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MARY ANN SORRENTINO

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Ferraro, a photo, and a legacy

Tribute
Geraldine Ferraro's photograph stands proudly in a silver frame, inscribed to my daughter with the words, "You are my hero."

By: MARY ANN SORRENTINO | March 30, 2011

Two murders and an unheeded call

Shame of the State
When Rhode Islanders mention former Rhode Island Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Fay, they often focus on the scandal that forced him to resign from the bench.

By: MARY ANN SORRENTINO | December 29, 2010

The death of Irish-Italian political entitlement

Tribes
Angel Taveras may soon be Providence’s first Latino mayor. But his victory in the recent Democratic primary is much more than a triumph of the city’s growing Hispanic population.

By: MARY ANN SORRENTINO | September 22, 2010

Rhode Island’s birth control contretemps

Medicine
Recently OB-GYN Associates, a respected women's health care practice with offices in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, admitted to Rhode Island Department of Health officials that it had implanted in patients birth control intrauterine devices (IUDs) apparently manufactured in Canada and not approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

By: MARY ANN SORRENTINO | July 07, 2010

Turning in that low-numbered plate for a pink one

Special Category
Low-numbered plates may be Valhalla for Rhode Island’s vainglorious. But they are hard to come by. So for the average driver looking for attention, “vanity” and “special category” plates are the way to go.

By: MARY ANN SORRENTINO | May 19, 2010

A black leadership silent on abortion fabrications

Choice
Last month, controversial anti-abortion-rights billboards appeared in Georgia hinting that abortion is a tool of black genocide.

By: MARY ANN SORRENTINO | March 24, 2010

Bienvenido a federal hill

Turnover
My grandfather's house still stands on Westminster Street in Providence, its yard overlooking the Armory field where my uncles would gather to play bocce.

By: MARY ANN SORRENTINO | December 30, 2009

A lawyer’s adventures in bad judgment

Contempt of Court
People who know Keven McKenna know he is not a stupid man. Whether or not the Providence attorney, ex-state representative, and Harold Stassen of Providence mayoral races uses good judgment is another question.

By: MARY ANN SORRENTINO | December 21, 2009

Pink ribbons: Play hardball!

Breasts and Balls
In ancient times, men appeased the gods by tossing female virgins into volcanoes and families left their newborn daughters on hillsides to die since girls were less "valuable" than boys.

By: MARY ANN SORRENTINO | November 25, 2009

Kennedy vs. the Catholic Church

Opinion Dept.
Last week, Congressman Patrick Kennedy took the Catholic Church to task for opposing health reform that fails to include an explicit ban on federal funding for abortion. And he was right to do it.

By: MARY ANN SORRENTINO | October 30, 2009

With Kennedy's death, a chance to move beyond royalty

Dynasties
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, the last "lion" of the Massachusetts clan, finally rests – in peace, I hope.

By: MARY ANN SORRENTINO | September 02, 2009

Judging the judge

Facing the facts of the Sotomayor nomination
Women may not yet have full equality, but Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the US Supreme Court proves we can compete with the big guys now. It also means that women accepting patronage (and every political appointment is patronage) have an equal shot at getting pounded in the process.

By: Mary Ann Sorrentino | June 03, 2009

Recession lesson

Drinkin 'n' thinkin'
Cigarette tax hikes in Rhode Island have smokers kicking the habit.

By: MARY ANN SORRENTINO | May 20, 2009

ACLU and Irons: Strange political bedfellows

LegalWatch
Politics has seldom made stranger bedfellows than those exposed when the RI ACLU hopped into the sack with former state senator William Irons.

By: MARY ANN SORRENTINO | May 06, 2009

The problem with the Church's selective embrace

Vatican City
Pope Benedict recently lifted the excommunication of four bishops who had been consecrated without the required Vatican consent.

By: MARY ANN SORRENTINO | February 12, 2009

Dirty Harry goes to church: Clint and Catholicism

Reel Life
In Mystic River , Clint Eastwood examined the damage to a close-knit group of Boston friends, years after one of them was sexually abused by a stranger, in a film depicting the power of sexual abuse with Catholic overtones.

By: MARY ANN SORRENTINO | February 02, 2009

How much have we learned since 9-11?

Conflicts
When Israel launched recent attacks against Palestinian foes, killing hundreds, president-elect Obama and others repeated the familiar mantra of pro-Israel support, decrying Hamas and citing Israel's right to self-defense, ignoring how dead children, on both sides, know no politics.

By: MARY ANN SORRENTINO | January 14, 2009

Looking Back

America didn’t become colorblind in 2008
Since Barack Obama’s election, there have been many congratulatory essays — verbal and written — about the greatness of Americans being able to elect a person of color to our highest office.

By: MARY ANN SORRENTINO | December 29, 2008

The problem with liberals' dislike of Rick Warren

Uncivil Liberties
The need to be consistent in the defense of the rights of all in our country — even those whose views we may find abhorrent.

By: MARY ANN SORRENTINO | December 23, 2008

Give thanks to those who fight for civil liberties

A quarter-century ago, Dan Donnelly, a friend and fellow plaintiff in an unsuccessful challenge of a religious holiday display on public property in Pawtucket, wondered who could possibly lead the local chapter of the ACLU in constitutionally challenged Rhode Island.
Rights + Reasons

By: MARY ANN SORRENTINO | November 25, 2008

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