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Conversations related to the Washington Trust settlement with the government, requiring the bank to address alleged racial discrimination on its part, indicate two views or standards for handling blame in society. One side is convinced that somebody is to blame for the circumstances of life and that the job of society (particularly government) is to…
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports (Page 11) that as of the fourth quarter of 2022, Rhode Island has fifty dealerships that sell new cars. Note that this figure does not include dealerships selling new trucks, new buses, new motor homes, new motorcycles, et etera. Governor Dan McKee’s proposed 2024 budget, Page 158 of…
The other day, I wondered whether younger folks have any sense of how long-standing is the problem of the huge gray area between journalists within the Palestinian territories (and elsewhere in the Middle East) and the terrorist organizations they’re covering. Whether or not they’re more like terrorist propagandists is a gray area the terrorists have…
Surprising absolutely nobody, Democrat Gabe Amo won the available Congressional seat in Rhode Island yesterday. For those who really get into local politics, the thrill of the bet in such races is predicting whether the Republican will come in closer to 30% or closer to 35%. Gerry Leonard hit the 35%, so congratulations to him.…
Consider this tweet from WPRI’s Ted Nesi as an indication of the dehumanizing aspect of the fashionable “community” phrase: This politically correct practice allows 80 people to stand in for a “community” of nearly 20,000 people. It’s careless identity politics, and it’s ideologically corrupt. How do 80 people get to speak for 20,000? Does Ted…
If “genocide” on the other side of the world justifies defacing statues, vandalizing buildings, and shouting down speakers, it will justify violence.
While I’m catching up on noteworthy items I’ve had on my to-do list, I have to point out that General Treasurer James Diossa’s grandstanding talk about “evaluat[ing] the banking relationship and the state’s business with Washington Trust Company” ought to be disqualifying for him to continue holding his position. I’ve offered my opinion on the…
This tweet from Democrat Attorney General Peter Neronha is a little old, but I didn’t want to let it pass without comment in this space: The people who own property in the state have rights, too. Many, probably most, of them are “people of this great state.” The AG has to enforce the laws as…
Although it no-doubt reveals my prejudices, if I were to rank Rhode Island’s handful of institutions of higher education on matters of freedom of thought, I’d expect Brown University — the Ivy League bastion of the elites and producer of the likes of Aaron Regunberg and Tiara Mack — to top the list of badness. …