Ripple

A water drop and ripples

Yes, the Republican North Smithfield School Committee candidate’s comment on Tim Walz’s son is uncomfortable.

By Justin Katz | September 11, 2024 |

But we have to be wary of the political whipsaw.  Evan Masse’s tweet was dumb and insensitive, but his practical problem was that he was caught up in what we might call a Democrat call for evidence. It would be a very normal reaction to pause upon seeing Walz’s son at the Democrat National Convention…

A water drop and ripples

Does it really matter who runs the RIGOP?

By Justin Katz | September 10, 2024 |

Katherine Gregg took a look at the current state of the race for leadership of the Rhode Island GOP, and the question that comes to my mind is whether it really matters.  On a surface level, the uncertain proposition is that even a functioning GOP could make a difference, which I’m not sure the Rhode…

A water drop and ripples

A quick summary of my latest thinking on taxes.

By Justin Katz | September 10, 2024 |

We should repeal all federal income taxes.  Income taxes are a great evil that has changed the nature of our relationship with government. Instead, the federal government should be funded through a capitation (per-person) tax payable proportionally by each state. That is, our states would be responsible for collecting a tax calculated based purely on…

A water drop and ripples

Mark Steyn asks a question about elections many of us are pondering.

By Justin Katz | September 9, 2024 |

Observing the lack of media curiosity about who runs the country while Joe Biden takes weeks of vacations, Steyn asks: If that question is of no interest to the media or the majority of the American people, then what is the point of being breathless with excitement over a two-year presidential election campaign? Or even…

A water drop and ripples

Trump at Arlington is a good lesson in progressive pathology.

By Justin Katz | September 9, 2024 |

Note how progressive Democrats have framed the universe, as Sunny observes: As always, people who disagree with progressives are abusing power when they do anything to their own advantage, but progressives are never abusing power when they do whatever it takes to win.  Keep an eye out for this dynamic especially when it comes to…

A water drop and ripples

I see we’ve entered the phase of the Washington Bridge controversy of having to prove things that should be obvious.

By Justin Katz | September 5, 2024 |

Gabrielle Caracciolo, of NBC 10, reports that the McKee administration is hiding behind its lawsuits to avoid releasing the “forensic analysis… to determinhe what went wrong and who is responsible for the failure of the Washington Bridge.”  But she did do some investigating: An NBC 10 News investigation found when it comes to “quality control…

A water drop and ripples

We are being brought to the brink of calamity because…

By Justin Katz | September 4, 2024 |

… to relieve their existential anxiety, people want a simple story in which the good guys and the bad guys are easy to identify. Genuinely bad people are willing to lie and tell that simplistic story, while good people acknowledge nuance and accept a share of blame.  This imbalance tilts the community’s judgment scale against…

A water drop and ripples

Our national police force is starting to remind me of the Rhode Island mob.

By Justin Katz | September 3, 2024 |

Mark Steyn raises the peculiarity of the mysterious deaths of two businessmen who actually managed to beat the U.S. Department of Justice’s process-is-the-punishment racket.  Apparently, the statistics suggest that the DOJ way overcharges its targets in the hopes of pushing for a settlement:  “95 percent of cases are won by prosecutors, 90 percent of those…

A water drop and ripples

The yard sign connection to mail ballots is terrifying.

By Justin Katz | September 3, 2024 |

In the heat of the battle, political controversies over yard signs can become an almost comedic proxy for heated disagreements.  I’ve seen people in the heat of a busy campaign drop everything to do battle with people stealing the yard signs of the other side or placing their own signs on property where they aren’t…

A water drop and ripples

You can tell we’ve inadequately educated our population about fascism…

By Justin Katz | August 27, 2024 |

… by the discomfiting fascist, Orwellian tone of this campaign from supposed good-government-group Common Cause RI:   It’s bad enough on its face, but it’s worse when you break down the manipulative message. First, Common Cause wants you to believe that you can instantly identify “disinformation about voting.” Next, the organization asserts that you have…