Hey, hats off to the dignity of the Rhode Island Constitution. Weren’t we all just waiting for the moment when, by allowing voters to approve a sweetheart deal with a wonderful corporation like Harrah’s, this document could be made into the equivalent of a comic book? Nice public policy, gang.
P&J have admired Harrah’s energetic employees, led by former Las Vegas mayor Jan Jones, as they’ve lobbied our highly ethical General Assembly. Meanwhile, Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas’s representation of his tribe should keep them from being seen henceforth as the noble forefathers of all of Rhode Island. We will watch to see just how many of our Narragansett brothers and sisters (and one-time legislators) wind up being employed at the Harrah’s casino, should this preposterous piece of gamed-up (pun intended) legislation win approval from the voters.
Hit me, Tonto.
Danny agonistes
Dan Yorke, WPRO-AM’s afternoon talk guy, was in high dudgeon when, without being named, he was called out as a racist on the floor of the House of Representatives last week.
Here’s the background. Representative Anastasia Williams of Providence gave a floor speech regarding the casino bill, and in dramatizing the historic discrimination suffered by the Narragansetts, she invoked the names of J.F. Kennedy, the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Reggie Jackson, Coretta Scott King, and Rosa Parks. In response, Yorke asked, which name doesn’t fit?
The talk jock got in touch with Anastasia and asked if she really meant Reggie Jackson — not exactly a name, after all, that one would associate with the civil rights struggle. Ms. Williams seemed at a loss while trying to defend Mr. October’s inclusion, while Dan suggested that maybe she meant Jackie Robinson, a true civil rights pioneer. Anastasia said, “Yeah, him, too,” refusing to give up her notion that Reggie somehow deserved to be a member of this pantheon. Regardless, Yorke and Williams laughed at the implicit gaffe.
Within a few days, Representative Raymond Gallison of Bristol addressed the House, and without naming Yorke, accused him of making racist remarks. Although Yorke poked some fun at Williams, briefly baying like a hyena, there was no racism. Your superior correspondents do not tolerate racism. Yet making fun of state representatives who say foolish things — a rare occurrence in our fair state — is certainly fair game. And while we rarely agree with Yorke’s conservative mentality (on whose show our news editor, Ian Donnis, makes a weekly appearance), we think he has a good sense of what is racist and what is not.
P&J say Gallison is a bonehead, Williams (who told Yorke that she would defend his statements) failed to uphold her pledge, and the whole thing seems politically motivated — because Yorke is an obvious partisan for our right-wing governor.
Balls but no brains
Sombreros and berets off to WHJY for their incredible new promotional stunt, “Play Cash or Cajones: The Radio Game with Balls.” The only problem is how they misspelled cojones, the Spanish word they meant to use.
Cojones is a vulgar term for testicles, what our macho male friends might call “balls.” Cajones, however, simply means boxes or drawers — not your knickers, mate, but the bureau-style numbers. So we hope everyone who plays this idiotic misnamed game, to win a chance to race on a NASCAR track in New Hamp¬shire — wow, Billy Bob, did you see the tits on that moose? — can prove just how testosterone-infused they are, while tacitly admitting to a single digit IQ.
