Quick Read

Boy in a library

The Left has no credibility to argue against censorship anymore.

By Justin Katz | April 21, 2022 |

A theme of progressive politics is coming into sharp clarity, exposing how the ideology brings about totalitarian ends while using the language of freedom, democracy, individualism, civil rights, and so on.  Many on the right have observed that the progressive dictionary is simply different from standard English — they use words to mean things that…

Handcuffed resist fists

New England Democrats are edging toward a Chinese Communist social credit system.

By Justin Katz | April 20, 2022 |

In China, the Communist Party has implemented and is continually expanding a social credit system that seeks to use economic opportunities and restrictions to reward behavior the party likes and punish those who do things it doesn’t.  The system affects where people can live, how easily they can access credit, the speed of their Internet…

An oyster farmer

Yes, an “equitable aquaculture” earmark in the U.S. Senate is a problem.

By Justin Katz | April 19, 2022 |

To begin with, let’s focus on the word that caught Republicans’ eye and drew out the label, “woke”: Last month, Sen. Steve Daines (R-Montana) sat down on his office couch and recorded a video explaining that he’d be voting against a $1.5-trillion government spending bill that included $13.5 billion in aid for Ukraine. “There are…

A fading man on train tracks

Be careful about therapeuticizing all of life.

By Justin Katz | April 18, 2022 |

Something about creating an acronym out of technical jargon for life experiences gives it a dangerously dehumanizing feel.  I have in mind this pair of tweets from Democrat state representative Marcia Ranglin: What are Adverse Childhood Experiences? CDC indicates that ACEs can have Traumatic experiences in childhood and the teenage years may put children at…

A ring of doctors and nurses

What’s in (the Lack of) a Rhode Island Doctor’s License? In This Case, Not Much.

By Monique Chartier | April 17, 2022 |

Please check out my new article on the Ocean State Current when you have a minute.  It’s about an attempt by WPRO’s afternoon drive time host to discredit one of the few data professionals who brings forward honest, panoramic COVID-19 data by pointing out that he does not have a Rhode Island physician’s license.  Oopsie,…

A dark classroom

Teachers aren’t fleeing Providence schools.

By Justin Katz | April 15, 2022 |

The Annenberg Center on the Study of Educators at Brown University took a look at employee retention in the Providence school district and concluded that there has not been an “exodus of teachers”: Using data up and including the start of the 2021-22 school year, we show that, while retention did fall in Providence more…

A man fuels his car

Biden’s ethanol fuel proposal makes no sense.

By Justin Katz | April 14, 2022 |

Sometimes when you’re busy and check in on the news, it seems nothing makes sense, so let me make sure I’ve got a complete picture, here. Immediately upon entering office, Joe Biden took deliberate steps that were certain to drive up the cost of fuel (restricting drilling, canceling a North American fuel pipeline, etc.), and…

A communist monument

Proposals for new college taxes prove institutions should be wary of left-wing alliances.

By Justin Katz | April 13, 2022 |

Legislation from socialist state Representative David Morales should be a warning to institutions (whether non-profit organizations or for-profit businesses) about furthering the power of progressives: Industry leaders and university officials in Rhode Island were outraged after a bipartisan slate of lawmakers recently introduced a bill that would allow host cities to impose taxes on endowments…

Plastic shopping bags

Do you get the sense our legislators have completely disconnected from reality?

By Justin Katz | April 8, 2022 |

Somehow, I’d hoped that a silver lining of the pandemic would be a little more wariness among lawmakers about tripping over unforeseen circumstances.  But we’re back to normal, now, in ways good and bad, so the state Senate has returned to the pressing business of forbidding Rhode Island stores from offering customers the option of plastic…

"I Voted" sticker in a pile of leaves

The Johnston school vote raises Rhode Island’s most important question.

By Justin Katz | April 6, 2022 |

The inaccuracy of Steve Ahlquist’s tweet is worth noting, but it should be a springboard, not a stopping point: 86% of Johnston voters voted to approve a $215 million proposal to finance the largest modernization of education facilities in Johnston’s history. The results table he appends does indeed show that 1,100 people voted to approve…