Justin Katz

Placing the Worker Before the Job

By Justin Katz | March 6, 2008 |

I have to admit to being a bit confused by David’s comments to my post about Rhode Island’s lost jobs. I pointed out that Rhode Island hadn’t gained jobs, as expected, over the last year, but lost them, including in the construction industry. With a slate of laws in mind that would attract low-end and…

The Terror Master at Home

By Justin Katz | March 6, 2008 |

Reading about Iran Dictator Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit to Iraq makes me wonder for whom he’s routing in the American election, this year: In tone and body language, Ahmadinejad’s message during his visit was clear. The United States does not belong in Iraq; Iran does. Iran can and will help in the reconstruction of Iraq, a…

Terrorism on the Political Spectrum

By Justin Katz | March 5, 2008 |

There go those fascist terrorists again: Three seven-figure dream homes went up in flames early yesterday in a Seattle suburb, apparently set by eco-terrorists who left a sign mocking the builders’ claims that the 4,000-plus-square-foot houses were environmentally friendly. The sign – a sheet marked with spray paint – bore the initials ELF, for Earth…

Public Service Announcement for Parents

By Justin Katz | March 5, 2008 |

Well, they’ve done the study, and the results are nothing if not surprising: Here’s one simple way to keep your children healthy: Ban the bedroom TV. By some estimates, half of American children have a television in their bedroom; one study of third-graders put the number at 70 percent. And a growing body of research…

Media Event or Partisan Rally?

By Justin Katz | March 5, 2008 |

Has anybody else picked up on something curious in coverage of the Providence Newspaper Guild Follies? Chelsea Clinton, in town to campaign for her mother, was squired around by US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse. And US Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, the Democratic nominee in 2004, turned up as a surprise guest about a third…

Letting Them Know We’re Not Asleep

By Justin Katz | March 5, 2008 |

Greg offered a rousing comment to my post on abandoned rules changes that oughtn’t be allowed to slip into unnoticed into the archives: Simply the serious THREAT of a picket and demonstration killed this, people. Think about that the next time you’re just too busy to take an hour out of your lives for the…

Back on the Air

By Justin Katz | March 4, 2008 |

Well, we’ve got unusually high traffic for this time of night, still, so for anybody checking in: I should be back on the air with Matt Allen around 9:30 p.m. ADDENDUM: Sorry, false alarm. Understandably, the station doesn’t want to drift away from the real-time results coverage. I guess I’m back to typing, instead of…

On the Air

By Justin Katz | March 4, 2008 |

Although I’m sure the overlap between the group of people reading Anchor Rising at this time of night and the group of people who listen to nighttime talk radio is significant, I’d like to mention that I’ll be chatting about the primaries with Matt Allen on 630 WPRO sometime after 7:45 p.m. ADDENDUM: Imagine a…

Sweeping Changes Under the Carpet (For Safe Keeping?)

By Justin Katz | March 4, 2008 |

The temporary end of this particular controversy was easy to miss, and the manner in which it occurred tells us much about the folks who precipitated it: The debate over proposed changes to the House rules was put to rest last week when Rules Committee Chairwoman Rep. Eileen S. Naughton, D-Warwick, announced that she would…

Sapping the Know-Nothings

By Justin Katz | March 4, 2008 |

To some degree, it’s often the case that the media hypes the youth vote — the excited kids who show up for the rally but not for the vote. Still, it seems likely that the unique factor in this election will be the “know-nothing vote,” by which I mean kids and other generally uninvolved, uninformed…