Opinion

Opinion — Has the Hamas attack on Israel started World War III?: We’ll soon find out

[Follow-up from “Opinion — When Hamas seeks martyrdom” by Michael Bilow on October 7th, 2023.] Note: This was published two days before Israel began its ground offensive in Gaza on Oct 27. Significance The situation in the Middle East has the United States itself on the brink of war. One critical aspect of World War […]

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Opinion — When Hamas seeks martyrdom

[Follow-up to “Opinion – Has the Hamas attack on Israel started World War III? We’ll soon find out” by Michael Bilow on October 25th, 2023.] The situation in Israel is chaotic and unclear, as a surprise attack by Hamas terrorists infiltrating across the border from Gaza has been reported to have killed at least 150 […]

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Another drop in the bucket: RI’s treatment of Providence Water disenfranchises one of its poorest communities

Photo: Wikimedia Commons. The current state of Providence Water is another example of Rhode Island’s long history of disenfranchising its poor in favor of its wealthy.  To be fair, it isn’t just Rhode Island. It’s pretty much an American tradition to exploit the populace when it serves the powerful and neglect them when it doesn’t. […]

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Continue Victory Day in RI: Legitimate historical commemoration or triumphalist celebration?

As our world inches closer to nuclear war than it has in decades, we prepare to observe the anniversary of the Allied victory over Japan ending World War II, finally brought about by the first (and, so far, only) use of atomic weapons in combat. Rhode Island is the sole state where this once widely-recognized […]

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Gay Rights v. Free Expression: Latest installment in a long history at the Supreme Court

In the United States, laws prohibiting discrimination against protected classes regulate “public accommodations,” a term of art legally that describes businesses and other facilities open to the public on substantially similar terms. Classic examples (such as from the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964) are trains and buses where anyone who pays the fare can […]

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Opinion – Don’t Lose Hope, America: A republic if you can keep it

I’m disturbed by many of the social media posts I see on July 4th denigrating the United States, saying Independence Day is not worth celebrating, displaying inverted flags as distress symbols, and in the worst cases saying that Americans feel alienated from and not a part of America. Providence arts organization AS220 hosted “FX4 Fest,” […]

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Will The Real PVD Please Stand Up?: PVDFest changes prompt conversations about city identity

The people of the internet are generally displeased with Mayor Smiley’s PVDFest changes. Well, the people of the internet are generally displeased, period. But let’s take a look at some of the feedback happening right now. “The irony of the guy named Smiley killing fun.” -Good-Expression-4433 “Can’t wait til Smiley moves New Year’s Eve to […]

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Enough with Boring Budgets: Mayor Smiley’s first PVD Budget Leaves Opportunities on the Table

I used to believe that boring government was good government, that if you didn’t hear about scandals, corruption, and other sensational news stories about leaders, that meant that things were probably going okay and weren’t worth digging into.  As it turns out, boring government is more of a government purgatory — just because it isn’t […]

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