@samghoward.riliberator.com
Rhode Islander, education union data organizer and Democratic ward committee member. Recovering comms pro, RI's leading vexillologist (probably). Occasionally blogs at riliberator.com
@samghoward.riliberator.comTo soften the blow, they made it effective as of Christmas Eve.
@samghoward.riliberator.comIt's kind of got everything.
@samghoward.riliberator.com(I have assumed it's eggplant parm, I'm not actually sure.)
@samghoward.riliberator.comBut in the Journal, the Women's Auxiliary former president says they begged to make the eggplant, but the men went with catering company. www.providencejournal.com/story/news/l...
![Another lingering source of grievance: The eggplant.
Traditionally, the Women’s Auxiliary did the cooking for the society’s annual feast in September, which draws large crowds and helps raise money for the club. This year, as the club prepared to celebrate its 40th anniversary, the women said they’d only help out if they got half the profits from selling food and raffle tickets.
“I would call it extortion,” Kirshenbaum said. He recalled Giarrusso threatening, “‘Unless you do this, we’re not going to make the eggplant. Unless you do this, we're not going to volunteer.’”
The women say there’s more to the story. Last year, the Women’s Auxiliary wanted to make the eggplant, but the men cut them out and hired Ralph’s Catering to make the food instead, [Lori-Ann Carlino, a former president of the Women’s Auxiliary] said.
“We begged them,” she said. “That’s our tradition. We love to do it.”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:dg2ijmcypzdhghffaezfhxht/bafkreig4dvgxaplrflp6yc4vyzzpp5shwehvldvrnpfgujytpuat77wadu@jpeg)
@samghoward.riliberator.comSo in the Globe story, the sequence reads that the men were rude, leading to the women to not want to help, with the men responding by hiring a catering company. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/10/12/m...
![“We would all get together for almost a whole week. One day, we make eggplant. One day, would be meatballs,” [Mary Ann Rocchio, 87, the spiritual leader for the Women’s Auxiliary] said. “So, that was a bond, that we all worked together.”
Until last year, when tensions grew and the men’s executive committee decided to have Ralph’s Catering do the cooking for the society’s annual three-day feast on Labor Day weekend.
“Because they were rude to the women, the women decided not to help with the feast, and then they were mad,” said Lori Martin, a member of the Women’s Auxiliary.
[Anthony Mastantuono, president of the Santa Maria di Prata Society] and [Evan Kirshenbaum, Society's lawyer and an associate member] said eliminating the Women’s Auxiliary would have no effect on the society. They don’t need them to make the eggplant, Mastantuono said; moreover, the current women members aren’t as good cooks as the ones from years ago.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:dg2ijmcypzdhghffaezfhxht/bafkreih6dadmhus5katext5zhzbbtpqcsgft665vedlw53zmubwyf36sri@jpeg)
@samghoward.riliberator.comI am confused by the eggplant parm timeline in the Cranston Italian social club story.
@mcopelov.bsky.socialReposted by @samghoward.riliberator.com👇🎯 This. People still haven't internalized that structural things are structural & Harris did not do poorly & it's almost entirely certain that no one else would have done better, not least because she & Biden were the only Dems overwhelmingly favored by Black voters in 2024 (as she likely is now).
@darinself.comReposted by @samghoward.riliberator.comA lot of people on here tut-tutting this but Harris' campaign outperformed just about every incumbent party on the planet in '24 and she did it with far less time as usual.
@nickkodama.bsky.socialReposted by @samghoward.riliberator.comHappy Members of Congress Wishing the US Navy a Happy Birthday But Using Pictures of Foreign Navies Day
@samghoward.riliberator.comHmm… I think it’s literally just one sign at this point.
@fitzprov.bsky.socialReposted by @samghoward.riliberator.comThe Providence Central Labor Council endorses @davidmoralespvd.bsky.social for PVD mayor
@samghoward.riliberator.comPersonally, I'd argue Trump was the apogee of the party of Dennis Hastert, Newt Gingrich, Larry Craig, David Vitter, Mark Sanford, Tom DeLay, and others.
@samghoward.riliberator.comThe lady who "designed" the "Democrats for David Talan" sign describes her process (in the Facebook group "Rhode Island Conservatives")
@andycraig.bsky.socialReposted by @samghoward.riliberator.comThis is a significant worsening of our current state of constitutional collapse. I know it feels like there are so many, and there are, but in terms of crossing the Rubicon moments this one's up there.
@cooperlund.onlineReposted by @samghoward.riliberator.comYou know, the problem with politically weaponizing the DOJ is that it both allows the GOP to go on the offensive with the power of the state like this AND weaponization serves to cast doubt on the motivations of the department in a way that protects the GOP from coming, legitimate investigations
@zeddary.bsky.socialReposted by @samghoward.riliberator.comHegseth broke the news about live streaming an execution to a MAGA propagandist who has 14/88 tweets and once hired Atomwaffen members (who were at Charlottesville and friendly with the Tree of Life shooter) to help him harass the family and neighbors of a Jewish murder victim.
@donmoyn.bsky.socialReposted by @samghoward.riliberator.comOver the last decade, there were two hypotheses: H1: the political right genuinely cared about threats to speech from the left. H2: they were using campus speech wars to impose their values and silence dissent. Today, the answer is clear, but I can't find any of the H1 people admitting their error.
@samghoward.riliberator.comThere was a discussion on r/RhodeIsland about the gubernatorial candidates, and it's always a lesson in the way some people think about elections. Like, the primary lesson to be gleaned from, say, a 45-34-21 Foulkes-Block-Guckian outcome, is that the RIGOP is a deeply weak party.
@jakemgrumbach.bsky.socialReposted by @samghoward.riliberator.comQuick story. My op-ed on how corporations that kept their DEI programs performed just as well financially was accepted & factchecked at TIME Magazine. Just needed "pro forma review by the legal department." Suddenly the piece is spiked Why? Benioff owns TIME and wants to ingratiate himself to Trump
@jdcmedlock.bsky.socialReposted by @samghoward.riliberator.comTurns out the friction of having to learn photoshop was a crucial firewall protecting society from the terrible taste of small business owners
