A golden calf speaks at the National Prayer Breakfast

Go figure: Evangelicals love a lying, accused child-rapist, convicted felon, narcissist who doesn't go to church, doesn't know the Bible and spreads racism and hate

Sabrina Haake

On February 5, Trump addressed the 2026 National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., a tradition President Dwight Eisenhower began in 1953 to solemnify the confluence of faith, gratitude, and public service. At Eisenhower’s ceremony, after he swore the oath of office, he delivered an unscripted and spontaneous prayer of humility, calling on God to “make full and complete our dedication to the service of the people.”

Seventy-odd years later at this year’s national prayer breakfast, Trump met Eisenhower’s prayer of humility and raised him one.

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Instead of somber reflection or words to soothe an anxious nation, Trump used the national prayer to deliver a blasphemous meditation on Trump: 77 minutes of self-indulgence, grievance and hatred.

Using national prayer to promote violence

Trump opened his remarks by maligning the press, complaining that he never gets “a fair break from the fake news, which is (points dismissively) back there.”

Then, only three sentences in, he started referring to himself referentially as “Sir” while calling everyone else by their first name.

Forgetting the prayer theme of the breakfast, Trump joked about murdering people in Venezuela like it was locker room talk. “I was just talking to a great leader from El Salvador and he said, man, that was some attack, I’ve never seen anything like that one. Right? Right?” Continuing his banter with the murderous Bukele across the room, Trump laughed, “That (violent attack) was good even by your high standard, right? That was a hell of an attack.”

Only ghouls or morons would think that was funny. In a rule of law world, Trump would be hauled into the ICC on multiple charges of murder.

He's not a racist

Get out there

Courtney Cox to discuss gender, media, politics within basketball at upcoming URI humanities lecture

But not THAT Courteney Cox

James Bessette 

Courtney M. Cox follows athletes, coaches, journalists and advocates of women’s basketball as they pursue careers within the sport. She also explores the intersection of race and gender against the backdrop of many leagues around the United States and the world, such as the WNBA and the NCAA.

In Cox’s book, Double Crossover: Gender, Media, and Politics in Global Basketball, she explores how Black women and nonbinary athletes maneuver through the global sports media complex. Cox, a former ESPN associate director and now associate professor at the University of Oregon, will discuss her book and work during the University of Rhode Island’s Humanities and Popular Culture/Counterculture lecture series. 

Cox’s talk, followed by a book signing and reception, will be held Thursday, Feb. 26, at 4 p.m., in the Hope Room of the Robert J. Higgins Welcome Center, 45 Upper College Road, on the Kingston Campus.

The year-long lecture series, hosted by the URI Center for the Humanities, has already featured talks on music and social justice, art and Black Southern life, and Indigenous peoples’ space in pop culture. The series is co-sponsored by the URI College of Arts and Sciences, Division of Research and Economic Development, Department of Gender and Women’s Studies, a grant from the Mellon Foundation, and Department of Philosophy.

Bobby Jr.'s anti-vax committee sets its sight on proven anti-cancer vaccine

The HPV vaccine prevents cancer. The new ACIP wants to re-examine that.

Jake Scott, MD

Here's a win for Bobby Jr. - driving Moderna out of the
vaccine business

The vaccine against human papillomavirus, or HPV, has reduced cervical cancer by nearly 90% in women vaccinated as adolescents. It has been studied in more than 70 randomized controlled trials. Over 135 million doses have been administered in the United States. 

And last month, a newly formed working group under the reconstituted Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which helps guide vaccine decisions by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced plans to conduct a multi-year "comprehensive review" of the vaccine's efficacy, effectiveness, and safety.

The working group's charter, finalized in December 2025, does not limit itself to the one genuinely open question in HPV vaccine science, whether a single dose provides adequate long-term protection. It calls for a sweeping reexamination that includes adjuvant toxicity, potential contaminants, possible HPV type replacement, and a full reassessment of safety data. It lists neurology and toxicology among the disciplines to be represented on the working group. 

And it operates under an ACIP that was reconstituted in June 2025 after Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired all 17 prior members and replaced them with appointees who include paid expert witnesses against the product now under review.

Messy weather in Charlestown through next Monday

Temps too high for snow to stick, but there might be some ice

By Will Collette

Our winter weather continues to be worse than it has been in several years. The National Weather Service forecast for Charlestown calls for daytime temps above freezing, continuing the melt, and nighttime temps a little below freezing.

Lots of precipitation on the way mixing rain, snow and freezing rain. Very little snow accumulation is expected. But roads could get sloppy nonetheless, especially if we get even the slightest amount of ice. 

The pattern of snow that doesn't stick alternating with freezing rain that might is expected to continue through Monday. The NWS says we will see sunshine on Tuesday but weather just below freezing and brisk wind.

As it stands, NOAA is forecasting a 35% chance that Charlestown could get 0.01 inches of ice. While those are good odds for us, just the tiniest amount of black ice could put you in a world of hurt. So please be very careful.

The question of the ages: Is it OK to sit on public toilet seats?

How can we stop this menace when HHS Secretary Bobby Kennedy Jr. lets his grandkids swim in sewage?

Lotti Tajouri, Bond University

If you’re a parent or have a chronic health condition that needs quick or frequent trips to the bathroom, you’ve probably mapped out the half-decent public toilets in your area.

But sometimes, you don’t have a choice and have to use a toilet that looks like it hasn’t been cleaned in weeks. Do you brave it and sit on the seat?

What if it looks relatively clean: do you still worry that sitting on the seat could make you sick?

What’s in a public toilet?

Healthy adults produce more than a liter of urine and more than 100 grams of poo daily. Everybody sheds bacteria and viruses in feces (poo) and urine, and some of this ends up in the toilet.

Some people, especially those with diarrhea, may shed more harmful microbes (bacteria and viruses) when they use the toilet.

Public toilets can be a “microbial soup”, especially when many people use them and cleaning isn’t frequent as it should be.

What germs are found on toilet seats?

Many types of microbes have been found on toilet seats and surrounding areas. These include:

• bacteria from the gut, such as E. coli, Klebsiella, Enterococcus, and viruses such as norovirus and rotavirus. These can cause gastroenteritis, with bouts of vomiting and diarrhea

• bacteria from the skin, including Staphylococcus aureus and even multi-drug resistant S.aureus and other bacteria such as pseudomonas and acinetobacter. These can cause infections

• eggs from parasites (worms) that are carried in poo, and single-celled organisms such as protozoa. These can cause abdominal pain.

There’s also something called biofilm, a mix of germs that builds up under toilet rims and on surfaces.

Are toilet seats the dirtiest part?

No. A recent study showed public toilet seats often have fewer microbes than other locations in public toilets, such as door handles, faucet knobs and toilet flush levers. These parts are touched a lot and often with unwashed hands.

Public toilets in busy places are used hundreds or even thousands of times each week. Some are cleaned often, but others (such as those in parks or bus stops) may only be cleaned once a day or much less, so germs can build up quickly. The red flags that a toilet hasn’t been cleaned are the smell of urine, soiled floors and what is obvious to your eyes.

However, the biggest problem isn’t just sitting: it’s what happens when toilets are flushed. When you flush without a lid, a “toilet plume” shoots tiny droplets into the air. These droplets can contain bacteria and viruses from the toilet bowl and travel up to 2 meters.

Citizenship voting requirement in SAVE America Act has no basis in the Constitution – and ignores precedent that only states decide who gets to vote

Trump and MAGA Republicans want to make it as hard as possible to vote

John J. Martin, Quinnipiac University

The Republican-led House of Representatives voted Feb. 11, 2026 to approve the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act – or SAVE America Act. The bill would require individuals to provide proof of citizenship when they register to vote and present photo identification when they do vote in federal elections.

This marks the third year in a row that the House has passed similar legislation. Passage in the Senate, which would require Democratic votes, continues to appear unlikely. But Republicans from Donald Trump on down are clearly interested in finding ways to enhance election security – although critics contend the SAVE America Act would unfairly disenfranchise millions of citizens.

The SAVE America Act would require anyone registering to vote in federal elections to first “provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship” in person, such as a passport or birth certificate.

The new version goes further than its predecessor by requiring many individuals voting in federal elections to present photo identification at the polls indicating proof of U.S. citizenship.

Voting rights experts and advocacy organizations have detailed how the legislation could suppress voting. In part, they say it would particularly create barriers in low-income and minority communities. People in such communities often lack the forms of ID acceptable under the SAVE America Act for a variety of reasons, including socioeconomic factors.

As of now, at least 9% of voting-age American citizens – approximately 21 million people – do not even have driver’s licenses, let alone proof of citizenship. In spite of this, many legislators support the bill as a means of eliminating noncitizen voting in elections.

As a legal scholar who studies, among other things, foreign interference in elections, I find considerations about the potential effects of the SAVE America Act important, especially given how rare it is that a noncitizen actually votes in federal elections.

Yet, it is equally crucial to consider a more fundamental question: Is the SAVE America Act even constitutional?

How Will the Billionaires React If Trump Cancels the 2026 Elections?

Trump is hinting he might do what many fear

Dean Baker in Beat the Press

The lack of market reaction to the news that Trump ordered his Justice Department to investigate criminal charges against Fed Chair Jerome Powell surprises many people. 

After all, everyone knows that the claims about cost overruns being the basis for the investigation is nonsense. Trump wants to threaten Powell with criminal charges because he ignored Trump’s demand that he lower interest rates.

This ordinarily would be seen as a very big deal. Ever since Nixon, presidents have been reluctant to be seen as pressuring the Fed. In fact, their concern on this issue often seemed absurd to my view. President Biden didn’t want his Council of Economic Advisors to even comment on interest rate policy, as though giving a view based on the economic data would be undue pressure.

But there is a big difference between presenting an economic argument and threatening to imprison a Fed chair who disagrees. And we now see which side Trump comes down on.

But apparently, the markets are just fine with this new threat. The major stock indexes all rose on Monday, although bond prices fell slightly, pushing long-term rates higher. The dollar also fell modestly.

Can't imagine why

Another Trump patriot

URI music ensembles commence spring performance schedule on Feb. 22

Concert slate will also include special jazz performance featuring URI alumni

James Bessette 

The University of Rhode Island Jazz Big Band will perform during
the Voices in Jazz festival March 5 and will hold a special
concert on April 25 where for the first time University alumni
will take the stage with the band for an all-star show—all at the
URI Fine Arts Center Concert Hall. (URI Photo/Nora Lewis)

The University of Rhode Island Concert Band and Wind Ensemble both intend to send audiences into unique musical mindsets on Sunday, Feb. 22, at 3 p.m. to help kick off the Music Department’s spring semester concert schedule.

The Wind Ensemble and Concert Band, under the direction of URI Director of Bands Brian Cardany, will take the stage at the URI Fine Arts Center Concert Hall, 105 Upper College Road, on the Kingston Campus. The Wind Ensemble concert will center around the theme, “Atmospheres,” set to transport audiences into an aesthetic world.

Pieces to be performed for “Atmospheres” are “Steampunk Suite” by Erika Svanoe, “Diamond Tide” by Viet Cuong, “Catalyst” by Adrian Sims, and “Wild Nights” by Frank Ticheli.

The Concert Band will perform “Liberty Bell” by John Philip Sousa, “Mystery on Mena Mountain” by Julie Giroux, and Steven Reineke’s “Into the Raging River.” Victor Sanchez, a URI graduate assistant, will conduct the Concert Band’s rendition of David Holsinger’s “A Childhood Hymn.”

The Wind Ensemble and Concert Band will also perform live on Sunday, April 26, at 3 p.m. at the Fine Arts Center. Details of that show will be unveiled at a later date.

The annual Voices in Jazz festival will be kicked off by the URI Jazz Big Band, directed by URI Director of Jazz Studies Emmett Goods, on Thursday, March 5, at 8 p.m. at the URI Concert Hall. This year’s festival will welcome guest composer Le’Andra McPhatter, a jazz pianist and organist who founded the Journey Music Academy and Journey Online organizations to cultivate the next generation of musicians.

A President's Day protest in Wakefield with South County Resistance

Just what the Founders would have wanted

Steve Ahlquist

Various Presidents

South County Resistance hosted a President’s Day protest in Wakefield that marched from the intersection of the bike path and Main Street to downtown, where over 100 people gathered at all four corners holding signs and joining in song with Singing Resistance.

The theme of the protest and march was “President’s Day Legacy - From Statesmen to Stooge.” Among the marchers were people dressed as Presidents George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Donald Trump. President Trump was dressed in a prison jumpsuit.

Here’s the video:

Meera Raphael, singer, songwriter, and worship leader in Peacedale, is one of the organizers for Singing Resistance. She led the group in songs that originated on the streets of Minneapolis, from the Peace Poets and resistance movements across the country. These songs, said Raphael, are meant to “nurture the spirit of peace, love, solidarity, and unity.”

“We need to stand together and come together,” said Raphael. “It’s the only way we’re going to get through this… we need more music. Music brings us together and brings harmony in a world full of dissonance.”

Here’s all the video of Singing Resistance: