Civil Liberties

The BLM flag flown in Barrington, RI

A convenient concept taking progressive politicians by storm.

By Justin Katz | May 4, 2021 |

When I emailed the Barrington Town Council to voice my objection to their promotion of the Black Lives Matter flag in a divisive way and expressed that a flag policy has to be content-neutral, member Jacob Brier wrote back to asserted that it was “government speech.”  It was therefore completely constitutional.  Many others who received…

Mike Stenhouse and Christopher Carlozzi on In the Dugout

RI is increasingly governed by convenient truths.

By Justin Katz | April 30, 2021 |

And thus do the disconnected themes of Mike Stenhouse’s In the Dugout show, yesterday, come together — disagreeing with Dan Yorke, talking TCI with the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) Rhode Island director Christopher Carlozzi, and discussing COVID mask mandates with Andrew Bostom.

WPRI image of hate sticker suspects

Without a sense of proportion, free expression is easily lost.

By Justin Katz | April 30, 2021 |

Maybe it’s evidence that I’m a creature from another age (if not another dimension), but I find news reports like this one out of Bristol disturbing, although probably not for the reason WPRI’s Bay Gammans thought it newsworthy: Bristol police are asking for the public’s help as they investigate reports of concerning stickers being posted…

Mike Stenhouse and guests

The powers who be have Rhode Islanders’ children in their sights.

By Justin Katz | April 29, 2021 |

For his In the Dugout show, yesterday, Mike Stenhouse’s guests focused on RI progressives’ government actions in our schools, particularly taking advantage of their enhanced powers under the COVID regime: in the dugout were Ellen Schaffer, Aimee Gardiner, Karen Ferris, Jean Lehand, and Rick Provost.

Jen Psaki in Russian Ushanka hat

This executive order is groundwork to remove your rights.

By Justin Katz | April 27, 2021 |

Now that the number of executive orders signed by the man occupying the Oval Office must be counted in scores, it is getting difficult to keep track, but Herbert Nowell spots a doozy on his A to Z Challenge blog (via Sarah Hoyt on Instapundit).   Per the language of the order, Biden has declared a national…

the Apex building

You can’t have fair negotiations when one party can’t walk away.

By Justin Katz | April 26, 2021 |

No matter how one feels about state and local government’s involvement with various schemes to find public-private partnerships to develop parts of Pawtucket, a recent lawsuit by one property owner, of the recently-more-famous Apex building, raises an important point.  Eli Sherman reports for WPRI: On Wednesday, the owners issued a blistering statement, painting themselves as…

USPS truck

They’ll always have a reason watching us protects them.

By Justin Katz | April 23, 2021 |

Did anybody have “USPS as spy agency” on their list of revelations for 2021?  That’s what Tim Pearce reports for The Daily Wire: The United States Postal Service (USPS) is running a “covert operations program” monitoring Americans’ social media accounts for “inflammatory” posts. The program is carried out by the USPS enforcement arm, the United States…

"I Voted" sticker in a pile of leaves

The need for vote-fraud evidence is one-sided.

By Justin Katz | April 23, 2021 |

That thought occurred to me while reading Brian Trusdell’s summary of a Rasmussen poll for Newsmax: Preventing cheating in elections is more important than expanding ways to vote, according to a majority of likely voters, who by a large margin also believe voter identification laws are not discriminatory, according to a Rasmussen poll. Moreover, most Americans…

A medical mask on the sidewalk

The plexiglass will soon come down.

By Justin Katz | April 23, 2021 |

It looks like June may bring a return to something like normalcy in Rhode Island.  As WJAR reports: Starting May 7, mask wearing guidance will change from required to recommended outdoors within 3 feet, but still required indoors. Capacity limits will be raised to 80% across the board the same day, but with 3-foot spacing…

State laws on self defense

Rhode Islanders have to run away from danger.

By Justin Katz | April 21, 2021 |

Eugene Volokh has posted a quick updated review of state laws concerning when residents have a right to use deadly force to defend themselves.  And wouldn’t you know it, Rhode Island is one of only twelve states that fall in the “duty to retreat” category.  The rest of the states are some variation of “stand…