Political Thought
Watching local government is a great way to learn how politics really works and to observe how representative democracy can deteriorate into an exercise of raw power.
In fascinating juxtaposition to the excuse-making that progressive Democrat U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse is enjoying, the folks from Direct Actions for Rights and Equality (DARE) marched in protest of money given to the Nonviolence Institute. Courtney Carter reported on it for WPRI: This week, [organizer Cedric] Russell co-released a public letter addressed to the institute,…
Continuing to dig into the shady (yet, completely ordinary) behind-the-scenes maneuvers of Rhode Island’s governing class when it comes to South Kingstown Schools’ fight with local mom Nicole Solas, William Jacobson of Legal Insurrection reports that the Rhode Island School Superintendents Association (RISSA) is working to reduce Rhode Islanders access to public information by changing the Access…
For years, I’ve presented the history and condition of Lawrence, Massachusetts, as an example that Rhode Island shouldn’t follow — namely, becoming a place that seeks to import clients for government services for which local, state, and federal taxpayers can be billed. Given that recurring theme, I bookmarked this press release from the U.S. Attorney’s…
Michael Esfeld provides a helpful frame for our current moment, writing for the American Institute for Economic Research, with reference to Karl Popper’s The Open Society and its Enemies: The open society is characterized by recognizing every human being as a person: the person has an inalienable dignity. When we think and act, we are free.…
A Friday press release from the office of Governor Daniel McKee inches Rhode Island toward reopening. It’s actually very difficult to interpret the meaning of the press release, because it’s poorly written and it’s not clear where restrictions have been lifted and where they’re being modified. But this appears to be the set of changes:…
Identity politics is a great destroyer. Not only does it pit neighbor against neighbor based on superficial qualities like skin color, but it acts as an ideological litmus test. To its practitioners, one either bends the knee or is non-personned as a “hater.” Look at what’s happening in Barrington. This is from a Sarah Doiron…
Many things are concerning about the homeless encampment in Providence that has been in the news lately and about the way the issue is being framed, but one thread that really sticks out is this, from Brian Amaral’s Boston Globe story: Councilwoman Mary Kay Harris, who represents the area, said Elorza should call a state of…
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…
Too often our reaction to ideas with which we disagree is to mock them or to dismiss them from the conversation. Although the impulse is understandable, and I’m certainly guilty of it, doing so is a mistake. Listening is how we understand, not only as a check on our own biases, but also as a…
