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Monday, April 30, 2007
Advocates of maintaining a baseball field in Providence's Armory District -- the historic base of baseball in Providence -- plan to agitate this evening at 6:30, at the park-turned-dog walk. Good luck to them. I like dogs, but Rhode Island's capital needs more ball fields, not less.
N4N is quite pumped for the formal start of his softball season tonight. Collyer Field needs better maintenance, but at least it's not being turned into a dog park.
Meanwhile, like any self-respecting Sox fan, I have a palpable dislike for the Yankees. This does not mean, however, failure to recognize the talents and qualities of my arch-rival. It's hard not to respect as worthy an opponent as Mo Rivera, one of the greater closers in the game, for example, or a classy guy like Joe Torre.
It's not Torre's fault that the New Yorkers have been exposed, at least for now, as a very unbalanced squad, but I believe his days with the Yankees are numbered. Whether a change will do anything to help the Bombers' sorry pitching is a whole other question.
The Sox, meanwhile, have been a revelation in April, thanks largely to how moving Papelbon back to the 'pen put a few other things in place. The team might not equal the run production of the 2003-2004 squads, but between solid-to-excellent starters, a good bench, and outstanding starting pitching and relievers, this team, barring injuries, has the stuff to go all the way. As N4N predicted would be the case, Josh Beckett is enjoying what could be his best year yet.
Can someone explain the deal, though, with Matsuzaka and his repeated trouble in the fourth inning?
While Gay Talese, Tom Wolfe, and others were writing the new journalism of America in the early 1960s, David Halberstam and Neil Sheehan offered the early warning call, just by reporting the facts, about the US misadventure in Vietnam. As has become legend, White House officials tried to get Halberstam reassigned from his beat at the New York Times because of the unpleasant details of what he was reporting.
Fast-forward a few decades, and we had a press establishment that was too creduluous in the run-up to the war in Iraq, as the New York Times and Washington Post acknowledged in subsequent apologias. The journalist who best played the role of being the skunk at the Bushies' garden party was Seymour Hersh of the New Yorker, whose appropriate skepticism of official pronouncements was well-honed, not coincidentally, while covering Vietnam and the My Lai massacre.
I came to admire Halberstam after reading The Powers That Be, his majestic account of some prominent elements of the American media establishment, including Henry Luce's Time magazine and the Chandlers' Los Angeles Times. My admiration was renewed after reading the Teammates, his eloquent account of the almost lifelong friendship of Ted Williams, Johnny Pesky, Bobby Doerr, and Dom DiMaggio. Halberstam, who has written a number of other books, was still actively working, so his death in a car accident last week, at age 73, is particularly sad.
Having been away for a week, N4N will ease back into the blogosphere by bringing attention to two pieces from last week's Phoenix.
Brian C. Jones offered a characteristically astute take on the big picture crossroads facing Rhode Island as it faces a serious budget deficit.
On a lighter note, I wrote about how Erica Sagrans, a former Phoenix and RI Future contributor, isn't the only staffer in Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office with a Rhode Island link. Brendan Daly, the brother of WPRI-TV reporter Sean Daly, is Pelosi's press secretary.
Look for a lot more blogging in the week to come.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Due to a special assignment, I won't be blogging again until later this month. Enjoy the nice weather, everybody.
Btw, look for an excellent Brian C. Jones' story in next week's Phoenix, about how the decision-making around this year's state budget poses a potential fork in the road for Rhode Island.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Mark Arsenault, a talented writer himself, breaks the news in today's ProJo of how Steve Laffey, former maximum leader of Cranston-turned-US Senate hopeful, plans to amplify his message and take various people to task in a forthcoming book. As others have surmised, this seems like a useful foundation for Laffey's next political adventure, perhaps a gubernatorial run in 2010.
A Georgia man outraged by the Providence Journal's decision to stop its longtime sponsorship of the Rhode Island Statewide Spelling Bee has created a Web site calling for a boycott of Rhode Island's statewide daily. By so doing, he hopes to cost the paper $10,000 -- about twice the amount of the annual sponsorship.
Billy Kramer, who lives in Atlanta and publishes a Web site about high school sports in Georgia, learned of the ProJo's sponsorship withdrawal when he read an April 4 story in USA Today. "You have to focus on the core business," Barbara Nauman, the Journal's senior director of promotions, told the paper. "I would have to say it's not sponsoring spelling bees."
Journal staffers were among those troubled when the ProJo pulled its sponsorship of the RI spelling bee last December, dealing what was thought to be a fatal blow to the competition. The bee was resurrected when the Valley Breeze, a weekly paper in northern Rhode Island, and some other new sponsors stepped forward.
Like Kramer, a number of ProJo staffers see fostering support for reading and goodwill toward newspapers as a no-brainer in a challenging time for the industry (and perhaps also since Belo CEO Robert Decherd, the head of the Journal's parent company, earned a reported $5.3 million in 2006). Kramer says he became even more irritated when Nauman and ProJo publisher Howard Sutton didn't return his calls.
His boycott Web site reads in part:
The secret is out and it's all Barbara Nauman's fault.
What secret you ask?
****The local newspaper monopoly is only interested in making money from the community, not supporting the community****
Kramer writes that he read Nauman's USA Today quote a dozen times, adding:
The Journal's core business isn't sponsoring spelling bees?
No kidding.
But the local newspaper does have a responsibility to support the community that subscribes, reads, and patrons their sponsors.
Apparently, writing stories about drugs, arson and murder are the "core business", but investing in the community is just a plain waste of money.
Kramer goes on to ask 100 Journal subscribers to cancel their subscriptions, noting that 45 cancellations would cost the newspaper $10,000, about twice the tab of sponsoring the spelling bee. He asks online-only readers to "call some of the advertisers and tell them you will not visit their business."
Providence Newspaper Guild President John Hill continues to believe that the ProJo's withdrawal of its sponsorship for the spelling bee is a mistake, but he says, "I don't know that a boycott is the way to go" if Kramer wants to change the situation. "I know this is going to sound corny," Hill says, "but people ought to write letters."
Kramer's Web site does not seem to have made a perceptible impact thus far, although there was a bump in traffic, he says, after he called the ProJo newsroom to tell people there about it.
Monday, April 16, 2007
News-hungry wretch that I am, N4N ventured out to the local Cumby's yesterday to secure a Providence Sunday Journal after experiencing the problems described in the previous post. It was a good thing that I did, for the ProJo ran off its second consecutive strong Sunday paper in two weeks.
For my money, the best and most enterprising piece was Karen Lee Ziner's tough story about the troubled history of "Carmelo Kercado, the federal government's inspector at the New Bedford factory that was raided last month . . . [He] has a habitual-offender driving record that includes multiple accidents, arrests and convictions for drunken driving, speeding, leaving the scene of accidents and other infractions dating back more than two decades."
Elsewhere:
-- Mike Stanton continued his front-running reporting on Operation Dollar Bill, revealing how investigators have been looking at a $100,000 commission reportedly split by state Senators Stephen Alves and Daniel DaPonte.
-- Charlie Bakst had a good column about the new professional lives of former Linc Chafee aides.
-- Art Martone's sports section continues to impress with a copious amount of Sox coverage.
Grade: A-
A familiar dichotomy plays out on very rainy days at the N4N manse: the delivery of a moist, if not sopping wet, ProJo, along with a pleasantly dry New York Times.
How does the Times do it? They put two plastic bags on the paper, rather than just one, and from two different directions, creating an effective seal. Simple.
Why doesn't the ProJo do this? I imagine I'm not alone in getting a wet paper, and it's not as if readers need more encouragement to ditch the print subscription and read the paper online instead.
Things deviated a bit from the norm yesterday: the A section of my Sunday Times was somewhat wet, but still readable, although 85 percent of the Sunday ProJo, including everything that I wanted to read (and Mrs. N4N's advertising circulars), was utterly drenched. I actually tried blow-drying the paper for about eight minutes, to no perceptible improvement. Since it was after 10 am, I couldn't get a same-day replacement, either.
Not a recipe for success, Howard.
Sox fans accustomed to watching games on NESN with Don and Jerry generally dread those occasions when Fox has the rights for a weekend game. Tim McCarver (who used to be pretty good, a long time back) and his crewmates offered more grist for the mill with their coverage of Saturday's Sox-Angels contest:
1. We all know how Manny Ramirez has for years made periodic great plays in the outfield while occasionally muffing some easy chances. As fate had it, Manny's fielding was first-rate on Saturday -- not a wholly unusual thing since he plays the Monster like a pro, often keeping potentially extra-base hits to a long single. As the Fox crew told it, however, Manny has suddenly turned over a new leaf with his fielding.
2. The Foxers acted surprised that Eric Hinske substituted at first for the hot-hitting Kevin Youkilis, apparently unaware that Youk, who seems to be a magnet for such stuff, had taken a fastball off the forearm the night before. Hinske went on to have a fine offensive day.
3. They called the area around Pesky's Pole "Pesky's Corner."
4. Yes, Coco Crisp is off to a slow start, but the Fox crew offered a misleading comparison of his time in Cleveland vs. his time in Boston. A graphic displayed on the screen showed how he has played far fewer game in Boston -- thanks to last year's injury -- but the announcers didn't mention the injury or even take note of how the sample sizes are entirely different.
5. In the 9th inning, McCarver referred to Sox shortstop Julio Lugo as "Cabrera," meaning Orlando Cabrera of the Angels. Earth to Tim: OC left the Sox more than two years ago.
As a grizzled scribe, N4N may have been too quick to look for a hidden meaning in US Senator Jack Reed's response to my question last week about whether he might join a future Democratic administration. Because of this, I have changed my original post.
Dan Barbarisi last week broke the news of how former Linc Chafee aide Deb Brayton is joining the staff of Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline, as his deputy chief of staff. Combined with the recent crossover to the mayor's staff of Ani Haroian, previously a top aide and political adviser to Attorney General Patrick Lynch, this suggests some savvy foundation-building for a gubernatorial run by Cicilline.
For his part, Cicilline told Barbarisi that these are good hires and not indicative of a push for higher office.
While other explanations are certainly possible, the installation of Brayton at City Hall could, however, help smooth the way if Chafee, her former boss, runs for mayor of Providence in 2010. And while Lynch recently downplayed the significance of Haroian's move to City Hall, the transfer is akin to the Yankees' acquistion of Johnny Damon, in how it seemingly deprives Lynch of her expertise.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Loving baseball means recognizing its flaws.
It's difficult to imagine the intestinal fortitude displayed by Jackie Robinson when he made his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947, and thereafter, while facing outright hostility and worse from fans, opposing players, and others. He was a true profile in courage, and it cost him, in terms of the stress that helped to cause his death as a relatively young man.
The Red Sox, of course, have their own shameful history involving black ballplayers.
As ESPN and various sportswriters have reported in recent days, the irony on the eve of Jackie's historic debut is how fewer and fewer black Americans are playing baseball at the professional and collegiate level.
In my recent story on Rhody baseball, I mentioned how the RI Foundation endowed, in the name of Pawtucket-born athlete-umpire Hank Soar, a fund to raise interest in baseball in the inner city. It would be interesting to know how that effort is going.
This Sunday, whether you're watching the Sox, having the first softball practice of the season, or doing something entirely different, raise a salute to Jackie Robinson.
Like any press secretary worth her salt, Alex Swartsel knows how to spread the good news. Here's a sunny report on her boss, US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, from today's Washington Post.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) was getting needled by his peers from the moment he walked into his first meeting of Judiciary Committee Democrats in early January.
"Hey, Sheldon," Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) barked at the newcomer, a member of one of his state's oldest families. "Normally, you've got to be a Jew or a Catholic to get on this committee. You're the first WASP."
"Hey, Chuck," Whitehouse shot back, looking over a room filled with four Catholics, five Jews and himself. "This is the first time in my life I've brought diversity to a group."
Three months later, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the committee chairman, invoked the story to demonstrate that the former federal prosecutor and Ocean State attorney general has, indeed, brought a new aspect to the Democratic side of the panel. "Here's a man who knows what it's like to be in the courtroom," Leahy said.
Whitehouse's experience, particularly his four years as the U.S. attorney for Rhode Island in the mid-1990s, has come to the fore as the committee has probed the Justice Department's firings of eight U.S. attorneys last year. Nine of the 10 Judiciary Democrats have at least 14 years' experience in Congress, making Whitehouse the lone Democrat to have any practical legal experience in the past 15 years.
Whitehouse said it is a personal affront to see inexperienced lawyers who were political appointees "throwing their weight around" in ousting federal prosecutors with decades of legal experience.
Speaking of Newsmakers, Cliff Montiero, president of the Providence chapter of the NAACP, joined us for the show's last segment to discuss the Imus controversy.
(For what it's worth, let's remember that there's a connection between political power and those who seek and attain elected office.)
Like Matt, Montiero, a veteran of the civil rights movement, wholeheartedly supports the decision by CBS to sever ties with Imus.
Here's a contrary view, in a guest blog item by Brian C. Jones:
We almost got the better Imus that many of us had wanted for so long – the one without the racism and sexism.
But corporate America, as usual, messed it all up.
With advertisers scrambling for the lifeboats during the bad news storm, Don Imus is gone from the airwaves, with first MSNBC and now CBS giving him the boot, well-deserved, but ill-conceived.
There was nothing moral about the corporate stampede. It was just business. Just like it was just business when these same advertisers and networks rode with Imus for so many years – knowing with certainty that part of the Imus ranch was pure barnyard.
Everybody knew that program had a despicable side.
Just as everyone knew about the other Imus – the fabulous interviewer, the music junkie, the guy who knew how to cut through the bombast, the conversationalist that allowed politicians and journalists, for once, to sound human and get more than a sound bite’s chance to talk to America.
The remarkable storm that erupted when he slurred the New Jersey women’s basketball team created a unique opportunity:
The controversy had the potential to sweep out the deliberate, programmed and cynical race- and sex- baiting that had always been part of the Imus formula.
Purged of the dark side, then the real experiment would have begun:
Would good country music, serious political discussion, unique satire and genuine humor have been enough to produce big audiences, big ratings and big success?
Or was the audience that tuned in the Good Imus just rationalizing and really a minority?
Was the audience that really counted really the bigots, the racists and the misogynists?
We’ll never know.
Because the corporations, instead of trying to reform Imus, and preserve something unique in broadcasting, simply joined the stampede.
And as usual, they left the customers without any say in the matter. The Imus program would have been different had it stayed on the air. And then car radios and kitchen televisions could have decided whether it was too little, too late.
This is the same kind of corporate herd mentality that’s messing up so much of America. These are the kind of guys that prefer mergers to product innovation, layoffs to job creation, executive pay to a living wage.
These are the kind of guys that can’t even build a good car any more. And now they’ve passed up a chance to build a better Imus.
[Note: When I wrote about this last week, I initially suggested that Senator Reed was being coy in response to my question about whether he might join a Democratic administration if the Dems retake the White House next year. The senator's spokesman called N4N to report that Reed thought he was "pretty categorical" in responding to my query. I have changed the headline on this post and modified the text regarding the question.]
Not for Nothing, but a growing number of Rhode Islanders are wondering whether US Senator Jack Reed will be asked to become defense secretary or Army secretary if the Democrats retake the White House next year.
Reed is one of Rhode Island's most popular elected officials, so the Senate seat is probably his for as long as he wants it. On the other hand, taking an administration post could enable the senator, who recently became a father, to make fewer trips to Rhode Island.
Adding to the intrigue is the question of whether Reed would take such a post, and whether the General Assembly would try to seize from the governor the authority to pick his successor.
When I asked him how he would respond to a request to become defense secretary or Army secretary, Reed's answer amounted to this: I am privileged to serve in the Senate, and I hope the voters return me to office.
On the lighter side, Reed, off-camera, used his BlackBerry to show off pictures of Emily Hart Reed, the very cute three-month-old daughter of the senator and his spouse, Julia Hart Reed.
Reed said a younger aide helped to import the pictures onto his BlackBerry (the devices were given to members of Congress for enhanced communication after 9/11).
Remarking on changing technology, the senator recalled how, when he was about three years old, one of his older relatives would have another family member set the family television to the station showing the Red Sox, because the elder relative couldn't figure out how to manipulate the stations.
US Senator Jack Reed says the US needs to establish a new framework to prevent countries such as Iran and Egypt from creating nuclear weapons, and to stop worsening destabilization in the Middle East.
Reed, who spoke during a taping this morning of WPRI-WNAC TV's Newsmakers (broadcast Sunday, at 5:30 am on Channel 12 and at 10 am on Fox 64), suggested that the US might make nuclear material available, so that Iran, for example, could pursue nuclear energy, and then take away the byproducts necessary for creating nuclear weapons. Such an effort, he said, could reduce the possibility of Iran gaining the bomb to close to zero.
The senator said the US is not doing enough to prevent a loose nuke from falling into terrorist hands, and that greater efforts should be focused in places like the former Soviet Union.
Reed believes it would be too tempting for Iran to not pursue a nuclear weapon based on its own nuclear energy program, and that the US must do everything it can to prevent it from gaining such a weapon. He says Egypt also wants to gain the bomb, and that the proliferation of these weapons will worsen instability in the Middle East.
Reed defended House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's trip to Syria, saying that it is in the interest of the US to talk with various countries in that region. The new Democratic Congress, he says, has offered "meaningful oversight" of the White House in its first 100 days. Reed also held out hope for compromise with the Bush administration on some issues.
The senator was more skeptical about the president's new approach in Iraq. He called it more of a tactical change than a strategic one, adding that it's the strategy that needs to be changed. While a precipitous pullout would not be wise, Reed said, the US military needs to get its missions right, switching to a focus of training Iraqi forces and attacking Al Qaeda. More emphasis should be placed, he said, on the tribal belt of Pakistan, where Al Qaeda's leadership is thought to be bunkered.
I'll have more on Reed's appearance a little later.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Justin and Marc at Anchor Rising have some thoughts about what Mary Ann Sorrentino and N4N said about reversing orientation in the womb.
Elsewhere:
-- Matt at RI Future has the results of MoveOn's poll of Democratic presidential candidates and their stands on Iraq.
-- Matt also has the scoop on Culture Vulture Time, Scott Duhamel's terrific new blog.
-- RIReport is giving the blogs the love, including that of the Cool Moose.
-- My friends at WPRI, Channel 12, have started a blog. The dispatches by Tim White, who has the family knack for writing in his DNA, seem especially promising.
-- The ProJo's Sox blog, which is making growing use of audio files, might be one of Fountain Street's best entries yet into the new-media world.
There's a cottage industry in former Linc Chafee staffers who are jumping into the political consulting field.
Ian Lang, who ran Chafee's 2006 Senate campaign, and Catherine Taylor, a speechwriter for Linc and John Chafee, just announced the formation of their new public affairs and political consulting firm in Providence.
This follows on the heels of former DC-based Chafee spokesman Stephen Hourahan being hired by Providence-based Duffy & Shanley as its director of public affairs.
When's Debbie Rich getting in on the action? And will all these folks work for Linc if he runs for mayor?
According to the Lang Taylor release, "The firm will focus on all aspects of political campaigns, and offer strategic development, speechwriting and other communications services to both nonprofits and businesses."
“Whether you are a political candidate or a community leader, a nonprofit or a business, getting your message and ideas heard in the media is one of the biggest challenges you face,” said Lang. “With our experience in crafting the right message, creating a plan on how to get that message out, and helping structure organizations so they can be successful we are well positioned to help our clients break through.”
This will be the fourth collaboration between Lang and Taylor; in addition to Lincoln Chafee’s 2006 reelection campaign, they worked together on the Christy Ferguson for Congress campaign in 2002, and on Senator Chafee’s Providence staff in 2001.
But the working relationship between the two families goes back almost 100 years, to the Lorraine Mill in Pawtucket, RI. Taylor’s husband’s great-grandfather, James R. MacColl, served as the CEO, while Lang’s great-grandfather, James Baldwin, headed the Cost Department. “A century ago, the cloth woven by our two families helped to sustain an era of unprecedented prosperity in Rhode Island,” said Taylor. “At Lang Taylor, we are continuing in that tradition, this time weaving together strategies for our clients to use to tell their unique and compelling stories of innovation, of reform, of political courage, of a vision for a brighter future.”
Ian Lang has extensive experience in political campaigns, federal and state government, and organizational development. Prior to cofounding Lang Taylor, Lang served as campaign manager for Senator Lincoln Chafee’s reelection effort. As Campaign Manager, Lang developed and managed an earned and paid media strategy that allowed Senator Chafee to retain an approval rating of over sixty percent on Election Day, and led the direct mail and phone get-out-the-vote effort, which set a record for Republican primary voter turnout in Rhode Island.
Lang’s experience also includes involvement in the launch of First Focus, a national bipartisan child and family advocacy organization affiliated with America’s Promise, and service as the Chief of Staff at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, where he oversaw the daily policy and management activities for the 3,000-person agency.
Catherine Taylor served the Chafees in the Senate for 20 years, both in Washington and Rhode Island, first as a legislative assistant for defense and foreign policy for Senator John Chafee. She became speechwriter during the intensive effort to enact health care reform in 1993-4, and then moved to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works in 1995 to serve as speechwriter to Chairman Chafee. She served as speechwriter and senior editor on the staff of Senator Lincoln Chafee for his entire Senate tenure.
Taylor's writing has appeared in numerous publications, including the Providence Journal, the Washington Post, The Hill and The New York Times. Taylor also has extensive experience with running nonprofit boards and committees, fundraising, and strategic planning.
Lang Taylor is currently doing work on behalf of a number of clients, including former Senator Lincoln Chafee (R-RI), and The Matthews Castor ’07 Campaign for Montgomery County PA County Commissioner.
Paul M. Farrell, who had been senior vice president of advertising for the ProJo, has taken a similar job with Iowa-based Lee Enterprises.
Farrell, a graduate of Providence College, had previously worked at the Boston Globe, among other places.
The ProJo's Charlie Bakst takes Governor Carcieri to task today for one of his statements during last week's introductory news conference of new State Police Superintendent Brendan Doherty.
Don Carcieri does himself no favors when he accuses reporters of making things up.
He knows better, and it makes him look desperate, as if he can’t stand the heat of being governor.
It also undermines the image he has projected, with much success, since he began running in 2001: the breezy, self-confident outsider who is too high-minded to indulge in the inside games and succumb to the paranoia so often characteristic of habitués of the State House, especially legislators who chafe under scrutiny.
Bakst refers to Carcieri's response when I asked the governor whether Doherty's predecessor, Steven Pare, had been asked to leave, and if so, whether the leadership change amounted to a political appointment. This is how Amanda Milkovits and Bill Malinowski described the scene last week:
Doherty has been rumored for months to be the governor’s choice, but Carcieri steadfastly refused to comment. The governor bristled yesterday when questioned about whether Pare had been asked to retire to make room for Doherty’s appointment.
“No. It’s wrong. You guys write stories and make up things. None of it’s true,” the governor said curtly. “I think this is … Brendan Doherty’s day. I think he will be a great leader for the state police, and I’m thrilled he’s willing to come back.”
Bakst continued his column with this:
I hadn’t seen Carcieri so rattled since he let Democrat Charles Fogarty get under his skin while debating last fall.
Carcieri’s accusation last week marked an escalation in a line of chatter. Perhaps you’ve noticed his complaints that The Providence Journal buries good news about job growth.
Politicians rarely are satisfied with media coverage. Former Gov. Bruce Sundlun used to obsess about it. Not many top pols understand that the media toil on behalf of the public, not for them.
The great writer will be remembered for his distinctive mix of dark humor and social commentary.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Mark Twain famously once remarked on how the coldest winter he ever spent was a summer in San Francisco. The New England corollary is how the most wintry spring day is surely (almost always) Opening Day at Fenway Park. Fans swaddled in even five or six layers were bound to feel a chill.
Yet it was a beautiful day nonetheless.
If the Sox can maintain a healthy quotient of yesterday's offense on a regular basis, they will be in good shape for the season. Barring the unforeseen, the starting pitching looks very strong -- and it will get stronger when Jon Lester returns to the fold.
Here are N4N's player predictions for this year:
Lugo .279, 13 HR, 69 RBI, 29 SBs
Youk .287, 16, 78, 41 2Bs
Papi .298, 48, 138, 36 2Bs
Manny .309, 37, 131, 37 2Bs
Drew .296, 27, 104, 39 2Bs
Lowell .269, 16, 73
Tek .256, 12, 69
Coco .301, 16, 74, 37 2Bs, 26 SBs
Pedroia .271, 8, 59
Wily Mo .288, 18, 62
Hinske .267, 11, 58
Schill 18-11, 211 Ks, 3.33
Beckett 20-10, 241, 3.21
Dice-K 17-11, 212, 3.41
Wake 15-12, 153, 3.81
Tavarez 8-6
Lester 10-6
Paps 6-4, 109 Ks, 2.41, 42 saves
Here's a guest blog item from Brian C. Jones (since Brian wrote this, Imus's show has been suspended for two weeks):
If you are a Don Imus fan -- and I am, big time -- you were probably shocked at the controversy that erupted over racial insults aimed at a women's basketball team on the national radio program. Shocked because why it was that this particular burst of degrading free speech caught someone's ear and not something else. Racial trash talk is a staple of the program -- and quite likely a deliberate attempt to "diversify" the audience beyond liberal-leaning folks like me.
But with millions of other listeners, I have been part of the problem by not previously and relentlessly objecting to the program's race segments. I am always offended and humiliated when I hear its periodic racial remarks, along with recurring gags such as the imitation that Bernard McGuirk, Imus's producer, does of New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, clearly aimed at preserving the stereotype of black men as lazy, stupid and underhanded.
The current flap featured this exchange:
Imus: “That’s some rough girls from Rutgers. Man, they’ve got tattoos…”
McGuirk: “Some hardcore hos.”
Imus: “That’s some nappy headed hos there, I’m going to tell you that.”
This caught fire in part because a black journalists' association flagged it, calling for Imus's head, and also chiding regular guests of the program, who include American journalism's elite -- NBC's Tim Russert and the New York Times' Frank Rich --demanding they boycott the program.
I think the call for a boycott is wrong. The Imus program has many great attributes: Imus's impressive grasp on politics, music, and sports, and the unique forum the program has offered for political and public affairs discourse.
Also, I've long moved past the "love it or leave it" alternatives, especially because there are too few outlets on the level of Imus. And having worked for newspapers for 40 years, I don't believe customers should cancel and give up on the papers when they read something they don't like.
Instead, we should speak out. We should never still or be quiet when these things happen. Those of us who are fans and consumers of news should write, e-mail, phone and fax. We shouldn't let Imus or anyone else get away with abominable racial talk. And the heavyweights like Russert and Rich have an obligation, when they appear on the program, to do the same.
As is always the case in a democracy, silence is the ultimate enemy.
You can't make stuff like this up. One of the country's top evangelicals, Kentucky-based Albert Mohler, has suggested that pre-natal treatment to change homosexuality in the womb would be biblically justified.
Mary Ann Sorrentino recently wrote about this topic in the Phoenix.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
N4N, who will be missing work today due to a mysterious ailment, will be visiting with about 37,000 of his closest friends.
Monday, April 09, 2007
WPRO-AM's Dan Yorke has been beating the drum this afternoon for additional prison construction as a way of responding to the all-time high population at the ACI.
One of his callers upped the ante, suggesting that the state take Central Falls by eminent domain, build a wall around it, "and then we'd have an Escape from New York scenario."
"That's a little tough," responded Yorke, who nonetheless went on to say that there are good citizens in Central Falls -- 12 to 15 at least. He then slapped himself with one of his own bad conduct penalties for what seemed like an unfortunate attempt at humor, and asserted that he was not engaging in a right-wing polemic.
Nonetheless, with repeated references to "the poverty pimps", aka advocates for social programs, and other elements of his conversation, Yorke seems to be bringing more heat than light to this subject. Perhaps it's the contrarian in him. But it doesn't help when callers perpetuate myths about the coddling of prisoners or, like the one referenced above, engage in what seems like thinly veiled racism.
Yorke describes the prison issue as one of keeping the public safe and cutting spending on what he calls dubious social programs. The bigger question, IMHO, is whether the state can save money through a more effective criminal justice policy. Lots of other states have done so.
As noted in my recent profile of Mark Ryan, occasions when the Sunday ProJo offers a meaty news meal have become fewer and farther between. The paper turned in a strong performance yesterday, though, so props to the ProJo.
-- Jennifer Jordan offered an in-depth look at Karen Langellier, a third-grade teacher in Central Falls.
-- Tom Mooney continued his excellent reporting on the intersection between criminal justice policy and the state budget.
-- Ben Gedan offered new details on what we already know: it's getting costlier and costlier to park in Providence.
Having these three strong local stories on the front of the main news section, along with reports from other papers on the first 100 days of the Democrat-controlled Senate and on Iraq's legacy in contending with monuments to Saddam Hussein, did the ProJo proud.
Charlie Bakst also had a strong column on the Procaccianti Group's bid to buy Newport Grand. He covered a lot of ground: noting how the deal still faces state approval, looking at the past and potential future of the site, and even acknowledging his own placement of a few jai alai bets in the past.
The editorial page, meanwhile, weighed in with a lead editorial on the same development that seemed pretty much on the mark:
We believe that the project, if it comes to full fruition, would make Newport more attractive and prosperous, and draw many more people to our region, from near and far — and for far more than gambling, which is due to expand at Newport Grand in any case.
Friday, April 06, 2007
Is there poetry in how the final season of The Sopranos -- a show once panned by Buddy Cianci, because it supposedly reinforces stereotypical depictions of Italian-Americans -- will just precede the former Providence mayor's release from the federal slammer? The last batch of installments begins this Sunday.
Any way you slice it, The Sopranos, along with The Wire, another HBO production, is great art, far and away one of the best things on television.
The filmed-in-Providence Brotherhood sometimes captures the gritty texture of the city (and congrats to the show for winning a Peabody Award), yet the story-telling, IMHO, feels forced. The lack of appropriate realism also hurts a story about cops and crooks. In the real word, after all, federal prosecutors don't pack up and head back to Washington when they can't make a case in Rhode Island.
Attorney General Patrick Lynch today became the latest of the possible Democratic gubernatorial candidates for 2010 to demur when asked about his political plans for the future.
Appearing on WPRI-WNAC's Newsmakers (broadcast Sunday at 5:30 AM on Channel 12, and at 10 AM on Fox 64), Lynch treated as a trifle the move of Ani Haroian, his political guru and formerly one of his top aides, to the employ of possible gubernatorial rival Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline. Joking about being very aware that he will be termed out in 2010, Lynch -- like Ciciline and Frank Caprio before him -- says he is nonetheless unsure of his plans for the next general election season.
Cicilline's success in attracting Haroian, as well as his ongoing fundraising, strengthen indications that he is positioning himself for a gubernatorial run. For his part, Lynch described Haroian as being "like family" and scoffed at the suggestion that her departure might influence his political decision-making.
(RI Future, meanwhile, has the details of how former Cranston Mayor Steve Laffey continues to emerge from his self-imposed hibernation.)
In other issues, the AG expressed chagrin at not being asked to participate in the Carcieri administration's efforts to cut costs by diminishing the number of inmates at the ACI. The unfortunate -- and more important -- fact is that Rhode Island is lagging behind other states in seeking solutions on this front.
Asked by panelist Tim White what names he suggested to Carcieri as a possible successor for former state police Superintendent Steven Pare, Lynch offered only one: Major Steven O'Donnell, who has served as the interim leader of the department.
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Back on January 26, N4N reported on how former Major Brendan Doherty was expected to get the nod to succeed Steven Pare as the superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police. Today, it became official. (Channel 10 also predicted this outcome back in January.)
Like Pare, Doherty is a strapping law enforcement veteran who looks like he could have stepped out of the 1950s. Like his predecessor, he has impressive credentials in his field. And like Pare, he can be expected to do a strong job in leading the venerable agency.
Doherty's appointment, however, has been an open secret in media, government, and law enforcement circles for months. Pare, because of his rectitude, is highly unlikely to ever confirm this, but the widespread view is that he was asked to leave, so that Doherty, as Governor Carcieri's choice, could come in.
The RISP are held in high esteem by Rhode Islanders, and for good reason. They, along with the ProJo, have long played an important role in policing illegal and unethical behavior, whether by mobsters, judges, pols, or others. In this who-you-know state, the integrity of the state police has rested on their independence.
Doherty, 48, has the right stuff to do a fine job, and he's very well-liked. Still, although the assembled media was treating this as a routine transition story, even some of those highly placed in law enforcement recognize how it's anything but that.
Carcieri stuck to his story at today's newser, saying that he "talked to a lot of people [as candidates]." When I asked about the view that Pare was asked to leave, and that because of that, this is a political appointment, Carcieri said, "It's wrong . . . [reporters] make up things . . . He [Doherty] will be a great leader for the state police."
Later, Doherty -- whose appointment was attended by an ethusiastic crowd of state general officers and state troopers -- said he didn't want "to give any dignity" to the view that his selection was pre-ordained. It's a question for the governor, he said, and one that Doherty says he considers without merit. If so, "I would have been standing here in January."
And so it goes.
Governor Carcieri's office says Colonel Steven Pare's successor at the Rhode Island State Police will be named this afternoon at 2. I will take a big bite from my fedora if it's not Brendan Doherty.
With the new baseball season upon us, I've got an homage in this week's Providence Phoenix to some of the more obscure and interesting connections between Rhode Island and the grand old game:
This connection runs deep in Rhode Island, a historic base of support for the Red Sox (Narragansett Beer was a proud sponsor back in the day), and the longtime home of the team’s top minor league club. Any self-respecting local knows, of course, how the longest game in baseball history, a 33-inning epic spread over two days in 1981, took place in Pawtucket.
Like anthropologists, the more zealous baseball fans among us can recite how the surge of ethnic pride fired more than a half-century ago by Joe DiMaggio underlies Italian-American support for the Yankees in Rhode Island. How NESN color commentator Jerry Remy, even if he decamped for plusher digs, hails from nearby Somerset, Massachusetts. They might even know how state Treasurer Frank Caprio, while playing for Harvard, once squared off against Roger Clemens during a spring training exhibition game in Winter Haven. (C’mon, Frank, put in a word for a mid-season return by the Rocket.)
Rhode Island’s link with baseball is longer and richer, however, than even many enthusiasts might imagine. Think you got the bat-speed? Then read along in celebration of the new season.
1ST INNING: THE RI ROOTS OF THE GAME
The Red Sox occupy the central consciousness, of course, of most local fans — not a surprise considering the storied franchise’s up-and-down-and-up history, and how Fenway Park, the oldest park in Major League Baseball (MLB), will celebrate its 100th birthday in a mere five years.
Yet 100 years before Bucky-Fucking-Dent dealt a crushing blow to the New England psyche, the Providence Grays burst on the local scene in 1878, playing at the bygone Messer Street Grounds, in what is now the Armory District.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Yeesh, Providence City Hall wasn't kidding when it said it was going to make a full-court press on parking enforcement in the capital city. After trying to find a downtown parking spot for about 10 minutes today, to grab a bite at the | |