Charles Callanan: Rhode Island’s Leadership Void

So far this year, this is what your state government has produced. If you want to talk about business as usual, well here it is.

Rhody Reporter: Bad Management

Mark Zaccaria compares the ways in which RI government has managed the state, up to the possibility of a special election for debt while awaiting a federal bailout, and calls it what it is.

Bused to the End of the Line and Back

For your “Yes, next question” file, consider the Newport Daily News headline, “Do school bus companies have a monopoly in R.I.?”

Last Impressions #51: Rebels Needed

Governor Raimondo and her merry band of magic Appointees focus on the true danger in Rhode Island — not roudy rioters carrying signs that threaten to burn down the country, but college kids who aren’t voluntarily living as if in an open-air prison.

Government Tracking Your Health Through the Sewer

The thing with encroachments on our liberty is that they always seem far off… until they’re at your door.

Is This the “Recovery” You Want?

The very people who are imposing our terrible response to COVID-19 will soon be moving forward with a suggested solution for the consequences, and we shouldn’t accept it.

Politics This Week with John DePetro: Theater of Courts and Corona

My weekly call-in on John DePetro’s WNRI 1380 AM/95.1 FM show, for September 21, included talk about:

  • Progressive protesters seek Senate shutdown
  • COVID crackdown at Providence College
  • Mail ballot application apprehension
  • No bother with budget before election
  • Fenton-Fung fields Mattiello’s obvious flaws

I’ll be on again Monday, September 28, at 12:00 p.m. on WNRI 1380 AM and I-95.1 FM.

Last Impressions #50: The Laughable & the Ominous

A new Not Real News segment explores what RI politicians are really thinking, the Conservative Binder catches up on some right-leaning news from the state, and Justin discusses the Providence College lockdown and ominous economic news for the state.

A Problem with Mail Ballot Mania

The political debate over proliferating mail ballots is a pretty straightforward illustration of how debates go between the Left and the Right.

Politics This Week with John DePetro: Coming at Insiders from Two Sides

My weekly call-in on John DePetro’s WNRI 1380 AM/95.1 FM show, for September 14, included talk about:

  • Progressive wins (and a loss) in Democrat primaries
  • Bristol-Warren and Providence teacher unions stoke unease
  • The AWOL GA
  • The Secretary of State mails it in on ballots

I’ll be on again Monday, September 21, at 12:00 p.m. on WNRI 1380 AM and I-95.1 FM.

A One-Sided Concern About Procedures

A trio of “good government” groups is no better than the governor when it comes to using the excuse of COVID-19 to skirt the processes of representative democracy.

Last Impressions #49: Crowd Out the Rats!

Justin starts with a roundup of conservative news in Rhode Island and discusses the problem when legislators and other elected officials make room for rats in the State House and BLM and Antifa riots in the streets.

Apparent Unemployment Insurance Letters Sent to Mississippi

Apparent unemployment insurance correspondence from the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (DLT) sent to an address in Mississippi joins the list of examples of problems handling the government program.

Looking for Change with All the Wrong Task Force

Let’s play along and assume that the goal of the Municipal Resilience Task Force really is to develop innovative “strategies and policies to prepare for a post-COVID-19 future.”

Pledging to Protect Taxpayers and Ourselves

Something as simple as a pledge can be a valuable statement that you’ve got reformers’ backs.

In the Dugout: Michael Farren of Mercatus

Michael Farren of Mercatus joins the show to talk about the dangers of corporate subsidies, and more.

In The Dugout: DOH Whistleblower On Media Lockout

Mike Stenhouse brings Lisa Camuso back on the show to talk about how pervasively the Rhode Island media is ignoring her story of problems at the state Department of Health.

The COVID Story’s Focus Isn’t Where It Should Be for a Free People

The narratives around COVID-19 may make for an easier and more-fun story to write, but they aren’t what we should demand as a free and independent people… unless that’s not what we are anymore.

Politics This Week with John DePetro: Muted Independence

My weekly call-in on John DePetro’s WNRI 1380 AM/95.1 FM show, for July 6, included talk about:

  • Phase 3
  • Lack of budget
  • The secret consultant
  • Nursing home problems
  • Not a real Bristol parade
  • RI schools’ future
  • Lt. Gov. McKee tries an online petition

I’ll be on again Monday, July 13, at 12:00 p.m. on WNRI 1380 AM and I-95.1 FM.

Raining Consultants

Politics This Week with John DePetro: In Hopes of a Backlash

My weekly call-in on John DePetro’s WNRI 1380 AM/95.1 FM show, for June 22, included talk about:

  • Columbus comes down
  • “Providence Plantations” gets covered up
  • Rhode Island races to watch
  • Stanton shows the journalists’ condescension

I’ll be on again Monday, July 6, at 12:00 p.m. on WNRI 1380 AM and I-95.1 FM.

Whistleblower HR Meeting Just the Start

Department of Health employee Lisa Camuso provides an update after her Wednesday meeting with Dept. of Health and Dept. of Administration officials related to her appearance on In the Dugout with Mike Stenhouse.

DOH “Whistle-Blower” Summoned to Ominous HR Meeting

An RI Department of Health employee fears retaliation as she’s ordered to attend a meeting with multiple state officials after going public with concerns about nursing home oversight during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Retroactive Blessing for Local Dictatorship

Part of the explanation for why new legislation retroactively blesses anything local chief executives have done to change their budget processes can be found in the East Bay.

Session-Winding Chaos

About “Defunding the Police” in Rhode Island…

Without commenting on the substance of any particular policy proposal, it can be noted that, in the state of Rhode Island, the number of sworn officers on a police force is frequently determined by the police union contract. This seems to be the case in Providence, according to a Projo article by Mark Reynolds

The tentative agreement with the Providence lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police also includes some new language on staffing levels. The language basically requires the city to maintain a staffing level of at least 435 positions. If staffing falls below that level, the city would compensate officers with additional sick days.

So whatever “defund the police” means in a Rhode Island context, will it mean that the local police union has to directly approve any major policy and budgeting shifts covered by their contract, or will the powers-that-be in Rhode Island come around to challenging the idea that major public policy changes can be vetoed by an organization not democratically selected by the people?

And if it is the latter, will there be an explanation of why police unions are different from other public-sector unions?

It has been argued in this space that allowing union contracts to be a major constraint on state and municipal government decision-making creates a democratic accountability problem, but many Rhode Island leaders were content to ignore this, when they could pretend the issues were mostly fiscal and could be reduced to choices between cuts to existing programs and tax-increases.  Well, the issues around policing that government must address right now are much bigger than fiscal ones, and the problems of dealing with them with less-than-democratic governing structures can no longer be ignored.

A Week Later, Still Inclined to Dissolve the Ethics Commission

A suggestion to dissolve the Ethics Commission has not faded after a week of consideration.

Final Nail in RI’s Ethics Coffin

After this morning’s whiplash from the Ethics Commission regarding an obvious revolving door setup of a state senator to the state’s highest court, perhaps it’s time to disband the agency.

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