Republican Primary pits two Muy MAGA dudes against each other for the chance to challenge Rep. Seth Magaziner

Insurrectionist versus anti-vaxxer? What a choice!

By Alexander Castro, Rhode Island Current

WJAR NBC 10’s Gene Valicenti, left, moderates the
 first and last debate between the two Republican
candidates in the 2nd Congressional District race on
Friday at the station’s Cranston studio. At center is
Dr. Stephen Skoly. At right is Vic Mellor.
(Photo courtesy of WJAR NBC10)

With just days to go before the September 9 primary, the two Republican candidates hoping to seize Rhode Island’s 2nd Congressional District seat in November met for their first, and last, debate at WJAR NBC 10’s Cranston studio on Friday afternoon.

Vic Mellor, 56, and Dr. Stephen Skoly, 70, joined moderator Gene Valicenti to tape a roughly half-hour debate that saw them mostly abstain from the acrimony that has characterized the race over the summer.

They instead focused on policy.

Skoly, an oral surgeon who lives in East Greenwich, and Mellor, a Warwick entrepreneur and former Marine, overlapped on numerous points, including their mutual distaste for the socialist influence both framed as pervading the Democratic party.

They divided along a simple line: Who better embodies MAGA, and who can better wield its principles to electoral success in Rhode Island?

Valicenti asked Mellor, who has acknowledged his participation in the Jan. 6 march on the Capitol, “You’re an unabashed MAGA supporter. So is Dr. Skoly not MAGA enough for you?”

“No, he’s not MAGA enough for me,” Mellor replied.

“I voted for Trump three times. I’m a Republican,” Skoly said. “I agree with a lot of his concepts and a lot of his policies.”

Donald Trump was elected to “secure our borders, to strengthen our military, to have the rule of law, and have law and order restored,” Skoly said.

“And what was he not elected to do?” Valicenti asked. “Destroy parts of the White House, build a ballroom, put up a ceremonial arch, put his name on the Kennedy Center? What do you disagree with?

“I don’t have enough information on that,” Skoly said.

“On those three? You read the news,” Valicenti replied.

Real men don't bike

How cars became the symbol of American manhood

Jessica Kutz

This story was originally reported by Jessica Kutz of The 19th. Meet Jessica and read more of their reporting on gender, politics and policy.

“Freedom doesn’t ring, it revs!” 

That was the tagline of the first-ever IndyCar street race held in Washington, D.C., over the weekend.

From UFC fighters knocking each other out on the White House lawn to ongoing fitness face-offs between Cabinet leaders, the Freedom 250 Grand Prix represents the latest high-profile political theater celebrating a pastime associated with a very specific type of masculinity. 

While Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have become the agency heads most known for extolling a macho-man image, it’s Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy — a participant in the “Pete and Bobby [push-up and pull-up] challenge” at an airport — who played a key role in bringing the grand prix to D.C. 

Whether turning the National Mall into a race track or announcing plans to defund “DEI bike lanes,” Duffy has leaned into a nostalgia-fueled lens of masculinity via car culture.  

In some ways, this is nothing new. Since cars were invented, they’ve been designed with men in mind, according to Nicole Roach, co-founder of Women in Urbanism, Canada. Even the way cars have been tested for safety has centered on men.

Since the 1960s, car companies, particularly those promoting fast cars or big trucks, have tailored their advertising to the male ego, according to Roach. “They’ve really used the messaging of freedom, domination over the environment, strength, power, speed,” to appeal to men, she said. 

Stephen Miller Embodies the Dark Fascist Heart of Trump’s White House

Trump's Goebbels

Arnold R. Isaacs for Common Dreams   

The video is not long, just 16 minutes and 25 seconds. But in that short time it provides a remarkable capsule of the Trump administration’s ongoing crusade against its critics. In one chilling moment after another, it captures the mentality of that campaign; its content, tone, and style; and its complete disregard for factual accuracy.

The video, taped on July 16, records the words of Stephen Miller, President Donald Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy and Homeland Security adviser, addressing a multinational audience assembled at the State Department for the opening session of meeting convened by Secretary of State Marco Rubio under the title “Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism.” In his welcoming address, Rubio defined the meeting’s focus: “far-left political terrorism” that he declared has been a “blind spot” in US counterterrorism doctrine, but would now be directly in the government’s sights.

Following Rubio to the podium, Miller delivered various—and sometimes unsettling—amplifications on that theme. 

After an opening passage declaring that under President Trump’s leadership, “We have taken the necessary and essential action of formally recognizing left-wing violence as a form of political terrorism that is a direct threat to our national security and the survival of our republican form of government,” Miller went on to proclaim that “for the first time in American history,” all US law enforcement and intelligence agencies are working together “to disrupt, identify, defund, debank, arrest, and prosecute these political terrorists that are operating in our country.” 

Then, in one of many questionable passages, he went on with an implied suggestion that the authorities should reject suspected terrorists’ claims of their legal rights. Miller put it this way:

One of the hallmarks of left-wing violence and terrorism is its completely pretextual and disingenuous appeal to civil liberties in an effort to shield its own violence. This is the tactic that the left always uses to try to protect itself from facing criminal punishment. It is essential that we are wise enough and strong enough to understand that these appeals must fall on deaf ears. When the leftist, who does not believe in freedom, who does not believe in civil rights, who does not believe in any ordered notion of justice, protests that we are violating his rights, understand that he is lying to try to persuade people who are not closely following the political scene that some injustice has been perpetrated against him.

Trump finds new enemy to attack: cherry trees in Washington, DC

 

And at the Kennedy Center: 

A real and very chilling post from the US Department of Homeland Security

Charlestown Gallery presents a new show

"Farmers Market" starts September 5

By the Charlestown Gallery 

Shawn Kenney, Farm Fresh (2026)

Charlestown Gallery is proud to present Farmers Market, an art exhibition celebrating food, fruits, vegetables, and the wonderful places where they’re grown and sold, from September 5th through October 12th, 2026, at Charlestown Gallery, 5000 South County Trail in Charlestown, RI.  

Farmers Market features new artworks in a variety of mediums, including oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastels, mixed media, sculpture, ceramics, and jewelry, showcasing Charlestown Gallery’s deep roster of talented artists, including Antonia Tyz Peeples, Jeanne Tangney, Pati Sylvia, Nick Paciorek, Shawn Kenney, Sheila Newquist, Richard Brady, Theresa Girard, Burl Dawson, Michael Stricklin, Lorraine Hynes, Armen Kojoyian, Mira Vitarello, Carol Shelton, Ed Rose, Anthony Tomaselli, David K. Anderson, Pam Ackley, Marshall Henrichs, Scott Conary, Jim Estes, Jodi Manca, and more. 

The show was conceived of and curated by Kimberly Howard, Director of Charlestown Gallery. About the exhibition, Howard shares, “South County is fortunate to have a rich history of farming, land conservation and preservation, which provides our talented artists with landscapes and subjects in which to create. See what has inspired them and how they translate the ‘Farmers Market’ theme in their work. Stroll through the market with us as we memorialize these local treasures created in their studios, held in our gallery and waiting for you to take home.” 

Charlestown Gallery is open to the public Thursday to Monday, 11am-4pm, or by appointment. 

A reception for Farmers Marker is planned for Saturday, September 19th from 5-7pm. 

For media or art inquiries please contact: Kimberly Howard, Director, (401) 364-0120 and CharlestownGallery@cox.net

Where is Trump's tariff-free beef coming from?

Cattle farmers are latest Trump allies to get shafted

By kos

The agricultural sector has been struggling ever since it helped Donald Trump win a second term.

His tariffs have constrained key overseas markets, with China shifting major soybean and other commodity purchases toward countries like Argentina and Brazil. 

Immigration raids have created labor shortages and driven up the cost of harvesting crops, some of which have been left rotting in the fields.

But there was one corner of agriculture that was thriving: cattle farmers.

A shortage of cattle combined with strong domestic demand meant high prices. Cattle producers also argue that near-monopoly conditions in the processing industry have pushed prices even higher. Since the 1990s, Tyson Foods, Cargill, JBS, and National Beef have controlled upward of 80% of purchases of cattle, squeezing cattle farmers on one end while consumers pay more on the other.

Still, despite challenges like the New World screwworm outbreak, likely boosted by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, cattle farmers were riding high, their faith in Trump apparently rewarded.

That is, until Friday, when Trump announced that he would temporarily allow a massive influx of tariff-free foreign beef into the United States, explicitly intended to undercut domestic beef prices by 25%.

“Today, I concluded a deal to substantially lower the price of ground beef for working American families,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “[F]or the next 90 days, the United States will allow up to 300,000 metric tons of product for ground beef to be imported with no out of quota tariff. We have a commitment that this beef will be sold at 25 percent below current market prices.”

Weirdly, Trump is refusing to say which countries will supply all this mystery meat—an omission that becomes particularly notable amid concerns about the spread of New World screwworm.

On its face, Trump’s announcement is an extraordinary admission that even he knows his economic policies aren’t working.

First, he’s temporarily lifting tariffs to lower consumer prices. That’s a pretty remarkable concession from a president who has spent years insisting that foreign countries pay his tariffs rather than American importers and, ultimately, American consumers.

Trump’s ‘forever’ tariffs are kicking in for the long haul – and US consumers are footing the bill

Trump uses tariffs to wield personal power

Kent Jones, Babson College

Donald Trump’s tariff announcements no longer cause the market gyrations that they did in 2025. But their sticker shock for American consumers is becoming increasingly clear – just as economic sentiment is souring ahead of the November 2026 midterm elections.

Many business groups had hoped that the tariff wars would end in February, when the Supreme Court overturned Trump’s emergency tariffs. They got a rude awakening five months later, however, when Trump announced a raft of new import taxes to replace the levies that were struck down.

Covering nearly all U.S. imports, the advantage of these tariffs in the Trump administration’s view is that they’re more firmly based on existing U.S. trade law, beyond the reach of the Supreme Court’s review. And Trump has said he envisions enacting many more of these so-called trade law tariffs.

As a trade economist who has been following the tariff wars, I believe that the longer these import taxes are in place, the more the consumers will bear their burden. The 2025 “Liberation Day” tariffs that the Supreme Court struck down, as well as other levies Trump announced after the February ruling, turned out to be temporary. But the bulk of the new levies are designed to be permanent.

That means that for consumers, the total cost burden is likely to increase even if the tariff rates don’t change – because the new tariffs will be stacked on older ones.

The cost squeeze

On one level, Trump’s tariff fixation is a mystery. Tariffs continue to be unpopular, and it’s unclear why Trump would double down on them before midterm elections when his approval ratings, including on the economy, are so low.

But on another level, Trump’s embrace of tariffs can be understood as an instrument of personal power. He has long viewed them as tools for negotiating leverage, and he recently declared that U.S. tariffs “aren’t high enough.” The president also has deflected criticism of their impact on consumer prices by claiming erroneously that foreigners pay for them.

Honor Life of Gloria Steinem ‘By Organizing’ for Rights, Equality, and Freedom

“Thank you, Gloria, for showing the world what it means to speak up for women’s equality.”

Jon Queally for Common Dreams

Progressive advocates, lawmakers, veteran journalists, labor leaders, and champions of feminism on Thursday are mourning the death of trailblazing women’s rights activist and author Gloria Steinem, who has passed away at the age of 92.

Steinem, regarded as an icon of the second-wave feminism that emerged in the 1960s and 70s and co-founder of Ms. Magazine, was known for decades as a leading voice on reproductive rights, women’s equality at work, and gender equity across society.

According to her representatives, Steinem died Wednesday at her home in New York City, surrounded by loved ones. An exact cause of death was not given.

“Gloria’s near-century on earth was years well-lived, and she continued working for equality until the very end,” read a message posted to her Instagram account.

“Gloria’s greatest gift was her ability to listen to others, to make others feel seen and heard,” the message continued. “Her words, actions, and example gave people permission to be their truest selves. Gloria lived true to her independent spirit, always with curiosity and a great sense of humor.”

Damage control

Get yer Trump buck. Only $2.40

 

SEIU leaders on why the union supports Helena Foulkes over Dan McKee

McKee’s record speaks for itself

By Jesse Martin and Victoria Mitchell

On a sunny day in May 2021, a crowd of excited nursing home workers, family members, and advocates gathered on the State House steps. The pandemic was easing; mask-wearing and social distancing were now optional. The workers - wearing scrubs or ‘Raise the Bar’ t-shirts - clustered around a folding table. There, Governor Daniel McKee sat, grinning, as he signed the Nursing Home Staffing and Quality Care Act into law.

It was a great day for nursing home caregivers, residents, and family members. We believed it was the beginning of safer, more dignified care for our loved ones and a commitment that 80% of any Medicaid increases would go toward worker wages. But five years later, the law - once one of Governor McKee’s crowning pandemic achievements - has become all but non-existent by the actions of the Governor himself.

This broken promise by Governor McKee deeply disappointed caregivers and residents who desperately needed the law’s protections. But it is not the only one. That’s why, this Labor Day, as we reflect on workers’ rights, our healthcare system and the economy, we - as leaders of SEIU 1199NE, the state’s largest healthcare union - conclude that the status quo cannot continue. We have had enough of McKee’s empty promises and have voted instead to endorse Helena Foulkes for Governor.

A recent article in the Providence Journal quotes McKee’s campaign spokesperson as saying, “Governor McKee’s record on labor and healthcare speaks for itself.” We could not agree more. Here are a few reasons why:

Six months after McKee signed the nursing home staffing law, he signed the first moratorium delaying enforcement, followed by a succession of executive orders suspending fines, the only enforcement mechanism to hold for-profit nursing home owners accountable. Finally, in December 2023, he suspended the law altogether.

Charlestown Mini-Super changing ownership

Local guy is new owner

By Bob Yarnall

The sale of Charlestown Mini-Super is imminent, according to long time store employees. 

 The iconic town landmark was purchased by the Charlie and Tim Beck in1981. The Beck Brothers owned and operated the business together for over forty years until Charlie passed away in 2024.  

The Mini-Super is thankfully staying in local hands, those of Charlestown resident Jeffery Hanks. Jeff has owned and operated Hanks Hardwood Floors since 2012. Continued success, Jeff!

A life well lived

‘Utterly Unsustainable’: Employer-Sponsored Healthcare Costs Set to Keep Surging

Bad choices no matter where you look

Brett Wilkins for Common Dreams

US workers with employer-sponsored health insurance are expected to spend an average of $5,297 on healthcare this year, including premiums deducted from their paychecks, deductibles, and copayments, according to a new estimate from benefits consulting giant Aon reported Thursday by The Wall Street Journal.

That’s $388 more than last year, and the pain is expected to intensify in 2027. According to a survey conducted by WTW, another consultant, US employers anticipate their healthcare costs will soar 11.1% next year. That could be the steepest increase in more than two decades, and would mark the fifth consecutive year of rising employer healthcare costs.

As the Journal noted, expensive cancer treatments and widespread adoption of weight loss drugs are among the factors driving up spending—and costs. For workers, that means larger deductions from their paychecks, higher out-of-pocket costs, and, for some, abandoning insurance altogether.

“Employers are telling us that this is utterly unsustainable,” WTW population health leader Jeff Levin-Scherz told the Journal.