Justin Katz

An Airing of Weaknesses

By Justin Katz | September 9, 2005 |

It seems to me, Don, that the well-poisoning of your closing question elides precisely the benefit of a Laffey run for U.S. Senate. Tweak your perceptive hypothetical of a primary-free Chafee’s positioning: While sitting on the sidelines eating popcorn, Chafee would have been able to size up his opponent, research weak points, and come out…

Welcoming Don Roach

By Justin Katz | September 3, 2005 | Comments Off on Welcoming Don Roach

Anchor Rising welcomes Don Roach to its contributors list. Don is a graduate from Brown University and a resident of Providence. His blogging efforts began — and continue — at Black, White, Left, & Right.

A Sequence of Plans

By Justin Katz | September 2, 2005 |

My latest FactIs column, “When Plan B Becomes Plan A,” suggests that something is awry when a drug that requires a prescription for low concentrations is on track for over-the-counter status in higher concentrations. Of course, Plan B is a “birth control” pill; such does sex — and the consequences thereof — skew Western minds.

Scaling the Wall?

By Justin Katz | August 18, 2005 | Comments Off on Scaling the Wall?

This leaves me with nothing to say, except to hope that it’s a fluke, not an indication of trends: STATE SEN. Marian Walsh (D.-Dedham) has filed legislation requiring churches in Massachusetts to submit annual reports to the state detailing their collections, expenditures, funds on hand, investments, real-estate holdings, etc. The proposed law would apply to…

Teaching the Boundaries of Science

By Justin Katz | August 17, 2005 |

My latest column, “Life in an Unfinished World,” takes up the evolution v. intelligent design dispute. The religious-like fervor of those who oppose intelligent design raises the question of whether they think any aspects of society rightly impinge on science. Contrary to frequent insistence that intelligent design be taught — if at all — in…

To Stop Religious Terrorism, Permit Religious Politics

By Justin Katz | August 3, 2005 | Comments Off on To Stop Religious Terrorism, Permit Religious Politics

For my column — which will now be appearing every other Wednesday — I pondered the formation of London’s homegrown Muslim terrorists: “Exploding Across Arm’s-Length Tolerance.” The bottom line is that the common thread that runs through the astute explanations — the root cause, if you will — is disengagement. And pushing religion, and the…

A Four-Year Echo

By Justin Katz | July 31, 2005 | Comments Off on A Four-Year Echo

It’s saddening to admit that I finished reading Minette Marrin’s “Confronted with our own decadence,” in the London Times, with a mordant smirk. I recall, just about four years ago, having the very thought with which she ends: Despite all this, I do, now for the first time, feel a faint glimmer of optimism. One…

The Social Engineering Beyond Challenge

By Justin Katz | July 21, 2005 | Comments Off on The Social Engineering Beyond Challenge

“Breaking the Glass Taboo,” my latest column for TheFactIs.org, responds to Providence Journal editorialist M.J. Anderson’s nostalgia for the days of the Baby Boomers’ youth and to recent research finding that removing men from the home can be part of a recipe for creating “exceptional” boys. I didn’t go into this in my column, but…

Not a Gulf in Every Sense

By Justin Katz | July 8, 2005 | Comments Off on Not a Gulf in Every Sense

A debatable comment from the Providence Journal’s editorial about the London bombings: Thursday’s attacks seemed clearly timed to coincide with the opening of the G-8 summit meeting in Scotland, where efforts to help Africa (home of almost 350 million Muslims) have been high on the agenda. Quite a gulf between that and Islamic terrorists’ agenda…

A Reason for Tradition

By Justin Katz | July 7, 2005 | Comments Off on A Reason for Tradition

My latest column for TheFactIs.org — “Reasoning with the Id” — responds to a recent piece by Lee Harris. To summarize too drastically, Harris seeks to find a place for tradition in a world of reason. Me, I think is more accurate to stress that rationality already exists in a world of tradition.