Teachers Union Official Steps Down From South Kingstown School Committee After Massive Public Outcry on Student Indoctrination

Union director Sarah Markey officially resigned from the South Kingstown School Committee on Monday after a national outcry against the unfair treatment of Nicole Solas. Solas is a mother concerned about the far-left indoctrination of students in public schools being orchestrated by CRT advocates.

The Rhode Island TCI Gas Tax Is on Hold… for Now

Last night, the Rhode Island General Assembly session came to a close without a final vote on the TCI Gas Tax. This puts the tax hike on hold for now as General Assembly leaders consider a special session later this year.

Progressives Use Umbrellas to Shield Children From Christian Prayer While Exposing Them to Drag Queens at the West Warwick Public Library

As clouds gathered over the West Warwick public library, so too did nearly one hundred individuals gather around the exterior of the building to respond to the controversial drag story hour program happening inside. Dueling rallies, with over sixty people opposing the story hour and around thirty supporting, were held on Saturday. The issue at hand for the citizens of West Warwick is whether or not it is morally acceptable to expose children ages zero to six to the inherently sexual content of a drag performance.

Trustees Hear Unanimous Opposition To Drag Queen Story Hour at Public Meeting

Public comments were unanimously opposed to West Warwick library’s Drag Queen Story Hour at last night’s trustee meeting. With over twenty citizens in attendance, the radical program was broadly criticized for the anti-Catholic bigotry of one of the invited Drag Queen readers and strong parental concerns over the sexualization of children. 

South Kingstown School Bond: Inter Alia, a Really High Price to Reduce Classroom Space by 200,000 Sq Ft

On May 4, residents of South Kingstown will be voting on an $85,000,000 school bond referendum.

That’s a pretty high amount for town residents to go on the hook for, mainly because the town’s student enrollment has been steadily declining but also because the cornerstone component of the proposed works, the high school, would not be newbuild but conversion of an existing school building. Two miles AWAY, by the way, from its current in-town location.

As there would be state funds involved, the project itself, its costs and its proposed funding sources have to be approved by the Rhode Island Department of Education. (Link here to the town’s facility application submitted to RIDE).

So the Ocean State Current reached out to RIDE with the questions below and received the indicated answers.

No Cost Projections or Means Identified to Achieve Rhode Island’s Green New Deal

The innocently named “2021 Act on Climate”, H5445, has been ominously rocketing through the General Assembly. It passed the full House on March 23 and the full Senate is scheduled to vote on it this afternoon. If it passes, it will have cleared the General Assembly and presumably be sent straight on to Governor Daniel McKee for his action within seven (ten?) days.

Informally dubbed “Rhode Island’s Green New Deal”, H5445 would mandate the reduction to zero by 2050 of greenhouse gases in Rhode Island – a goal that could only be accomplished by eliminating the use of all fossil fuels and transitioning entirely to renewable energy sources, wind and solar; i.e., from reliable, reasonably priced energy sources to intermittent, exorbitantly expensive ones. More about it here, including why the effective date of substantial implementation would be 2026, not thirty long years from now.

But perhaps we are missing something. Have proponents of the bill answered the critically important question about cost of implementation?

One Year In: Lockdowns 100% Destruction; Zero Benefit

On its one year anniversary, it would be irresponsible not to look at the effectiveness of the COVID-19 lockdown. Florida and California vividly demonstrate that the answer is “completely ineffective”: the two states have had similar outcomes to very different approaches, making it clear that lockdowns did not and do not work to slow or stop the spread of COVID-19.

What about Rhode Island? Well, we locked down. And we have the third highest COVID-19 deaths nationally.

Lockdowns, even if they worked exactly as hoped, were never a good solution because of the enormous public health and other consequences they inflict. One year later, it is clear, as they do not achieve even their hoped-for goal, that they are entirely destructive with zero public health benefit.

Now, let’s look at where Rhode Island stands on the original reason for a lockdown: two weeks to flatten the curve and not overwhelm hospitals. Below is the trend of Rhode Island’s hospitalizations; specifically, Column U, “Currently Hospitalized” of this sheet:

4/28/2020: 375 (Spring, 2020 peak)

12/15/2020: 516

1/25/2021: 380

3/9/2021: 141

By this original goalpost, Rhode Island can open up fully, now. (Please stop with the agonizing and ineffective baby steps.) More to the point, the state never needs to lock down again for this (or any) reason. This is because, to her credit, former Governor Gina Raimondo set up COVID-19 field hospitals. While they were recently shut down because COVID-19 cases have dropped markedly, they will remain in place in the event of a surge.

The evidence and observed science one year into COVID-19 lockdowns is blaring and indisputable: they do not work. All states can and should open up immediately, fully, without restrictions – including nursing homes with reasonable protections. Refusing to do so is to deny the plain evidence and prolong the needless suffering and very serious health and other consequences of lockdowns.

Turning Government Schools into Left-Wing Advocacy Shops

The brand of “civics education” being pushed at the state and federal levels would undermine representative government across Rhode Island and the country.

A Name for the Approach: Weaponized Government Failure

A new term highlights the reality that what is good for the community might not be good for the people who wish to govern that community.

No on All Bond Questions But Especially on the Black Hole, #4

Sixth highest spending per mile for some of the country’s worst infrastructure. If money were going to solve the state’s infrastructure issues, they would have been fixed long before now.   No on Bond Question #4.

Redhanded: Radical Environmentalists Want to “Break Your Will” To Pass TCI

The shocking words they admit they can’t say publicly… were just made public. They say, if YOU heat your homes or drive passenger cars, YOU are the “bad guys.”

Whether it is “you,” “the person up the street,” or “the senior on fixed income”… the radical environmentalists who support TCI say it is you who they want to “turn the screws on” and “point the finger at,” so they can “break your will” to force you to “stop emitting.”

See the alarming video of the MA Undersecretary for Climate Change talking about the abusive TCI scheme: https://youtu.be/muxVGmgykA4

Learn more by clicking here now to read about how the TCI Gas Tax is bad for Rhode Island families.

Green on the Grid:  Texas is a Huge Red Flag

Count me among those somewhat surprised to learn that the electric grid of the State of Texas, perhaps best known for oil production (and proud of it), incorporates wind turbines in its electric grid. In fact,

… wind generation ranks as the second-largest source of energy in Texas, accounting for 23% of state power supplies last year

But as you have probably seen, this “green energy” source has turned into a big Achilles heel for Texas’ electric grid in the cold front that has descended on that state and much of the country. As of yesterday,

Frozen wind turbines have caused almost half of Texas’s wind generation capacity to go offline in the midst of an “unprecedented storm”.

The Lone Star state is under a state of emergency after freezing conditions swept the region, causing dangerously icy roads and leaving nearly 3 million people without power.

Update: frozen wind turbines led to a drop in Texas’ wind power from thirty one gigawatts to six and there are currently 3.4 million power outages. The situation is getting worse, not better.

Texas, and other states, has resorted to rolling blackouts. In below-freezing temperatures, this is literally a life-threatening situation for states like Texas which rely on electricity for heat (and lots of other critical activities).

A small but vocal group of advocates, promoted by many gauzy-eyed members of the mainstream media, have for years been pushing to transition to green energy away from fossil fuel.

POLL: Rhode Islanders Say “No” to High Costs of TCI Gas Tax

Rhode Islanders clearly feel, after all we’ve been through, that now is not the time to punish people for driving their vehicles!

This week, the Center released a new poll that shows the initial conceptual support for the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI) Gas Tax drops significantly when voters learn the policy will result in gas tax hikes, a significant projected loss of jobs, and a major reduction in the average family’s disposable income.

On the flip side, by not adopting this TCI scheme and keeping gas taxes where they are, our Ocean State would gain a competitive advantage over our Massachusetts and Connecticut neighbors.

Rhode Islanders oppose TCI when they learn about its high costs – including a $0.23 increase in the gas tax, an estimated 2,000 jobs lost, and a $1,200 reduction in disposable income for the average Rhode Island family.

Another false “feel good” narrative (from far-left Never Never Land) is not worth the loss of disposable income and jobs costs for virtually zero environmental impact. Learn more now by clicking here to see the full poll results!

California Numbers and Newsweek: Lockdowns Don’t Work

California’s response to COVID-19 has been to lock down and lock down hard. The harshness of its lockdown is confirmed by its decimated economy and heavy out-migration.

Ten months later, California currently has the second highest average daily cases per 100,000 in the last seven days per the CDC. A couple of weeks ago, it was at the top of the list. Rhode Island, also a state which misguidedly chose to lockdown, is currently fifth highest.

Lockdowns, even if they worked exactly as hoped, were never a good solution because of the enormous public health consequences they inflict. Now California’s experience confirms indisputably that lockdowns do not work to stop or slow COVID-19.

And a study just released via Newsweek confirms this.

A study evaluating COVID-19 responses around the world found that mandatory lockdown orders early in the pandemic may not provide significantly more benefits to slowing the spread of the disease than other voluntary measures, such as social distancing or travel reduction.

As she edges out the door, Governor Gina Raimondo has admonished us to “stay the course”. Meaning stay locked down. She is bewilderingly putting on auto pilot a completely failed, highly damaging public policy.

When asked whether he will continue the state’s lockdown, incoming governor Dan McKee has stated (I believe on WPRO radio), “The infection rate is going to drive that”. In light of the complete disconnect between lockdowns and the infection rate, I would respectfully urge him in the strongest terms to re-examine that course and not repeat the mistake of his predecessor of disregarding the data and evidence. He has no obligation to continue any of her policies – but particularly one that has so obviously failed.

A Tale of Two Entrances… and Exits

Americans are seeing two different realities in the Storming of the Capitol, neither perfectly accurate, and there are two paths forward, one better than the other.

Mattiello, Shekarchi, Ruggerio, Raimondo Prolonging Failed Lockdown – Due to Filthy Federal Lucre?

Let’s review eight months of unconvincing reasons for implementing, then not ending, Rhode Island’s COVID-19 lockdown, then go to the video tape for what’s looking like the real explanation.

The Era of Rhetorical Tricks

In times of division and brazen fraud, look for the opportunity to understand the other.

Lockdowns are Now a Proven Failure As Their Collateral Damage Rises Inexorably

Eight months into the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown, let’s examine the goal of the lockdown, the critical matter of its effectiveness and the collateral damage it has caused.

Following the Science Where Science Can’t Lead

We should acknowledge reality (you know, believing in science and all), respect rights, and do what planning and management we can around those to great Rs.

Nationally Renowned Epidemiologist: Data Shows Gov’s Action to be Bogus

The Governor needs to stop trying to control our lives.

On the latest episode of our Mikes with Mics, nationally renowned epidemiologist, Dr. Andrew Bostom, explained that an “un-hysterical” analysis of the data does not support the Governor’s actions, which he called “bogus.”

… Except that Rhode Island’s COVID Positivity Rate Is Lower than Two Months Ago

Graph by epidemiologist Dr. Andrew Bostom basis State of R.I. data

At her press conference currently ongoing, Governor Gina Raimondo is announcing new restrictions, including reduction from fifteen to ten at social gatherings; no spectators at any sports for next two weeks; and fines, including fines on households, saying she doesn’t want cases to “explode”.

You’d reasonably conclude from these serious measures and language that Rhode Island’s case positivity rate, the newest panic-promoting selling point of the lockdown, was at a recent high, wouldn’t you? In fact, as epidemiologist Dr. Andrew Bostom said yesterday on the R.I. Center for Freedom and Prosperity‘s “Mikes with Mics” and shows in his graph, above, the current, very modest rise in case positivity is actually lower than the modest rise of August 1.

UPDATED: Rhode Island Hospitalizations – Still Less than Half the Peak

Eight days ago, this is where Rhode Island stood with hospitalizations, the original and only goal of the lockdown. Now Rhode Island is seeing an uptick in COVID-19 cases. Good time to update, especially with a press conference by Governor Raimondo coming up shortly.

At 168 “Currently Hospitalized”, we are still less than half the peak in late April of 377. And Rhode Island hospitalizations were not overwhelmed even at this peak. In fact, the Governor Raimondo herself stated mid-April that the need for hospital beds would peak in late April or early May and that Rhode Island was not going to see a worst case scenario. She was correct on both points. Nor has Rhode Island come close to the peak for hospitalizations

Yet despite achieving this goal, Governor Raimondo, with the express consent by inaction of Speaker Mattiello and Senate President Ruggerio, has inexplicably not lifted the onerous and damaging lockdown of Rhode Island.

Moreover, as we are now seeing in Europe, lockdowns do not work to stop the disease.

Yes, we need to be vigilant. Vulnerable populations must continue to take steps to protect them and we all need to be thoughtful of our interactions with them. But let’s also not overreact.

By continuing to impose what has now been demonstrated to be an ineffectual (yet highly damaging) measure to suppress spread when the singular goal of the measure was achieved six months ago, our state leaders are flexing power in a way that is completely detached from facts, science and data. This is, accordingly, an an abuse of power and an overreaction, the result of which, intended or not, is to punish Rhode Islanders in the short and long term for something that is beyond our control.

In Search of Normal

The way to get closer to that ideal is not the defeat of Trump, but rather the defeat of those generating the turmoil.

Hospitalization Data: Why is Rhode Island Still Locked Down Five Months after Flattening the Curve?

What does perhaps the most important COVID-19 data point show and say about the case for continuing Rhode Island’s lockdown?

An Educational Opportunity Ripe for the Taking

Our state and its education system were far from stable when the pandemic hit, and we can create something good from our current predicament if make this a period of transition, rather than of making due until we can get back to the same old, dysfunctional thing.

Antifa, QAnon, and News from Another Perspective

In a world of stark divisions and no mutually trusted source of information, how can we determine the reality behind seemingly mirror-imaged ideological groups?

Pandemic on the Road to Tolls

In its defense of the RhodeWorks tolling scheme, we see our state government hiding behind two noxious clouds.

Shaping the Narrative of Protests in Rhode Island

The coverage of two recent political events in Rhode Island show how social justice journalists tweak their stories to silence opposition and give a sense of conformity among everybody else.

Vision of Raised Taxes Not the Answer for Economic Crisis

The coronavirus pandemic has left Rhode Island with significant revenue loss after forced government shutdowns.

Now, legislators are being pushed by public-employee unions and the progressive-left to put the burden on you… and to raise your taxes. This is not a burden Rhode Island can bear.

Raimondo Rips out Goalposts Altogether as Governors Carefully Disregard Most Important Datapoint

As you probably know, the original justification for the COVID-19 lockdown was to prevent the overwhelming of hospitals. This never happened; not in Rhode Island nor in any state other than hotspot New York (where it got close); not even at the height of the pandemic. Click here to view Justin Katz’ latest, very informative tracking graph of COVID-19 trends in Rhode Island. You’ll note that hospitalizations in Rhode Island, in fact, peaked THREE WHOLE MONTHS AGO.

Keep this critical piece of information in mind as we move now to Rhode Island’s COVID-19 press conference yesterday.

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