Monique Chartier

Gio Is Not Looking For The Union Label

By Monique Chartier | November 11, 2007 |

Last week, certain leaders of organized labor in Rhode Island called for the resignation of the Chairman of the Rhode Island Republican Party, Giovanni Cicione. They referred to his “insensitive and hurtful statement” about the Governor’s proposed layoff of 1,000 state workers, his use of the term “poverty pimps” and his “remarks equating unions with…

Rhode Island Spending – the High Points and Low Points

By Monique Chartier | November 10, 2007 |

Marc Comtois has noted the revised (upward) state operating deficit which stems from a decline in income and sales tax revenue. Before we go bounding off to look for replacement tax revenue, let’s take a quick look at “How Rhode Island’s State and Local Expenditures Compare – 2006 Edition”, an analysis compiled by RIPEC. Per…

Cranston’s Fire Department – Staffing Levels

By Monique Chartier | November 8, 2007 |

Under “Institutional Racism, Quotas and Cranston”, commenter EMT makes the following observation: Actually, they need another station in Western Cranston (10-minute response times are unacceptable for a paid department in 2007), and NFPA-complaint staffing department wide. It would probably double the department, minus a few. There are a couple of broad implications in this comment.…

A Pipe Bomb in a Nuke Plant (almost)

By Monique Chartier | November 3, 2007 |

Question for anyone who drives a pickup truck. Would a pipe bomb in the back of your truck escape your attention as you drove to work? Overreaching for an explanation now, how if someone dropped it in while you were stopped at a red light? The Palo Verde nuclear power plant, the largest in the…

Illegal Immigration Catch Phrases

By Monique Chartier | November 2, 2007 |

Under “Senator Clinton: Illegals Should Have Licenses”, commenter Greg asks, “Has anyone heard if insurance companies have signed on to the plan to give illegal aliens coverage?” After some quick research on this question, it appears that they have. The concern is that illegal aliens simply will not purchase the insurance – or they will…

Re: Duie Pyle, Gomer Pyle and the Speaker of the House

By Monique Chartier | October 30, 2007 |

Ian Donnis of the Providence Phoenix has kindly e-mailed me the link on his blog to his conversation with Speaker William Murphy regarding the A. Duie Pyle tax legislation. “Conversation”, which connotes a certain back and forth, is perhaps too strong a word, which Ian indicates up front. House Speaker William J. Murphy just returned…

Duie Pyle, Gomer Pyle and the Speaker of the House

By Monique Chartier | October 29, 2007 |

Last month, Mike Stanton at the Providence Journal broke the story that the FBI was investigating allegations that Senator Stephen Alves (D-West Warwick) killed a tax break for trucking company A. Duie Pyle for personal financial reasons – or lack thereof. At the time, Speaker of the House William Murphy (D-West Warwick) denied any knowledge…

“Driving while Illegal” in New York

By Monique Chartier | October 28, 2007 |

After strong opposition, New York’s Governor Eliot Spitzer has backed off a plan to issue standard New York drivers licenses to illegal aliens, instead proposing three different drivers licenses, one of which would be for those who cannot prove citizenship or legal residency. A third type of license will be available to undocumented immigrants. Spitzer…

But Do We Want to be Protected?

By Monique Chartier | October 27, 2007 |

New York City has tweaked and reissued proposed regulations requiring chain restaurants to put calorie information next to prices on their menus and menu boards. Many chains, including McDonald’s, Burger King and Starbucks, already provide calorie information on their Web sites or on posters or tray liners. But health officials say customers rarely see this…

Re: Donna M. Hughes: “Women’s Rights and Political Islam”

By Monique Chartier | October 25, 2007 |

On a side note, it struck me as a little incongruent Tuesday evening to be attending, at the urging of a conservative blog (Anchor Rising), a lecture on women’s rights hosted by a Republican organization (the URI College Republicans). Before then, I had not particularly associated the right side of the political spectrum with an…