Happy X-Mas to us
First Lady Patty Rowland's poem
(WTNH) _ Here's the transcript of First Lady Patty Rowland's poem delivered at the Middlesex Chamber of Commerce breakfast delivered Dec. 17, 2003.
Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house,
not a creature was stirring, except me, the first spouse.
I was waiting for Santa, that jolly old elf,
to give him the list I'd drawn up for myself.
For I'd hung all the garland and tinsled the tree,
and festooned the house for the public to see
.I'd sent all the card to our friends far and near,
and thanked all our staff for their hard work this year.
I'd shopped and I'd wrapped all my gifts full of love,
for our five picky teens, the black lab and the gov.
I'd kept quiet and calm, through December's dark storms,
protecting my family from those who wish harm.
So now it was my turn to get Santa's ear,t
o tell him what I wanted for Christmas this year.
When out on the yard there rose such a hub-bub,
I thought maybe Jon Lender had jumped in the hot tub.
Now surely that man needs to go soak his head,
but there on the lawn stood Santa instead.
Come in dear Santa, and rest for a while,
I've got cookies and milk, I said with a smile.
I'm late said Santa, my last stop took hours,
all that coal I delivered down the (Hartford) Courant's tall towers.
They used to be good girls and boys, Santa said,
but the poison pen's power has gone to their head.
And I had the same problem at the media stations,
they've just simply forgotten good human relations.
Their thirst and their hunger for the day's biggest story,
has earned them black coal for their ill-gotten glory.
Oh Santa, I said, that is sad I agree,
they've acted like Grinches who've stolen our tree.
They've whipped themselves into a mad feeding frenzy,
they've embarrassed our children and our mamma McKenzie.
For this is the season for joy, peace and love,
of forgiveness that comes from our Lord up above.
Time for compassion to give what we can,
to lift up the spirits of our dear fellow man.
Ho Ho Ho, said Santa, I'd say that's the gist,
now why don't you tell me what's there on your list.
Dear Santa, this year, bringing warmth to those cold,
and safety each day to the young and the old.
Bring our soldiers home safely, without any hitches,
and give evil-doers a kick in the britches.
Help the lonely find love, and the lost find their faith,
take the drugs off our streets so our children can play.
Give our teenagers wisdom and courage and health,
show them family and friends are the best kind of wealth.
And last but not least for the man next to me,
a new year that's peaceful and refreshingly free,
of rumors and hearsay that do nothing but smother,
the positive works we should do for each other.
This man who has given you many years of his life,
who has stood tall and strong, throughout good times and strife.
He has championed our cities, our schools and our arts,
he's made sure that our children are ready and smart.
He doesn't get bullied by big union bosses,
who picket and whine and dwell on their losses.
He's the man with the plan for the good of our state,
and he won't let the press twist and turn our state's fate.
So please Mr. Santa, won't you grant me this plea,
And tackle this list that I've drawn up for me.
Santa stood up and gave me his hand,
That's quite a tall order, but I'll do what I can.
I'll spread Christmas cheer to each city and town,
to each man, woman, child, and I won't let you down.
He jumped in his sleigh, and as he flew out of sight,
he said Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.
Former Gov. Rowland gets a year in prison for graft
By Matt Apuzzo and John Christoffersen, Associated Press
NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Former Gov. John G. Rowland was sentenced to a year in prison and four months of house arrest Friday for selling his office in a corruption scandal that destroyed his career as one of the Republican Party's brightest and fastest-rising stars.
The judge imposed the sentence after Rowland pleaded for leniency and confessed that he had lost his way morally and developed "a sense of entitlement and even arrogance."
"I let my pride get in my way," the three-term Republican told U.S. District Judge Peter Dorsey.
Rowland, 47, pleaded guilty in December to a corruption charge, admitting that he sold his office for more than $100,000 in chartered trips to Las Vegas, vacations in Vermont and Florida, and improvements at his lakeside cottage. He resigned last summer amid a gathering drive to impeach him.
The sentence was less than the 15 to 21 months called for in the plea bargain, and well less than the three years prosecutors said he deserved. He was also sentenced to three years of probation.
"I am ashamed to be here today, and I accept full responsibility for my actions," he said.
Dorsey has a reputation as one of the state's most sympathetic judges and Rowland's attorney is trying to cast the three-term governor as a dedicated public servant who was betrayed by his subordinates.
He recruited dozens of people to write letters on Rowland's behalf, including state officials and Yale University President Richard Levin.
"I truly hope that people would remember John Rowland for the good he has done, rather than the mistake he committed," wrote state Rep. Selim Noujaim, a Republican from Rowland's hometown of Waterbury.
In a sentencing memo filed Thursday in U.S. District Court, Rowland's attorneys blamed his former co-chief of staff, Peter Ellef and contractor William Tomasso for much of the corruption. Both are under federal indictment.
Prosecutors, in their own sentencing report, argued Thursday that Rowland has a history of deceit and unethical behavior and that he only admitted and apologized for after it threatened his political career.
Rowland is expected to address Dorsey before he is sentenced on Friday.
Rowland soared through the political ranks, rising from legislator to congressman to Connecticut's youngest-ever governor at 37. He was an admirer of President Reagan and a friend to the Bush family. President Bush appointed Rowland to White House advisory committees and affectionately called him "Johnny."
But since the corruption scandal broke in 2003, Bush has kept his distance. Rowland resigned as chairman of Bush's re-election campaign in Connecticut, and when Bush came here to speak, Rowland stayed away.
Through it all, Rowland maintained that he never did anything wrong and predicted the corruption investigation would never touch him.
But with his former deputy chief of staff, Lawrence Alibozek, cooperating with prosecutors and Ellef under federal racketeering indictment, the pressure on Rowland became too much.
Rowland's plea deal avoided almost certain indictment.
If a judge sends him to prison, Rowland will become one of more than a dozen former governors to serve prison time and only the second in New England. The first was former Rhode Island Gov. Edward D. DiPrete, who was sentenced to a year in prison in 1998 for bribery, extortion and racketeering.
