Quick Read

Fingers crossed

What are the mechanics of a school department lying to a student’s parents?

By Justin Katz | September 3, 2021 |

In the Valley Breeze, Erika Sanzi writes about a relatively recent practice of Rhode Island school districts that has bothered me since the state Department of Education injected it into our system some years ago:  the policy for teachers and school officials to deliberately lie to parents as the system helps a child to “transition” from…

Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt's Facebook page

Wait… the people of Woonsocket are paying for Baldelli-Hunt’s First Amendment transgression?

By Justin Katz | September 2, 2021 |

The Valley Breeze reports the conclusion of a controversy in Woonsocket mentioned in this space a month ago. Democrat Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt has settled a lawsuit that the ACLU of Rhode Island brought against her for blocking people on a Facebook page that she was clearly using for official (which is to say, public) purposes. …

Decapitated Jesus statue

Bishop Barron is right about the very notion of an “atheist chaplain.”

By Justin Katz | September 2, 2021 |

Joe Bukuras summarizes the controversy for the Catholic News Agency (paragraphs reordered): Last week the New York Times announced that Greg Epstein, an atheist and humanist chaplain at Harvard University, was unanimously elected as the “chief chaplain” of the Harvard Chaplains, the association of more than 40 chaplains serving Harvard students of various religious denominations. ……

Handcuffed resist fists

McKee takes a step toward lockdowns with new “quarantine and isolation executive order.”

By Justin Katz | September 2, 2021 |

Frankly, I intend to ignore Democrat Governor Dan McKee’s latest executive order, issued late yesterday, and make informed decisions for my own health and those with whom I come into contact.  All five of the “whereas” clauses — which are supposed to explain and justify this sort of resolution — are purely generic.  There is…

Hospital beds

Anyone feel like we’re watching the deterioration of our healthcare system?

By Justin Katz | September 1, 2021 |

It’s not an encouraging message when the state government starts sending out warnings to people not to go to emergency rooms unnecessarily.  The advice is always worthwhile, of course, but as the WPRI headline at the link puts it, the context right now ascribes it to “overcrowding” and “staffing shortages.” Naturally, the state Department of…

A blurry Google logo

The fall of conservative institutions is disappointing news.

By Justin Katz | September 1, 2021 |

It’s easy for factions to take pleasure in victory over their internecine opponents, but it’s not good news if, as Emerald Robinson writes on her Substack (via Instapundit), large swaths of what my MAGA friends call “Conservative, Inc.” have been bought out by big tech (emphasis in original): Meanwhile the funding of [National Review] now…

"Injustice Won't Be Postponed" sign

Investigating critical race theory in schools is like tugging on a thread into a murky cave.

By Justin Katz | August 31, 2021 |

Nicole Solas has been going through the results of her famous APRA requests and posting choice bits on social media.  Yesterday, for example, she posted a description of “readiness courses” offered by the state to help students make up for COVID-shutdown learning losses.  Here’s the key part of the description: The Readiness courses use student-centered…

The pill choice from The Matrix

Which Matrix pill produces critical race theory?

By Justin Katz | August 31, 2021 |

Conservatives have long seen in The Matrix as an allegory for the totalitarian takeover of our society.  You’ve grown up in a world of intrinsic deception so thorough that you cannot tell that it isn’t simply reality.  Still, there are sometimes glitches and a pervasive feeling that something isn’t quite right. So, you must make a…

CDC chart of Marin County school outbreak

Studies show we must apply reason to the Delta fearmongering.

By Justin Katz | August 30, 2021 |

This Twitter stream from “epidemiologist & health economist” Eric Feigl-Ding, who lists “health & social justice” as priorities, is going around gaining agreement that we must (as he puts it) “Mandate teacher vaccinations now!”  Replies to his tweets go farther, emphasizing punishment for people who don’t comply. For reference, my opinion is that the benefits…

Aerial shot of a suburban development

Here’s something to notice about the “housing advocates” pushing to stop evictions.

By Justin Katz | August 30, 2021 |

It’s very easy to demand that government “ban evictions” when, like the people Katie Mulvaney interviewed for the Providence Journal, you’re not the one trying to derive income from a rental property: “The governor and the General Assembly have the authority to protect the public’s health with a moratorium” as well as Congress, said Jennifer…