Category: Uncategorized
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Who’s “Legislating from the Bench” Now?
by Jim McCarthy “It’s not the court’s place to legislate,” the judge stated in local media after dismissing a case seeking to have two books declared obscene upon her ruling that such ban violated Virginia and federal law. “Look, the General Assembly is a citizen legislature. We’re not lawmakers. Things like this happen and a…
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The Trouble with Guaranteed Student Loans
by Dr. A Schuhart I benefitted directly from the guaranteed student loan program. Unlike most of my colleagues, I was a first-generation college student, and I took out loans for both BA and MA degrees. I would not have attended college were it not for this program, so I have always been grateful for it.…
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Budget Earmarks for Nonstate Entities
by Dick Hall-Sizemore For many years, the most interesting and fun portion of the state Appropriation Act was a section near the end entitled, “State Grants to Nonstate Entities-Nonstate Agencies.” The 2000 Appropriation Act, appropriating almost $36 million for these nonstate entities, is a good example. It included funding for historic courthouses, local museums and…
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Jeanine’s Memes
Normally, I’d say, “Last one out, turn off the lights.” But Governor Gavin Newsome beat me to it. (From The Bull Elephant)
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COVID and the Racial Achievement Gap
by James A. Bacon Two weeks ago, before I so rudely interrupted myself by taking a vacation in North Carolina, I was engaged in an analysis of the latest Standards of Learning (SOL) test scores. As measured by pass rates, Virginia students statewide recovered much, but not all, of the ground they had lost during…
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Woke Limbo: How Low Can You Go?
by James A. Bacon The bar for triggering Virginia Democrats gets lower by the day. The latest limbo contortion is a call by the Democratic Party of Virginia and the University Democrats at the University of Virginia for the resignation of Bert Ellis, a recently appointed member of the UVa Board of Visitors, who has…
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As Anti-Jefferson Rhetoric Swells, Ryan Stands Silent
by James A. Bacon Here is what passes for logic at The Cavalier Daily, the student newspaper of the University of Virginia, a university once reputed for the excellence of its education: We reject how the University’s physical environment — one that glorifies racists, slaveholders and eugenicists with statues and buildings named in their honor…
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Virginia’s Schools of Education – Part 1 – Overview of the Upcoming Series
I had barely started a draft of a series on Virginia’s schools of education when it was inadvertently released Saturday. We took it down when we discovered the error. by James C. Sherlock People on both sides of the political divide have acknowledged enormous challenges to Virginia’s pre-K-12 public education system. Some of the problems…
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Why the Enrollment Decline at VMI? Look to White Males for an Explanation.
by James A. Bacon When the Virginia Military Institute re-opened for its fall semester Monday with its usual parade-ground pageantry, it counted only 375 cadets in the 1st-year class. That’s down 24% from 494 the previous year. “We believe there are a number of contributing factors,” says VMI spokesman Bill Wyatt. “Schools throughout the commonwealth…
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Division Ends Today at the Virginia Military Institute
by The Cadet Editorial Staff To the families of matriculants: This is a difficult day for you. As you leave your daughters and sons to face the struggles and challenges that they are about to meet, take heart in the fact that you, too, are about to become a part of the VMI family. Today…
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Schools Will Contribute to Suicides Under Current Virginia Transgender Student Guidelines
by James C. Sherlock Teen suicide is a major problem in America and Virginia. The Virginia Department of Health reported in 2021 that suicide is the second leading cause of death among Virginia’s youth. I have talked around but not about teen suicide in previous articles about transgender adolescents. A study published by the National Institutes of…