Marc Comtois

Totten in Anbar

By Marc Comtois | September 19, 2007 |

Michael J. Totten has done incredible work reporting from Iraq. I highly recommend his latest, Anbar Awakens Part II: Hell is Over. There’s so much in his story, but I was particularly moved by this passage: The Iraqis of Anbar Province turned against Al Qaeda and sided with the Americans in large part because Al…

The Propriety of Responding to the President

By Marc Comtois | September 14, 2007 |

Feeding into the WPRO ad, “Where do bloggers go….”, Dan Yorke brings up an interesting point. Why was there a need for a “Democrat response” to the Presidential speech on the status of the conflict in Iraq? Dan talked to Brown University’s Darrell West about it, and they came to the following conclusions: 1) There…

Finding Common Moral Ground

By Marc Comtois | September 14, 2007 |

John Miller–in the recent National Review–calls attention to a set of moral initiatives and legislation that the moral and religious of left/right/center have been putting forward: Halting the international and domestic trafficking and enslavement of millions of girls, women, and children. Promoting international religious freedom as a core element of U.S. human-rights policy. Eliminating domestic…

Do Anything, Say Anything for Political “Victory”

By Marc Comtois | September 10, 2007 |

Just weaving together a couple of threads….first: [T]he Federal Election Commission handed Americans Coming Together the third-largest fine ever levied by the agency. The $775,000 fine against ACT followed an FEC investigation that found the group, which was organized for the 2004 campaign with substantial funding and active encouragement from Soros, spent $70 million of…

DCYF Changes Afoot

By Marc Comtois | September 7, 2007 |

The ProJo’s Steve Peoples reports: The Department of Children, Youth and Families is about to fundamentally change the way it does business. The state child-welfare agency is moving forward with an aggressive plan to rely on a handful of private companies to manage care for Rhode Island’s most vulnerable children. By streamlining services and reducing…

Mr. Subliminal Must Have Written the EG Teachers “Open Letter”

By Marc Comtois | September 6, 2007 |

I know Dan Yorke has been giving this some play this afternoon, but I honestly thought the same thing when I stumbled across this “open letter” from East Greenwich Teachers to the public. Namely, it’s not a good idea to imply that you–the teachers–are better at raising the kids than their parents. Especially this part…

Don on Dan Yorke, WPRO 630 AM this Afternoon

By Marc Comtois | September 4, 2007 |

Don Hawthorne will continue his media blitz and appear on Dan Yorke’s radio show this afternoon to talk about the East Greenwich teachers’ strike. Tune in! UPDATE: Don will be on air during the 4 O’Clock hour.

The Problem with Relying on the Government

By Marc Comtois | August 31, 2007 |

I ended a previous post on the plunging poverty rate with the observation that relying on the government is insidious because such reliance leaves people in the lurch when programs on which they depend get yanked out from under them. Such is the case of the “1,900 to lose childcare aid tomorrow.” I’m sympathetic to…

U.S. Marines Didn’t Commit War Crimes in Haditha, U.S. Press Disappointed

By Marc Comtois | August 30, 2007 |

I heard a story on NPR this morning about the trial of Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich–a leader of the Marine squad accused of killing 24 civilians in Haditha a year and a half ago. (NPR also included multiple excerpts from an interview that Wuterich gave to CBS’ Scott Pelly—here‘s the text version of the NPR…

Povery Rate Plunges, but….

By Marc Comtois | August 29, 2007 |

According to the Census Bureau–and incoherent indicators aside–the U.S. Poverty rate has decreased significantly. Good news, right? Well, for some… Elizabeth Burke Bryant, executive director of Rhode Island Kids Count, was quick to hail the findings as “good news for Rhode Island families.” ….but not others: Still, Kate Brewster, executive director of the Poverty Institute…