Finneran: Viva La Revolucion
Tom Finneran, GoLocalProv MINDSETTER™
Finneran: Viva La Revolucion
Versailles is stunning, truly beyond words. The grounds, the gardens, the fountains, the palace, the paintings, the sculptures---all combine to take one’s breath away.
To consider the immense wealth needed to construct and maintain Versailles, in the midst of the relatively impoverished seventeenth century, is to understand that systems of royal privilege were pretty good deals if you happened to be a royal.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTI’m not so sure that the butchers, the bakers, and the candlestick makers were all in on hereditary titles, hereditary lands, and hereditary palaces. From their unheated, damp, dirt floor hovels they must have wondered how even the moronic offspring of their elite lords and masters got to flaunt their social positions and flex their haughty sense of superiority.
In the recesses of my mind, I recall a passage from Dickens’ Tale of Two Cities where a royal coach is speeding through the streets of Paris only to collide with a street urchin in rags. The child is maimed yet the royal is too impatient to be concerned with his condition. Rather, the royal’s insolent and callous response is to toss two coins in the direction of the injured child and to instruct the driver to move along.
I can only imagine the muttered comments of the commoners as they witnessed once again the harsh treatment and brutal disregard of fellow human beings. The indifference of the royals to the plight of the masses of people was not matched by an equivalent indifference of the masses to the plight of their hungry children. Tumbrels were quietly built and guillotines were steadily sharpened.
That there were horrid crimes and blood drenched madness afoot in the French revolution is undeniable. Equally undeniable was the anger of a people denied any semblance of hope for a better future or for justice for their children.
The capitalist in me could see both the kindling and the spark.
That unsettling thought occurred again last week on a Baltic cruise to St. Petersburg. I was in conversation with a fellow passenger with whom we had visited the Hermitage, Catherine’s Palace, and Peter’s Summer Palace, a combination of such magnificent opulence as to defy description. The passenger was a wealthy retired businessman—a capitalist to be sure---and yet his remark mirrored my own thoughts: that one could physically see and psychologically understand the fuel which fed the Russian revolution.
Once again, blood drenched furies exacted a slaughter of staggering measure, with the cruelty of the revolutionaries quickly eclipsing even that of the tsars.
Revolutions are fearful things and thankfully, they are exceedingly rare.
Such were my thoughts last week on the shores of the Baltic.
Tom Finneran is the former Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, served as the head the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, and was a longstanding radio voice in Boston radio
19 to Watch in 2019 - FULL LIST
Angie Armenise
Chef and co-owner of Blackie’s Bulldog Tavern in Smithfield, Angie Armenise has it all going. Expansion to a new and larger location, a wonderfully loyal customer base and a big stack of awards -- and more to come in the new year. READ MORE
Marcela Betancur
Marcela Betancur, the new head of Latino Policy Institute at Roger Williams University and will be the power behind Latinx think tank in 2019.
Betancur, a Central Falls native, most recently worked READ MORE
Brian Goldner
No one will influence the psyche of Rhode Island more this year than Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner. After the loss of the PawSox to Worcester and the closing of Rhode Island’s beloved Benny's in 2017, Rhode Islanders are a bit raw.
He is poised to announce that Hasbro is...READ MORE
Cortney Nicolato
New United Way of Rhode Island President and CEO Cortney Nicolato succeeded Anthony Maione in 2018 — and takes on her first full year at the helm of the social service organization in 2019.
She is a Rhode Islander turned Texan returned back to Rhode Island. The Pawtucket native is all about Rhode Island and is passionate about helping to improve issues of housing affordability and the quality of education in RI. She is the mother of two elementary school-aged children. READ MORE
Sabina Matos
It is the rise of the Phoenix in Providence. On Monday, Sabina Matos won back the Presidency of the Providence City Council and returns to the top legislative position in the City of Providence.
As Providence goes so goes Rhode Island. Matos will be faced with taking on some of the most difficult issues in the state. READ MORE
Jamie Bova
The Newport City Councilor At-Large lined up the votes to votes for Mayor after being elected to just her second term on the Newport City Council this past November.
Bova, an engineer who grew up in Middletown, attended URI, and moved to Newport in 2012, succeeds Harry Winthrop as the city faces major changes ahead for 2019, including the construction of a new hotel on Thames Street — and more hotel proposals in the pipeline — and READ MORE
Jennifer Wood
The former private practice attorney turned top government aide turned non-profit director might have her biggest — and most public — battle on her hands in 2019.
RI Center for Justice Executive Director Jennifer Wood joined GoLocal News Editor on GoLocal LIVE where she spoke to the next steps after filing a federal class-action lawsuit in late November on behalf of all Rhode Island public school students to establish the right, under the U.S. Constitution, to an adequate education to prepare young people for full civic education.
Catholic Church Sex Abuse Survivors
In 2018, Bishop Tobin with the Diocese of Providence landed on GoLocal's “18 to Watch” as the Catholic Church was — and continues to remain — at the center of lawsuits pertaining to the collapse of the St. Joseph pension fund.
He’ll remain squarely in the spotlight — and not for good — in 2019, when he has pledged to release a list of names of abusive priests “credibly accused” over the years in the Diocese, as pressure mounts nationally for how sexual abuse claims were handled around the country — READ MORE
Matt Voskuil
One of Newport’s most iconic — and upscale — dining locations has a new look, a new chef — and people are taking note not just in Newport, but beyond.
Executive Chef and Director of Food and Beverage, Matt Voskuil at the newly opened Cara at the Chanler READ MORE
David Torchiana
The most powerful person in healthcare in Rhode Island may soon be a man who rarely visits the state and few here know his name.
Dr. David Torchiana is the CEO of Partners HealthCare and he is poised to push through an acquisition of Rhode Island’s second largest hospital group, ending the local control over three of Rhode Island’s most important healthcare assets. And, the deal has the potential of putting in peril thousands of Rhode Island jobs through consolidation. READ MORE
RI GOP Party Chair
Rhode Island Republican Party Chair Brandon Bell was defeated in his run for the General Assembly in 2018.
Republican Cranston Mayor Allan Fung lost in his second attempt at the Rhode Island Governor’s office, after a bruising primary that saw former opponent and House Minority Leader opt to endorse former Republican-turned-independent (and honorary chair for President Donald Trump’s campaign in Rhode Island) Joe Trillo. READ MORE
Anthony Baro
Anthony Baro heads Newport-based PowerDocks — one of Rhode Island’s most interesting startups. It is a market-making green tech company that, in many ways, combines the best of Rhode Island.
The emerging maritime renewal energy company is having an impact in the U.S. and globally. READ MORE
Blake Filippi
Blake Filippi is the new House Minority leader and is a fresh-faced leader for the GOP in Rhode Island. But, he faces a number of challenges. READ MORE
Desmond Cambridge
Brown University sophomore basketball player Desmond Cambridge has been a human highlight film his first year and a half on College Hill. He won Ivy League Freshman of the Year and this year he is READ MORE
Sarah Markey
South Kingstown School Board member Sarah Markey has been at the center of controversy since her election in November.
Markey, a top labor leader for the RI National Education Association, has drawn criticism by Democrats, Republicans and multiple municipal attorneys because READ MORE
Peter Neronha
Peter Neronha, the new Attorney General, takes over for the controversial Peter Kilmartin. The former U.S. Attorney for Providence now faces a far busier assignment than his federal one. READ MORE
Dylan Conley
Dylan Conley seems to be everywhere. Recently, GoLocal featured the attorney as one of Rhode Island's "Emerging Leaders."
He is the chairman of the Providence Board of Licenses and is in a hotbed READ MORE
Mike McGovern
Chef Mike McGovern -- formerly the chef at Red Stripe -- is taking the helm at East Greenwich's Kai Bar -- and now 241 Main Sports Bar and Grill.
Kai Bar is a combination of small plates and big drinks, “Kai offers a rotating small plates menu from an award-winning Chef and Craft Cocktails READ MORE
BIg Tourism Voids
Tourism is one of the most important sectors of the Rhode Island economy and two of the most important positions in the state are now vacant. READ MORE
