Written

John Kerry: Zero Emissions by China and US (and Rhode Island) Not Enough

By Monique Chartier | August 1, 2023 |

Last week came the good news (for our electric bills) that Rhode Island Energy, formerly National Grid, had declined the Revolution Wind 2 offshore wind proposal. A week prior, John Kerry, President Biden’s Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, departed from China without accomplishing his mission; namely, to … use climate co-operation to redefine their [US…

A water drop and ripples

Lovely. We have poison hemlock in RI, now.

By Justin Katz | July 27, 2023 |

Keep an eye out for weeds that have purple-spotted stems and white, umbrella-like flowers: Poison hemlock has made its way to all 50 states, including Rhode Island, except for Alaska, Florida, Hawaii, and Mississippi, so it’s something we’ll all likely deal with at some time or another. Commonly found in yards and fields, on the…

Ivan Vladimirov's Night Robbery of Humanitarian Aid

Rhode Island must come to grips with its decline and reverse it.

By Justin Katz | July 26, 2023 |

For all the talk about equity and living wages in the Ocean State, we hear surprisingly little about the lack of opportunity and earnings growth for working people.  A recent Wall Street Journal editorial understandably focuses on larger states, but Rhode Island makes an appearance, nonetheless: Earnings nationwide rose 5.4% on average between the first…

Homeless man "seeking human kindness"

To reduce homelessness, Rhode Island should reduce the minimum wage.

By Justin Katz | July 25, 2023 |

Homelessness may be the most striking issue on the table in the degree to which proposed solutions conspicuously ignore causes.  The attitude of the advocates and journalists seems to be that homelessness falls like an original cause on a metro area and can only be addressed through direct government reduction.  That’s a careless approach; an…

A wind farm at sea

Rhode Island Energy (National Grid) Correctly Nixes Revolution Wind 2

By Monique Chartier | July 23, 2023 |

A lot going on, I know; e.g.,everybody good with their nomination signatures to get on the CD1 ballot …? But I didn’t want to let this go by without flagging. Citing “higher proposed contract costs”, Rhode Island Energy, formerly National Grid, announced Tuesday that it declined the Revolution Wind 2 offshore wind proposal, the sole…

Mail ballot envelope

What did McKee pay Holly $1,500 a month for during the election?

By Justin Katz | July 19, 2023 |

Kathy Gregg reports in the Providence Journal that the person who collected the nomination signatures for Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos’s congressional run that are being scrutinized as fraudulent in multiple communities is Holly Cekala McClaren, who is the Holly with the (found to be exaggerated) Rhode Island accent in Governor Dan McKee’s dark and disgusting “you’re…

Yellow schoolbus.

RIPEC illustrates why government meddling in education is to be avoided.

By Justin Katz | July 18, 2023 |

A crucial bit of advice in our quick-communication, social-media age is to force yourself to leave space between reading something that bothers you and responding to it.  Usually, this tactic will help you avoid responding heatedly to things that simply don’t matter that much.  Sometimes, you’ll avoid unforced interpersonal errors.  But sometimes, giving things further…

People gathered around a bonfire

The independent contractor form is just another stick on the bonfire.

By Justin Katz | July 13, 2023 |

A form declaring status as an “independent contractor” isn’t quite as dramatic as some are saying, but it’s still an indication of Rhode Island’s terrible priorities and special-interest favoratism.

Money pouring out of the Capitol Building dome.

Primer on the Insanity of the 14th-Amendment Solution

By Carroll Andrew Morse | May 21, 2023 |

Let’s go through all of the basics.  Most basic of all:  A debt remains real, even when you don’t have the money to pay it. And what makes a debt real? Basically, a debt is real when the parties who agreed to it and other parties around them agree that something bad will happen, if…

Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence march in Washington, D.C. in 1993

The Dodgers’ disinvitation of a queer anti-Catholic hate group clarifies the cultural stakes.

By Justin Katz | May 19, 2023 |

Presentation of an anti-Catholic hate group as a charity, sartorial evangelism after a school shooting, and taxpayer-funded abortions are warnings of a tightening totalitarian grip on the United States.