Donald Trump’s stream of consciousness


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

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

Trump - Col.The following was transcribed from two random sections of Donald Trump’s speech on July, 29th, 2016, at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. The first section covers the first four minutes, fifty-one seconds of the speech. The second selection is from 14:38 to 21:48. The two sections equal about twelve minutes of the fifty-five minute speech.

This is why our country doesn’t work. You understand. So, we have thousands of people in a room next door. We have plenty of space here. We have thousands of people waiting outside to get in, And, we have a fire marshal who says, “Oh we can’t allow more people. It really is so unfair to the people. I’m so sorry. And, I have to apologize. But, it’s not my fault. I just came here. But, we have thousands of beautiful, wonderful, great people in the room next door, and outside, and they won’t let ’em in. And, the reason they won’t let ’em in is because they don’t know what the hell they’re doing. That’s why. Okay? Too bad.

That’s why our country has prob- Maybe they’re a Hillary person? Could that be possible? Probably. I don’t think there are too many of them. I don’t think there are too many of them.

Anyway, they set up a screen in the other room. They set up something outside. But what a- what a disgraceful situation. So … but, you people can’t be complaining, right? (applause) You can’t be complaining.

Alright. (pause) So much … So much to straighten out in this country. This is the kind- this is the of think we have in federal government also, by the way, folks. You know? And then you wonder why we’re going to hell. That’s why we’re going to hell. It’s the thought – You know what it is? It’s the thought process, right?

So far, Trump has insulted the Fire Marshal for enforcing the fire safety code, and clumsily connected that to support for Hillary Clinton and the eternal damnation of the United States of America. Good start, Donald.

So … I watched last night. I watched Hillary Clinton. (shakes head disapprovingly) What a sad … what a sad situation.

And, and, by the way, they’re going to let some of these people, I was just informed, they’re going to let some of them meander in … meander. Too bad.

But, I watched her last night giving a speech … that was so average. And, I watched last night as the network said, “It was alright. It was good. It was fine.” And, then I watched this morning. “It was so wonderful.” It wasn’t wonderful, folks. And, then I read a report that just came out, I can’t believe it, in Politico. I can’t believe that. And, they wrote something all cliches. All just written by a – by a scriptwriter. And, it was all clichés, you know. They used a little tweet one on me about tweet. And, she said something about the campaign. “Donald Trump doesn’t know how to campaign.” Something like that. I just beat sixteen people and I’m beating her. (pause)

A scriptwriter writes scripts. While it is unclear to which of the several articles Donald refers, it appears from his repeated use of the word “cliches,” he is referring to the Politico piece by Jeff Greenfield. One which was not particularly flattering to Clinton’s speech. Greenfield is a journalist, holds a law degree, and served as a speechwriter for Robert Kennedy. To the best of my knowledge he has never written a script for the stage or screen.

As of July 29, 2016, Trump is not beating Clinton in polls. In her speech, she did refer to Twitter, which (one can imagine) is to what he referred when he said “They used a little tweet one on me about tweet.” Yes, she did say something about the campaign. Had she discussed deli meats in her speech it would have been surprising.  As, however, both you and Sec. Clinton are running against one another for President, it is standard to discuss the campaign during an acceptance speech for the Democratic nomination.

I mean … I’m watching it – I’m watching it … Oh, and by the way, this is very important. So, the Nielsen ratings just came out. These aren’t polls. These are for television, much more important than polls. You know, television – these guys (points out over the crowd) – they don’t care about ra- they don’t care about polls. They only care about ratings. And, the Nielsen ratings came out. So, it’s Trump against Clinton. And, you heard about how wonderful – ’cause I’ll tell you what. I liked the Republican convention better. I did. I liked it better.

Television ratings are more important than polls to network executives and advertising executives. People who watch television are not necessarily likely voters. And, one would hope you liked the Republican convention better. You were there. You are Republican. And, at the convention, you were named as the Republican party’s nominee for President.

I liked it better. I thought we had a far more beautiful set. Not even a contest. How about the first night. They had no American flags up on the stage. Second night, I started saying, “No American flags up there.” And, they put so many American flags up – it’s called overkill. It’s called incompetence. They put so many American flags up there (gestures) you didn’t know what to do. You didn’t know what to do.

Voters who are going to decide for whom they vote based on the convention’s set, then they probably think that Applebee’s has a great decorator. Furthermore, If – wait a minute. What is that? Oh … great scott! AH! Flags! Everywhere! What do I do? I’m calling 911! Everybody into the bunker! FLAGS! Oh,

And: 

-66937c718b7ef057
Democratic convention first night

But lemme just tell you. So, Thursday to Thursday. That’s the big one, right? Thursday, we beat her by millions on television. Millions. MILLIONS! We beat her by a lot. They both did good. We beat her by a lot. But honestly, the numbers were incredible. Which tells you … which tells you, isn’t it good to have Trump running for the presidency?

Notwithstanding Donald’s insistence that television ratings are the superior measure of electability, they are more indicative of his apparent inability to perform simple arithmetic. While true that night four of the Republican convention had more viewers than the corresponding night of the Democratic convention, it was a difference of approximately 800,000. Not millions. It was the only night the Republicans had more viewers. And, over the course of four nights, the Democratic convention had approximately 117.1 million viewers compared to the Republicans convention, with 100.7 million.

(14:38)

So … a lot of things happen. Now, I found last night interesting. ‘Cause we’re gonna’ get a lot of Bernie supporters, I think. And, Bernie made a big mistake. The mistake he made – and, this is the beauty of doing speeches like this and I saw it and she was thanking Bernie and talking about Bernie and he’s sitting there, like, glum. Did you notice? No smile. His wife pats him on the back and she pulled her hand away. Whoa, huh, huh, huh. Whoa! Did you see that? “A pat on the back, darling. I love you” And pulls it back. And, uh, she was a little bit concerned there.

Are you a marriage counselor, Donald? Go on.

But, he was angry. And then a second time they showed him, and he was angry. And, you know what. Honestly, he made a big mistake. Because, we have the best movement of all. We have far more people than anybody. We have the most important – I tell people, Bill O’Reilly said the greatest single phenomena he’s ever seen in politics. This is us. All of us. All of us. You. You. You. You. You. All the people outside. Man! They had people lined up in the driveway, all the way up.

I personally feel that, “Best movement of all,” and “far more people than anybody,” are the emptiest hyperbole in the universe … ever.  Oh. and there is no such thing as “single phenomena.” Go on …

But-but-this is one of the greatest movements in the history of our country. Our movement is much better than Bernie. By the way, I’ll tell you why Bernie blew it. He sold his soul to the devil. He did. He had a great thing. I was so surprised. ‘Cause, he was, like, a tough guy. He was like tough, tough, tough. And, then, in the end, he folded. And, I said yesterday. And, it’s true. He wanted to go home. He wanted to go to sleep. Okay. That’s what it was.

Finally, Donald reaches some political analysis. Perhaps “blew it” is not the right phrase for the Sanders movement, but … wait. What the f*** did he just say? Did he just say Senator Bernard Sanders was not the Democratic nominee for president because he sold his soul to Satan?

But, you know, had he not folded. And his people haven’t folded. ‘Cause his people were angry.

Donald, you just chastised Bernie for being angry. But now you are saying that his supporters’ anger gives them strength, but his anger is … what, evil? Exhausting?

Now, just to show you how unfair it is, if that would have happened at the Republican convention, they would have said, “catastrophic evening.” People are screaming. Did you see when they had the moment of silence for the police? And, by the way, the only reason the police were up there on that stage on the fourth night was because I was complaining they don’t have any police up there. Right? They put the police up because thy were getting a lot of heat. But, they don’t mean it. The difference is, I mean it. Okay? We’re gonna’ be law and order. And, I mean it. We’re gonna’ be great. We’re gonna’ be great.

What people are screaming? Are the flags back? The flags for which you are responsible, much it seems, like the police. As far as law and order are concerned, they do not apply to fire safety codes which, according to you, are the cause of the national trajectory to hell … where we will, of course, find Bernie Sanders’ immortal soul.

But, did you see what happened when they had the moment of silence for the police? Tough situation. Tough situation. Not good. Not good. And, then you have Bernie, and he makes the deal. And, they pick a vice president that’s exactly the opposite of Bernie, okay? He believes in TPP – which is a disaster, by the way, we’ll never approve it. They’ll approve it.

For the love of god, please tell me what happened when the had the moment of silence for the police! Or, are you asking. Yes. I saw it. Would you like me to tell you about it?

And, how about when Terry McAuliffe, the Governor of Virginia, comes out and said, “Don’t worry. Hillary will approve it after the election? See, that’s the way it is. And, it will take your jobs away almost as bad as NAFTA, which was approved by Bill Clinton. Right? NAFTA. A disaster. NAFTA has cleaned out so many states in this country. I – you know – look at New York state. You look at New York state. You look at New England. You look at Pennsylvania. What NAFTA has done to Pennsylvania with these companies moved to Mexico.

You chose a running mate who has expressed support for the TPP. Your suit contains labels bearing both your name and  “made in Mexico.”  Go on …

A friend of mine is a builder. He builds plants. Plants. Big, big plants.

What does he build?

Big, big plants. One of the biggest. Maybe I’ll use him to build the wall. What a good idea. Got a lot of smart people. Somebody shouts out, “Let him build the wall.” (crowd starts to chant, “Build that wall.” Or, maybe, “Kill them all.” Hard to tell) We have smart people. But, this guy builds big, big plants.

So, sorry. Didn’t catch that.

Automobile plants and, uh, computer technology plants. That’s what he builds.

Plants, you say?

He builds plants. One of the biggest. Maybe the biggest. One of the biggest.

If this guy can build plants (He can build them in a box. He can build them with a fox, etc.) but, he would not know where to start building an apartment, what makes you think he could build 1,989 miles of wall? Please, go on.

And, he started off building plants in the United States years ago. And, he’d build plants in the United States. So, I see him the other day, and I said, How’s it going? “Good.” How’s business? “Unbelievable” I said, great. I thought that was good for the United States, right? I said, how many plants you building? “Many,” he said. “You’ve gotta see what’s happening in Mexico.”

Now, by the way, this guy’s better than a consultant. If I hire a consultant, I hire some guy that, you know, is terrible, to tell me what’s happening. Right? They’ll charge you a million bucks. They’ll give you a report in seven months from now. They have to take a long time, otherwise they can’t charge as much. This guy tells me in two minutes – in one minute! I learned better from him talking to him about how’s business than I can learn from some phony consultant. Because, if he was any good, he would have been the one building the plants, right? You know? So … so, an amazing thing. An amazing thing. So, I said, so what’s going on? He says, “You gotta’ see Mexico. It’s the eighth wonder of the world.”

Great Pyramid of Giza, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, Colossus of Rhodes, Lighthouse of Alexandria … Mexico.

He said, “We are building the biggest, the most sophisticated, the most incredible plants all over Mexico.” I said, well what about the United States? “Not so good.” Like, who cares? And, actually, he’d much rather build in the United States. But, not so good. He said, “Not so good.” And, I said, well what does that mean? He said, “Well, we’re doing a little work. But not much. But, Donald, you have to see Mexico.” I say no thanks. But, he goes – he goes – he goes, “What we’re doing there is incredible.” How stupid are we, folks?

I … don’t … know.

How stupid are we? Our companies are moving to Mexico and other places. While crooked Hillary Clinton – who is as crooked as a three-dollar-bill – while crooked Hillary Clinton sits there and makes up stories. “Donald Trump didn’t do well in his campaign.” I said, I just beat eighteen people or seventeen people. Whatever. No. No. It’s all written by … It’s all written – what!? By a Politico. I can’t believe I’m talking about Politico. ‘Cause Politico is terrible to me. But Politico write all cliches. Not good. Okay. But, somebody wrote it. She probably didn’t notice it. But, I’m being recognized for having done one of the most legendary campaigns in the history of politics in this country.

I can no longer even attempt to follow your logic, Donald.  It is like ‘Clinton-squared times Mexico plus the square root of Politico divided by sociopathy equals Batman symbol over eggs.

And (holds for applause) … and she puts in her thing right after the tweet. “If somebody tweets, he gets upset.” I get upset? I don’t get upset. I don’t get upset. Somebody wrote that. You know, it was a nice little sound bite, right? You know, they just announced I have over 22 million between Twitter and Facebook. I don’t get upset. If somebody Tweets, I do what I do. Who cares? I think – I’ll tell ya’ – I think I have the best temperament, or certainly one of the best temperaments, of anybody that’s ever run for the office of president.

Life as a local Bernie delegate at the DNC


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

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

bernie riAs it was for many Bernie Sanders delegates, last week’s Democratic National Convention was the first convention for me. I had an idea of what to expect, but I was less prepared for the dynamics associated with our underdog movement.

Throughout the campaign, I followed Bernie far and wide. I believed in his positions on trade deals, fossil fuels and regime change. Many of us gave him $27, many of us more than once. Bernie was not just a candidate, he was our political savior. To me he was the last hope for the future. He was our leader, our salvation, our messenger who represented the disenfranchised, the left wing, the Greens, the progressives, independents, those who were anti-Hillary and those who were anti-Trump and those who just liked him for his honesty, integrity, grit, humor and unbelievable energy.

Some 1,900 of us followed him into the Democratic National Convention. He wanted our voices to be heard. He wanted our votes to be counted. He did not want the DNC to be a convention of just the haves, the rich and famous and the 1 percent. We chanted “NO TPP”, “NO NEW WARS”, “BERNIE” and more. We protested, we walked out, we remained faithful to Bernie and his message and it was not easy.

Logistically, Philadelphia was challenging to get around. Each day was spent waiting for buses to take us from destination to destination. On an average day, delegates from Rhode Island were spending 3 or more hours waiting for, or in, buses. Roads were closed, bus drivers had no idea where to go, UBER drivers were clueless and it was HOT. For some of us, this impeded our ability to attend protests and to organize effectively. It was difficult to say the least.

At the convention, delegation after delegation complained about how the states were organized on the floor. The RI delegation had similar issues. We were placed in 2 different rows in 2 different sections which hurt the ability for our 13 delegates to look united for Bernie. Other states had similar issues, the DNC obviously wanted the delegations to have the look and feel of all for one and one for all for Hillary and this was absolutely not the case. The convention, in my opinion, was designed to be a talking piece for the super delegates, No one else really mattered.

Tuesday night was especially staged. It was impossible to tell which states went for Bernie as the superdelegate votes were counted in with the pledged delegate votes. Our 12 percent victory was not even mentioned as we were silenced and not allowed to speak up on the convention floor. The chair of the party, House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello, got that honor as that is the tradition. This is just another way in which we as Bernie supporters were marginalized.  After the roll call count which was not shown on any screen on the floor of the convention MANY WALKED OUT.  None of us believed that Sanders wanted a voice vote by proclamation the majority felt that there had to be an intimidation factor in his decision.

Throughout the rest of the convention there were many good speeches and some not so good ones.  One of the most emotional speeches was delivered by Bernie’s brother Larry as he announced the count for the international vote. Of course, Bernie’s speech nominating Hillary was both inspiring and depressing at the same time. On Thursday night The Reverend William Barber seemed to be channeling the Bernie Sanders message. He was dynamic insightful and everything that  the convention needed.  

On the other hand there were those channeling the Republican mantra with Leon Panetta and General Allen. The war and imperialist message was alive and well and living inside the DNC. Chants of “USA” drowned out calls for “no new wars.” The true issues facing the people of this country were merely a blip. Indigenous rights, the Black Lives Matter movement, homelessness,  poverty, hunger, the environment were glossed over by a speaker here and there and were just a distraction in the coronation process.

On the plus side most of RI superdelegates were readily accessible. I had conversations, with senators Whitehouse and Reed, congressmen Cicilline and Langevin and Mayor Elorza regarding my opposition to the Clear River Energy Center in Burrillville.  They all received packets on our grassroots efforts to stop the power plant. They listened with open ears on that issue and other concerns different delegates had.

A highlight of the convention was when Bernie Sanders spoke to us at our hotel breakfast and thanked us for our efforts in his primary win in the state. Bernie spoke about unity to us and to all at the convention and he reiterated how important it was for Trump to be defeated. 

A shout out goes to the convention organizers for RI – Susan Della Rosa, Ann Gooding and Annie Pease who did a fabulous job putting it all together for us.  On a sad note the  Clinton delegation lost one of their own during the convention as Mark Weiner passed away on Tuesday our entire Bernie delegation expresses our deepest sympathy to the Weiner family.

Malala Yousafzai comes to Providence, talks education and Pokémon


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

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

2016-07-28 Malala 200032To her fans and supporters all over the world, she is Malala. She is a superstar. But when she arrived in Providence the night before her appearance at the Dunkin Donuts Center, no one recognized her.

On her first night in our city, Malala Yousafzai, youngest ever recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, ate at the restaurant India on the East Side. In her telling, she ate too much and decided to go for a walk in the park with her father. In the park, she says, “Nobody was even looking at me.” Everyone was too busy playing Pokémon Go. Nineteen year old Malala knew about the game, her brothers play it, but her father did not know about it. They talked to a couple of players, asking them to explain the game. Her father still doesn’t understand the game. Malala doesn’t play but she is happy that the game gets her brothers out of the house, instead of keeping them indoors playing games on the television.

It’s such an ordinary story, yet Malala Yousafzai has not had an ordinary life.

2016-07-29 Malala in PVD 005
A young Malala fan holds a sign for the crowd

On October 12, 2012, Malala Yousafzai, already an outspoken education advocate, was 15 years old when two members of the Taliban, no older than she, got on her school bus in Pakistan and shot her in the head. As Malala spoke about that day before an audience of 6,000 in Providence Thursday evening, she said, “It was the longest bus ride. I still haven’t arrived at my home in Swat Valley.”

Malala doesn’t remember the day of her attack. She was taken from hospital to hospital before ending up in Birmingham, England. After multiple operations and procedures she says is well and nearly fully recovered. About the men who shot her, Malala said, “The two boys who attacked me are about the same age as me. They were brainwashed. I blame the ideology. Islam doesn’t allow anyone to kill another person. Forgiveness is the best revenge.”

“The terrorists tried their best,” said Malala, “and I realized that even God is supporting me. Even Death is supporting me. Death doesn’t want me.”

2016-07-29 Malala in PVD 006When Malala was 11 the Taliban took over her homeland in Swat Valley, Pakistan. The Taliban stopped her education. “Women’s rights and dignity were taken away… That was a very hard time.” On her last day of school, Malala says she “decided to speak out for [her]self and all the girls in [her] community.”

She wrote about life under Taliban control and the need for education for women for the BBC and was profiled and wrote for the NY Times. When her name and the name of her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, a school principal, was revealed on the radio, she became a target.

Since her recovery Malala has become an outspoken advocate against terrorism and for women’s rights. She has spoken out against child labor and child trafficking. She became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014, sharing the honor with Kailash Satyarthi, a children’s rights activist from India. Malala, ever humble, doesn’t see the Nobel Prize as something she received. She sees it as an award recognizing the importance of children.

2016-07-29 Malala in PVD 007Malala doesn’t see herself as special. “There are amazing girls in Swat Valley better than me,” she said, “but their parents did not allow them an education.” Malala’s father supported his daughter’s right to an education. When people ask her father what he did to raise such a daughter, says Malala, her father answers that it’s what he didn’t do that is important.

“I didn’t clip the wings of my daughter,” says her father.

Channel 10’s Patrice Wood conducted Malala’s interview, but at one point, Wood handed over the questioning to Hilde Lysiak, a nine year old reporter who publishes The Orange Street News. Lysiak’s reporting came under fire earlier this year when she covered a murder that took place near her home. Many were outraged that a cute nine-year old girl was covering a terrible murder. Lysiak struck back with a masterful video telling people who didn’t like her reporting, “If you want me to stop covering news, then you get off your computers and do something about the news. There, is that cute enough for you?”

2016-07-28 Malala 195937Lysiak’s short, on-stage interview with Malala demonstrates Malala’s commitment to women’s rights and the power of young girls. She was excited to answer Lysiak’s questions. To Malala education means allowing children the right to question and giving them access to critical thinking skills.

“Believe in yourself,” said Malala several times.

Malala is a devout Muslim. She wears a headscarf but balks at covering her face, as is the tradition for many. She believes that women should make their own choices. “Freedom means I wear the headscarf, as is my right,” said Malala. “I don’t feel comfortable covering my face, because that is who I am.”

As for being a young woman meeting with presidents and prime ministers, Malala says she is not afraid of powerful world leaders.  “Am I afraid of presidents?” she asked, “Presidents should be scared of me because I’m speaking for the people.” It is the government’s responsibility to provide “complete, quality education for every child.” And Malala intends to hold governments and leaders to this obligation.

“Terrorists,” said Malala, “understand how important education is.”

In the video below, a choir sings a song written to honor Malala, and she joins them on stage.

2016-07-28 Malala 200027

2016-07-29 Malala in PVD 009

2016-07-29 Malala in PVD 004

2016-07-29 Malala in PVD 003

2016-07-29 Malala in PVD 002

2016-07-29 Malala in PVD 001

Patreon

Clinton’s nomination speech: Stick it to the king


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

Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387
Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton delivers her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention.
Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton delivers her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention.

It was an odd phrase to hear in a nomination acceptance speech, so odd that it immediately made me wonder why it was there — and with a speech as fine-tuned and brushed down as Hillary Clinton’s last night, one can be assured there are no accidents.

It was near the beginning of the speech, in a section nominally connecting the present to the Philadelphia of the American Revolution, which in most such addresses would be a pleasant historical callback, but here becomes freighted, almost overdetermined:

“When representatives from 13 unruly colonies met just down the road from here, some wanted to stick with the king. And some wanted to stick it to the king. The revolution hung in the balance. Then somehow, they began listening to each other, compromising, finding common purpose.”

The “stick with/stick to” phrase jumped out at me. It’s so pungent, so colloquial. And, I began to sense as her speech progressed, so central to her dual rhetorical mission: to disarm the attacks focusing on the “cartoon” Clinton as dynastic one-per-center and at the same time redirecting that populist ire at the true shill for the oligarchy (whether American or Russian remains to be seen) Donald Trump.

There were a number in the Wells Fargo Center last night who still wanted to stick it to Hillary. About 200 die-hard Bernie fans (coming from science fiction fandom, it’s easy for me to understand the depth of their loss; I still mourn the cancellation of Firefly) wearing their high-visibility yellow “Enough is Enough” t-shirts and occasionally trying to interrupt speeches. Nor were they alone. I spoke this week with less visible but equally disappointed folks who deeply disagree with Clinton as a matter of principle on a range of issues: foreign policy, trade, education, militarism.

For this audience, Clinton’s challenge was to position incrementalism as progressive, as she did when she explicitly reached out to Sanders, his delegates, and his fans:

“To all of your supporters here and around the country: I want you to know, I’ve heard you. Your cause is our cause. Our country needs your ideas, energy, and passion. That is the only way we can turn our progressive platform into real change for America.”

That’s the first half of the speech’s mission: to inoculate against the meme of a Clinton “coronation” by leveraging the most powerful positional advantage against Trump: I versus we.  Kings, by definition, rule alone, by unassailable right. By divine right in some cases, or in our version of divinity, by virtue of their visible status as one of the Elect in surreptitiously Calvinist America. When Clinton (mildly mis-)quoted Hamilton en passant late in the third act of her speech, “We may not live to see the glory/let us gladly join the fight” she knew that HamFans would automatically supply the next line: “And when our children tell our story/they’ll tell the story of tonight.”

And that story is about a scrappy group working together to turn the world upside down. In Lin Manuel-Miranda’s incisive retelling, we see Alexander Hamilton — who in the rear-view mirror of history is an engraved profile on a bank note, the picture of a Founding Father one-per-center — as an outsider determined to rise above his station, deeply committed to serving the cause of his young country. It is no accident that the video history of Clinton’s life lingered so long on her family’s early challenges. Kings do not come from families where a parent is all but abandoned; witness the prominence of the story of her mother having to walk alone to the cafe on the corner for food. That’s not the parent of a king. That’s a “founding father without a father” riff, an origin story for a hero.

So who, then, is King George? Ah, yes, of course. Clinton supplies the answer with a “stick it to” clause, explicitly connecting the actions of the colonists at Independende Hall to the actions of the delegates at the 2016 Democratic National Convention:

“Then somehow, they began listening to each other, compromising, finding common purpose. And by the time they left Philadelphia, they had begun to see themselves as one nation. That’s what made it possible to stand up to a king.”

Listening (a major theme in all the “why I support” speeches and videos: Clinton listened and took action), compromising (as the Clinton camp did on platform and superdelegates and Sanders himself did on the nomination), and common purpose. Articulating that common purpose (turning our platform into change) will occupy the rest of speech, but first, Clinton drives the point home, cinching the present moment tightly to the Continental Congress and the true meaning of the Gadsden Flag, that coiled snake of unity ready to strike at all enemies foreign and domestic:

“Our Founders embraced the enduring truth that we are stronger together. Now, America is once again at a moment of reckoning. Powerful forces are threatening to pull us apart. Bonds of trust and respect are fraying. And just as with our founders, there are no guarantees. It truly is up to us. We have to decide whether we all will work together so we can all rise together. Our country’s motto is “e pluribus unum:” out of many, we are one.”

And then she focuses all the weight of all the history she has brought to bear on the core question the country faces:

“Will we stay true to that motto?”

If we have taken on board the framing Clinton proposed, we of course can have only one answer to that question. Like the colonists sweating out an awful Philadelphia summer (an unplanned historical parallel) we know we must hang together to fight the king, the real king in this drama: Donald Trump.

After laying out a broad policy agenda in the first half of the speech, she turns to an exploration of King Donald and his failings (echoing the Declaration of Independence’s list of indictments — “He has refused, he has forbidden, he has constrained,” etc.): “He offered zero solutions,” “He doesn’t like talking about his plans,” “He just stiffed them,” “He also talks a big game about putting America First,” “He loses his cool at the slightest provocation.” And then the one that ties it all together: “He’s offering empty promises.”

Clinton returns to her central metaphor, pointedly, as she begins her close:

“Let our legacy be about ‘planting seeds in a garden you never get to see.’ That’s why we’re here…not just in this hall, but on this Earth. The Founders showed us that. And so have many others since. They were drawn together by love of country, and the selfless passion to build something better for all who follow. That is the story of America. And we begin a new chapter tonight.”

Yep. Rhetoric for the win. For those in the hall last night, the experience was electric, and the applause and whooping and banner waving was entirely spontaneous. It was a meticulously constructed speech, delivered with wit, grit, and passion, and my sense in the room was that many will have found it persuasive. When our children tell the story of how that garden came to be, my guess is that they’ll be telling the story of tonight.

Protest the system, but support Clinton


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

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

jill-steinOne of the most frustrating events that I saw at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday night was when Jill Stein joined Sanders delegates during their walkout protest of Clinton’s nomination with a Fox News crew in tow.  I understand her motivation–to woo disillusioned Sanders supporters–but even more frustrating was Stein’s willingness to promote the walk-out on social media using the #DemExit hashtag. That, unfortunately, sounds a whole lot like Brexit to the uninformed observer, and creates an uncomfortable association between two very different political movements.

However, I don’t blame those Sanders delegates who chose to walk out. We all know that the DNC, at the very least, “slanted” the primaries in Clinton’s favor and sought to undermine the Sanders campaign. We all know that Clinton, by way of the FBI’s statement on her email scandal, is inherently dishonest, even to her own supporters, and that collusion between her campaign and the DNC possibly occurred during the primaries. I don’t blame those Sanders delegates for protesting, or booing, or for feeling jilted.

But I do blame them for not following Bernie’s lead. Sanders, in his speech on Monday night, called for unity in the Democratic Party. And at the end of the roll call vote on Tuesday night, he graciously moved to nominate Clinton after he did not win the vote. He made a selfless gesture toward unity, and not just Democratic unity.

He made a gesture toward unifying against Donald Trump.

I don’t want to buy into the fear-mongering, but beating Trump at the polls in November is of the utmost importance. His narcissistic nihilism, tinged with fascism, framed by xenophobia, and fueled by racism is, in the words of the Washington Post editorial board, a “unique and present danger” that the GOP has officially presented to the general electorate. Now Trump is everyone’s problem. And, unfortunately, Hillary Clinton is now the only major party nominee that stands between Donald Trump and the presidency.

For those who aren’t willing to risk a third party vote, this choice boils down to a difficult moral dilemma. One one hand, we have a deceitful neoliberal who lacks favorability and is quite possibly corrupt, yet unarguably has a qualified history in American national politics and has the backing of prominent progressive politicians, including senators Warren and Sanders. On the other hand, we have a loud-mouthed bully with no political experience, who doesn’t know Constitutional law, who would trample on free speech rights and freedom of the press, who openly discriminates against Muslims and Mexicans, who tacitly supports racial violence, and who asked Russia to help reveal Clinton’s lost emails.

Democratic unity, today, is not about rallying behind Clinton as a nominee, nor even about rallying around what she represents. It isn’t unity within the Democratic Party per se. It isn’t even about Clinton, or Warren, or Sanders, as Bernie has pointed out numerous times in his speeches, particularly on Monday night. It’s about Donald Trump, which is exactly what Trump wants because everything in his world must be about him. In his own words during his acceptance speech, he said of America’s problems, “I alone can fix [them].”

What Trump doesn’t know is that no president alone can “fix it” (and Trump “doesn’t know what he doesn’t know and he’s uninterested in finding out“). The same rule applies to Clinton, yet she knows that. But the slight benefit of a Clinton presidency is that she has the support of progressives like Sanders and Warren and will be held accountable by them. They will influence her decisions, help frame progressive legislation, and approve Supreme Court picks that will overturn Citizens United. That’s what checks and balances are for. And Clinton, despite her massive shortcomings, is expected to defend our Constitutional rights by her progressive peers, and she would do well to repair her lack of public trust by delivering a strong progressive agenda.

Trump, however, is expected to trample on our rights by his jeering supporters and the foolish GOP politicians who endorsed him. His VP pick, Mike Pence, has signed legislation that legalized open discrimination against LGBTQ people. And the most frightening part is that the most ignorant of Trump supporters don’t even realize the danger he poses to their own liberties and freedoms as Americans. Trump would have control of the FBI, NSA, CIA, TSA, and every other executive branch agency (not to mention the military) that he could easily, under executive order, command to act out his hostilities.

And this is where I say what I’ve never wanted to say: a vote for the Democratic nominee is more important than voting my conscience, at least this time around. Of course, in terms of my personal values, I want to vote for Jill Stein, but I do not place voting for my own values above protecting what liberties and freedoms that we already have. To do so would be selfish and disrespectful to people who would face the worst treatment by a Trump presidency. While I admire Stein for tackling the two-party system, now is not the time to do so, and openly dividing Democrats under the #DemExit banner is counterproductive to the goal of keeping Trump from the presidency.

Yes, Rhode Island is deep blue and a vote for Stein may be safe here, but against the broad and insidious influence of Trump, we shouldn’t take any state for granted, especially with Clinton’s high negatives and recent drop in the polls. So, instead of voting Green or staying home on election day, we should consider following Bernie’s lead to vote Democrat in November. Bernie knows that this movement has now become about the long game. He has vowed to continue the Political Revolution, and the first step toward gaining ground is beating Donald Trump, because under a President Trump, there’s no chance to pass any progressive legislation. I have no doubt that he’d veto anything he wants without a second thought.

There’s nothing I’d love more than to see a Bernie Sanders presidency, or even Green Party viability. But second to that, I’ll take Trump getting blown out of the water on election day. To vote Democrat is not to just reject Trump as a nominee, but to reject the hateful and powerful zeitgeist he’s stirred up among a surprising number of voters in our country. That’s where our choice as voters goes beyond voting against a candidate. It’s about voting against what Trump has come to represent. Preventing the rightward march toward peril that Trump has inspired is absolutely imperative to continuing the experiment of American democracy, however flawed that experiment may be.

The politics of progressive identification and the DNC


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

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

hillary glass ceilingTonight’s speech by Hillary Rodham Clinton is historic.  As we all know by now, she will be the first woman ever nominated by a major US political party to be a candidate for President of the United States.  That video of the shattered glass ceiling simulates that achievement. Every progressive must applaud this moment.[1] Every human ought applaud it too if gender equality matters.

In combination with the truly dangerous fantasy Trump presents,[2] most of my friends on the left declare that supporting Hillary Rodham Clinton is both historical necessity and a matter of political responsibility.[3]  I agree, but, as progressives, we need to appreciate how we get there and what her election means for the future.

Being progressive is not only about outcome. It’s also about process.  It’s about living in our daily life the politics we want to see writ large. But before I point out the challenges of progressive identification with HRC, I wish to acknowledge just fears.

If Trump is elected president, one of my gay friends told me, the marital unity he treasures most will be put at risk.  We will have as vice -president one of the most fundamentalist religious politicians in the nation whose embrace of extremist anti-LGBTQ politics and anti-choice politics is enough, by itself, to move progressives to mobilize against Trump.[4] The Supreme Court’s composition is too important to allow Republican Party extremists to control those nominations.

If Trump is elected president, the global security system will be put at risk. Already my friends on NATO’s eastern flank express profound worry about how Trump’s professed admiration for Putin and skepticism toward NATO put them at risk. Of course NATO’s embrace is hardly an obvious progressive position, but if you live in a place where Russian imperialism threatens, you must choose which superpower to welcome.

NATO may not be an obvious place where progressives unify, but we must unify in opposition to the ways in which Trump uses religious and racial differences to divide, and puts all the means of violence, including nuclear weapons, on the table.  I agree with those progressives who marked their opposition to President Obama’s drone wars and other ethically compromised means of war.

But Trump is worse.

We can go on, but to do so only reinforces a legitimate progressive objection.  Our vote is sacred and it is our choice. We want to live in a system more authentic, and less compromised. Katelyn Johnson, delegate for Bernie Sanders, said during an interview on MSNBC on July 27 that she wanted her vote to echo “the system I want to live under.” She doesn’t want to drink “the kool-aid of a system I want to dismantle.”  Progressives who fear Trump need to hear her, and so many others like her. We can’t allow our concern for outcomes to drown out the everyday practice that makes progressives different.

And what is that distinction?

We can’t base that distinction on particular substantive issues, even though it is the progressive’s inclination to debate which issue is fundamental. Is it a policy around the Trans Pacific Pipeline or closing GITMO?  Perhaps it’s about investing in public goods rather than privatizing them. Like other progressives, I have positions on these and more policy issues. But progressives can, and should, debate these matters based on informed readings of policy consequences and their motivations.

I think we come closer to recognizing that distinction when we look for authenticity. One reason Bernie Sanders mobilized so many people was because he has been consistent over decades in his opposition to the concentration of wealth and its deleterious effects on politics and everyday lives. One reason Joe Biden drew the applause for his speech that he did was because he emits, in everyday life and on stage, a sincerity that is not staged in the ways that so many other politicians look manufactured. While both Bernie and Biden are professional politicians, they are different from most.

Barack and Michelle Obama are in a class by themselves. Their speeches at this convention moved the house not only for their fine deliveries, but also because they could embody the progressive, and human, alternative that we wish our America could be.  If their daughters could play outside a White House built by slaves, we feel the progress that has been, that might be.

But here’s the problem.

Privileged progressives in our system like to feel good, and to believe that the place of the Obamas indicates that we live in a post-racial society. We do not. We can debate whether particular statistics mark progress or not, but we cannot diminish the profoundly racist underpinnings of the system in which we live, where violence against people of color, whether by police or through the proliferation of guns, whether through a prison industrial complex or in everyday aggressions and exclusions, define the enduring significance of the color line. When progressives celebrate Tim Kaine’s choice by referring to how well he speaks Spanish, and how he was a missionary in Honduras, many POC ask why not just recruit a Latinx person?

The answer for too many progressives is obvious. We must win, and to win, we must cut into the demographic that supports Trump, that white male working class electorate, perhaps religious, that might find Kaine’s working class roots and enduring Catholic commitments compelling. But that’s the problem for many progressives who recognize racism’s power. Outcome trumps process, and leads too many progressives to adopt that condescending position of knowing better than POC who declare these candidates to be more of the same old racist system, with glass ceiling broken or not.  And it gets worse.

I especially appreciate what my friend Justice Gaines shared on Facebook, with wisdom zir friend, Nikkie Ubinas, offered:

If Donald Trump wins, it’s not because not enough people of color chose not to vote for Hillary.

It’s because enough people voted for Donald Trump to make him a candidate. It’s because people elected Donald Trump. It’s because institutions, systems, and people created him. It’s because we have corrupt systems that don’t give a shit about people of color and poor people. It’s because Donald Trump is right in line with our American racist xenophobic and sexist history. It’s because Donald Trump is America’s enduring legacy.

Here’s the issue that so many of my progressive white friends miss, what I miss were I not to listen and learn from Justice and others.

In the panic about defeating Trump, progressives can practice reprehensible politics in everyday life, abandoning their commitment to authenticity, equality, and process on the altar of expediency and outcomes defined by those with privilege.

We ought celebrate breaking a glass ceiling, and I will do what I can to defeat Trump and elect Hillary Rodham Clinton. But that is not because I am with her. I remain committed to political revolution, and its chances are so much greater with Clinton/Kaine in office than Trump/Pence. I am continuing that political revolution when I work for Clinton/Kaine, but a vote does not fulfill my political responsibility as a progressive. That political responsibility means holding Clinton and Kaine accountable to the Democratic Party Platform those leading the political revolution at DNC moved.

When Bernie endorsed Hillary it was not the end of the political revolution. It was just a signal that it is time to refocus down ballot and on civil society, to mobilize and apply pressure to politicians too easily influenced by Wall Street and other lobbies with money. When Katelyn Johnson, Justice Gaines, Nikkie Ubinas, and others signal their distance from politics as usual, I will listen and respect their position for that is the foundation of the political revolution, not the election of a particular presidential candidate.

I also respect Minnesota congressman Keith Ellison much, and he said it right today on Morning Joe:

“Active citizens need to help politicians govern the country, and one way to do that is to let them know how you really feel…”

And it’s not just holding up placards and maybe even disrupting a speech. It’s about holding authorities accountable.  This DNC platform is different from all others preceding because it was made with the political revolution in mind. Again, Ellison said as much when he anticipated an election in which Clinton and Kaine win, but face active citizens who will demand that a new administration adhere to the platform’s principles.

Were I to identify the progressive distinction, it’s one in which we respect and recognize one another, being particularly attentive to the ways in which power and violence diminish some and privilege others. Progressives are not defined by the candidates they support, but by the work, in everyday life and in political campaigns and in enduring political struggles, to include everyone in the set of rights and responsibilities that democracy organizes.

Recognition, respect, and maybe even love moves the political revolution, and my identification as progressive.

[1] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hillary-clinton-glass-ceiling_us_579827fee4b0d3568f85272e

[2] http://www.rifuture.org/ideology-in-the-time-of-trump.html

[3]  http://www.publicseminar.org/2016/07/why-i-support-hillary-clinton-for-president-a-letter-to-my-friends-on-the-left/

[4] Note here religious identification is not the issue. The Democratic VP nominee Tim Kaine is a devoted and practicing Catholic, but also supports women’s right to choose and the sanctity of love over homophobia. Rhode Island Bishop Tobin’s take on Kaine  https://www.washingtonpost.com/pb/local/roman-catholic-bishop-in-rhode-island-criticizes-kaine/2016/07/25/378ad256-529e-11e6-b652-315ae5d4d4dd_story.html has prompted healthy debate within the RI Catholic community http://www.providencejournal.com/opinion/20160726/thomas-m-hines-bishop-tobins-arrogant-view-of-tim-kaine

Raimondo: Clinton nomination ‘a historic moment’


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

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

Screen Shot 2016-07-28 at 2.22.21 PMIt’s too easy to make a mountain over Mika Brzezinski‘s mistake in referring to Governor Gina Raimondo as a Republican. (I engaged in this myself on Twitter when I first heard the news, learning the hard way that @MorningMika is a woman.) But far more should be made of Raimondo’s statement regarding her rushing home so that she can watch Hillary Clinton‘s acceptance speech with her daughter.

“I’m racing home tonight to watch [Clinton’s] speech with my 12-year old daughter because I want to be there with my daughter. This is real. This is an historic moment,” said Raimondo.

Love Hillary Clinton or hate her, Governor Raimondo is right, this is a historic moment. The first woman presidential nominee from a major party in the history of the United States is accepting the nomination this evening. As the father who attempted to instill a confidence about their full equality in his two daughters, I can’t help but feel this historic moment intensely.

The election will play out as it must, and the politics will be dark and dirty and full of terrible reveals. I don’t expect a Clinton campaign to solve the problems of misogyny any more than Obama’s presidency solved the problem of racism. Should Hillary Clinton become president, I don’t expect her to be a great progressive leader any more than Governor Gina Raimondo, the first woman governor of Rhode Island, is. I’m not naive about the politics, or the stakes in this election.

But let’s pause a moment on this historical day and reflect.

Here’s Gina Raimondo’s full appearance on Morning Joe.

Obama makes powerful case for Hillary


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

Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387
President Obama and Hillary Clinton share an embrace after his DNC speech.
President Obama and Hillary Clinton share an embrace after his DNC speech.

On a night that began with vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine being nominated by acclamation, Democrats – and one high-profile Independent – squared off against Trump and built a solid affirmative case for a Hillary Clinton presidency.

Aiming squarely at the image that Trump projected in his convention last week, Obama offered a scathing dissection.

“The reason he’ll lose it is because he’s selling the American people short,” he said. “We are not a fragile people, we’re not a frightful people. Our power doesn’t come from some self-declared savior promising that he alone can restore order as long as we do things his way. We don’t look to be ruled.”

Obama spent a major part of his speech sharing his first-hand experience of Clinton’s strengths.

“For four years,” Obama said,  “I had a front-row seat to her intelligence, her judgment and her discipline. I came to realize that her unbelievable work ethic wasn’t for praise, it wasn’t for attention, that she was in this for everyone who needs a champion.”

In a moment that was both self-effacing and a play to his popularity with the Democratic base, Obama offered himself as a point of comparison. “I can say with confidence there has never been a man or a woman, not me, not Bill, nobody more qualified than Hillary Clinton to serve as president of the United States of America.”

When his speech wrapped up, Hillary came out to join him on stage for a brief hug and wave. The Wells Fargo Arena, which was packed to the rafters, exploded in prolonged applause and cheers.

Members of the Rhode Island delegation were still smiling about it this morning. “It was a terrific night,” said Rhode Island Senate President Teresa Paiva-Weed. “The speech that President Obama gave was phenomenal, and I can’t wait for this evening when we see the first woman officially accept the nomination to the Presidency of the United States.”

“It was exciting to meet vice-president (candidate) Kaine for the first time,” said RI Rep. Deb Ruggiero. “I love his social justice agenda. I think what President Obama did was galvanize everyone, whether you’re a Democrat or you’re an unaffiliated to realize that we need to elect Hillary Clinton as the next President. We cannot have someone like Donald Trump. As Mike Bloomberg said, ‘Hillary Clinton understands this is not reality television, this is reality.”

Kaine gave a solid, largely introductory speech that saw him slipping into a Donald Trump impersonation, asking the audience if they accepted all the promises the Republican made when he said, “Believe me.” “I’m going to build a wall and make Mexico pay for it. Believe me.” “There’s nothing suspicious in my tax returns. Believe me.” “Does anybody here believe him?” The attendees in the Wells Fargo Center thundered, “No!”

A high point of the evening, for many, was Vice President Joe Biden’s speech. In a fiery address that played to his middle-class sensibilities, Biden offered a blunt critique of Trump’s so-called populism.

Said Biden, “His cynicism and undoubtedly his lack of empathy and compassion can be summed up in that phrase he is most proud of making famous: “You’re fired.” I’m not joking. Think about that. Think about that. Think about everything you learned as a child. No matter where you were raised, how can there be pleasure in saying, “You’re fired.” He is trying to tell us he cares about the middle class. Give me a break. That is a bunch of malarkey.”

There were more pointed critiques. Former candidate Martin O’Malley chided the Republicans: “Anger never fed a hungry child.” Retired Rear Admiral John Hutson got in the first dig over Trump’s call for Russian hackers to try to uncover additional Clinton e-mails. “That’s not law and order, that’s criminal intent.”

Independent Mike Bloomberg, who made it clear that he was not there to endorse the Democratic platform, nonetheless endorsed Hillary and, in no uncertain terms, drew a sharp distinction between his own status and that of the Republican nominee. “I’ve built a business and I didn’t start it with a million-dollar check from my father.”

Nuns on the Bus visit RI


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

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

2016-07-23 Nuns on the Bus 2683The Nuns on the Bus came to Providence Saturday night as part of a 13 state tour that ended at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. At each stop, the Nuns held meetings where concerned residents could share their concerns about a range of topics – including tax justice, living wages, family-friendly workplaces, access to democracy, healthcare, citizenship and housing. These meetings were held under the general title of “Mending the Gaps” and the discussion points and concerns from each meeting are to be delivered in Philadelphia.

The Nuns arrived at St. Michael’s Church in South Providence to the music of the Extraordinary Rendition Band and St. Michael’s own drummers.

During the discussions the Nuns learned about the obscene child poverty rates in Rhode Island, the criminality and disconnect of many of our elected leaders and our state’s support for the fossil fuel industry and the environmental racism such support entails. The meeting filled the basement of St. Michael’s.

From Providence the Nuns headed to Hartford, Scranton and Newark before arriving in Philly on  July 26. You can follow their progress here.

2016-07-23 Nuns on the Bus 2637

2016-07-23 Nuns on the Bus 2623

2016-07-23 Nuns on the Bus 2636

2016-07-23 Nuns on the Bus 2637

2016-07-23 Nuns on the Bus 2646

2016-07-23 Nuns on the Bus 2655

2016-07-23 Nuns on the Bus 2693

2016-07-23 Nuns on the Bus 2702

2016-07-23 Nuns on the Bus 2716

2016-07-23 Nuns on the Bus 2737

2016-07-23 Nuns on the Bus 2769

2016-07-23 Nuns on the Bus 2825

2016-07-23 Nuns on the Bus 2835

2016-07-23 Nuns on the Bus 2840

2016-07-23 Nuns on the Bus 2863

2016-07-23 Nuns on the Bus 2867

2016-07-23 Nuns on the Bus 2873

2016-07-23 Nuns on the Bus 2880

2016-07-23 Nuns on the Bus 2889

2016-07-23 Nuns on the Bus 2898

2016-07-23 Nuns on the Bus 2910

2016-07-23 Nuns on the Bus 2925

Patreon

Our choice for POTUS: backwards or forwards


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

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

troompFor those of us who believe in the need for a fundamental transformation of our society, voting in our broken system is frustrating. And yet we can’t avoid the fact that our elections have real consequences for many people, and the results shape the terrain for movement-building in the coming period. Frankly, I’d rather we be fighting to hold Hillary accountable to some of her campaign promises than fighting to stop Trump from implementing his.

The Democratic Party is a coalition, and its leaders feel accountable to different elements of the coalition based on the power they have within the coalition itself and within the country. When Clinton (or Obama) does not feel beholden to the left, it’s not just about who they are as individual candidates or President(s, hopefully) — it’s also because our movements aren’t yet powerful enough to ensure that they listen and act. My point here is not to make excuses for elected officials who let us down, but instead to take ownership of these disappointments, as these are assessments of the relative strength of our movements and evidence that we haven’t yet done enough.

Throughout the primary, Bernie’s campaign helped to change this dynamic a little — demonstrating that not only is there broader support for a much more progressive agenda in 2016 than there was in 1992 (“the end of history”) but for the first time in my life there was a mainstream discussion of socialism in the USA. Clinton then chose to campaign mostly as a progressive (with some speed bumps) and she became a stronger candidate because of it. It doesn’t mean she is perfect or the people around her are – what is means is that it is possible to move her on the issues that our movements care about.

During the primaries, the Fight for $15, Black Lives Matter, immigrants’ rights groups, and others found smart and confrontational ways to push these issues into the center of the campaign by doing accountability sessions, protests, pickets, and other creative actions. Those movements must continue (and they will, regardless of who is elected), but each movement has to figure out what to do over the next 15 weeks to ensure the greatest chance of success after the election is over.

Should Clinton be challenged now on the issues where she is wrong? Sure — especially if there is a chance of persuading her in ways that actually build power for and accountability to the group(s) making the demands, rather than marginalizing them. Movements will have to determine whether it makes sense for them to be outside of the Democratic tent pissing in, inside the tent pissing out, inside the tent pissing both in and out, or outside the tent pissing both in and out, or some combination thereof. That’s a whole lot of urine everywhere, but hey, politics ain’t a catheter-bag.

Another major factor to consider from a strategic standpoint is what issues could Hillary get stronger on that would expand her electoral coalition and improve her chances of winning? In one recent example, she adopted some of Bernie’s ideas on college tuition. Yet ultimately it’s not just about what platform Hillary campaigns on (or even what she truly believes in her heart of hearts), but rather it’s what she will be able/willing do for us after the election. And the only definitive answer to that is: we know she can do nothing for us if she loses. Therefore, despite any misgivings we may have, we need to help her win. Getting her to agree with us and then she loses? If we want that candidate her name is Jill Stein.

Do leading Democrats need to learn that if their economic agenda ignores (or is hostile to) workers in order to serve the elite, it creates the opening for the rise of Trumpism? Yes. Despite the primary results, we’re clearly not there yet (and hence the choice of Kaine over Brown, Warren, or Perez, though I suspect other factors including my home state of Virginia were part of the calculus too). But can we teach them that lesson by allowing (or even helping!) Trump to win? That was what Jill Stein seemed to argue in her RI Future interview, and I think that is wrong so I will say it again.

First of all, if Trump wins I don’t think the centrist-conservative elements of the Democratic Party would even draw the correct conclusion. But secondly and more importantly, I don’t think that popular movements can win by losing. Victories and the confidence that people get from them expand the possibilities of future victories, and they are what help to build movements. Defeats have the opposite effect.

The ascendancy of Trump to the Presidency would be a devastating setback for millions and millions of real people, in all of our intersectional beauty — people of color, women, immigrants, LGBTIQ folks, workers. Hell, it would be a setback for lots of white folks, too, even if some of us are too poisoned by racism to see it. And it would set our movements up for renewed attacks and repression, and very likely lead to many defeats on our issues. As a candidate Trump has talked openly about limiting press freedom, and condoned violence and vigilantism by his supporters against protesters and people of color in general.

Do we think he would be less brazen once he had the power and the machinery of the federal government at his fingertips? I am not exaggerating when I say that I think that our organizations and tactics could literally be outlawed in the name of “Make America Safe Again: The Emergency Presidential Powers Act of 2017” (or whatever they call the law they pass to give Trump dictatorial authority in reaction to the first terrorist attack after he becomes President, if they even wait that long).

The election is a compression point for a whole bunch of complicated issues that people in our country have been grappling with, and yet really there are only two choices: backwards or forwards.

I’m not arguing for silence of criticism and certainly not for an abandonment of all other organizing. But I am saying that we need to roll up our sleeves and fight to elect Clinton, rather than wash our hands of it using the fact that she’s not perfect to justify it. The choice in this election is a stark one, and I am most definitely with her.

And in conclusion: Fuck Trump.

Cicilline to Obama: Leave Trump out of the loop


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

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

Congressman David Cicilline asked President Obama to not share with Donald Trump the national security secrets typically confided in candidates for president. Earlier today, Trump publicly prodded Russia to hack Hillary Clinton’s email.

He sent this letter to the president today.

President Obama,

Since 1952, the White House has authorized the U.S. intelligence community to provide major party presidential nominees with classified briefings on the state of international affairs.  These briefings feature the discussion of sensitive intelligence, and are designed to help prepare candidates for the solemn national security responsibilities that they will assume upon taking office.

As the Republican nominee for president, Donald Trump will presumably be eligible for this courtesy in the near future.  However, on July 27, 2016, Mr. Trump urged Russian intelligence services to conduct cyberespionage operations into the correspondence of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, saying, “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope that you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing.  I think you will probably be rewarded mightily be our press.”  In light of these recent statements, we respectfully ask you to rescind Mr. Trump’s access to these briefings.

It is our belief that these statements, when considered in the broader context of the Republican nominee’s prior conduct and ties to the Russian government, warrant a re-examination of his access to this sensitive intelligence.  These remarks reflect more than just a lack of good judgment—it is an explicit call for intervention from an adversarial foreign power to undermine the American democratic process, and represents an action just short of outright treason.

Unfortunately, this intervention would be only the latest chapter in Russian efforts to interfere in this presidential election.  In May, National Intelligence Director James Clapper announced that the intelligence community had seen some indications that foreign governments were attempting to hack U.S. presidential campaigns.  And in June, CrowdStrike identified Russian intelligence agencies as the source behind the hack of the Democratic National Committee—an assessment that has been largely corroborated by the U.S. intelligence community.

The Republican nominee’s call for hostile foreign action represents a step beyond mere partisan politics and represents a threat to the republic itself.  It suggests that he is unfit to receive sensitive intelligence, and may willingly compromise our national security if he is permitted to do so. With this in mind, we respectfully ask that you withhold the intelligence briefing to Mr. Trump in the interests of national security.

Sincerely,
David N. Cicilline
Member of Congress

LNG as bad as coal, or worse says new report


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

Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387
2016-07-27 Toxics 3062
Ben Weilerstein

A new report released by Toxics Action Center, Frontier Group, Environment America and more than a dozen community groups across New England finds that burning gas for electricity is as bad for the climate as coal, or worse.

The report, titled “Natural Gas and Global Warming: A Review of Evidence Finds that Methane Leaks Undercut the Climate Benefits of Gas,” shows that older claims that gas has a modest impact on the climate are wrong, as they fail to account for the greenhouse gas effect of methane and high rates of methane leaks from gas infrastructure.

Ben Weilerstein, eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island organizer with the Toxics Action Center, held a press conference outside the RI State House with Kathy Martley of BASE (Burrillville Against Spectra Expansion). Martley has been fighting the expansion of fracked gas infrastructure in Burrillville for years, and was the woman responsible for getting Governor Gina Raimondo to visit the town to discuss Invenergy‘s planned $700 million fracked gas and diesel oil burning power plant.

2016-07-27 Toxics 3070“For years, communities on the frontlines of proposed pipelines, power plants, compressor stations, and LNG terminals have been told by the fossil fuel lobby and politicians that gas is a low-carbon bridge to a clean energy future,” said Weilerstein. “Today, it’s clearer than ever that this is not the case. New fracked gas infrastructure proposed across the region threatens our climate future, our health, and our neighborhoods. It’s time to double down on clean local renewable energy sources right here in New England.

“Methane can leak during every stage of natural gas production – during drilling, processing, and even from the pipeline,” said Elizabeth Ridlington of Frontier Group in a statement. Ridlington wrote the report, saying, “Our review of the evidence suggests that these leaks may have an annual global warming impact equivalent of up to 250 coal-fired power plants, enough to nearly or completely offset any other climate benefits of natural gas.”

Released simultaneously in seven New England cities and towns today, the report emphasizes that methane is a much more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, trapping 86 to 105 times as much heat as CO2 over a 20-year period. Making these findings even more concerning, the report authors found flaws in studies that reported very low rates of methane leakage, finding evidence instead of high rates of methane leaks from gas infrastructure.

Kathy Martley noted that reports like this have been coming out for years, and that it’s time for the Governor Gina Raimondo and Rhode Island Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Jack Reed to read these reports and act. “For health and environmental reasons we need to stop LNG now,” said Martley.

2016-07-27 Toxics 3074

Patreon

Martin O’Malley visits RI delegation as they reflect on Clinton’s nomination


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

Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387
Former Presidential candidate Martin O'Malley speaks with the RI delegation.
Former Presidential candidate Martin O’Malley speaks with the RI delegation.

Two former Presidential candidates visited the RI delegation at breakfast this morning as the group was still reflecting on the historic nomination of Hillary Clinton. Before Sen. Bernie Sanders stopped by, Gov. Martin O’Malley paid a visit and offered his thoughts on the convention and the need for unity going forward.

“Watching every night of our convention unfold, people have seen a real party, a diverse party, with competing interests, competing ideas, but at the end of the day, people that are very united in our belief that our diversity is our greatest strength,” O’Malley said.

Speaking about the general election, O’Malley said, “Of course we’re concerned. The specter on the other side is a real menace to the country. But the answer to defeating Donald Trump is not to vibrate at his frequency but to vibrate at a higher frequency. I think Dr. King said it well when he said that you can’t drive out hate with hate or violence with violence, only light and love can do that. So let’s make sure we come together in this next 48 hours so that we leave this city of brotherly — and sisterly — love resonating at that level and offering a better vision forward for our country.”

And O’Malley had some words for the Sanders supporters. “To any of you that were involved with Sen. Sanders campaign, congratulations on being able to bring to our party for the fall the most progressive Democratic platform we’ve ever had. It would not have happened were it not for that primary contest, and y’all should be proud too.”

The delegation was still abuzz over the historic nomination of Hillary Clinton as the first woman to lead a major party ticket.

House Speaker Nick Mattielo Mattiello said it was “an honor” to have been part of the nominating process. “I think it will be great for the country to have our first female President. I think she’s very qualified, I think she has a unique perspective, and I think she’s just going to be a great president at the right time. I’m very excited about the process, and I was very appreciative of being able to play a small role in it.”

RI Senate President Teresa Paiva-Weed shared that sentiment. “It was great to be a part of last night — and the night before. Michelle Obama’s speech was absolutely what the party needed in terms of unifying the party, bringing the party together. As a woman elected official, I certainly share the excitement that was in that room last night and the possibility of the first woman President.”

Rep. Grace Diaz said that it was a “privilege” to have been part of the process. “History comes to your mind, and you say, ‘I can’t believe it, I’m experiencing this! I’m living this!’ It put tears in my eyes. I’m the first Dominican-American in the history of the United States elected to the state level, and I know the feeling inside — a big responsibility, because you cannot fail. You cannot have the luxury of not accomplishing what you’re supposed to. I think that’s what must be in Hillary’s mind now.”

Said Jamestown Rep. Deborah Ruggiero “It was electrifying. It’s every little girl’s dream. And when they showed every single President, beginning with George Washington and stopping with Obama, and the glass ceiling shattered and there was her face — it was, ‘wow!’ It’s real. And all the little girls sitting around her saying, I may be just the first one, but one of you will be the next one. It was just a great message for women, for boys, for men, for everyone. It’s just where our country needs to go. America is great. We’ve got to keep it great. We’ve got to keep it moving and Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine are going to do that for working people.”

Being part of the delegation, Ruggiero said, was “pretty cool.” She added, “It’s really neat to stand up there and to know that you’re framing part of history. To know that your values are such that you want to see a person who believes in what’s right for working people, making sure that we raise the minimum wage, that we have healthcare for everyone, that we support education, all of those values are Democratic values. And to be able to be there to nominate not only the right candidate, but the smartest candidate, the hardest-working candidate, with the most heart, who just happens to be a woman.”

Former representative and gubernatorial candidate Myrth York agreed with the sense of history the delegation had just witnessed. “It was incredibly exciting. And I know the historic significance of it, and the work is still to be done, it’s one step forward, but even just on a personal level, for her, and having just a tiny sense of what she’s done and committed to to make this happen is extraordinary. The glass cracking? It was hokey, but it was fabulous. I didn’t see it coming, I just thought there would be her photo next. That was a brilliant piece of stagecraft.”

Save The Bay wants Invenergy to prove consistency with Resilient RI


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

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

save the bay logoIn a carefully worded press release, Save The Bay, one of Rhode Island’s premiere environmental advocacy groups, said, “it would be premature for the RI Energy Facility Siting Board (EFSB) to make a decision on a proposed natural gas-fired power plant in Burrillville before the state adopts a greenhouse gas reduction strategy.”

“Under the Resilient RI Act of 2014, the Executive Climate Change Coordinating Council (EC4) is required to submit to the Governor and General Assembly a strategy for achieving greenhouse gas emission (GHG) targets set forth in the Act. The deadline for this report is December 31, 2016. Until this strategy has been developed and adopted and the Invenergy proposal is shown to be consistent with the GHG reduction goals of the Resilient RI Act, it is premature for the RI Energy Facility Siting Board to issue a decision on Invenergy’s proposed power plant,” said Save the Bay Executive Director Jonathan Stone.

“Save The Bay expects the EC4 to consider carefully and thoughtfully a number of important questions in charting the state’s energy course. Among them: benefits and impacts of investments in renewable energy generation and energy conservation on energy system supply, distribution and reliability; the role of hydroelectric power in replacing nuclear power as part of the region’s energy mix; and whether or not the power generation capacity of the proposed facility is needed.

“Climate change is caused by the burning of fossil fuels and poses profound threats to the health and resilience of Narragansett Bay,” said Stone. “The pace of climate change is expected to accelerate. Already, rising sea levels are degrading the health of coastal wetlands, worsening coastal erosion and threatening public access along the shore. Warming temperatures contribute to harmful algal blooms, low oxygen levels in the Bay, and the loss of native species.”

If the Invenergy project moves forward and specific site plans and required permit applications are submitted to the RI Department of Environmental Management, Save The Bay will evaluate the proposed plant’s impacts on water quality, wetlands, and habitat conditions, in keeping with its role as steward of Narragansett Bay.

[Note: an earlier version of this piece was released with an incorrect Save the Bay logo.]

 

Bernie Sanders meets RI delegation


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

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

Sen. Bernie Sanders met with the RI Delegation during their breakfast meeting this morning, and delivered a 6-minute talk thanking local Democrats for their support, urging continued activism, and stressing the importance of uniting to defeat Donald Trump in November.

Sen. Bernie Sanders talks with the RI Delegation at the DNC Convention in Philadelphia.
Sen. Bernie Sanders talks with the RI Delegation at the DNC Convention in Philadelphia.

CLF makes its case against need for Burrillville power plant at RIPUC hearing


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

Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387
2016-07-26 PUC Burrillville 3026
Robert Fagan

On the second day of the RI Public Utilities Commission (RIPUC)’s evidentiary hearing concerning Invenergy‘s proposed $700 million fracked gas and diesel oil burning power plant, to be located in Burrillville, Jerry Elmer of the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) presented his witnesses who argued that the power plant is not needed and that it’s effect on ratepayers would be negligible.

The CLF’s case is one of nuance, and much depends on the views of Commissioner Herbert DeSimone Jr. DeSimone is the one commissioner on the PUC board that did not recuse themself, and the one commissioner who will write the RIPUC’s advisory opinion to the Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB), the body ultimately responsible for deciding on the plant. Invenergy is making the case that since the proposed plant has already sold half its capacity in an energy futures market run by ISO-NE, the plant is by definition needed. This is the default position not only of Invenergy, but also of the RI Office of Energy Resources (OER) and the RIPUC, if the questioning from their attorneys at the hearing are any indication.

2016-07-26 PUC Burrillville 3033
Alan Shoer and National Grid’s rep conversing

The CLF is maintaining that what ISO-NE did was purchase extra power, and if Invenergy’s plant is taken out, there will still be more than enough electricity on the grid to power all of New England. Also, going forward, as more and more renewables come on line, the need for the plant will go down, not increase. Unfortunately, ISO-NE is somewhat of a black box. Though they publish thousands of pages on how their energy auctions are run, figuring out why one plant’s energy was purchased and another was not is virtually impossible, and no one from ISO-NE was at the hearing to answer questions.

As for ratepayer savings, on the first day of the hearing Invenergy’s attorney Alan Shoer called his witnesses and made his case that the savings to ratepayers would be significant. On the stand, John Niland, director of development for Invenergy admitted that the $280 million number he gave to Burrillville residents earlier in the year was false, and that he knew it was false when he presented it. The true number was closer to $36 million in rate payer savings.

2016-07-26 PUC Burrillville 3031
All lawyers at the bench for a huddle

The CLF’s witness, Christopher Stix, also ruled out the $280 million number, saying it took him one week after the ISO-NE auction results were published to perform his calculations that the actual savings ranged from between zero and $36 million. John Niland testified that Invenergy did not know this number when he falsely gave the $280 million figure to the audience in Burrillville seven weeks after the auction published its results.

It is up to DeSimone to decide whether or not a savings of between zero and $36 million to rate payers is worth the additional pollution, the despoilment of Burrillville’s pristine habitats and the continued dependency on fracked gas for our energy needs in New England for decades to come. It is worth noting that $280 million was a number too big to ignore, from an economic standpoint, where as zero to $36 million (which is a bell curve, the actual number may be closer to $20 million) is not nearly as tantalizing.

The CLF’s first witness, Robert Fagan, testified for a marathon five hours.

DSC_3045
Christopher Stix

“We know now is that the Invenergy plant is not needed for electrical needs in New England,” said Fagan, and under cross examination he did not falter.

Getting through Fagan’s testimony required defining a host of terms and acronyms. ICR, LOLE, NERC, sloping versus vertical demand curves etc. were defined and discussed. It was very technical, but it served two functions. One, it established Fagan’s expertise, something Invenergy tried to call into question in pre-filed testimony, and two, it helped prove Fagan’s case that the proposed power plant was not necessary.

Though high-powered attorneys Alan Shoer and Jerry Elmer set the tone for the meeting, it’s most likely that RIPUC attorney Cynthia Wilson-Frias will have the most impact on Commissioner DeSimone’s advisory opinion, given that she will likely help author it and DeSimone can be expected to lean heavily on RIPUC’s in house legal expertise. Wilson-Frias asked pointed questions about the fact that Invenergy already sold some of its expected output to ISO-NE. She indicated that since the energy sold, it is by definition needed. Fagan countered this logic well, his entire testimony was in fact a rebuttal of sorts to this idea, so it comes down to how much weight Wilson-Frias gives Fagan’s views versus the more mainstream “free” market ideas favored by Invenergy.

The last day of the hearing is today, and unfortunately I will not be in attendance. I hope to get an update from Jerry Elmer after the hearing.

You can view the entire days proceedings below:

Patreon

Audubon Society and Nature Conservancy oppose Burrillville power plant


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

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

Audubon Society of Rhode Island logoThe Audubon Society of Rhode Island and the Nature Conservancy in Rhode Island have released statements in opposition to Invenergy‘s $700 million fracked gas and diesel oil burning power plant proposed for Burrillville.

Saying that its “mission is to protect birds, other wildlife and their habitat through conservation, education and advocacy for the benefit of people and all living things, the Audubon Society of Rhode Island has come out in opposition to “the proposed 900MW power plant in Burrillville, Rhode Island because it will disturb the integrity of western Rhode Island’s forested habitats and wildlife corridors and because the plant undermines Rhode Island’s ability to achieve greenhouse gas reduction goals set in the 2014 Resilient Rhode Island Act.

“Rhode Island’s Executive Climate Change Coordinating Council (EC4) is charged with developing a plan for achieving the Resilient Rhode Island Act’s greenhouse gas reduction goals,” says the press release, “Audubon requests that the plan examine opportunities for meeting energy demand through efficiency and expanded renewable energy. This analysis should be completed before the state builds the new Invenrgy facility.”

Meanwhile, the Nature Conservancy in Rhode Island has also issued a statement in opposition to the power plant, saying, “Invenergy’s proposed 900MW power plant for Burrillville will make it more difficult for Rhode Island to achieve its newly enacted greenhouse gas reduction targets; it has not been proven necessary to meet energy needs; and it will pose unacceptable environmental risks to habitats and plant and animal species.”

“The Nature Conservancy in Rhode Island supports a comprehensive approach to energy development that considers energy conservation, renewable energy, and other alternatives to fossil fuels,” says their press release, “The Conservancy urges the state to undertake an independent assessment of its projected energy needs, within the context of the larger region’s energy needs, and to develop a strategy to meet those projections before committing to a new large-scale power plant.”

TNC – RI Logo

 

RI delegation celebrates historic roll call vote


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

Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387
RI Delegation celebrates historic roll call vote at Democratic National Convention in Philly.
RI Delegation celebrates historic roll call vote at Democratic National Convention in Philly.

At the roll call vote in Philadelphia this evening, the Democratic National Convention formally nominated Hillary Rodham Clinton as their candidate for president. The votes of Rhode Island’s 32 delegates were announced by Speaker of the House Nick Mattielo, who, in the tradition of nominating speeches, took the opportunity to sing the praises of the state.

“Rhode Island is the proud home of the great Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen David Cicilline and James Langevin,” said Mattielo. “Home of outstanding beaches and coastlines, some of the best in the world. Great companies such as CVS, Textron, Hasbro, and now GE. A state that has recently proudly elected the first female governor, Gina Raimondo. The smallest state in the union with one of the biggest hearts. Home of the best restaurants in the country, great quality of life, great people. Rhode Island proudly casts 13 votes for Senator Bernie Sanders, and 19 votes for the next President of the United States, Hillary Rodham Clinton.”

When the roll call vote concluded, attendees in the Wells Fargo Center went into a prolonged celebration, cheering and waving Hillary placards.

Rep. Jim Langevin (CD-2) with RI Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea at the DNC.
Rep. Jim Langevin (CD-2) with RI Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea at the DNC.

“It was so exciting to be in this convention hall,” Langevin said, “When it became official that Hillary Clinton is the first woman to be the Democratic nominee, of any major party, for President of the United States. I’m glad it’s under the Democratic banner. I’m so proud to be a long-time supporter of Hillary Clinton, and I look forward to working so hard for her throughout the election cycle.”

Democratic Party Chair Joe McNamara echoed those sentiments.

“It was great to see the delegation come together and a tremendous experience,” he said. “I’m very proud of every single member of our delegation. The speaker did a great job promoting the positive attributes of Rhode Island versus the negative speech that happened last week in Cleveland, Ohio. He got the coastline, he got our corporations, he got GE moving in — it’s all about jobs and the economy and quality of life, and I think it came across very well.”

RI delegation praises Michelle Obama, Bernie Sanders


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

Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387
image
Members of the RI Delegation listen to first-night speakers at the DNC in Philly.

Members of the Rhode Island delegation were still buzzing about the first-night speakers at the Democratic National Convention as they met for breakfast in Philadelphia.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse said he was particularly moved by the reaction of Bernie Sanders supporters during his speech.

“Seeing the Bernie people, the young people, in the close-ups on TV weeping as he spoke, was a reminder to all of us how deeply some people put their hearts into that movement,” he said. “For those of us who have lost primaries, either as a candidate or because our candidate didn’t win, it was a reminder that there is a real sorrow and a real adjustment that’s required.”

Whitehouse was impressed by the way Sanders worked to bridge the gap between his supporters and Hillary Clinton. “I honestly don’t know that he could have done that job any better. Clearly he really wanted to try to make sure that took place. He really put his heart into it, and I think he will continue to. Nobody – Bernie voter, Hillary voter – wants to live in a Trump presidency America. Nobody.”

For Congressman David Cicilline, Michelle Obama was a highlight.

“The speech of the First Lady was the most powerful speech of the night,” he said. “She reminded us all of the progress we’ve made — ‘I wake up every morning in a house built by slaves, and I watch my children play on the front lawn’ — it reminded you that this is a great country and we’ve come a very long way, but she also recognized that we have many challenges, that many people are struggling in this country, and that we need a president who understands that struggle, who has real solutions, and that can bring us together. We have only solved problems in this country when we have come together, worked together to overcome them. The tenor of last night’s speeches was such a contrast to the Republicans. They were speeches filled with pragmatism but with tremendous hope and optimism about what is great about this country and our ability to build upon the progress we’ve made.”

Clinton delegate and former candidate for governor Clay Pell agreed that Michelle Obama stole the show.

“The highlight for me was Michelle Obama,” he said. “She was incredible. The whole place lit up. She was an inspiration. The First Lady’s message was about what her own family had been through, and the power of believing in this country. She had a very powerful story about how she lives in a house that was built by slaves, and is now watching two young, smart black girls play on the White House lawn and grow up and believe that because of Hillary Clinton that they too could become president of the United States.”

Pell had kind words for Sanders and his supporters.

“Sanders gave a great, impassioned plea,” he said. “Not only to his own supporters, but to the country, and shared a lot of the values we all way to keep moving forward. I hope he continues to be a leader in the Democratic Party, because he is a person not only of integrity but of vision, and he’s independent in so many ways, and we need that. He’s brought young people, and people of all kinds into politics, and it’s important that we embrace that and recognize that what he’s talking about is the future.”

Sanders delegate Linda Ujifusa wanted to keep the focus on the senator from Vermont.

“I think people should focus on the fact that we were all cheering Bernie,” she said. “I was really impressed with his speech. Of course, as he pointed out, we are disappointed. But his message, of trying to keep the political revolution that he began going is really, really important. I personally decided to run for office based on Bernie’s call to action, because for people to sit on the sidelines is to admit that we’re not willing to be involved.”

Still, some Sanders supporters were unhappy with the message. “I felt betrayed,” said Sanders delegate Laura Perez. “At the beginning of his speech, he even suggested, still vote for me. And then at the end of the speech, okay, you’re all in. This is what we’re going to do.”

Sanders delegate and organizer Lauren Niedel shared in the disappointment.

“Bernie’s speech was inspirational and showed why he should be our next nominee,” she said. “I’m not at all surprised by the message of Bernie’s speech. He stated from the beginning that was his intention. What I’m disappointed in is that if all was fair, if his message could have been seen and heard by more people, and if independents and unaffiliated had their say in each of the primaries, Bernie would be our nominee.”

RI Democratic Party Chairman Joe McNamara praised New Jersey Senator Cory Booker.

“Michelle Obama was great, and I believe we saw a rising star in Cory Booker,” he said. “Booker really took it to the mountaintop with ‘we will rise together.’ That will be a speech that will definitely go down in the history of the Democratic Party, and we’ll be hearing a lot more from Cory Booker.”

“Bernie did an excellent job,” added McNamara. “The speech was wonderful, and everyone — everyone — cheered him.”

McNamara added, “Sen. Sanders stating that this campaign is not about Bernie Sanders, it is not about Hillary Clinton, it’s about the future of our nation, our children and grandchildren, was something, to me, that really hit home.” McNamara said that felt like Sanders’ way of telling his followers, “We’ve worked very hard, but it’s time to support the platform that represents many of the ideals of the campaign.”

South Providence little league team struggles to afford World Series trip


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

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

cal ripken teamAfter winning both the state and New England tournaments, the Providence Washington Park Cal Ripken little league team has an invitation to be one of 10 teams from across the nation to compete in the World Series in August. But first the predominantly Hispanic group of 12-year-olds from South Providence has to raise $12,000 to be able to compete for the national championship.

“We’re limited in what we can do financially,” said Jennifer Asencio, whose son Dorsy, a pitcher, was the MVP of the New England tournament. She said the average parent earns between $20,000 and $30,000 annually – not enough to afford the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. “The kids have been canvassing the neighborhood. All the parents are asking their employers. We’ve asked the PawSox and the Red Sox.”

The team has also set up a GoFundMe page – and could really use your support.

Perhaps worse than the financial hardship of paying for the trip, Ascencio says the team from South Providence isn’t getting the same amount of attention that previous local little league teams received from local media.

“They just aren’t getting the same attention that Cumberland or Cranston West did,” Asencio said. “I’ve reached out to all the local news stations. The only obvious difference to me is these are Hispanic, low income kids.”

She added, “All the parents are saying the same thing. There’s been no response from the local news or local politicians.”

This is the seventh season for the Washington Park Cal Ripken little league and the 12-year-old team represents the inaugural class. “This group started tee ball together seven years ago and now they are going to the World Series together,” Asencio said. “It’s really a great success story.”

To advance to the World Series, they had to beat teams from all over Rhode Island and New England. The team, she said, is a tight-knit group that has already developed a sense of community organizing.

“When there isn’t practice or a game, the kids all practice together,” Asencio said. “They help the younger kids. They are just the best group of kids.”

So far, the team has raised $2,000. Assuming they can raise another $10,000, they will compete in the Cal Ripken World Series from August 4 through August 14 in Ocala Florida.


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