Tuesday, December 2, 2025
Monday, December 1, 2025
Trump's unfitness to serve triggers federal officials' duty to act
Trump has crossed the line where invoking the 25th Amendment should be compulsory
All servicemembers are taught, and are expected to understand, its core principles. Ignorantia juris non excusat, or ‘Ignorance of the law,’ is not a legal defense in the US military.
Under Art. 92 of the UCMJ,
members have a duty to obey all lawful commands, and they have a parallel duty
to disobey all unlawful commands. Obeying
a manifestly illegal order, like an order to target civilians, can expose a
service member to criminal liability.
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| The Nuremberg Trials of Nazi war criminals established the principle that "I was just following orders" is NOT an excuse |
Trump, Hegseth are issuing manifestly illegal orders to
murder civilians
Trump has ordered the summary
execution of at least 83 people so far in suspected drug-trafficking
boats in the Caribbean and Pacific. Trump and Hegseth call these
targets ‘narco-terrorists’ because they think that means they can treat them as
enemy combatants in a war that does not exist.
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| Name them, Donald |
The international condemnation of Trump’s campaign in South
America is growing, along with global
accusations of murder that would be louder if Trump weren’t
threatening foreign leaders with erratic tariffs. Formerly strong
US allies, including the UK, Colombia, and the Netherlands, have either refused
or suspended related intelligence sharing with
the US because of the illegal strikes. Military support groups are starting to
talk in earnest, offering counseling
and advice on what to do when faced with illegal order situations.
Help re-elect our fine State Representative Tina Spears
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Charlestown Gallery opens doors for Charlestown Ramble
Special event prices
We have collected over 100 original art works priced at $500 and below for this event. You will not be disappointed. Friday night raffle 50% off one original work of your choice (limit applies) and Saturday night raffle 1 free workshop of your choice. Sip a hot beverage and mingle while you tackle some holiday shopping. Exquisite original paintings, sculptures, furniture, books, ornaments, jewelry, and pottery will make memorable gifts. You might even find something for yourself if you dare.
Chef Bryan Chavez Food Truck Curbside Creperie will be on site Friday and his Farm to Sandwich Truck on Saturday. Gather around the fire pit while you meet the artists and your Charlestown neighbors while supporting small local artists and businesses this holiday season. Make a lasting difference in our community.
Storm tomorrow unlikely to bring much (or any) snow
But it will be wet and windy according to the National Weather Service:
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| 7-Day Forecast 41.38N 71.66W |
If you are travelling north, watch out:
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| Boston/Norton, MA Weather Forecast Office Winter Weather Forecasts |
Trump Latin America policy: Pardon convicted right-wing drug traffickers while threatening to bomb left-wing leaders
Trump and Hegseth policies make no sense
Julia
Conley for Common Dreams
On the social media platform X, Trump warned that only a victory for former Tegucigalpa Mayor Asfura and the National Party in Sunday’s election will allow Honduras and the US to “fight the Narcocommunists, and bring needed aid to the people” of the Central American country.
He accused Asfura’s opponents—former finance and defense minister Rixi Moncada of the left-wing Liberty and Refoundation (Libre) Party, which is now in power, and sportscaster Salvador Nasralla of the centrist Liberal Party—of being communists and said Nasralla is running as a spoiler in order to split the vote and weaken Asfura. |
| State-sponsored terrorism |
He added that a loss for the
right-wing candidate would allow Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro “and his
Narcoterrorists [to] take over another country like they have taken over Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.”
The president also wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, that “if [Asfura] doesn’t win, the US will not be throwing good money after bad,” repeating a comment he made during New York City’s mayoral election in which he urged voters to reject progressive candidate Zohran Mamdani or risk losing federal aid for the city. Trump also offered Argentina a $40 billion bailout if voters elected his ally, Javier Milei, earlier this year.
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| War crimes or just plain old murder - why the US military needed reminding about the duty to not follow illegal orders |
Under President Xiomara Castro, the Libre Party’s government has invested in hospitals and education, and has made strides in halting the privatization of the country’s electricity system, Drop Site News reported.
The poverty rate
has also been reduced by about 13% since Castro took office in 2021, although,
as the outlet reported, some rights advocates have criticized Castro’s
government for keeping “many of her predecessor’s militarized policies in
place, despite her commitment to implement a more community-minded strategy.”
Trump added in his social media post that he was issuing a pardon to former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who represented the National Party and is currently serving a 45-year prison sentence in the US.
He was convicted of working with drug
traffickers who paid bribes to ensure more than 400 tons of cocaine were sent
to the US. The pardon was announced as Trump continues his threats against Venezuela, which he has
accused of trafficking drugs to the US.
Sunday, November 30, 2025
This is the homestretch to Charlestown’s December 2 Town Council special election
On Tuesday, please support Democrat Jill Fonneman for Charlestown Town Council
By Will Collette
I know that Sam is a very
good boy. I also know Bonnie was crap as a former town council member. She
bailed from the Council in 2022 just before the CCA got ousted by Charlestown
voters for messing up the town’s money but now she wants back onto the Council.
Bonnie was a central figure
in creating and then covering
up the CCA’s “$3
million oopsie,” padded
surplus fund accounts and shady
land deals by her boss, CCA founder and de facto leader Ruth Platner.
Charlestown’s money problems during
the decade of CCA rule, which included Van Slyke’s entire term on the Town
Council, were documented by 2022 reports by the Rhode
Island Auditor General and the Rhode
Island Public Expenditure Council. These reports were never
acknowledged by the CCA. Click HERE
and HERE
for more details.
I have been calling for Van
Slyke to own up to her mistakes and then apologize. Instead, she produces these
expensive postcards filled with platitudes and vague promises about
environmental issues where there is no fundamental difference between her and her
opponents.
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| Vote for Jill Fonnemann (D). She also has a dog plus far better ideas than her competitors |
My choice for Council is Democrat
Jill Fonneman who has been forthright about taking on Charlestown’s
issues and pledges to work hard for fair taxation and trying to revitalize our
blighted small business landscape. I blame the CCA’s business-hostile approach
for our Boulevard of Broken Dreams (thank you, Green Day), better known
as Route One where there are more shuttered businesses than growing concerns.
Boarded up derelict
businesses are not compatible with Route One’s status as a Scenic Highway. Jill
wants to see Charlestown make a concerted effort to turn this around.
Jill brings youth and solid
business experience in boosting the Rathskeller’s success as well as
fund-raising events to boost local charities and to assist the workers after
the devastating fire at the Matunuck Oyster Bar. See video below.
Van Slyke brings nothing to the table but her awful past performance on the Council where she was the puppet of Charlestown Planning Commissar Ruth Platner. Van Slyke simply recites the tired old Platner-tudes about open space Über alles. If you think about it, a vote for Van Slyke is really a vote for her master Ruth Platner.
There’s no point in talking
about mail-in or early voting since Monday and Tuesday are the last days to
cast ballots. Now is the time to make your decision about whether you want to
move forward with Jill Fonneman or take a big step backwards with Van Slyke.
Voting on December 2
(Tuesday) will take place ONLY at Town Hall from 7 AM to 8 PM.
Rhody grown: Real trees support local farmers
Tips and trends when picking out this year’s Christmas tree
It’s that time: One of the particular joys of the season is
heading outdoors to pick out a Christmas tree.
Some good news for tree shoppers this season: If you are
buying from a big-box store or pop-up lot where the trees are likely shipped
from Canada—live trees imported from our northern neighbor are exempt from
tariffs.
However, a better option might be to buy local, advises URI
forestry extension specialist Christopher Riely.
He will be heading to a local tree farm to make his selection, keeping his
decorative dollars in the local economy. Plus, it’s a magical experience.
“It can be a fun expedition to pick out a Rhody-grown tree,”
says Riely.
Riely likes to vary the type of tree he puts up from year to
year. He enjoys buying fresh-cut trees from local farms, and in recent years
has been drawn to “character” trees that are far from the perfect conical shape
but unique in appearance (and also offer a good value). Last year, he brought
home a white fir.
Supporting Christmas tree farmers helps ensure the continued
economic viability of local agriculture and reduces the likelihood that
productive open space will be developed or converted for another use.
NIH grant terminations disrupt hundreds of clinical trials, affecting more than 74,000 participants
Just as we are on the verge of cancer breakthroughs, Bobby Jr. does this
The cross-sectional study,
led by researchers at Harvard Medical School, examined all NIH-funded
interventional trials active between February 28, 2025, when the first wave of
grant cancellations was reported, and August 15, 2025. Of 11,008 ongoing
trials, 3.5% lost funding during this time.
The affected studies spanned multiple stages: 36% had
completed data collection, while more than one-third were actively recruiting.
Notably, 43 trials were "active, not recruiting," meaning
that participants may have been receiving interventions at the time funding was
withdrawn.
Trials focused on infectious diseases saw the highest
proportion of terminations (14.4%), followed by prevention-focused studies
(8.4%) and those involving behavioral interventions (5%). International trials
were also disproportionately affected.
Terminations unethical, may harm participants
Unanticipated funding disruptions can jeopardize follow-up,
undermine data quality, and leave researchers unable to complete analyses, warn
the authors.
In an accompanying commentary,
Teva D. Brender, MD, of the University of California, and Cary P. Gross, MD, of
Yale School of Medicine, who weren't involved in the study, argue that
terminating funding for reasons unrelated to safety or efficacy is an ethical
breach. The abrupt terminations violate principles of informed consent and pose
real dangers. "Participants who have been exposed to an intervention
in the context of a trial may be harmed by its premature withdrawal or
inadequate follow-up and monitoring for adverse effects," they
write.
Participants who have been exposed to an intervention in
the context of a trial may be harmed by its premature withdrawal or inadequate
follow-up and monitoring for adverse effects.
The terminations may also rob participants of something
harder to quantify but no less important: hope. "For some
participants, enrolling in a trial was a source of hope, in situations when
other treatment options were inadequate," they write. "For
some, participating in the study was a part of their legacy, a way they hoped
to contribute to humankind, which will now be denied."
Although some grants have since been reinstated, the
commentators emphasize that reversals can mitigate, but not undo, the
scientific and ethical harms. The widespread disruptions
pose "unacceptable and unethical risks to patients," they
conclude.
The researchers of the study urge continued monitoring to
understand how these terminations will affect future trials, study design, and
data integrity.
Trump’s Anti-Green Agenda Could Lead to 1.3 Million More Climate Deaths.
To Trump, this could be a plus
Co-published with The Guardian
Increasing temperatures are already killing enormous numbers of people. A ProPublica and Guardian analysis that draws on sophisticated modeling by independent researchers found that President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda of expanding fossil fuels and decimating efforts to reduce emissions will add substantially to that toll, with the vast majority of deaths occurring outside the United States.
Most of the people expected to die from soaring temperatures in the coming decades live in poor, hot countries in Africa and South Asia, according to recent research. Many of these countries emitted relatively little of the pollution that causes climate change — and are least prepared to cope with the increasing heat.
ProPublica and the Guardian’s analysis shows that extra greenhouse gases released in the next decade as a result of Trump’s policies are expected to lead to as many as 1.3 million more temperature-related deaths worldwide in the 80 years after 2035. The actual number of people who die from heat will be much higher, but a warming planet will also result in fewer deaths from cold.
Leaders from most of the world’s countries are now gathered at an international conference in Belém, Brazil, to address the escalating effects of climate change. The absence of the United States, which has 4% of the world’s population but has produced 20% of its greenhouse gases, has been pointedly noted by participants. Afghanistan, Myanmar and San Marino are the only other nations that did not send a delegation to the meeting, according to a provisional list of participants.
Our calculations use modeled estimates of the additional emissions that will be released as a result of Trump’s policies as well as a peer-reviewed metric for what is known as the mortality cost of carbon. That metric, which builds on Nobel Prize-winning science that has informed federal policy for more than a decade, predicts the number of temperature-related deaths from additional emissions. The estimate reflects deaths from heat-related causes, such as heat stroke and the exacerbation of existing illnesses, minus lives saved by reduced exposure to cold. It does not include the massive number of deaths expected from the broader effects of climate change, such as droughts, floods, wars, vector-borne diseases, hurricanes, wildfires and reduced crop yields.
The numbers, while large, are just a fraction of the estimated 83 million temperature-related deaths that could result from all human-caused emissions over the same period if climate-warming pollution is not curtailed. But they speak to the human cost of prioritizing U.S. corporate interests over the lives of people around the globe.
“The sheer numbers are horrifying,” said Ife Kilimanjaro, executive director of the nonprofit U.S. Climate Action Network, which works with groups around the world to combat climate change.
Saturday, November 29, 2025
Neronha co-leads suit over HUD policy that would put more people into homelessness
Once again, Rhode Island is the center of resistance to oppressive Trump policies
By Christopher Shea, Rhode Island Current
The group co-led by Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha is accusing the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development of violating “congressional intent” in its plan to dramatically reduce the amount of grant funds that can be spent on permanent housing, along with other conditions placed in its latest Notice of Funding Opportunity for Continuum of Care grants.
Enacted Nov. 13, HUD’s new policy instead shifts Continuum of Care funding toward transitional housing and other short-term interventions to the nation’s ongoing homelessness crisis. Only 30% of funds from the $3.9 billion grant program would be allowed to be used for permanent supportive housing — units that provide a subsidized, stable residence for formerly homeless people, often those who have experienced mental illness or spent years on the streets.
HUD has previously directed approximately 90% of Continuum of Care funding to support permanent supportive units as part of its “Housing First” philosophy, according to the 55-page lawsuit.
Suit filed against Trump decree linking aid to crime victims to whether a state meets Trump standard for immigration enforcement
"This administration is hanging Americans out to dry"
According to the lawsuit, the Trump Administration,
disregarding the law and the intent of Congress, has declared that states will
be unable to access these funds – used to support victims and survivors of
crimes – unless they agree to support the Trump Administration’s extreme
immigration enforcement efforts.
“When the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is actively preventing Americans from receiving justice, we have a problem,” said Attorney General Neronha.
Fluoridated water linked to better adolescent school achievement
Fluoride and fear
By Justin Jackson, Medical Xpress
edited by Sadie Harley, reviewed
by Robert Egan
Children exposed to recommended levels of fluoride in
drinking water show modest cognitive advantages in secondary school, with no
clear evidence of harm to cognitive functioning around age 60, according to
researchers at the Institute for Social Research and Data Innovation at the
University of Minnesota and multiple collaborating institutions..webp)
Don't need no stinking fluoride!
Water fluoridation in the United States began after decades
of research linked naturally high levels of fluoride in water sources to lower
community tooth decay. The evidence was convincing enough for the city of Grand
Rapids, Michigan, to become the first in the world to supplement its municipal
water with fluoride in 1945.
While scientific consensus and public policy have considered
fluoridation a fundamentally positive public health intervention, discussion,
doubt, and conspiratorial fears have persisted in some public circles.
Some of the concerns revolve around safety for developing
children, specifically regarding whether fluoride exposure reduces childhood
IQ, with some selective scientific backing.
70% of Americans do not want to go to war with Venezuela
70% of US Public Opposes Military Attack on Venezuela
Jake Johnson for Common Dreams
New survey results show that Americans strongly oppose US military action against Venezuela as the Trump administration privately weighs options for land strikes against the South American country—as well as possible covert action targeting the government of President Nicolás Maduro.
The CBS News/YouGov survey, published on Sunday, found that 70% of
Americans—including 91% of Democrats and 42% of Republicans—are against the “US
taking military action in Venezuela,” and a majority don’t believe a direct
attack on Venezuela would even achieve the Trump administration’s stated goal
of reducing the flow of drugs to the United States.
Friday, November 28, 2025
Van Slyke’s “commitment” to apple pie and motherhood is not enough to make up for fiscal mismanagement.
Van Slyke must answer for CCA’s glaring financial blunders that she helped to create
By Will Collette
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| Loving animals and nature is not this election's key issue, but money management is |
Her two opponents, Democrat Jill Fonnemann and Republican
Laura Rom, also believe in protecting our environment – clean water, healthy
ponds and streams, dark skies, and all our critters and birds. Jill is
especially strong on animal protection. The candidates differ on how to achieve
our goals, but don’t differ on the goals themselves.
So let’s stipulate that all the candidates love our town and
its beautiful environs. And dogs.
The real difference between Van Slyke and her rivals comes into
sharp relief when you look at her record on how to manage the taxpayers’ money.
Van Slyke makes two “promises” that are belied by her actions and omissions.
Van Slyke pledges “to provide open, honest, responsible
leadership” and commits to “manage our town’s administration and budgets
effectively” which she failed to do during her previous time on the Town Council.
Bonnie B. left the Town Council in 2022 at the height of
Charlestown’s worst financial scandal in a generation, a crisis where she was
one of the key architects and led the cover-up and misinformation campaign.
And in her own writings for this special election, she still
is.
In 2022, Charlestown learned that under the total control of
the Charlestown Citizens Alliance, Charlestown had not only achieved the dubious
distinction of having the highest administrative costs in the state but
that this CCA-controlled administration had “lost” (they say “misallocated”) $3
million for two years. The “$3
million oopsie.”
Van Slyke was the CCA’s principal spokesperson leading the
cover-up and disinformation campaign to deny there was a problem and, failing
that, blame someone else while refusing
reasonable requests for an outside, impartial review.
Van Slyke pushed – and still pushes – pumping
up the town’s surplus (“Unassigned fund balance”) beyond any reasonable need.
The $3 million oopsie grew out of the accumulated pockets of cash the CCA had
squirreled away in the town budget often used to finance Planning Commissar
Ruth Platner’s shady land deals.
Van Slyke praised and defended ex-Town Administrator Mark
Stankiewicz even though he failed at his #1 job which was to take care of the
money. Instead, he presided over ending legal public access to records about
the town’s finances and shady land deals and allowed the $3 million to get lost.
Then Stanky and ex-Budget Commission Chair Dick Sartor did their own self-audit
and of course found themselves blameless.
Van Slyke consistently obstructed every effort by then
minority Council member Deb Carney to bring in an outside forensic auditor to
find out what really happened and to fix it.
And did I mention that according to the RI Public
Expenditure Council, Charlestown’s administrative costs
peaked as the worst in the state per capita during the final year of CCA's reign? We're right there at the very bottom of the chart. Here's what RIPEC found (and note that the CCA NEVER even acknowledged this data, never mind acted on it):
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| Stonewall Stanky, Charlestown's cover-up king |
The facts showed that Stanky’s
only talent was his loyalty to the CCA, but even that turned out to be phony. It turns out Stanky
had already lined up a new job in Berkley, MA even before the 2022 election
which the CCA was expected to win.
While clueless Van Slyke and the CCA were campaigning to
save his job in 2023, Stanky was already out the door and was simply trying to
get the biggest severance package he could. Incidentally, Stanky
only lasted six weeks at the Berkley job before moving on to mess up
Pawtucket’s finances.
Then in 2025, Van Slyke and the CCA repeated the process when
the CRU decided not to confirm CCA-aligned Budget
Commission chair Dick Sartor – a central figure in the CCA fiscal meltdown
– to another term on the Commission. Sartor failed at his job to provide
oversight over Charlestown’s finances and teamed with Stankiewicz to run the
cover-up of the $3 million oopsie.
The CRU wanted him out but naturally, Van Slyke wanted him
retained. Ever the champion of incompetence.
Since the CCA was booted out of office, the CRU-led Town Council has done a great job of cleaning up the mess the CCA left. And to see exactly what the CRU did, see what the state's chief auditor found.
According to the Rhode Island Auditor General, in their first year in office, the CRU-led Council improved
Charlestown’s financial management in the following ways:
Raised more revenue.
Under the CCA, revenue was $28 million. Under the CRU, this
increased to $30 million.
Lowered expenses.
RIPEC flagged Charlestown’s highest in the state expenses
which were $31.2 million, more than the revenue collected. Under the CRU,
expenses dropped to $29.8 million.
Increased the town’s savings.
This is the unassigned fund balance (UFB) that the CCA
criticized the CRU for failing to increase. In fact, according to the Auditor
General, the CRU raised the UFB by 17% from the CCA’s $5.3 million to $6.2
million.
Improved pension funding.
Funding to cover future pension costs rose from the CCA’s
$8.3 million level to $8.8 million under the CRU.
Reduced Charlestown’s debt by a LOT.
Under the CCA, Charlestown’s debt was $7.9 million. Under
the CRU, debt dropped to $6 million, almost 25% less.
Erased the deficit the CCA left behind.
According to the Auditor General, the CCA left behind a
DEFICIT of $3,266,029. The CRU erased that deficit and ended FY23
with a SURPLUS of $157,666.
This table on page 16 of the Auditor
General’s report gives the detail:
Not once has the CCA acknowledged these hard facts, sticking instead to Bonnita Van Slyke's false narrative that the CCA was infallible. Oh, she also loves her dog.
Election started today (November 12)
Early, in-person voting has started at Town Hall. If you plan to vote by mail, ask our Town Clerk Amy Weinreich for a mail ballot application. If you've already applied, your ballot should be on the way.
Generally, special elections like this draw almost exclusively from those who pay attention to politics. Turn out is usually very low, maybe a thousand if we're lucky. A three-way race like this is especially hard to predict.
The CCA will spend from its huge treasury built on non-resident cash to send you fancy mailers telling you Charlestown needs to go back to the good old days when they ran things. The financial facts shown above tell a very different story.
Democrat Jill Fonnemann is pledged to support the CRU’s sound financial management for a better, more prosperous Charlestown. Let's move FORWARD, not backwards.
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