Marc Comtois
In a New York Times piece, former CIA Middle Eastern specialist Reuel Marc Gerecht reflects on Egypt and the democracy movement in the Middle East. A revulsion against the Iraq war and a distaste for President Bush helped to blind people to the spread of democratic sentiments in the region. It blinded them to the…
“Former majority leader now a lobbyist” blares the ProJo Political Scene headline. Meh says us. What else is new, right? Little more than a month after leaving the General Assembly, former Senate Majority Leader Daniel Connors is back at the State House as a lobbyist. Asked what he was doing as he exited the office…
UPDATED: WPRI’s Tim White and Ted Nesi reported last week that both Senator Reed and then-Rep. Patrick Kennedy secured $27 million in earmarks for Middletown defense contractor Advanced Solutions for Tomorrow over the years. On Sunday, ProJo reporter John Mulligan looked into the Advanced Solutions for Tomorrow kickback scheme and potential political repercussions, particularly the…
Even in bad economic times, conventions and the like can give the local economy a boost. On Sunday, buyers jammed the hotel rooms-turned-storefronts on several floors. There’s even a 20-percent-off sale on whips. But shopping isn’t the only draw. In the bondage room, attendees practice their knots and tie each other up. “I’m being punished…
We hear a lot of the rights-based arguments being made in favor of same-sex marriage hereabouts, including the call to RI Founder Roger Williams and the “separation of church and state”. The arguments for religious liberty have seemed muted in the coverage of the debate. In today’s ProJo, Professor Robin Wilson (co-editor of the book…
Julia Steiny points to an annual March right–the sending out of layoff notices to teachers who might get the ax–as a flawed practice on many levels. In theory, the law is supposed to give teachers time to look for a new job. But in practice, it means that school communities suffer almost four full months…
A Slave No More: Two Men Who Escaped to Freedom, Including Their Own Narratives of Emancipation by David W. Blight. A Slave No More is many books in one. The heart and soul of the work are the never-before-published emancipation narratives written by Wallace Turnage and John Washington. Blight provides historical context by matching their…
Rhode Island’s “buy local” food movement has had some success: The resurgence of farms and farmers’ markets has brought local, fresh produce to thousands more Rhode Islanders in the past few years….“The miraculous comeback of Rhode Island farming,” said Division of Agriculture Director Ken Ayars, “is due in large part to efforts like the statewide…
Well, sorta: A memorable “Seinfeld” episode features Kramer and Newman taking thousands of cans and bottles to Michigan so they can get a nickel more per container than they would in New York, but beverage distributors say there’s nothing funny when it happens for real. In Maine, which has a more expansive bottle-redemption law than…
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is squarely taking on the unions to help fix his state’s budget problems (h/t). Elements of Walker’s proposal include state employee wage increases limited to the rate of inflation unless approved in a voter referendum. State workers — other than police, fire, and inspectors — would lose many bargaining rights and…