Kent Political Hotbed!?

Last Friday Kent was a hotspot for political activity. Downtown was abuzz waiting for President Bush to arrive at the Kissenger residence for a fundraising event. $10K got you a picture which would help raise funds for some guy who'll be running for our Congressional seat. So with this visit ofcourse came the media, protestors and onlookers.

I happened to be only a few properties away from the Kissenger estate during the lunch hours. What amazed me was all the hardware that was needed just for this event. There were "no parking" signs stapled to a tree every twenty feet for at least a mile. All the culverts near the road to the Kissenger property had been cleaned days before. The Wednesday before this Friday luncheon Kent was buzzed by two large copters that looked like the president's. I was told there were snipers in the woods around the property who had taken up post. While outside taking photos of a house the sounds of helicopters was everywhere. I saw two large gunships fly over three times each loaded with what appeared to be missles.

It was the first time I had seen so many State Troopers in Kent at one time. And boy were they busy runnig about here and there. I am now satisfied that we have budgeted enough money on out Trooper line in the Town Budget.

Speaking of budget it seems ludicrous to me that all this financial effort went into one meal. I know that the President was scheduled to speak a group in Hartford and that from Hartford to Kent is a short distance and that the guy who'll be running had to pay for the President's ride from Hartford to Kent. But come on there must have been at least a million dollars spent on this visit with all the cops, secret service, helicopters and fuel.

All this for a lunch.

At the same time down in the village of Kent apparently about a 150 protestors marched in protest against President Bush and his policies towards the war in Iraq specifically. I got this photo later in the day. I came to understand that the marchers had no permit for the float and there for left it at the side of the road as a billboard.

On a personal note my wife Karren and our daughter Hazel were in town to watch when Hazel asked Karren why and what were the protestors marching against. After being told Hazel noted that she was against war. So they jumped in with the marchers. Like I said Kent is a politcal hotbed.