Rhode Island Politics

We Don’t Have a Tax Revenue Problem

By Marc Comtois | October 16, 2007 |

The usual suspects are out complaining about Governor Carcieri’s proposed budget cuts: Even without details, Kate Brewster, executive director of Rhode Island College’s Poverty Institute, said the outcome is predictable and “slashing public services while not addressing the tens of millions of dollars that are being lost to some of the recently enacted tax cuts…

Quick Hit: Governor’s Work Force Reduction Numbers

By Marc Comtois | October 15, 2007 |

Governor Carcieri outlined his $200 million state budget reduction plan. He only mentioned two of the three points–$50 million in cuts to social service programs and $50 million in cuts to state employee health benefits–and focused on the $100 million he intends to save via a work force reduction plan. According to the Governor, of…

RE: RE: DMV Fake Ids

By Monique Chartier | October 14, 2007 |

One of the disturbing aspects of the revelation of this activity at the DMV is the idea that the State of Rhode Island may have broken the law and hired an undocumented immigrant. This is not to focus on Ms. Dolores Rodriguez-LaFlamme. It may well turn out that she is compliant with our immigration laws.…

RE: DMV Fake Ids

By Marc Comtois | October 12, 2007 |

More arrests in the DMV fake ID case, and a little more info on Dolores Rodriguez-LaFlamme: Dolores Rodriguez-LaFlamme, 40, of Providence, one of the two clerks arrested in the fraud scheme, had already been ordered deported. Her application for adjusted immigration status had been denied after a federal investigation discovered two fraudulent marriages, according to…

Quick, What’s the Difference Between a Magistrate and a Judge…

By Carroll Andrew Morse | October 12, 2007 |

…the answer is, if I may paraphrase Common Cause of Rhode Island using the words of Henry Hill from The Music Man: T that stands for “trouble” which rhymes with P that stands for “patronage”. T also could stand for “traffic tribunal” (twice!). According to Edward Fizpatrick in today’s

Department of Motor Voter Fraud?

By Marc Comtois | October 11, 2007 |

Understandably, the emphasis on the just-revealed Rhode Island DMV fake ID scandal is on how a “valid” driver’s license can help an individual avoid some unpleasant questions about their citizenship and/or “activities”: Dolores Rodriguez-LaFlamme, 40, of Providence, and Soraya Santiago, 42, of Pawtucket, are accused of working with two “middlemen,” who were paid about $2,500…

It’s the demography stupid! (At least partly…)

By Marc Comtois | October 10, 2007 |

Mark Steyn pithily sums up a little-discussed truism undergirding many social welfare programs: This is why I’m opposed to universal social programs – because they were set up on the basis of mid-20th century birth rates. Defined benefit plans and the pending Social Security crisis seem to prove the point, no? He also links to…

Corrente: Martineau latest to cop a plea

By Marc Comtois | October 9, 2007 |

WPRO reports that U.S. Attorney Robert Corrente has announced a plea agreement with former House Majority Leader Gerard Martineau (D, Woonsocket), who was charged with mail fraud. Martineau apparently opposed pharmacy choice legislation until pharmacies would do business with his company. According to a ProJo piece in 2004: Two of his customers were CVS and…

Toward a Unified Movement

By Justin Katz | September 28, 2007 |

Although it’s wise to hesitate before giving too much weight to one exchange and one piece of writing, I’m very encouraged that my general approach to movement politics appears to have resonated with Randy Jackvony (pixellation victim): I asked another blogger, Justin Katz of www.anchorrising.com, what he thought about political discourse over the Internet. His…

Edward Achorn on Governor Carcieri’s Popularity Plummet

By Carroll Andrew Morse | September 26, 2007 |

Edward Achorn took his shot in yesterday’s Projo at explaining Governor’s Donald Carcieri’s major drop in approval rating, from 59% at the start of the year to 44% now, according to Brown University Professor Darrell West‘s latest polling… The Republican governor’s leadership, unfortunately, has been AWOL this year. He started off 2007 with an absurdly…