Protest Lifespan Closings June 11

On June 11, there will be a protest held at Rhode Island Hospital.  The action comes after it was announced that the medical conglomerate plans to close six treatment facilities for addiction.  This is occurring in conjunction with the proposed cuts to Medicaid made by Gov. Raimondo recently.  Rhode Island, rated as one of the most successful states in the implementation of the Afordable Care Act, has seen its Medicaid rolls expand significantly as a result of the healthcare reform.  The cuts in subsidies are expected to make a significant impact on the way low-income Rhode Islanders obtain medical treatment.  This also occurs simultaneously with a major Supreme Court decision regarding federal subsidies to the insurance exchanges created by the reforms.  In that case, the Plaintiffs argue that the federal government overstepped its authority by going into states that refused to implement the new law and creating federally-run exchanges.  If the Court were to rule in favor of the Plaintiffs, it could result in a major funding gap for those who lived without health coverage prior to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.

Parties interested in attending the protest can learn more at (https://www.facebook.com/events/785683471537590/).

OPINION: Race, Sexuality, and Gordon Fox

Today the Providence Journal featured a story on the front page about the sentencing phase of the Gordon Fox trial and how a barrage of letters are inundating Judge Mary M. Lisi, who will sentence the former Speaker of the House later this week.  Fox plead guilty in March to wire fraud, bribery and filing a false tax return and, as part of his plea agreement, could face three years in prison.  As part of this putsch, Joh DePetro, the despicable right wing political talk radio host on WPRO with his own bizarre trail of malfeasances, has launched a campaign to have Fox sentenced to the maximum in the name of sending a message to corrupt politicians everywhere while simultaneously plagiarizing Spider-Man with his 'great power comes great responsibility' line.  I always had a sneaking suspicion that DePetro was a comic book villain, but this is just too much.

Now there is no doubt that Fox is guilty, he admitted it.  But let's be clear on exactly what he did.  He took a few kickbacks to grease the rails for a bar on Thayer Street, paid some personal expenses, and helped rescue an abused dog with high-cost veterinary bills.  Buddy Cianci beat a man with a fireplace log and got probation.  Fox's malfeasances were crimes, yes, but let's be clear, they were essentially victimless.
The reality is that we never saw such a campaign for the maximum sentence when Buddy was being brought down for turning Providence City Hall into a criminal enterprise.  Why is this now happening with Gordon Fox?  What could perchance be the difference between Cianci and Fox?
There are two big issues, race and sexuality.  Fox, despite the fact he looks Armenian, is in reality African American, his father was Irish and his mother Cape Verdean.  He is also the first openly gay man to reach the level of Speaker of the House in not just Rhode Island but American history.  In short, Fox had the audacity to be a double minority, whereas Cianci was a Silver Lake-derived Italian with not a minuscule number of connections to Federal Hill.
What can really be said for this?  Let's begin with race.  I oftentimes try to emphasize the findings of the March 2007 paper THE EFFECTS OF SKIN TONE ON RACE-RELATED AMYGDALA ACTIVITY: AN FMRI INVESTIGATION, published by the medical journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, when in discussions about race and racism.  In that study, participants were placed in an fMRI machine and shown a series of images.  The first several were relaxing images of babies, puppies, all sorts of visual comfort food.  However, when they were shown the image of a black man, every subject, both white and black, showed the amygdala response, colloquially known as the 'fight-or-flight' response.  There is something culturally hard-wired into people to fear black men, which no doubt has some connection to the DePetro deluge.  And let's not make any mistakes, this is not an isolated incident, in February Rep. Joseph Almeida, also black, was brought to court for a campaign fund misappropriation charge.  It is open season for black politicians on Smith Street.
And then there is the other naughty behavior, Fox is gay.  Not only that, he's out of the closet and married to a hairdresser, which is about as homosexual as you can be unless you are Provincetown incarnate.  When he oversaw the passage of the gay marriage bill into law at the General Assembly, he had the audacity to exchange kisses with his now-husband on the rostrum, sending the uber-Catholic religious fanatics into a fit of hysterics and screaming 'First sodomy in the State House, next the Governor will be performing abortions in her office under the Soviet flag!'  (Oh, wait.)  Don Carcieri, the Governor who oversaw the 38 Studios debacle and was militantly anti-choice, has yet to even be indicted for the Schilling boondoggle.  Can you say 'double standard'?
Ultimately this instance is a very important teachable moment about racism and homophobia in the Ocean State.  I cannot endorse what Fox did, but at the same time, it is not exactly rocket science to see how ridiculously bigoted John DePetro looks.  Then again, you'd have to be a deaf, dumb, and blind kid to miss that one.

And So It Begins! Bill For 'Public-Private' Funding Sent to Finance Committee

Representatives Stephen M. Casey, K. Joseph Shekarchi, Michael Morin, Mia A. Ackerman, and Cale P. Keable sent a bill to the Finance Committee on May 27, 2015, H 6250, that would allow for what they call 'public-private' partnership funding of facilities and infrastructure.  While the PawSox are not mentioned in the text, the fact is that Michael G. Riley, sometimes Republican political candidate, has called the term 'public-private financing' a lot of "gobbledygook".  This move is not out of step considering the unpopularity of the proposal, with public protests that have attracted the support of the Rhode Island Green Party, Tea Party, Progressive Democrats, and Republicans alike, something that almost never happens in this state.  Larry Lucchino, remaining majority owner of the PawSox after the death of James Skeffington earlier this month, published a multi-column appeal to the masses in the Providence Journal on May 27 with timing that could not be more perfect, titled DOWNTOWN PARK WIL BE RI GEM, closing with the line "We invite you to join us on this journey. We believe your children and your grandchildren will thank you."  Some may beg to differ, including economists Robert Baade and Victor Matheson, who have aired their opinions and written papers on how these sorts of funding proposals rarely have long-term benefits for the taxpayers.

Opinion: Why You Should Oppose The PawSox Stadium

James Skeffington, PawSox Owner.

On February 23, 2015, the new ownership of the Pawtucket Red Sox, led by Boston owner Larry Lucchino and Providence political superstar James Skeffington, announced their intent to move the team from McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket to a prospective stadium in Providence, suggested to be built on a parcel of land newly developed following the re-routing of I-195.

Proposed Site of New Stadium.

There are several reasons why this is an awful idea.  I will expound in the following sections.

THE OWNERSHIP

The new owners of the PawSox are all known players in the corrupt system that is the Rhode Island government.  The most problematic persona in the circus is Mr. Skeffington.  As a lawyer at the law firm Edwards Angell Palmer and Dodge, he has been instrumental in arranging financing deals that have resulted in the tax payer getting the raw end of the stick, such as the arrangements for the Providence Place Mall and the Rhode Island Convention Center.  The Convention Center is of particular note because, in the fine print, Mr. Skeffington arranged for taxes to fund the operation until they should get out of the red.  Founded in 1994, the Rhode Island tax payer continues to subsidize this debacle.

THE ENVIRONMENT

Following the removal of the de-comissioned sections of the interstate, Providence began a project to re-design the sewer system.  In order to accommodate a new stadium, this newly-laid sewer would need to be renovated, which could cause further leaks and pollution of the waterfront.  Furthermore, construction of such magnitude would cause air, water, and noise pollution.  This in and of itself would be a disaster.

THE FINANCING

The owners have argued that they will require what they call 'public-private' financing, a scheme that local businessman Michael G. Riley has described as 'gobbledygook'.  In essence, the taxpayer foots the bill and the owners reap the profits.  The details of the actual financing are galling and seem like a nightmare from the mind of Charles Dickens.  They want $5 million per year from the taxpayer.  They want a 30-year lease, $1 per year, and the option to buy the land at fair market value at the end of the lease.  And no doubt, if the team does not do fantastic, they will include a sub-clause to move the team to greener pastures at their whim, leaving Providence with a monstrosity that has no chance of being re-purposed.  In the case of the 38 Studios debacle, the offices and computers were easily re-sold and re-purposed.  It is very difficult to do the same with a baseball stadium.

THE POLITICS

This move will bring Brown University one step closer to it's goal of re-designing the voting districts in Providence so to disenfranchise the poor and minority populations of South Providence.  Such types of gerry-mandering are commonplace on the agenda of the rich and privileged.  This will eventually result in an end to efforts to make the various colleges in the city pay property taxes, something former Brown President Ruth Simmons was dragged kicking and screaming to.  Ultimately, a new stadium will mean that the black/brown or poor in Providence get a bat over the back of the head.

THE ECONOMICS

Holy Cross economics Professor Victor Matheson and Lake Forest Professor Robert Baade collaborated on a 2011 white paper titled FINANCING PROFESSIONAL SPORTS FACILITIES, available here.  Matheson and Baade make clear that there is absolutely no financial benefit for the governments that subsidize these ventures.  Of course, Speaker Nicholas Matiello has hired Smith College economics professor Andrew Zimbalist, a yes-man who is well-respected by the leadership of the Major League Baseball organization, including former Commissioner Bud Selig, a man who did not notice a twenty-plus year scandal involving steroids until half the players in the league had ballooned to the size of small blimps.

THE PRINCIPLE

Gore Vidal once said America is “a unique society in which we have free enterprise for the poor and socialism for the rich."  This scheme is a brilliant example of such a move.  We are a state that has operated in the red for decades.  Our schools are disasters.  Our pension system is getting marauded by the Wall Street fat cats brought in by Gina Raimondo.  The police force is almost totally made up of white males while the general population is composed of African, Latino, and various other minority populations.  Of the millions of things that could be done with this amount of money, subsidizing a bail-out for Skeffington and Co. is the last thing that should be done.

Do the common sense thing.  Say NO to Skeff-O-Nomics.