In The Rhode Island Catholic newspaper: an extraordinary effort by the church and the state's leading anti-gay marriage group, the National Organization for Marriage - Rhode Island, to distance themselves from the Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church, which plans to demonstrate in Rhode Island this weekend.

The group has spewed hatred against gays, Jews and Catholics.

In the latest demonstration of the through-the-looking-glass nature of Rhode Island politics, the state's Democratic-dominated House of Representatives has passed legislation requiring voters to present photo identification before casting a ballot.

This is a bill that no Democrat in his right mind would support in the Other 49.

Governor Donald L. Carcieri, expected in some corners to name Supreme Court Justice Maureen McKenna Goldberg the next chief justice, has instead named Justice Paul A. Suttell to the post. This just in from the governor's office:

Governor Donald L. Carcieri today announced that he has nominated Supreme Court Justice Paul A.

The biggest news to come out of the Brown University poll released yesterday was, of course, the solid support for gay marriage in Rhode Island: 60 percent in favor to just 31 percent opposed.

But there were some interesting numbers, too, on the prospective gubernatorial candidates. Treasurer Frank T. Caprio, expected to run in the Democratic primary, watched his approval numbers jump from 34 percent who felt he was doing a "good" or "excellent" job in February 2009 to 41 percent in the May poll.

For those with an unhealthy obsession with the Kennedy clan, this interesting little tidbit: US Representative Patrick Kennedy's cousin Chris Kennedy, a Chicago businessman, is weighing a run for the Senate seat held by Ronald Burris.

Burris, as you may recall, was appointed to fill Barack Obama's Senate seat by former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, who was pushed out of office amid accusations that he tried to sell the seat.

Could former US Representative Robert Weygand be planning an independent run for governor?

Weygand, a vice president for administration at the University of Rhode Island, said in a brief interview today that he will probably announce a decision on whether to join the governor's race in a few weeks time. And it has been assumed, until now, that Weygand would run in the Democratic primary - if at all.

A new poll from Brown University's Taubman Center for Public Policy shows strong support for same-sex marriage in Rhode Island, with 60 percent of respondents backing gay nuptials and 31 percent opposed. An even larger majority, 75 percent, would back a civil unions bill.

The results come after a burst of activity on the gay marriage front.

Phil Marcelo, Providence City Hall reporter for the ProJo and all around good guy, sends this call for volunteers at the Asian American Journalists Association's convention:

Be part of the action! The Asian American Journalists Association is holding its 2009 convention in August at the Seaport Hotel in Boston. The association is looking for volunteers who can pitch in to make the event a success.

U.S. Rep. James R. Langevin, D-RI, is the co-author of a scary op-ed in the Washington Times today on our susceptability to a cyber-attack and our need for "cyberresilience," an almost-impossible-to-imagine level of public-private cooperation to protect the country against a digital demolition.

The reasons for doing so are manifest.

State Rep. Rod Driver, generous soul, says he will donate $100 to charity for every second that W., Dick Cheney and Condi Rice agree to undergo waterboarding.

From the Westerly Sun:

In correspondence sent by certified mail, the Richmond resident asked three former officials — President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice — to undergo waterboarding for charity.

Signs of a real divide in the Lynch family.

Just hours after Attorney General Patrick Lynch all-but-declared for governor and strongly suggested that his brother William J. Lynch would not attempt to follow him into the AG's chair, William Lynch's spokesman is pushing back.

"He has not floated his name lightly in any way," said the spokesman, Bill Fischer, referring to William Lynch's recent announcement that he was weighing a run for AG.

Democratic party chairman William J. Lynch says he is still weighing whether to run for Attorney General after his brother, Patrick C. Lynch, suggested he was unlikely to take the plunge.

Patrick C. Lynch, the current attorney general, is all but certain to run for governor next year - telling Newsmakers host Tim White in a taping this morning that "I have every intent to have my name on the ballot for Governor in the next election" - and there has been speculation that two Lynches on one ballot could be bad for his chances.

Governor Carcieri, who has had a tough go of it with the ProJo, has long used talk radio to get an unfiltered message to the public. Now, he's going all Obama on us: posting a video message on his tax priorities in a bid to communicate directly with the voters.

The guv explains, in a statement:

More and more individuals get their news from the web, where it is unfiltered and unedited.

There is a lot of chatter about business going green. A lot of bloviating, to put it bluntly.

But if you'd like to see the real thing, hop on your locally built, 100% recycled, organic bicycle and make your way to the Rhode Island Convention Center in downtown Providence to hear Ray Anderson, chairman of Interface Carpets talk about his eco-journey.

Senator Jack Reed, a close ally of President Barack Obama, gave it a shot - urging patience as the president prepared to offer new detail on his plans to close the Guantanamo Bay Prison that has proved such a PR disaster for the United States.

But with Republicans stoking fears of terrorists transferred to American prisons, the Democratic caucus caved