Written

A water drop and ripples

Ethan Shorey is inspiring a short story.

By Justin Katz | December 6, 2022 |

Something about a pair of tweets from Valley Breeze editor Ethan Shorey feels like inspiration for a short story (or maybe a poem): The journalist is quietly sitting out there in the community, reporting to his 6,657 followers in a judgmental way about what somebody is saying to somebody else within his hearing.  That person may never…

A disintegrating apple in a child's hand

Apple is a case study in the danger of cultish consumerism.

By Justin Katz | November 30, 2022 |

A scorecard of tech giants would take some work to develop, but Apple is a shameful enterprise, whether it’s better or worse than its alternatives: Tucker Carlson blasts Apple after the company limited the AirDrop feature in China: “Apple is now an active collaborator with China’s murderous police state. When tanks roll into a Chinese…

A water drop and ripples

The difference between for-profit, nonprofit, and government organizations isn’t as big as many think.

By Justin Katz | November 29, 2022 |

Soccer player Tesho Akindele tweeted this curious thought earlier today: Public transportation doesn’t need to be profitable Nobody demands that public schools, libraries, or fire departments are profitable We understand that these things are an investment in the well-being of our society Public transportation is an investment, not a cost This phrasing is common, but…

Framing for a circular window

Gratuitous detail and the human touch are the keys to great architecture.

By Justin Katz | November 25, 2022 |

Ed Driscoll points to a great post by Scott Alexander that investigates the aesthetic gap between the classic and the modern.  Alexander starts with architecture and a “conspiracy theory”: Imagine a postapocalyptic world. Beside the ruined buildings of our own civilization – St. Peter’s Basilica, the Taj Mahal, those really great Art Deco skyscrapers –…

A water drop and ripples

Don’t miss the significance of the amoxicillin shortage.

By Justin Katz | November 22, 2022 |

Such efforts are easy to dismiss as blame-laying, but it’s important for us to take careful stock of recent decisions, and the more gargantuan the effect, the more attention we should pay.  So, put this on the list: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently reported a shortage of liquid amoxicillin, which is typically prescribed…

A nurse sitting in a doorway

RI must take the lesson of emergency room woes.

By Justin Katz | November 21, 2022 |

The timing could be better, with Rhode Islanders having no opportunity to change direction via the ballot box for two years, but we really need to learn the lesson of overcrowding in our emergency rooms. Namely, among all the various causes, the most significant is socialized medicine: “We are seeing long visit waits at the…

Judge Wisely Disregards Maliciously Misinformed Mob in Jeann Lugo Ruling

By Monique Chartier | November 17, 2022 |

Judge Joseph Terence Houlihan yesterday acquitted then-police officer Jeann Lugo of simple assault at the June 24 melee at the State House, finding that Lugo was trying to break free from Rourke who was restraining him from entering the “melee” that occurred at the rally. Kudos to Judge Houlihan for issuing this wise and thoughtful…

A water drop and ripples

An ideological contrast provides today’s lesson in MSM bias.

By Justin Katz | November 11, 2022 |

We may (or may not) be past having to prove media bias, these days, but an Amanda Milkovits headline in the Boston Globe still seems worth a short note: Voters largely reject candidates affiliated with conservative group Parents United RI Contrast with this Boston Globe headline on an Edward Fitzpatrick article from September: Top R.I. legislative leaders…

A Nordic warrior in the marketplace

The heroes’ customers are voters with no incentive.

By Justin Katz | November 11, 2022 |

Looking around the Marketplace, the heroes of the Rhode Island Saga size up their position with a key market force: their voters.

A water drop and ripples

A Trump short story is waiting to be written.

By Justin Katz | November 11, 2022 |

Story pitch:  Behind the scenes, secretly and heroically, a selfless former President leans into his own clichés to create space for his political party to disengage from him.  Sacrificing his own aspirations, he masterfully appears to stumble over his reputed faults because he realizes it is the only way to hand off the torch of…