Written

Scott Adams trans sports tweet 06/23/21

We need to formulate rules for when to engage, and when not to engage, opposing ideas.

By Justin Katz | July 5, 2021 |

The tweet by Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams appearing as the featured image for this post is deliberately provocative in the real meaning of that word, as in “intended to provoke”: Popular opinions on Twitter: It is unfair for trans athletes to compete on women’s teams because of the strength difference. It is fair for LeBron…

A "No" sign engulfed in a tree

Testimony of a young heir of the so-called patriarchy should cause pause.

By Justin Katz | July 5, 2021 |

It’s been out there for a few weeks, but a letter that Professor John McWhorter promoted from a male high school student deserves a read.  What the boy writes is far too much in keeping with other evidence, from male student achievement to suicide rates, to be dismissed as the whining of an elite private…

Liquid pouring into an invisible glass

Alcohol-to-go is an example of how our government should function in changing circumstances.

By Justin Katz | July 5, 2021 |

As suggested in this post from last month, it is inappropriate for the governor to continue using an emergency declaration to preserve exceptions to the law.  Emergencies are (or should be) circumstances in which it isn’t possible for ordinary government processes to continue.  We can argue about when that ceased to be the case in…

Timeline of abolitions

It’s time for the U.S.A. to transcend Enlightenment propaganda.

By Justin Katz | July 5, 2021 |

Independence Day was the perfect day for me to listen to Jordan Peterson’s conversation with Iain McGilchrist on the former’s podcast as I mowed the lawn, because it completed a few more pieces of the puzzle I’ve been working out recently.  I’ll surely write much more about it in the future, but the relevant proposition…

American flag in a field at sunset

A reminder of America’s value to the huddled masses on Independence Day.

By Justin Katz | July 3, 2021 |

If you’re interested in some good Independence Day listening that reminds you indirectly of the innate goodness of the American project, give a listen to Russ Roberts’s interview of University of Chicago Economist Bruce Meyer, who specializes in the study of poverty.  As the episode summary says, the “conversation also addresses broader challenges around measuring…

Sings at a prolife march

We should follow the science on abortion.

By Justin Katz | July 3, 2021 |

Among the most fascinating (if disturbing) aspects of the abortion is that the position typically taken by the materialists implicitly rely on a mystical distinction. Most don’t want to acknowledge that their view is that it is permissible to kill some innocent human beings.  Humanity has long known that the individual human life begins at…

A hand reaches for chains

For some people, a certain kind of “hate” is justified.

By Justin Katz | July 3, 2021 |

Campus Reform has the story, reported by Ben Zeisloft, of a student protest at Ohio State University, wherein students expressed outrage that the university had labeled an assault on White students as a “hate crime.”  Ponder the significance of this statement from Student Solidarity at OSU: OSU sent out an email on Friday confirming that…

An open bird cage

We really are struggling to keep our democratic rights in Rhode Island towns.

By Justin Katz | July 3, 2021 |

Something in a Richard Fernandez essay on PJ Media feels very appropriate to Rhode Island’s current situation.  He writes of the ways in which Western populations have attempted to ensure that people in power make decisions with the good of the people in mind, rather than the good of the powerful, and notes various ways in…

Blindfolded woman smoking

The silver lining on left-wing dismissal of the CRT backlash is that their false consciousness will be politically damaging.

By Justin Katz | July 2, 2021 |

The advocate in me always raises questions when the analyst in me strives to explain what my political opposition is missing.  Knowledge is power, so there’s advantage to allowing a competitor to march in the opposite direction.  Of course, in a game, that’s not sporting, and in life, it’s morally questionable. Noah Rothman suggests in…

7/2/21 Narragansett Times front page

Looks like a pretty thorough house cleaning in the South Kingstown Schools

By Justin Katz | July 2, 2021 |

The RIRepublicans Twitter account tweeted out the picture of the Narragansett Times from today used as the featured image for this post. The South Kingstown school committee chair, Emily Cummiskey, the school superintendent, Linda Savastano, and the controversial National Education Association organizer who was on the school committee have all resigned.  These are added to the…