Justin Katz

A water drop and ripples

Wind farm problems show the danger of progress without a unifying belief.

By Justin Katz | January 5, 2024 |

Politicians have forced people in the Northeast to invest heavily in wind energy by means of our electric bills and taxes, and more problems are appearing: The linked article is worth reading: Equinor, along with its joint venture partner BP, has agreed with NYSERDA to cancel the contract for the project, citing rising costs due…

A water drop and ripples

Maybe we’re being distracted from the genuine treason of the Democrats.

By Justin Katz | January 5, 2024 |

Elon Musk suggests Americans aren’t sufficiently aware of the rivers of illegal immigrants continuing to flood toward the United States: Cartoonist and author Scott Adams adds: “We are literally importing poverty.”  Poverty isn’t all.  We’re also importing illness, social disorder, political disfunction, and more. Americans, of all people, should not be anti-immigration, and legitimate arguments…

A man freaks out about a plastic bag in a tree in an urban park

Short memories and an urge to dictate have brought Rhode Island a plastic bag ban.

By Justin Katz | January 5, 2024 |

Honestly, I expected the COVID experience to put an end to the high-school-civics-project of banning single-use plastic bags, but stores’ bag dispensers now sit empty, and Rhode Islanders have another reason to lean toward shopping in Massachusetts or online. In Rhode Island, our legislators have a chronic difficulty understanding consequences and the availability of alternatives. …

A water drop and ripples

Progressives took over academia and journalism to rewrite facts and history.

By Justin Katz | January 4, 2024 |

I wondered, the other day, whether young Americans are so much ignorant of history as they are indifferent to the truth.  Here’s another shocking datapoint in that set: Following the trail of links suggests that the culprit is not ignorance or, for that matter, indifference.  This is part of an approach.  A filmmaker (presumably of…

A water drop and ripples

The government insider merry-go-round.

By Justin Katz | January 4, 2024 |

John DePetro and I discussed this a few weeks ago, but the topic is worth a short, written note, too, because the vignette presents too perfect a lesson: While tens of thousands of Rhode Islanders were stuck in traffic for upwards of three to four hours, Governor Dan McKee was attending a political fundraiser for…

The RI State House in the middle of a plantation

A recipient society produces the government plantation.

By Justin Katz | January 4, 2024 |

So much of Rhode Island’s predicament can be explained by incentives.  People who rely on government for their prosperity, for instance, have a great deal of incentive to manipulate the processes thereof, whereas our community lacks institutions with incentive to counterbalance them politically.  Something similar and related — though much broader on a social scale…

A water drop and ripples

Let’s keep parents’ real responsibility in mind.

By Justin Katz | January 3, 2024 |

The following chart is definitely interesting, but I fear our society has lost appreciation for the fact that parents’ fundamental responsibility is the blue line.  If that’s down, they’re failing, no matter what the red line does.

A water drop and ripples

“Equity” hurts vulnerable people.

By Justin Katz | January 3, 2024 |

Imagine taking successful schools away from children and their families in the name of a cult-like belief like “equity”: I know an education student who had the opportunity to be paid much-needed income from a school that would satisfy her final requirement for a degree, but her college told her she couldn’t. Other students aren’t…

Rhode Island's new flag with the state motto of "Hurt"

To solve the doctor shortage, all RI has to change is everything.

By Justin Katz | January 3, 2024 |

This has been lingering around my to-do list for a while, but the problem is only getting worse, so for the foreseeable future, it’s an evergreen topic in Rhode Island: Yes, this is a massive problem permeating all of our society, and there’s only so much a small state like Rhode Island can do about…

A water drop and ripples

Is Holocaust denial a matter of historical indifference or indifference about truth?

By Justin Katz | January 2, 2024 |

When a poll came out about a month ago finding 20% of young Americans (18-29) believe the Holocaust to be a made-up incident, with 28% stating that Jews have too much power in the United States, I had the same reaction as many.  This is not a far-right phenomenon, but a far-left one.  Our education…