Quick Read

The entrance to the Graduate Center Bar at Brown University

Brown University teaches aristocrats how to enforce their privilege.

By Justin Katz | May 23, 2022 |

There is no question that this young man, who is apparently on his way to a cushy six-figure job in the near future, has learned how to leverage his power and privilege to muster a defense of his personal honor: The Graduate Center Bar apologized on April 27 for removing three black students who were…

A man with his head in a washing machine

Weird. A surprise Census revision under Raimondo and Biden has proven to be incorrect (or worse).

By Justin Katz | May 20, 2022 |

Is anybody surprised by news of a problem with the U.S. Census finalized under the leadership of Secretary Gina Raimondo and her boss, Joe Biden, that appears to have erroneously salvaged one of Rhode Island’s Congressional seats and a bunch of federal funding?  The imbalance of the results is not, let’s say, what one would…

Erica DeVoe disrespects parents on TikTok

Westerly middle school teacher Erica DeVoe shouldn’t be TikTok pals with students and disrespecting their parents.

By Justin Katz | May 19, 2022 |

The attitude that Westerly middle school English teacher Erica DeVoe displays toward parents in this TikTok video, which is also targeted toward her students, is disturbing: Here you go… pic.twitter.com/wUzw67h5xJ — Robert Chiaradio (@bchiaradio14) May 6, 2022 One can gather from her commentary that she’s had a practice of making TikTok videos with her students,…

Mother touching baby's hand

A world in which mothers don’t smother their babies is inherently good (even on Utilitarian grounds).

By Justin Katz | May 18, 2022 |

Having just finished a graduate course in ethics, I found my mind keenly tuned to a question when Quillette editor Claire Lehmann raised it during a conversation with Jordan Peterson.  Lehmann said she found herself offended, once, when asked in an ethics-related class whether she would smother her own baby to death so as to prevent…

Homeless man "seeking human kindness"

To understand how progressives operate, consider the housing issue.

By Justin Katz | May 17, 2022 |

Rhode Island has real problems, and an unavoidable consequence of reality is that those who most need a healthy, vibrant society under their feet will face the greatest risk of tragedy in an unhealthy, sclerotic one.  The wise approach, then, when one observes suffering in the community is to look for fundamental causes and solutions…

A gas shortage starts in South Carolina

“Price gouging” is another term pols and the media use to slippery effect.

By Justin Katz | May 16, 2022 |

Three things come immediately to the eye of anybody who carefully reads Sarah Doiron’s WPRI article, “Dems urge crackdown on price gouging as gas skyrockets.” First, the article contains not a single number or specific instance of price gouging.  Politicians (Democrats all) simply note that prices are up, assert that there is “price gouging” and…

Man in a suit walking

They’ll pull us into a social credit system if they can.

By Justin Katz | May 13, 2022 |

A free people ought to reject some policies completely on principle, no matter what the practical arguments for them might be in the moment.  The Chinese Communists’ social credit system is one such policy, whereby the government leverages its power to grant rewards or impose demerits in order to control the population. The American spirit…

The Barrington School Committee

Will growing parent dissatisfaction make a difference in Barrington?

By Justin Katz | May 12, 2022 |

Barrington resident William Jacobson has an update on his Legal Insurrection site about the growing pushback of parents against the school department’s decision to reduce academic opportunities for advanced students.  The content is somewhat encouraging.  Jacobson notes the national attention the story is attracting, provides video from a school committee meeting that shows more than the…

Pickpocketing in Oliver Twist

Matt Brown is selling other people’s money.

By Justin Katz | May 11, 2022 |

A tweet from an apparent Matt Brown supporter shines an unmistakable light on two realities of progressive politics: Matt Brown, a wealthy man, himself, is precisely the sort of politician observers warned us about at the founding of our country, a huckster willing to capitalize on the ability of people to vote themselves other people’s…

A boy rummages through trash at the dump

Americans seem to be getting the early indications of a very bitter taste.

By Justin Katz | May 9, 2022 |

The news comes from the beginning of the digestive process… The out-of-stock rate for baby formula hovered between 2% and 8% in the first half of 2021, but began rising sharply last July. Between November 2021 and early April 2022, the out-of-stock rate jumped to 31%, data from Datasembly showed. To the end… Sky-high prices…