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An Analytical Eye for Systemic Racism

By Justin Katz | June 11, 2021 |

Studies purporting to find evidence of “systemic racism” often miss the mark or, alternately, identify “systemic racism” for which progressive ideology is to blame and that Critical Race Theory (CRT) will only make worse.

Solar farm in North Smithfield

Something tells me public opinion on solar farms is going to involve a lot of “oops, we shouldn’t have done that.”

By Justin Katz | June 11, 2021 |

The people of West Greenwich are not happy that the giant solar farm in their town has not met the “you can only see it from an airplane” standard, according to Tolly Taylor, on WPRI: “Does it meet the standard of you can’t see it anywhere but an airplane?” [Town Administrator Kevin] Breene said. “No.…

States with legislation to change emergency declarations

Rhode Islanders shouldn’t get used to state-of-emergency government all the time.

By Justin Katz | June 11, 2021 |

Yesterday, June 10, in the two-thousand and twenty-first year of our Lord, Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee, the first of his name, did sign and decree the “One Hundred and Sixty-Eighth Supplemental Emergency Declaration,” extending the state’s COVID-19 state of emergency for another month. As is typical, the declaration contains “whereas” clauses to offer information…

Palette of moving boxes on a truck lift

If you’re young, motivated, and moving, the best bet is to go elsewhere.

By Justin Katz | June 11, 2021 |

The clickbait part of move.org’s survey of people who’ve moved is the comparison of states, but that may not be very helpful.  It isn’t clear, for example, whether the ranking of moves on the map is entirely people who crossed borders or includes internal moves.  Indeed, a plurality of respondents moved within the same city.…

A white student looks away

An education lesson from Australia suggests two ways to improve a lot and quickly.

By Justin Katz | June 10, 2021 |

The headline from an Australia-focused article in The Epoch Times, by Rebecca Zhu, carries a lesson: “Increased School Funding Does Not Lead to Better Performance: Education Minister.”  Here’s the evidence Zhu provides: Over the last 10 years, the UK has cut spending, while achieving better results in reading, maths, and science. “In the past decade, the…

Hand throws giant die

If pension obligation bonds worked, governments wouldn’t need taxes.

By Justin Katz | June 10, 2021 |

In another must-read column for the Cranston Herald, Steven Frias applies his historian’s rigor to the step-by-step details of how Woonsocket’s experience with a pension obligation bond (which I mentioned a few weeks ago) managed to make its preexisting pension-fund disaster even worse while giving the two essential elements for a pension obligation bond to…

Homeless man "seeking human kindness"

Steve Ahlquist’s clear description of his progressive beliefs on homelessness is a valuable contribution to consider.

By Justin Katz | June 10, 2021 |

Too often our reaction to ideas with which we disagree is to mock them or to dismiss them from the conversation.  Although the impulse is understandable, and I’m certainly guilty of it, doing so is a mistake.  Listening is how we understand, not only as a check on our own biases, but also as a…

Chains on white skin

Does Barack Obama realize how much he stokes division? Is it deliberate?

By Justin Katz | June 10, 2021 |

Obama has always had a talent for talking out of both sides of his mouth.  On one hand, as Nina Bookout catches for Victory Girls, he’ll say things like this, reminiscent of the Democrat convention speech that put him on the national political map: Right now, it’s easy to focus on what divides us, and there…

Liquid pouring into an invisible glass

Here are some climate-change facts you may not know.

By Justin Katz | June 9, 2021 |

It’s interesting to see information like this, in the New York Post, coming from Steven Koonin, who was undersecretary for science in the Obama administration’s Department of Energy: … both research literature and government reports state clearly that heat waves in the US are now no more common than they were in 1900, and that the…

NEA-RI logo overshadows South Kingstown schools logo

It appears that NEA-RI is stalking South Kingstown.

By Justin Katz | June 9, 2021 |

Most people who pay attention to these sorts of things know that the South Kingstown school department has the dubious distinction of having as one of its governing school committee members, Sarah Markey,  an actual organizer from the National Education Association of Rhode Island (NEA-RI), which is the state-level union representing the district’s teachers.  That…