Law and Order

Heritage chart of federal crimes and federal prisoners

Living is becoming a crime, while crime is becoming simply living.

By Justin Katz | January 10, 2022 |

Law and order is shifting in the United States.  On one hand, it seems as if our justice system is increasingly reluctant to hold criminals accountable, with sometimes tragic outcomes like the recent death of an East Greenwich teen in a car crash.  Increasing assaults on college students in Rhode Island’s capital city raise no…

A man with his head in a box

Calenda exposes the problem when the media decides it doesn’t have to cover points of view.

By Justin Katz | January 4, 2022 |

One of the bigger local stories in Rhode Island, right now, is the (alleged) killing of an East Greenwich teen by a long-rap-sheet thug who shared beforehand his intention to drive while intoxicated, albeit with his mind on harming himself rather than others.  The story is heartbreaking on multiple fronts, but for this post, let’s…

A water drop and ripples

If we really wanted to understand January 6…

By Justin Katz | December 30, 2021 |

… this sort of thing would attract a lot more attention.  Instead, it seems the only time Democrats like police (as distinct from their union organizers) is when they attack Republicans: Recently-released surveillance video from inside the lower west terrace tunnel at the Capitol building from last January 6 confirms what American Greatness has reported…

A water drop and ripples

For reference, this is what horrifying racism actually looks like.

By Justin Katz | December 29, 2021 |

With Rhode Island’s politics-watchers all atwitter and fainting over a white woman’s expression of regret about a lost friendship that seems to her to have been related to differing races, the need for context seems urgent.  For comparison, consider this story out of London: The attack, which took place at 7.20pm on December 2, happened…

A water drop and ripples

The school gun panic reveals we’re being ruled by predators and prey.

By Justin Katz | December 20, 2021 |

In separate incidents, Woonsocket arrested two 12 year olds.  The photo accompanying Lauren Clem’s Valley Breeze article is worth a glance.  It shows a child being led away in handcuffs by a much larger police officer while another carries his backpack. One of the children (although I don’t know whether it was this one) involved a…

The ACI in Cranston

Prison statistics probably aren’t a stronghold for progressives.

By Justin Katz | December 14, 2021 |

Somewhere in the wilds of Rhode Island progressive social media in the past couple months, I came across the Rhode Island Department of Corrections’ “Fiscal Year 2020 Annual Population Report.” I think the context in which it was deployed like a statistical weapon was to support the claim that inmates at the state Adult Correctional…

A hooded man in shadows

Providence murder mysteries can be solved if you use the word, “gangs.”

By Justin Katz | December 13, 2021 |

Nobody should feel encouraged by statements from Democrat Mayor Jorge Elorza or the other Democrats who run the city after another shooting in Providence on Saturday night.  Elorza may claim to “understand that our community needs and deserves to feel safe,” but that isn’t possible when authorities refuse to be clear about what’s going on.…

A water drop and ripples

Canceling a police training academy’s classes shows how crazy we’ve gone.

By Justin Katz | December 8, 2021 |

Canceling the remaining classes among a group of presumably very fit police candidates because one person with symptoms and six people without symptoms tested positive for COVID shows how crazy and weak we’ve become. We’re going to be paying for this recent shift in attitudes for decades, and one suspects the people pushing it expect…

Gavel with a speech bubble

RI unions have gotten away with implied intimidation for too long.

By Justin Katz | December 2, 2021 |

Here’s an interesting section from William Jacobson’s running notes from the Rhode Island Superior Court hearing in the case of the National Education Association of Rhode Island and Nicole Solas: The court then moved onto that anti-SLAPP portion of the case. Union attorney says Solas didn’t present evidence of bad faith or motive of harassment.…

A water drop and ripples

Hiring police saves black lives.

By Justin Katz | December 1, 2021 |

That’s the finding of a study by criminologists at several universities: “Although the total reduction in homicide is roughly equal across Black and white victims, the decline in homicide is twice as large for Black victims in per capita terms,” the team said. Researchers on the project include Professor Benjamin Hansen of the University of…