Justin Katz
It’s a few days old — which in Internet time is a matter of months — but Mark Steyn’s column on the mission creep of FEMA is worth a read if you haven’t gotten to it, yet: The proposition that a new federal administration is itself a federal emergency is almost too perfect an emblem…
RI General Treasurer Frank Caprio invited Anchor Rising for a sit-down chat in his office last night, centering on pension issues, but touching on various other matters. In general, I think the four of us in attendance were reasonably impressed with the treasurer’s explanations for economic policies and his knowledge of political history in Rhode…
As we old folks get our act together, on the political scene, we should ensure that there’s a continuity stretching down to our younger right-of-center compatriots. So, if you can put down that new book about Reagan and Buckley for a couple of hours on Thursday night, you might consider joining me here: Join us…
With reference to his native Warwick, Bob Cushman makes a call applicable to all of Rhode Island’s cities and towns in varying degrees: Those who wail and gnash their teeth in response to the governor’s proposals are more interested in playing the blame game than recognizing the reality of the situation and making the tough…
Here is the text of President Obama’s speech. His victory speech was much better, not the least because it was much more gracious toward and tolerant of the other side. Among the first statements issued in the president’s new, “unified” tone? On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and…
Fans of our new president perhaps imagine us non-fans as scowling through the day today, embittered by all that hope and rueful of the change to come. Me, I’m just going about my business, as I have on every inauguration day within my lifetime. That said, Andrew Stuttaford’s suggestion is an attractive one, although I…
It’s kinda funny to contemplate what local establishment figures and their one-mind sympathizers imagine about reform groups. Former school committee member (and foiled town council candidate) Michael Burk likens Tiverton Citizens for Change to a false Mighty Mouse and whispers spooky insinuations that would surely spark laughter in anybody with a reasonable understanding of the…
$40-something million? How about $170 million: The country is in the middle of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, which isn’t stopping rich donors and the government from spending $170 million, or more, on the inauguration of Barack Obama. The actual swearing-in ceremony will cost $1.24 million, according to Carole Florman, spokeswoman for…
It’s good to see that Governor Carcieri is standing by his budget, so far — although nothing’s really happened to it, yet. I do wish he’d be a bit more forceful about this: “I hope we don’t need the stimulus money to plug the budget and if not, I’d like to see if there is…
Jeff Jacoby has some suggested questions for U.S. Senators to ask Obama’s nominee for director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, John Holdren. The last one gives a sense of Jacoby’s general concern: 8. You are withering in your contempt for researchers who are unconvinced that human activity is responsible for global warming,…
