You should visit a place called "Europe" — they have cities there too ...

"Unused"?

My comments below were in response to those by u/HeadyBeersBrah, who’s one of those people on Reddit who makes big, bold statements about things he doesn’t actually know anything about, and then deletes them when other people who can actually substantiate their perspectives make it clear that he’s got nothing to add.

He made broad statements about the food in RI being comparable to that in the SF Bay area (it’s not), and even claimed to have lived there, but offered only vague generalities. There’s no point in trying to engage with people like that, because they lack real knowledge of the things they pontificate about, yet seem to get some sort of gratification from pretending otherwise, though I’m not sure why.

>”She is under close watch by Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and some other left-wing Democrats, who have criticized her as being too solicitous of corporate interests. Some progressive groups have accused Ms. Raimondo of being under the influence of big tech firms and not thoroughly disclosing those ties. > >“Secretary Raimondo’s job is to help grow an economy that works for everyone, not to be the chief lobbyist for the Chamber of Commerce,” Sen. Warren said in a statement to the New York Times. “I have real concerns about the department’s approach, whether it’s approving assault weapon sales, negotiating trade deals or supporting big tech companies.” > >… > >”Unlike some progressive Democrats, Ms. Raimondo clearly does not see an issue with being labeled ‘pro-business.’ > >’I come from a place in my politics that, fundamentally, Americans are pro-job, pro-business, pro-wealth,’ she said.”

Just what America needs — a neoliberal, Clinton-era centrist 20+ years after Clinton-era neoliberalism has been thoroughly discredited as a failed economic doctrine and blueprint for winning elections (see the other Clinton in 2016). Like most Rhode Islanders, Raimondo lives in a time warp and sees it as a point of pride rather than a flaw …

Archie McPhee — it says it right on the box …

Right, because the pro-gun responses aren’t political at all — just the anti-gun ones …

“Stack up nicely”? “Excellent restaurants all over”? The Mission District alone — a neighborhood — has better Latino food than all of RI, and probably Boston too. Ditto the Richmond and Sunset for Asian food, which crushes Boston’s and wouldn’t bother dignifying RI’s smattering of mostly bland, substandard fare. RI has SF beat for seafood, and maybe Italian, but that’s about it.

I don’t know where you lived in SF or what you ate, but the two are miles apart culinarily. RI’s only real claim to fame is in comparison to other small cities, where it does punch above its weight. But it cannot go head to head with much bigger and more diverse metro areas, and having Johnson and Wales does not change that …

Depends on where else you’ve lived. Everybody here is somehow convinced the food is great, but if you’ve lived in NYC or SF (and probably LA — don’t know, never lived there), you know most food in RI is pretty second- and third-rate (at best). Sorry …

You go, Slav! or Czech, please!

Oder GDR? (CCCP?)

You're just showing your age, Tony Baloney ...

So Jennifer Rourke should have pulled out a gun and shot Lugo, who would have pulled his gun and shot her — with stray bullets and ricochets careening through a crowded space and wounding or killing bystanders — before everyone else pulled their guns and began firing.

Brilliant. Problem solved. Because more guns always leads to less death and injury …

You’ll be equally horrified to learn that millions and millions of dollars go to subsidize millionaires in state after state after state rather than fix potholes.

Name checks out. Was waiting for all of the Rhodents who say nobody watches soccer to come up with some MAGA-esque “fake news” claim to protect themselves from reality …

Yeah, that’s what this situation definitely needed — lots of guns …

… by making up the word “milepoint”?

Voting for McKee could end up resulting in a faster “two-fer”, in terms of the time between his getting elected and then having to resign after the FBI investigation implicates him in the contracting scandal. We would then get a special “do over” election to choose another governor.

Whereas If Kalus wins, she’d first have to commit a McKee-like crime (which probably won’t take too long), then have it uncovered — which is what could take a while, and then we’d still have to wait for the outcome of the investigation before she resigns.

So a vote for McKee could be a vote for faster gubernatorial turnover …

(If Magaziner pulls a Hillary and loses to Fung, he’d probably run to replace either McKee or Kalus in the aforementioned special election, so it’d be like Langevin never left — although we’d be stuck with Fung in Congress …)

Not details, just some sort of substance beyond ice and potatoes …

Can you elaborate slightly less metaphorically …?

Get used to people’s cynical acceptance (and even defense) of the status quo here — it’s very “on brand” for RI …

When did mafia nicknames get so lame — Edward “Eddie” Lato?

What happened to “Eddie the Knife” or “Eddie Big Shoes” or something like that …

Or, like most people in Providence, they figure the law doesn’t apply to them …

"The state police investigation found Conti and [known organized crime figure Raymond 'Scarface'] Jenkins were secret business associates in an illegal marijuana startup, called Organic Bees, which regulators shut down earlier this year in part because the venture failed to disclose everyone involved in the company, including the two men.

Conti on Wednesday denied any involvement in Organic Bees, despite a mountain of state police evidence suggesting otherwise.

'Mr. Conti had no role in the business organization, Organic Bees,' Conti’s attorney, Jimmy Burchfield Jr., said in a statement. 'Mr. Conti has been employed by the House of Representatives honorably serving under four speakers since first hired in December 2006.'

A spokesperson for House Speaker Joe Shekarchi said Wednesday he had no knowledge of Conti’s involvement in Organic Bees and gave no indication it would affect Conti’s $136,000-a-year job on his staff. On Thursday, however, Conti resigned from his State House job just hours before Target 12’s report.

While state police evidence shows Conti played an integral role in trying to get Organic Bees off the ground, he faced no direct penalties when the enterprise fell apart. But Jenkins and two others were arrested and charged in connection with the business.

...

Jenkins wasn’t the only mob figure linked to Conti. State police documents say Conti attended several events with members of the New England Mafia, including one where so-called 'loyalty payments' were paid up to mob leaders.

State police said the attendees included Edward 'Eddie' Lato, who they say was recently named 'underboss,' an underworld promotion that also has not been previously reported. He was previously identified as a capo.

Former State Police Col. Steven O’Donnell, who spent years investigating La Cosa Nostra in Rhode Island, described loyalty payments as 'almost like a political campaign contribution to a mob guy.'

The idea that an aide to the House speaker has been attending such events, O’Donnell said, is 'absolutely astounding'.”