Monique Chartier

Rough Poll Numbers for Rhode Island’s Junior Senator Emerge on a Politically Interesting Day

By Monique Chartier | February 4, 2010 |

From a poll conducted by WPRI 12. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse has a favorability rating of 33 percent, with an unfavorable rating mired at 57 percent. Ten percent of those polled weren’t sure how they felt about Whitehouse. Five percent thought Whitehouse was doing an “excellent” job. Yikes. Apparently, many Rhode Islanders who thoughfully oppose the…

Taking a Principled Stance with Your Biggest Creditor

By Monique Chartier | February 3, 2010 |

… when your biggest creditor has no principles. From UPI. China, already outraged over U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, Tuesday warned of damage to bilateral ties if U.S. leaders met with the Dalai Lama. President Barack Obama plans to meet with the Dalai Lama when the Tibetan spiritual leader visits the United States but no…

Global Warming: Not Nearly as Warm as It Should Be

By Monique Chartier | January 31, 2010 |

Under my post “Stop the Check…”, commenter David says Only a moron could fail to recognize that the earth is warming. Sure, the planet is warming. Most people don’t deny that fact. The problem for AGW scientists and advocates – in addition to the minisculity of man’s role in the generation of greenhouse gases –…

More Refreshers: RI Academic Achievement, Teacher Salary Ranking, Student to Teacher Ratio

By Monique Chartier | January 31, 2010 |

Further to Justin’s post, national ranking of the Rhode Island public school system in certain areas of interest. Academic Achievement: 40th [Source: ALEC Report Card on American Education, 15th Edition] National Ranking of Rhode Island Teacher Salary: 9th highest [Source: NEA, middle column, Page 37, of this PDF] Ratio of Students Enrolled per Teacher: 51st…

The Inadvertent Rudeness of Technology

By Monique Chartier | January 30, 2010 |

Bob Kerr writes in yesterday’s Providence Journal The first time I saw a laptop on a bar top was at Local 121 in Providence a few months ago. It was a moment of social breakdown. In a place meant for the soothing embrace of a cocktail, a woman apparently saw no problem, no code violations,…

Senate Dems to Pres Obama: No Freeze on Spending

By Monique Chartier | January 29, 2010 | Comments Off on Senate Dems to Pres Obama: No Freeze on Spending

The applause had barely ended on the President’s State of the Union Address before the Senate had put the kibosh on one of the initiatives therein. From the AP yesterday: Just days after President Barack Obama endorsed a partial freeze on domestic spending, his Democratic allies in the Senate have rejected a plan attempting to…

If “A” Equals “B”, Then “C” Equals Patrick Lynch is a Racist

By Monique Chartier | January 27, 2010 |

Patrick Lynch’s campaign issued a press release (thanks, Ian Donnis) implying that the Statewide Coalition must be racist because they associate with the Tea Party movement which is, in turn, responsible for a number of ugly protests around the country featuring racist rhetoric and signage over the past year. The plot thickens, however. Harry Staley…

Stop the Check: Grant Applications Cited Bogus Glacier Melt

By Monique Chartier | January 24, 2010 |

On Wednesday came the revelation that the UN IPCC – the United Nation’s global warming panel – had grossly exaggerated the rate at which the Himalayan glaciers will melt. (They had said it would melt in decades; the correct estimate of “centuries” is probably inadequate in light of the cooling trend that even AGW advocates…

Hummel Report: The Abuse of Power of the Emergency Board-Up

By Monique Chartier | January 21, 2010 |

Jim Hummel’s original report available here. In addition to the issue of Mayor Moreau’s third party billing arrangement for his new furnace, Hummel’s report throws a spotlight onto the Mayor flexing emergency powers to deal with empty, foreclosed houses. These – and more than 200 other houses – were boarded up by Bouthillette’s company, under…

Senate President: Paperwork Required for This One, Not for Those 12 Million

By Monique Chartier | January 20, 2010 |

While Senator Jim Webb (D-Virginia) has called for all further votes on health care reform to be suspended until Scott Brown is seated, Mark Steyn points to Senate President Reid’s new-found enchantment with documentation. Harry Reid’s reluctance to seat Senator Brown (R., Mass.) — boy, I enjoyed typing that — until “the proper paperwork has…