Written

Map of Providence from City Hall to PC

Something is strange about the latest Providence College attack news.

By Justin Katz | November 13, 2021 |

Unfortunately, the unusual thing about the latest off-campus attack of a Providence College student is not the attack itself.  Here’s what happened, as reported by Sarah Doiron and Matt Paddock for WPRI: The Minnesota native’s father, Anthony, who asked that his daughter not be identified out of concern for her safety, said she was walking…

A fading man on train tracks

They want to inherit victim status more than they want to inherit liberty.

By Justin Katz | November 12, 2021 |

If you’ve followed political punditry much over the past couple decades, you know how significant it is that Matthew Yglesias and Andrew Sullivan are both questioning the conclusion drawn from a recent Center for American Progress survey: A recent nationally representative survey conducted by the Center for American Progress found that LGBTQI+ members of Generation…

A water drop and ripples

Why do flights keep arriving at Quonset in the middle of the night?

By Justin Katz | November 12, 2021 |

John DePetro has another photo of a group of young people disembarking from a plane at Quonset airport and boarding a bus in the dead of night.  He asks good questions: A flight arrives shortly before 1:AM from Kansas?  Who got off the C130 in Quonset? Why are they arriving late at night or early…

Heroes of Liberty figurines

In education, fight fire with… constructive, positive action.

By Justin Katz | November 12, 2021 |

While this view is not shared by all of my compatriots on the right, particularly those inclined to engage in political, social, and cultural battles, I’m a firm believer that in this arena, you cannot fight fire with fire.  Consider the aphorism that one should never wrestle with pigs, because one only gets dirty and…

A water drop and ripples

The media has the power to rewrite reality.

By Justin Katz | November 12, 2021 |

It shows you the power of the mainstream media to dictate what world people think they live in that even paying as much attention to this stuff as I do, I missed the second of three election-related stories the mainstream media downplayed, according to Ben Johnson: The legacy media celebrated India Walton, a self-described socialist…

A water drop and ripples

Yes, the motivation for disclaiming natural immunity is a puzzle.

By Justin Katz | November 12, 2021 |

Roger Simon asks Republican Congresswoman (and pharmacist) Diana Harshbarger a question pondered often in this space: So she was a perfect person to ask why she thought the Democrats—aka “The Party of Science,” or so our learned president tells us—ignores natural immunity in favor of taking a militant stand on mandates. Rep. Harshbarger’s reply: “When it…

RI State House over caution tape

Is RI less corrupt because the BOE fined Moira Walsh?

By Justin Katz | November 12, 2021 |

Campaign finance law is one area in which contrarianism is certainly justified.  Imposing detailed accounting requirements for every candidate for every office, whether executive or legislative, at every level of government, whether volunteer or paid, is simply a regulatory disincentive for people to become involved. Nobody will be surprised to learn my opinion that the…

Ruth Negga and Tessa Thompson in Netflix's Passing

With Netflix and Nella Larsen’s Passing, look for the relevant parallels.

By Justin Katz | November 11, 2021 |

Even in the pre-woke days of the 1990s, when I went to college, the traditional English curriculum was already giving way to identity politics.  More than one teacher for more than one class assigned books by Anzia Yezierska, which were good but not that good and which tended to tell the same story over and over…

A water drop and ripples

If only we had space to agree on the extreme cases…

By Justin Katz | November 11, 2021 |

Further to points about needing to find common ground, wouldn’t it be nice if our political environment were such that we could settle on areas of agreement, like this guy deserves jail time? Scott Fairlamb, a former mixed martial arts fighter from New Jersey captured on video punching a police officer in the head at…

A nurse sitting in a doorway

Reminder: unvaccinated employees are people with families, obligations, and responsibilities.

By Justin Katz | November 11, 2021 |

The headline on Alexa Gagosz’s Boston Globe article conveys the news: “R.I.’s state-run Eleanor Slater Hospital replaces unvaccinated staff.”  The text feels somehow inappropriately clinical, though, given the content: State-run Eleanor Slater Hospital has received just six vaccinated nurses to help replace the remaining unvaccinated staff. The nurses, who arrived on Wednesday, are believed to have…