Priorities During the Great Loosening
The desire to open up the economy isn’t selfish or reckless; it’s humanitarian.
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Easter, Plain and Simple
Our very different Easter experience this year presents an opportunity to ask our elected officials to renew their vows, so to speak.
Education in the Time of the Pandemic
Public schools and teachers unions in RI and MA are providing our state an education that can lead us to a post-plague renaissance if we’ll learn the lessons.
Concerns About a Local Power Grab
Two council members who have tried to act as a check on the council president’s unbridled power are Donna Cook and Nancy Driggs, and they discuss some of their concerns on the latest episode of Tiverton on Track.
Chris Maxwell: Allow All Businesses to Re-Open Immediately Under “Manufacturers’ Pledge Model”
“Non-essential” businesses in Rhode Island remain shut down by order of Governor Gina Raimondo even as unemployment filings shoot up and COVID-19 projections drop markedly. While much of trucking has not been directly impacted by the shutdown order, as an industry that interacts with all businesses in Rhode Island – manufacturing, farms, restaurants, small shops, big box stores – trucking has a unique position and voice as Rhode Island looks to re-open.
The governor has said that she doesn’t know what regulations will be issued to allow businesses to re-open. But this is quickly and easily fulfilled: the state simply need to tell all businesses to follow the manufacturers’ lead and take the same pledge that was exclusively afforded to this sector several weeks ago.
Raimondo Runs It All, Hair and in Church
The governor only has her dictatorial authority to micromanage every organization and civil right in our state if the rest of us pretend along with her.
Curve Flattened. End the COVID-19 Lockdown Now.
On March 16, the White House issued “15 Days to Slow the Spread” guidelines.
On March 28, Governor Gina Raimondo issues a stay-at-home order for Rhode Island.
At that time, the IHME’s model projected 100,000-240,000 deaths from COVID-19.
At that time, the goal of the lockdown was to “flatten the curve” of the disease so as to not overwhelm our hospitals with cases. Note, critically, that reducing the overall number of cases was NOT part of this goal but simply to spread them out.
Since March 28, the IHME’s projections have collapsed and the new projection for COVID fatalities is 60,000.
Since March 28, the results of numerous COVID-19 anti-body surveys have come in.
In the Dugout Talking COVID-19
Is the cure worse than the disease? Research Director Justin Katz of the Rhode Island Center for Freedom & Prosperity joins CEO Stenhouse on in “In The Dugout” to discuss the coronavirus crisis in RI. Katz is also the managing editor of the Ocean State Current, an he offers an analysis of the data of Governor Gina Raimondo’s data.
Politics This Week with John DePetro: Civil Rights on Order
My weekly call-in on John DePetro’s WNRI 1380 AM/95.1 FM show, for April 20, included talk about:
- Executive orders from the governor
- Models projecting the illness
- A cowardly General Assembly (looking for incumbent security)
- Talk of a Raimondo VP pick
- The idea that killing unborn children is an essential procedure
I’ll be on again Monday, April 27, at 12:00 p.m. on WNRI 1380 AM and I-95.1 FM.
Charles Callanan: The Chinese Problem, Part Two
The world will demand (and deserves) accountability from the coronavirus’s country of origin, China, but imposing a cost will bring the global community into a perilous dance.
Corona-tyrants
Rhode Islanders can make decisions as adults and don’t need Constitutionally suspect impositions from our chief executive.
You Gotta Be Tight to Be Loose in the Right Measure
The idea that there are “tight” cultures and “loose” cultures does offer insight into Left-Right differences in the West, although we probably come back to familiar conclusions.
Politics This Week with John DePetro: Decision Time!
My weekly call-in on John DePetro’s WNRI 1380 AM/95.1 FM show, for April 13, included talk about:
- The governor’s handling of the virus crisis
- The silence from everybody else
- The RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity’s suggestions
- The decisions facing the governor and the people of RI
I’ll be on again Monday, April 20, at 12:00 p.m. on WNRI 1380 AM and I-95.1 FM.
Major Red Flag of Lockdown: Paradoxical Financial Peril to R.I. Healthcare System
Rhode Island’s hospitals and healthcare systems are disproportionally represented on Fitch’s downgrade list and so disproportionately endangered by the onerous and dangerously archaic COVID-19 lockdown.
Politics This Week with John DePetro: The Executive Takes All
My weekly call-in on John DePetro’s WNRI 1380 AM/95.1 FM show, for April 6, included talk about:
- The governor’s tough tone
- Unemployment skyrockets
- The General Assembly shirks its duties
- Bad optics from Cranston mayoral candidate
- Tyranny in Tiverton
I’ll be on again Monday, April 13, at 12:00 p.m. on WNRI 1380 AM and I-95.1 FM.
COVID-19: A Plan To Restore Financial Security to RI
In these trying times, with well over fifty thousand Rhode Islanders recently laid-off, common-sense public state-based policy can help mitigate the destructive economic impact of the Rhode Island COVID-19 crisis … and can help restore a sense of normalcy and financial security.
We need your help to tell lawmakers you want them to take action.
Tiverton Takes the Lead on Emergency Dictatorship
As Americans across the country attempt to deal with a global pandemic while respecting each other’s rights, Tiverton Town Council President Patricia Hilton has given herself total power over town government.
Politics This Week with John DePetro: Government and Twitter Flames
My weekly call-in on John DePetro’s WNRI 1380 AM/95.1 FM show, for March 30, included talk about:
- Raimondo v. Cuomo
- Cheit v. Fung
- Rhode Islanders v. the state budget
- Democracy v. mail ballots
- and the U.S. Senate as the means of grabbing money
I’ll be on again Monday, April 6, at 12:00 p.m. on WNRI 1380 AM and I-95.1 FM.
Government Under Cover of COVID-19
Tiverton’s Town Council became the first-mover to use the cover of new government freedoms during the COVID-19 epidemic to push through a political appointment with no transparency.
Public Policy Solutions To Restore Rhode Island’s Financial Security in COVID-19 Crisis
If we rely on American innovation in the private sector, our state can weather this horrible COVID-19 crisis! Our Center has ten proactive policy ideas that can help Ocean State businesses and families survive the crisis, while also paving the way to recovery. And, we need your help to tell lawmakers you want them to take action.
State lawmakers must find a way to get back in the saddle, demonstrate calm and deliberate leadership, and consider emergency legislation to help our citizens and businesses lead the way back. We’re recommending:
Charles Callanan: Macro to Micro the World Has Changed Again
The world is forever changed, the questions are how it has changed and how we must adapt to deal with it.
Changing Gears, 3/21/20
On Saturday, March 21, 2020, Changing Gears hosts Mike Collins and Chris Maxwell offered a different view on Ocean State goings on and beyond!
- Governor’s 2A Executive Order extends background check from 7 to 30 days.
- Bob Duva of R.I. Echo checks in.
- Mike Stenhouse: which path is state going to take to get out of this
crisis? Time for “government distancing.” - Rob Cote: cities cut services but, unlike private sector, no layoffs.
- Don Culp with tips for staying focused and mentally strong.
- Scumbag US senators dump stocks during national crisis.
- Bring manufacturing back to US.
Proposals for Action: A Comparison of Emphasis (and Sanity)
Contrasting conservative and progressive proposals for dealing with fallout from COVID-19 reveals the stark choice that Americans face.
Politics This Week with John DePetro: Crisis and Reaction
My weekly call-in on John DePetro’s WNRI 1380 AM/95.1 FM show, for March 23, included talk about:
- Public cash running out
- Gun purchases withheld
- Taxes, booze, and responses
- Government distancing
I’ll be on again Monday, March 30, at 12:00 p.m. on WNRI 1380 AM and I-95.1 FM.
Government-Distancing Can Help Keep Rhode Islanders Safe And At Work
We see the federal government considering bold ways to keep businesses running and money in people’s pockets. Here in Rhode Island, we’re calling on lawmakers to provide online sales tax relief to residents concerned about their physical and financial health.
Our state must do its part… The government-distancing we are recommending can help people remain at home and practice healthy social-distancing. Every sales tax dollar saved might be vitally important to families who are suffering a loss of income during these trying times.
A Basic Difference of Perspective on COVID-19
We the people have more to offer than staying home and being taken care of, and our reaction to something like COVID-19 ought to recognize that fact.
Freedom of the Press Is in the Eye of the Pen Holder
A recent bill to mandate aspects of media reporting deserved its death and ridicule, but the reaction does raise questions about when censorship is OK and how much it depends who is being censored.
Seeing Regulation in a New Light
In light of calls for “government distancing” during a crisis, the daily grind of new legislative and regulatory restrictions takes on a new feel.