In Depth

Politics… Bad for Your Health

By Justin Katz | November 9, 2004 | Comments Off on Politics… Bad for Your Health

Writing in the Providence Journal, Emily Harding of the Rhode Island Association of Health Underwriters lays out the general argument for some suggestions for improving the healthcare near-crisis in the state: What made [national health insurance carriers] leave the state had nothing to do with the inability to compete with Blue Cross (which they had…

One-Party States

By Carroll Andrew Morse | November 9, 2004 | Comments Off on One-Party States

John Fund documented in yesterday’s Opinionjournal, that more and more states are tending towards one-party rule at the state level. This is an intersting trend. If you believe what people say about voting for “the best candidate” instead of party affiliation, you would expect, at the local level, less dominance by any single party, because…

International Troops Enter Iraq

By Justin Katz | November 8, 2004 |

It’s entirely possible that my media-cynicism adjuster is tuned too high, but whether rightly or wrongly, the following caption for the photo currently on the Providence Journal‘s home page surprised me. In big, bold letters on the picture itself is the word “Captured,” and beneath it: In this image from television, troops oversee captives at…

Out with the Old, in with the New

By Justin Katz | November 8, 2004 | Comments Off on Out with the Old, in with the New

I’d been considering republishing a June entry from my own blog here, mostly so that it would be in the archives for future reference, and Marc’s latest post makes the topic more relevant. It’s my “coverage” (including video) of the RIGOP convention. Even if the reality of last week’s election has thrust the GOP revolution…

Quantifying the Anchor’s Weight

By Marc Comtois | November 8, 2004 |

Turning to local politics, it seems that one of the first things to be done is to concisely show the size of the task we conservatives/Republicans face. With the latest election in the rear view mirror, the following numbers should clarify our perspective (taken from this story): Republican State Representatives – 12 out of 75…

Goading the Opposition

By Justin Katz | November 8, 2004 |

It has become a commonplace among right-leaning pundits that Democrats’ greatest problem is their reluctance to objectively assess the causes of their defeat and, more importantly, to reconsider their positions accordingly. Of course, that the observation is commonplace doesn’t make it untrue. Here’s Matt Russo, from Exeter, in a letter to the Providence Journal: The…

Our Little Blue Corner of the Nation

By Marc Comtois | November 8, 2004 | Comments Off on Our Little Blue Corner of the Nation

Now for my first self-promotional plug. My most recent post at my personal blog, The Ocean State Blogger, deals with Blue New England’s place in a Red Nation and in it I allude to the Republican party being the real “big tent” party in the nation. Additionally, I recently posted on some of the Rhode…

Anchors Aweigh

By Marc Comtois | November 8, 2004 |

First things first: I’m not a native. I’ve resided in the Ocean State for well-nigh ten years now and am still getting used to it all. You all know the litany of “things Rhode Island”: Coffee milk, cabinets, hot weiners, Del’s, etc. After nearly a decade, I now feel comfortable calling myself a Rhode Islander,…

The Difficulties of Digital Freedom

By Justin Katz | November 7, 2004 |

I did my best — testing the blog in multiple browsers on multiple computers in multiple screen sizes— to ensure that everything will appear as intended for anybody with a reasonably recent Internet browser. Still, the quirks of Web design manifest in unpredictable ways. Indeed, there are a couple of minor IE issues that I’ve…

Welcome to Anchor Rising!

By Justin Katz | November 7, 2004 | Comments Off on Welcome to Anchor Rising!

About a year ago, I experienced, simultaneously, pleased surprise and sinking disappointment upon discovering that the various online lists of Web logs (blogs) revealed none identifiably from Rhode Island at a higher rank than my blog. It’s nice to be in the running for even obscure titles, of course, but being aware of my relatively…