Justin Katz

First, the Stick

By Justin Katz | February 20, 2008 |

Amazingly, even as they stumble into understanding of that which is making it hard to breathe in Rhode Island, they continue to tighten the noose: In an effort to slow down the steep rise of health insurance costs in Rhode Island, Sen. Joshua Miller has introduced legislation that would prohibit health insurers in the state…

The Most Basic Requirements

By Justin Katz | February 19, 2008 |

In a letter to the editor of the Sakonnet Times (not online), Tiverton High School physics and chemistry teacher Richard Bernardo offers general encouragement to everybody involved in the contract disputes to “roll[] up [their] sleeves and [get] the job done.” In light of news released since Mr. Bernardo penned his letter, this part sticks…

Reopening the Dorr

By Justin Katz | February 19, 2008 |

I’m disappointed to see that the Providence Journal is apparently not printing Kenneth Payne’s series on Rhode Island’s political history online. It’s worth a look, if you’ve access to Sunday’s paper. This paragraph, in particular, caught my attention: Rhode Island government in 1900 was still colored by the dark shadows of the Dorr War, the…

Denmark Burning

By Justin Katz | February 18, 2008 |

Ah the idyllic land of Northern Europe, to which the world’s eyes turn for a vision of society as it ought to be: Groups of youths torched schools and cars in a sixth consecutive night of violence across Denmark, mostly in immigrant neighborhoods, police said yesterday. Forty-three persons were arrested. The spate of vandalism started…

Can’t Blame ‘Em

By Justin Katz | February 18, 2008 |

Filling in for Dan Yorke on 630WPRO, Matt Allen’s been talking about the ability of apparent prosperity to elevate men’s chances when it comes to wooing attractive women. I emailed him that the thought that money bought love used to really bother me. Recently, though, the amount that I work, the struggles to get by,…

If Nothing Else, Sympathy

By Justin Katz | February 18, 2008 |

One of the great boons of the Internet is the ability of a few keywords to lead random citizens to sympathetic conversations — replete with research, back-story, and action — already in progress. In my emailbox this weekend: I am writing today after having stumbled upon your “Anchor Rising” website which described the 2005 East…

The Latter Day Kennedy? Not Really.

By Justin Katz | February 17, 2008 |

Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby doesn’t think JFK would be amused by the association of Che Guevara with a presidential candidate whom some have crowned as his (JFK’s) political heir: In December 1962, Kennedy offered a blunt summary of the Castro/Che record. “The Cuban people were promised by the revolution political liberty, social justice, intellectual…

Parsing Regularity

By Justin Katz | February 17, 2008 |

In the comments to my Sides Taking Shape post, RI Future’s Matt Jerzyk objects to my characterization of Bruce Lang and Ryan Curran as “regular Rhode Islanders.” According to Jerzyk, the former is a “longtime Statehouse activist” (founder, apparently, of Operation Clean Government) and the latter once ran for a General Assembly seat. I simply…

Anticipating History

By Justin Katz | February 16, 2008 |

Mark Steyn’s good today on Obama worship: … it seems to me that Barack Obama is the triumph of flesh, color, and despair over word — that’s to say, he offers an appealing embodiment of identity politics plus a ludicrously despairing vision of contemporary America (sample: “Trade deals like NAFTA ship jobs overseas and force…

It’s One Thing to Have Company in Misery; It’s Another to Be a Leader

By Justin Katz | February 16, 2008 |

Rhode Island can’t be doing so badly if it’s only one of at least 25 states facing budget shortfalls, can it? Well, considering the sour mood about the economy across the nation, it’s perhaps surprising that 25 states don’t have shortfalls. In judging between those that do, though, one would want more information than a…