Marc Comtois

I know Maritime stuff (KP'91), Late Antique Burgundians, (c)onservatism, US History (MA PC'06) & the 80's. Pretty good on genealogy, French Canadians, RI & ME.

[Cynical Publius @CynicalPublius]

THEORY:

The reason we Olds don't give a crap about the food struggles of the Youngs, and the reason why the Youngs don't get why the Olds don't feel sorry for them, is as follows:

We Olds grew up eating Swanson TV Dinners and a bland, dried out pot roast and canned green beans on Sundays, so when we moved out of the house and had to live on ramen and microwave burritos for weeks at a time, it was no big deal.

The Youngs, OTOH, grew up in the Golden Age of take out of all kinds, with their parents buying high quality meals of all kinds of cuisines, and with all-natural cooking options of incredible quality from places like Whole Foods in abundance, so ramen and microwave burritos feel like a HUGE step down.

My theory. It could be right, it could be wrong, but it's mine.

[Marc Comtois @marccomtois]

I understand economic argument. But these celebratory posts never deal with the National Security ramifications of a full JA Repeal without reform nor w/idea of foreign crews transiting US waterways. Imagine if we deregulated US airspace the same way-Chinese airlines in US skies?

[Hans Mahncke @HansMahncke]

The Jones Act is total economic vandalism. Cheap Chinese junk can cross the Pacific on foreign ships and flood American markets, yet American goods cannot move between American ports unless they are carried on grotesquely expensive US-built, US-owned and US-crewed vessels. The law is punishing domestic trade in favor of foreign trade. Credit to President Trump for suspending this insanity. Now Congress should repeal the Jones Act for good.

[Marc Comtois @marccomtois]

@jpodhoretz One thing about JPod: he’s an emotional critic/commentator & goes all in or all out right off the bat. He tends to get caught up in the zeitgeist. I’ve followed him for years & agree about 1/3 of the time with his reviews. So I’m a little wary.

[Lyndsey Fifield @lyndseyfifield]

I've never taken a dime from AIPAC or Koch. I shouldn't need to say that.

My Linkedin is public. I haven't worked “in politics” since the beginning of 2023 when I was digital marketing director for @NikkiHaley. After having a miscarriage I made the difficult but correct decision to prioritize my family.

God is faithful—we welcomed another baby in November of that year.

Since then, the only campaign I've waged has been against the kudzu vines creeping into my gardens, and the only lobbying I've done has been trying—so far in vain—to convince my husband to let me get chickens.

We live a simple, beautiful life.

While I have received overwhelming support from across the political spectrum since June 4th, I was horrified by the dismissive comments made by people like @SenWhitehouse and @jodikantor who believed the Platner campaign's lie that I was a “political operative.”

One of many, many lies they've been caught in.

I've received and accepted many sincere apologies since @jaketapper @alligordon_ reviewed my evidence and did what the NYT failed to do (called my sources to corroborate my claims).

@SenWhitehouse, you rushed to publicly condemn me without bothering to get the facts right back in June.

You had over a month to reflect on that mistake but instead of apologizing or even admitting you were wrong, you chose to double down. How truly pathetic.

[Marc Comtois @marccomtois]

@ALawRadio RIP The Score. I remember your stint. A tough gig for an outsider and a woman in that market at that time. I thought you did well. Seems like things turned out ok ;)

[Marc Comtois @marccomtois]

Looking forward to local media asking the Senator "hard questions" about this.

[Politics & Poll Tracker 📡 @PollTracker2024]

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) says he still doesn’t believe Graham Platner’s first accuser who was a Republican

Whitehouse: “When looking at allegations you have to evaluate things like if there is corroboration, she was involved in a Koch-brothers operation”

Source: CNN

[Marc Comtois @marccomtois]

USMMA not like the other Academies. https://t.co/ZyEnEFU4T7?

[Marc Comtois @marccomtois]

It's all in the weighting decisions, you see...

[Ted Nesi @TedNesi]

NEW: RI has slipped even closer to the bottom of the annual @CNBC Best States for Business list

RI fell 2 spots to 48th out of 50 - hurt in part by CNBC's decision to weight infrastructure bigger than any other factor

MA rose to 15th and CT rose to 23rd https://t.co/9ZL37T14JK

[Marc Comtois @marccomtois]

@TheHistoryOfTh2 I visit Portland fairly regularly and often run into transplants who came up to Maine during Covid b/c all work went remote, pay stayed same, Maine cheap and lifestyle is pretty nice - good beer, restaurants, outdoors, etc.

[Marc Comtois @marccomtois]

USMNT round-of-16 crashout was always the most likely. They are not a top 10 club. May never be one. Lots of reasons, but one point. In most of the world soccer is lowest entry level sport. All you need is a ball and net. In US, same thing. But it's basketball.

[Lyndsey Fifield @lyndseyfifield]

Mine weren't sufficiently troubling or serious for you, right?

[Mike Conti @MikeConti929]

Before the USMNT discourse goes to strange, dark places, I think we need to accept that this World Cup proved what we already knew:

This is a top-16 in the world team, but not a top-8 team.

[Eric Daugherty @EricLDaugh]

🚨 JUST IN: This German World Cup fan has gone famous for CRYING ON-AIR after he realized the anti-USA propaganda he was fed is WRONG — after an American man named Bob RESCUED him when he got stranded

"I was scared of the US...shootings, criminals."

"I've FALLEN IN LOVE with this country. This was so emotional. I even cried in the stadium." ❤️

Sebastian thought Americans were rude, mean and COLD

"Strangers offered him a ride to his hotel," after he was stranded with no way to get back!

"I LOVE USA...I had tears in my eyes."

The man even got more sad about having to GO BACK to Germany than his team, Germany, losing in the World Cup!

🇺🇸🇩🇪

PERFECT TIMING with America 250!

[Russ Roberts @EconTalker]

Excellent analysis of how metrics lead to unintended emergent results.

[Anchor Rising @AnchorRising]

Rhode Island’s absence from the Great American State Fair is a small story that reveals a large problem: the people officially representing us don’t appear to feel much obligation to do the job.

The more telling detail may be from Massachusetts, where a private citizen stepped in to make sure her state had at least some presence — but feared to give her name to reporters out of fear of political repercussions... for giving out maple syrup. That is where our political culture is.

Rhode Island’s officials and their media explainers have offered the usual fog: funding constraints, no real loss, nothing to see here. But the question is whether anyone even tried to find citizens or groupswilling to represent the state when government wouldn’t.

The answer matters because it points to the deeper condition: Those who hold power know they are insulated from consequences, while those who might better represent the public learn that stepping forward can make them a target.

That’s a bleak way to mark 250 years of the American experiment.

[Anchor Rising @AnchorRising]

@MSten37 of the @RICenterFreedom realized, not long ago, that it's now been 20 years since Rhode Island elected its last Republican to statewide or federal office. That, in the language of President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is a score of years. The immediate question, then, is how RI is doing after this extended run.

He worked with @AnchorRising's @JustinKatzRI to answer that question, and the answer turned out to be: not well. As a matter of trends and of current condition, in comparison with other states or judged only by its own results, the Ocean State is becoming harder to afford, less educated, and less conducive to success.

Simply recognizing this does not lead automatically to solutions. However, the list of bad outcomes does give direction. Each failure on the report represents real people struggling and genuine challenges our neighbors are facing.  Each one, that is, points the way to a segment of people who, first, need to know they aren’t alone or invisible and, second, must understand it is up to them to help identify and implement a solution.

[Anchor Rising @AnchorRising]

Read full post:
https://t.co/ZL1FL6NmOw

[Marc Comtois @marccomtois]

@TheHistoryOfTh2 @MattWelch @nickgillespie Classic underdog story. I loved that movie as an 8 year old and watched several times. Some of the kids were a little over the top but it felt real, and coarse and tough while having heart. I can smell the beer, motorcycle exhaust, the bubblegum. And I'll always hate the Yankees

[Anchor Rising @AnchorRising]

What would the Independent Man say about the state of Rhode Island in 2026?