The Era of Rhetorical Tricks
In times of division and brazen fraud, look for the opportunity to understand the other.
Politics This Week with John DePetro: A Pause Before Dying
My weekly call-in on John DePetro’s WNRI 1380 AM/95.1 FM show, for November 23, included talk about:
- The governor hits “pause” on freedom
- The Board of Elections hits “stop” for GOP challenges
- Congressional Democrats hit “no” on Cicilline’s bid
- A police review board director hits “send” on a leak
- The General Assembly hits “go” on a progressive agenda
I’ll be on again Monday, November 30, at 12:00 p.m. on WNRI 1380 AM and I-95.1 FM.
State Senate’s Hard Left on Progressive Street
Political leaders who can look at an economy in which nearly 20,000 people stopped looking for work during a pre-COVID-surge month when the nation was recovering and in which there are 36,000 fewer jobs than a year ago and conclude that this is what’s needed are not just pandering. They’re dangerous.
A Higher Purpose Than Building a Twitter Following
We cannot avoid the culture war anymore. It’s in everything we do.
Distracted from Important COVID Questions
Given the choice, Americans might very well choose not to sacrifice their holidays, their businesses, and their children’s education so as to maintain the fiction that a rapidly socializing government can manage complex systems like healthcare.
A Complicated Relationship with Military Service
At least since the Vietnam War, our society has had a complicated relationship with military service, creating opposing clichés.
General Election Reaction: Hooray!
Where we’ve won, hooray! And where we haven’t, hooray for the new opportunities our current position presents.
An Election Day That Is Critical and Inconsequential
The sheer reality of the concern that government is too big and invasive suggests one way in which it doesn’t really matter who wins today.
Clay Johnson: Let Us Be Thankful
We are living through one of the most peaceful times in human history. Given the tumult of 2020, it is easy to lose perspective. The number of people living in poverty is plummeting – globally. And even with a pandemic raging, we are seeing extraordinary advances in our ability to fight disease. Whether together or apart, we will soon see the arrival of Thanksgiving – a pause to give thanks, and maybe gain some perspective.
Before we arrive at this pause, we have an election to endure. The Gaspee Project board is committed to advocating for free market principles and supporting conservative candidates. These principles lead to more freedom. Freedom leads to prosperity (jobs). History has shown this to be true.
Conservatives believe in the individual rights and a free society. This is why private property and a limited government are so important.
In Search of Normal
The way to get closer to that ideal is not the defeat of Trump, but rather the defeat of those generating the turmoil.
Rule by Submission
The extraordinary powers by which Raimondo is governing Rhode Island are floating in this gray area between law and regulation on the one hand and suggestion on the other, and it’s about time lawsuits started.
Last Impressions #52: Stable Pods and Unstable Metonyms
Justin Katz reports the (unfortunately) not Not Real News about “stable pods” at URI, reviews local conservative happenings in Rhode Island, and talks about the metonymic dogmatism of the Left.
The Silver Lining of 2020
It is now a fully settled cliché that the year 2020 is a sort of cosmic beacon for madness and chaos. Maybe yes… and maybe no.
An Age Old Question About Teaching Reason
The danger of shifting definitions and moral commands will be clearer as the mob expands its circle of erasure, but the number of people remaining to come to each other’s defense shrink.
Journalistic Neutrality in Rhode Island
When “neutrality” starts to mean the journalist’s beliefs are unimpeachable and others don’t count, viewers should adjust their expectations.
Last Impressions #51: Rebels Needed
Governor Raimondo and her merry band of magic Appointees focus on the true danger in Rhode Island — not roudy rioters carrying signs that threaten to burn down the country, but college kids who aren’t voluntarily living as if in an open-air prison.
A Pattern of Avoiding Profound Possibilities
Nobody needs to be told that we’re in divisive times, right now, but we hear way too little about the most sure solution.
Government Tracking Your Health Through the Sewer
The thing with encroachments on our liberty is that they always seem far off… until they’re at your door.
In the Dugout: RI Fascists
On this episode of #InTheDugout, CEO Mike Stenhouse BLASTs RI’s fascist Governor and cowardly General Assembly by reviewing a long list of ‘Declaration of Independence’ type grievances of totalitarian and pusillanimous rule.
Is This the “Recovery” You Want?
The very people who are imposing our terrible response to COVID-19 will soon be moving forward with a suggested solution for the consequences, and we shouldn’t accept it.
Politicizing the Princess Bride?
To put money in the hands of politicians, the Hollywoodites are driving us toward complete disunion.
A One-Sided Concern About Procedures
A trio of “good government” groups is no better than the governor when it comes to using the excuse of COVID-19 to skirt the processes of representative democracy.
Can’t Life Just Be Life Again?
As we reach September 11, 2020, it seems as if the answer to the question seems to be, “As soon as you meet our demands.”
A Dark Cloud Loomis Over URI
If Rhode Islanders’ support for the University of Rhode Island appears to wane, some small part of the explanation will be the prominence of history professor Erik Loomis.
Design as a Bellwether of Urban Health
Why isn’t Rhode Island government interested in visually exciting architecture? Because our system makes paying off insiders too high a priority, says Mark Zaccaria.
Antifa, QAnon, and News from Another Perspective
In a world of stark divisions and no mutually trusted source of information, how can we determine the reality behind seemingly mirror-imaged ideological groups?
Last Impressions #49: Crowd Out the Rats!
Justin starts with a roundup of conservative news in Rhode Island and discusses the problem when legislators and other elected officials make room for rats in the State House and BLM and Antifa riots in the streets.
Pandemic on the Road to Tolls
In its defense of the RhodeWorks tolling scheme, we see our state government hiding behind two noxious clouds.
Beware Anti-Racist Indoctrination
The cult of “anti-racism” is not a cultural fad that parents can afford to ignore and let slip by.
The Science on Lockdowns
We shouldn’t use science as a talisman to ward off criticism, especially when it isn’t clear what the science says.