Written

CCSU's crane nooses

Step back and think about the noose mania on campuses.

By Justin Katz | June 21, 2021 |

It turns out, as College Fix editor Jennifer Kabbany reports, that the moral panic at Central Connecticut State University over an American flag hoisted on a crane above a noose was not a racist provocation: A construction company building a parking structure at Central Connecticut State University had hoisted an American flag at the end of…

A hand and barred window

Who would have thought putting men in women’s prisons might be problematic?

By Justin Katz | June 19, 2021 |

The mainstream media is too woke (or too scared) to report extensively on the consequences on the consequences for their fellow-travelers’ crazy policies, but that only makes it more important for the rest of us to pay attention.  Amanda Presigiacomo reports an entirely predictable example for The Daily Wire: Former and current female inmates from…

A hand reaches for chains

There should be no get-out-of-blame cards based on ideology.

By Justin Katz | June 19, 2021 |

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 "cancel culture" document in a typewriter

The Gaspee Project is moving RI’s donor disclosure law toward the U.S. Supreme Court.

By Justin Katz | June 19, 2021 |

According to Jerrick Adams, writing for Ballotpedia, a three judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit heard oral arguments in the case on June 9.  Adams gives a good quick summary of the two fundamental arguments: The law in question (H7859, enacted in 2012) requires issue advocacy groups to disclose to the…

Luca Signorelli, The Preaching of the Antichrist

The Left’s morality is a strange thing to behold.

By Justin Katz | June 19, 2021 |

Social media is all aflutter with the shocking, Earth-shattering news that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has voted to draft a document!  Surely the end times are near. Christine Rousselle reports for the Catholic News Agency: Meeting virtually for their annual spring general assembly, the U.S. bishops voted on Thursday to begin…

Tangled ropes

Wokism is a Gordian Knot. Cut through it.

By Justin Katz | June 18, 2021 |

If you haven’t begun drinking yet and want a mind-bending article, read this RealClearInvestigations article on The Epoch Times.  The intellectual trick that makes it mind-bending is that you have to pretend the subject matter isn’t nonsense to begin with. Let’s unpack a relatively long quotation from the article: Ron Scapp, an academic specialist in ethnic studies,…

An electrical switch

Rhode Island’s reopening will be micromanaged.

By Justin Katz | June 18, 2021 |

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:…

Joe Biden's smile.

WPRI’s headline writer should do some reading on Pravda.

By Justin Katz | June 18, 2021 |

This NewsNation Now article by Leland Vittert, running on WPRI’s website wouldn’t ordinarily have merited comment, but the headline is enough to make you involuntarily spit out your coffee:  “Putin praised Biden, experts say that could mean he’s rattled.”  The article reinforces the propagandistic character of the headline: “He is focused,” Putin said. “He understands…

Google computer start screen

Artificial intelligence could lock in an infant ideology born of hate, and it can happen to students, too.

By Justin Katz | June 18, 2021 |

A central concern about the development of artificial intelligence is that it will depend so heavily (at least for its starting point) on the input of the people who created it.  A Daily Wire article by Luke Rosiak about social-justice turmoil in the Google “Ethical AI” team provides a detail of just how short-sighted a launch…

"I Voted" sticker in a pile of leaves

The election question is coming down to “fraud or gross incompetence” in some places.

By Justin Katz | June 17, 2021 |

I was thinking earlier about how the news media is able to shift the narrative and mood of the country simply by virtue of the things that it chooses to report or not to report.  Very rare events when every small update to any related story is splashed across the media nationally.  On the other…