Monique Chartier

Mix-N-Match a GOP Presidential Ticket

By Monique Chartier | September 20, 2010 |

Are you pleased at the sight of Sarah Palin edging towards the ring, hat in hand? No? Then who would you prefer? Choose from the fairly comprehensive list of candidates offered at the Values Voter Summit straw poll this weekend Michele Bachmann | Jan Brewer | Chris Christie | Mitch Daniels | Jim DeMint |…

Okay, It’s Beyond Me: Should the Curriculum of Any Public School Include a Class about “Enduring Beliefs in the World Today” – a.k.a., Religion – that Includes Field Trips to Religious Services?

By Monique Chartier | September 19, 2010 |

… though in the case of the Wellesley Middle School, the field trip in question inexplicably included student observation (which turned into something more for some of the boy students; thus, generating keen attention from outside of the school district to this field trip and an apology [PDF] from the superintendent) of the service of…

Speaker Pelosi Yesterday: “If I were not in politics, I’d probably be in business”

By Monique Chartier | September 17, 2010 |

Fred Thompson today: If she weren’t in politics, a LOT of people would be in business.

Hitchens’ “Dossier” on Bloomberg

By Monique Chartier | September 15, 2010 |

During his just-ended Dem primary campaign, Anthony Gemma darkly warned that, bad as his attack informational ads were, the GOP had even worse goods on David Cicilline. It will be interesting to see over the next seven weeks whether this hypothesized dossier pertaining to the newly chosen Dem congressional candidate materializes. Meanwhile, the unaffiliated mayor…

Arriving on Track One, ObamaCare Mandates; Arriving on Track Two, Heightened Premium Control

By Monique Chartier | September 13, 2010 |

Last week, when insurers dared to point out to their customers that premiums will have to be raised so as to meet ObamaCare mandates, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius treated them to her best Edward G. Robinson. It has come to my attention that several health insurer carriers are sending letters to their enrollees falsely blaming…

And Let’s Not Forget the Mayor’s Prior Check Incident

By Monique Chartier | September 9, 2010 |

Under my post about the new check situation involving the mayor, Tommy Cranston reminds us of the first, infamous check matter, this one also with the City of Providence triangulated in but starring both of the Cicilline brothers. the 75K check Yeah. Remind me: did that get paid back to the city? Right. Now, regardless…

Who Approved the Providence Mayor’s Unauthorized Raises?

By Monique Chartier | September 8, 2010 |

From ABC6. Providence’s Internal Auditor is telling City Council Finance Chairman John Igliozzi that Mayor Cicilline has been overpaid for the last four years. The internal memo written by James Lombardi explains that the city’s Home Rule charter caps the Mayor’s salary at $125,000 annually but that since 2006, the Mayor has been taking home…

If the Mayor of Providence is So Easily Confused About What He Has and Has Not Signed, Perhaps It’s Not Such a Good Idea to Send Him to Congress

By Monique Chartier | September 4, 2010 |

[From GoLocalProv.com.] So during the ABC6 debate, Mayor Cicilline was asked if he would sign a pledge to support the Fair Elections Now Act … Cicilline responded, “I’ve already done that.” “You’ve already signed the pledge?” Segal said “Yes,” Cicilline replied. Oops, no, he didn’t. Cicilline is not listed as one of the signatories online…

… Wait, the Obligation to Repay is “Moral” and Not “General”?

By Monique Chartier | September 2, 2010 |

Not because Andrew’s post is deficient (on the contrary) but because sometimes I’m thick, I hunted out two more definitions of “moral obligation bonds”. tax-exempt bond issued by a municipality or a state financial intermediary and backed by the moral obligation pledge of a state government. (State financial intermediaries are organized by states to pool…

38 Studios Loan Guarantee: the General Treasurer Pivots, Then Switches to Offense

By Monique Chartier | August 31, 2010 |

Further to Andrew’s post. Remember that it was just last month that the G.T. was telling Ian Donnis that he favors the Schilling deal. Now, however, R.I. General Treasurer Frank T. Caprio said Tuesday he is attempting to block the state’s $75 million loan guarantee promised to Curt Schilling’s video game company, urging the rating…