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April 3, 2008

A Novel Way of Referring to Rhode Island

Monique Chartier

At the news conference yesterday of Rhode Island clergy leaders where the Governor's Executive Order on illegal immigration was criticized with various levels of tact, the Reverend Donald C. Anderson, Executive Minister of the Rhode Island State Council of Churches, observed

In God's kingdom there are no second-class citizens, only sisters and brothers.

Rhode Island is lovely but cannot be confused for God's kingdom. Or perhaps he was not literally referring to Rhode Island?

Comments

One of the clergy was heard saying on talk radio that the "immigrants" (no mention of Illegal) have been allowed by the Government to come across for the last 20 years and now that RI is in a recession we are cracking down and everything is going bad we are looking to blame the poor immigrants.

I would like to ask them...so, in the Dominican, Honduras, Guatamala and any of those countries is it okay to travel without proper legal papers? No, we know for example in Mexico there have been many detained and the process to get out was excruitating. We can look as some other more civilized governments like Portugal, Italy etc. and they too would not tolerate your ability to find legal papers.

So those are not God's country by any means where you can't freely move around. Ah, but America gives free credit cards, the best health coverage to felons, which the bill is later paid for by legal citizens. This must be their heaven.

If those clergy really want to help and do the ethical thing...they should go to that country and help them there. But, they better bring a good form of identification because otherwise they won't get very far.

Posted by: Artemis at April 3, 2008 9:05 PM

Rhode Island IS God's Country. Never underestimate the Carcieris' messianic complex.

Posted by: rhody at April 4, 2008 12:13 AM

"various levels of tact..."

That was very tactful of you, Monique. A less tactful person might have said "apostasy" -- but I'm tactful, too.

Apparently, they don't have enough faith to believe that God has control outside of the continental United States.

"In God's kingdom there are no second-class citizens, only sisters and brothers." Four points:

1. Last time I checked, there was only one class of citizens here. This isn't about citizens. Period.

2. Although God is in control of affairs on Earth, we're not yet in God's kingdom yet.

3. Lastly, we don't make Heaven on Earth ourselves. God does that. Implying otherwise puts us in the place of God.

4. Historically speaking, I find it interesting that those who have over the ages tried to create a "Heaven on Earth" by their own efforts have usually succeeded -- succeeded in bringing a little bit of Hell to it instead.

Posted by: Will at April 4, 2008 2:03 AM

One question for the God squad. Where do they come down on the rights of the Palestinian people in the Holy land? Only brothers and sisters over there?
Nothing worse than hypocrites in the name of God.
Btw found it very humorous that CNN misspelled Rabbi Flam's name when Lou Dobbs cited his written statement to the governor. The Lord works in mysterious yet poignant ways to puncture the inflated and unchecked egos of his God squad. Right Rabbi 'Fram'?

rhody,

Don Carcieri is the last person on Earth in possession of a messianic complex but that 'YOU' view him that way is veeeeeeery interesting.
Blessings to you from the State House! lol

Posted by: Tim at April 4, 2008 7:28 AM

Unlike the talk radio crowd, I don't believe Carcieri was sent down here by the Almighty, any more than God sent us Saddam Hussein or Jeffrey Dahmer.
The Don just has a big ego, that's all, big enough that it required stroking from Lou Dobbs yesterday.

Posted by: rhody at April 4, 2008 12:06 PM

I guess Crowley,Jerzyk,and Segal hve no big egos.Over at RI Future they have a word at the end of each entry-"discuss"instead of "comments"-it has a very snotty ring to it as though Great Poobah Jerzyk is telling his acolytes that they are now allowed to opine

Posted by: joe bernstein at April 4, 2008 1:59 PM

Joe, you're reading too much into that. When I hear "Discuss," I think of Linda Richman (Mike Myers' character on the old SNL "Coffee Talk" recurring sketch).

Posted by: rhody at April 5, 2008 1:05 AM