Marc Comtois

If Supermarkets were like Schools

By Marc Comtois | May 6, 2011 |

Imagine there was a Shaw’s 1 mile away from you but that you preferred to shop at Dave’s, which was 3 miles away. Now imagine the government had put a system in place that basically forced you to shop at Shaw’s simply because it was geographically closer to you. What a ridiculous system: Residents of…

I’ll believe it when I see it

By Marc Comtois | May 5, 2011 |

I’ll believe it when I see it. So starts the latest post by Seth Godin. It’s apropos given the current controversy surrounding the bin Laden death photos. We have to accept that once we start down the slippery slope of always (or never) believing, we end up in Alice-in-Wonderland territory. Do you have firsthand knowledge…

Split in the RI GOP House

By Marc Comtois | May 4, 2011 |

Regardless of which side you fall on, all the maneuvering going on in the RI House GOP caucus has basically split it in two. As tweeted by NBC 10’s Bill Rappleye: Watson, Earhardt, Savage and Gordon upset at Newberry/Trillo maneuvering. Bad blood Great. Anyway, I think what has become clear throughout this little tete-a-tete is…

Open Forum: Osama Bin Laden is Dead

By Marc Comtois | May 2, 2011 |

Osama bin Laden has been killed. The coward died a coward’s death, hiding behind a woman. Thanks to the dogged determination of our men and women in the armed services and intelligence agencies–in places from the mountains of Afghanistan and Pakistan to Guantanamo–and thanks to our political leaders who continued the hunt no matter the…

Providence School Closings: Consequence of Decisions Past

By Marc Comtois | April 29, 2011 |

The Providence School Board elected to close 5 schools last night. Parents were angry. Kids were used as props. I’ve seen it before. Similar circumstances occurred in Warwick a couple years ago, where a total of 4 schools were closed in two years (and everyone survived, believe it or not). My thoughts from 2009 are…

Scaring Grandma – The Whitehouse Plan

By Marc Comtois | April 28, 2011 |

So Senator Whitehouse staked out another senior citizens home for the purpose of discussing proposals that would reform Medicare (specifically Rep. Paul Ryan’s plan) and social security. Predictably, the seniors don’t like the idea. Rita Carbon, 80, of Cumberland, a retired high school secretary, said, “We don’t want Social Security to go with Wall Street.”…

Democrats in Massachusetts Take Health Care Out of Collective Bargaining

By Marc Comtois | April 27, 2011 |

Reality has hit Massachusetts’ Democratic politicians, from the Governor on down: they realize the state can no longer afford to negotiate fixed medical co-pays in government employee contracts that span multiple years while the actual costs quickly increase well past the negotiated level. House lawmakers voted overwhelmingly last night to strip police officers, teachers, and…

Fox Proposes Civil Unions

By Marc Comtois | April 27, 2011 |

Ian Donnis broke the story that House Speaker Gordon Fox is throwing his weight behind Civil Union legislation in lieu of a gay marriage bill: Based on your input, along with the fact that it is now clear to me that there is no realistic chance for passage of the bill in the Senate, I…

Prudence with Politician’s Personal Lives

By Marc Comtois | April 27, 2011 |

So the muckrakers over at RIF were all upset–even calling us hypocrites! (oh no, I’m stung)–because we didn’t jump on the Watson DUI story. They cited one example, which, as Justin noted, was a brief mention used as a comparison point for the truly egregious aspects of said pol: his political agenda. It was not…

Time to Stop Being an Ostrich

By Marc Comtois | April 26, 2011 |

When Ernst & Young, one of the Big 4 professional services firms, releases a study (PDF) that says Rhode Island is one of the worst in the nation for tax competitiveness when it comes to attracting new business, you’d better listen. This study provides a state-by-state comparison of the tax liabilities that new investments in…