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July 13, 2009

Weekend Review

Justin Katz

Weatherwise, it appears that spring has finally arrived, which is good, considering that we're already a couple of weeks into summer. For those of you whom blue skies or other draws kept away from the Internet, here's what went up on Anchor Rising.

The RI Tea Party and the Bristol parade was still a topic of interest. I suggested that, should the ban not be removed, the Tea Party and friends ought to take advantage of a loophole (and, you know, their constitutional rights) and walk the parade route next year distributing as much stuff as possible. Monique renewed the question of what danger was posed and why free Constitutions are more dangerous than vendors' wares.

I revisited the Newsmakers episode featuring OSPRI's Bill Felkner and NEA's Pat Crowley in order to challenge the suggestion that taxing residents to pay unionists is healthy for a receding economy. I also expressed disagreement with an instance of eminent domain in North Providence, pointed out Keith Stokes's argument that the "plantations" in our state's name has more to do with freedom than oppression and suggested that Speaker Nancy Pelosi ought to run, not walk, back to Washington and warn the federal government that it should avoid a national imitation of Rhode Island's approach to governance, which appears to be an intention, in some respects.

On a not-unrelated note, Monique explained why the RI Senate's concerns that an e-Verify bill would not be legal are unfounded. Regarding another hot issue, I recommended Walter Schmidt's explanation of some of the intolerable downsides to "cap and trade" (and, yes, I linked again to the Tax Foundation's song about that policy).

Turning to public figures as a topic, I put another evidential exhibit on the stack labeled "Obamanation." By contrast, mention of Neal Freeman's reminiscences about his friend, William F. Buckley, Jr., highlights that man's talent for friendship.

And for some lighter fare, I argued that humanity ought to figure out what, precisely, gives value to human life before embarking on intentional redirection of evolution that likely winds up, in one way or another, supplanting us.