Ted:
Arthur is speaking to issues local to Rhode Island, as other Editors have previously pointed out.
Thanks for reading.

I think he's obsessed with RI. It's sad really.

He's still not a local voice. He's a voice from the other side of the country posting in the local voice section. Sorry, I just don't agree with letting this fall under local voices.

Arthur:
I understand that he is speaking to issues local to RI. No argument there. I just disagree that he is in any way, shape or form... a local voice.

I agree, but the Patch is all about arguing, and they don't care who starts it.

Unfortunately, I think it's become all about how many page views they get, and they've stopped caring how they get them. Your real local voices are telling your editors that this is a joke. Maybe you'll start to listen.

Arthur Christopher Schaper is called a "Local Voice" by the Patchmeisters, but he is neither local in terms of geography nor cultural concinnity. Unfortunately for all of us here in Rhode Island, Arthur Christopher seems to have decided that the role of meddlesome outsider suits his little self to a tee.

If Arthur Christopher were here in Rhode Island helping us dig out, he'd be welcome to stay. Instead, it's as though all of us are out there shoveling our walks and trying to do our work and make the best of it, while Little Lord Schaper stands on his opposite sidewalk telling us that we're doing the job all wrong ("You missed a spot! You missed a spot!") and offering suggestions for how he could do the job better ("Just hire someone like my mom does! It's MUCH easier! Don't you guys get it?").

Arthur Christopher: Please feel free to scurry back into your little warm room in Torrance, crawl under your famous-baseball-player covers, and leave us alone. One set of annoying gale-force winds per week is enough.


P.S. Please make our collective day here in Rhode Island and confirm that you are somehow related to the Schaper family that was responsible for making Cooties:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_H._Schaper

Please Cootie Man...please please please let us know. We're all tired and sore from doing real work and we could use the laugh.

Maria@; What can you say? That was a good one lol.

Yes, indeed!

It's "this guy" again.

I want to see a two-party tussle in many states, including my own in CA!

I want to spread the word on free markets, free people, and free discourse.

The history of Rhode Island, from Roger Williams to the present day, has intrigued me greatly.

I was impressed that at least one state was taking on massive pension reform, and perhaps CA could learn something.

No, I am not a local voice, but I do appreciate the forum.

Thanks again!

Maria Cabral wrote:

"Arthur Christopher: Please feel free to scurry back into your little warm room in Torrance, crawl under your famous-baseball-player covers, and leave us alone. One set of annoying gale-force winds per week is enough."

You are funny, Maria!

Renee Cweik:

"I think he's obsessed with RI. It's sad really."

Your assessment is sad. Do you need a cup of hot cocoa?

HA HA!

Have a sense of humor!

Rhode Islander's drink D & D. Not cocoa.

I have a sense of humor. I thought Maria's post was very funny!

A lot of these ideas make sense . The problems that plague this State go deep, and are caused by the electors as well . True change will come when the State is in Federal Bankruptcy Court . The USS. RI. is going down . Many have jumped ship already taking their wealth and experience with them . The Job creators see the writing on the wall . Just moving to Mass. save the average business 18% right away . " Help wanted" , not in RI.

I only care because the Patch puts him under the banner "Local Voices". Change that to "National Blogger" and I don't have a problem with it.

The next generation of voters are here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2257715/Study-shows-college-students-think-theyre-special--read-write-barely-study.html They're special alright.

Many of them can't be bothered with voting either. http://blogs.wpri.com/2012/11/06/electorate/

Thanks, Steve!

I appreciate your feedback!

On another note, he is correct on the State of the State. Being an embarrment because of our General Assemblies DEM rule has been a noose around our neck for a lifetime for some people. Just saying.

Also it is kinda ironic to live in a State where there is only one party to blame for every single problem the State creates if you have conservative leanings lol.

Joseph:

Thanks again for your warm welcome!

-- We invite anyone to start their own blog on local issues.

I volunteer to write a weekly humor blog, but ONLY on the condition that you put "California Voices" above my picture.

For my first column, I'll write about:

1. Rigged voting machines in California.

2. Rigged primaries in the State of California.

3. Gerrymandering in local California election districts.

People normally roll in the aisles about that stuff, particularly when, as an outsider/non-voter/non-taxpayer I deliver my material while putting my little fist on one hip and waggling my other index finger at them while I point out all the mistakes they're making. The blinking "California Voices" sign over my head while I do this will be a comedic coup de grâce.

In case people don't quite cotton to my approach to humor, I'll line up two California Patch editors to tell everyone that while I'm not a "truly hyper-local voice", I am in fact "speaking to issues local to California" and that I might "have an interest or opinion on things going on" in California.

The cosmic joke, of course, is that I don't know stink about California.

I tell ya, it'll be hilarious.
....
...
..
.
Oh. Wait. Maybe this kind of comedy has already been done. Somewhere. Close to here. Right around here. I.e., All hyper-local-like. Oh, wait. Crud.
.
..
...
....
Thank you. Thank you. You're very kind. Thank you. I'm here all week. Please remember to tip your waitress.

See...Maria is funny! I do have a sense of humor!

Seriously...deleting my brown nosing post yet a second time is just ridiculous. Does it offend in some way?

Renee:
We ask that comments relate to the topic at hand.
Thanks!

oh please...Half the Patch comments would need to be deleted if that was the case.

I can't speak to other comments, but you asked why a previous comment of yours was removed. That's why.
Thanks again for reading and adding your thoughts.

There are several on this page alone.

Maria Cabral wrote:

"For my first column, I'll write about:

1. Rigged voting machines in California.

Answer -- the word is still out on that -- one colleague of mine suggested that college students investigate this possible phenomenon

"2. Rigged primaries in the State of California."

We have OPEN primaries because of a voter initiative. RI has the same thing, or what?

"3. Gerrymandering in local California election districts."

NOT ANYMORE -- A Citizens Commission just drew all the state and federal districts. Some notorious incumbents were just pushed out of office.

RI should enact the same reforms.

This poster, and others like him are the antithesis of what makes the Patch great.

It's not as if there aren't plenty of outlets for paid conservative bloggers, elsewhere.

I live on Hope Street in Lotsirb, Bulgaria. I am a LOCAL VOICE, so please do make joy-covered pardons for my lapses in your language.

I am here spreading some big ideas without small boundaries to embiggen all the local Rhode Island minds. I am like a hyper-local comment person too also.

But before I am continuing on this mule-journey, I need to address some shrieks made above by that other famous local voice, Arthur Chistopher Schaper.

Arthur Christopher wrote:

-- Answer -- the word is still out on that -- one colleague of mine suggested that
-- college students investigate this possible phenomenon

...and...

-- We have OPEN primaries because of a voter initiative. RI has the same thing, or
-- what?

...and...

-- NOT ANYMORE -- A Citizens Commission just drew all the state and federal
-- districts. Some notorious incumbents were just pushed out of office.

Arthur Christopher, did you really think I was seriousing around when I said I was going to write an article manifesto on those 3 topics you shrieked yourself about? And if you did mind me seriously, didn't you see where I said this would be first article in "weekly humor blog"? But you solemnly and seriously made some screaming and responding to it anyway?

Ooofah.*

As we say in Lotsirb, please try to stay with the program, bucko.

---------

* "Ooofah", translated from the Bulgarian, means approximately, "Jeez howdy-do. Is this 'local voice' boy tone deaf, or what?"

Maria..thank you for the warm remarks
http://www.historyasfrontpagenews.com/uploads/1/1/2/2/11224661/9039144_orig.jpg?268

-- Maria..thank you for the warm remarks
--http://www.historyasfrontpagenews.com/uploads/1/1/2/2/11224661/9039144_orig.jpg?268

It's cool that you grew your hair longer for that photo. Looks good!

It's not as if this same poster hasn't generated similar opprobrium in other Patches,
over the same objections. It's carpetblogging, and it's the equivalent of SPAM.

Just look at the response cycle - it's not something the majority asked for, is it?

Chariho and SK is a lot different from California and RI. Please, do not assume all your readers are stupid or at the very least don't know their geography.

Sure go ahead, there are so many twits in CA they won't notice one more....

Bimbels:

That is the soundest statement on your part.

Thanks for sharing.

Problem is that ignoring him presumes that being ignored will cause him to go away. Unfortunately, such a theory credits him with more intelligence than he's shown so far...

Was it the "Hello Kitty" ones?

Give'm back Jack...I was judging a taffy pulling contest in Bucks County, PA tomorrow!

Turns out they are "Marvin The Martian" Cuff Links so they are mine. Sorry senior moment lol

Can let you borrow my "Beanie and Cecil" ones lol

Oh bring some taffy back, if you put olive oil on it it won't keep pulling your dentures out I am told lol.

Nah,,,, I've yet to see any legitimate comparison between the parties. One is trying to eradicate the social safety nets that people have paid for their entire lifetime - and, institute a big government state agenda, that intrudes on what a person does with their own body - while the other party is actually trying to address the very real problems facing the country (you know, what the voters actually elected them to do)...

Jay Browne:

"One is trying to eradicate the social safety nets that people have paid for their entire lifetime."

If you are speaking of the Democratic Party leaders, then you are right. To do nothing about entitlements will mean that there will be nothing left for future recipients.

"institute a big government state agenda, that intrudes on what a person does with their own body
"

The Dems' healthcare mandate, Obama-WaxmanCare, tells you that you must purchase health insurance, that religious institutions must disregard their convictions and offer certain provisions with their health care plans. That's quite intrusive, in my opinion.

"while the other party is actually trying to address the very real problems facing the country (you know, what the voters actually elected them to do)..."

That party is not the Democratic Party: High unemployment (double for minorities) - higher taxes, a growing welfare-warfare state -- President Obama has done nothing to reduce the debts, the annual deficits, and the dysfunctional entitlement programs, the real source of fiscal crises in this country.

yet she does not carry the right wing baggage of idiotic social and cultural issues that make them the political dinosaurs that they are......win win

Oh, that's what it all about, eh? "Taxes!" Class warfare? Rich vs poor? Another apparent Sore Loser man... or, are you still ticked that the Chafees (father & son) bucked their "idiot" party, and, refused to be "idiots"...

Raimondo will never receive the Democratic Party's nomination because she will lose in the primary.

Oh. Now we get it. Please stay, ACS, we could use some outside influences. The unions are way too influential here. (Naome likes that and wants it to stay that way.) The political corruption has run amok and the government is broken and way too expensive, but those of the "Naome" ilk don't want the rest of the state to know that anything's wrong here.

The Governor declared a "State of Emergency". But when a reporter asked him what that meant he had to turn and ask his staff. They dressed him up, gave him a few phrases ("it was a Big Storm") to memorize, and then trotted him out for the "Big Winter Storm", but he had not really gained any substantive knowledge about how to run a state and they forgot to tell him what "state of emergency" meant. Dang. Well, trial and error....next time they'll know.

Yeah. RI could use some outside influences. Please.

Very True Manifold very true.

Manifold Witness:

You are the "Man"!

Can I get a witness!

This is what it's all about.

Unions are way too influential! They had their time, now they are past their prime, and they are primed to bankrupt Rhode Island -- and California.

But I say "No!' to that.

Thanks again for your support.

-- Note that many of the small try to limit free speech

No one is trying to limit free speech. We are only trying to get the speech that is presented here on Patch properly labeled so that we might have an accurate context in which to form our conclusions. A voice from California is not "local" to Rhode Island by any stretch of the imagination. To label it otherwise is misleading at best.

If you do not understand this, please say so and I will try to do a better job of explaining myself.

If you do understand it, but do not agree, please stop calling everyone who does "small minded".

Maria:

I would offer you a cup of hot cocoa, but I am not yet in the area. I hope I can visit Rhode Island soon. Meet with Travis Rowley and the RI GOP -- they so not have to be small force stopping big corruption.

At "Petco", in the canned dog food aisle, they also have beef stew and filet mignon. lol

I bet the filet mignon is yummy.

What??? Hey I like cheeseburgers..I thought you said Jack gave you the creeps.

Huskies love the Fillet, then again I have never seen them not love anything lol.

Leave@ I heard creepy is the new cool lol

Not off topic technicly Renne, just talking about the trials and tribulation in RI versus CA. lol

Arthur please note that Renee is talking about tolls and not trolls.

JAT....you made me smile. =)

Howevet JAT, it could be said that the trolls in the STate House are trolling for tolls.
;-}

Renee:

I have read that they charge people to go to the beach in Rhode Island -- What?!

Even in California, we can go to the beach for free!

The only "trolls" are the modern liberal elites who bleed businesses and individuals dry with high taxes and excessive regulation.

It's time for the GOP to get their "Billy Goats Gruff" tough on, and push the trolls off the bridge.

Not all beaches charge, and most beaches allow residents of that particular town in for free.

But no...I wasn't referring to the beaches. Thanks for answering though.

-- I have been following Waxman around, keeping him on his toes."
.....you missed one

http://my.greasy.com/host/images/42394556.jpg

Leave...you need to get out more

Seriously, why are we tolerating someone so intolerant?

Click on Arthur's name and see all the postings he chooses to submit.
This is attempt to throw stones, not to build houses.

The good people of Michigan have the same gut response I do to carpetblogging.

In Michigan (the Mt. Pleasant Patch) the following response was generated, and pretty well states my sentiments...

Robert Kelly

4:14 pm on Wednesday, February 13, 2013

OK, your writing is not an atrocity, but it is atrocious. With an entire column devoted to your view of reality, flaws have been pointed out by a number of people, so you continually try to restate your opinion. A writer worthy of a mass media outlet should not need never-ending rephrasing to try to persuade the audience. Go back to journalism school and learn the value of expressing your ideas clearly, concisely, and with impact. You are not hitting it yet.

This guy is attempting to earn his Bona Fides on our time, without spending a dime.
It's a misuse of the resource and does not fit the local model, in any way.

You know as much to the "right" I "post" to be..he is the embarrassing part..much like our own Steven Brown is to the "left"..ACS is just "wrong"...this thread may have to resort to the Patch-win theory.

P.S.
sorry Ed's but the only thing missing from this guy is the red rubber nose and big shoes

katherine
9:26 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012
I am not disappointed. I don't care what happens in Rhode Island. You keep electing the same people. How is it going over there?

katherine
10:06 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012
You are just mad because I was smart enough to get the heck out of there. In a deep red state with a very low unemployment rate. Paradise:)

katherine
12:13 am on Wednesday, November 7, 2012
I'm not wasting anyone's time. I only comment on national things. I do still live in this country and I have a right to voice my opinion.

You voted with your feet, katherine. You're no more relevant here than the OP.

Don't let your blessing hit you on your way out, then.

Buh-bye.

"You voted with your feet, katherine. You're no more relevant here than the OP."
... What's wrong with that?..well it is difficult
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_zH35WO_toVg/S87OR9ahbpI/AAAAAAAAAUc/3DoMR5V9Plw/s1600/voting+with+your+feet.jpg

Please, Katherine, tell us the state in which you now live. It would be fun to compare and contrast.

A state where these are the statistics. Debt to GDP: 0.7%. Rhode Island. 4.2%.
Unfunded pension liability: 0.3%. Rhode Island 8.8%
Debt + pension liability 1.0%. Rhode Island. 8.8%
A 4% unemployment rate. What's yours?

Ouch..where did you get those #'s katherine. I found the Dept of Labor site. How did the debt to GDP breakdown?

Surprised you gave away your State finally there Kat ;-}.

It is a great State though.

Thanks for not ratting me out Jack. If they are that interested they can look it up.

Part of my Ancestral Home is North of you. I will put a great quote up when it gets figured out lol.

Got it..my daughter and son and law lived there for 3 yrs for a pharmaceutical company. She's moved to MA with the same company in a lab. She's a micro biologist.

Leave ri...it's a great place, but don't tell anyone:)

There's a famous actress on a series who is from one of the eastern prominent cities.

So, Katherine, South Dakota, eh?

Spend a week in South Dakota! On Monday, see Mount Rushmore! On Tuesday, see Mount Rushmore again! On Wednesday, visit the gift shop at Mount Rushmore! And on Thursday, relive your first experience, at Mount Rushmore!

Since you've lived there, Katherine, have you learned that cow pies are not made of beef? As a newly minted and TRUE and content South Dakotan, do you pick up all the free stuff at the State Fair? Do you go on down to the river and tell the other South Dakotans that it's almost like going to the ocean?

And, is the reason that you continue to hang around this neck of the woods, trolling on the Rhode Island Patches, because there's ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ELSE TO DO IN SOUTH DAKOTA?

We wuz jus' wonderin', sugar.

<giggle>

Nothing but class in your comments, Maria. Thanks for proving my earlier point about "small-minded" people.

ok thanks

Sorry Authur; Well it may sound like a good thing, it is never going to happen ;-}.

Should have added why.

2012 election Results

Senate 32 DEM 5 GOP 1 IND

House

69 DEM 6 GOP

Tired of NK antics:

Those are some mighty impressive statistics and they sure do tell 100% of the story. In fact, those statistics are so impressive, I have to wonder why you haven't joined Katherine in relocating to SD.

Since your statistical recitation indicates there is no possible reason someone might want to stay in RI, I'll make a request for when you do move: Please try to handle it a little better than dear Katherine and resist the urge to disparage the state you've left behind. That would be rude and annoying.

Good luck to both of you.

@MC, then please fill us all in on the statistics that place Rhode Island above SD or any other state for that matter. Maybe it is the roads, tax structure, real estate value, high tech jobs, infrastructure, business climate, water quality, air quality, a true two-party government, the governor ....the beaches....its the beaches....oh and who can forget the Newport mansions and the innate welcoming manner of native Rhode Islanders.

Maria...I am not disparaging Rhode Island. Just the politicians who run the place. Rhode Island is a beautiful state that is being run into the ground by a few people. I decided that the situation would never change so I did what I thought was right for me. I decided not to do the same thing over and over and expect different results. To me, that is a completely rational thing to do. I don't want to go down with the ship.

"@MC, then please fill us all in on the statistics that place Rhode Island above SD or any other state for that matter." This is a false equivalence.

Rhode Island covers a land mass of 1045 square miles, and is among the most densely populated states. South Dakota covers 75,885 sq. miles and is among the most sparsely populated states.

Rhode Island was here at the formation of the Republic.
South Dakota came along considerably later.

Rhode Island deals with a strained infrastructure that is not only among the oldest in the union, it is among the most heavily traveled as the I-95 corridor runs through
the capitol. Rush hour in South Dakota's busiest metroplex looks like this...

http://heckeranddecker.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/abandoned-parking-lot-01-cmp.jpg

The comparison is only accurate in that they're both American states.
Beyond that, it's a steaming pile of male bovine excreta.

@NL indices, statistics, medians and means are designed to permit comparisons between states and countries. You should know, you have used them before when it suited your purpose.

"@NL indices, statistics, medians and means are designed to permit comparisons between states and countries." I call shenanigans.

Rhode Island is roughly the size of Faulk county, SD population 2365.
"People per square mile; RI 1018 SD 10.7."

You don't think that having a population density 95 times that of SD invalidates
the comparison? It's pretty clear that you're not serious in considering data.

These two states couldn't be more different and still be in the same country.

I still hold to the notion that the ONLY reason this clown gets any consideration
is the common viewpoint he holds with cranks. It's barely worthy of ridicule.

Note the 2005-2009 compilation data of State's GDP. Look who is #44 and #46?
Surprised to see who's more productive? The difference today - OIL.

It's not as if South Dakota, or any other energy producer just became more efficient in their state government - they cut services, gutted schools and got more revenue from selling off a finite resource.

They weren't better at State craft - the price of oil rose.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_GDP

Source material for the wikipedia article:

http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/regional/gdp_state/gsp_newsrelease.htm

So it is SD's fault they were blessed with a natural resource and have decided to take advantage of it...but NL you forget that RI has wonderful beaches, so its a "push"

So it is SD's fault they were blessed with a natural resource and have decided to take advantage of it...but NL you forget that RI has wonderful beaches, so its a "push" - TNKA

I don't think that anyone in South Dakota's highest offices are crowing about
leaving the bottom of the BEA listings. They're busy, taking care of their own.

Point is, holding up an example like this as a comparison between a successful and a failed public policy leaves out most of the important details. As is so often the case when macroeconomics is discussed by us mere mortals...

"For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong."
H. L. Mencken

Only a simpleton would claim that the current good fortune of a state that is among the least populated can offer workable solutions to one that is among the most
densely populated. But that's katherine, someone who CHOSE to leave.

And just how many Oglala or Lakota in Rhode Island, Jack?

The comparisons between a state that is 85% white, and mostly open space to Rhode Island and the challenges faced by a dense, diverse population are ridiculous. The fact that the poster in question is 1700 miles away and still disparaging Rhode Island illustrates the problem - they're not from around here.

FYI - Even this sparsely populated, well managed state has a higher poverty rate than Rhode Island - but so what, that's just the Indians - they're not real Americans anyway, right kate?

http://www.southdakota-demographics.com/
http://www.rhodeisland-demographics.com/

Way to miss the whole point of the post about a great place that produced a great man and ignore totally what he said about unitty. Geesh

NL You do know the State has nothing to do with the Indians in SD, like all of them in every State it is the Federal Government buruea of Indian Affairs.

"You do know the State has nothing to do with the Indians in SD..."

For someone that claims to know something about first Nations, your grasp of reality is pretty limp. Just ask your pal Katy how she treats the Indians... g'head.

The monument is coming along. Crazy horses face is nearly done, but the horse is barely started.

Can't wait for it to be completed Kat.

Naome, Where have you been? I hope you got the flowers. That is an interesting article about the population decrease. It's important to note that the 1300 number is NET population loss. Those who can leave are doing so and there is an influx Latinos according to the article. The article does offer evidence of a mass exodus. The Latino population is up 43.9% since 2000 and yet we still lost people. So a certain segment of our population is leaving.

It's a two part problem, we do need a good education system but we also need to retain the people we have educated because they pay for the next generation to get an education and that is a problem for RI.

"It's a two part problem, we do need a good education system but we also need to retain the people we have educated because they pay for the next generation to get an education and that is a problem for RI."

I'm in complete agreement.

The fact is that America has a growing Spanish-speaking population.
They are the future of industry, research and providing services. Just look at the ranks of our enlisted military....
http://wpsa.research.pdx.edu/meet/2012/gonzalezalfredo.pdf

It's young people leaving Rhode Island that's the problem. When pensioners
are the fastest growing segment of the population, the work has vanished.

There's a misconception that the demographic has rapidly shifted, toward young
Latinos - when in fact it has rapidly shifted to retired white people.

That's the problem - not enough work to keep young people in state.

http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/44000.html

"There's a misconception that the demographic has rapidly shifted, toward young
Latinos - when in fact it has rapidly shifted to retired white people."
That's fer sher..Haband just sent me a complimentary pair of salmon colored pants that pull way up to a bad place and white, velcro shoes..can't wait to hit the VFW tonight!

It's sometimes just as hard to vet teachers that act like jackasses just as most public sector, union protected employees are to vet. Teachers in most districts have about a three year "trial period" or probationary period before the district owns them..then their jackass can come out...and not that the reference of the jackass was inferring a political party but I found something else that might show it was. The first video was just a taste of things in that class.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TU-4p1VZosM

They also forget that Obama was supportive of the firing of 50% of the teachers in Centralfalls to the point of publicly saying it was a good thing. Though in the end it never happened.

"It's sometimes just as hard to vet teachers that act like jackasses."

Great line - "Jackass" is the symbol for the Democratic Party. . .

Time for some GOP pachyderms to vet the GA in the Ocean State!

You can prove this, with a citation and corroboration, right?

While it may be true, it doesn't pass the smell test.
It sounds a great deal like "Truthiness".

what? The link didn't work? or not for me..

I see the whole country that way...repubs and dems are just two sides of the same elite coin.They're all millionaires or are about to become one.The only thing they agree on 100% of the time is when to give themselves a raise.

Corporate cash to get elected is another biggie.All this bickering is basically a smokescreen,all they care about are themselves and their corporate donors.Why else do you think all the investment is overseas now?

PS; After all over many decades this State has been in the National News for everything from Corruption, Criminal politicians, Ignorance in public policy and on and on, so I hardly think people outside of this State don't have an opinion on what happens here.

It would be like saying that Newtown can't be commented on by Rhode islanders because it did not happen here. Think about that? Many things that happen in other States affect nation issues, whether a tragedy, Mother Nature, etc.

California has affected more changes across the Country than any other State I believe. Some good, some bad. More bad then good for me though lol.

Least we forget how Rhode Island actually Sstarted the Revolution.

Rhode Island was the first British colony in America to formally declare its independence, doing so on May 4, 1776, a full two months before the national Declaration of Independence.[10] Previously, in 1772 Rhode Islanders attacked the British warship HMS Gaspee as one of the first overt acts of rebellion in America.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Rhode_Island

Then present the topic genuinely;

Arrogant right-wing blowhard religious freakshow comes to town.
Calling it "Local Voices" strains credulity.

I'm still waiting for the other thirty clowns to hop out of the trunk...

NL, you really make me laugh lol.

Now you want to tell the writer, how and what he can write lol.

Ever hear of :Tip O'neil" who said "All Politics are Local" when referring to the so called National Politics of the Congress in Washington?

I find it beyond credulity that you can peruse, this article and all you can come up with is argument about where "Kat Lives" and who should and should not be allowed to post on the patch. Though that is also very amusing lol.

I think Naomi Lixes needs a cup of cocoa!

"Send in the clowns!"

I would like to see more of the tax and spend clowns leaving the GA in Providence.

Arthur..Naomi sticks with the threads subject most of the time..disagree?then."Leave RI" on patch

Well Leave RI, its official, HaleBop was what crashed in Russia. No evidence of a Space ship was found lol.

At some point Artur you have to look at the reality that you cannnot change 78 years of tyranny when the masses have been so brainwashed they cannot see the value of real Government involvement by all views being on the table to be debated.

After half a century of seeing this State get run over again and again with Corruption, fraud, waste and abuse, one has to wonder whats in the water here. lol

The facts sadly are the Facts when it comes to this State, and sadly the fact are the vast majority of the people just don't care or are benefiting through collusion evidently in my opinion. This is from the local level on up in almost all the State.

Rhode Island does fairly well for having minimal resources.....sort of an overflow for Boston....yes it is corrupt....but it is no more corrupt than any major city (which it sort of resembles).....the phone booth for the gop is small and the only thing that is smaller is their collective ( sorry comrade) brainpower. Any "revolution" fomented in that phone booth will have an effective area the size of Dutch Island.

Thanks for the belly laugh Mike! "no more corrupt than any major city ", wow you need to read the history of RI over the last 78 years alone. Be sure to check out how many times were are #1 for corruption in the Country and always in the top 5.

For a State as small as this to have more evil than big States with larger populations that drawf RI, show you have no clue on this in this State. The more people in the pot the more change of Corruption. In this State we have made it a past time with less people. That something your proud of? lol

You enjoy living in a State that is ruled like "Cuba" where minority rights are almost non-existent in our State House?

You like living in a State where the politicians think minimum wage jobs are the only answer? Tourism dependency has destroyed this State! The State drove industry out, Companies with high paying jobs, destroyed the Fishing industry long ago all for the one industry that makes it very easy to skim money to the Corrupt system that exist in the State. There is a good reason we are the worst State for business in the nation all the time. It is called 78 years of one party control (DEM) period.

I'm for it lol.

kinda orange in flavor

I believe the request was for people that actually live nearby to contribute.

We don't much care what dance you do with tumbleweeds.
Go Wikik aŋ tantanka ptecila, and bring a camera.

Nope. She specifically asked me.