Seeding the Grass Roots
John Loughlin, the presumed Republican candidate for Patrick Kennedy’s seat in Congress, has issued a press release stating that “the Congressman has a basic obligation to share his in-depth knowledge” about healthcare legislation at three to five town-hall-style meetings. As a matter of an elected representative’s responsibility, Loughlin is absolutely correct, but constituents might have…
Alright, there wasn’t really a fire, but since we’re talking radio, I like to imagine that there was one. Dan Yorke and I had that sort of conversation, yesterday, on 630AM/99.7FM WPRO. Those who missed it or who would like to revisit something (for kind or scurrilous reasons) can stream the whole segment (about an…
Polls continue to indicate President Obama’s and the Democrats’ health care reform is in serious trouble. And the Dems are worried…and paranoid. They haven’t been able to drum up support with their much-touted netroots apparatus and are instead encountering protests against their proposals. But it couldn’t be that their grand plan is wrong…instead, the Democrats…
Driving home from the RISC meeting on Saturday, my MP3 player happened upon Will.i.am’s “Yes We Can” propaganda song, which is essentially an audio collage of famous and semi-famous people singing and reciting along with a Barack Obama speech. It occurred to me that the content is sufficiently vague that, if one strips away external…
For those who were unable to attend, or who would like to revisit this morning’s RISC Summer Meeting, the following audio corresponds with my liveblogging: RISC Chairman Harry Staley’s opening remarks: stream, download (10 min, 23 sec) RISC Vice President & Secretary Harriet Lloyd’s unveiling of the new RISC Web site: stream, download (3 min,…
So I’ve taken up the invitation to sit at the Press table provided by the Rhode Island Statewide Coalition for its summer meeting (at the Hyatt on Goat Island in Newport — reasoning that it’s a way to get a good seat up front without having to sit next to VIPs and speakers. Actually, inasmuch…
Well, it appears that the RI Tea Party is not banned from next year’s Bristol parade: [Tea Party treasurer Marina] Peterson said she was given a copy of [Bristol Fourth or July Committee Chairman David] Burns’ apology, in which he says: “The Fourth of July Committee regrets and apologizes for any miscommunication to the Rhode…
In the post about the Tea Party ban from the Bristol Independence Day parade, commenter David points to “Float Preparation Requirement” #8 (PDF), which reads as follows: There will be no distributions or fundraising by any float applicant. No objects of any kind may be thrown, sprayed or otherwise distributed to spectators from any entry…
If nothing else, this illustrates how the celebration of an event can become more about the tradition of celebrating than about the event itself: In a temper-filled tempest, the Bristol Fourth of July Committee has barred the Rhode Island Tea Party from taking part in the annual Independence Day parade next year — or any…
I concur with Monique about the Speaker of the General Assembly House Bill Murphy’s suggestion that the legislature is a full-time occupation, but it was a different line of his that caught my eye when I read that article: “We said in January that the budget was going to be the issue this year and…
