Written

A water drop and ripples

It’s not a good sign when a museum of government is the best use of prime real estate.

By Justin Katz | February 21, 2024 |

The signs of Rhode Island’s decline are piling up, but here’s a small one worth noting: Once considered a pipe dream, a new $100 million Rhode Island state archives museum is closer than ever to being built. … … McKee’s office has asked to investigate whether the land next door to the Providence Amtrak station…

A water drop and ripples

We need to ask the “and so” of healthcare principles.

By Justin Katz | February 19, 2024 |

When I see statements like the following (from a former Bernie Sanders surrogate, in this case), my reaction is usually, “Fair enough, but then what”? So what’s the alternative?  If we move toward the single-payer, government-managed system Dr. Dooley likely supports, then it’ll be politicians and bureaucrats rather than doctors.  And even in the case…

A water drop and ripples

Here’s a quick lesson younger Americans should learn.

By Justin Katz | February 15, 2024 |

A truism about government used to be heard periodically:  A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take away everything you have.  That saying’s a bit dark, though, and makes its point in an extreme way that younger Americans who’ve been raised with an implicit trust of big government…

Men discuss box of garbage in a dark shop

People who want to think for themselves are not the target of national Democrats’ talking points.

By Justin Katz | February 15, 2024 |

Among my frustrations with social media in recent years has been the way my streams become filled with content in which I have minimal interest — like Democrat propaganda — because people share it in disbelief.  The frustration is primarily with the realization that people apparently believe in completely incompatible realities, which is what motivates…

A water drop and ripples

Oh, it’s just the speaker buying votes.

By Justin Katz | February 15, 2024 |

As business-as-usual as it may be, we shouldn’t become numb to Rhode Island’s base-level corruption, as Democrat House Speaker Joseph Shekarchi demonstrates here: Charitable contributions are wonderful, but this photograph raises some questions.  Is that his official State House office?  Is that a personal check, a gift from his campaign, or a taxpayer-funded legislative grant? …

A water drop and ripples

The problem is teachers’ contempt for their role.

By Justin Katz | February 14, 2024 |

The quotation John pulls from the article is worth highlighting: The disregard of the law is only an incremental worsening of the problem.  Teachers’ going on strike (especially for crass considerations like even higher pay and benefits) has always seemed shocking to me and one of the reasons their unionization seems wholly inappropriate.  If they…

A water drop and ripples

Our institutions are guided by primitive and simplistic racism

By Justin Katz | February 14, 2024 |

I used to spend time pointing out the problem with this sort of bean-counting racism (and sexism), but it hardly seems interesting anymore.  The findings aren’t meant to indicate anything real; they’re simply intended to promote a simple-minded ideology.  We can see this in the fact that the conclusions only ever point in one direction. …

A water drop and ripples

Are there any homeless caves in Rhode Island?

By Justin Katz | February 7, 2024 |

Yeah, officials will complain about the danger of uninspected residences, but as somebody who grew up in an era when fiction was filled with secret communities in society’s hidden corners, I have to admit these homeless caves are cool:* I wonder if there’s anything comparable around here. * I should specify that the coolness of…

A road inspector sleeps on his car

In Rhode Island, government is a natural disaster.

By Justin Katz | February 7, 2024 |

Yes, yes, words get thrown around in state-level politics, but there’s an important lesson in East Providence City Council President Bob Rodericks’s letter asking Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee to declare a state of emergency over the closure of the Washington Bridge between East Providence and Providence: … East Providence is impacted more than any…

A water drop and ripples

Progressives really want a civil war, don’t they?

By Justin Katz | February 6, 2024 |

In recent years, a strange emphasis has been emerging on America’s political Left on the notion of treason.  The accusation flies not only against hated political personages, but also retroactively in ways it didn’t used to be applied, like the Confederacy.  It isn’t difficult to see where this is going: According to this person, the…