Why I Heart Sen. Chuck Levesque

I've said it before & I'll say it again: Sen. Levesque makes me want to move into Porsmouth (his District anyway). You may not agree with his political stands, but at least he makes them. Please, try & find someone else who has made one not in the realm of mom & apple pie & partisan politics.

I remember watching him on tv a few years ago at the televised forums the "Daily News" started. I watched because I wanted to be prepared for mine. He actually said that he was a "liberal." Flat out when it was still a dirty word. And he was MORE than polite to his opponent. He said that even if you didn't vote for him, you'd still be getting a good deal with his opposition. Hear that very often? And he's continued with that attitude. How can you not love a guy like that? Even his opponents are forced into that position. You just can't question the guy's integrity & motives, not to mention his manners.

Now Chuck comes right out & says that he's not opposed to RI gambling casinos. That doesn't mean that he's out there promoting them, but he's savvy enough to realize that it's legal, employs people, & is brings in large revenues for the state when there ain't much out there still doing that.

For all that Projo & the Newport Daily News rail against gambling, it's vital to our economy. and I'm speaking not only of Newport but Middletown as well. Take it out and then what? What fills in that huge economic loss? I'd really like to be enlightened here. Not ONE CANDIDATE has answered this question. Our own Sen. Gibbs declared that she'd be happy if Twin Rivers failed. What about Newport Grand? What about those jobs? the investors? the tax revenues? Want higher taxes? This'll do it.

Or is this just another way to completely wipe out social services, state employees, schools, unionized workers?

Let me quote from Sen. Levesque's excellent letter to the Editor from the weeken edition of the "Daily News." He was courageous enough to participate in a recent forum sponsored by Citizens Against Casino Gambling. He didn't have to. I'm betting that there weren't a heckuva lot of Portsmouth voters there. Beat up? Yeah. Down but not out.

The news editor entitled it:"Gambling revenues pay for worthy causes." The Portsmouth/Bristol Senator (nah, no gerrymandering here) begins by explaining his position to go against the wishes re: expanded gambling at Newport Grand & Tiwn Rivers expressed by 3 island communities. First let me explain what this means. Each Council has on its agenda what is called the "Consent Calendar." A community expresses its opinion on a lege bill it hols near & dear. They then forward their approval or disapproval to all communities asking for their support. Never once have I heard a discussion on ANY of these "consent" requests. The entire consent calendar gets approved with a singled vote. So I could get my community council to ban all black cats. It would then be forwarded around the state & all communities would back us up knowing that in the future they may want our assent. As a result, all this community blah-blah is pretty much meaningless except for the community who actually appear to testify in the lege.

Now remember that we're speaking of $290 MILLION dollars in revenues:

"I do not support the expansion of gambling. I do not support denying children health insurance. I do not support cuts in assistance for those with mental health issues [hear, hear!], those with developmental disabilities; cuts in primary education, cuts in secondary education, cuts in higher education; cuts in staffing for the Department of Children, Youth and Families. I do not support denying health care to children because their parents may not be here "legally." Suffice to say that there are many things I do not support, but, as an adult, I am sometimes obliged to make choices, some painful, in order to fulfill my obligations. And frankly, I resent when any person or group attempts to place a single decision in a vacuum and measure me upon that basis."

Well said! The good Senator is, as I've known for a long time, a scholar & a gentleman. And a heckuva good writer.

By george, send that guy a political contribution. Or move out to Portsmouth.

Men of courage- in short supply in any time.

Sorry, no link.

Senator Levesque for the Win

Wednesday's Newport Daily News includes a full-fledged rebuttal of last week's rant by Cap'n Mike Caldwell from none other than State Senator Chuck Levesque. Senator Levesque took on each of Cap'n Mike six tales of cultural-soul-destroying America-bashing and pointed out how Cap'n Mike was full of bilge water about every one of them. And since Senator Levesque was using reasoned argument rather than my own bloggish snark, he was able to make his points in a more straightforward fashion than I did. In particular, writing about Anderson Cooper's broadcast of the Islamic Army of Iraq propaganda video, Senator Levesque wrote:

Our government has endeavored to shield us from the horror of the wars we currently fight. I believe that citizens in a democracy not only should not be shielded from the horrors of war, but are obliged to confront that horror. We, who make the decisions ultimately about our nation's conduct, cannot hide from the results of those decisions. We are made of sterner stuff than Capt. Caldwell thinks. If the cause is just, this nation will confront the cost, both human and financial, resolutely.

Exactly. Cap'n Mike and his fellow war hawks know perfectly well that the cause we are fighting for in Iraq is not just. They fear, correctly, that the more the American people are confronted with the rising cost of that unjust war, the more determined they will be to get us out of that war. That's why Cap'n Mike and his ilk always respond with shrill cries of fake outrage whenever anybody shows the American people what's actually going on in Iraq.

Bravo to Senator Levesque for delivering this broadside against Cap'n Mike's wingnuttery.

Legislative Grants for District 12

I know that you've been waiting with baited breath for this. Remember, this is OUR money. So what does one of the most senior State Senators (but one elected with the 2nd lowest majority) pull down for her district??

Middletown: $2000 (8 precincts)

Little Compton - 3 entities: $11,000 (2 precincts) (there are 14 total in District 12)

Big Sisters Newport Co. : $2000

R.I. Legal/Educational Partnership (Prov.) - they sponsor "Mock Trial" in high schools: $2000

6 groups with 3 in Little Compton.

This makes for a Grant Total of $15,000. Do you understand "gerrymandering?" Does "it's a good thing that Adamsville/Little C. is heavily Republican or I'd never win" register? How about spreading out what little $ you are able to obtain for us?

Now let's take a look at neighboring Sen. Levesque's district (P'mouth & Bristol).

13 groups

Grant Total: $26,000 (almost evenly divided in district)

Sen. Felag - Tiverton: $26,500. 23 groups.

Think this is unusual? Think again. Maybe we should all call ourselves "Little Compton."

BTW: From last year (sorry, link is gone):
Felag, Jr. (Bristol, Tiverton, & Warren) $21,500 - 21 grants
Sen. Levesque (Portsmouth & Warren) $14,600 - 10 grants
Sen. Gibbs 12th dist. (Middletown, Little Compton, Newport, & Tiverton), $8000 - 4 grants.

End the War!

UPDATE** E-mail your Lege today!!
I used the link on R.I. Future to urge the Lege to support Sen. Levesque's bill & others opposing the war surge. More than 20 states have pending legislation on this. Calif, Iowa, & Vt. have already passed theirs. Remember years ago when state Guv's refused to send Nat'l guard troops? Why don't more of them speak up? Oops, silly me. Our guv luvs the Prez.
So I used Matt's link to send a letter. II rec'd a positive response from Rep. Amy Rice. Nothing from Sen. June "No comment," Gibbs. This is the response from Rep. Fox:

Thank you very much for writing to me about the several pieces of legislation that have introduced opposing the escalation in Iraq. Thesebills have been referred to the Committee on Constituent Services. Please be assured that as this year's session progresses and legislation is considered, I will make certain that your thoughts and comments will be taken into consideration. I encourage you to continue to orrespond with me and other members of the General Assembly.

Thank you again for taking the time to write about this important matter.

Sincerely,

Gordon D. Fox House Majority Leader

So use the title link ; or this &write already!

Fair Taxation Could Give Money to Poor Kids

Today I rec'd 2 interesting e-mails. One was out of Sen. Gibbs' office (as Chair/Co-chair?) of the Joint Child Care Commission requesting members to attend a May meeting on a presentation on "child care cuts and child care in general." Members are urged to attend 3 rallies (none here) to influence the leg to restore $ to the guv's budget. These are good things. However, the IRONY is that Sen. Gibbs' good buddy is the one who made the cuts.

Who will change the budget is Democrats. Her campaigning (as our Sen.) one way or the other is practically meaningless. That's why she encourages her committee to do it.We elect June Knows Best each year because....we do. As much as I applaud these efforts, I wonder where the extra $ will materialize from? Is she advocating other budget cuts or is she asking for additional funds to be raised.

Ah, but Ocean State Action (the other e-mail) and I have a suggestion. There is a new report out from the Campaign for R.I.'s Priorities, "Tax Tricks: Corporate Income Tax Evasion in R.I." "...[Large] corporations, many of them based out of state, avoid paying an estimated $12 million annually in Rhode Island state income tax through the use of just two corporate income tax loopholes.

“It is time for large, multi-state corporations that do business in Rhode Island to pay their fair share in taxes,” said Karen Malcolm, Executive Director of Ocean State Action, which coordinates the campaign. “Businesses like Wal-Mart and Toys ‘R’ Us benefit from our state’s public, yet they are taking advantage of loopholes and forcing a greater share of the taxes onto the rest of us – pay Rhode Island families and small businesses.”

As a small business owner, I certainly agree. I didn't pay like Wal-Mart "...just 2.0 percent of its Rhode Island income in state taxes in 2005, while middle-income Rhode Islanders paid 10.7 percent of their income, and low-income residents paid 11.5 percent of their income." Did you?

"The report outlines the impact of two “tax tricks” – the Passive Investment Corporation (PIC) loophole and the “Nowhere Income” loophole." We are one of the few states offering these tax incentives. These are NOT available to small business owners.

There are three bills out there winding their way through the lege:

1. House Bills 5618, 5619, and 5756, Rep. Edith Ajello (D-Providence)

2. Senate Bills 401 and 437, Sen. Steven Alves (D-West Warwick) and Senate Bill 583, Sen. Charles Levesque (D-Portsmouth).

These bills eliminate the tax loopholes. Good bills. Fair taxation. Let your leges know where you stand. Maybe closing these holes would help fund the child care cuts (among others) the the guv sliced from the budget. Sen. Gibbs, where do you stand? It doesn't say anything on your blog/website????

"Members of the Campaign will team up with Rhode Island Jobs with Justice for an action outside the Providence Post Office on tax day, next Tuesday, April 17, at 3:45pm, to talk to fellow Rhode Islanders who are submitting their taxes about Wal-Mart’s tax avoidance strategies."

R.I. Healthcare that We All Pay For

You may have missed this article on healthcare a few days ago in Projo. While the Fair Share bill last year did not pass, a bill requiring businesses with over 250 employees (and dependents) on Medicaid to give some details about their employee health care plans did.

"Thousands of people who are workers, or dependents of workers, at some of Rhode Island’s largest companies last year got health coverage through the state Medicaid program for the poor, at a cost to taxpayers of roughly $10 million, a new state analysis shows....Those employers were Bank of America, Citizens Financial Group, the City of Providence, CVS Corp., S & S Credit Company, and Wal-Mart, along with three agencies that place temporary employees — Employment 2000, Qualified Resources, and Workers Mania.

“We have knowledge now that some significant corporations are in fact utilizing a safety net and a very good one … for their own purposes,” said Sen. Charles J. Levesque, D-Portsmouth, secretary of the Committee on Health and Human Services. “I’m not happy that they’re doing it.” Levesque said he believes all employers should offer insurance to all employees, full and part time.

The Fair Share bill targets businesses with more than 1000 employees to pay for health care or to pay a $ into the state health care system. This bill is said to target Walmart for it's lousy almost non-existent employee health care plan. In fact if you work in Newport, you can buy into a plan with Dr.s in Woonsocket, Providence, Cumberland and Coventry. Helpful, isn't it?
Now remember, it's your taxes that in effect offer these mostly profit-making employers' subsidies. Why?
The Fair Share bill never made it out of committee. Maybe this year it will. Better they should pay their fair share rather than pass it on to all the rest of us (unless we also receive the benefits).

Thanks to the Projo & their reporter, Felice Freyer.