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We’ve heard quite a bit about the terrors of eviction during the pandemic and the government-driven closure of our economy, and the talk tends to imply that people who own rental properties don’t need the money — as if the rentals merely contribute side cash to big piles in their basements. That perspective has informed…
Naturally, I’m in agreement with Bishop Tobin and this tweet to Pope Francis, both in substance and in the meta-factor of thinking it needs to be sent: Dear Pope Francis, You have boldly stated that abortion is “murder.” Please challenge President Biden on this critical issue. His persistent support of abortion is an embarrassment for…
With some variation depending on role and discipline, college professors should enjoy wide latitude to speak their minds, but at the very least, this story proves the talk about valuing all people and their comfort and despising racism in all its forms is just that… talk: Controversial Rutgers associate professor and author Dr. Brittney Cooper…
Not to be cynical, but the question of this post’s headline is serious. I look at the results for students on the Rhode Island Comprehensive Assessment System (RICAS) — with overall proficiency drops from 38% to 33% in English and from 30% to 20% in math — and I think, “So what?” The same goes…
Katherine Gregg frames her story about state health facilities’ challenges getting by without unvaccinated employees for the Providence Journal in terms of the government’s incompetence at replacing them: Despite promises made to the state Department of Health to bring in replacements for unvaccinated staff, neither the state-run Eleanor Slater Hospital nor the Veterans Home has…
So, yeah… the statement that the school employees involved in this event didn’t know the details is no excuse: The superintendent of Hazard Independent Schools said “appropriate disciplinary action has been taken” after photos surfaced showing students giving lap dances to staff and wearing scant clothing Tuesday as part of Hazard High School’s homecoming week…
The Rhode Island General Assembly is calling its page for information about ideas and proposals related to its federal COVID handout the “American Rescue Plan Act State Fiscal Recovery Fund Recommendation Portal.” The Associated Press article about the portal maintains that framing: Rhode Island’s legislature has created a website to post the proposals it’s receiving…
Sometimes watching public policy is like a society-wide 4D puzzle, with the fourth dimension being (of course) time. I remember in 2013 when I had to explain to folks behind the scenes why legislation to create a new type of corporation — the public benefit corporation — belonged on the RI Center for Freedom &…
It’s not alarming that different countries might come to different conclusions, but stories like this one paired with the zealous refusal to humor doubts about COVID vaccines in the United States make for a distrusting society: Sweden has extended its pause of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for people aged 30 and younger due to heart-related…
Founding broad, university-wide policies in ideological imperatives that make little pretense to a factual basis, academic institutions are convincing young Americans that they live in a society that does not actually exist.