Quick Read

A social justice take on Western railroad construction

Millions of dollars (mostly federal) are going to CRT in Providence.

By Justin Katz | August 13, 2021 |

My latest article for Accuracy in Media does some digging into what’s going on with critical race theory (CRT)–style curricula and teacher training in Providence schools: Congressional Republicans scored a victory for racial harmony in the American classroom with the passage of Senator Tom Cotton’s “Stop CRT Act“.  Whether the legislation will actually halt the promotion of critical race theory…

A graveyard

Oh Oh Cuomo

By Monique Chartier | August 13, 2021 |

Did you hear Governor Andrew Cuomo’s resignation speech?  If not, you may wish to take an antiemetic before listening to it.  (Transcript here.) His voice quavered with “emotion” at several points during the speech.  “I have slipped …”; “In my mind, I’ve never crossed the line”; “Excelsior” (really; towards the end). Oh oh.  So dramatic.…

Hopscotch

Rhode Island should be competing with New Hampshire on educational freedom.

By Justin Katz | August 12, 2021 |

Good news for New Hampshire families, as Jonathan McGee reports for The College Fix: New Hampshire’s state legislature passed a bill that brings education savings accounts to New Hampshire students. That provision, folded into the state budget, was signed into law by Governor Chris Sununu on June 25. Education savings accounts give money directly to families…

Glowing lights on the Sakonnet River Bridge

The infrastructure bill creates a net zero jobs.

By Justin Katz | August 12, 2021 |

Brad Polumbo reports for the Foundation for Economic Education: The promised long-term economic benefits from the sweeping $1 trillion expenditure will likely never materialize, according to a new Ivy League analysis. This runs directly against the president’s promises that it would create jobs and stimulate the economy. Indeed, Biden has insisted that the government spending…

School girl in medical mask

The Rhode Island Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics is irresponsible on mandatory masking.

By Justin Katz | August 12, 2021 |

When it comes to public opinion, it’s tough to know what’s real and what’s a social media echo chamber, but this letter, signed by five pediatricians in the name of the Rhode Island Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, seems to be stirring up folks who want to force masks onto the faces of…

An empty restaurant

COVID and the response thereto may have put a match to the anti-employment kindling.

By Justin Katz | August 9, 2021 |

Mark Patinkin wrote an interesting profile article about Rhode Island restaurants that are struggling to find employees.  Head chefs and owners are washing dishes and tending bars, which is only shocking to people who buy into the progressive/socialist narrative around employment. Leadership means being the one who takes ultimate responsibility for getting things done.  Progressives…

NEA-RI logo overshadows South Kingstown schools logo

The NEA suing Nicole Solas to stop records releases has a few intriguing possibilities.

By Justin Katz | August 9, 2021 |

William Jacobson is on to something when he suggests, on Legal Insurrection, that the National Education Association of Rhode Island’s lawsuit to stop release of public records in Rhode Island “smells collusive”: Whether there was “collusion” in the sense of active cooperation or not, I can imagine a scenario in which there is no real dispute…

A more-descriptive restroom sign

Thanks to McKee and the General Assembly, 2021 is the year Rhode Islanders lost religious freedom.

By Justin Katz | August 6, 2021 |

The amazing thing, when government officials establish a religion, is that everything becomes clear and easy.  Through a clerisy, their god (even if it is an undefined Great Progressive Spirit) tells them what is right and wrong, and they simply conform the law to those requirements.  Anybody who believes differently has to put their beliefs…

Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt's Facebook page

As in Woonsocket, we’re going to have to figure out the lines of public transparency.

By Justin Katz | August 6, 2021 |

Two Woonsocket residents are suing Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt with the help of the ACLU for deleting their posts on and blocking them from her Facebook page: Greg Duhamel said he was banned last November when he made a post challenging Woonsocket Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt’s attempt to claim credit for the building of a skate park.…

A scared squirrel

Spoiling the Fear-Mongering Fun – COVID Survival Rate Remains Sky High

By Monique Chartier | August 6, 2021 |

Panic! Panic! >cue dramatic music< The Delta variant is here! COVID-19 cases are spiking again! We’re all going to die! … oh, wait, no, we’re not, contrary to the strong impression created by irresponsible “news” outlets. The survival rate for COVID-19 continues as sky high as it was from the beginning. Nor are hospitals being…