Justin Katz
Andrew’s disagreement with John West, it seems to me, comes down to a single word: “directs.” In essence, West presents two opposing possibilities: “God… intentionally directs the development of life toward a specific end.” “God himself cannot know how evolution will turn out.” Andrew’s hypothetical of God’s experimenting with “multi-creation,” picking “the one He likes…
It appears that the collapse of the Education Partnership may have more to it than a drying up of revenue: The Education Partnership, an advocacy organization backed by local businesses, went into receivership last month, in part because several contracts to produce research and reports for municipalities and school districts fell through, said Shine. He…
I took the call last night to Matt Allen to talk about the RI governance philosophy on display at the Tiverton School Committee meeting this week (segment streamable by clicking here, or download). I’m not sure whether it’s a good thing or reason for concern, but I think I’m starting to get the feel of…
A habit of governance in Rhode Island came into view after an interesting item from the Tiverton Schools Administrative Policy came up at last night’s School Committee meeting: Distribution of literature as to candidacy, bond issues, or other public question to be submitted at election: prohibited. No literature which is any manner and in any…
Well, exhausting schedule notwithstanding, I’m at the Tiverton School Committee meeting because a concerned citizen is on the agenda to raise questions about the superintendent’s use of public resources to invite interested citizens to vote for higher taxes at the last financial town meeting. Speaking of which, I see the town council is taking careful…
One hopes that some vestige of integrity left Mary Ann Sorrentino feeling dirty as she submitted a hit piece on McCain to the Providence Phoenix. Inasmuch as the paper actually published it, however, that hope is likely baseless. The more than 1500 pages detailing McCain’s medical information do not dispel the notion that the candidate’s…
In the midst of a story about Rhode Island government’s hard financial times, one finds the following nugget: … local officials say they need more. They want state legislators to change the pension rules for municipal employees, requiring them to work longer before they can retire. They are also pushing for the repeal of a…
Without regard to the topic, this article is worth a read for the insight it provides with regard to state government: In a meeting of the House environmental committee on the next-to-last day of the legislative session, all the members had worn neon yellow stickers publicly declaring their support for companion bills that would raise…
No political strategist am I, but Jonah Goldberg’s suggestion for the McCain campaign strikes me as wise: As many have noted, it’s ironic that Obama supporters who profess to want bipartisanship are indisputably voting for the wrong guy. There’s next to nothing in Obama’s record that suggests he’s better equipped to reach across the aisle…
Without gainsaying my own potential culpability, I have to admit that a recent business-section column by URI business administration professor Edward Mazze left me confused. He asserts five myths of varying persuasiveness, but his explanations don’t consistently jibe. He and I agree on the first myth, which he states as follows: First, without financial incentives…