Written

Norman Rockwell Freedom from Want

An Object for Our Thanksgiving Gratitude

By Justin Katz | November 25, 2021 |

When we remove the sacred from our traditions and sacralize our ordinary traditions, our gratitude can become a target, with nobody authorized to offer forgiveness.

American flag behind a barred window

We’re not reactionaries, so let’s stop being exclusively reactive.

By Justin Katz | November 24, 2021 |

As I’ve thought about it, this morning’s post on New England governors’ poll results ended a bit short.  I closed with a suggestion for Democrats, but what about Republicans? Considering the huge jump of New England’s three Democrats from the bottom of the national list in 2019 to the top now, two possibilities come to…

A water drop and ripples

When they think they’re among friends, they’ll admit that CRT, equity, and anti-racism are all one thing.

By Justin Katz | November 24, 2021 |

I’ve found it very strange.  Simply, plainly things like “equity audits” in our public schools are exercises of critical race theory (CRT).  It’s just a straightforward observation, as far as I can see. Nonetheless, people will object, even people I thought were relatively conservative and relatively clear of thought.  They’ll insist they are not the…

A Providence neighborhood through a Statehouse window

Don’t trust politicians who don’t ask “why” about housing before they proclaim a solution.

By Justin Katz | November 24, 2021 |

Right from the beginning, an op-ed in the Boston Globe by RI Political Co-Op progressive candidate Lenny Cioe gives off warning signals: In many neighborhoods near colleges like Providence College, Johnson and Wales, and Brown University, predatory real estate companies are jacking up rents and forcing out families in favor of high-paying students. And that’s…

A water drop and ripples

“White supremacy” has become a concept to fill gaps in the woke worldview.

By Justin Katz | November 24, 2021 |

Five days is a long time in the social media world, but this comment on the Rittenhouse verdict from progressive Democrat state senator for Providence Tiara Mack is worth memorializing: THERE IS NO REST. We must all learn how white supremacy impacts everyone, including white people. We know our systems are broken and we must…

A water drop and ripples

Biden chooses union support over protecting children.

By Justin Katz | November 24, 2021 |

Stephen Green refers to this policy change as “the Pedophile Protection Act”: Joe Biden’s Department of Education is seeking to roll back a Trump-era effort to collect data on teacher-on-student sex crimes. “The department’s Office for Civil Rights will not ask school districts questions regarding teacher-on-student sexual assault allegations as part of its 2021-2022 Civil…

Chart of most popular governors in Autumn 2021

New Englanders seem to approve of their governors, lately (especially Republican ones).

By Justin Katz | November 24, 2021 |

During our weekly conversation on Monday, John DePetro and I had some mild disagreement about how one might explain the most recent results of Morning Consult’s regular ranking of U.S. governors’ popularity. The headline for Rhode Island is that Governor Dan McKee is the second-most-popular Democrat governor in the country (at thirteenth overall), behind Connecticut’s…

Cooling towers at Brayton Point

Keep track as progressive laws tangle Rhode Islanders and our economy up.

By Justin Katz | November 23, 2021 |

Gregory Booth, who works with the advocacy section of Rhode Island’s Public Utilities Commission (PUC) makes a reasonable point when he suggests that it might not be in our state’s best interest to have National Grid sell its Ocean State electrical distribution business to another company that lacks its cross-state infrastructure, but that isn’t why…

A water drop and ripples

Vaccines and illnesses are all about the stories we’re told.

By Justin Katz | November 23, 2021 |

During the flu season of 2018, newspapers published a number of heartbreaking articles profiling people who’d died from it.  That was a pretty bad flu season, but still, almost everybody recovered from the flu.  As those articles rolled out, though, it changed how the illness felt.  The stories provided a context of unease. We’ve seen that…

Broken plates

It’s well past time for the domestic abuse narrative to change.

By Justin Katz | November 23, 2021 |

Reacting to Joe Biden’s comments on the Waukesha Christmas parade massacre, Brown University political science professor Wendy Schiller linked the incident to domestic violence: Here’s an idea. Take domestic violence more seriously at every level of government. Biden should know as he authored the original Violence Against Women Act. Although the mainstream narrative doesn’t make…