RBS Should Spin Off Citizens Bank As IPO
If the Royal Bank of Scotland sells Citizens Bank, which was reported again today in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, it could be another economic catastrophe for Rhode Island. As many as 3,000 jobs could be terminated here. But a sale doesn’t have to be a bad thing; it could be a boon. Here are two very [...]
Bishop Tobin and His ‘Wizard of Oz’ Logic
John DePetro has long referred to Governor Lincoln Chafee by the insulting and disrespectful name of “Governor Gump.” DePetro has taken the name “Gump” from the 1994 Tom Hanks movie Forrest Gump, the implication being that Chafee is in some way as mentally handicapped as the titular character. But there is an older use of [...]
Reflection and Thanksgiving
At this time of year it’s only natural to stop, look back and assess the recent past and give thanks for all the positive things in our lives. Since I get to post here regularly as a contributor, I’d like to say thank you to Bob Plain for giving me a forum. A lot of [...]
Rep. Dickinson Attacks Speaker Fox, Cronyism
Unless you live in the area, you’re probably not paying much attention to the primary race between incumbent Representative Spencer Dickinson and South Kingstown Councilwoman Kathleen Fogarty in District 35. I wasn’t, until I was randomly perusing Anchor Rising, and saw this series on Mr. Dickinson’s five-page mailer to constituents outlining the issues he sees [...]
Boston and Providence Pass the Buck on Charity
“If I had more, I’d give more.” Does that sound familiar? When it comes to where our paycheck goes, we all have financial priorities. Once the bills are paid, however, many of us will donate some of our money to the broader community. For most, giving is an important part of our value system. Whether it [...]
Projo Misses News at Doherty, Brown Event
So, if you still have doubts that the ProJo editorial board is the tail wagging the newsroom’s dog; those fears should be laid to rest after the Newspaper Spin Cycle of record’s coverage of the Brendan Doherty event at Metacomet Country Club in East Providence. Journal scribe Phil Marcelo, covered all the political details about [...]
A Cross on Public Land; This Time in Providence
In Rhode Island, there’s a cross on public land. It’s not the one in Woonsocket, it’s the one in Providence, on a city owned median strip located at about 14 Pleasant Valley Parkway near the Coca-Cola plant. The Humanists of Rhode Island sent a letter to Providence Mayor Angel Taveras, asking that the cross be [...]
Solidarity, For Now? The Many Costs of Labor’s Decline
When I moved to RI in 2003 from Washington, I was rather stunned to hear many of my liberal friends repeat the media meme that organized labor was too powerful in the Ocean State [note: I will use the term 'liberal' rather than 'progressive,' because in my experience people on the left my age and [...]
No Shield Against the Results of Public Speech
So the other day I received this email shortly after an article I wrote appeared in RI Future (I’ve only edited it due to some sentence breaks: Sam; Publishing the contents of the OP discussion list serve on -line with links at RI Future blog is a violation of our safety/security policies. Of course, anyone is free [...]
Mandatory Ultrasound Bill Disses Women, Doctors
The Providence Journal published an identical Right to Life opinion piece that ran April 30th supporting Rep. Karen MacBeth’s mandatory ultrasound bill. And so the Providence Journal gave RTL a freebie to further their radical right wing agenda. Politicians like Rep. Karen MacBeth (D-Cumberland) who sponsored the mandatory ultrasound bill should not interfere in women’s [...]
No Reckoning: The RI Corruption Video Game
This morning, former Red Sox Pitcher Curt Schilling blamed the State of Rhode Island for the failure of his video game company. According to the Providence Journal, he blamed the state for not giving him more tax breaks. Additionally, the Journal reported, Schilling has lost “33 pounds in the past 45 days, which he calls [...]
Memorializing My Fallen Comrades, a Reflection
Memorial Day. There must be millions of blogs, newspaper articles, documentaries, and cable specials being produced this weekend to bring attention to some aspect of the military’s dead. I’d say, if one American spends 10 minutes this weekend watching an ABC special on American service members who have died in Afghanistan, that’s a win for [...]
RI Needs to Learn from Mistakes of 38 Studios Deal
To the 379 people who just lost their jobs, I want to say something that no one responsible for this turn of events is going to say: I’m sorry. I doubt that will make you feel better, but I think it needs to be said, by someone. You moved yourself and your families down here, [...]
The Bishop Has No Clothes
Many Roman Catholics look to those who hold exalted positions within the hierarchy of the church for guidance on moral issues, but if polls on the behavior of Catholics in their personal lives regarding such issues as birth control and marriage equality are any indication, most Catholics find their morality elsewhere. Still, this does not [...]
The National Day of Fear and Desperation
Each year the President of the United States signs a proclamation encouraging all Americans to pray on the first Thursday in May, a national religious ritual first formalized by Congress in 1952. This year, that date falls on May 3rd, and both President Obama and Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee have declared their support for [...]
Soda Tax Talking Point Ignores Gas Prices, Logic
The idea that people will cross state lines to avoid paying taxes is one of the most abused axioms in Rhode Island politics, but this notion is stretched far beyond the ridiculous when those opposed to a soda tax invoke it. The proposed soda tax, heard yesterday by the House Finance Committee, would add a [...]
The Buffett Rule: Your Straight Deal on Taxes
Back in 1985, President Ronald Reagan said: “We’re going to close the unproductive tax loopholes that have allowed some of the truly wealthy to avoid paying their fair share.” Almost three decades later, we’re still hearing about ultra-high income earners like Warren Buffett paying a lower tax rate than his secretary. According to the IRS, [...]
Dear RI: Where’s the Work?
For those who have never had a day of unemployment that they did not choose, there are no words which can describe the state. For those who, like me, have, you know the feelings. You know the self-loathing, the worthlessness, the despondence, the anger. But most of all, the fear. There is a special terror [...]
RI Progress Report: Reinvent RI, Receivers and OccupyURI
The Providence Journal kicked off a great new series on Sunday called Reinvent RI in which the paper does a great job analyzing and identifying the problems with our economy. The Projo says the state’s downturn is a result of a slumping housing economy coupled with a transition away from manufacturing – not high taxes [...]
Darth Flanders Sets Sights on CF Mayoral Office
It turns out there’s at least one more job Central Falls receiver Bob “Lord of the Pink Slip” Flanders would like to eliminate from the financially struggling city: mayor. As if temporarily eliminating democracy from Central Falls wasn’t enough, now he wants to permanently eliminate democratically elected mayors and replace the position with an appointed [...]
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