Justin Katz

Go West, Young Welfare Recipient

By Justin Katz | August 26, 2007 |

I thought this sentence was a parody — or at least a cynical paraphrase — when I first saw it on Instapundit, but it’s an actual quote from a news story: Record low unemployment across parts of the West has created tough working conditions for business owners, who in places are being forced to boost…

Rerere: Confessions

By Justin Katz | August 26, 2007 |

Marc — Of course your children don’t see you as untrustworthy, and of course, you haven’t taught them to. But about whom are we speaking? I referred to “cultural truisms.” Although I do so very hesitantly, let’s put aside the possibility that the do-gooders would treat you no differently, with respect to your own children,…

Of Free Market Slaves and the Doomed Capitalist

By Justin Katz | August 25, 2007 |

Some comments from Michael, of Rescuing Providence, touch on basic differences of assumptions and perspectives. The first was to my “Proud to Be Non-Union” post: I never expected the folks here at Anchor Rising to be pro-union, but the depth of misunderstanding concerning organized labor and the willingness to serve as lackeys to powerful corporate…

Re: Confessions

By Justin Katz | August 25, 2007 |

There is reason for concern, Marc, that in your statement of the trade-off as between your “peace of mind” and “the safety of [your] kids” on one side and “being presumed a predator” on the other, you are missing negatives to the former and exaggerating the benefits of the latter. Arguably, the price of your…

A Vocabulary Lesson for Lima

By Justin Katz | August 24, 2007 |

Here’s a lesson in the proper application of the word “unscrupulous” for Charlene Lima: Unscrupulous vendors in Thailand have been selling meat of the deadly puffer fish disguised as salmon, causing the deaths of more than 15 people over the past three years, a doctor said Thursday. Clearly those vendors need increased fines and a…

Drawing the Iron Curtain?

By Justin Katz | August 24, 2007 |

Perhaps I’m just noticing examples more, of late, but there seems to be an increasing stream of worrying news items, such as the following, coming out of Russia: Russia’s armed forces chief of staff on Thursday described as “hallucinations” Georgia’s claim that Russian warplanes had violated its border on Tuesday, Interfax news agency reported. Georgia,…

A Mob in Their Own Minds

By Justin Katz | August 24, 2007 |

There’s something fun about this, but there’s also something just a bit creepy, too: Our fourth Mp3 Experiment was our biggest mission to date. 826 people downloaded the same mp3, pressed play at the same time, and had a blast together on Lower Manhattan’s beautiful waterfront. The video brings to mind the solitude in a…

That Old-Time Education

By Justin Katz | August 23, 2007 |

Victor Davis Hanson takes a worthy (albeit brief) look at modern education and makes some suggestions: We should first scrap the popular therapeutic curriculum that in the scarce hours of the school day crams in sermons on race, class, gender, drugs, sex, self-esteem, or environmentalism. These are well-intentioned efforts to make a kinder and gentler…

Every Which Way but Truth

By Justin Katz | August 22, 2007 |

Perhaps for the sake of being clever, John Derbyshire ignores a thing that is very odd for a conservative writer to ignore. Granted, the related twofold goals of his review of Robert Spencer’s book Religion of Peace? — Why Christianity Is and Islam Isn’t give him a narrow context in which to work. It would…

If You Want No More Games, Take Away the Ball

By Justin Katz | August 22, 2007 |

New Hampshire employs more public employees per citizen than Rhode Island does — so explained the Rhode Island NEA’s Bob Walsh in a comment to this post: Mike – Well, I am not a Marxist (unless Groucho counts) but I assume you know by now that the “New Hampshire” miracle is really the New Hampshire…