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I Did Not Speak Out, Because I Was Not Saje
One can agree or disagree with the governor’s strategy for handling COVID-19, just as one could agree or disagree with socialists and trade unionists when the Nazis came for them, but we shouldn’t give over our civil rights in the bargain.
Politics This Week with John DePetro: Departing Queen and Incoming Squad
My weekly call-in on John DePetro’s WNRI 1380 AM/95.1 FM show, for January 4, included talk about:
- Raimondo’s prospects in a Biden administration
- Channel 10’s groveling before progressives
- The General Assembly’s likely atmosphere
I’ll be on again Monday, January 11, at 12:00 p.m. on WNRI 1380 AM and I-95.1 FM.
Politics This Week with John DePetro: Closing Out the Year
My weekly call-in on John DePetro’s WNRI 1380 AM/95.1 FM show, for December 28, included talk about:
- The Guv’s house as the new protest spot
- A whittled down RI Congressional delegation
- 2020 winners and losers
- Things to watch for in 2021
I’ll be on again Monday, January 4, at 12:00 p.m. on WNRI 1380 AM and I-95.1 FM.
TCI: The Next Step in Government by Fiat
The governor gave herself unprecedented power to make us do and not do things for our own good (from her perspective) with COVID-19, and there was never any reason to believe she would restrict that philosophy to the pandemic if she could get away with pushing the envelope. Well… she’s pushing the envelope.
Politics This Week with John DePetro: The Breaking Cloud of Fear
My weekly call-in on John DePetro’s WNRI 1380 AM/95.1 FM show, for December 21, included talk about:
- The end of the Pause
- COVID transparency
- The Guv as a national story
- Testing at the mall
- Judges entering the Supreme Court under an ethical cloud
I’ll be on again Monday, December 28, at 12:00 p.m. on WNRI 1380 AM and I-95.1 FM.
Roland Benjamin: COVID-19 Lockdown: The Preferred Intervention of the Elite
It is commonly accepted that an effective vaccine for COVID-19 will save lives.
The vaccine, be it BioNTech’s, Moderna’s, or any other pharmaceutical intervention, will most effectively bring an end to the COVID era. The “science” needed to bring this intervention into the world is astounding, with tens of thousands of test subjects undergoing trials for each version. Months and months and months of careful testing, and yet A SINGLE ADVERSE EVENT among any of the study participants halts the progress. One event. Savings lives is critical, so long as no harm is done in the process.
Simultaneously, governments all over the world have become obsessed with their own interventions. The non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) range from mask mandates, to required testing, to full scale economic lockdown. In the most extreme, China even resorted to welding people into their homes.
There has been no shortage of speculation that the lockdowns have caused harm. The argument has always been that they save lives by mitigating spread, but there really has not been comprehensive proof of that. Florida and California, two comparable states in climate and demography, have had comparable disease spreads with remarkably different approaches to inhibiting its residents. In other words, the NPIs adopted by California, draconian in some respects, have not proven any more effective than the “control group”…Florida’s non-interventionist approach.
Politics This Week with John DePetro: Them and the Rest of Us
My weekly call-in on John DePetro’s WNRI 1380 AM/95.1 FM show, for December 14, included talk about:
- The administration’s COVID outbreak
- The governor’s quarantine
- A budget through the roof
- The governor’s house becomes an official protest spot
I’ll be on again Monday, December 14, at 12:00 p.m. on WNRI 1380 AM and I-95.1 FM.
Rhody Reporter: Fines by Executive Order
Diana Lozowski notes all the extra-legislative authority Governor Raimondo is exercising in the service of enforcing her lockdown orders and muses (along with two prominent legislators) that her excellency is skating on thin legal ice.
Rhode Island, It Isn’t You… It’s Them
If the people of Rhode Island are going to tolerate the queen’s destruction of our livelihoods as she attempts to contain outbreaks in our state, we ought to know why she can’t prevent them in her own inner circle.
Demand Transparency on Covid-19 Cycle-Threshold Data
The full release and analysis of detailed testing data could be critical in shaping more focused and less intrusive COVID-19 restrictions for Rhode Islanders.
This data, which measures “viral load” (how much of the virus is present) and which is routinely collected by labs that conduct COVID tests, can be critically important in determining both public policy and individual regimens. Take action now to demand it.
The Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity has launched a new campaign, sending over a sixteen hundred pre-written emails (in just days) to officials petitioning the state to take action to collect and publish this vital cycle threshold data.
We have good news to share… they have taken the first steps in making a small portion of this data available. Our campaign is clearly working, but we need full transparency on this critical information.
You can take action by clicking on the link here now. Don’t wait, because your voice is powerful and it will make a difference for the people of Rhode Island!
Politics This Week with John DePetro: The End Game Settling In
My weekly call-in on John DePetro’s WNRI 1380 AM/95.1 FM show, for December 7, included talk about:
- Not getting rid of Gina
- Identity politics rule
- The poor investment of a General Assembly campaign
- Nellie’s election security deterioration
I’ll be on again Monday, December 14, at 12:00 p.m. on WNRI 1380 AM and I-95.1 FM.
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.
Wolf Crying and Water Carrying in the Local News Media
It’s a sad testament to the state of modern media that journalists are happy to play along with the governor’s scare campaign to maintain her far-reaching emergency powers.
Politics This Week with John DePetro: The Governor’s Court
My weekly call-in on John DePetro’s WNRI 1380 AM/95.1 FM show, for November 30, included talk about:
- The Pause arrives
- The Queen’s bid for a higher court
- McKee’s bid for the Queen’s attention
- The General Assembly as courtiers
- Is the jester in the Britt trial still relevant?
I’ll be on again Monday, November 30, at 12:00 p.m. on WNRI 1380 AM and I-95.1 FM.
Raimondo in Line for National Scold
How Raimondo’s COVID-queen persona plays with the tens of millions of Americans who have a somewhat stronger view of their civil rights than Rhode Islanders may become an interestingly relevant question.
Arm’s Length for the Heir During the Very Serious Pandemic (TM)
If Governor Raimondo really thought the coronavirus represented a crisis, wouldn’t she be keeping her replacement in the loop?
Rhody Reporter: COVID Update
Mark Zaccaria shows that Gov Raimondo and other public officials have provided little help to their constituents by trying to micromanage everyone’s behavior. Instead, they should start trusting us to make good decisions about COVID safety on our own.
The research Mark cites may be found here: https://globaljournals.org/GJSFR_Volume20/1-SARS-Cov-2.pdf
Politics This Week with John DePetro: A Pause Before Dying
My weekly call-in on John DePetro’s WNRI 1380 AM/95.1 FM show, for November 23, included talk about:
- The governor hits “pause” on freedom
- The Board of Elections hits “stop” for GOP challenges
- Congressional Democrats hit “no” on Cicilline’s bid
- A police review board director hits “send” on a leak
- The General Assembly hits “go” on a progressive agenda
I’ll be on again Monday, November 30, at 12:00 p.m. on WNRI 1380 AM and I-95.1 FM.
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.
How Bad Things Are in RI… Even Pre-Pause
There are 36,300 fewer jobs in Rhode Island than there were a year ago, and our governor is talking about tightening her shut-down policies and blaming our families in the process.
Politics This Week with John DePetro: Mailing in the Lockdown
My weekly call-in on John DePetro’s WNRI 1380 AM/95.1 FM show, for November 16, included talk about:
- What to make of Gina’s move toward another lockdown
- What to think about the RI Trump co-chairs’ differences on concession
- What Rhode Islanders should do about mail ballot anxiety
I’ll be on again Monday, November 23, at 12:00 p.m. on WNRI 1380 AM and I-95.1 FM.
Chris Maxwell: RITA Never Forgot Better Days of Eventually Turbulent Relationship with Nick Mattiello
The Rhode Island Trucking Association (RITA) made a conscious effort to never publicly target recently-ousted Speaker of the Rhode Island House, Nicholas Mattiello.
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.
Tyranny, Plain to See from Raimondo
Warnings have been issued from the Castle of Smith Hill that we peasants are misbehaving, and the Empress will have none of it.
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.
The Times, They Are A-Changin’
Mark Zaccaria runs through some of the things that need changing in RI and points out the only way to do so.
Politics This Week with John DePetro: Protest and Action
My weekly call-in on John DePetro’s WNRI 1380 AM/95.1 FM show, for October 26, included talk about:
- Fenton-Fung and Mattiello back in the ring
- The governor comes for Thanksgiving dinner
- Protests settle in in Providence
I’ll be on again Monday, November 2, at 12:00 p.m. on WNRI 1380 AM and I-95.1 FM.