September 19, 2012 – RI Future

September 19, 2012September 20, 2012

Politifact Reverses Ruling, But Doherty Still Deceived

Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387

Earlier this week I posted about Brendan Doherty playing fast and loose with facts and pegged it to two Politifact pieces that gave him “mostly false” grades. Then Politifact did a little additional research and reversed its ruling.

We’re not reversing our assertion though. While we agree that Dan McGowan did a better job of vetting all the facts than did the ProJo’s initial piece, that has no bearing on our premise that Doherty isn’t being completely honest.

Whether or not the loan in question was repaid by the borrower, a third party, an act of god or god herself, the loan was repaid. Not in full, mind you, but to the satisfaction of the lender. If Warren Buffett decides to paid my mortgage, I don’t owe that money any more and I’ve made good on my debt. There’s no asterisk on my credit score. In other words, it’s not how a debt gets repaid that determines the borrowers standing but that it gets repaid.

But, really, that’s just a technical detail that doesn’t speak to Doherty’s honesty.

His campaign was pretty clearly trying to imply that David Cicilline’s administration had forgiven a loan awarded to a campaign supporter. Given that it’s always hard to prove a negative, the onus is on the Doherty camp to back up this seemingly unsubstantiated assertion. Until that happens, I find it to fall far short of being true. It doesn’t even meet the Stephen Colbert standard of truthiness.

Politifact was right to reexamine its ruling but not to reverse it.

September 19, 2012

Progress Report: Hard Times for the Homeless in RI; Food Stamp Increase, Obama and Letterman Talk 47 Percent

Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387

downtown from providence river — Downtown Providence from the Providence River. (Photo by Bob Plain)

So bad have things gotten in Rhode Island that the state’s largest homeless shelter has failed a building inspection. Jim Ryczek, executive director of the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless, told the Providence Journal, “It was pretty much a foregone conclusion that the shelter would not pass inspection. Harrington Hall is clearly not an acceptable place to house people.”

Unrelated, Dan Lawlor reports that homelessness has increased by about 10 percent over the last five years.

And here’s a headline that shows another sign that things are getting tougher for the poor here in Rhode Island: Food-stamp rolls jump 136% in RI, double US increase.

Meanwhile, the state is spending almost $10 million to buy land in nearby Warwick for a public park.

When taken all together, it’s little surprise Mitt Romney’s 47 percent comment didn’t make a bigger splash here in the Ocean State. . Speaking of which, here’s President Obama talking about it with David Letterman last night.

Even Paul Ryan criticized Romney’s take on the 47 percent. The Republicans running for office here in Rhode Island had no comment. I’m a little surprised the local mainstream media didn’t press them more for a comment on the matter.

New York Times numbers-cruncher Nate Silver thinks popular progressive incumbent Sheldon Whitehouse might not have his re-election campaign completely locked down. He calls Barry Hinckley an “interesting and unorthodox candidate.” Indeed, he is. He’s already on record as saying he’ll represent out-of-state interests in exchange for campaign donations. That isn’t being “libertarian-leaning” as Silver describes him, that’s called being for sale to the highest bidder.

September 19, 2012September 19, 2012

What’s in the Name of a Father-Daughter Dance?

Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387

Christine Spaziano with her father Anthony in 1986, the last year her elementary school called the dance the two attended for years a “father-daughter dance.”

Just like a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet, you don’t need gender references in the name of a school activity for it to serve its purpose. As such, I’m really at a loss as to why so many people in Cranston and beyond are so upset that they can’t use the terms father-daughter dance and mother-son ballgames.

After all, if the purpose of these functions is for parents to model good behavior for their children, the least they could do is not alienate anyone from that opportunity.

It seems there are no shortage of Rhode Island communities that have been able to manage both.

According to East Greenwich Patch, one of the local elementary schools, “holds ‘Girls Night Out’ and ‘Boys Night Out’ events, according to Principal Cheryl Vaughn. The student is invited to bring a parent, grandparent or close family friend.”

Johnston Patch reports that “School Committee Member Robert LaFazia (Dist. 1) explained during a phone interview this morning that about 12 years ago, he and other parents at Thornton Elementary School started holding dances for families, rather than specifying father-daughter or mother-son.”

“We’ve been doing it ever since, and I’m glad we changed it years ago,” LaFazia told Patch. “We never had any complaints, the parents are happy, and all of the events have been great.”

Word is they also don’t use such exclusionary terms in some South Kingstown, Providence and Tiverton schools.

Even in Cranston itself, the practice of calling them father-daughter dances has come in and out of fashion over the years.

Christine Spaziano, a sales rep for the Providence Journal who graduated from Cranston West High School in 1994, remembers Oaklawn Elementary School changing the name of the annual dance she attended with her dad from a father-daughter dance to a “family dance.”

She recalled, “It wasn’t a big deal, there was no outrage. I still went with my dad even though they called it a family dance.”

So why is it a big deal now when it isn’t other places and wasn’t in Cranston before?

Well, one reason is the media got a hold the story and politicians will posture when that is the case. The other is that Cranston is still smarting from the last time the ACLU came to town. In that standoff over civil liberties, the school district ended up spending $150,000 to lose a lawsuit over a school prayer banner after a student sued with the help of the ACLU. Here’s hoping this issue ends better for Cranston schools than that one did.

Mayor Allan Fung told the Providence Journal, “I am utterly disappointed to have such a time-honored tradition under attack in the name of political correctness. Traditions like this are what make up the fabric of our childhood memories and definitely contribute to the well being of our children as a whole.”

It’s actually not that much of a tradition, and it’s a tradition that has been changed before with little fanfare.

More apt was what Gov. Chafee said told WPRO about the issue: “The times are changing.”