I’m beginning to think it isn’t going to happen. Why?

First we have Senate President M. Theresa Paiva-Weed saying she doe NOT support marriage equality. This one stinks to heaven because I’ve also read that Bishop Tobin is summoning legislators to his office. Something must be done about this woman. I cannot for the life of me understand the obstinacy of her regarding marriage equality. It is why I said before and I truly believe this, that Marriage Equality Rhode Island must become a political force.

One thing though gives me great joy. I’m hoping he summoned House Judiciary Chairwoman Edith Ajello. You see, Ajello is an atheist, she admitted it in a marriage equality hearing a couple of years ago when I mentioned that I was one too. I’m hoping she told the Bishop where he can stick his shepherd’s staff.

I’ll say it right here: Bishop Tobin, the Catholic Church had ample time, the better part of two millennium to get it right and right up to the beginning of the second decade of the 21st century, you still fail to see that we know what you and your church are all about.

Not to mention that with the evidence that the Church hierarchy actively covered up allegations of child sexual abuse we can pretty much come to the conclusion that the Church has now lost all credibility.

It’s odd, you rarely see Tobin out in public. Maybe it’s because he knows he’s a great big target in the state for his 13th century views on women and the LGBT community.

I doubt he’d ever speak to me. I’ve been openly derisive of both the Church and the local hierarchy for some time now. When your only product is fear, it only comes to pass that some day your arguments will fall on deaf ears. And that is happening to the Church now.

But stay the hell out of my rights Bishop. As I said to the bigot at the last marriage equality rally, keep your God out of my Government and I’ll keep my government our of your God.

But violate that pact and I’ll use every legislative weapon I can come up with to try to destroy you.

But to sum it up, I don’t think Rhode Island is going to get marriage equality this year. In fact I still stand by this, I don’t think Rhode Island will see marriage equality until we file suit for it. Because our legislature seems to be too craven to the Catholic Church to ever be able to do the right thing and grant us marriage equality.

Spies Like Us (1985) – The Russian phrase spoken by Dan Aykroyd to the Russian agents is: “Chem men’she znaesh’, tem lushche.” This translates as: “The less you know, the better.”

Stripes (1981) – John Winger’s use of the phrase “We are the wretched refuse” to describe how the platoon was made up of men from around the world is a reference to a poem, “The New Colossus”, by the nineteenth-century American poet Emma Lazarus. “The New Colossus”, describing the Statue of Liberty, appears on a plaque at the base of the statue.

The Fifth Element (1997) – This is one of two science-fiction movies featuring Ian Holm in which there is a character by the name of Dallas. The other one is Alien (1979), which stars Tom Skerritt as Captain Dallas.

Moonstruck (1987) – Olympia Dukakis is only 15 years older than her on-screen daughter Cher.

Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970) – Ok, this one is hard for me to pick just one because I’m such a computer geek but here goes:

Producer Stanley Chase said that while it’s frightening to suppose a computer could take over the world, it was indeed possible. His technical advisor said that a machine like Colossus actually existed at that time. The model for Colossus was supposedly the NORAD system that controlled our national defense systems, and that’s why the computer programming center in the film was located in the Rocky Mountains, which is also the home of NORAD. The government wouldn’t allow a film crew on the NORAD grounds, so the exteriors were filmed at the Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley, California. The missile sites were photographed in the California desert near Palmdale.

WarGames (1983) – Are you sensing a theme here? Self aware computers. It’s coming faster than you think.

When David comes home the day after the NORAD computer break-in, the newscaster on the television is talking about a prophylactic recycling center.

The Terminator (1984) – Shots through the Terminator’s vision shows a dump of the ROM assembler code for the Apple II operation system. If you own an Apple II, enter at the basic prompt: ] call -151 * p This will give you the terminator view. Other code visible is written in COBOL.

Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) – George Lucas planned to score the film with existing classical music like Stanley Kubrick had done on 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) before Steven Spielberg introduced him to composer John Williams. Lucas and Williams agreed on a classical 19th-century Romantic music style with liberal use of leitmotif for the score. Since the movie would show worlds never seen before, the music had to serve as an “emotional anchor” for the audience to relate. – Uh huh, I can still hear that theme echoing in my head.

Only two more? Damn!

The Incredibles (2004) – Syndrome’s zero-point energy beam is based on an actual physics concept, the zero-point field, demonstrated in 1948 via the Casimir Effect and essential to Stephen Hawking’s theory that black holes eventually evaporate. Harnessing the zero-point field would be quite a feat, as it would yield a truly infinite source of energy.

Beautiful Thing (1996) – When Sandra recalls that Cass Elliot died by choking on a sandwich she is repeating an urban legend. “Mama” Cass actually died of heart failure. Reports immediately after her death (before the autopsy) apparently quoted her doctor as saying she probably died by choking on a sandwich. Despite the results of the autopsy, the sandwich story has stuck.

I know what a tough job you have. I spent a few months going out and doing program reviews. Some of the biggest items I saw were lack of resources which I think is part of the REAL problem in schools. Another is the crushing poverty that a lot of those kids live under. That has an effect on test scores too!

My advice to all Providence teachers who have just received their termination notice, sick out, stay out, do NOT go back. If you’re fired you’re fired. Stand with solidarity and walk out.

I support your rights to organize and bargain collectively. What the city of Providence is doing here is trying to eliminate the union. I completely disagree with what the school committee did and what the Mayor is doing.

Someone I work with has a wife who is a public school teacher in Providence. He was telling me that of the $50 Million only roughly 40% goes to teachers. Lets be generous and say 50%. So that leaves another 50% and where did THAT money go?

From his official bio on his legislature site:

Senator Francis (Frank) T. Maher Jr. has lived in Exeter since 1995 with his wife of 15 years and their son, Patrick. He has been committed to community and public service that has resulted in extensive experience with both public and private organizations. His wide range of interests serves his constituents well. Sen. Maher considers it an honor to represent the towns of Charlestown, Exeter, Hopkinton, Richmond and West Greenwich in the Rhode Island Senate.

My condolences to those in Charlestown, Exeter, Hopkinton, Richmond and West Greenwich for having such an out of balance asshole as a state senator.

Senator Maher, a proud product of the public schools, is a vocal supporter of the school systems. He has studied a variety of topics, including environment and emergency medicine.

If we go by Maher’s definition of study, I’m a veritable Rhodes scholar compared to him. Emergency medicine? So is that what he did after 1998?

Prior to his election to the Assembly, Sen. Maher was very active in town government and served on the Exeter Public Safety Advisory Board and the Exeter/West Greenwich School Committee. His tenure on those boards gave him considerable insight into local and state government and the education system.

I’ll just bet he was. I can imagine the Exeter Public Safety Advisory board is a hotbed of law enforcement in the state. And as to his time on the school committee, I doubt he got a hell of a lot more insight into state government since all he interfaced with is probably the RI Dept. of Education.

Maher currently represents District 34 as the Senior Deputy Minority Leader. His background in the study of environment and health issues will be useful in his positions on the Senate Committee on Environment and Agriculture and Senate Committee on Health and Human Services. He has also been assigned to the Senate Committee on Government Oversight.

Senior Deputy Minority Leader? When there are only about a half dozen repugs in the entire legislature it doesn’t take much to attain such heights.

He’s on Environment and Agriculture, HHS, and Oversight? I’d love to see how he explains his major gaps in oversight to be honest.

Profile for Francis T. Maher, Jr.
General: (political statement of goals, objectives, views, philosophies)
No Response
Personal: (Gender, age, marital status, spouse’s name and age, children’s name and ages, home town, current residence)
Gender: Male
Family: Wife: Kathleen
1 Child: Patrick
1 Foster Child: Matthew.
Birth Date: 02/28/1966

He’s a little under two years younger than me and looks like hell. Look at him:

What say you all?

Birthplace: Weymouth, MA
Home City: Exeter, RI
Education: (times and places of schools, colleges, major, degrees, activities, sports)
Associates Equivalent, Electronics, Technical College.

An associates equivalence? In Electronics? We have something in common though I have a full up B.Sc in Info sci, I do electronics work myself. Understand electronics pretty well too.

Profession: (profession and work experience outside politics)
Field Service Technician, Central Scale Company, 1994-1998.

Wait, wait, wait a minute! You’re telling me this guy hasn’t held a steady job since 1998? So here’s the question, how has he supported his family for the past thirteen years?

Military: (branch, years of service, active duty experience, highest rank, medals, honors, discharge date and type)
No Response
Civic: (past and present organizations, charities involvement)
Member, Warwick Sportsman Club, 2008
Coach, Exeter/West Greenwich Little League, 2004-2008
Associate Member, Marine Corp League, 2004-2008
Den Leader/Cub Master, Roundtable Committee, Boy Scouts of America, 2003-2008
Volunteer, University of Rhode Island Master Gardener Association, 2002-2008
Board Member, Exeter/West Greenwich School Committee, 2004-2008
Member, Exeter Republican Town Committee, 2000-2008
Coach, EWG Soccer Association, 2003-2005.

Second from the last, I think I know how he derived his income now.

Political: (dates and titles of previously held political offices)
No Response
Religion: (current and past religious affiliations, beliefs)
Episcopal

Episcopal and he’s such an asshole? How the hell did that happen?

Accomplishments: (significant accomplishments, awards, achievements)
No Response

No significant accomplishments? Sounds like we have a classic under-performer here.

Florida refused several tens of billions of dollars for commuter rail projects. But our beloved Senators for Rhode Island are battling to get $2.5 billion of that.

With $2.5 Billion we could build a streetcar SYSTEM again. Here’s what I commented on the Projo 7/7 news blog:

I’ve been a constant critic of the routes chosen for the Providence Core Connector aka Streetcar line.

The proposed route pretty much benefits Brown University and RI Hospital.

Now RIPTA let slip a few years ago that the busiest routs on RIPTA are:

11, 99, 27, 28.

The 11 route runs from nearly the Cranston line to Kennedy plaza then changes to the 99 which runs North Main to either Main St. or Pawtucket Ave. into Pawtucket.

27 and 28 both serve all of Broadway in Providence and separate into Manton Ave and Hartford Ave in Olneyville. Both ultimately run near or into Johnston.

This tells me that a line should be built up through Pawtucket, up North Main and through downtown to ultimately head back our Broad St. and into Cranston.

Why? Diesel buses, even if they’re hybrid are now extremely expensive to operate. Fuel costs alone are killing RIPTA slowly.

Streetcars run on electricity and per mile they’re more efficient than buses.

And the ridiculous assertion by RIPTA that light rail wouldn’t work in RI is ludicrous!

Providence to Warwick is about 10 miles. Providence to Woonsocket through Lincoln and Cumberland and even Central Falls if you really wanted to be inclusive.

The one problem with streetcars is that they don’t know how to budget for them. But if you built the lines on existing bus lines, you could at least get a good ridership estimate. And in fact every car driver I’ve spoken to abhors buses. But they said if we had a decent rail system they’d probably use it.

UPS called me this evening. They apologized profusely for the shipping screw up. They tried saying that because it’s ground service it can be delivered at any time of day.

I countered with “If that’s so, how can you offer signature required?” And more to the point I related the “End of Day” story. I told the person who called that UPS would be better off saying “At any time between 7AM and 7PM on date.”

She said they will take that under consideration. She also said my blog post on this is being shared all around UPS in order to improve service.

So, when a business does you wrong, write a blog post, send it to their PR folks and let it happen.

I’ve been emailing every RI house member every day with links and stories I find regarding marriage equality from the many blogs I read, and the occasional link to my blog.

Thus far I’ve heard from three legislators, two by email, one by phone.

Doreen Costa, the newest Tea Party darling in RI emailed me thanking me for the info.

Karen MacBeth emailed and she supports marriage equality.

Spencer Dickinson called, he doesn’t support marriage equality.