Justin Katz

We Can Change What We Believe In

By Justin Katz | July 26, 2008 |

Catholic blogger Mark Shea has been keeping an eye on the messiahfication of Barack Obama, and I have to admit that there’s something foreboding about the fanaticism. The feel is not unlike that sparked by a piece, years back, reporting that Pat Buchanan’s young staffers referred to him reverently as The Candidate. Enthusiasm for a…

Sheesh.

By Justin Katz | July 25, 2008 |

I gotta say (as I live-blog Matt Allen’s Violent Round Table [in a sense]) that Andrew is really good at hitting the pith of the conservative perspective in a discussion. It’s interesting how we all approach discussions differently, with different strengths coming into play given the opposition, the topic, and even the specific point made.…

Telling Returns

By Justin Katz | July 25, 2008 |

Based on data that I posted back in February, I hypothesized in April that various financial and demographic trends in Rhode Island suggested that working and middle class families were selling their homes and leaving the state. Although the more demographically focused Census data won’t be updated for another month, the IRS has moved its…

Healthcare on the Radio

By Justin Katz | July 24, 2008 |

Andrew brought the healthcare conversation to the Matt Allen Show, last night; stream the discussion by clicking here or download it.

Waiting for the Lightning Flash

By Justin Katz | July 22, 2008 |

Personal stress and strain is always a factor, but I’ve had a vague sense that dialog is becoming more difficult and the tone of political/ideological debate is becoming more vicious of late. The disclaimer, here, is that I remain deliberately naive; heck, I’ve been surprised to gather first-hand experience of the extent to which the…

Legislative Leaders Should Be Very Concerned When the Opposition Starts to Throw in the Towel

By Justin Katz | July 21, 2008 |

Not that I’m happy to see any of these legislators go specifically or in general, but the brazen optimist in me hopes that this is the backdraft before some sort of explosion: The already lopsided balance of power in Rhode Island’s state legislature could tip even further left come November. Five of the Assembly’s 18…

Misunderstanding Maliki

By Justin Katz | July 20, 2008 |

Via Instapundit comes re-reportage that reports of Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki’s support for Obama’s withdrawal plan were over-hyped. From CNN: But a spokesman for al-Maliki said his remarks “were misunderstood, mistranslated and not conveyed accurately.” Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the possibility of troop withdrawal was based on the continuance of security improvements, echoing statements…

Irrelevant by Association

By Justin Katz | July 20, 2008 |

It occurs to me, while reading through the comments to last week’s post on religion and evolution, that a bit of common, subconscious legerdemain infects those making the secularist argument. By way of context, here is my lone statement of intentions with respect to my own voting intentions: I’ll vote every time for children to…

Which Way to Economic Health?

By Justin Katz | July 19, 2008 |

Perhaps some wishful thinking is involved, but it has seemed as if the various help wanted sections have seen a slight up-tick in ads. Could be seasonal; could be my imagination. At any rate, viewed from a different direction, the economic news continues to be discouraging: Rhode Island’s recession continues to deepen, as payrolls shrink…

Rhode Island: The Curious Timing State

By Justin Katz | July 18, 2008 |

It’s the time line that’s the thing: Early in the week, Dana Peloso was informed that only 14% of the signatures on his state House nomination forms for Barrington would be accepted. On Wednesday, the Barrington board of canvassers certified those results at 3:00 p.m.. On Thursday, the candidate had to drag at least 13…