Why Should Politics Be Boring?
“Friends, I shall ask you to be as quiet as possible. I don’t know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot; but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose. But fortunately I had my manuscript, so you see I was going to make a long speech, and there is [...]
Chase bank charges fees to use unemployment debit cards
Trimming the costs of governance isn’t inherently a bad thing, but charging the unemployed fees to access their account information probably isn’t the best way for the state to save money. However, that’s exactly what happened when Rhode Island outsourced the management of unemployment fund accounts to JP Morgan Chase in 2007. “JPMorgan Chase agreed [...]
Payday Reform and Policy Change: A Recent Conversation on Sonic Watermelons on BSR
PROVIDENCE, RI – Are Rhode Islanders paying fees for loans that are higher than what residents in other states are paying? The answer in some cases is yes – 260% versus 36%. Learn more about the type of loans that charge these rates, the impact of these loans on RI families, and what you can [...]
Brown can and should pay Providence more
While it was the hospitals Mayor Angel Taveras met with late last week, the focus again this week will likely be a new deal with Brown University. After all, the hospital industry in Rhode Island is struggling, reports Megan Hall of Rhode Island Public Radio. The hospitals here lost a combined $4 million last year, [...]
Racial profiling in Rhode Island
According to a study by Northeastern University, African American and Latino motorists were more than twice as likely to be searched after being pulled over for a traffic stop in Rhode Island. Think there’s racial profiling in Rhode Island? The study certainly seems to suggest as much, and a number of state legislators and the [...]
Marriage equality back on State House agenda
Same sex couples in Rhode Islanders will have another opportunity at equal protection under the law as Rep. Art Handy, D-Cranston, will again introduce a bill in the General Assembly that would afford the same marriage rights as their heterosexual counterparts enjoy. “Every year we move forward,” Handy said, who has introduced a similar bill [...]
Tweets from the speech
It was a first for Providence. The mayor’s office live tweeted Angel Taveras’ State of the City speech last night. To mark the occasion, I collected some of the more interesting tweets from the speech, both from the mayor and some of the people who were following along at home and in the audience. View [...]
State of the City: Employees, retirees give first
As expected, Mayor Angel Taveras said the state of the city is not so good. “Providence is in peril,” said the mayor of the capital city to lead into the annual State of the City speech. And, as he reiterated throughout his 20 minute address, it’s up to retirees and tax-exempt landowners to save it. [...]
Taveras to deliver State of the City speech tonight
Everyone knows what the state of the city is. Providence Mayor Angel Taveras has already sounded the alarm loudly. But nonetheless, he’ll still deliver the annual speech tonight at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers of City Hall. The state of the city is, of course, disastrous. Rhode Island’s capital city is on the brink [...]
See Garrahy Legacy in Photos & Letters
Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis is honoring Joe Garrahy with an on-line tribute that includes photos of the late Governor with celebrities such as Jesse Jackson, Pope John Paul II and President Reagan as well as everyday Rhode Islanders like Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops. “We could think of no better way to honor [...]
How To Confront a Candidate, or How to Drink Liberally.
It is often bemoaned that candidates only talk about certain issues, only debate the same topics, and hardly ever disagree on anything of true substance. “My economic package is better than yours.” “I’m tougher on our enemies than the other guy.” Blah, blah, blah. When we consider that Obama, Bush, and McCain all agreed on [...]
“Since Roe”: the decision that made all the difference still needs support
On January 22, 1973 the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its ruling in the landmark Roe v. Wade case. The decision ensured that the right to privacy in the U.S. Constitution permits a woman to choose whether to continue a pregnancy or to have a safe and legal abortion. This historic ruling recognizes that women [...]
Principles are Worth More than Political Awards
You may have heard about our recent letter to General Treasurer Gina Raimondo requesting that she return an award from The Manhattan Institute, an extremist right wing group that promotes offensive, ignorant and hurtful positions towards the LGBTQI community, women, minorities, and our environment. Marriage Equality Rhode Island was among a group of organizations that [...]
Understanding The Intersection of Race, Music and Politics
(RHODE ISLAND, MASSACHUSETTS) – If I were to describe some of the events I have coming up as political, I’m sure someone would ask me, “hey Reza, what is political about an event featuring spoken word poetry and world rhythms?” This is the type of question I love to answer, though, sadly, few seem to [...]
RI Choice Coalition Recognizes Pro-Choice Leaders and Works to Ensure Health Care Access for all Rhode Islanders
It was a fitting day for the Rhode Island Choice Coalition to rally support for health care access considering the White House Report that was just released recognizing the state for being the top recipient of federal support totaling $64 Million for establishing a health care exchange. The main theme however, was a commemoration [...]
Rep. Lima to Introduce Voter ID Repeal Legislation
Watch for Rep. Charlene Lima to introduce legislation today to repeal the Voter ID bill that passed last session and was signed by Governor Chafee. She has been circulating the legislation in the House and has about 15 co-sponsors. It will likely be coming today in tandem with her press statement which was not completed [...]
Congress Needs to Start Working to Put the American People Back to Work
When I decided to run for Congress in 2010, I began my campaign with the conviction that no issue was more important than putting men and women across Rhode Island back to work. For too long, national policies had left behind far too many working families in our state. In cities such as Woonsocket, factory [...]
Rethinking the Cicilline and Doherty Race
With the recent announcement that Loughlin has decided not to run for Congress, I’ve been putting some thought into the upcoming CD1 race between Cicilline and Doherty. It seems that the campaign has gotten slightly more difficult for Cicilline, but I don’t see it nearly as much of an uphill battle as some others do. [...]
Ignore POTUS: It’s the McGuffin
While I, like all of you political junkies, am practically main-lining the GOP Presidential primaries, they bring to mind a basic criticism I’ve had of almost every “outsider” political movement: they foolishly focus on electing a President. But that really doesn’t matter. It’s the McGuffin. While so many on the left have expressed outrage at [...]
Fighting for Our Future
This is bound to be an exciting year for our state, and I know I speak for many when I say that the return of RI Future to the Ocean State’s blogosphere is a welcome one. From Netroots Nation coming to Providence – something Mayor Taveras and I worked particularly hard to ensure – to [...]
New Comments