Written

A black man driving into a parade

One way or another, the Wisconsin Christmas parade massacre is indicative of our perilous position.

By Justin Katz | November 22, 2021 |

Unfortunately, it’s a familiar sequence. A video hits social media showing a few seconds of some shocking incident.  At first it is universally passed along with expressions of horror, but very quickly, browsing users can begin to see most posts groping for political relevance. Facts begin to emerge, and if they serve a progressive narrative…

Cash, cuffs, and the American flag

The COPS Hiring Program is yet another way government spends tax dollars to force the spending of more tax dollars.

By Justin Katz | November 20, 2021 |

It adds up, of course, but when government is trillions of dollars in debt, a hundred million here and there seems hardly to count.  That may be part of the reason that news of grants like the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Hiring Program doesn’t typically question where the…

A water drop and ripples

Do they really care about “a single powerful entity” having control?

By Justin Katz | November 20, 2021 |

Something about the way Ted Nesi puts this question about possible hospital mergers in Rhode Island strikes me as odd: Will Rhode Island and its residents be better off with roughly 80% of hospital services controlled by a single powerful entity? One wonders how many of the people who fear that “an institution so large…

RI Kids Count racist tweet

RI Officials and RI Kids Count Stoke Racial Animosity and Violence

By Justin Katz | November 20, 2021 |

The Rittenhouse verdict has brought out the demagogues and revealed how deeply progressives’ radical racist ideology has permeated institutional America.

A water drop and ripples

More Taxes on NatGas thanks to……

By Marc Comtois | November 19, 2021 |

As winter nears here in the Northeast, it sure is nice to know that part of the just-passed-the-House “Build Back Better” plan is a tax increase on natural gas. As  Eric Boehm of Reason reports: Buried inside the “Build Back Better” plan that cleared the House of Representatives on Friday morning is a new tax…

A toy school bus

Don’t doubt that the education establishment is moving forward with critical race theory.

By Justin Katz | November 19, 2021 |

In the course of my inquiries about the Equity Institute’s activities in the Portsmouth school system, I received this statement from Superintendent Thomas Kenworthy: The Portsmouth School Department contracted with the Equity Institute last spring to conduct a third-party analysis that we can use to inform our work around equity. We have a Strategic Plan…

A water drop and ripples

Here’s more deliberately withheld context on Kenosha and Rittenhouse.

By Justin Katz | November 19, 2021 |

In keeping with my earlier post about being open to contextual details that may change how we ought to feel about events, note a bit of information from former New York Times reporter Nellie Bowles (about halfway down this page), concerning an article she wrote about the devastation to small businesses in Kenosha, which the paper’s editors…

Snowy tracks through a crystal ball

My liberal neighbors: keep some track of how the stories you’re told turn out.

By Justin Katz | November 19, 2021 |

We’re in divided times and are being pressed to take sides and choose narratives.  We’re vulnerable, because such things are very much in our nature, and it can be difficult to have a healthy skepticism of people we perceive as our friends and allies, or to give the benefit of the doubt to the Others.…

A water drop and ripples

A mandate for algorithm-free social media might not be the answer.

By Justin Katz | November 19, 2021 |

I’m not sure this is the way to a solution: A bipartisan collective of House lawmakers introduced legislation on Nov. 9 that would require Big Tech providers such as Facebook and Google to allow users to opt-out of content selected by algorithms, providing additional transparency regarding content. The measure, dubbed the Filter Bubble Transparency Act…

A water drop and ripples

Unnecessary, ineffective vaccine payments to special interests is what government does.

By Justin Katz | November 19, 2021 |

Look, nobody should be surprised that Governor Dan McKee’s administration has apparently agreed to give members of state employees’ biggest labor union $3,000 for full vaccination status.  That’s how this works.  If you’re in the private sector, government gives you the choice of being vaccinated or losing your job.  If you’re in the public sector,…