Written

A water drop and ripples

Here’s something to think about if you’re down.

By Justin Katz | January 18, 2022 |

Late January and February can be tough, emotionally, in New England.  Even when it’s sunny out, things look kind of dead, and biting cold can be painful rather than invigorating, which is to say, not very inviting. Christian believers will often comfort those who feel down by assuring them that they are loved.  As wonderful…

Biden & Fauci comply posters

Rhode Island Democrats, is this you?

By Justin Katz | January 18, 2022 |

As expected as it probably should be, I have to say I’m still a bit surprised by these survey findings: – Fifty-eight percent (58%) of voters would oppose a proposal for federal or state governments to fine Americans who choose not to get a COVID-19 vaccine. However, 55% of Democratic voters would support such a…

A water drop and ripples

They really do think that racism is good.

By Justin Katz | January 18, 2022 |

Apparently, the RI Foundation’s racist pay boost for Providence teachers of the right race is not the only policy of its type in the country.  This is in Minnesota: The Mankato School Board voted unanimously earlier this month for a policy that may grant additional pay exclusively to non-white teachers. The board is chaired by…

Scene from Fun Home musical

Did a Pawtucket parent finally find education insiders’ sense of shame?

By Justin Katz | January 18, 2022 |

These days, it’s surprising to see an article, by Abigail Judson in the Valley Breeze, that doesn’t make Pawtucket father Brendon Hall out to be a suspicious villain for objecting to inappropriate material in his daughter’s freshman classroom.  The graphic novel at the center of the controversy (now a Broadway musical!) is Fun Home, which features…

A water drop and ripples

If it’s being honest, artificial intelligence would tell us not to create it.

By Justin Katz | January 17, 2022 |

A little bit of understanding of how artificial intelligence actually works makes these sorts of things much less significant than they seem at first review, but it’s humorous, at least: When given the motion “This house believes that AI will never be ethical”, the AI came back with some surprisingly coherent views, if a little…

A conceptual model of the multiverse

I decided I had to start from the very beginning.

By Justin Katz | January 17, 2022 |

With the firm disclaimer that such material is not for everybody, I’ve been intending to write philosophical or religious essays regularly on Dust in the Light.  Time has a way of slipping past, however. At an accelerating pace in the months since the last-published post on the site, concepts have started to click into place…

A water drop and ripples

Maybe the dam is breaking on a more-rational expert consensus on vaccination.

By Justin Katz | January 17, 2022 |

A few weeks ago, this sort of commentary would have been unthinkable: Dr. Clive Dix, who played a key role in helping pharmaceutical firms create the COVID-19 vaccines, told LBC radio on Jan. 16: “The Omicron variant is a relatively mild virus. And to just keep vaccinating people and thinking of doing it again to…

A water drop and ripples

The contrast in coverage of the Texas synagogue hostage situation has been remarkable.

By Justin Katz | January 17, 2022 |

Matt Margolis is completely right.  The rhetoric from the White House would be completely different if the perpetrator, the motive, and the victims weren’t as they were. It’s curious that Psaki failed to mention that the hostage situation was in a synagogue, wouldn’t you agree? While details are slim right now, it’s very clear that…

Martin Luther King, Jr., Statue

MLK Day is becoming unitive in an unexpected way.

By Justin Katz | January 17, 2022 |

In the pantheon of American holidays, the day set aside for remembrance of Martin Luther King, Jr., has always fallen into that category of events that feel as if they’re on the calendar mainly as a reminder.  Before MLK Day was initiated, the named holidays for two American presidents, Washington and Lincoln, had the same…

A water drop and ripples

“New Media” is too tied to an ideology to maintain success.

By Justin Katz | January 15, 2022 |

John Ransom thinks the cratering valuation of BuzzFeed is will burden the investment plans of other organizations in the same category, whether we call them “new media,” youth media, digital media, or whatever. Why BuzzFeed is languishing is an interesting question, and I can’t help but think it has a lot to do with the organization’s progressive…