Marc Comtois

Top Baseball Prospect Signed by God’s Team

By Marc Comtois | January 25, 2010 |

I heard about Grant Desme this morning on the radio. He’s a pretty good baseball player. The Athletics picked Desme in the second round of the 2007 amateur draft and he was starting to blossom. He was the only player in the entire minors with 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases last season. Desme…

Protestations to ProJo Pronouncements

By Marc Comtois | January 24, 2010 |

1) The ProJo editors on global warming: Still, that a few scientists are accused of manipulating a bit of data from some climate research does not do away with the preponderance of evidence. The latest controversy revolves around the validity of the collection and use of data behind a U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change…

“Mugged By Ultrasound”

By Marc Comtois | January 23, 2010 |

A new poll finds that “56% of all Americans and 58% of those 18-29 years old say abortion ‘morally wrong’.” “Millennials” (those 18-29) consider abortion to be “morally wrong” even more (58%) than Baby Boomers (those 45-64) (51%). Generation X (those 30-44) are similar to Millennials (60% see abortion as “morally wrong”). More than 6…

Supreme Court and Campaign Finance

By Marc Comtois | January 22, 2010 |

The Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission is being extolled or excoriated as the end of McCain/Feingold type campaign finance reform. There are many places to go for extended analysis and I won’t even pretend to understand the intricacies of the legal arguments. However, Matt Welch’s explanation is the most cogent…

RIPEC’s Analysis of Firefighter Pay/Contracts

By Marc Comtois | January 22, 2010 |

My post concerning the Warwick Beacon’s look into Warwick firefighter pay/contracts has generated some commentary regarding the RIPEC report (mentioned in Russell Moore’s story) that found: On average, [a RIPEC] report showed that Rhode Islanders spend about $6.24 on fire services for every $1,000 of personal income, or just under double the national average of…

Warwick Beacon Looks At Firefighter Pay/Contracts

By Marc Comtois | January 21, 2010 |

The Warwick Beacon’s Russel Moore has a piece on the 32 Warwick Firefighters who make more than $100,000/year (salary and O.T.–benefits NOT included) . The Beacon recently requested a list from the City Treasurer of the number of firefighters in Warwick earning $100,000 or more, and a brief description of how those firefighters are paid.…

ProJo Editors Throw Tantrum, Call Names Over Brown Victory

By Marc Comtois | January 21, 2010 |

With their preferred candidate going down to Scott Brown, the ProJo editors can’t help but throw a little tantrum excoriating the easily fooled and selfish voters of Massachusetts (remember, it’s all about healthcare for ’em): Part of this was the well-financed campaign pumping up fears of higher taxes for the middle and upper classes to…

Carter: Kennedy “Killed the [Healthcare] Bill” in 1979

By Marc Comtois | January 20, 2010 |

Thanks to a caller to the Matt Allen Show, I was tipped off to something I’d never heard before. In an event at his Presidential Library (broadcast by C-SPAN on September 15, 2009), former President Carter explained that, back in 1979, he had bi-partisan support for a health care reform package that was completely financed…

Patrick Kennedy on Notice

By Marc Comtois | January 20, 2010 |

If it can happen in Massachusetts, why not here, right? For years we’ve wondered what it would take for Patrick Kennedy to actually be challenged. Yesterday we learned that not only does it look like Kennedy will be forced to run in a primary against Woonsocket Rep. John Brien, but that Republican John Loughlin is…

The Template?

By Marc Comtois | January 19, 2010 |

It looks like Rep. John Loughlin likes what he sees from the Brown campaign. From NBC 10’s Bill Rappleye (emphasis mine): The horrifying performance of Democratic Senate candidate Martha Coakley could be equalled by the supreme campaign run by Scott Brown…no matter who wins tonite. RI State Rep. John Loughlin (R), has noticed. He figures…