Pat, sorry for the delay. We kept our promise. Enjoy!

Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you’re always afraid
You step out of line, the man come and take you away…
“For What It’s Worth” – Buffalo Springfield

On so-called “progressive blogs” –- RI Future and the notorious Daily Kos — the ubiquitous Pat (“Bad Cop”) Crowley has posted his shock and awe concerning a letter sent on behalf of Governor Carcieri to the Executive Director of NEARI, Bob (“Good Cop”) Walsh.

That letter inquired as to the extent, if any, by which Mr. Crowley’s promiscuous public pronouncements regarding support for illegal immigration reflected the position(s) of NEARI.

“Ducky” Crowley quacked that the Governor’s letter was an attempt to intimidate him, silence him, or even get him fired. If only! There must be some pretty thin skin beneath those duck feathers (not to mention the likelihood that “NEARI” is tattooed on it).

After all, this quacking is coming from a guy who mere months ago, under the auspices of NEARI, was plotting to picket a hospital. Why? Because the head of Tiverton’s School Committee happened to be employed there as a nurse. Talk about the duck — err we mean pot — calling the kettle black!

We shall assume that NEA practices what it preaches, and that Crowley has an employment contract, seniority, and tenure. In other words, short of multiple felony convictions, Crowley presumably is immune from termination by NEARI. So he’s never really been in fear of the Governor attempting to have him fired.

Most people who are a public face of an organization are intuitively aware that — to the public — the line between “official pronouncements” and (shall we say) extra-curricular public advocacy (or controversy) can blur, and the public is likely to infer that the advocacy reflects that of the organization. So, executives who are in high visibility positions tend to refrain from public advocacy of controversial issues, unless and until they have at least the tacit — if not actual — consent and approval of their employing organization. Thus, it tends to come full circle: because of this dynamic, the public naturally assumes that an executive who is very public with controversial issues likely is reflecting the position of his or her employing organization (or at least its sympathy to that executive’s issues).

You may recall the beginning sequence of the old television show “Mission Impossible” in which the taped voice instructed Agent Phelps that “should you be caught or captured IMF will disavow any knowledge of your actions.” Governor Carcieri’s letter gave NEARI the opportunity to “disavow” Crowley’s flamboyant advocacy. NEARI took advantage of the opportunity generously provided by Governor Carcieri to distance itself from its operative “Ducky” Crowley!

Bob Walsh’s response to the Governor’s letter was artful in its fluidity, including a “non-denial denial” intimating that Crowley does not speak for the NEARI regarding statewide issues, nor has the authority to:

“NEARI President Larry Purtill and I serve as the official spokespersons for NEARI on statewide issues, and our locally elected officers and their assigned field representatives often appropriately comment in the press on issues generally related to local negotiations.” [Such as the aforementioned plot to picket the hospital?]

Mr. Walsh then goes on to cite a resolution by the national NEA regarding immigration:

“NEA’s resolution includes the statement that we oppose ‘any immigration policy that denies human and/or civil rights or educational opportunities to immigrants and their children regardless of their immigration status, hinders workers’ abilities to organize, imposes excessive fees and fines on those seeking legalization, or criminalizes individuals or groups who support or assist immigrants regardless of their status.”

In other words — though euphemistically stated — NEA supports illegal aliens and amnesty (the line regarding “excessive fees and fines on those seeking legalization, or criminalizes individuals or groups who support or assist immigrants regardless of their status” tells the story).

Mr. Walsh then went on to accuse the Governor of spreading fear among state employees and teachers (fearing budget cuts) … and among immigrants for his Executive Order seeking to enforce the law. We would here contrast such “fear mongering” which is performed by the Governor faithfully executing his duties, with the fear incited by NEARI among parents confronting unlawful teachers strikes; working to contract so that students receive an even more deficient education than in normal times; and the legitimate fear that their NEA-educated children will not be able to compete in the global economy. Read the rest of this entry »

Hillary Clinton will make her first visit to “the no-spin zone,” sitting down with FOX News’ Bill O’Reilly for a two-part interview to air Wednesday and Thursday.

The Democratic presidential hopeful will meet O’Reilly Wednesday in South Bend, Ind., where the two are expected to discuss a wide range of topics, both foreign and domestic.

The interview comes just days after her rival Barack Obama sat down with Chris Wallace on FOX News Sunday for the first time.

The Democratic candidates have been expanding their interview schedules as the tightening primary race winds down to its final weeks. Indiana and North Carolina hold their primaries May 6, and polls show the Indiana contest could be airtight…

Read More: Fox News

There’s a new Hillary Clinton spot up in both North Carolina and Indiana which hits Sen. Barack Obama for being unwilling to suspend the gas tax this summer.

“Bread and Butter” issues tend to appeal to the widest range of voters. Even though it neighbors Obama’s home state, Indiana is definitely winnable for Hillary. However, with Obama’s pastor-gate gaffes of recent weeks, does she actually think she could win North Carolina, too? That sure would make it interesting…

The following letter was written by RNC Chairman Robert M. “Mike” Duncan to Chairman Howard Dean of the Democratic National Committee, calling them to task for their misleading and disrespectful television ad.

April 29, 2008
Re: DNC’s Use of “Fahrenheit 9/11” Footage in “100” Ad

Dear Chairman Dean:

I write regarding the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) advertisement attacking Senator John McCain titled “100,” which was released on Sunday, April 27, 2008.

As you are already aware, and as has been widely reported, the DNC’s ad is troubling for at least two reasons. First, its message is factually false; the DNC is deliberately misleading American voters. Second, it constitutes an illegal excessive in-kind contribution from the DNC to its presidential candidates. Now the Republican National Committee has learned that the ad features footage from Michael Moore’s 2004 conspiracy theory, “Fahrenheit 9/11.”

According to ABC News, the ad features “an IED blowing up near US soldiers,” an image ABC confirms that was used in “Fahrenheit 9/11.” It is no coincidence that the same Democrat advertising firm that produced this ad also was responsible for producing over $6.5 million worth of Democrat political advertising using themes from “Fahrenheit 9/11” in 2004.

The DNC’s combining its gross mischaracterizations with footage made famous by a movie director who meets with dictators and continually expresses caustic anti-American rhetoric only further reveals the DNC’s utter lack of respect for Senator McCain and his service to our country. Further, “Fahrenheit 9/11’s” director has compared Iraqi terrorists with American Revolutionary heroes. For the DNC to deploy such footage in a political advertisement suggests at best a lack of appreciation, and at worst a disrespect, by the DNC for the sacrifices America’s brave men and women have made and continue to make to protect our freedoms on the front lines in the war against radical Islamic extremism.

As a national party chairman you have an obligation to be straightforward with American voters. Continuing to air this ad, and others like it, is inconsistent with that obligation. Your responses to the falsity and the prohibited financing of this ad demonstrate that the DNC does not feel constrained by the law from running the ad. I am hopeful, however, that in light of this new revelation, simple common decency will prevail upon the DNC, and you will pull this advertisement off the air immediately.

Sincerely,

Robert M. “Mike” Duncan
Chairman

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) has tried her best to blame President Bush for high gas prices, despite having been in a position of power where she could have had some impact on them. Does she support expanded domestic oil production? Nope. Does she support a Gas Tax Holiday? Nope. However, as late as last month, she thought the average price of gas was $2.56/gallon. It’s understandable … when the chauffeur is buying it for you, it’s easy to forget about mundane things like that.

This new ad by Freedom’s Watch shows just how out of touch she really is. Call the Speaker of the House at (202) 225-0100. Remind her how much a gallon of gas costs.

If you were looking for an excuse to visit Newport or the Cape this weekend, we’ve found it. It appears that a group called “Jobs with Justice” is having their national convention in Providence this weekend.

This is a union-funded front group that harnesses “community organizations” to advocate for “worker justice” -– most actively (cough, cough) during union organizing drives. Their intent is to make the union organizing drive appear to be a spontaneous, community supported effort (even though the union is funding and pulling all the strings behind the scenes). The hope is that the local media will give them positive coverage and that an uninformed public will believe that the organizing drive truly is “workers” fighting for “justice” and not what it actually is –- an employer specifically targeted for organizing months before by professional union organizers, now facing a coordinated media campaign that uses front groups like “Jobs with Justice” to push their real goal of getting more dues paying members for the union.

Of course, Jobs with Justice also promotes other left-wing causes, but the unions are its genesis and bankroller. Its sponsor list includes not just labor organizations such as the AFL-CIO and Change to Win, as well as smaller individual unions, but also other union-funded groups which are recycling money into this, such as “American Rights at Work” and “Wal-Mart Watch,” which are themselves union front groups.

According to their published agenda, one of their planned spontaneous activities includes a demonstration against Governor Carcieri re: his illegal immigration order (which ironically enough actually benefits union workers disadvantaged by competing against illegal immigrants). No worries, he won’t be there to see it.

The RIRA Executive Committee met on Saturday and approved the following amended general meeting schedule through the end of 2008. Due to several anticipated scheduling conflicts, some previously announced meeting dates were changed, so please update your schedules accordingly:

Thursday, May 8th (Guest Speaker: RNC National Committeeman Rob Manning)
Wednesday, June 11th (Evening before RIGOP State Convention)
Thursday, July 10th (Second Thursday)
Thursday, August 7th (First Thursday)
Thursday, September 11th (Second Thursday)
Thursday, October 2nd (First Thursday)
Thursday, November 6th (First Thursday after Election Day)
December (Annual Christmas Party - Date TBA)

Rhode Island’s largest conservative organization (and sponsor of this blog), the RHODE ISLAND REPUBLICAN ASSEMBLY, will hold its next monthly meeting on Thursday, May 8th, 2008. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 6:30 P.M. in the Banquet Room at Bickford’s Family Restaurant on Jefferson Blvd. in Warwick (Exit 15, off Rt. 95).

The RIRA is the Rhode Island affiliate of the National Federation of Republican Assemblies, a thoughtful national organization of GOP conservatives working to grow and strengthen the Republican Party in the tradition of President Ronald Reagan. This is a dinner meeting, and if you want to eat, you pay for your own meal. Any like-minded conservative Republican is welcome to attend.

For more information, please contact RIRA President Ray McKay at president [at] ri-ra [dot] org or (401) 487-2514 or NFRA Northeast Region Vice President Will Ricci at NEVP [at] ri-ra [dot] org or visit the RIRA web site at http://www.ri-ra.org.

Just in case the Projo somehow missed it…

From Editor and Publisher:

A.H. Belo Corp., the newspaper pure play spun off from Dallas-based Belo Corp., reported its first quarterly result was a loss of $8.7 million, or 43 cents a share, on revenues that tumbled 8.8% to $160.2 million.

Advertising revenue, including print and Internet revenue, fell 12% in the quarter compared to a year ago.

The chain was particularly hard hit at its major California property, where ad revenue for The Press-Enterprise in Riverside plummeted 26%.

A.H. Belo said its newspaper margin — measured by EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) — fell by 5 percentage points to 9%.

Internet revenue of $12 million accounted for 7.5% of A.H. Belo’s total revenues.

Circulation revenue was up 5.4% in the quarter, on a 12% rise at the flagship Dallas Morning News.

Total newspaper expense decreased by $5.3 million or 3.5% in the quarter, including a $2.9 million drop in newsprint expense, most of which came from a decrease in usage.

In its general financial guidance for the remainder of the year, A.H. Belo said it expects to see a continuing decline in ad revenue for 2008, with the Press-Enterprise seeing the biggest reductions.

“A. H. Belo is navigating through a challenging operating environment, but I am confident about the quality of our markets long-term, the strengths of AHC’s brands, and our ability to continue to transform AHC in an Internet-centric media world,” Chairman, President, and CEO Robert W. Decherd said in a statement.

We’ve only just begun…

For months, GOP operatives spoke with dread of the prospects of running against Barack Obama in the fall. But after weeks of controversies over his former pastor, his views of blue-collar voters and even the sincerity of his patriotism, Republicans now are ready to place a $500,000 bet that Obama will be a heavy burden on down-ballot Democrats.

That’s the approximate amount of advertising purchased so far by the National Republican Congressional Committee and GOP allies to link Democratic congressional hopefuls in Mississippi and Louisiana to their party’s potential presidential nominee.

Whereas Obama once seemed an almost cult-like figure who transcended race and class, the narrative that has emerged from his campaign’s recent trials has given Republicans hope that the Illinois senator can be tagged as an elitist with the same effectiveness with which Michael Dukakis and John F. Kerry were so labeled.

The elitist story line has provided Republicans with press release fodder against freshman Democratic House members and statewide elected officials in roughly two dozen states…

Read More: The Politico

One has to wonder if deep down, Rev. Wright actually wants Barack Obama to lose, because it would somehow “confirm” his belief that America is a bad place? This is going to be an absolutely great summer to be a “527″ political organization…

By the way, did we mention that Rev. Wright’s security detail is being provided by Louis Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam?

The Rev. Jeremiah Wright said Monday that he will try to change national policy by “coming after” Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) if he is elected president.

The pastor also insisted Obama “didn’t denounce” him and “didn’t distance himself” from Wright’s controversial remarks, but “did what politicians do.”

Wright implied Obama still agrees with him by saying: “He had to distance himself, because he’s a politician, from what the media was saying I had said, which was [portrayed as] anti-American.”

Wright, who was Obama’s pastor for 20 years and performed his wedding, made the explosive comment during a chaotic question-and-answer session at the National Press Club in Washington, following the pastor’s remarks about the black church in America.

“I said to Barack Obama last year, ‘If you get elected, November the 5th I’m coming after you, because you’ll be representing a government whose policies grind under people,’ Wright said…

Read More: The Politico

The most immediate impact of this ruling will be that the requirement of ID’s will be in effect for next week’s primary election in Indiana. Other states are expected to follow suit.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - States can require voters to produce photo identification, the Supreme Court ruled Monday, upholding a Republican-inspired law that Democrats say will keep some poor, older and minority voters from casting ballots.

Twenty-five states require some form of ID, and the court’s 6-3 decision rejecting a challenge to Indiana’s strict voter ID law could encourage others to adopt their own measures. Oklahoma legislators said the decision should help them get a version approved.

The ruling means the ID requirement will be in effect for next week’s presidential primary in Indiana, where a significant number of new voters are expected to turn out for the Democratic contest between Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama…

Read More: Yahoo! News

Would You Buy a Used State from These Guys?

In the last installment we spoke of the disturbing economic parallels between Rhode Island and “Rust Belt” Detroit. The analogies continue…

For decades now, the so-called “Big Three” domestic auto manufacturers (”Detroit”) have been losing market share to their Asian rivals. This is largely been driven by the recognition by ever-increasing numbers of consumers that the Japanese manufacturers were offering a significantly higher quality vehicle for the same price.

Detroit now insists that its vehicles have improved and now the quality is not only improved, but comparable to that of their Asian competition. Given that by federal law Detroit is forced to keep the UAW on their premises, the proposition that their quality now matches the Asians is dubious at best. Last year this writer happened to see a local Detroit “hidden camera” news broadcast that made it online showing UAW workers going to bars for two and three-hour “lunches” before returning to the assembly line; so the notorious UAW line workers’ contract-protected “work ethic” and indifference to quality still appears to reign supreme. Factor in the additional direct costs (above market pay and benefits) and indirect costs (contractual work rules and other inefficiencies) imposed by having the UAW on the premises, and it seems all but inevitable that the Detroit manufacturers have to cut product content and/or quality to remain retail price competitive with the UAW-free Asian factories located in the southern United States. But for the sake of argument, let’s take Detroit at its word and assume that their products are now quality-comparable to the Asian competition.

Anyone in business will tell you that “word-of-mouth” advertising can make you, or break you. People place far more stock in what they hear about products and services from relatives, coworkers, friends and neighbors than they ever will based upon even the best advertising marketing campaign. This is truer still for those “big ticket” items for which there is a big dollar acquisition cost and/or a long-term financial commitment.

Consumer magazines are indicating that Detroit’s current products are much improved on the quality/reliability front (remember Vegas and Pintos – UGH!). Still, millions of Americans will not include a Detroit product on their consideration list - they won’t even go in the showroom to look at their products. Decades of producing inferior products and poor “word-of-mouth” advertising has now borne a conventional wisdom that an Asian vehicle is reliable and one need not research any further, but can safely “default” to purchasing one of these brands … whereas the same conventional wisdom is that one purchases a Detroit product at their own risk.

Overcoming this conventional wisdom is the most vexing problem for Detroit’s executives, as they stand by almost helplessly and watch their market share continue to erode even though they are producing arguably competitive products; they refer to this as the “perception gap.” Many have resigned themselves to the reality that it may take a generation or more of producing competitive products before this “perception gap” is fully resolved. Some who purchase their products from the 1970s through recent years might argue that this extended period of declining business (if not bankruptcy) is poetic justice for their decades of producing inferior products. Be that as it may, how is this analogous to Rhode Island?

Consider Rhode Island’s “word-of-mouth” for economic competitiveness. For decades now we have had a national reputation for political corruption which, unfortunately, is well-deserved … and does not appear will be remedied anytime soon, given that there does not appear to be any reform movement within the Rhode Island Democratic Party. For decades now, in study after study of “business climate,” Rhode Island is perennially ranked as one of the least employer friendly states in the country - and these studies could and should be considered to be analogous to a consumer magazine ranking of “quality” - in this case of the “quality” of our economic competitiveness (or perhaps we should say the dismal “quality” of our economic competitiveness).

Consider too the “word-of-mouth” spread throughout the rest of the country by college graduates and businesspeople alike who have left Rhode Island due to one or more of the issues involving our political corruption; high taxes; poor public education system; lack of job opportunities and hostility to business and particularly business owners (a.k.a. “the rich”). Read the rest of this entry »

To draw a bit of fun attention to the polar bear question (should they or should they not be listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act due to “global warming”), The National Center for Public Policy Research, in conjunction with Citizens United, has released a parody political ad that reveals a few facts about the polar bear situation while having some fun.

Sen. Jack Reed will answer questions from projo.com readers during a live chat from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Monday, April 28.

You can submit questions now: go to projo.com/chat, click “launch chat”, choose a display name (you don’t need a password) and enter the chat room “senator reed.” The senator will see your questions when he logs in on Monday morning, and he may not be able to answer every question.

When sending in a question, do not press enter or click send until you have completed your thought; doing so will cause us to receive an incomplete question. The questions will display to the room as Senator Reed answers them on Monday.

In what might signal a new low in campaigning, there’s a shadowy new children’s group calling itself “Swift Kids for Truth,” which is attacking democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on her many public “anti-cookie” statements during her husband’s presidency. Not sure if they have any ties to the Obama campaign. Developing…

We will be doing some security-related upgrades early Sunday morning, so the site may not be entirely functional for several hours. Thank you.

Update: Let’s make that Monday at 10:00 AM … we will publish a post here on The Ocean State Republican that will show how utterly paranoid NEARI Asst. Executive Director Pat Crowley has become.

At 11AM Sunday we will be posting a special announcement. Check it out.

Glad you liked the letter.

Considering the Orwellian nature of the very term “Employee Free Choice Act,” we thought this picture to be very appropriate. Look for the Union Label…

With organized labor making support for the Employee Free Choice Act a matter of candidate fealty in the fall, opponents of card check have a big task ahead of them: Explain that the Employee Free Choice is a cynically misnamed power play designed by organized labor to actually eliminate employee free choice.

By eliminating secret ballots in union representation elections, labor organizers will be able to use many types of pressure to intimidate employees into agreeing to join the election.

Hence, this new TV spot just released by the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace :