Author: James A. Bacon
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Would Someone Please Explain the “Science”?
by James A. Bacon Let me get this straight. The University of Virginia has just announced that all students returning to the university starting July 1 must be fully vaccinated, or they will be barred from entering the grounds. But employees, while urged to get vaccinated, are under no such mandate. Exemptions will be allowed…
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Ranked Republicans Recapped: Round 2
by Chris Saxman Having recapped the gubernatorial contestants in the Republican Ranked Choice Unassembled Convention, let’s review what happened for the Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General nominations. These two contests, like the top of the ticket, seemed to pivot on the outsider vs. insider narrative. Whereas we saw two successful outsider businessmen plow millions of…
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Parole Scandal Judge on “Extended Leave”
by Kerry Dougherty Well, this is odd. According to The Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Virginia Beach judge who was a key player in the Virginia Parole Board scandal, is missing. So to speak, anyway. There is no Amber Alert. And no indication that Adrianne Bennett is ill. Instead, according to a front-page story in Thursday’s Times-Dispatch, she’s…
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Three Card Media
by William Moore Three Card Monte is a classic short con. The Dealer places three cards face down and the Shill, who is in on the con, attempts to pick the money card. They play boisterously, hoping to catch the attention of some poor sap, the Mark. Thinking himself quite good at following the money…
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As COVID Recedes, Focus on the Other Epidemic
by James A. Bacon From the Fauquier Times: According to Virginia Department of Health data, the number of Virginians who died from drug overdoses in 2020 increased 41% the previous to to 2,297. Local officials attributed the surge to the COVID-19 lockdown. “The pandemic has had a devastating impact,” said Jan Brown, executive director of…
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That’s Our Money. Give It Back.
by Kerry Dougherty We’re rich! Really rich. Rolling in dough kind of rich. Perhaps you heard: Against all odds, Virginia is ending the fiscal year $500 million in the black. On top of that, state officials are drooling over another $4.3 billion in federal loot that is expected to drop momentarily. Wait. There’s more. Any…
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We Are Losing the Soul of Our University
TO: All UVA Alumni and Friends Who Care About Our University FROM: The Jefferson Council RE: We Are Losing the Soul of Our University DATE: May 20, 2021 On the eve of Final Exercises at our University, we, the founding members and Board of the Jefferson Council, feel the need to send out this letter…
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Insanity Watch: Antiracism Training for Little Leaguers
From the Washington Free Beacon: Little League baseball coaches in Alexandria, Virginia, will be required to take a diversity, equity, and inclusion course this month. In an email to coaches on Thursday, Alexandria Little League board president Sherry Reilly announced the league’s partnership with the Positive Coaching Alliance. All Little League coaches and board members…
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Descano’s Unconstitutional Actions
by Emilio Jaksetic Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney Steve T. Descano has invoked his prosecutorial discretion to issue several “criminal justice reforms.” (Copies are available here.) As part of these reforms, Descano refuses: (1) to prosecute any person for simple possession of marijuana; (2) to prosecute any person for felony larceny for any amount less than…
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The VMI Story You Haven’t Heard
by James A. Bacon The Washington Post and Northam administration have done a fine job of wrecking the reputation of the Virginia Military Institute. On the basis of a dozen anecdotes shorn from any context, the Post declared VMI guilty of “relentless racism” and elaborated upon the charge in more than 20 articles since. Declaring…
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Slater Resigns from SCHEV, Citing Political Interference from Governor’s Office
by James A. Bacon Thomas G. Slater, Jr., a prominent Virginia Military Institute alumnus, submitted his resignation from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) today, citing political pressure from the office of Governor Ralph Northam to bias the outcome of the VMI racism investigation by an outside law firm, Barnes & Thornburg.…
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The Electrification of Everything
by James A. Bacon The world economy is rapidly electrifying. Driven by new technologies and the environmentalist push to decarbonize the economy, an increasing share of the energy Americans consume will come out of the electric socket, reports the Wall Street Journal in a special report. “Instead of having fuels like natural gas or oil…
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Masks on Kids: State-Sponsored Child Abuse
by Kerry Dougherty If you came here expecting to find fountains of gratitude to Virginia’s governor for restoring liberties he should not have removed in the first place, you’ll be disappointed. Ralph Northam was prepared to keep the commonwealth’s face mask mandate in place for months, until he was blindsided by the CDC on Thursday…
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UVa’s Latest Lurch Toward Leftism
by James A. Bacon The University of Virginia has bolstered its reputation as a Leftist intellectual monoculture with the announcement that Malo Andre Hutson, director of Columbia University’s Urban Community and Health Equity Lab, will become the new dean of the School of Architecture. At Columbia, Hutson belongs to both the Earth Institute and the…
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Blood Lead Levels, Classroom Disruption and Dropout Rates
by James A. Bacon It has long been known that lead poisoning in children is associated with higher rates of school suspensions, criminal behavior and other adverse outcomes. Low-income children are up to 12 times more likely to have elevated blood lead levels (BLLs); Black children are more than twice as likely to be lead…