Written

A water drop and ripples

School closures hurt kids for nothing.

By Justin Katz | November 3, 2021 |

As noted in this space recently, most of the drop in the standardized test scores in Rhode Island was among students whose schools were mostly virtual during the pandemic.  Now a study out of Japan suggests all that harm was done with no benefit in controlling the disease: There is no evidence that school closures…

Fox News Virginia and New Jersey election maps

Could a GOP wave come to Rhode Island?

By Justin Katz | November 3, 2021 |

A red map might be possible in Rhode Island next year or in 2024, but however quickly it happens, repaired political infrastructure and a willingness to work together are prerequisites both to win and to accomplish anything positive after the election.

A water drop and ripples

A hot-take that’s sure to be unpopular across the political spectrum.

By Justin Katz | November 2, 2021 |

Stephen King could write an incredible novel if he were willing to imagine something demonic in wokism.

Mural at Portsmouth High School

The Equity Institute Seeks to Hide Student Surveys in Portsmouth

By Justin Katz | November 2, 2021 |

The level of secrecy and implicit threat against sharing suggests that the Equity Institute and Portsmouth school department know they are skirting a line, whether legal, moral, or political. 

A water drop and ripples

People’s interests (and economic reality) have to be considered in public policy (like mandates).

By Justin Katz | November 2, 2021 |

Further to my observation this morning about the McKee administration’s attitude toward people who lost their jobs thanks to his vaccine mandate, I note noises nationally from federal contractors that a similar mandate may force them to end their contracts with the government.  Sundance writes: As we have continued to point out, a federal vaccine…

Union head Maribeth Calabro tweets teacher complaints

The attitude of Providence public school employees proves failing students will continue.

By Justin Katz | November 2, 2021 |

In June 2019 — two and a half years ago, when Rhode Island students now in their senior years were finishing their freshman years — the Institute for Education Policy at Johns Hopkins School of Education published a ground-shaking report on systemic failure in the Providence public school system.  The first “challenge” the authors emphasized…

A water drop and ripples

Roger Kimball dares to call January 6 an “insurrection hoax.”

By Justin Katz | November 2, 2021 |

Are we even allowed to express such opinions?  It seems more common for even conservatives to verbalize disclaimers like, “it was a horrible thing that happened and people should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” and so on. Notwithstanding all the hysterical rhetoric surrounding the events of January 6, 2021, two critical…

A water drop and ripples

We’ve entered the Molotov cocktails through business windows phase of the revolution.

By Justin Katz | November 2, 2021 |

Weird. The attacker doesn’t look like a suburban parent upset about critical race theory and transgender ideology in the schools.  Presumably this is the next step from lawyers throwing Molotov cocktails at police cars phase.

Governor Dan McKee and Sgt. Pete Philomena

McKee’s administration has no patience for people whose jobs the governor destroyed.

By Justin Katz | November 2, 2021 |

For weeks, John DePetro and I have been discussing Democrat Governor Dan McKee’s response (or lack thereof) to the protesters upset that they’ve lost their jobs based on a mandate for healthcare workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 that he implemented, and they had their closest interaction yet over the weekend. What strikes me, in…

A water drop and ripples

When you say, “let’s go,” go with Southwest.

By Justin Katz | November 1, 2021 |

I don’t travel much, particularly by airplane, but when I do, I’ve usually used Southwest Airlines.  That habit developed for a number of reasons, with a key one being that unassigned seating seemed to me a touch of randomness that would dissuade would-be terrorists.  (Granted, this felt like a more-pressing consideration some years ago.) Now…