Sue Carcieri's Thinking

Generally I pay little attention to the antics of those related to elected officials. It's just not relevant. Sue Carcieri, though, is an exception. She frequently inserts herself into political scenery with the religious feverence of a crusader. She is a strong vocal advocate against womens' reproduction rights & will seemingly go to any lengths to ensure that all conceptions result in births. There seems to end most of her concern- and Projo's Charlie Bakst has it on tape.
Sue Carcieri needs to go back & read her New Testament thoughtfully. She might especially want to pay attention to the meaning of Matthews' Sermon on the Mount with the eight beatitudes. Sue speaks as a woman so immersed in her virtual reality of country clubs, wealth, and comfort that she has formed her own virtual country. In this world top-notch health care is available on demand, services are provided with no thought to those providing them, cars are new, Florida beachfront condos are de rigeur, and some R.I. young people:

...have mentors who are much older than them who are training them up. You know — how those terrorists have kids blow up, you know, Benazir Bhutto and so forth?
You think the kids thought of it? I don’t think so.”

What on earth is she talking about?
I've never met her, but did suffer through the arduous task of listening to her attempt to make a speech to a group of Chamber of Commerce women a few years ago (link). She made absolutely no sense then, and has not improved in her well-intention, narrow world.

I get the distinct impression that Sue (who doesn't get older, just blonder), along with her progeny, have never actually conversed with a "poor" person, much less developed any kind of relationship with anyone outside of her comfort zone.

... I do relate to having children, because we raise children. You cannot always say, ‘Yes, yes, yes, yes.’ I mean there are those curfews and there are those restrictions on the allowance. Or, ‘You don’t get a new car because…’ ”She said someone tough-minded must be in charge.
“We have a lot of soft hearts but not people with tough minds.”

Cars? Allowances? I think that she has a soft head. She hasn't met the people that I have that live in our own district. Seniors who count on Meals on Wheels not only for nourishment 5 times/week, but for outside contact. Seniors and those who have chronic illness who have to decide between eating, paying rent & bills, and meds.

I've met working families who worry constantly about illness as they have no health insurance for their families. Parents who now have their meager paychecks garnished as they've had to be hospitalized or have expensive testing done for sick kids or themselves. Bankruptcy is a constant spectre. Families who ran out of money by Christmas (end of the month) and had no food, let alone presents. Not because of poor budgeting, but because they had so little to being with. Car repairs soaked up what little reserves they had and they found themselves relying "on the kindness of strangers."

The mother who has never had a school picture of her children because there is no extra money. The kid who had no winter coat and shoes that no longer fit. The debt-ridden college grads struggling as "interns" or working as baristas at Starbucks while wondering what happened to those good jobs, but still hoping.

She hasn't met the landscaper who is hoping to sell the home he purchased a year ago before the bank takes it. The house is no longer worth what he paid for it. End of his "American dream." Yeah, sell your home in a dead market. And let me assure you, much of the market here is dead. And the top level of million-dollar homes/condos soon will be.


She speaks of immigrants as if they are all illegals & waiting to blow us up. We have a LOT of immigrants in our County and they are the hardest working people that I have ever met. Yeah, they look different & they have accents, but they are the hardest working people that I have ever met. Most of them do back-breaking low-skilled work for low wages. You probably don't take the time to really know them. My husband does. He knows what it's like to be from an immigrant family.



I recall attending a meeting at the library in May of 2006, "The Emergency Campaign for R.I.'s Priorities." The Guv was once again targeting various social programs in his budget. Not one of his minions was present, but Sen. Paiva-Weed & Levesque were present- and it wasn't even their District. I heard story after story of exactly how people's lives would be affected with his budget cuts. Those with mental health problems who rely on services like housing, therapy, & meds and worry everytime social service cuts are mentioned (and rightly so). With over 125 present (no press coverage), they not only listened, but pledged their support for restoring cuts.

Too bad Sue wasn't there. Tough-minded. Yeah. As long as it's someone else on the other end shouldering the load to keep your world pleasant. Didn't much like living/working in Jamaica, did you? That poverty stuff is hard to stomach on a daily basis.