, famously said, “Never waste a crisis.” Today, we face a crisis of titanic proportions. It is the contrived disintegration of the United States by powers opposed to the inalienable rights of the citizens of our Constitutional Republic.

We are all being subjected to a woke way of life dictated by socialists and communists like the Squad’s Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, radical immigrant Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., or billionaire George Soros, where cancel culture and violence, such as BLM and ANTIFA, is to be perceived as a “necessity” to achieve some undefined notion of “equity.”

Contrary to that socialist push by the Democrat agenda in Washington and several states such as Connecticut, I would urge every single reader to visit FlagOfficers4America.com and read the open letter drafted and signed by over 150 retired US Military Generals and Admirals. It’s a blueprint in getting our Constitutional Republic back and out of the hands of those wishing to disarm and bring us all down under a tyrannical government.

TO:                  Nick Carroll, Berlin Citizen, Editorial Page Editor

FROM:             Lou Arata

DATE:              May 19, 2021

RE:                   Propaganda

The word propaganda was coined in 1622 by Pope Gregory XV. Determined to halt the spread of Protestantism, he created the ‘Office for the Propagation of the Faith’ to oversee the Church’s missionary efforts in the New World. The term propaganda originally did not carry the negative connotation it does today and up until 1911, Encyclopedia Britannica didn’t even include a definition.

During World War I the word became synonymous for big fat lies when the Allies made the word familiar to the masses of Great Britain and the United States. Politically, propaganda has been used for centuries, but it was the effectiveness of the war effort that governments observed, and systematically deployed the entire range of modern media to stir the collective populations into action.

In fact, it was such an extraordinary state accomplishment of exciting mass enthusiasm in support of fighting in an ugly global brawl, that government and business took notice, realizing “public opinion” was a force that could and needed to be managed. The Allied campaign was so successful celebrating Democracy that after the war, propagandists went to work for the likes of General Motors, Procter & Gamble and General Electric.

Walter Lippmann’s famous 1922 phrase, “the manufacture of consent” was in reference to the management of public opinion. It was a “necessity throughout the public sphere,” sentiments employed by businessmen, journalists and politicians alike.

Edward Bernays wrote, in 1947, “The Engineering of Consent.” In it, he defines “engineering consent” as the art of manipulating people and he maintained that entire populations, which were undisciplined or lacking in intellectual or definite moral principles, were vulnerable to unconscious influence. They were susceptible to want things that they do not need and to support various ideas and programs that they did not fully understand. This was achieved by linking those products and ideas to their unconscious desires. According to Bernays, this practice was extended to everything, including the fluoridation of water supplies, presidential elections, and the creation of superstars in the entertainment industry.

And so, it goes, from American Dream, to the Mad Men of Madison Avenue, to today politics. We are now being bombarded by an unrelenting stream of propagandists pushing their particular take on what we should do and think, what we should buy and what we should support, through every form of media. The pure truth is that in the art of persuasion, not all the information presented or implied is factual.

Now we see major global social media corporations controlling content and obstructing free speech, thereby prohibiting the free expression of ideas and thought.

Fake news is absolutely real and so is the stupefying amount of hypocrisy that surrounds us.  I’ve written in the past that we collectively must decide as a nation whether we want to retain those rights safeguarding our individual liberties and freedoms as contained in the Declaration of Independence, our Constitution and the Bill of Rights, or will we allow a globalist socialist/communist takeover of our system of governance, disarm our population and enable the ever-growing elitist tyrannical forces to control every aspect of our lives through an all-knowing governing body?

Beware of the man behind the curtain.

I will respect you and your right to think, however you decide is best for you. Just don’t go trying to force me into something I know or feel is wrong or immoral. It might be nice if we were all the same and shared the same opinions and outlook on life. But we don’t and I doubt we ever will. Many politicians pontificate that it is our differences that make this nation of immigrants strong. I challenge that overused tag line and offer that it has been, for the most part, the willingness of previous immigrants to assimilate into our society that has made this country so strong.

Cancel culture and those woke folks have gone too far, IMHO. Movements popularize their agenda through propaganda, their talking points, and the main stream media (MSM) supports those messages with exhaustive repetition. Malcolm X said, “The media’s the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of the masses.” If falsehoods are mentioned often enough, for long enough, the public will end up going along with the fabrication. The MSM does not necessarily publicize all relevant facts and certainly cherry-pick the news stories they want you to hear.

Media hypocrisy is best demonstrated by the entire disfunction surrounding the Hunter Biden story that’s unravelling now. The suppression of specific known information about Hunter Biden, undoubtedly assisted his father in the 2020 presidential election. If the original NY Post breaking story was followed up on, we would have a much different nation today and we are all aware of the obvious bias the MSM has against conservatism.

I’ve been a huge fan of sports all my life. However, I’ve decided to stop paying attention to major league sports and their advertisers. I could care less what a “celebrity” or a professional athlete thinks. One lives and “works” in a pretend world with ridiculous salaries and the other gets paid exorbitant amounts of money to play a game. Both live in a fantasy world and live a fantasy life. I believe John and Jane Doe working several jobs to make ends meet and raising their children together are the real heroes in this world.

The bottom line is the eternal fight for power and control. Only as free-thinking individuals can we be assured to continue our lives as free people.

What lasts are the real, real things. Family. Faith. Love. Not the opulence of your home, the car you drive or the gaudiness of personal accessorizing. Some people have money and lots of material stuff, but they lack class and a civility towards their fellow man. We have all seen the obnoxious gyrations of some screwball or self-entitled jerk, that makes you shake your head in wonder- why do they act like that?

What do I want to see more of?  Honesty and people helping other people, not more people looking for more handouts.

TO:                         Nick Carroll, Editorial Page Editor- Berlin Citizen

FROM:                  Lou Arata

DATE:                    March 25, 2021

RE:                         What are we doing to ourselves?

Is everyone equal and deserving of a guaranteed basic “living wage” regardless of how hard they work, or if they work at all? Rome ended up needing “bread and circuses” to control its’ population so the rulers could enjoy their elite status lifestyles.

The wealth disparity in this country and globally is accelerating at a staggering pace due to the dismantling of the middle class. Entry into the middle class was the cornerstone of the American Dream and the avenue out of poverty, often via ownership of a private business. If you were told January 1, 2020 that later in the year the government would be deciding which businesses were allowed to be open or closed and what businesses were deemed “essential” or not, would you have believed it? Probably not.

It’s no surprise to anyone with open eyes and ears, that international agencies and corporations, and the anti-capitalist Democrat agenda are closing in on what has been so taken for granted: the American Dream. As reported by CNBC, according to YELP, an alarming 60% of the closed small businesses during the pandemic, will never reopen.

Have you noticed that everything we want is cheap, such as clothes, TV sets and toys? In contrast, the cost of everything we need is expensive, like health care, housing, education and food. We can also add gasoline to that list, thanks in part to the swift Biden executive order cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline. This was done supposedly in our national interest. However, the International Energy Agency projects our oil share of total energy production falling only 8% over the next 20 years, from 32% to 23% by 2040; regardless of how fast electric vehicles are employed. 

So, in the name of safety and preventing a health care system being inundated with sick people, we have lived through COVID-19, its endless list of executive orders and profligate Congressional spending. The first stimulus bill, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act passed in March 2020 totaled $2 Trillion. In December, a second $2.3 Trillion relief package passed. Now we have passed the third “American Rescue Plan” (ARP), a $1.9 trillion “relief” package drafted by our elected brain trust in Washington D.C., all while over one half a trillion dollars still remain unspent from the first two bills. Alarmingly, only Democrats voted for the third overreaching bill and that pork package contains only 9% in direct COVID-19 relief.  The remaining 91% is for pet “progressive” projects, with the funding printed out of thin air.

Making the ARP bill even more flabbergasting is that half of the money will not be spent until years from now, benefiting mostly Democrat-controlled state governments and their enablers, government employee unions. According to a New York Post article, monetary transfers to state and local governments amounts to $350 billion dollars, or 116 times more than the entire revenue shortfall for ALL state governments. State aid is being allocated disproportionally to the states with the highest unemployment rates. Interesting isn’t it, that the top 10 states with the highest unemployment are Democrat controlled states? The greed is sickening, as is bailing out and rewarding poorly managed fiscally irresponsible states and cities.

All this spending results in the bureaucrats of this country becoming a privileged and untouchable class. There exists an obvious growing difference between government and private-sector employment compensation and benefits. I can’t help but think of the comparison to the Soviet Union, where there were two classes of people: those in the government and those who worked to pay for them. What are we doing to ourselves in this country? Why are those in the private sector in this country putting up with the socialist power grab we’re witnessing in our nation’s capital?

As the wealth divide widens, at some point, unfortunately probably sooner than later, another catastrophic economic crash is waiting to happen because we cannot just continue printing paper money and spending it when there is nothing backing the currency. President Nixon took us off the gold standard in 1971. Every man, woman and child in this country now has an additional $17,000 debt wrapped around their neck, thanks to Biden’s “relief” bill.  But the Democrats don’t care. It’s more important to fund foreign country initiatives, balloon payments to public unions and illegal immigrants than to do right for the American people.

The socialists and communists in the United States House of Representatives and Senate are making sure the National Guard and the barbed wire topped fencing surrounding the Capital Building is being kept so that votes on bills may be completed safely in the dead of night. If it wasn’t for the demands of GOP Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., who forced the Senate clerks to read Biden’s COVID ARP bill aloud, all 628 pages, few in the chamber would have even read the bill before voting.

Another historical financial concern for every individual and company, both here and abroad, is in the works, championed by the World Economic Forum (WEF). With all consumer and national spending eventually accomplished through a new digital cashless monetary system, if the WEF, International Monetary Fund (IMF), Central Banks and the UN have their way, it will be catastrophic for your personal independence. This transfer to a global system of digital money, controlled by the government, will be the end of cash used in society. It would be wise to remember all of the gold held by individuals in 1933 was confiscated by the Federal Government under President Franklin D. Roosevelt to pay for our national debt. It could happen again. What would you do if the Fed and the US treasury cease to honor the cash you have saved in your 401K, retirement and savings accounts?

Some have called out legislators in Washington as closet socialists, voluntarily dismantling the freest country on earth. Why are we allowing this to take place? Perhaps the Democrats, who face two years of running Congress with virtually no room for error, have to push their fragmenting radical agenda through as quickly as possible.

Lou Arata has been a candidate for the CT 83^rd House District and is Vice Chairman of the Meriden Republican Town Committee and the Meriden Public Utilities Commission.

TO:                         Jeff Kurz, Editorial Page Editor

DATE:                    February 1, 2021

RE:                          Lockdowns or Open Society?

In an interview with the NYTimes, Melinda Gates, in discussing the COVID-19 pandemic, admitted, “What did surprise us is we hadn’t really thought through the economic impacts.” Apparent through the interview, she is under the impression that it is the fault of the pandemic, not the lockdowns, which caused our economic devastation and the well documented ancillary tragedies.

Whether you like it or not, the pandemic exposed the failure of an experiment in social and economic management by shutting down travel, businesses, schools, churches and instituting stay-at-home directives, all of which smack of totalitarian stratagem. The resulting unemployment has been catastrophic for many families.

This article is not downplaying the suffering and deaths attributed to the virus. Rather, here is the other side of the pandemic response, which is not being realized or focused on by the mainstream media (MSM).

According to the National Vital Statistics System in 2019, there were 2,854,838 deaths in the United States. Of those, heart disease accounted for 659,041 and cancer 599,601.

Overall CDC data shows, as of the end of September 2020 the survival rate of contracting COVID-19 in the United States, to be:

Age 0-19               99.997%

Age 20-49            99.98%

Age 50-69            99.5%

Age 70+                94.6%

With over 2.8 million people dying in the USA yearly, it is always worth reminding ourselves that we, as humans, are indeed part of the circle of life, a part of nature and susceptible to her whims and wrath. Man will never dominate over nature in the long term and unfortunately, the elderly and weakest among us are going to be the most susceptible to succumb to disease and calamity.

In their book, “Corporate Flight: The Causes and Consequences of Economic Dislocation” published in 1982, authors Barry Bluestone, Bennett Harrison and Lawrence Baker brought to light the devastating outcome of unemployment in this country. Their data shows us that every 1% rise in our national unemployment rate correlates to an increase of 37,000 deaths- due mainly to depression, cardiovascular disease, suicide, the deterioration of mental health and many other illnesses that increase mortality.

1. Harvey Brenner of the Yale School of Medicine and John’s Hopkins University, said, “Economic growth is the single most important factor to length of life.” He also added, “Employment is the essential element of social status and it establishes a person as a contributing member of society and also has very important implications for self-esteem.”

At the beginning of the pandemic, we all were told that we needed to “flatten the curve” so our medical facilities would not be over run and compromised. That was the major premise of the actions taken and was an important goal. Beyond that, so much of what our leaders decided and implemented, was basically uncharted waters and the blame-game was out in full force. Federal leaders and the scientific community flip-flopped on proper procedure and the estimation of the effects of the virus. State Governor’s, who are ultimately responsible to their own citizenry, vacillated, resulting in differing outcomes. (Many became the sole arbiter of policy and power, via executive authority given them by the dully elected state representatives, whose job it actually is to legislate). Governor’s extended their strong-armed policies beyond the threshold of statute, ordering the closing down of commerce and religion. The First Amendment was under attack and the political divide deepened.

Interestingly, it was private businesses that were hurt the most. Public sector jobs were kept secure, some even enjoyed pay raises during the pandemic. Meanwhile, people with Main Street businesses were often not sure where their next meal was going to come from or if their businesses could survive. Not every business received PPP funds and some are still waiting for their monetary distribution. This was evidenced here in Connecticut and we are still dealing with the problems stemming from our Governor’s orders done in the name of our safety. For all the appalling economic devastation, our survival rates have remained remarkably consistent. Pre-vaccine, for those under the age of 70, less than 1% died from contracting the virus.

Totalitarianism is defined by Wikipedia as, a form of government or political system that prohibits opposition parties, restricts individual opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high degree of control over public and private life. It is regarded as the most extreme and complete form of authoritarianism. Communist China is a classic example.

This definition is dangerously close to what we are living today. Opposition views from government issued directives are met with swift cancel culture attacks. The drumbeat of repetitive messaging from the MSM and evening news programing is that “We’re all in this together.” But all of us are not suffering the same realities from the ramifications of our Governor’s orders. If you work for the government, then you’re okay. Government has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that it takes care of itself and its own. If you work outside the comfortable walls of public service, such is not necessarily the case. Fortunately, unemployment coverage has been offered to tens of millions and extended in many cases, however, this situation cannot last forever. What effect our present joblessness will have on society long-term is uncertain.

Melinda Gates is above all the suffering. She and her family have financial resources on the order of $70 billion by some estimates, compared to the average citizen who earns $47,216 per year. The toll of the lockdowns and the impact on the collective mental health of our population will become evident in the future pandemic analysis. One thing is certain, the freedom we all once had is now gone, in the name of safety.

Benjamin Franklin said, “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

While Franklin was addressing an issue of pending taxation, the current use of the quote is apropos. The common terminology of “listen to the experts” and “trust the science” is part of the dilemma of those who have been taught to think and to question authority. Many of those people tend to be conservative in nature. Regardless of the issue, the prosecution and the defense will always have their own “experts” to give the correct version of testimony. Both are experts, but each giving conflicting testimony on the same topic. What is the truth? Who is right, or more aptly put, who do you believe?

The saying, “Follow the money”, usually aids in sourcing the motive behind public opinions. It is not until you are affected by something, that it becomes important. Human nature is that one is disinclined to consider much about matters that personally don’t affect them. Likewise, not until you have “skin-in-the-game” will you take notice of something, or take them seriously. By now, most of us know someone who has suffered with COVID-19 and it is fact that many of those who first walked around without a mask and thought the virus was a hoax, contracted it. They now think differently.

What is currently growing are the extremes of wealth, of those who have in-excess and those who don’t have as much. Even as the middle class in this country continues to shrink, socialism is becoming more tolerated and taught in our schools. Not only in our public schools, but private institutions as well. Instead of calling someone a socialist or communist, they are openly referred to as progressive, and that somehow is okay. The attempt of many leftist leaders today is to try and rewrite our history through cancel culture. The only diversity that is not accepted, is diversity of thought.

I offer two perfect examples of cancel culture and the forced silencing of debate, which the First Amendment is supposed to guarantee in this country. “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.” On our college campuses, where civil debate and open-mindedness should always prevail- to question is for learning and understanding. Conservative advocates Ben Shapiro and Candace Owens have been forced to cancel speaking appearances by students and other organizations who threaten violence to those who oppose their thoughts. Why should their conservative voices not be heard, if offered in a peaceful manner? Just because you may not agree with the line of thought or politics, in no way does it give another the right to exclude them their Constitutional rights in the exercising of their right to offer their opinions or to peaceably assemble.

If you thought such affronts weren’t happening to our most precious First Amendment rights, specifically the right to be able to voice your own thoughts without repercussion or government suppression, then today is the day you should start to let your voice be heard. It is even more dire that our government is plotting with corporate tech giants to silence, stifle and preclude free speech, monitor our every click and increase surveillance of our private lives.

This is not a trend that bodes well for personal liberty, as outlined and guaranteed by our Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights. We hold these Truths to be self-evident. This is where this country is- half of the country does not think tearing up our founding documents is the correct course of action, nor the best road for the preservation of human freedom. If our new President is going to honestly unify our country as promised, then, according to The Associated Press, why in his first three days of office were 30 executive orders, presidential memorandums, and agency directives signed—all without the consent of Congress? Facts are facts and during his Presidential campaign in October 2020, Biden himself said, “You can’t (legislate) by executive order unless you’re a dictator.”

On January 20^th President Biden spoke often of the need for national unity. The President’s recent executive actions are more akin to divide-and-conquer. His actions are speaking (and dividing) louder than his words.

TO:                         News@theberlincitizen.com

FROM:                  Lou Arata, Candidate for State Representative 83^rd District

DATE:                    September 30, 2020

RE:                          Taxation Op-ed

The Connecticut legislature raised the State income tax in 1992, 2003, 2009, 2011 and again in 2015. All were passed by the Democrat controlled legislature, with little bipartisan support.

The Democrats still have a stranglehold on the governing bodies in Hartford. The influence on legislation from the state unions negatively affecting our cities and towns is well documented and known. It is a very sad statistic that the largest employer in the state is actually the State of Connecticut. Private enterprise creates the wealth and government spends what it takes. We still have people voting for the same individuals, term after term and the State continues to deteriorate financially.

For this reason, we’ve been seeing such a wealth drain of individuals and corporations relocating to more affordable areas. In order to correct this mess, we first need to get rid of the stale, entrenched representatives that have done nothing to fix this problem.  My opponent has served in the General Assembly for sixteen years and in 2019 she voted 99% of the time with her party. This is exactly why term-limits are a good idea.

Tax and spend politicians should be a thing of the past, like the horse and buggy. Connecticut residents are some of the most well educated in the nation, yet our voting patterns seem to be awry. Voting the same people back into office over and over doesn’t create an environment for new ideas. Only the politicians and the bureaucrats are doing well. They’ve been protected through the COVID-19 pandemic with their jobs and paychecks secure. How secure are you and your family? What ever happened to “what’s good for the goose is good for the gander?” and where is the shared sacrifice, if we’re truly all in this together?

People, we must collectively wake up to the God’s honest truth that we cannot tax and spend our way out of this madness. It has been proven over five times to be a grotesquely failing proposition. How many more fees and license increases, along with the sheer number of items and services that are now taxed here in Connecticut, can our working families withstand? State Representatives send our cities and towns unfunded mandates that each municipality must pay on their own, causing our property taxes to continue to rise. Do you feel your best interests are really being served by your elected officials in Hartford?

Our system of governance and our regulations must be revised since the state cannot declare bankruptcy and start over. It will take courage and transparency to tackle that mission. As a first step I support having a forensic audit of every department to unearth the waste, corruption, redundancy and mismanagement inherent in our present situation.

Lastly, with such a well-educated populous here in Connecticut, I would think we could find enough upstanding, smart folks, perhaps some within our own legislature, to figure out a workable path and develop a plan of execution, without having to spend millions of dollars for an out-of-state firm to tell us to do basically the same thing. Having that expenditure for an out-of-state commission to pass, tells me the elected officials need cover- because they can’t or don’t have the leadership qualities or qualifications it takes to succeed at their elected jobs and do what is the right thing for their constituents, which is to not raise taxes.

Please, I ask for your vote because I do have the qualifications and qualities to succeed, and I will begin to rebuild broken systems, seeking impetus from all sides. Those entrenched, elected officials want you to vote for them, yet they won’t make a difficult decision and an unpopular vote to be on their record. They only care about getting re-elected and so they can claim they fight for you, without a blemish on their vote tally. This is not progress.

Connecticut was once the leader of states in wealth and job opportunity, prior to the state income tax slide of the last 29 years. There are plenty of other states that are in the same situation, mostly led by Democrat legislatures and Democrat Mayors in our largest cities. Those are facts and sometimes the truth is painful.  Remember that only all of us, together, can we solve this and the other enormous problems we’re facing. Yes, difficult decisions will have to be made. Government will have to do more with less, just like you and I have had to do in our households. It’s about time.

I want to help our state and work for you, to once again make Connecticut a state where one can be raised, go to school, find employment and retire. I am asking you to vote for me for State Representative of the 83^rd District. Thank you.

TO:                         Nick Carroll, News Editor, Record Journal Weeklies

FROM:                  Lou Arata

DATE:                    July 28, 2020

RE:                          False Narratives              

There are so many false narratives floating around these days. Whatever side of debate you happen to be on, you can find an expert to support your position.

I argue what is essential today is a common sense approach to politics.

The State’s latest knee-jerk legislation is the “Police Accountability” Legislation (HB 6004). At its core is the ending of qualified immunity for police officers. I believe this is bad for our communities. If passed, how safe will you actually be if police response times increase?

While HB 6004 does contain some positive components, such as establishing police department accreditation standards and applies FOI provisions to union contracts and arbitration awards, the negative take-aways are far more numerous.

There are funding problems. Who pays for all the new mandated accreditation costs, increased costs for health evaluations and drug testing, reimbursement for must-have camera equipment and data storage?

Not surprising, this bill was rammed through without a normal hearing process. No proper notice requirements. No thorough scrutiny. Committee leadership severely limited time allotted for discussion and questions. There’s vague language- what exactly is “…conduct that undermines public confidence.” It’s also unclear just how an officer is to intervene if witnessing excessive force.

Besides the obvious difficulty municipalities will face recruiting and keeping officers, this bill doesn’t give the Police Accountability Taskforce the opportunity to review the issues with this bill. Why no proper review?

Lastly, there are questions about the constitutionality of the new Inspector General position. Our state constitution vests investigation and prosecution of criminal cases with the Division of Criminal Justice, the Chief State’s Attorney and the individual State’s Attorney offices. Do we need more bureaucracy?

Common sense is, why ram this through? Is passing any bill immediately, good for incumbent politicians running for reelection in the fall?

TO: Jeff Kurz, Editorial Page Editor

FROM: Lou Arata

DATE: May 14, 2020

RE: Three Strikes, You’re Out!

In the Friday RJ May 1, 2020 editorial, Gov. Ned Lamont was chastised for failing to abide by the 1975 enacted Connecticut Freedom of Information Act and for an obvious lack of transparency.

I wanted to believe that our new Governor was an honest man and would be a good communicator to help heal the deep distrust of government created by his predecessor, Gov. Dan Malloy. I was proven wrong.

Gov. Lamont is at it again, now appointing a Boston consulting firm to orchestrate opening business back up in Connecticut, with a price tag of $2 MILLION dollars.

Last summer Gov. Lamont, with billionaire Ray Dalio and his Dalio Philanthropies, created the Partnership for Connecticut to benefit education in the state. Only the problem was that the cooperative would be exempt from our freedom-of-information laws even though tax-payer money would be included in its expenditures.

Then our Governor appointed 47 individuals to advise him on opening up business, called the Reopen Connecticut Advisory Group. They too, according to Gov. Lamont, are exempt from FOIA laws. To make matters even worse, Lamont’s Reopen Connecticut Advisory Committee Chair, Indra Nooyi, used to work for the same Boston consulting firm.

So, just to recap, now we learn Gov. Lamont has hired a Boston consulting company without any input from the Legislature, spent $2M at the most inappropriate time and couldn’t find enough common wisdom within his own handpicked advisory group of 47 people to tackle the job?!

Something smells rather fishy.

How about Gov. Lamont appoints local leaders to lead the re-opening effort, as they actually know what is going on within our communities since they serve their communities every day. They know what decisions will work to keep us safe and get us back open.

Hey Ned, three strikes and you’re out!

TO:                   Nick Carroll- News Editor, RJ Weeklies

FROM:             Lou Arata

DATE:              April 18, 2020

RE:                   Don’t Be a Hypocrite

Gov. Lamont likes to follow the lead of the Governors of surrounding state’s and he should keep his stripes and suspend the $353 Million-dollar SEBAC 5.5% pay increase for state employees, effective July 1, 2020.

For all tax payers and an already overburdened economy, in my opinion, we must provide some financial relief to the frustration and anxiety caused by layoffs and pay cuts to 1-in-7 workers. That figure may even get worse in the coming weeks.

Gov. Lamont has had no problem using broad strokes of his pen to contract law interpretation via his Executive Order No. 7X, extending COVID-19 restrictions of all kinds through May 20, 2020.

Connecticut still hasn’t fully overcome the fiscal losses sustained in the 2008-2009 Great Recession and fiscal uncertainty remains at our doorstep. I urge elected officials to Hartford, as I hope all who read this will do, that they collectively do the right, prudent and responsible thing for ALL citizens of Connecticut- suspend the pay increases. The argument isn’t whether increases are justified or not- it’s the timing and the State simply can’t afford them.

I further strongly suggest suspending HB 5004, the $1/hour increase, effective September 1, 2020 to the minimum wage. On October 1, 2019 a $1/hour increase brought our current minimum wage to $11 per hour. It’s certain that small businesses will have an uphill climb once they are allowed to open back up and this mandated payroll increase will likely put many permanently out of business.

The State of Connecticut fiscal picture is far worse now than when Gov. Lamont touted the “debt diet” after he took office. Be fair to tax payers and present real Leadership by holding the line on spending until such time all of us can begin, again, making financial contributions to our communities.