Written

A water drop and ripples

We can disagree, but U.S. literacy ought to be the subject of heated debate.

By Justin Katz | August 27, 2024 |

Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby offers a startling statistic: Blaming the Department of Education isn’t only a matter of post hoc ergo propter hoc, and I’d say the unionization of teachers played an equal or greater role in destroying American education.  To be sure, both developments echo a similar underlying problem in the same direction:  They move…

A water drop and ripples

Progressivism/socialism start with inhuman principles.

By Justin Katz | August 26, 2024 |

I mean the title of this post in the sense both that progressivism/socialism ignores human nature and that it pretends people aren’t human.  Consider: The underlying assumption appears to be that producers will simply produce because they are producers.  Human beings don’t fall into nice progressive categories.  We make decisions and change our status, and…

A water drop and ripples

Coffee results suggest that everything I enjoy will eventually be proven good for me.

By Justin Katz | August 26, 2024 |

I may revise my opinion if conflicting results come in, but for now, I’m choosing to believe that this is 100% on the money: Among 6,001 Health and Retirement Study participants in the U.S., drinking two or more cups of coffee a day was associated with a 28% lower risk of dementia over 7 years…

A water drop and ripples

Here’s a partial standard for judging “they’ll end democracy” claims.

By Justin Katz | August 24, 2024 |

Whether you think Mark Smith’s reasoning here is dead-on, insane, or somewhere in between, an element is important to consider: Namely, he’s not just stating dislike and projecting an action, á la “Trump will end democracy.”  He’s offering actual policy steps by which Democrats could achieve that end. The same can’t be done in reverse…

Giovanni Bellini Four Allegories: Falsehood

From J6 to the Democrat convention, we’re entering a golden age of propaganda in America.

By Justin Katz | August 23, 2024 |

The past week has brought us a startling display of dishonesty from the Democrat Party.  Politicians with multiple mansions talked about not letting people take more than they need.  The Party’s stated policies, not to mention its level of respect for people who are not its supporters, are nearly inverted from what they’ve actually done…

A water drop and ripples

Lack of General Assembly competition shows the progressive-union-Democrat axis has things locked up.

By Justin Katz | August 22, 2024 |

Further to yesterday’s post on Johnston politics, don’t forget this corresponding news about the state legislature: In 2022, just 20 percent of Rhode Island’s 113 General Assembly seats went uncontested in a primary and/or the general election. But this year, 52 percent of those Assembly seats will go uncontested thanks to a sharp drop in…

A water drop and ripples

How are Providence school results not the biggest, most-ongoing story in Rhode Island?

By Justin Katz | August 22, 2024 |

I mean, look at this: The scores were abysmal to start; the goals were obviously fictitious when considered in the absence of a practical plan; and the final results are offensively bad.  If these results aren’t causing outrage, it’s because nobody in the Democrat establishment or news media wants to address the underlying problems, which…

A water drop and ripples

A Warwick Schools moving contract provides a lesson in RI’s multiple layers of corruption.

By Justin Katz | August 21, 2024 |

On its surface, the controversy looks obvious.  I mean, the guy winning the no-bid contract had a relative in the relevant office of the school department: Astro of New England, a different moving company, first raised issues with the bidding process after Astro owner Chuck Lamendola said he noticed Jada had been awarded work in…

Man with a knife sneaks up behind a Republican girl

Broader factors may be making Johnston politics Republican-free.

By Justin Katz | August 21, 2024 |

I suggest the title of this post acknowledging I don’t know a whole lot about Johnston’s unique political scene.  Locally, things can be very specific to the individuals involved and their disputes, but I have been a keen observer of factors that make it more difficult for Republicans to work through those disputes. Apparently, Johnston…

A water drop and ripples

Government subsidies are not “momentum.”

By Justin Katz | August 20, 2024 |

Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee tweets yet another area in which Democrats manipulate language to insinuate ideology: A grant from a government agency to another government agency is not “momentum.”  Momentum suggests that the entity or project is moving on its own.  Government subsidies are pushes… force.  Democrats’ language is (deliberately) manipulative and always to…