Written

A water drop and ripples

The North Kingstown School Committee laughably managed a mask mandate to avoid public scrutiny.

By Justin Katz | October 18, 2021 |

I find self repeatedly coming back to a photo that John DePetro posted of the controversial meeting of the North Kingstown School Committee last week. As reported, Chairman Gregory Glasbalg ended the meeting on the pretense that two people in the room were not wearing masks.  Given that excuse, what do you notice about the…

Silhouette over digital background

Maybe rediscovering distrust of tech and government was a good thing.

By Justin Katz | October 18, 2021 |

In the amazing advance of our technology comes the possibility of smart watches’ diagnosing health issues before symptoms begin, Steven Reinberg reports for HealthDay News.  Keeping track of your vital stats on an ongoing basis as you go about your day (and sleep at night), you can get an early start on treatment, which can…

A dark classroom

At least the Wall Street Journal is supporting Bessinger against the “education horror show.”

By Justin Katz | October 15, 2021 |

Yesterday, I wondered why the plight and complaints of Providence middle school teacher Ramona Bessinger weren’t of more concern to teachers, parents, the community, the union, and Rhode Islanders generally.  Today, the Wall Street Journal editorial board has proven that somebody actually cares, giving their editorial the sharp headline, “Education Horror Show, Continued.”  (Search the headline…

A water drop and ripples

Governor McKee apparently has something of a permanent protest escort.

By Justin Katz | October 15, 2021 |

And we’d hardly know it if John DePetro weren’t paying attention.

A water drop and ripples

Apparently core administration secretaries are sort of like ambassadors, now.

By Justin Katz | October 15, 2021 |

Appointing political allies to cushy ambassadorships has long been something of a political joke in the United States, but Mike LaChance observes that the U.S. transportation secretary is apparently also a similarly non-essential worker: While U.S. ports faced anchor-to-anchor traffic and Congress nearly melted down over the president’s infrastructure bill in recent weeks, the usually…

A soldier signals to hold

Biden’s military politicization is genuinely the sort of thing authoritarians do.

By Justin Katz | October 15, 2021 |

If you blinked (or don’t get your information from non-mainstream-progressive news sources), you might have missed the Biden administration’s explicit attempts to politicize the United States military along partisan lines.  John Lucas explains for The Federalist: President Joe Biden and his administration are continuing to purge and politicize the American military. Consistent with the totalitarian left’s…

A water drop and ripples

The self-delusion of the Left is a thing to behold.

By Justin Katz | October 15, 2021 |

For more evidence that we really live in different universes, give a read to Ruth Ben-Ghiat’s musings about the parent vax wars for CNN.  It’s almost difficult to believe it isn’t a parody that flips the script, attributing to the Right what is actually the standpoint of the Left.  It starts here and gets worse:…

A fading man on train tracks

We must address the roots of our society’s depression and anxiety.

By Justin Katz | October 15, 2021 |

Russ Roberts’ conversation with writer Johann Hari on a recent episode of EconTalk was interesting for a variety of reasons, not the least because it seems Hari’s work on anxiety and depression changed his own mind a bit.  One might say he’s moved toward the conservative view of the world, at least on this question, and…

Burning $100 bills

Magaziner is abusing the position of General Treasurer.

By Justin Katz | October 14, 2021 |

If we had a healthy civic culture, wherein citizens had been adequately educated in the appropriate use of government power, it would be the stuff of scandal, rather than political bragging, that Rhode Island General Treasurer Seth Magaziner is abusing his authority over state investment funds for purposes of political activism.  As he touts on…

A water drop and ripples

Add child abuse to the toll of lockdowns.

By Justin Katz | October 14, 2021 |

Reading these results from a Pennsylvania report, it would be fair to say that government overreach during COVID has been child abuse: A recently released annual child abuse report from the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services showed that in 2020, the state registered a 43 percent increase in child abuse deaths compared to 2019. That…