Doug Wrenn
Doug Wrenn
Hardly Mother Of The Year
I had a difficult time entitling this piece. Various ideas came through my mind, many including the number 14 in them. I decided against using any of them for the same reason I so detest the often-misused words, "illegitimate" and "bastard." Children never commit any offense by being born. They are never "illegitimate," nor, "bastards." The adults who create and conceive them however, are not always so innocent.
Feb 9, 2009 - 11:43:49 AM
Doug Wrenn
Russ Feingold Is No Roger Sherman
Roger Sherman, one of our nation's founding fathers, a co-drafter of our Declaration of Independence, a former US Senator from Connecticut, and New Haven's first mayor, must be rolling in his grave right now. In fact, "Sherman Avenue" in downtown Madison, Wisconsin should be renamed immediately. Blame Russ Feingold.
Jan 28, 2009 - 6:11:07 PM
Doug Wrenn
No, I Will Not Support This President, And No, I Do Not Hope He Succeeds
You can blame this angry rant on Rush Limbaugh's radio show monologue, ironically, or perhaps prophetically on Martin Luther King Day, but all Rush did was push my button. The anger was already there and has already been building up steam, just waiting for a catalyst of release.
Jan 21, 2009 - 10:02:02 AM
Doug Wrenn
Oh, Give Her The Job! After All, She's Not Just Unqualified... She's A Kennedy!
I look at Caroline Kennedy and I see a far left liberal who's maybe not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer, but a basically nice lady, despite being a lawyer. OK, it's settled. She should be a Senator.
Jan 10, 2009 - 9:37:37 PM
Doug Wrenn
Sound Advice To Israel About Gaza From Me, But Inspired By "Stonewall" And "Clemenza"
Talk to any seasoned cop and he'll tell you that in any garden variety verbal domestic dispute, there are three sides to every story: his, hers, and the truth, which is a little of both, and found somewhere in the middle. Nevertheless, once the verbal domestic dispute escalates to the point at which one party or the other is assaulted, the tit for tat details lose whatever little importance they once may have had and the aggressor gets a free ride to an all expenses paid vacation to the local jail, while being adorned with a complimentary pair of shiny silver bracelets as a secondary prize. It's all about the priorities. And that's why I really couldn't care less about the drivel I hear from the far left loons who try to persuade me that I'm supposed to feel sorry for Hamas. The Israelis may not necessarily be angels, but Hamas, while a political party, is also a band of terrorists. As if that fact doesn't clarify the whole scenario enough, I just found out that the very esteemed Roseann Barr, Magna Cum Laude graduate of the renowned Hollywood Foreign Affairs Expertise Correspondence Course, is now officially out of hibernation and seeking food for the next season. She has also awakened from her slumber with a trademark growl by calling Israel a "Nazi State." Now I know I'm on the right side!
Jan 5, 2009 - 4:57:48 PM
Doug Wrenn
Enough Already! Time To Bail On The Bail-Outs And Rekindle Honest Abe's Sage Logic
Nobody's that stupid. I can only conclude that Bush, Paulson, Bernanke, Dodd, Frank, et al. actually want our government and/or our financial infrastructure to collapse to collaborate with their CFR (Council on Foreign Relations) cronies to establish a one world order and/or to simply line their own pockets while the getting is good. Bush's recent meetings with other foreign leaders to supposedly solve the fiscal crisis, a de'ja vu of the Bretton Woods fiasco, only steeled that theory in my mind. Meanwhile, The United States Of Sheep continues to be sheered in the world's biggest shell game: our national fiscal fleecing.
Dec 31, 2008 - 3:23:49 PM
Doug Wrenn
Newspapers In New Britain And Bristol Should Sink Or Swim On Their Own
"OK, ready? Here it comes, just a little pinch..." As children in the doctor's office, we often heard that phrase as we grimaced during a vaccination. Little did we know that the brief little "pinch" from the needle would free us from a potentially more serious suffering. Our parents made us endure the slight pain for good reason. It was clearly the lesser of two evils. Now, we children have grown into adults, but we have forgotten that vital life lesson we learned years ago in the doctor's office.
Dec 30, 2008 - 2:43:32 PM
Doug Wrenn
We Survived Having A "Merry Christmas"
As a practicing Christian, one blessing I appreciated this year leading up to Christmas was the pleasant surprise that wherever I went, I heard and read much more of "Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, and Happy New Year" than "Happy Holidays." At last, the battle to preserve Christ in Christmas while also now truly respecting the faiths of others has won some ground, and somehow, we've all survived.
Dec 30, 2008 - 1:17:53 PM
Doug Wrenn
Attention Walmart Shoppers: Merry Christmas...You're Dead!
So-called "Black Friday" became much blacker this year when a Walmart employee was trampled to death by an estimated 2,000 frenzied shoppers who stormed and even broke down the store's doors upon its 5am special sales opening in Long Island, New York.
Dec 1, 2008 - 5:00:55 PM
Doug Wrenn
Sarah Getting Unfairly "McCained"
The recently leaked flurry of sordid and slanderous rumors that have supposedly emanated from disgruntled McCain campaign workers about Sarah Palin, and as reported by Fox News and other outlets, tells us several things. First, there is apparently not enough real news to fill the tedious 24/7 cable TV news cycle, and it should probably end and be replaced by something somewhat substantive like "I Love Lucy" reruns. Second, It is a telling sign of the pettiness and moral decline of the American people, and the inept bozos who now sadly run the fourth estate, that such cutting, mindless gossip is even considered newsworthy. Third, as I have always known, never trust a so-called "moderate Republican." Most of these clowns can pretty much be put into one of two categories: pusillanimous, politically correct pansies who are too timid to make a decision or take a stand, lest someone disagree with them, or worse yet, possibly take offense, or conniving, self-serving repugnant whores who would slit their own mother's throat for their own personal and/or political gain. And at heart, members of both categories lean far more to the left than ever, if at all, to the right.
Nov 11, 2008 - 11:59:19 AM
Doug Wrenn
Black Hypocrites, White Cowards, And The Treasonous Election Of Barack "Cinque" Obama
I'm tired of it already. If I hear of, or see one more black person crying tears of joy over Obama's election, I'm going to slap him silly. This election's result, at least in part, came about by a combination of ignorance, denial, and retribution, foisted upon us by some self-absorbed hypocritical blacks and cowardly, politically correct whites.
Nov 7, 2008 - 12:13:28 PM
Doug Wrenn
Newest (And Nudist) Group Of Disenfranchised Floridian Voters Wish To "Bare" All For Country
The sage adage reminds us to be careful of what we wish for, lest it comes true. As I write this column, tomorrow is Election Day. If you came here seeking more regurgitation about Obama and McCain then you've come to the wrong place. First of all, it's all been said ad nauseum. If you really still don't know for whom you are voting at this stage, then please do the rest of us knowledgeable and sincere voters a favor and stay home in your cave, contently and mindlessly watching "American "Idol," as you wipe the drool off your chin and we try to elect some semblance of an American President. We don't need you canceling out our well-researched, well-informed votes with a coin toss or a decision based on who has the nicest smile. As for me, I am sick of hearing about, discussing and writing about this election. At this point, what it is is what it is and there is nothing else that can or should be added to it, especially if you are possibly reading this piece on or even after Election Day. I wanted a different subject to break up the monotony. Unfortunately, I think I found it.
Nov 3, 2008 - 8:31:54 PM
Doug Wrenn
The 2008 Election: Who Dealt This "Foot"?
There is a phrase in poker parlance, usually directed toward the dealer, if only even rhetorically, in which a disgruntled player who has finished playing a bad "hand" asks, "Who dealt this 'foot'?" As Glenn Harlan Reynolds quipped in his October 27th Forbes.com piece, "Is This The Best We Can Do?", you would think we would have a better selection of higher quality candidates in this year's election in a nation of 300 million people. As I look at this election year's presidential pickings, I shake my head in both exasperation and disbelief, and cry out the same question, but far more emphatically, "Who dealt this foot?"
Oct 29, 2008 - 11:14:42 AM
Doug Wrenn
Welcome, Sarah Reagan... Oops, Um... I Mean, "Palin"!
During the course of lamenting to a friend about my hesitant but active return foray to the Republican Party last year, I quoted Al Pacino from the movie, 'Godfather III,' "Just when I think I'm out...they drag me back in!"
Sep 16, 2008 - 12:08:13 PM
Doug Wrenn
A Different Kind of "Two Americas" Evident In This Presidential Race
Former Senator and presidential candidate John Edwards campaigned, and with abysmal results, on a theme that there are supposedly "two Americas," inferring to the "haves" and "have nots." It should be no surprise to anyone, including Edwards, as to why his campaign tanked. As Americans, most of us prefer unity, and not divisiveness. Divisiveness is naturally constrained, and unity, all-encompassing. We are, after all, a country divided by 50 states, but united under one flag.
Sep 8, 2008 - 10:49:49 AM
Doug Wrenn
Foul Ball Played In New Haven
We've heard the phrases before: "the word of the law," and, "the spirit of the law." The inference is that what is not necessarily conveyed in word should be interpreted in spirit, or what the literal word was intended to mean. The same premise also holds true for rules as well as for laws. Sadly, it appears that in Connecticut's Elm City, the youth baseball league known as: "Liga Juvenil de Baseball de New Haven" (LJB), nobody ever got that memo, in any language.
Sep 4, 2008 - 3:31:13 PM
Doug Wrenn
Wailin' Over Palin
The announcement was scarcely made 24 hours ago and the heart of this red-blooded, testosterone-charged, conservative male is still racing, and for good reason. First of all, Sarah Palin in unequivocally eye candy for guys. But secondly, and far more importantly, she is a true conservative in the image, albeit a far prettier one, than Ronald Reagan, and forgive me, but yes, Dick Cheney, too. There just might still be hope for the feeble, fluttering, withering, self-destructive, and all-but-done Republican Party yet.
Sep 1, 2008 - 2:58:51 PM
Doug Wrenn
Ridiculous to a "T"
One of the perks of being a writer is that during those times when you run dry on material, all you need do is wait and life will soon hand you a subject on a silver platter.
Aug 19, 2008 - 11:16:33 AM
Doug Wrenn
Should Georgia Be On Our Minds?
William Tecumseh Sherman indeed kept his promise to make "Georgia howl." As another "Georgia," on another continent is currently being mercilessly ravaged by air, land, and sea, with its airfields blown, civilian population intentionally targeted, and the last of its Coast Guard vessels sunk, I can't help but wonder if right about now, some Russian military officer is sending a similar tongue-in-cheek message to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Aug 16, 2008 - 11:18:34 AM
Doug Wrenn
Major Crash On Campaign Trail: "Maverick"-Driven "Straight-Talk Express" Runs Over Life, Plummets Over "Ridge"
I just can't take it any more. Enough already with the hypocritical rubbish of incessantly uttering "John McCain" and "pro-life" in the same sentence. Those two phrases go together about as well as a red wine with a seafood dish.
Aug 15, 2008 - 7:16:09 AM
Doug Wrenn
All Not Quiet On The Southern Front; Militarize The Border
Article 4, Section 4 of the United States Constitution mandates that the federal government protect the states from "invasion." According to the Department of Homeland Security, since 1996, there have been at least 250 incidents of alleged Mexican troops illegally crossing our border, and in some cases, firing upon our grossly outgunned Border Patrol Agents, who are as handcuffed by a lack of firepower in their arsenal as they are by a lack of will from the Washington bureaucrats, who by policy, grossly and unacceptably restrict the agents' ability to protect themselves, let alone us. Our Constitution is being ignored, our national sovereignty impugned, and our security compromised, yet as shots ring out on the boisterous border, not a peep is heard from the bumbling Beltway.
Aug 12, 2008 - 10:08:36 AM
Doug Wrenn
To Frank Harris III: On Behalf Of Those Who Can Speak ... Give It A Rest!
Frank Harris III is at it again. After reading his August 8th Courant.com piece, "On Behalf Of Those Who Cannot Speak," I again found myself tempted to offer Mr. Harris some cheese to accompany his whine.
Aug 11, 2008 - 3:53:18 PM
Doug Wrenn
A Former Staffer Still "Curries" Favor With Bill Clinton
Disclaimer time. Former gubernatorial candidate and Democrat pundit, Bill Curry, is about as far to the left as I am to the right, so if he and I ever agree on an issue, keep a watch out for a solar or lunar eclipse. I respect anyone who calls them like he or she sees them, even if I disagree with his or her ideology and/or viewpoint. After all, I am also a guy who prides himself in calling them like he sees them. I almost never agree with Bill Curry, but I respect him. Despite his far left slant, even I have to admit he at least tries to be fair. His August 3rd (Hartford) Courant.com column, "Why Pick Top Prosecutor Now," is the exception, at least, somewhat.
Aug 6, 2008 - 11:35:26 AM
Doug Wrenn
Attention, Business Owners: Want To Know Why Business Is So Slow? It's The Service, Stupid!
The better half is working tonight, which means that yours truly was left on his own to fend for himself for dinner. That's a pretty ugly sight. Suffice to say that I only know of two cooking styles: one involves the use of a microwave, and the other involves the use of a telephone. OK, so that's not entirely true; but it is mostly true! What the alternative would likely involve however is your worst possible nightmare come true: an Irishman wearing an apron. Now that really is an ugly sight!
Aug 5, 2008 - 9:53:03 AM
Doug Wrenn
Feds Starting To Teach Cities And States Not To Be "Too Big For Their Britches"
My wife and I have reminisced and chuckled over a frequently repeated phrase we each heard from our respective mothers in our childhood: "Don't be too big for your britches." For the sake of full disclosure, my wife and I first met in our 20's, and our families, each from a different state, never met each other until well after we did. I guess that phrase was popular in our generation before parents didn't obsess over the over-rated sensitivity of their child's self esteem and kids excessively acting out back then were actually considered "brats," and not just expressing themselves, and the end result would be some form of appropriate punishment, and not a prescribed pill to chemically shut them up and baby-sit them. It's a shame parents, and society in general don't use such clichés any more. While considered corny, they were all nevertheless adept at accurately conveying the intended message. We need that particular cliché back again, and not just for our errant kids, but for those errant kids who later grew up to become errant politicians and bureaucrats at various levels of government.
Aug 4, 2008 - 11:30:30 AM
Doug Wrenn
August 1, 2008 In The USA(TM): Falling Bridges, Overworked Soldiers, Untapped Oil, Yet Still Money To Burn ... Everywhere Else
Yesterday was August 1st. A year ago yesterday at 6:05 PM Central Standard Time, 13 Americans were killed and about a hundred were injured. Their only crime: being at the wrong place at the wrong time, specifically the I-35W bridge at rush hour over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. Our fellow countrymen died or were injured as they attempted to come home from an honest day's toil to nobly support their families. It was later reported that the bridge was unsafe and in need of repair. Several weeks later, Congressman James Oberstar (D-MN), Head Hack of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee was vehemently screaming for more federal funding, via a five-cent gas tax hike, and that was still a year before gas prices hit 4 bucks and more per gallon!
Aug 2, 2008 - 9:29:22 PM
Doug Wrenn
Award The "Honorable" Senator Kennedy With Mexican Citizenship
A recent Associated Press story reported that Mexico will honor Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) with an award for his work on behalf of "migrants" and "immigrants." The AP, being the AP, neglected to mention the legal status of those "migrants" and "immigrants."
Jul 19, 2008 - 10:18:54 PM
Doug Wrenn
Anti-Catholic Hate Crime (Funded By The Public Dime)?
During a June 29th Mass held on the University of Central Florida campus, Webster Cook, a student "Senator", whatever that is, received the Communion Host in his hand and tried to walk away before being stopped by an unidentified person, who told Cook to put the Host in his mouth.
Jul 15, 2008 - 8:23:37 AM
Doug Wrenn
"Gay Pride" For What?
A local newspaper recently contained an article from the Associated Press entitled, "Gay Pride Parades Mark Strides In Several Areas." The article was referring to recent so-called "Gay Pride Parades" that occurred in (Gee, go figure!) New York and San Francisco. Having read the article three times, I found it to be poorly written. I am deliberately withholding the reporter's name in all fairness because I don't know if the blame for the article's ambiguity can be rightfully attributed to her or to her editor, but beyond the gay marriage issue, the article neglected to list any other areas or strides (plural). To the extent that marriage is supposedly an "area," or a "stride" for which gays are to be "proud," I am still bewildered.
Jul 1, 2008 - 2:06:21 PM
Doug Wrenn
"Supreme" Rulings?
In a recent debate I had with a Democrat sympathizer, she bad-mouthed Vice President Cheney as "arrogant." I asked why. She replied that in a recent interview, someone mentioned to the Vice President that many Americans are opposed to the Iraq War. Vice President Cheney allegedly responded, "So?"
Jun 29, 2008 - 12:14:45 AM
Doug Wrenn
Powder Puffs With Backpacks
OK, I get it. It's been hot lately, no argument there from me. A reliable source tells me that it is currently June. If that's true, that might well be the source of the problem, or at least the secondary part of the problem.
Jun 12, 2008 - 9:28:32 AM
Doug Wrenn
When It Comes To Illegal Immigration Reform, "NEVA" Trust The Congress!
In any good suspense thriller, the bad guy, after being once seemingly killed by the good guy, inevitably comes back to strike at least one more time before finally being ultimately dispatched and before the movie's closing credits begin to roll. There is now little doubt that the vast majority of Americans vehemently want to see our borders secured and illegal immigration finally and truly curbed once and for all. However, our corrupt and inept Congress, deeply entrenched in the all-too deep pockets of big money and powerfully influential special interest factions, keeps returning with a bloody dagger in its hand for yet attempted another fatal strike at the still vibrantly but precariously beating heart of the American people.
Jun 8, 2008 - 8:27:03 PM
Doug Wrenn
Obama And Kennedy Are Examples Of What Not To Do
While recently addressing attendees at Wesleyan University's commencement, presidential candidate Barack Obama often invoked his US Senate colleague, Ted Kennedy, as an example that one person can make a difference. Ironically, both Obama and Kennedy are profound examples of that wisdom.
May 28, 2008 - 9:48:06 AM
Doug Wrenn
"Celebrating" Memorial Day, 2008: One Silent Mourner, One Remembered Warrior, One Less Cookout
Why do we "celebrate" Memorial Day? Hold that thought for now. More on it later.
May 27, 2008 - 9:58:13 AM
Doug Wrenn
An Open Letter To Barack Obama With A CC To His Big-Mouthed, Anti-American, Man-Hating Wife, Michelle, The Aspiring First "Woman"
Somebody please give Barack Obama a lollipop. He apparently just received a testosterone injection and he didn't even whimper.
May 22, 2008 - 10:41:24 AM
Doug Wrenn
Oil, Oil, Everywhere, And Not A Drop To Burn!
On a local radio program, two newsmen were recently discussing the current energy debacle. One cited sources claiming oil to go up to over $200 per barrel and the price at the pump to rise to ten bucks a gallon within a time frame of only 2-3 years. His partner regaled how a friend of his does routing for oil tankers at sea. The newsman said he asked his friend, sarcastically, I take it, how much oil was idly floating out there on the ocean in those tankers. His friend replied so many that it is difficult for him to find space for them all. He referred to the scene as a parking lot. Any bells ringing in your heads yet, folks?
May 13, 2008 - 10:26:05 AM
Doug Wrenn
"Cafeteria" Catholics Still Consuming Forbidden Fruit From The Treacherous Political Tree
Bill Donahue, President of the Catholic League, has called on Democrat presidential candidate Barack Obama to dissolve his national advisory council, which is comprised in large part of pro-abortion Catholics, an oxymoron by the Church's standard.
May 12, 2008 - 11:28:25 AM
Doug Wrenn
End The Sacrilege At San Giovanni Rotundo, Rebury St. Padre Pio
The Catholic News Service has recently reported that at San Giovanni Rotundo, Italy, the home of the late Capuchin friar and recently sainted Padre Pio, the remains of this holy man have been willfully and disrespectfully disturbed for a pretense of veneration.
May 10, 2008 - 10:02:37 PM
Doug Wrenn
G. W. ("Global World") Bush, President Of Africa?
Astounding! The United States currently has a $9.5 trillion (as John McCain might say, "That's 'trillion,' with a 't!'") debt. We still do not have a national missile defense system. We have a still uncompleted fence on our porous border with Mexico that is more of a speed bump than a barrier. The I-35 westbound bridge collapsed into the Mississippi River in Minnesota recently because of years of neglect, neglect that ultimately took the lives of innocent, decent Americans who's only crime was being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Time and space prohibit me from completing this seemingly infinite list of unfulfilled duties of our floundering federal government. Juxtaposed against that apathetic ineptitude, President Bush has an "initiative" that is doling out $15 million to Africa to (supposedly) stop AIDS, and now, another "initiative" to dole out $1.2 billion (with a "b") to Africa to combat malaria.
Apr 30, 2008 - 12:33:01 PM
Doug Wrenn
The Dilemma of Guns In National Parks: Carry One In, Or Be Carried Out?
As per a recent nationally publicized article by Anna Tinsley of the McClatchy Newspapers, Interior Secretary, and former US Senator and Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne is taking another look at possibly seeking to change a current and long standing law banning the carrying of firearms in National Parks. And as usual, no good deed goes unpunished. The usual suspects of naive liberal bubble dwellers, gun grabbers, the predominantly leftist members of the 4th estate, and even various officials from within the National Park Service are already opposing the idea. And of course, they're all right, and our savvy forefathers who articulated our God-given right to protect ourselves in the 2nd Amendment of our Constitution were all wrong. After all, when in trouble, just climb a Sequoia and dial 911, right?
Apr 29, 2008 - 1:09:06 PM
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