We here in the Biggest Little tend to be self-deprecating to a fault. But in looking at the results of this week’s election, let’s reconsider this a bit.
In the two top-of-the-ticket campaigns, we can hold our heads up high about how the losers — Linc Chafee and Charlie Fogarty — are 100 percent better than almost all the respective candidates for US Senate or governor in most states. Both men have been great public servants, and we all owe them a huge thank-you. From a personal point of view, P&J have always appreciated their friendship. It’s an honor to know them.
That said, let’s waterboard Karl Rove. Nice work, you porcine pink boy. Your “genius” tag might have vanished overnight, as the House went to the Dems and the Senate, at the time of this writing, is swaying in the wind.
This partisan switch is one of the best things that could happen for this country. We have squandered all the good will that was evident after 9/11, and President Dubya’s clueless leadership and drugstore cowboy “Bring it on” B-movie bullshit have made this country universally despised. That he is slightly less intelligent than your dog is also not a great calling card.
So the fake Top Gun “Mission Accomplished” star will now have to deal with a Congress that might actually try to do some things right, while not kowtowing to Big Oil boys and other corporate crooks. But this is not guaranteed, either, and we should all pay close attention to the Democrats. P&J are not exactly in love with the likes of Hillary Clinton and Joe Lieberman. While they may be shining stars in some people’s eyes, they are both overreaching, self-centered, and consider themselves God’s gift to the planet. We would prefer more pragmatic and less self-aggrandizing pols, if that isn’t an impossibility.
Have a nice two years, Dubya, Big Time, Rummy, and Condi, because, as with the famous old tune by the Police, “Every step you take, every vow you break, I’ll be watching you.”
On a lighter note, let us wish only the best for our new kids on the block, Sherbet Whitebread, Elizabeth “We’ll come up with a nickname for you soon” Roberts, Ralph Mollis, and Frank Caprio, as well as holdovers Don Carcieri, Patrick Kennedy, and Jim Langevin. The public’s trust is a valuable thing, and we know you will protect it.
As a final note, thank you very much, Bob Healey and Kinky Friedman, for keeping things interesting.
When will cranston obey the law?
We have repeatedly mentioned the anti-abortion protests at the women’s health clinic on Broad Street in Cranston. These street side demonstrations usually take place about three or four days a week and feature large signs depicting aborted fetuses. The clinic is in the middle of a neighborhood with numerous small children, and quite a few of the residents have been upset by self-righteous extremists bandying about giant aborted fetus signs in the faces of young children.
A couple of neighborhood mothers worked hard with the City Council to craft an ordinance put into effect earlier this year. It regulated the size of the signs, how far apart they must be, and it clarified a couple of other issues. This allowed the protesters the ability to march and carry their signs, although it lessened the impact a bit by making the signs not so clearly visible from three blocks away.
