Justin Katz

All I Needed to Know About the Latest Ploy for Same-Sex Marriage, I Learned by Listening to Gordon Fox

By Justin Katz | May 9, 2008 |

Only in the deliberately abstruse logogriph of same-sex marriage advocacy could such a statement be made: “Divorce can be a more fundamental principle than marriage because it has to do with the due process that’s the bedrock of American jurisprudence,” Fox said before the hearing. Prohibiting it effectively denies “a fundamental principle of democracy.” Ah,…

In Case You Missed It

By Justin Katz | May 8, 2008 |

Those who were unable to catch my chat with Matt Allen about kids today can listen to the four-minute segment by clicking here (or download). We’ll be doing this every Wednesday; tune in at 6:50 p.m. next week for Andrew’s at bat. In the interim, by the way, I’ll be participating in Matt’s Violent Roundtable…

When Violence Is TV

By Justin Katz | May 7, 2008 |

It would seem that the manifest circle whereby violence on TV produces violence in life is complete: An afterschool fight that drew 50 to 60 student onlookers in front of Roger Williams Middle School was posted on the Web site YouTube, making Providence part of a growing phenomena in which teenagers use technology to publicize…

Digging a Deeper Hole

By Justin Katz | May 7, 2008 |

See, here’s the sort of proposal that illustrates that our legislators truly do not understand and/or are unwilling to address the structural problems that plague Rhode Island: After a lengthy debate, the House put off a vote on a bill sponsored by Majority Leader Gordon D. Fox, D-Providence, that would require all state public works…

Rhode Island Persuades My Skeptics

By Justin Katz | May 7, 2008 |

Well, it took some time, but apparently, Roland Benjamin’s been persuaded: The info on shrinking tax receipts was predictable given Justin’s demographic research here. Because we have replaced around 29,000 people from above 3x FPL (about $60k in household income) with 25,000 below that threshold, the tax receipts should follow that. And they did. Above…

Surviving the Post-Transition

By Justin Katz | May 7, 2008 |

The current news and politics atmosphere has something of the feel of a transition. We’re between the passage of the supplemental and the initial markers presaging the debate over next year’s budget. We’ve seen the parade of interested parties, and we’re well aware that discussion has returned to the back room. What’s next? Well, the…

Doing a Job on the State

By Justin Katz | May 6, 2008 |

James Cournoyer, of North Smithfield, gets to the heart of the matter (after noting that public employees are paid workers, not volunteers): … a public employee who starts working at age 25 with a $30,000 salary and annual raises of 3.25 percent will contribute $74,425 to the pension system over 20 years, assuming a contribution…

No Priority for Energy

By Justin Katz | May 6, 2008 |

Michael Zey’s op-ed, yesterday, enunciates the factors indicating that the United States of America is just not that interested in developing energy independence — much less developing energy as an export industry. As the Platts report plainly states, without a growing energy supply, countries face “declining growth rates, diminished standards of living, and growing transfer…

Raising Concerns

By Justin Katz | May 5, 2008 |

Methinks there’s a missing “my” in Karen Lee Ziner’s “Remarks raise concern” piece on the front page of yesterday’s Local News section: A nonprofit group whose board members include First Lady Sue Carcieri asserts that nearly 45 percent of all immigrants in Rhode Island — legal and illegal — lack high school diplomas and “this…

Anchor on the Air

By Justin Katz | May 5, 2008 |

We wanted to give y’all some time to rearrange your schedules, cancel plans, and disregard obligations: Starting this week, Anchor Rising will have a (roughly) ten-minute spot on the Matt Allen Show, Wednesdays at 6:50 p.m. We’ll be using the time to inform the 630AM/99.7FM WPRO listening audience about what we’re discussing, here on our…