Ripple

A water drop and ripples

Why are the key questions of politics so easy to ignore?

By Justin Katz | April 29, 2024 |

This exchange between CNN’s Kaitlan Collins and former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr has made the rounds and received its share of commentary: To my mind, the most telling part is when Collins looks for a comparison among conservatives to progressive bureaucratic government impositions and points to a local library debate. What Barr should have…

A water drop and ripples

Democrats are moving deeper into the dark side of triangulation.

By Justin Katz | April 29, 2024 |

The concept of triangulation used to mean politicians looked at the political landscape and positioned themselves on the field to advance their policy goals.  The worsening development, facilitated by mass media and social media, is the attempt to manipulate the landscape.  That’s where we start to think of the Overton Window, shifting the range of…

A water drop and ripples

Government-funded journalism is a bad idea.

By Justin Katz | April 25, 2024 |

One suspects mainstream journalists don’t see this as a problem because they can’t imagine reporting any differently just because the governments they support are directly paying them money: And realistically, we’re finding in Rhode Island that government PR is such a lucrative next step for journalists that it’s more a question of whether they work…

A water drop and ripples

Progressive policies only seek to manage increasing hostilities and problems.

By Justin Katz | April 24, 2024 |

The headline of a Alexa Gagosz’s recent Boston Globe article asks, “Will tenants unions make a difference in Rhode Island’s housing crisis?”  The answer, we can be confident, is “yes,” although it will make a difference by making it worse. The state’s problem is insufficient housing, and the only durable, healthy way to give tenants,…

A water drop and ripples

The people leaving Massachusetts are no surprise.

By Justin Katz | April 23, 2024 |

Here’s the Boston Globe’s description of the people leaving Massachusetts: Boston Indicators, the research arm of the Boston Foundation, published an analysis exploring trends in so-called domestic outmigration in Massachusetts, or people leaving for elsewhere in the United States. Looking at a two-year average across 2021 and 2022, the analysis found that the people moving…

A water drop and ripples

Keep tabs on who gets ousted in Rhode Island government

By Justin Katz | April 23, 2024 |

Whatever one thinks of Avedisian, seeing Alviti in this picture is a reminder that state government incompetence can harm the lives of hundreds of thousands, but it’s the guy who leaves the scene of a fender bender who’s shown the door.

A water drop and ripples

Not long ago, objecting to the Trump cases would have been uncontroversial.

By Justin Katz | April 22, 2024 |

As he’s done for a long time, Mark Steyn zeros in on the truth with panache: There are times, however, when it is necessary not to conceal it. This week’s Trump Trial of the Week is the bazillionth attempt by the ruling party to nail the leader of the opposition on …something, anything, whatever’s to…

A water drop and ripples

The more bucks, the less education.

By Justin Katz | April 22, 2024 |

As shocking videos emerge of progressive fascism showing its antisemitic face, Nick Freitas’s on-point observation here comes to mind: Americans have been had in a major way (this issue not the least), and I’m not sure there’s any way to turn things around.

A water drop and ripples

Is progressive education policy the result of ignorance or cynical malice?

By Justin Katz | April 19, 2024 |

One has to wonder such things after seeing posts like this, from Rhode Island Democrat State Senator Tiara Mack: Teenagers lack the maturity and experience to know what it is they need to learn or how it should be taught.  Raising doubt about adults capacity in this regard would be a fair response, but for this…

A water drop and ripples

California’s decline could mirror Rhode Island’s ascent.

By Justin Katz | April 19, 2024 |

Unfortunately, Rhode Islanders don’t want it.  The Ocean State could be a beacon collecting some of tech jobs California is losing, as Joey Politano shows here: Rhode Island is so in the grip of its special interests and ideologues that they’d rather imitate California than create opportunity.