Items by Carroll Andrew Morse

• Board of Elections Makes an Offer to the Moderate Party

  —Anchor Rising

  I know that the Rhode Island Board of Elections is famous for its procedural creativity, but even so, am I the only one who thinks that the offer made to the Moderate Party of pay us a big fine and... [...]
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  Posted: November 23, 2009, 7:00pm EST
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• Diocesan Priests Ordered to Deny Communion? Congressman Kennedy Says Yes, Bishop Tobin Says No.

  —Anchor Rising

  Bishop of Providence Thomas Tobin and Rhode Island First District Congressman Kennedy are offering two different versions of the latest consequences resulting from Congressman Kennedy's public statement that a true pro-life position requires the Catholic Church to support a healthcare... [...]
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  Posted: November 22, 2009, 11:13am EST
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• Incredulousness About Democratic Healthcare Promises is the Mainstream

  —Anchor Rising

  If you didn't believe me last week when I posted…We know that very few seriously believe that the Democratic reform proposals, in their current form, are going to truly reduce medical costs or control medical inflation.…will you believe Jeffrey S....' [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 3:00pm EST
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• Gio Cicione on the RI Republican Platform

  —Anchor Rising

  Using the medium that all enlightened political leaders of the new millennium realize is a indispensable means for reaching the people and fostering necessary debate, i.e. the comments section of AR, State Republican Chairman Gio Cicione has weighed in on... [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 11:00am EST
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• Liveblogging Tonight's Immigration Forum

  —Anchor Rising

  I'm on the Brown University Campus, where a panel of Rhode Island all-stars is preparing for a panel discussion on the issue of immigration. Panelists include RI State Senator Juan Pichardo, Judge Roberto Gonzalez, former U.S. Attorney Robert Corrente, Warwick...' [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 6:03pm EST
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• Pension Problems from Coast to Coast

  —Anchor Rising

  This can't be a good sign. They're now making fun of Rhode Island in New Jersey, that bastion of good government practices, because of our inept pension fund management. John Bury of the nj.com website writes that…Rhode Island's public pension... [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 11:00am EST
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• Poverty Institute Breaking Ties with Rhode Island College

  —Anchor Rising

  This week's Political Scene column in the Projo contains this interesting note at the bottom…The Poverty Institute at Rhode Island College, a vocal player in the state budget debate, is ending its formal relationship with the public college. The organization... [...]
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  Posted: November 16, 2009, 11:50am EST
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• Rhode Island Republican Party Platform Draft

  —Anchor Rising

  Anchor Rising has been provided with a draft of the platform document nearing approval by the Rhode Island Republican Party. To be formally adopted, the platform still needs to pass votes of the party's Executive Committee and then the State...' [...]
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  Posted: November 15, 2009, 8:00am EST
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• Re: What Sort of Hope Are We Talking About?

  —Anchor Rising

  Believe it or not, I think that Justin was being too kind to Rhode Island's leadership class yesterday, when he said that… Strictly speaking, it probably isn't accurate to say that the "housing crisis" caused the recession, in Rhode Island....' [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 11:45am EST
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• Mayor McKee on an Educational Funding Policy

  —Anchor Rising

  In this week's Valley Breeze, Cumberland Mayor Daniel McKee lays the groundwork for an educational "funding formula" proposal that looks to be substantially different from the other proposals that have been recently considered for Rhode Island. The key passage in... [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 3:00pm EST
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• A Mayoral Academy for the West Bay?

  —Anchor Rising

  According to the Cranston Herald's Meg Fraser, Cranston Mayor Allan Fung is interested in bringing the "Mayoral Academy" model of education reform, currently being spearheaded by Cumberland Mayor Daniel McKee, to Cranston and, if we assume that it would follow... [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 1:00pm EST
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• Trillo Almost Officially Out, But Not Yet Backing Smith

  —Anchor Rising

  Russell J. Moore's story in Tuesday's Warwick Beacon about State Representative Joseph Trillo's almost final departure from the Governor's race contains a number of interesting details.Asked if he was endorsing not-yet-official Republican candidate Rory Smith…Trillo said he wasn’t prepared to... [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 11:00am EST
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• The California of New England, but Not in a Good Way

  —Anchor Rising

  Here is the Christian Science Monitor's bleak summary of the results of a rapidly-circulating Pew Center on the States report, which says that 9 other states are facing California-like fiscal disaster in the near term… The “great recession” may be... [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 9:30am EST
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• The Future of Healthcare Reform, If It's Built on Top of the Employer-Based System

  —Anchor Rising

  An underreported aspect of the health reform proposals being advanced by Congressional Democrats (in both the House and Senate) is the conscious intent to maintain the current system of employment-based health insurance as the basis of the American healthcare system.... [...]
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  Posted: November 11, 2009, 2:30pm EST
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• The Future of Healthcare Reform, If It's Built on Top of the Employer-Based System

  —Anchor Rising

  An underreported aspect of the health reform proposals being advanced by Congressional Democrats (in both the House and Senate) is the conscious intent to maintain the current system of employment-based health insurance as the basis of the American healthcare system.... [...]
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  Posted: November 11, 2009, 2:30pm EST
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• Caprio Confirms (But Doesn't Announce)

  —Anchor Rising

  According to a Steve Peoples article in today's Projo, General Treasurer Frank Caprio is now officially a candidate for Rhode Island Governor…Ending months of speculation, General Treasurer Frank T. Caprio on Monday confirmed that he intends to run for governor... [...]
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  Posted: November 10, 2009, 8:51am EST
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• Fort Hood and Intolerance

  —Anchor Rising

  On Friday, representatives from the Rhode Island State Council of Churches, the Diocese of Providence, and the Jewish Federation of Rhode Island publicly responded to the massacre at Fort Hood. As the Projo's Maria Armental reported on Saturday… The Rev.... [...]
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  Posted: November 09, 2009, 10:00am EST
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• No Coverage of Abortions Amendment to be Offered, in an Attmept to Get a Healthcare Bill Passed Today

  —Anchor Rising

  Multiple sources are reporting that, in order to try to get the US House of Representatives to pass a Democratic version of healthcare reform today, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has agreed to a floor vote on an amendment that would... [...]
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  Posted: November 07, 2009, 1:15pm EST
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• Binding Arbitration & Tuesday's Special Election Candidates

  —Anchor Rising

  I have tended to avoid the written-questionnaire format for interviews of political candidates and officeholders, because the ratio of informative-answers-from-the-candidate-himself-or-herself to canned-answers-written-by-committee can often be less than optimal. Or it could be that I'm just bad at writing questionnaires, as...' [...]
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  Posted: November 06, 2009, 11:30am EST
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• Not Breaking in the Least: People Don't Like to Pay High Taxes When They Get Nothing in Return

  —Anchor Rising

  For those interested in the continuing debate about the relation between taxpayer mobility and tax-rates, Los Angeles Times op-ed contributor William Voegeli adds another analysis based on multi-state Census data…One way to assess how Americans feel about the different tax... [...]
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  Posted: November 02, 2009, 12:15pm EST
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• In Favor of Options – Even Non-Government Ones!

  —Anchor Rising

  Hurrah to the Projo editorial board, for recognizing that governmental regulations can artificially increase the price of health insurance in non-rational ways…We noticed the other week, for instance, that an insurance policy in Maryland has a premium half the size,... [...]
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  Posted: November 02, 2009, 11:20am EST
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• Update: Permanent Contracts Sent Back To Committee

  —Anchor Rising

  Here is the status report on the permanent contracts bill, from the state legislature's website...Senate Bill No.713 BY Perry, Levesque C, McCaffrey, Miller, Sosnowski ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS - CERTIFIED SCHOOL TEACHERS ARBITRATION (would amend... [...]
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  Posted: October 29, 2009, 8:00pm EDT
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• Update: Yorke Reporting that the Permanent Contract Won't be Passed Tonight

  —Anchor Rising

  Dan Yorke of WPRO (630 AM) is reporting that he has spoken with House Speaker William Murphy's spokesman Larry Berman, who says that the permanent contract bill has been placed on the House calendar for procedural reasons only, because it... [...]
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  Posted: October 29, 2009, 3:20pm EDT
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• BREAKING: The Permanent Contract is Still Alive in the Legislature

  —Anchor Rising

  Following a comment from "Madmom", I checked the General Assembly's official online calendar, and found this... Senate Bill No.713 BY Perry, Levesque C, McCaffrey, Miller, Sosnowski ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS - CERTIFIED SCHOOL TEACHERS ARBITRATION... [...]
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  Posted: October 29, 2009, 12:22pm EDT
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• Did You Know That the Archbishop of New York Has a Blog…

  —Anchor Rising

  …and that he’s not happy with Rhode Island First District Congressman Patrick Kennedy…Over this past weekend, several people mentioned to me Representative Patrick Kennedy’s blast at bishops for allegedly dividing the nation on the issue of healthcare….His remarks were sad,... [...]
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  Posted: October 27, 2009, 8:50pm EDT
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• Anti-Prostitution Bill Passes House Judiciary Committee

  —Anchor Rising

  If I heard the roll properly on Capitol TV, Segal, Ajello and Driver were the only votes against.... [...]
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  Posted: October 27, 2009, 8:03pm EDT
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• If GM and Chrysler Don’t Make It, Well That Was the Plan All Along

  —Anchor Rising

  Remember those big auto bailouts? Did you know they were never really intended to save Chrysler or GM? At least that’s what Newsweek Senior Editor Dainel Gross says (h/t Mickey Kaus)…By the time the government got there, the companies had... [...]
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  Posted: October 26, 2009, 9:18pm EDT
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• Re: A Constitutional Glitch in the Ciccone Consolidation Bill?

  —Anchor Rising

  Monique points out that the state Constitution has to be considered in any plans to "consolidate" or "regionalize" Rhode Island's cities and towns. And a direct reading of the first 4 sections of Article XIII of the Rhode Island Constitution... [...]
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  Posted: October 25, 2009, 11:00am EDT
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• The Idea of "Consolidation" Takes Its Biggest Hit Yet, as Senator Frank Ciccone Enthusiastically Signs On

  —Anchor Rising

  State Senator Frank Ciccone (D - North Providence/Providence/Anyone with a Monetary Interest in Dog Racing) has introduced a bill to implement about a strong as consolidation plan as is possible in Rhode Island – abolishing all city and town governments... [...]
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  Posted: October 23, 2009, 11:40am EDT
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• Congressman Kennedy Would Prefer Less Dissent from the Catholic Church on Abortion and Healthcare

  —Anchor Rising

  CNS News has posted a video of an interview with Rhode Island First District Congressman Patrick Kennedy, where he says that the Catholic Church's opposition to including funding for abortion in healthcare reform plans "is an absolute red herring" that... [...]
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  Posted: October 23, 2009, 11:15am EDT
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• The Scoop You May Have Missed from the Comments Section (or Corrente in the Running for Running with Moderate Party)

  —Anchor Rising

  Before Steve Peoples of the Projo, or Tim White of WPRI-TV (CBS 12), or the Associated Press, commenter Mike Cappelli had it first…Funny how things happen. I'm in line at a coffee shop this morning and a group of people...' [...]
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  Posted: October 23, 2009, 1:30am EDT
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• Should Arbitration Rulings Outrank the Law? It's a Feature, not a Bug Say Advocates!

  —Anchor Rising

  I'm not entirely sure how authoritative this reference is, but the website called Rhode Island Arbitration –dot- com is promoting the fact that the decisions of arbitrators can take precedence over the law…Did You Know…Courts cannot overturn an arbitration award....' [...]
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  Posted: October 21, 2009, 12:15pm EDT
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• The Disrespect for Democracy that is Binding Arbitration

  —Anchor Rising

  More vigorously than at anytime since the 1960s, America’s political left has been promoting its two-point all-purpose plan for solving domestic problems: More government spending (point 2) paid for by higher taxes (point 1). At the Federal level, the focus... [...]
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  Posted: October 20, 2009, 11:15am EDT
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• Moderating Expectations

  —Anchor Rising

  I heard Rhode Island Moderate Party Chairman Ken Block on WPRO (630 AM) with John DePetro earlier this morning, discussing how he believes a "fresh face" may be the best option for a Moderate candidate for Rhode Island governor. Sounds... [...]
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  Posted: October 19, 2009, 12:00pm EDT
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• Climate Data from Foxboro

  —Anchor Rising

  I turned on the last two minutes of today's Patriots game, after not having taken in any broadcast communications over the previous 4-5 hours. In addition to noticing the Patriots leading 59-0, I also happened to notice it snowing in... [...]
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  Posted: October 18, 2009, 8:40pm EDT
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• "The Hummel Report" Launches

  —Anchor Rising

  Former WLNE-TV news reporter Jim Hummel has released the first video from his recently-opened-for-business website that is attempting to add something new to the local blogosphere: investigative reporting meeting television-level production standards, sans the television station. (Initial release of the... [...]
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  Posted: October 15, 2009, 12:15pm EDT
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• Moderately Mysterious

  —Anchor Rising

  Alright, I'll take the bait that's dangling from Steve Peoples' gubernatorial race preview appearing in today's Projo…Moderate Party Chairwoman Christine Hunsinger confirmed last week that her organization was courting a “prominent former public official” aside from oft-discussed former Republican Attorney... [...]
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  Posted: October 14, 2009, 1:55pm EDT
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• Another Republican Candidate for Governor?

  —Anchor Rising

  Cynthia Needham of the Projo has the first official gubernatorial-race interview with Rory Smith, the political newcomer with a possible interest in running as a Republican for Governor of Rhode Island…Providence businessman Rory Smith says he's considering a run for... [...]
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  Posted: October 08, 2009, 10:45am EDT
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• Discussing the Undiscussable in Westerly

  —Anchor Rising

  On the agenda at Wednesday night's meeting of the Westerly School Committee, in the words of Victoria Goff of the Westerly Sun, was "[finalizing] the termination of Schools Superintendent Steven Welford's two-month employment with the school district". Mr. Welford had... [...]
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  Posted: October 08, 2009, 9:00am EDT
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• Tackiest Post To Date

  —Anchor Rising

  I thought former Rhode Island Supreme Court Justice Frank Williams’ role model was Abraham Lincoln, not Dwight Eisenhower.... [...]
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  Posted: October 07, 2009, 11:40am EDT
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• The Looming Challenge for the Advancement of Euro-Style Soft-Socialism in America…

  —Anchor Rising

  …is most likely to come from the automobile industry. Did anyone else note the statistics related to automobile sales released at the end of last week (via Reuters, in the excerpt below)…U.S. auto sales tumbled by 23 percent in September... [...]
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  Posted: October 05, 2009, 11:45am EDT
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• Re: Socialists to Protest Beck

  —Anchor Rising

  Desperately trying to avoid several household projects I should be working on, I decided to see if anything interesting would happen associated with the protest of Glenn Beck's book signing at Borders Bookstore in Providence. Here's a quick photosummary. The... [...]
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  Posted: October 03, 2009, 8:50pm EDT
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• Simple Combinatorics Say Congressman Kennedy Should Debate Now!

  —Anchor Rising

  In the final stage of his 2008 Congressional campaign, Rhode Island First District Congressman Patrick Kennedy had this to say about the possibility of debating his opponent…Debates at this stage are usually theatre and gotcha games.This past weekend, the Projo's...' [...]
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  Posted: October 02, 2009, 12:10pm EDT
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• Dennigan Resigns

  —Anchor Rising

  The AP is reporting that State Representative Elizabeth Dennigan (D – East Providence/Pawtucket) has resigned her (now former) state legislative seat, in order to devote more time to her Second District Congressional campaign against incumbent Democrat James Langevin. Will Ricci... [...]
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  Posted: October 02, 2009, 10:30am EDT
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• What One City Council Thinks of Binding Arbitration for Teachers Contracts

  —Anchor Rising

  On Monday night, the Cranston City Council considered a resolution sponsored by Mayor Allan Fung opposing a proposed change to Rhode Island law that would require binding arbitration to occur when a school committee and a teachers' union were unable...' [...]
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  Posted: September 29, 2009, 9:40am EDT
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• Draft Joseph Peckham for Governor

  —Anchor Rising

  In spite of the skepticism expressed by Justin earlier this week about the wisdom of drafting candidates for political office, I think progressive Rhode Island Democrats should consider a movement to draft AFSCME Council 94 Acting Executive Director Joseph Peckham... [...]
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  Posted: September 25, 2009, 11:40am EDT
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• Whither School Committees?

  —Anchor Rising

  At Mayor Allan Fung's town hall meeting last evening on city issues in Cranston, there was much emphasis on the school committee as the area of city government most in need of fixing. You can hear some of the discussion... [...]
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  Posted: September 24, 2009, 12:15pm EDT
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• The Future According to RIPEC

  —Anchor Rising

  It seems to me that the most important numbers from Katherine Gregg's Projo story about Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council projections on the state budget are the ones at the bottom… The state’s overall budget for this year soared 12.9... [...]
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  Posted: September 23, 2009, 11:30am EDT
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• Lincoln Chafee, the Labor Candidate for Governor?

  —Anchor Rising

  Previewing this weekends Newsmakers show on WPRI-TV (CBS 12), Ian Donnis of WRNI's On Politics blog notes that George Nee, President of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, currently believes that Lincoln Chafee is the gubernatorial candidate currently looked upon most favorably... [...]
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  Posted: September 18, 2009, 3:30pm EDT
  by Carroll Andrew Morse

• Lincoln Chafee, the Labor Candidate for Governor?

  —Anchor Rising

  Previewing this weekends Newsmakers show on WPRI-TV (CBS 12), Ian Donnis of WRNI's On Politics blog notes that George Nee, President of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, currently believes that Lincoln Chafee is the gubernatorial candidate currently looked upon most favorably... [...]
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  Posted: September 18, 2009, 1:00pm EDT
  by Carroll Andrew Morse