A Tale of Two Entrances… and Exits
Americans are seeing two different realities in the Storming of the Capitol, neither perfectly accurate, and there are two paths forward, one better than the other.
In The Dugout: THE CANCEL CULTURE
Friday Cocktails with Mike Stenhouse on In The Dugout
Politics This Week with John DePetro: Departing Queen and Incoming Squad
My weekly call-in on John DePetro’s WNRI 1380 AM/95.1 FM show, for January 4, included talk about:
- Raimondo’s prospects in a Biden administration
- Channel 10’s groveling before progressives
- The General Assembly’s likely atmosphere
I’ll be on again Monday, January 11, at 12:00 p.m. on WNRI 1380 AM and I-95.1 FM.
WJAR’s Valicenti Editing: Don’t Trust Media to Protect Our Rights
At the outset of 2021, progressives and the local news media have sent a dangerous message to Rhode Islanders, an early symptom of metastasizing fascism.
Sales Tax and Government’s Break from the People
It behooves us to keep a watchful eye on how the incentives of government change and shift over time, and COVID offers many exercises for doing so.
The Responsibility of the “Experts”
If you won’t do what you’re told of your own free will (with their helpful psychological tricks and manipulation) they’ll have to force you to do it.
Rhody Reporter: Clash of Philosophies
Mark Zaccaria gives a short primer on Progressive vs. Conservative approaches to government.
Hate Speech: Another Warning from Venezuela
“Hate” laws are another area in which Americans will not be able to claim ignorance when we come to tyranny.
Politics This Week with John DePetro: Them and the Rest of Us
My weekly call-in on John DePetro’s WNRI 1380 AM/95.1 FM show, for December 14, included talk about:
- The administration’s COVID outbreak
- The governor’s quarantine
- A budget through the roof
- The governor’s house becomes an official protest spot
I’ll be on again Monday, December 14, at 12:00 p.m. on WNRI 1380 AM and I-95.1 FM.
Court Appointments and the Governor’s Power
Raimondo wants you to follow rules that she, alone, has developed and proclaimed. Whatever their thoughts about the coronavirus, Rhode Islanders should insist that she must follow the rules that our representative democracy purports to impose.
Politics This Week with John DePetro: The End Game Settling In
My weekly call-in on John DePetro’s WNRI 1380 AM/95.1 FM show, for December 7, included talk about:
- Not getting rid of Gina
- Identity politics rule
- The poor investment of a General Assembly campaign
- Nellie’s election security deterioration
I’ll be on again Monday, December 14, at 12:00 p.m. on WNRI 1380 AM and I-95.1 FM.
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.