R-ISLANDER

OBAMA BETRAYS US?

I can't believe that President Obama promises to protect the middle class and never cut social security and medicare...now he is doing just that!  Come on Mr. President...stick by your principles....DON'T BETRAY US.

ALL RI CITIZENS : URGE THEM TO VOTE "YES"!

Call the Senate Leadership of Rhode Island and ask them to Vote YES on Senate Bill No. 38 that will grant marriage rights for all Rhode Island Citizens.

Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed : 401-222-6655

 Senate Majority Whip Maryellen Goodwin: 401-272-3102

 Senate Majority Leader Dominic Ruggerio: 401-222-3310

 Senate Minority Leader Dennis Algiere: 401-222-2708

In the January 31 issue of the RI Catholic, in a full page ad, the above names were listed with phone numbers urging people to call these senators.  They hoped all who read the ad would urge them to vote against same sex marriage.  We can join the majority of Catholics according to polls who support same-sex marriage and the majority of other Christians represented by their religious leaders, the RI Council of Churches, and do just the opposite and urge them to vote in favor of same sex marriage. 

 Let’s join the President of the United States, the, majority of RI Catholics and the majority of other Christians represented by the RI Council of Churches, all the other New England States, and people of good will worldwide in their support of marriage rights for all by calling these RI senators and urging them to VOTE YES on RI Senate Bill 38.

 

 

VOTE FAITHFUL -- VOTE OBAMA

Christ and the saints have taught us to be aligned with the poor and the despised.  I want to remain faithful to that dictum, to that christian urge to be supportive of the middle and lower classes.  Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are not faithful to that dictum of Christ.  That is why I am voting to be a faithful Catholic. VOTE FOR OBAMA!  I am.

Romney Thinks Ohioans Are Idiots!

People of Ohio: Mitt Romney Thinks You’re All Idiots

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/10/mitt-romney-ohio-ad-car.html

His new ad on the auto bailout is only successful if you are as uninformed and gullible as children. 

OBAMA WINS 3RD DEBATE...

Another clear win for the President in tonight's debate. President offered detailed specificity on a variety of international issues and all Romney did was change his previous positions and said "I agree with you, Mr. President" many, many times. He made it clear the President was doing a good job in international relations. So, then, why should we not keep the President? Clear that Romney did not have a very full understanding of the world. The most glaring example, and rather funny, is that he said Syria was Iran's access to the sea when, of course, Iran's coastline is much bigger than that of Syria. His knowledge base in foreign relations disqualifies him for the Presidency and that was clear in the 3rd debate. Good job, Mr. President! Congratulations, another win!

Willie Geist Gets Promoted!

Willie Geist, according to the NYTimes, is being promoted.  He will co-host the 9 a.m. hour of the Today show and substitute when necessary for Matt Lauer in the 7-9 a.m. hours.  This is great news.  Geist is a great TV news host.  We wish him all the best, but the only down side is that it is being reported that he will leave his Way Too Early duties.  Maybe Louis Burgdorf can replace Willie during that early hour.  It would be nice to see Willie give Louis a hand up in the business.  Let's hope for the best.  Congratulations, Willie!

Scott Brown (R-MA) and Many His Lies

Someone twittered that if Scott Brown (R-MA), the Senate candidate in Massachusetts loses the election to ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA) he looks like he could get a job as a bartender and make extra bucks by trying to guess people's race.  Of course, this was a reference to Brown's snide remark in the recent televised debate with ELIZABETH WARREN as he pointed to her and said, "She doesn't look like and Indian."  Questioning her family's recollection of her heritage, he questioned her character.  He forgets his own many lies:  1.  He said he meets regularly with Kings and Queens.  2.  He said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calls him all the time for advice.  And, 3. He claims to be a ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.  None of his claims are true.  They are lies.  It is HIS character we should call into question.  There is no question that physically he is attractive, and he becomes even cuter when he constantly tries to distance himself from everything Republican.  He is a Republican and a vote for him is a vote for people like Mitt Romney, Todd "legitimate rape" Akin and Jim "there is no such thing as global warming"Inhofe who would become the overseer of the EPA.  Who would ever vote for this guy who helps advance an anti-elderly, anti-student, anti-global warming, anti-Medicare, anti-women agenda?  Who would be that stupid other than the most wealthy among us who would benefit enormously from Scott Brown's pro-oil corporations, pro-Wall Street, pro-insurance company positions?

Democratic Convention, Opening Night: Deval Patrick, Julian Castro and Michelle Obama

Wow! I was literally blown away by the speeches at last night's Democratic Convention.  Three of the best speeches I've ever heard. Julian Castro was very good, Deval Patrick was amazingly effective and truly excellent, and the First Lady? Her speech was absolutely outstanding...Wow...the three of them were a true trifecta, successfully expressing middle class struggles and their hopes and dreams...wonderful! What a difference from what we endured at the Republican Convention in Tampa the week before.  In Tampa it seemed like the agenda was saying "No!" to medicare, healthcare, social security, and "Yes!" to cutting taxes for the rich and nothing more.  The Republican Convention was rather like watching rich, old, white men and their lackeys whose sole purpose in life is to defend their personal fortunes without any regard for the rest of us.  The Democrats on the other hand seemed like real people, people who have worked through the struggles of the rest of us in the middle class.  All three were the emobdiment of the American Dream and how successful we all can be when we invest in our government to insure good public schools, protections for children and the elderly, and protections for all of us from vulture capitalists who take care of themselves at the expense of the rest of us.  BRAVISSIMI, Democrats!  You make me proud to be a progressive American citizen who supports Obama for President!

Romney, Ryan, and Eastwood : Failing the American Middle Class and Themselves

Like Ryan's speech the night before, last night's Romney speech is receiving good notices for style. Also like the Ryan speech, but somewhat less abundant are the many, many factual errors about the Obama record and already-in-place policies. It was also very nice that Mitt made such a big thing about his mother, Lenore Romney who ran for Senate in Michigan. It is very sad, however, that he and hi

s party are working against everything she stood for such as women's health rights. Lenore Romney was pro-choice, where a woman and her doctor decides appropriate medical procedures whereas Mitt, like Ryan and Akin, is clearly not. The standout for the convention last night...at least for me...was Clint Eastwood...he and his performance personifies perfectly what the election of a Republican president would mean: actions, policies, laws that are tired, worn out, ineffective, and also like Clint's performance last night, at times very offensive.

PATRICK W. GAVIN

Patrick W. Gavin is a staff writer/analyst for Politico.  He's young and articulate and making a name for himself as an excellent observor of the American political scene.  Those of us looking for more than the usual political news, which we can find anywhere, make it a "must" to check out what Gavin is writing on a daily basis.  I don't even know if he is actually in Tampa for the RNC, but I suspect he is and his daily multi-tweets are not only insightful but almost always, humorous.  Everyone interested in American politics should read his articles on the Politico page and definitely his daily tweets on Twitter.  This is a young man to watch.  I just wish MSNBC would give him more air time than the ocassional spot on Morning Joe.  

Mitt Romney, Bain, and Taxes

Why is Mitt Romney refusing to release but one or two years of his tax records? Maybe he paid no taxes...Maybe his guilty of hiding funds in Swiss bank accounts...Maybe he's hiding the fact that he has off-shore shell corporations to avoid taxes...the list just goes on and on...ALSO, why is he continuing to lie about his involvement with Bain Capital, the venture capital group that outsourced American jobs?  All the records point to the fact that he was the CEO or "outsourcer-in-chief" for Bain AFTER 1999...even those "fact-checkers" he says prove him right have reassessed the records...Romney is an archenemy of the American worker and is one of the major architects of a philosophy that sent millions of American jobs oversees to insure greater profits for individuals such as Mitt Romney himself.  All he says and all he does proves one thing:  he's a major liar and will say and do anything to be President of the United States.  He's a big supporter of big corporations, venture capitalists and insurance companies and all at the expense of the average Joe.  Why would any average Joe or average Jane vote for a man who works so hard to make money at the expense of the average American worker?  Don't vote against your own interests...Don't VOTE for Mitt Romney...as President, Romney will destroy the middle class to insure profits for the monied classes...Don't let him do that!

 

After Hearing the News -- a poem

After Hearing the News

When I look in on myself

I see you with me and no one else

But now you have gone away

We can no longer as in the past play

 The game that brings bumps to my skin

That willingness to make sin

Behind that Harvard statue after a date

When the night was long and late

At first we heard others and were afraid

But the urgency grew and we were soon staid

Swelling away against the wall

You experiencing me and protecting me from a fall

I heard your pleasures as they grew

And then I knew

When I look in on myself

I see me with you and no one else

That wondrous sensation on my neck, a breath

Is forever stolen now by your sudden death.

michael vocino, 23may2012

kingston

 

MAUREEN DOWD SPEAKS TRUTH ABOUT CARDINAL DOLAN

As educators, it is our duty to help direct social policy in the direction of the greatest good and it is the duty of all good women and men.  Maureen Dowd, and other social commentators help us do that.  Maureen Dowd comes from a faithfully Catholic family and those of us who share her religious experiences and still consider ourselves Catholic are VERY alarmed by the Church's continued attack on women under the guise of protecting religious freedom or as she says: "[What the} ...bishops portray as an attack on religion by the president is really an attack on women by the bishops."  She is not the only one saying that, either.  Most people in Catholic pews are positing the same!  Her article is here:  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/23/opinion/dowd-father-doesnt-know-best.html

Why Vote for Elizabeth Warren?

Elizabeth Warren, senate candidate in Massachusetts, has long been a champion for consumers especially in their transactions with banks.   As was said by Sen. Bernie Sanders: Congress Doesn't Regulate Banks; Banks Regulate Congress. How true, how true...and the last thing we need is a Republican Senator like Scott Brown who always sides with the banks.  If you are not a super wealthy citizen of Massachusetts and you want to protect yourself from the predatory practices of the banking industry it is in your best interest, and certainly mine, to see the election of the consumer's champion, Elizabeth Warren, to the U.S. Senate.

VOTE FOR ELIZABETH WARREN to put the interests of the middle class consumer back on the agenda.  The Republican agenda, as represented by candidate Scott Brown, is solely to protect the monied interests such as those predatory banks.  Like banks? vote for scott brown.  Want protection from banks?  VOTE ELIZABETH WARREN.

Prez Election is Basically One Issue

This coming presidential election is basically a choice between 1. taxing the super rich as they should be (President Obama's position) OR 2. cutting social services to the poor, working and middle classes (Mitt Romney and Republican position.)  It is interesting to note that most economists tell us that the math of the Republican and Romney position just does not work.  The Romney/Ryan budget wants to cut taxes for the super wealthy and also cut social services for the poor, working and middle classes.  The math indicates that if the U.S. does that the deficits will only grow and not be reduced.  Under Reagan, the deficits tripled.  Under George W. Bush they were doubled.  Under Obama, the deficit has been halved.  The rise in the continuing deficits has historically been because of the Bush tax cuts.  To elect Romney or some other Republican like Paul Ryan and give even greater tax cuts to the super wealthy means a return to tripling and doubling deficits even if Republicans coninue to mean-spiritedly cut services to the needy.  RE-ELECT OBAMA for the sake of the poor, working and middle classes.

Happy Mother's Day 2012!

this is an Azalea bush my sister gave me years ago...now in full bloom on this fine May 13, 2012 Mother's Day.  Happy Mother's Day to all mothers!

SEN. SCOTT BROWN (R-MA) SCREWS COLLEGE STUDENTS!

MA Sen. Scott Brown a Republican voted NO on a bill to stop student loan interest rates from doubling on July 1st.

Can you believe it? Who would vote for this guy, a pawn for Corporate Greed, Banks, Oil Companies and now he slaps college students and their ever-paying parents!

He backs the Republican war on women, and now he tells college students drowning in debt that they will get no relief from him or his Club for Growth buddies...Don't know the Club for Growth?  Google it...they are the corporate profiteers who are supporting Brown for the Senate...it's where he gets lots of his money...his vote against students tells you where his loyalties lie...with BIG PROFIT-SUCKING CORPORATIONS...don't believe me...again, just google CLUB FOR GROWTH...they are the rich guys against us, the middle and lower classes...look at their record...Scott Brown = Club for Growth.

RI: GOV. LINCOLN CHAFEE SCREWS RI, ITS UNIVERSITY, AND ITS STUDENTS

One of the great economic engines of the state of Rhode Island is its
University, and THAT IS US.  One of the most attractive reason for
students to come to URI is its faculty.  The quality of the faculty is
central to the student population and their future successes.  To keep
competitive, to keep RI on the cutting edge of research and
scholarship in so many areas, but especially in the expanding fields
of the sciences and engineering, etc., the University needs to offer
its presently underpaid faculty the salary and benefits that other
institutions of higher education and private industry offer our well
credentialed faculty and staff as a matter of course.  Dr. Frank
Annunziato, the executive director of our faculty union, the AAUP,
reports that the Board of Governors of Higher Education, at the urging
of the now infamous Gov. Lincoln Chafee, decided behind closed doors
last night that they no longer want to invest in the future of Rhode
Island by supporting a fairly and long negotiated contract with the
faculty union for a very modest salary increase that virtually only
covers the increases in health care insurance costs that the State is
forcing all employees to pay.

The AAUP bargained in good faith.  The contract with Annunziato at the
helm was fairly negotiated over months of long and difficult sessions.
 It was accepted by both sides.  The board of governors were scheduled
to give its "OK" at a meeting weeks ago.  All the signals were
positive.  Then, the infamous Gov. Chafee stepped in at the last
minute, long after his representatives had a chance to negotiate
differences with the AAUP, and told the Board to reject the fairly
negotiated contract.  The board, being politically appointed by the
Governor, fell right in line with the demands of an unreasonable
politician and voted against the contract last night.

It is my understanding that the AAUP stands firm in the belief that
the board, in rejecting a fairly negotiated contract between the AAUP
and representatives of the board of governors, negotiated unfairly and
certainly not in good faith.  We can only hope, and I am sure they
will, that the AAUP and all good people of faith, will do something to
stand up to the Governor and the Board of Governors.  Tho I am not a
lawyer, It seems to most commentators that there are legal violations
on the part of the infamous governor and his Board that should be
brought to the attention of the courts.  And beyond that, I am with
one of the speakers from the faculty at URI who said that he was up to
any action the AAUP would suggest in an attempt to remedy this just
AWFUL betrayal of "good faith" collective bargaining.

One of the big questions of the night of betrayal was being asked over
and over...."Where is President Dooley?"  The BOG went into executive
session to do its damage to the students, faculty and staff of the
University and the state of RI, and there was no "head man" from URI
to support his faculty and the students.  He knew of the vital
importance of the issue, yet he was a no show.  I, for one, am
terribly disappointed.  Leaving such important work to underlings is
not the hallmark of good leadership.  He should have been there,
especially since in recent weeks it became obvious that the Gov. was
"out to get" the faculty and graduate students at URI.  What was so
important that the President of the University could not be there to
defend his faculty?  ...one of what should be among his top
priorities.  HE FAILED US.  The Governor failed us and certainly, the
Board of Governors failed us and maybe even more importantly, they
failed the University's students and the state of Rhode Island.

BULLYING CATHOLIC NUNS

Two of the U.S.'s most prominent journalists, Maureen Dowd and Nick Kristof, both Catholics, have come to the defense of American nuns now under attack from an all-male hierarchy more upset about outspoken women than the sordid pedophilia that puts the Church in the grave danger of losing its soul....the attackers are those same men who prey on those who do most of the Church's work that protects the poor, sick, elderly and disadvantaged and are responsible for educating our young.  Everyone interested in the health of Mother Church should read these columns:

Dowd :  Bishops Play Church Queens as Pawns

Kristof: We Are All Nuns

Work-at-home Moms, Ann Romney and Scott Brown

No one can possibly think that staying home as a mother of 5 boys is an easy job. However, when you are a multi-millionaire as Ann Romney is, with two Cadillacs of her own, not to mention how many people working with her at home just to help...well that can hardly be compared to the heavy workload of the stay-at-home mother from the middle or lower classes who face economic difficulties everyday. Ann Romney knows a lot about raising 5 boys....what she doesn't know about is the economic difficulties women who stay at home face every day...The situation of those stay-at-home mothers will be made even more difficult if Ann Romney's husband is elected and implements drastic economic cutbacks to programs that significantly effect work-at-home-moms. Just as a sad aside, Massachusetts Senate candidate Scott Brown supports fully Mitt Romney and those anti-middle class programs that Romney advocates cutting and is fully engaged in the Republican War Against Women.