Written

A rapid test and masks

Rapid-test scarcity is a crisis of headlines.

By Justin Katz | December 24, 2021 |

Headlines are proclaiming the difficulty of finding at-home rapid COVID tests.  Some folks might not get what the big deal is, considering that, in the government’s eyes, rapid tests don’t count for anything. My personal research prior to Thanksgiving led me to conclude that rapid tests probably won’t catch every trace of the disease, as…

A preacher in a spotlight

Resisting mandate madness requires truth… careful, reliable truth.

By Justin Katz | December 23, 2021 |

The threads are multiple and not worth finding and consolidating, but there’s been some social media chatter hereabouts around a dustup between progressive podcaster Bill Bartholomew and freelance COVID commentator Andrew Bostom. Bartholomew was guest-hosting for WPRO, and Bostom called in to argue about COVID-related mandates and then posted audio bragging of having “eviscerated” the…

A water drop and ripples

Is Ruggerio dialing back the progressive wave?

By Justin Katz | December 23, 2021 |

Reading political tea leaves from interviews is an iffy game, but this feels like a bit of a tone change from Democrat Senate President Dominick Ruggerio: On the Rhode Island Report podcast, state Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio said he opposes raising the income tax rate for the richest Rhode Islanders, saying he fears they…

Teenager gets vaccinated

Tell institutions not to let superstition lead to dangerous COVID policies.

By Justin Katz | December 23, 2021 |

As elite colleges begin the process of peer pressure among institutions to implement mandates for COVID-vaccine booster shots, an op-ed by Johns Hopkins medical professor Dr. Marty Makary is a must-read: The U.S. government is pushing Covid-19 vaccine boosters for 16- and 17-year-olds without supporting clinical data. A large Israeli population study, published in the…

A water drop and ripples

Our monomaniacal focus on COVID may have a silver lining.

By Justin Katz | December 23, 2021 |

This is an interesting report from Joseph Curl, for the Daily Wire: Scientists at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research think they have created a new vaccine that is effective against all COVID and SARS variants, according to a new report. “Within weeks, scientists at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research expect to announce…

A water drop and ripples

Yes, CRT is in the schools.

By Justin Katz | December 23, 2021 |

In case anybody is still making the claim that there isn’t any critical race theory (CRT) in American public schools, John Murawski has an extensive article on RealClearInvestigations presenting evidence that there is: These denials, which have been amplified by many news organizations, are at odds with overwhelming evidence – documented by class lessons, school curricula,…

An old house next to a graveyard

Sam Bell’s Havoc-Wreaking Plan to Capture a Federal Housing Coupon

By Justin Katz | December 23, 2021 |

Progressive Senator Sam Bell’s housing report is impressive as a sophomore’s research project, but it’d be nice if professional journalists would give readers some sense of what the academic exercise would look like in the real world.

A Providence neighborhood at night

We never ask the right questions about surveys like the Rhode Island Life Index.

By Justin Katz | December 22, 2021 |

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island and Brown University now have several years of data in the compilation of their Rhode Island Life Index, which is basically a survey of how Rhode Islanders perceive various aspects of the Ocean State experience.  Subindexes contributing to an overall score of 63 (out of 100) include: Quality…

A water drop and ripples

The United States has so much energy potential.

By Justin Katz | December 22, 2021 |

The current occupant of the White House may have dialed our nation’s capacity to generate sources of energy, but at least our system for handling its shipment and export is moving forward: The United States is on course to have the world’s biggest exporting capacity of liquified natural gas (LNG) by 2022, surpassing Qatar and…

An IV drip

An Open Letter to Governor Daniel McKee with COVID Solutions

By Michael Chippendale | December 22, 2021 |

Governor McKee’s commands will not help hospitals, schools, businesses, or the people of Rhode Island, but a different approach is possible.