Diogenes Meets Rep. Long - Still Looking for Honest Man

If you're interested in R.I. politics and and haven't read Healey's "Rhode Island Diogenes," you're in for a treat. Remember Diogenes from your Ancient History class (if you do you're showing your age. Ancient History hasn't been taught for years)? He was the Greek philosopher who roamed the streets at night with a lantern looking "for an honest man." He was actually being facetious as he was a "Cynic" and believed that no such being existed.

Healey ran this cycle for Lt. Gov. When I went to the fourth grade Voters' Day assembly sponsored by the Tiverton Town Clerk, Nancy Mello , he was the most popular guy there. He certain gets your attention with the wild curly hair (which I've tried my best to hide all my life) and his equally free-flowing tangled beard. As if that wasn't enough, he passed out his Healey currency - $1,000,000 bills with his name & pic in the center. The fourth graders went wild! It's a clever gimmick!

Healey has a slew of degrees & bills himself as belonging to the "Cool Moose" party. Gotta love the guy. He also ran previously as "We could do worse," and "If elected, I'll fire myself." The centerpiece of his platform is that the Lt. Guv's office is not necessary. Hence, the money savings if it doesn't exist. Not your usual politican.

I am borrowing from his latest issue. You can sign up for his weekly newsletter on his site or just visit it weekly. Again,a very clever gimmick for keeping his name/issues in the news. So with a nod to Mr. Healey, here is an excerpt from his latest issue. Enjoy!

"Middletown - State Representative Bruce Long indicated that he is being targeted by tax investigators.
"I drive around town and see hundreds of kids on the side of the road selling lemonade for a quarter. Where is equal enforcement?" he questioned. "These vendors do not keep adequate records of their transactions, do not give receipts after each sale, and probably don’t even have a state retail license. Do they pay their sales tax regularly? I doubt it" he continued. "Here, I play by the rules and I am a victim of selective enforcement" he said.
The Governor weighed in on Long’s statement saying "Without these young entrepreneurs we wouldn’t have anything near the 20,000 new jobs I promised in my first campaign. Sure, it is easy to go after the little guy. What’s next, a furlough program for lemonade venders?"
Long is also considering raising the issue of selective enforcement against Middletown taxpayers. "When I discovered the secret ingredient in Del’s, I was told that if I kept quiet, they would pay my taxes on the money".