Why do we fund public education the way we do? Public education is perpetually one year into a three-year plan for reform. Education is often used as the politician’s “Ring of Power.” Whoever slips on the “precious” during a campaign can rule them, find them, bring them, bind them, win an election. Then, realizing […]
My intrepid editor at Motif, for my contribution to RI’s numero uno alt-news mag’s issue on the state of the economy (or the economy of the state; or the state of the economy of the state), assigned me to explain the origins of the 9-5, standard, five-day work week. There being no consensus on the […]
On April 26, Rhode Islanders will head to the polls to cast ballots in the 2016 Presidential Preference Primary. In my mind, I hear the voice of Samuel L. Jackson in Jurassic Park, cigarette dangling from his mouth as he keystrokes the execute program for the park tour and says, “Hold on to your butts.” […]
Catholic School Girls is a memory play written by Casey Kurtti and currently playing at 2nd Story Theatre in Warren. The play follows four girls as they grow up together from their first days of St. George’s School in Yonkers, New York, through their eventual graduation from eighth grade, and into adolescence. Set in the […]
In July 2015, Rhode Island’s Good Samaritan Law, which granted individuals who alerted emergency services to someone overdosing on drugs immunity from prosecution, was allowed to sunset. Lawmakers in the house and senate couldn’t compromise on how far such immunity should stretch, and the legislative session concluded without a resolution. The bicameral support for some […]
The future of organized labor in Rhode Island depends on its ability to adapt to the changing labor landscape and evolve to meet the critical socio-political needs of a new workforce-generation. Economic inequality today rivals the disparity seen in the age of robber barons, and the working poor need the power of organization now more […]
On July 1, Rhode Island’s “Good Samaritan” law expires, repealing immunity from legal repercussions for those who contact emergency services for someone overdosing on narcotics. In a sadly ironic twist, the bill flatlined due to warning of legal repercussions by the Attorney General’s office based on an overdose of leeway injected into the original bill. […]
As we enter the final stretch of the Rhode Island Gubernatorial primary races, we are faced with four viable Democrats and two viable Republicans. I will immediately eliminate one of the Democrats involved in the contest. Sorry Mr. Giroux. You are an interesting man. But, barring a catastrophic event that vaporizes the three other Democrats […]
Zombies, Brains and the FY 15 Budget Rhode Island has officially entered the race to the bottom. The new Speaker of the House chanted the phrase “jobs and the economy” the way a staggering zombie bellows the word “brains.” And, much like the dreaded infectious bite of the undead, the chant became a chorus of […]
The now famous phrase coined by the original president of swagger, William Jefferson Clinton, rings true for the political landscape of 2014 in Rhode Island more than ever: “It’s the economy, stupid.” Jobs, education and taxes are the holy trinity of economic growth, and Rhode Island can boast few of its 39 municipalities as being […]