Snow before Halloween

Quincy 005
Originally uploaded by NetParrot.

I love New England so very, very much.

Federal Hill is soaked (Providence, RI)

Federal Hill is soaked (Providence, RI)
Originally uploaded by NetParrot.

Congratulations to Rhode Island for the wettest October in recorded history. Last night, our rivers swelled and dams flexed to bursting as another inch and a half of rain fell in one night. The entire state is dark, damp and cold.

I've got nothing but love for it, since we're all about the trees, grass, ponds, rivers and lakes. On the downside, there are 30,000 people in Rhode Island without power, and there's been yet more flooded streets and basements. Even better, or worse, there's more to come as the remnants of hurricane Wilma make their way to the north.

Katana wielding man arrested in Johnston

Japanese Officer's Shin-Gunto
Originally uploaded by dirt dog.

The Providence Journal (login required) reports that Johnston police responded to a 911 call and found 40 year old Michael C. Welch confronting them with a drawn katana, reportedly screaming "just kill me!" at the befuddled cops.

Miraculously, Welch got a grip on his surroundings and dropped his weapon before the police ventilated him, and all ended relatively peacefully. Where the hell are the people from the Institute For The Study And Practice of Nonviolence when someone needs them, anyway?

Cliff Walk photos

Country "cottage" (Newport, RI)
Originally uploaded by NetParrot.

They're three weeks old now, but what the heck, I took pictures of the Cliff Walk in Newport. This was the last weekend of dry weather we've had in the past three weeks, with more rain scheduled for this weekend.

I can't complain about getting too much of the wet stuff, though. I would hate it if Rhode Island looked like Arizona.

When Republicans attack ... Republicans.

Why is the GOP fighting this man? Meet Steve Laffey, the mayor of Cranston, and ostensible contestant for the US Senate seat held by resident Republican In Name Only Lincoln Chaffee. Despite rock solid Republican credentials, the National Republican Senatorial Committee is afraid that Laffey's primary challenge to Chaffee will result in a Democrat winning the seat in 2006. Of course, for those of us who know Lincoln Chaffee, there's very little discernable difference between him and any other New England Democratic senator, so Rhode Island's Republican voters are eager to see Laffey, a bonafide Republican, wind up on the ballot.

Chaffee, however, is getting big bucks and big help from the NRSC, who in turn have spent their money on attack ads portraying Laffey as some sort of lunatic, or worse, as a tax and spend Democrat. The National Review sorts it out online. The NSRC also forgets that Chaffee was nominated for his seat by then Governor Lincoln Almond after the death of Senator John Chaffee, Lincoln's father, and was not re-elected a year later as the result of some upsurge of Republican voters in Rhode Island. People in Rhode Island know what they're getting in Lincoln Chaffee - a Democrat. Republicans know what they see in Steve Laffey - a Republican.

Within Rhode Island, Laffey is lauded as the man who took on the public employees unions and won, and the man who brought Cranston back from the brink of financial ruin. While tax hikes were definitely involved in balancing the city's budget, Laffey's primary, and most politically dangerous focus, was tackling the public service unions that provided Yugo services at Lexus prices. Everyone in Rhode Island certainly remembers the Cranston crossing guard fiasco, after all, and we also remember his unlikely victory over foes with enormous political clout in Rhode Island.

As a registered Republican in Rhode Island (a breed rarer than the Block Island meadow vole), I intend to vote for Laffey in the primaries. There's no guarantee Chaffee will win re-election against any halfway credible Democratic challenger, and just as importantly, there's no way in hell that Lincoln Chaffee will actually behave like a Republican if re-elected. Bring it on, Mayor Laffey, and don't let the bastards get you down.

Yeah, this is an update.

So I've been quiet for the past week and a half, and I've neglected to put up pictures I had taken on the Cliff Walk in Newport from last week.

However, I do have something more exciting to report, namely, the beginning of the Boston Celtics' 2005-2006 season tonight in Pittsburgh, where they will be facing LeBron "King" James and the Cleveland Cavaliers! Sadly for Nora, her "soul mate", Al Jefferson, will be sidelined with a sprained ankle, but she's always got Ricky Davis (pictured above) to fall back on.