Marc Comtois

Attacking McCain

By Marc Comtois | June 8, 2008 |

First, they made fun of the teeth that replaced the ones that got knocked out when Sen. John McCain was a POW (and local bloggers parroted the post and the snark, incidentally). Then they questioned (h/t) his military pension, because, well, he only got tortured–he didn’t really suffer a permanent disability–and he’s rich, too. But,…

RIILE Shut out of Governor’s Immigration Advisory Group

By Marc Comtois | June 6, 2008 |

Terry Gorman of RIILE (Rhode Islanders for Immigration Law Enforcement) was on Dan Yorke’s show this afternoon and explained that neither he nor any RIILE members have been invited to participate on the Governor’s 27 member Immigration Advisory panel (no documentation or press release yet). According to Gorman, he had gotten the impression that he…

Cicilline & Bevilacqua Cop a Plea

By Marc Comtois | June 6, 2008 |

It’s kinda big news when the brother of the Mayor of Providence pleads guilty to corruption, no? Lawyers John M. Cicilline, the brother of Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline, and Joseph A. Bevilacqua Jr. pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston this morning along with former legal assistant Lisa Torres to charges involving a $150,000…

Budget Drops Next Week

By Marc Comtois | June 6, 2008 |

Steve Peoples (like the rest of us) is looking for hints concerning the makeup of the Budget that will be revealed next week. Here’s the quick version of Peoples’ report. House Finance Committee Chairman Steven M. Costantino doesn’t want to go the one-time fix route, but isn’t going to shut the door completely. Senate Finance…

Lest we Forget

By Marc Comtois | June 6, 2008 |

Today is D-Day Think of the courage it took for the men in the picture above to face what they did. Thank God they did.

Turnabout Doesn’t Feel Like Fair Play

By Marc Comtois | June 5, 2008 |

Froma Harrop taps into the frustration felt by the Hillary-supportin’ womyn out there, such as one Jean B. Grillo: I am so tired as a white, ultra-liberal, McGovern-voting, civil-rights marching, anti-war fighting, highly educated professional woman who totally supports Hillary Clinton to be attacked and vilified as racist and/or dumb. Or Shauna Morris: I am…

Graduation Rates even Worse: Time for Some Flexibility

By Marc Comtois | June 4, 2008 |

The latest “Exhibit A” of the old maxim that there are “lies, damn lies and statistics” comes with news that RI is graduating even fewer seniors out of High School than we thought. Rhode Island’s high school graduation rate is 19 percentage points lower than previously reported, and at 70.1 percent hovers just under the…

Lima Gives some budget hints

By Marc Comtois | June 4, 2008 |

Cranston Rep. Charlene Lima was just on John DePetro’s show and in a wide-ranging conversation offered up a couple nuggets. First, she admitted that both sides were at fault for not working together to fix the budget mess and chalked it up to “politics.” Gee, ya think? She also is hearing that 90% of budget…

Group Asks Fox to Raise Our Taxes

By Marc Comtois | June 4, 2008 |

Dr. David Savitski, a child psychiatrist, was part of a group of East Siders that met with House Majority Leader Gordon Fox to ask that he raise “their” (that would be “our”) taxes so that state services to “our most vulnerable citizens” aren’t cut. John DePetro–taking a cue from Bob Kerr’s column–had Savitski on the…

Contrast

By Marc Comtois | June 4, 2008 |

John McCain: I don’t seek the presidency on the presumption I’m blessed with such personal greatness that history has anointed me to save my country in its hour of need. I seek the office with the humility of a man who cannot forget my country saved me. I’ll reach out my hand to anyone, Republican…