Beach access captures the conflict between people to whom their ownership of beaches is more vital than the shores and beaches themselves, and people who freshly enjoy beaches. Property owners who guard the shores distort the environment with clumsy assumptions of possession.

Those with fresh appreciation are objects of resentment by people whose ownership surpasses pleasure and beauty. To be grabby is the highest virtue.

Barbaric taste and behavior suffice. To aggrandize oneself requires diminishing others. Some bray that makes America great, others think virulence and arrogance are outlandish. Beaches and shores are places for such conflict. It is true the wealthy would take more, or all, if they could. Perhaps a scratch or two of sand would satisfy the meek. That might comprise the glory of the commons. It is also true the common character can be a sloven.

There are tendencies in humans to regret. There are superb moments, too. It is unfortunate so many do not believe in them. But I digress.    

It is my pleasure to recommend Linda Ujifusa for the RI Senate District 11.

Linda has a great record of public service and will stand up for our R.I. community at the Statehouse. She is a champion in fiscal, governing policies, educational expectations for our youth and well voiced in the health and human services needed for our community. 

I urge you to elect her for RI Senate Dist. 11.

The lieutenant governor race this coming fall will be decided next week!

The Democratic primary being held on Tuesday, Sept. 13 will, for all practical purposes, select the next lieutenant governor. In a one-party state like Rhode Island, any Republican challenger will likely not succeed.  

This is our chance to make a difference in the direction of our state. Rep. Deb Ruggiero has represented Jamestown and Middletown well over her last 14 years in the House Of Representatives. But more importantly, Deb has represented the interests of all residents of the state of Rhode Island. Deb as chair of the House Small Business Committee, chair of the Internet and Technology Committee and eight years on the House Finance committee will be a huge asset to whomever the people of Rhode Island elect as their next governor. 

Deb makes things happen. Deb has been a champion from the beginning on the issue of solar energy. Deb has been instrumental in helping bring solar energy to your home through distributed generation and net metering. Fourteen years ago I was able to install a 120-panel array on the roof of the Newport Animal Hospital. For four months this was the largest privately owned business array in the state. Look where we are now. Deb has been a tireless champion in driving this hugely successful renewable energy program.  

Deb has been a successful advocate for increased funding for our senior centers, protecting a woman's right to choose as well as getting broadband in this year's budget to expand access to residents, businesses and seniors.

The lieutenant governor position, for as long as anyone can remember, has been inconsequential and remains so to this date.  Remember when Gov. Raimondo did not speak to her lieutenant governor for months on end. Deb will bring a bridge between the governor's office and the legislature. Her work and relationships will matter, because she can identify problems, convene stakeholders, and write legislation to resolve issues. 

Early voting in a primary is easy peasy. As an independent, last week I pulled up behind the town hall in Jamestown, got off my bike, (no one in line) showed my drivers licence, asked to vote in the Democratic primary, cast my vote and disaffiliated on my way out, back to being an independent. Total time, six minutes. Early voting is available on weekdays at your local Town Tall.

Deb epitomizes the words, public service. Honesty, Integrity and trust. Deb deserves your vote!

So in a Thursday night primetime address that could only be described as grotesquely offensive and divisive, Joe Biden blasted Donald Trump and Republicans for refusing to accept the results of a free election, and painted them as "threats to democracy."

Many political observers found these attacks rich in irony and hypocrisy, as Joe Biden and his fellow Democrats, in lockstep with their coat holders in the liberal media, ardently refused to accept the results of the 2016 election, and feverishly worked to overturn them. In fact, so strong was their refusal that a coalition known as "the Resistance" was formed to repel and thwart the 2016 election results at every turn.

The "resistance" took many forms, infamously including, but not limited to, the multi-year Russian collusion hoax, the biggest Big Lie of them all, and the most dangerous and insidious effort to undermine democracy and overturn an election ever attempted in the history of American politics, a political dirty trick so nefarious that it itself is now the subject of a criminal probe being headed up by Special Counsel John Durham, who has already secured multiple indictments. It involved the illicit weaponization of the Obama administration's intelligence and law-enforcement communities, as well as an endless stream of leaks, to cripple both the candidacy and resulting presidency of Mr. Trump.

Every cockamamie scheme and underhanded trick in the book has been deployed in the ongoing, multiyear effort to "get" Mr. Trump. The attempts have involved the violation of longstanding political norms, traditions, principles, and protocols, and, at times, violation of the law itself. The recent unprecedented raid at Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump's personal residence, is but the latest assault on accepted political decorum. The relentless yet failed pursuits remind many political observers of the old Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons.

With each passing day it's become more and more clear that those who wring their hands and shout the loudest about the need to "protect our democracy" are the very people who pose the greatest threats to it. And yet Joe Biden had the audacity to take the stage Thursday night and deliver a bilious, divisive, and rancorous screed about how dangerous and hate-filled Trump and his supporters are. While watching Mr. Biden's hypocritical and hate-filled speech, I was immediately reminded of an apt quote from famed American journalist and muckraker William Henry Irwin, who many years ago said: "Like gluttony or drunkenness, hatred seems an agreeable vice when you practice it yourself, but disgusting when observed in others." Indeed.

Make no mistake about it. The greatest threats to our democracy have come not from the rise of Donald Trump, but rather the response to it.