Governor

Richard August and Daniel Munoz on State of the State

State of the State: Luis Daniel Munoz Candidate for Governor

By Richard August | August 12, 2021 |

Munoz offers the progressive version of acknowledging that the Democrat Party is the problem in Rhode Island.

A locked luggage box

Politics This Week with John DePetro: Boxed in by the Past

By Justin Katz | August 9, 2021 |

John DePetro and Justin Katz take on unprecedented developments in RI government and politics.

A more-descriptive restroom sign

Thanks to McKee and the General Assembly, 2021 is the year Rhode Islanders lost religious freedom.

By Justin Katz | August 6, 2021 |

The amazing thing, when government officials establish a religion, is that everything becomes clear and easy.  Through a clerisy, their god (even if it is an undefined Great Progressive Spirit) tells them what is right and wrong, and they simply conform the law to those requirements.  Anybody who believes differently has to put their beliefs…

Liquid pouring into an invisible glass

Alcohol-to-go is an example of how our government should function in changing circumstances.

By Justin Katz | July 5, 2021 |

As suggested in this post from last month, it is inappropriate for the governor to continue using an emergency declaration to preserve exceptions to the law.  Emergencies are (or should be) circumstances in which it isn’t possible for ordinary government processes to continue.  We can argue about when that ceased to be the case in…

Dan McKee on WPRI

McKee’s excuse for extending the state of the emergency isn’t very good.

By Justin Katz | June 12, 2021 |

In fact, when pressed for justification, Governor Dan McKee ends up illustrating how fully our government operates along lines of special interests. From an Alexandra Leslie article on WPRI: The governor said there were a few reasons behind the decision, including keeping certain opportunities extended to businesses in place, like allowing takeout beer, wine and…

States with legislation to change emergency declarations

Rhode Islanders shouldn’t get used to state-of-emergency government all the time.

By Justin Katz | June 11, 2021 |

Yesterday, June 10, in the two-thousand and twenty-first year of our Lord, Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee, the first of his name, did sign and decree the “One Hundred and Sixty-Eighth Supplemental Emergency Declaration,” extending the state’s COVID-19 state of emergency for another month. As is typical, the declaration contains “whereas” clauses to offer information…

McKee signs nursing home mandates

RI politicians smile as they experiment with your parents and grandparents and planet-leading mandates.

By Justin Katz | June 4, 2021 |

Last week, I worried that the recently enacted “Nursing Home Staffing and Quality Care Act” handed bureaucrats power that they aren’t competent to wield.  This week, news has reached Australia that the Ocean State’s mandates in this area blow the continent-nation’s own version out of the water. Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee (pictured) has signed…

Corey Jones LEOBoR tweet

The BLM policy advisor to Governor Dan McKee makes $58,119.

By Justin Katz | May 14, 2021 |

After John DePetro highlighted the tweet shown as the featured image to this post by Corey Jones, the former executive director of BLM New England PAC, I thought I’d check him out on the state’s payroll tool.  To preserve the text, here’s what Corey Jones tweeted: The efforts to amend the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill…

BLM protest on Federal Hill

Politics This Week with John DePetro: Not All Rhode Islanders Are Equal

By Justin Katz | May 10, 2021 |

The weekly conversation about politics between John DePetro and Justin Katz finds a common theme of some Rhode Islanders’ mattering more than others.

Dan McKee gets vaccinated

Gov. McKee wants you to know that you’re deplorable.

By Justin Katz | May 10, 2021 |

  The 199,922 Rhode Islanders who voted for President Trump (and probably tens of thousands more who supported him but did not vote) have good cause to wonder whether the governor of the State of Rhode Island cares about their lives and interests. When Dan McKee found out that somebody hosting a fundraiser for him,…