Quick Read

Broken plates

It’s well past time for the domestic abuse narrative to change.

By Justin Katz | November 23, 2021 |

Reacting to Joe Biden’s comments on the Waukesha Christmas parade massacre, Brown University political science professor Wendy Schiller linked the incident to domestic violence: Here’s an idea. Take domestic violence more seriously at every level of government. Biden should know as he authored the original Violence Against Women Act. Although the mainstream narrative doesn’t make…

A boy receiving a vaccine

East Greenwich children get several bribes for vaccination.

By Justin Katz | November 23, 2021 |

A week ago, Anchor Rising reported on toys being given to children in school-based COVID vaccination clinics. A spokesperson for the state said that it was only one clinic, and it was done to distract children while getting the shot.  Elizabeth McNamara reports for East Greenwich News that children in that town are going home with even…

A man fuels his car

RI dodged a notch of the progressive ratchet with the collapse of TCI.

By Justin Katz | November 22, 2021 |

I’ve been engaging in a back-and-forth discussion with a childhood acquaintance concerning the costs of public schools, trying to convey that the system is set up like a ratchet. When operating costs go up — for electricity, say — school districts insist that they cannot absorb the hit and pass it along to taxpayers.  It’s…

A black man driving into a parade

One way or another, the Wisconsin Christmas parade massacre is indicative of our perilous position.

By Justin Katz | November 22, 2021 |

Unfortunately, it’s a familiar sequence. A video hits social media showing a few seconds of some shocking incident.  At first it is universally passed along with expressions of horror, but very quickly, browsing users can begin to see most posts groping for political relevance. Facts begin to emerge, and if they serve a progressive narrative…

Cash, cuffs, and the American flag

The COPS Hiring Program is yet another way government spends tax dollars to force the spending of more tax dollars.

By Justin Katz | November 20, 2021 |

It adds up, of course, but when government is trillions of dollars in debt, a hundred million here and there seems hardly to count.  That may be part of the reason that news of grants like the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Hiring Program doesn’t typically question where the…

A toy school bus

Don’t doubt that the education establishment is moving forward with critical race theory.

By Justin Katz | November 19, 2021 |

In the course of my inquiries about the Equity Institute’s activities in the Portsmouth school system, I received this statement from Superintendent Thomas Kenworthy: The Portsmouth School Department contracted with the Equity Institute last spring to conduct a third-party analysis that we can use to inform our work around equity. We have a Strategic Plan…

Snowy tracks through a crystal ball

My liberal neighbors: keep some track of how the stories you’re told turn out.

By Justin Katz | November 19, 2021 |

We’re in divided times and are being pressed to take sides and choose narratives.  We’re vulnerable, because such things are very much in our nature, and it can be difficult to have a healthy skepticism of people we perceive as our friends and allies, or to give the benefit of the doubt to the Others.…

A lighted for hire sign at night

Today’s employment press release from the RI Dept. of Labor and Training is not a good sign.

By Justin Katz | November 18, 2021 |

The RI Department of Labor and Training’s headline for monthly employment data tells some of the bad story: “Rhode Island-Based Jobs Fell by 2,100 from September; October Unemployment Rate Increases to 5.4 Percent“: Total nonfarm payroll employment in Rhode Island totaled 479,200 in October, reflecting a loss of 2,100 jobs from the revised September job…

A man in a plague mask on a swing

Hey! Maybe the solution for health care staff shortage is more mandates!

By Justin Katz | November 18, 2021 |

Problems with Rhode Island’s health care industry indicate an across-the-board failure of government management.  Remember when they shut down our economy to avoid overwhelming our medical infrastructure?  Well, that move — and all that came after it — may be resulting in a much more intractable, longer-term failure. Want to count the ways? One. Staff at…

A chart of Native American life expectancy vs. the average

Encouraging fixation on historical harms isn’t helping the disadvantaged.

By Justin Katz | November 18, 2021 |

At the risk of expressing a forbidden opinion, this is not a healthy perspective: Even if Indigenous people spend Thanksgiving with family and festivities, [Tomaquag Museum executive director Lorén Spears] said, “They still know that this isn’t always a happy time for us because it reminds us of all the trauma and loss that our…