Quick Read

U.S. Capitol Building

Accusations that the media was like Pravda were once exaggerations; no longer.

By Justin Katz | January 11, 2022 |

Jill Colvin’s Associated Press “article” about the hiccup Republican Senator Ted Cruz from Texas had with the Republican base over a comment related to January 6 may be the single best example I’ve seen of the mainstream media’s new approach.  It’s truly “the party line.”  For decades, conservatives have been bashing establishment news organizations by…

School girl in medical mask

McKee’s new school policy for COVID feels like backfilling.

By Justin Katz | January 11, 2022 |

Governor Dan McKee, along with the Rhode Island departments of health and education, implemented new guidelines for how schools handle COVID infections, yesterday.  Employees and students who have been vaccinated and boosted (depending on age) do not have to quarantine, even if they had close contact with somebody who tested positive.  Notably, the same applies…

STORMTOOLS graphic of Barrington with 3 feet sea rise

A little skepticism about sea-level scares is needed.

By Justin Katz | January 11, 2022 |

Have you ever seen a mainstream news report that treated scary environmental projections with even an iota of skepticism?  Consider Tolly Taylor’s report for WPRI, which bears the headline, “Parts of Barrington will be underwater by 2035, sea-level data shows.” The first paragraph of the story gives the impression that the headline is a bit…

Infectious bronchitis virus

Let’s be specific about what is creating students’ nightmarish days.

By Justin Katz | January 10, 2022 |

A reddit post by somebody claiming to be a student at a “specialized high school” in New York City has been getting a fair bit of attention.  (Note that the post has been edited, with some commentary found in earlier screen captures deleted.)  The student describes a school day during the Omicron surge as something…

Heritage chart of federal crimes and federal prisoners

Living is becoming a crime, while crime is becoming simply living.

By Justin Katz | January 10, 2022 |

Law and order is shifting in the United States.  On one hand, it seems as if our justice system is increasingly reluctant to hold criminals accountable, with sometimes tragic outcomes like the recent death of an East Greenwich teen in a car crash.  Increasing assaults on college students in Rhode Island’s capital city raise no…

A Zoom meeting

Open meetings law is the cutting edge of state government’s failure.

By Justin Katz | January 7, 2022 |

What a joke this all is: The open government coalition ACCESS/RI and a number of municipal officials had urged McKee to provide the authorization for remote meetings as COVID-19 cases soar across Rhode Island. The East Providence City Council was among the entities forced to cancel a scheduled meeting this week after members tested positive…

A mural on a highway bridge

RI tax policy should consider the distinction between being here and doing things here.

By Justin Katz | January 7, 2022 |

The Rhode Island Public Expenditures Council (RIPEC) notes that Rhode Island’s downward slide on the Tax Foundation Business Tax Climate Index continues, with the Ocean State exiting the 30-something range on the bad side for the first time since 2017, at 40.  The only saving graces are that Connecticut has been stuck at 47 forever…

A hand reaches for chains

Freedom is lost with ratchets and excuses.

By Justin Katz | January 7, 2022 |

A friend recently told me about a Massachusetts school that is explicitly leveraging peer pressure to influence families’ medical decisions related to COVID.  The initiative seems to encourage a form of bullying that is unhealthy for both the students applying and the students receiving the pressure, and it reminded me of past initiatives that gave…

An empty classroom

Look to recent history to see how over-the-top our school response to COVID is.

By Justin Katz | January 6, 2022 |

Rhode Island teachers have been posting their attendance records on social media, today.  Providence high school social studies and journalism teacher Dale Fraza listed his period 3 attendance as: Present: 4 Absent: 4 Quarantined: 9 This madness made me think that some academic with enhanced access to public school information should do a study of…

A dark classroom

The Woke Academy charter school is hiring in Providence.

By Justin Katz | January 6, 2022 |

John DePetro has spotted a curious requirement for a job at Hope Academy charter school in Providence, which he redubs “Woke Academy”: They currently have a job posting (listed below) for a teachers assistant that is woke and steeped in Critical Race Theory. It starts with the ability to be aware of ” microaggressions and…