One of my personal favorite parts of The Bushnell is the back room, and the panelists seem to agree! Here the walls tell their own story of shows past, featuring the signatures of Ray Charles, Walter Cronkite, Al Franken, Carol Channing, Bernadette Peters, Robert Goulet, Tim Conway, and many more!
Panelists Suzan-Lori Parks, David Simon, and Tony Kushner signing autographs during the pre-Forum panelist meeting
Tony Kushner autographing books
Members of The CT YOUTH Forum met with the panelists for an intimate Q&A session during the YOUTH Forum Press Conference. The conversation ranged from the legalization of gay marriage in the state of Connecticut, to the students struggles with Shakespeare!
Pulitzer Prize-winning Playwright, MacArthur Genius and our very own Storytellers panelist Suzan-Lori Parks has another impressive title to add to her collection: Master Writer Chair at New York's Public Theater.The residency, which Ms. Parks assumes on Nov. 1, is a salaried three-year position that “affords writers the flexibility and freedom to pursue their artistic goals and endeavors,” according to the Public Theater. As part of the appointment, Ms. Parks will also become a visiting arts professor at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in its dramatic writing program.
I am extremely thrilled that CT made this decision. For the first time in my memory, I am genuinely proud to be a resident of this state. I never really saw CT as being all that progressive, but this proved that we could be. We are ahead of the rest of the country with same-sex rights, being the third state to grant marriage privileges and one of the first to enforce civil unions.
But, however ahead we may be I am still worried. It is only a matter of time before rallies and protests occur, and people start to fight against this new-found freedom. There has already been a proposal to create a constitutional convention that would undoubtedly reform and reverse the same-sex marriage bill. I hope that it does not come into creation, but even if it doesn't there will be something else. And if that doesn't work, there will be something else. While this may be a huge success, there is still a lot of fighting to do, and quite frankly I am tired. Tired of fighting for my rights, tired of discrimination, tired of having to actually prove that I am equal. I feel like I should not have to use all this energy, and that this fight should have never existed in the first place. "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" is what this country was modeled after, yet the latter just isn't being fully embraced.
I am happy for
From another YOUTH Forum Member David from
Have anything to say about the topic? Do I ever! ^^ And awaaaay we go.
Before anything else, the distinction needs to be made between civil union and marriage. My personal belief is that civil union should be what's recognized by the government (on any level), and marriage should be upheld by churches, communities, what have you. With this distinction made, I don't see any reason why federal or state governments should fail to give gay and straight relationships equal weight. Our government is a secular institution, no matter how hard religious or anti-religious groups might try to hijack it, and moral/religious beliefs aside, I've seen no convincing reason why a gay couple is inherently less functional than a straight one. Thus, the government should recognize civil unions for both straight and gay couples, and not get involved with what is or is not a "marriage".
That said, I also don't believe that the government has the right to interfere with churches to force acceptance of gay marriage. If religious authorities on either a parochial or higher level decide that their faith or denomination does not support or sanction gay marriage, or consider same-sex couples married, then that's their right.
As a caveat: if there is a type of relationship (e.g. between an adult and a child) with the potential for serious inherent difficulty, it *may* be appropriate for the government to deny the same rights and benefits granted to most couples. I shouldn't be able to wed a three-year-old and expect to be treated as a "married" couple. This is the point where libertarianism becomes a bit fuzzy, though, and I'm extremely hesitant to take a stand here. I believe that if there is a valid argument against legal recognition for gay couples, it likely falls into the "slippery slope" category.
I'm obviously pulling my anti-gay-marriage punches pretty hard, because I don't actually know the extent to which it would be difficult to draw the line, as many opponents of gay marriage believe it would be. It definitely bears consideration by policy makers.
Best of luck with the blog, and I hope to see you at the next Youth Forum event. (It's at my school! W00ts!)
Not everyone is so thrilled. Juliet from
Marriage is and always has been a union between and man and a woman. To allow gays or anyone else to appropriate marriage as an institution is not only an insult to my marriage but a dangerous slippery slope. If two men or women are allowed to marry, what is stopping anyone from marrying a beloved pet or sibling? Further, marriages are the foundation upon which families are built and children should ALWAYS be raised in a family with a mother and father.
I have nothing in particular against gays. As far as I’m concerned they are free to do what ever they want in the bedroom. That does not give them the right to threaten my or any other normal couple’s marriage.
What do you have to say? Are we at the start of a golden age of tolerance, or on the precipice of the end of civilization?
We want to know how you are handling it. Are you spending less? What are you cutting down on? What is the one thing you will not sacrifice or skimp on despite these tough times?
Here's what a few folks had to say...
I am spending less. I’ve stopped going to restaurants and movie theaters. I have also been cutting down on clothing purchases. I haven’t been to the mall in weeks …quite shocking frankly! I am also really nervous about the holiday season and being able to afford quality presents for friends and family. I will never give up ordering pizza. Sarah,
I’m a little embarrassed to admit this but I haven’t actually changed my lifestyle at all. I know people are hurting right now and that our economy is probably only going to get worse, but the reality for me is that I still consume the same amount of “stuff.” I still fill my cart at the grocery store and go out to eat a few times a week. I still buy clothes and other consumer goods. I haven’t been compelled to trade in my SUV for a Prius or turn my thermostat down to 58 degrees. Sure I’m frustrated with the increased costs of daily living, but not enough to change the way I live my life. Susan,
Yes, I am spending less, but not so much because of the economy. I’m cutting down on going out to bars and eating out at restaurants, but I will never give up my my DVR/HD on my TV. Chris,
I am spending less but this is really a function of paying for two kids in college more than the economy....even though assets we were counting on to pay for tuition have lost alot of value so we are using our savings and cutting back on vacations, going out to eat, home improvements, new cars etc......I will not cut out my wine with dinner. Vince,
While it’s great that we’ve been seeing reduced numbers at the pumps these days, it’s troubling that gas prices are not being reduced at the same plummeting rate as crude oil per barrel. After all, when oil prices were rising this summer, gas prices rose steadily and accordingly.
The price of crude oil per gallon is down over 50% since July...
but the price of gas has gone from a national average of $4.11 per gallon on July 17th to a still-too-high price of $3.04. This is only a 26% decrease in price.
Someone is making money here, and it sure isn’t us.
At the end of the day, it may be necessary to get the at-risk incumbents and their challengers to agree to take this issue off the table. If McCain and Obama jointly reached out to both sides in these close races, it might be possible for both contenders for a House seat to simultaneously agree to support the package. This will not be easy. Adversaries in tight races are loathe to cooperate when there is political advantage to be had in clinging to the popular position. But the alternative is to ask some incumbent members to engage in probabilistic political suicide. Read more...From Senator John McCain as quoted in the Los Angeles Times...
"Crises often have a way of revealing our better selves, of showing what we're made of and how much we can achieve when we're put to the test," the Arizona senator said, speaking to about 100 supporters in a cozy wood-paneled auditorium at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum. "It should not require extreme emergencies, when the future of our entire economy is on the line, to bring out the best of us. . . . We are supposed to do that even in the calmest of times." Read more...From Senator Barack Obama as quoted on Politico...
“This is not just a Wall Street crisis – it’s an American crisis, and it’s the American economy that needs this rescue plan,” Obama said in a floor speech. And behind the scenes he is making phone calls to House Democrats helping to shore up that vote Friday." Read more...From Thomas Friedman in The New York Times...
I totally understand the resentment against Wall Street titans bringing home $60 million bonuses. But when the credit system is imperiled, as it is now, you have to focus on saving the system, even if it means bailing out people who don’t deserve it. Otherwise, you’re saying: I’m going to hold my breath until that Wall Street fat cat turns blue. But he’s not going to turn blue; you are, or we all are. We have to get this right. Read more...From George Soros in The Guardian...
"The fact that the plan was rejected in Congress provides an opportunity to amend it to make it more effective," Soros told Reuters in an interview. "The way to do it is to focus on recapitalizing the banks by injecting equity and actually encouraging existing shareholders to provide that equity." Read more...From James Klurfeld in Newsday...
Over the years, I've always believed that no matter how cumbersome our form of government, no matter how deeply felt were our differences, in a crisis, serious people can come together and solve problems.
When I heard that the House had voted against the bailout Monday, it shook the very foundation of that belief.
It looks like the House will have another chance. For all our sakes, I hope that the serious people can prevail. Read more...
The "mirage" of American economic invulnerability has vanished, along with "much of the savings of thrifty and prudent men and women...We need to correct, by drastic means if necessary, the faults in our economic system from which we now suffer," he said. Read more...
Forum volunteers sort thru your many questions 
Elizabeth Edwards enjoying Ornella's speech
The stage, just before the panelists step out
Executive Director Doris Sugarman,
and Founding President Richard Sugarman welcome the crowd
The panel has finally made it to the stage!
Sponsors and other friends of the Forum mingle with panelists while enjoying a few drinks
CT Forum staff members
Then it is off to the press confrence where members of the media, as well as our very own YOUTH Forum members have a chance to intimately ask the panelists a few questions.
Check back here in a few minutes for clips from the press confrence, and the dish on dinner!
This week, over 150 students from high schools all over the state of to listen, talk, and connect. This month’s focus: Stereotypes.
As a relatively new employee of The Connecticut Forum, this was the first YOUTH Forum meeting I have ever attended and I did not really know what to expect. I understood that the YOUTH Forum held monthly meetings that were focused on specific topics, and that adults could participate as silent observers, but I couldn’t imagine how this would work. I mean, more than 100 teenagers in a room engaging in civil and respectful dialogue…with microphones? Was this even possible? How?
I learned. I had heard that microphones would be passed…driven with minimal facilitation from adults, and I was absolutely blown away by the conversation I witnessed. To see such a large group of teens from very diverse walks of life speaking on their own accord about such a touchy subject was amazing. I was awestruck by the rawness, intelligence, and passion in their comments.
“It’s OK the be open minded, to have an opinion, and not be afraid to say what you want to say,” said Tina, a Senior at New Britian High School.
And they weren’t afraid. The conversation was broad and heartfelt, with students defining what the word stereotype meant to them, and sharing their own experiences.
The highlight of the afternoon, to me, came when Kyle, a Freshmen at
“When we first started playing (hockey) everyone in the league was white, and there was one new black kid. We all assumed that that he would be the one that we probably wouldn’t be able to trust with plays and pass the ball to. He ended up being the fastest and highest scoring kid on our team.”
This young man, standing up in front so many other students and candidly admitting his own wrong, spoke directly to the mission of The Connecticut YOUTH Forum, which is to bring youth together through discussion and action while providing opportunities for growth and exploration.
I know that have grown from the experience of participating in this meeting as a silent observer. Days later, the comments and ideas that were expressed by those teens have stuck with me, kept me thinking, and have me looking forward to the next meeting.
Read more about the CT YOUTH Forum meeting at Avon High School in the Hartford Courant blog post, "Teens Talk Stereotypes at Avon HS."
For more information on The Connecticut YOUTH Forum, and how you can get involved, visit www.ctyouthforum.org or call (860) 509-0909 ext. 12
Forum Playbills Line the Walls
As a new employee of The Forum, this event was a chance for me to experience a bit of the buzz that surrounds Forum events and to take in some of the history of The Forum.
Thomas Friedman naps (above) while Malcolm Gladwell thinks and twirls his hair.Leave a comment or email us at info at ctforum dot org by Wednesday, September 17 at noon EST for a chance to win two tickets to The Presidency! Good luck!
“...you can disagree with some of her positions, I disagree violently with some of them, but…she is the governor of a state, you don’t get to be a governor by accident... She has balanced raising a family with public service and my hat's off to her.”
“You want to have a spirited, close race where the public really has to sit down and think what they want and who they are going to vote for. That’s good for democracy. I think she is to be congratulated. I wish her and John McCain well. And I wish Joe Biden and Barack Obama well...I hope the press focuses on the issues instead of some of the personal things that seem to have dominated the press for the last few days. It was really a shame.” Read more...Gloria Steinem:
Sarah Palin shares nothing but a chromosome with Hillary Clinton...Her down-home, divisive and deceptive speech did nothing to cosmeticize a Republican convention that has more than twice as many male delegates as female, a presidential candidate who is owned and operated by the right wing and a platform that opposes pretty much everything Clinton's candidacy stood for -- and that Barack Obama's still does. To vote in protest for McCain/Palin would be like saying, "Somebody stole my shoes, so I'll amputate my legs." Read more...Newt Gingrich:
"She is the real thing," Gingrich said. "But she is going to make mistakes, and her ability to withstand what (the media) will legitimately try to do to her" will determine "whether she is an enormous asset and game changer, or she turns out to be a liability." Read more...Mo Rocca:
Let's face it: this is a race between Barack Obama and Sarah Palin. Joe Biden is dead weight - a good man, perhaps, and funny at times. But he can be downright tedious - speaking in undiagrammable sentences. And McCain is ideologically rudderless - this week a maverick, last week conservative, next week a populist - all the while nervously tugging at his fingers, hoping he can hitch a ride on the Palins' DC-bound snowmobile. Read more...Pat Buchanan:
"...she's a terrific gal. She's a rebel, reformer..." Watch video clip...Thomas Friedman:
With his choice of Sarah Palin, the Alaska governor who has advocated drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and does not believe mankind is playing any role in climate change, for vice president, John McCain has completed his makeover from the greenest Republican to run for president to just another representative of big oil. Read more...Ann Coulter:
John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska, as his running mate finally gave Republicans a reason to vote for him -- a reason, that is, other than B. Hussein Obama. They claimed Palin was chosen only because she's a woman. In fact, Palin was chosen because she's pro-life, pro-gun, pro-drilling and pro-tax cuts. She's fought both Republicans and Democrats on public corruption and does not have hair plugs like some other vice presidential candidate I could mention. In other words, she's a "Republican." Read more...Alec Baldwin:
"John McCain is not George Bush, Sarah Palin is." Read more...Peggy Noonan:
Much has been said about her speech, but a few points. “The difference between a hockey mom and a pitbull? Lipstick” is pure American and goes straight into Bartlett’s. This is the authentic sound of the American mama, of every mother you know at school who joins the board, reads the books, heads the committee, and gets the show on the road. These women make large portions of America work...There is something so normal about her, so “You’ve met this person before and you like her,” that she broke through in a new way, as a character vividly herself, and vividly genuine. Read more... or read/watch her unedited live comments...James Carville:
"This is a very, very complicated world and my problem with this woman is not what kind of mother she is or not what her values are...it's that she's just uniquely and supremely unqualified for the office of which they've selected to run for and it's kind of unfair to her." Watch the video...Mary Matalin:
"She's new, she's fresh, she's young, people like her..." Watch the video...Frank Rich:
"We still don’t know a lot about Palin except that she’s better at delivering a speech than McCain and that she defends her own pregnant daughter’s right to privacy even as she would have the government intrude to police the reproductive choices of all other women...Whatever we do and don’t know about Palin’s character at this point, there is no ambiguity in what her ascent tells us about McCain’s character and potential presidency..." Read more...
“People really believe this stuff?”
“Leave her daughter alone!”
“Who votes for this guy?”
“You go girl!”
“I can’t even remember what I used to watch before election coverage took over…”
“I cannot survive four years of him.”
“What’s a Palin?”
“Could their daughter BE any cuter?”
“My nightly Law & Order fix is cancelled for this?”
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