Ripple

A water drop and ripples

Something subcutaneous is going on in the education establishment.

By Justin Katz | January 24, 2022 |

Anybody else getting the feeling that there’s some deliberate initiative going on under the skin of public education that we only see here and there when it bursts out into a blemish?  Here’s one such pimple, from Timothy Duffy, who is the head of the state association for school committees: Most teachers are white. Most…

A water drop and ripples

Why is the head of a labor union such a thorough partisan?

By Justin Katz | January 24, 2022 |

Here’s a line worth teasing out from Ted Nesi’s latest roundup column: NEARI union leader Bob Walsh said he is considering a run, adding, “I am also weighing what is best for the Democratic Party to keep this seat in Democratic hands.” Yes, the answer is obvious, but it’s worth pausing to ask:  Why is…

A water drop and ripples

Why is RI consistently one of the worst states for driving?

By Justin Katz | January 24, 2022 |

It doesn’t make much sense to me.  We’ve got a small state that isn’t terrible for traffic, despite being densely populated.  You’d think local authorities could keep the roads in order. But there it is:  According to WalletHub, the Ocean State is the second-worst state for drivers in the country, after Hawaii. Cost of Ownership &…

A water drop and ripples

Rhode Island is compounding badness on badness.

By Justin Katz | January 22, 2022 |

Not mentioned in the stories about Governor Dan McKee’s delay of the new nursing home staffing mandates is that they are arguably the most-extreme minimum standards in the world.  Imposing new mandates in the middle of a nurse-staffing crisis is simply insane.  Holding off these mandates would be considered an obvious thing to do in…

A water drop and ripples

College loan forgiveness is a policy to give money to the advantaged.

By Justin Katz | January 21, 2022 |

Brad Polumbo writes: Few causes are as central to the progressive movement as student debt “cancellation” (which really means taxpayers absorb the burden of $1.7-plus trillion in student debt). But yet another study just confirmed that there’s actually nothing “progressive” about student debt cancellation at all. A new analysis from the liberal-leaning Brookings Institution finds…

A water drop and ripples

URI went ahead and revoked its honorary degrees to Michael Flynn and Rudy Giuliani.

By Justin Katz | January 21, 2022 |

One interesting sidebar to watch (maybe) is whether any of the local journalists reporting on the development will bother to find and quote any URI graduates who disagree with the move.  I added the parenthetical “maybe” to cover the unlikely event that they actually do.  It’s echo chambers all the way down.

A water drop and ripples

A great cognitive dissonance is coming.

By Justin Katz | January 21, 2022 |

As always, Glenn Reynolds captures a key point while linking to a story about three Connecticut girls who have filed a complaint after having two biological males dominating their sport: I’ll bet they supported Biden in 2020 though. By “they,” Reynolds means the three girls, whom odds would place as reflexive Democrats and who are…

A water drop and ripples

I have to admit to continuing skepticism about boosters.

By Justin Katz | January 20, 2022 |

This is a couple months old, but with continued pressure for booster shots, it continues to be on my mind: … the recommendations — even those approved unanimously — mask significant dissent and disquiet among those advisers about the need for booster shots in the United States. In interviews last week, several advisers to the…

A water drop and ripples

What if Native Americans displaced somebody else?

By Justin Katz | January 20, 2022 |

Rick Moran asks that dangerous question: So what happened to these older, primitive societies — the Clovis people and others who were clearly present in North and Central America before modern Native Americans? They no doubt had what they considered “their land” to hunt and forage. Who stole it from them and wiped them out?…

A water drop and ripples

The Left doesn’t really believe its own rhetoric.

By Justin Katz | January 20, 2022 |

Brian Gottstein notes that Washington, D.C., is requiring proof of vaccination for various purposes, but also photo ID to validate that the vaccine card holder is in fact the person named on it: Hold on a minute! Wasn’t it just a few short months ago—as the battles over election reform raged in the states—that we…