Justin Katz

A clam reading a newspaper

Politics This Week: Media and Identity in CD1 and Labor

By Justin Katz | September 6, 2023 |

John DePetro and Justin Katz discuss the implications of labor control and CD1 dynamics.

Sketch of wrestlers in a battle royale

Force consideration of the other side rather than messing with ranked choice voting.

By Justin Katz | September 1, 2023 |

Rhode Island has reached the point that election day isn’t election day, and not only because early and mail voting blur the calendar.  As we’re seeing with the special Congressional race currently underway, for all intents and purposes, the Democrat primary is the election.  And with so many candidates vying for that position, one can hear…

Blue gollum fighting a red gollum in a cave

Suppression is always for the other side (especially when they’re conservatives).

By Justin Katz | August 31, 2023 |

A new study by criminology professors from the University of Rhode Island and Rutgers University — Luzi Shi and Jason Silver, respectively — produces some interesting results, although the URI press release is arguably inaccurate. Here are the headline and lede: Americans favor punishing only protestors they disagree with, new research shows Study finds Americans…

Young adults play volleyball

Politics This Week: RI’s Shift to Democrat Intramurals

By Justin Katz | August 28, 2023 |

John DePetro and Justin Katz discuss the indications that RI has moved so far left we’re getting a preview of what those internecine battles look like.

A water drop and ripples

By what authority is the Board of Elections discouraging votes for somebody duly placed on the ballot?

By Justin Katz | August 28, 2023 |

This is precisely the sort of application of supposed common sense without due process that incrementally undermines our rights. There is no process for a candidate to remove him or herself from the ballot, and as far as I know, there are no standards in law or regulation for the Board of Elections to determine…

An old, rusty chain

Standard economic analysis misses the rising “government plantation” in RI.

By Justin Katz | August 24, 2023 |

Rhode Island Current, a newcomer to the Ocean State’s media landscape, recently published an article by Nancy Lavin asking the perennial question, “What’s with RI jobs data?”  Over the decades of my interest in the topic, this ambiguity has been a running theme.  The state has no (and cannot have any) economic confidence. We’re like…

Sledge hammer

Matos’ Home Depot attack on Amo is a lesson in progressive thinking.

By Justin Katz | August 23, 2023 |

Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos’s attempt to tar competitor Gabe Amos for — get this — having ties to Home Depot is fascinating: He wants voters to focus on his work as a public servant and to ignore the fact that he was a registered lobbyist for Home Depot despite the company’s ties to the far-right…

Sabina Matos takes the oath of office.

Politics This Week: Mostly Matos Muddling

By Justin Katz | August 21, 2023 |

John DePetro and Justin Katz discuss the RI’s political dance… or stumbling.

"I Voted" sticker in a pile of leaves

Fewer Rhode Islanders are qualifying for the ballot.

By Justin Katz | August 18, 2023 |

Decreasing political participation is unhealthy, limiting voters’ choices, tilting incentives toward corruption, and separating We the People from the exercise of government authority, and campaign regulation reform would be a good place to start looking for a fix.

A girl making a mess with paint

Politics This Week: Strategy All Over the Place

By Justin Katz | August 14, 2023 |

John DePetro and Justin Katz kick off the week with political talk.