Written

Photo of a raised fist with BLM on the wrist.

The systemic racism calls are coming from inside the house.

By Justin Katz | January 28, 2022 |

Having recently fallen into an argument about the overlaps between history, housing, and racism, I couldn’t do otherwise than take note of a GoLocalProv article headlined, “Black Homeownership in RI Is as Low as It Was in the 1960s.” In Rhode Island, just 6% of homes are owned by Black households. And, becoming a new…

A water drop and ripples

Who is the target of the nurses union’s videos?

By Justin Katz | January 28, 2022 |

The stories of the Rhode Island nurses featured in videos that their union is producing to promote COVID vaccination are compelling, but I have to wonder what their real purpose is. If the designers sat down for even a short meeting and gave real thought to who it is that isn’t getting vaccinated, I don’t see…

A stage with empty tables

I miss the atmosphere of debate.

By Justin Katz | January 28, 2022 |

The topic of the podcast was tangential to my point with this post, but listening to Jordan Peterson speak with infrastructure academic Rick Geddes and writer and Democrat messaging consultant Gregg Hurwitz recently made me wish Westerners could get back to working together. Lately, I find that the people with whom I come into disagreement…

A water drop and ripples

By Justin Katz | January 28, 2022 |

Isn’t it curious how things that aren’t this are decried when Republicans are in office, but things that are this are not decried when Democrats are in control? Besty Woodruff Swan and Daniel Lippman broke the details this week of a new Capitol Police initiative that involves deep dives into the speech, background, and lifestyle…

A water drop and ripples

History will marvel that we allowed this guy to occupy the White House.

By Justin Katz | January 28, 2022 |

We’re thoroughly within one of those episodes in history that future generations read about and wonder how anything so foolish could have been tolerated. Remember when Republicans complained it was inappropriate for President Obama to use Marines to hold his umbrella?  Remember when Democrats scrutinized President Trump’s descent down a potentially slippery ramp to discern…

Silhouette over digital background

The American Federation of Teachers is abusing its access to children for politics.

By Justin Katz | January 28, 2022 |

Parents and other Americans have plenty of reasons to oppose the activities of teachers unions, but Randi Weingarten and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) is adding one more, and it’s a doozy of abuse of access: In a partnership announced this week, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) said it will purchase licensed copies…

North Kingstown's redacted equity audit

Why are North Kingstown schools afraid to share their anti-racist plans?

By Justin Katz | January 27, 2022 |

Secrecy and radicalism in North Kingstown’s equity agenda suggests that parents are being deceived and their children’s education is being undermined for an ideological goal.

A water drop and ripples

What does the BBB Act stand for, anyway?

By Justin Katz | January 27, 2022 |

From Preston Brashers’s report, the three Bs appear to stand for “Build Bureaucracy Bigger”: The Build Back Better Act has several provisions that make Congress less accountable for U.S. tax policy and give unaccountable bureaucrats more control. The act would (1) give the IRS more regulatory authority, (2) task IRS agents with finding new revenues,…

Maybe more attention is justified when even government contractors label what they’re doing as treason.

By Justin Katz | January 27, 2022 |

Miranda Devine, in the New York Post, describes a body camera video that has emerged from a police officer who was checking up on a strange, low-security middle-of-the-night flight into a small New York airport carrying young men, apparently illegal immigrants, before loading them on buses and sending them into communities around the East Coast a…

A water drop and ripples

Property taxes shouldn’t interfere in the price mechanism for real estate.

By Justin Katz | January 27, 2022 |

As I’ve written before, when considering a state’s mix of all the different taxes, I’m not as bothered by high property taxes as other folks on the hawk side of the taxation spectrum.  That said, the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council (RIPEC) makes a good point that differentiations between different types of property should be…