By pro-Hamas standards, the protests at the University of Virginia were anemic.
Estimates placed the size of the โcrowdsโ that began gathering on Grounds – as they say in Charlottesville – last week ranged from about 12 to perhaps as many as 50.
The Hamas fan club was clustered near the chapel and engaged in mostly peaceful demonstrations. According to news reports the demonstrators respected the orders of Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who warned last week that Virginia would not tolerate tents or โencampmentsโ on any campuses. (more…)
Schools around the country, including in Virginia, are beginning to effectively ban studentsโ use of cellphones in schools.
According to available data, about 75 percent of schools in the country ban the non-academic use of cellphones during school hours. However, in most cases, the ban is enforced sporadically. Teachers are put on the spot to enforce it, which creates another source of tension in the classroom. Enforcement is inconsistentโ some teachers are OK with some cellphone use; others might feel that they would not be supported by the administration; others might not want to deal with angry parents over the issue.
Technology has made the implementation of a ban much easier. Yondr, a San Francisco-based company, makes a magnetically sealed pouch that can be used to keep cellphones unavailable for use. They have been used at concerts to prevent attendees from filming performances, but schools have been their biggest customers recently. It works simply: When students arrive at school, if they are carrying their cellphones, they place the devices in the pouches which, when closed, are magnetically sealed. During the day, the cellphones cannot be accessed. When leaving the school, the pouches can be unlocked with a docking device. (more…)
A reader alerted us this week that if you have not yet gotten your personal property tax bill (car tax) from the City of Richmond, you soon will โ and it will be notably higher than last year unless you bought a newer model or drive a jalopy.
The city receives roughly $16.7 million per year from the state to provide for car tax relief originally established by the state in 1998 (which is a whole other topic for another day). During and after the pandemic, car values rose as the demand for used cars skyrocketed and higher tax bills followed accordingly. City Council first approved the Mayorโs โstep-stairโ approach to tax relief in 2022 โ a policy in which owners pick up a bigger share of the tax over the course of a few years. Last year, the tax relief rate was 36.6% in the city.
In the city, you pay $3.70 tax per $100 assessed value. Under the relief program, a car valued at less than $1,000 owed no tax. If your vehicle was assessed between $1,000 and $20,000, you received the partial credit and owed the balance. If your vehicle was assessed at $20,000, you received the credit in relief up to $20,000 but then owed full freight on everything over $20,000.
So, a car assessed last year at $12,000 would owe $444 in personal property tax but got the 36.6% relief. That vehicle would have received a credit of $162.50 and the owner paid $281.50 in tax. (more…)
Pro-Palestinian militants erected tents last night at their “liberation zone for Gaza” near the University of Virginia chapel in defiance of orders to take them down. The administration’s immediate response: engage in dialogue.
“We are writing to acknowledge the document you shared with us early this morning outlining the interests of your group,” wrote Kenyon Bonner, vice president and chief student affairs officer, and Brie Gertler, vice provost for academic affairs, to the Gaza zone participants.
“We thought it would be most productive to respond in writing, with the hope of scheduling a time to discuss your goals in greater detail with the appropriate representatives from your group,” they said.
The protesters posted their response, written in bold letters over a copy of the letter, on Instagram: “Bullshit.” (more…)
The city of Richmond seems to be trying to plug all of the holes in its boat, also known as the U.S.S. Meals Tax Fiasco, that has been taking on water for months. It seems that the city is finally wiping out the erroneous meals tax payments and interest they had charged numerous restaurant accounts in recent years, often amounting to tens of thousands of dollars, without ever telling them the bills were so enormous.
Tyler Layne at CBS6 reported last week that Matt Mullett, the owner of Richbrau Brewing, recently got a call from the cityโs Finance Director, who said the city would clear his $50,000 bill that accrued due to bad advice he received four years ago from the Finance Department when they told him he did not need to collect meals taxes on draft beer, even though the department had lost a case just a few years prior.
In addition, Mulletโs business was now finally eligible to receive Enterprise Zone grant money to improve his business. This money had already been approved several years ago, but was not released because the city said they owed all the back meals tax money. Which he didnโt. Nevertheless, Mullet took the high road and was thankful the unnecessary drama and delays were behind him so he can move forward with his business. (more…)
I have a question for the originalists on the U.S. Supreme Court (Thomas and Alito) and textualists (Gorsuch):ย where in the Constitution does it say that the president is immune from prosecution (partial or full immunity)?–RWH
One of two pro-Palestinian demonstrations at the University of Virginia wound down around 5 p.m. yesterday without incident. Although the rally was marked by all-too-familiar anti-Israel chants and sloganeering, protesters dispersed at the scheduled time. A parallel demonstration, a tent-free “encampment,” continues this morning.
University officials set clear expectations from the beginning that university rules would be enforced. When a pro-Palestinian group erected tents Tuesday near the University Chapel in imitation of encampments at other campuses, university authorities quickly told them to take down the structures, for which they had not obtained permits. In other interactions, Police Chief Tim Longo personally engaged with protesters to inform them about university policy regarding trespassing and amplified sound.
“The protest activity near the University Chapel has continued peacefully and in compliance with University policy since it began Tuesday afternoon,” said University spokesperson Brian Coy. “Organizers have complied with requests to remove tents and other prohibited materials.” (more…)
โRemoving the last vestiges of Confederate history from the U.S. military, includingย renaming nine Army posts, will cost more than $62 million, a congressional commission said Tuesday.โย
That quote is fromย Alex Hortonโsย Washington Postย article on the recommendations of the Naming Commission, dated September 13th, 2022. โFor the base names,โ wrote Horton, โthe changes will require a complete overhaul for items big and small, from signs outside the main gates to the stamps used to process paperwork for new and departing soldiers.โ
One year later, it was crystal-clear that the โNamingโ Commissionโs recommendations went far, far beyond changing some base names. (Recommendations which, apparently, Congress let pass unchallenged). By September of 2023, cranes had removed statues of Grant and Lee from Reconciliation Plaza, a memorial park gifted to the U.S. Military Academy by the West Point Class of 1961 to commemorate the reconciliation of Union and Confederate West Pointers after the Civil War. Cranes would soon show up in Arlington National Cemetery to remove the Reconciliation Memorial from the center of the Confederate cemetery in Arlington. And, across the nation, street signs were being pulled down, memorial bricks were being pulled out of monuments, software was being rewritten on classified and unclassified computer networks to reflect the new base names, etc. Undoubtedly, little-to-none of this was cheap.ย
The Virginia Council, a Virginia heritage defense group created and led by WRVA talk show host John Reid, has filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Department of the Army, to see what the total cost of implementing all of the Naming Commissionโs sweeping recommendations actually was. Some people I spoke with in the Army, who wish to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation, think that the total costs could far exceed $62 million.ย
Also in September of 2023, the U.S. Government Accounting Office (GAO) released aย report on the quality of housing in military barracks. โIn recent years,โ the GAO wrote, โthere have been concerns about health and safety risks in military housing and DOD’s management of its housing programs. Poor housing conditions negatively affect quality of life.โ(more…)
Dr. Carol Swain speaking May 15 at the Cultural Arts Center in Glenn Allen. Purchase tickets here.
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Imagine a world where civil discourse triumphs over the divisive rhetoric saturating our daily lives. It seems this reality is slipping away, but amidst the chaos, one visionary offers a solution to the schism pervading our culture: Dr. Carol Swain.
Dr. Swain embodies the American dream. Born into abject poverty in rural Southwest Virginia, she grew up in a one-room house with twelve siblings, surrounded by chaos and hopelessness. Despite dropping out of high school, marrying, and becoming a young parent, her destiny took a remarkable turn with the encouragement of a few key individuals.
Dr. Swain’s journey saw her earning five degrees, starting from community college. With a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an M.S.L. from Yale, she attained early tenure at Princeton and eventually a full professorship at Vanderbilt, excelling as both a political scientist and law professor. Today, she’s a sought-after cable news contributor, best-selling author, and national speaker, renowned for her expertise in critical race theory and higher education, cited three times by the U.S. Supreme Court. (more…)
This law was active from 1950 until Northam the Awful – the doctor who forced Virginians to wear cloth bandanas on their faces in 2020 (he idiotically demonstrated how to tie a rag around oneโs face) because he apparently didnโt know that homemade masks would literally do nothing to stop a virus.
Once the useless mask mandate ended in May 2021 there seemed to be some sort of agreement that law enforcement wouldnโt arrest the hypochondriacs who continued to wear them.
I realize that masks are de rigueur for rioters. Combined with an oversized keffiyeh they offer anonymity to the Hamas and Hezbollah wannabes. Take a gander at any footage from the nationwide campus protests and most of the anti-semites are wearing masks.
Look, the pandemic is over. There is no need for anyone to be wearing a mask in public. Especially not the Death-to-America crowd thatโs rioting and trespassing on the grounds of Virginia Tech and Virginia Commonwealth University. (more…)
BREAKING: The American Flag is back up at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Chancellor Lee Roberts came out and did it himself. pic.twitter.com/Be5HimksfH
Many concerned alumni and students have reached out to us. We are keeping an eye on UVA’s Encampment for Gaza and monitoring social media. At this time, we are putting our faith and trust in @presjimryan.
โ The Jefferson Council (@TheJeffersonC) May 1, 2024
by James A. Bacon
As a wave of pro-Palestinian demonstrations and encampments rolled across Virginia college campuses yesterday, university presidents held firm in enforcing rules governing the orderly conduct of protests. The day after Virginia Tech shut down an unpermitted “liberation zone” Sunday, arresting 82, Virginia Commonwealth University closed an encampment last night, arresting 13. At the University of Virginia, pro-Palestinian groups were ordered to take down their tents, erected before the main event today called for by protest organizers, but were allowed to continue their vigil.
Media reports indicated, however, that protests spread yesterday to Mary Washington University, where they had died down from a previous eruption, and to Christopher Newport University.
The Virginia protests were overshadowed in national mediaย Tuesday night by resolution of the standoff at Columbia University, where New York police broke up a liberation zone and evicted students who had barricaded themselves inside a building.
If university presidents in the Old Dominion needed any stiffening of resolve, they got it from Governor Glenn Youngkin who, appearing on CNN Sunday, said, “Weโre not going to have encampments and tents put up and yes, we will protect the ability to peacefully express yourself, but weโre not going to have the kind of hate speech and intimidation weโre seeing across the country in Virginia.”
After the knock-down of the encampment at VCU Tuesday, the main action in Virginia shifted to UVA.(more…)
Talk about spinning until youโre dizzy, get a load of the local coverage of last weekendโs taxpayer-subsidized Audacity Oceanfront Concerts:
Describing the anemic โcrowdsโ as โsmaller-than-expectedโ TheVirginian-Pilot added โThatโs not to say those who attended didnโt have a good time.โ
Oh please.
We, the taxpayers, gave the organizers of this dud $750,000 to bring the show to the oceanfront, plus an untold number of โin-kind-city servicesโ in return for an advertising campaign showcasing Virginia Beach.
Judging from the virtually empty resort area last weekend even that p.r. offensive fell flat.
The organizers blamed the weather for the poor turnout, but there wasnโt a drop of rain, just chilly late April temperatures.
What happened was actually good news: it appears that Beach College Weekend, an annual headache for the Resort City, may have moved on. (more…)
BREAKING: The Encampment at Virginia Tech has been told that they will be arrested if they don’t disperse. They are pleading with the administration to not arrest anyone because children are present.
Stu Smith, producer of StuStuStudios, captured this video yesterday from the Virginia Tech encampment. University police were threatening to shut down the event for violating various university rules and protocols, and the pro-Palestinian demonstrators trotted out this precocious young militant to lead the mindless chanting.
“I’m not leaving,” sing-sang the tyke into a loudspeaker.
“We’re not leaving!” responded the crowd.
Undeterred by the pint-sized protester, Virginia Tech police shut down the event anyway, arresting 82 in the process, according to numbers released by the university. Fifty-three were students, according to the statement. It’s not clear if any were faculty. But it is a reasonable supposition that the vast majority of the 29 others were outside agitators.
Which raises warning flags for Virginia Commonwealth University, where protesters have set up a “liberation zone” and issued demands to the administration, and the University of Virginia, where pro-Palestinians have announced their intention to set up a liberation zone Wednesday, the day before exams. President Rao and President Ryan: how many outside agitators are heading for your campus? (more…)
The year: 2075. The American colonies on the Moon are getting restless under Washington’s tyrannical rule….
This second edition of “Dust Mites” has a snazzy new cover, includes helpful lunar maps, and is 5,000 words tighter than the original. The sequel, “Trogs,” is scheduled for publication this summer.
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