They say the past is prologue and that if you don’t learn from history, you are doomed to repeat it, among other famous quotes that have stood the test of time. And they have a factor of truth and lesson in them. And so is the case with next month’s casino referendum, the second one we have had the chance to vote for because the first one was ignored by city leaders in 2021.
This Deep Dive is a look back at the last time Richmond faced two referendums on one topic in short succession — the people were asked to vote to register their voice and they said no to the city leaders, planners, and business leaders. Both times, the people’s voice was ignored, and both times the city leaders overruled their vote and their voice and pursued their plans irrespective of the results — with disastrous and long-lasting consequences.
A week ago the Students for Justice in Palestine at UVA created a furor by publishing a statement defending Hamas’ attack on Israel. “Yesterday’s rebellion was not ‘unprovoked,’ as many have claimed, but is the consequence of years of mass killings, ethnic cleansing, and oppression from Israel,” the group wrote. “The events that took place yesterday [October 7] are a step towards a free Palestine…. We stand in solidarity with Palestinian resistance fighters and all oppressed people around the world seeking freedom and a better world.”
The same group organized a demonstration yesterday at the steps of the Rotunda in the shadow of the statue of Thomas Jefferson. I made a point of attending to hear what the protesters had to say and observe what transpired. I had one major question: who were these people? What kind of person living in a free society could defend the atrocities perpetrated upon Israeli civilians of all ages? What could they possibly be thinking?
As executive director of The Jefferson Council, which is dedicated among other things to free speech and free inquiry at UVa, I supported the right of the pro-Palestinians to hold their rally and make their case. But the Council also stands for viewpoint diversity, which is under threat from the steady leftward drift of the faculty and staff and the slow extinction of professors openly professing conservative, libertarian and independent views. While the far left is a distinct minority at UVa, it is a highly vocal and influential one. How representative, I wanted to know, were the Students for Justice in Palestine at UVA? (more…)
Roanoke College swimmer Susanna Price (screenshot/WSLS on YouTube)
by Scott Dreyer
At Hotel Roanoke on October 5, members of the Roanoke College women’s swim team calmly and clearly delivered blistering indictments of what they described as failed, unresponsive leadership at their school, the NCAA, and USA Swimming. Some of their gut-wrenching stories about being forced to train, compete, and share facilities with a biological male are recorded in Parts One, Two, and Three.
Roanoke College team captain and swimmer Kate Pearson (screenshot/WSLS on YouTube)
At times choking back tears, team captain Kate Pearson painfully described the sense of emotional abandonment the girls felt, as they realized the school they had loved for years [and sent lots of tuition money to] was led by people who were turning both a blind eye and deaf ear to their concerns.
Pearson: “We tried numerous times to ask the school for support, but each and every time we were told to deal with it ourselves, or told nothing at all. The school refused to send out any information to our parents, and we were informed that even if our entire women’s team decided to stand together and not swim, and emphasized the unfairness that was happening, our coach would be allowed to have a ‘one-athlete’ swim team.(more…)
For those readers of this blog who contend that Democrats and “progressive” prosecutors are fixated on not prosecuting violent criminals and ignoring the needs of witnesses and victims, I have some good news for you.
Witness Protection
Since 1994 Virginia has had a statute authorizing the Virginia State Police to establish a witness protection program. However, because it has never been specifically funded, it has been seldom, if ever, used. (Never mind that the Department of State Police had GF balances at the end of FY 2022 of $32 million and $10 million in FY 2021.)
In March 2021, Steve Descano, the Commonwealth’s attorney for Fairfax County and Ramin Fatehi, then the deputy Commonwealth’s attorney for Norfolk, published an op-ed in The Virginian-Pilot calling on the General Assembly to fully fund the Witness Protection Program. They pointed out the problems that police and prosecutors have in getting witnesses to come forward due to their being threatened or otherwise intimidated. “Witness protection programs — which provide for the security or relocation of witnesses away from those who might wish them harm — are among the most effective means of counteracting witness intimidation,” they contended. (more…)
Two years after the COVID school lockdowns, the collapse in K-12 learning still has significant downward momentum. Of the 1.4 million high school seniors who took the ACT college preparedness test in 2023, the percentage meeting all four benchmarks — English, math, reading, and science — was 20.8% — down 1.3 percentage points from the previous year, according to ACT.
That’s not 21% of all high school graduates, it’s 21% of students who took the exam, which varied from 2% in Maine to 100% in Alabama.
“This is the sixth consecutive year of declines in average scores, with average scores declining in every academic subject,” ACT CEO Janet Godwin said in a press release. “We are also continuing to see a rise in the number of seniors leaving high school without meeting any of the college readiness benchmarks, even as student GPAs continue to rise and students report that they feel prepared to be successful in college.”
In Virginia, a mere 8% of high school graduates took the ACT exams, meaning only a highly self-selected group of college-bound students participated. Here is the percentage of Virginia students meeting ACT benchmarks of having “a high probability of success in credit-bearing first-year college courses”:
English — 83%
Math — 72%
Reading — 61%
Science — 63%
I learned a lot about transgender activists and advocates at the Abigail Shrier event at the University of Virginia last night. Some are bitter, angry people who hurl non-stop invective. Some are close-minded but willing to engage in rational conversation. But at least one is courteous, friendly and willing to engage in a thoughtful, one-on-one exchange. I look forward to having lunch with her next week.
Shrier, the author of “”Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters,” was herself polite, charming and attentive. Even as more than 100 protesters were chanting and demonstrating outside Minor Hall, she remained unflappable inside the auditorium under questioning that ranged from skeptical to hostile.
Shrier is the object of venom in the transgender community because her book dared to ask questions that many do not want to be asked. While acknowledging the gender dysphoria is real and those who suffer from it deserve compassion, she argues that much of the transgender “craze” is a social contagion mainly affecting teenage girls, that “affirmative” treatment such as testosterone shots and top surgery are fraught with ill-understood risks and dangers, and that a legion of affirming educators, counselors, and even medical doctors have abandoned science in favor of ideology. She elaborated on those themes in a Q&A session hosted by the Jefferson Council in partnership with the Young Americans for Freedom and the Common Sense Society. (more…)
As the world gapes in horror at the atrocities committed against the people of Israel malignant clots of the perpetually disgruntled appear, like cockroaches.
These brainwashed fans of Hamas cheer the murder of Jewish babies, the rape of Jewish women and the taking of Jewish hostages. They wave the Palestinian flag. They spew anti-semitism cloaked in something they call decolonization.
And where are these ghoulish fans of Islamic death cults found? College campuses, where else?
Many are oblivious to the fact that their nose rings, purple hair and non-binary existence would get them tossed off a tall building by the Islamists in the Middle East.
First out of the box were 31 student organizations at Harvard voicing support for the Palestinians. Not wanting to be outdone by the Cambridge brain trust, chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine at Stanford, Georgetown, Columbia, Swarthmore and George Washington University joined in the bloodthirsty, morally bankrupt cacophony. Then knots of nuts at the state schools jumped in: Florida State, University of Michigan, and the University of Illinois.
It didn’t take long for this nasty virus to infect Virginia. Misfits at William and Mary showed their solidarity with the Islamic rapists after the weekend bloodletting in Israel by harassing Jewish students who were raising relief funds for terror victims. And deranged hatred of the Jewish people crawled out of its hole at the commonwealth’s flagship: The University of Virginia.
In Charlottesville of all places!
Anyone else remember the national disgust over the white nationalist marchers in 2017 who carried torches and chanted “Jews will not replace us” and other Nazi slogans on the vaunted grounds of the university? (more…)
Roanoke College Swim Captain Bailey Gallagher, explaining the emotional manipulation she endured at the hands of school administrators. (screenshot/WSLS YouTube page)
by Scott Dreyer
As reported in Parts One and Two, ten members of the Roanoke College women’s swim team held an “NCAA — Save Women’s Sports!” press conference on October 5 at Hotel Roanoke, to draw attention to what they described as “emotional blackmail” and “neglect” at the hands of their school administrators, NCAA, and Swim USA.
Although huge headlines seldom spring from our corner of Southwest Virginia, this story has made national and international news. The New York Post, established in 1801 by Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, described the significance of the swimmers’ actions this way: “The very public aspect of Thursday’s event was in sharp contrast to the culture of fear and silence surrounding the issue of trans women in women’s sports.
“When The Post interviewed female swimmers who had to compete against Lia Thomas for an April 2022 story, the majority of parents and their daughters would not allow their names to be used in the story for fear of being shunned, shamed or even retaliated against.
“’This was a historic day,’ activist Kara Dansky, president of the US chapter of Women’s Declaration International, told The Post after speaking at Thursday’s press conference.”
Roanoke College women’s swim team (front row) and supporters at press conference at Hotel Roanoke, Oct. 5, 2023 (photo/Scott Dreyer)
Senior Team Captain Bailey Gallagher, 20, summarized the lifelong love of the sport all the girls alluded to but how they all felt blindsided. “I’ve been a swimmer my entire life, when my parents enrolled me in a ‘learn to swim’ program as an infant, and I have been swimming ever since. My first competition was at age 5, and now at almost 21, I see my journey coming to a close.
“This is my senior year, my final year to practice, race, and celebrate with teammates that I now consider to be some of my best friends. Swimming is more than just a sport for me. It’s a part of who I am. It has given me discipline, the ability to multitask, a great work ethic, a healthy lifestyle, and some of the very best people to call friends. (more…)
I spent some time today observing proceedings in Henrico County District Court. (No, I was not a defendant.) I recommend the experience to anyone interested in seeing how the criminal justice system works in real life.
District court is the venue for hearing traffic offenses and misdemeanors. It also hears more serious cases for probable cause to be sent to circuit court.
I sat in on two different courtrooms. The atmosphere in both was somewhat reminiscent of that depicted in the old TV series, Night Court. The Henrico judges, of course, were not as unorthodox as Judge Harry Anderson in that series nor were there the slapstick and irreverent humor prevalent there. However, there was an informal feeling with lots of friendly interaction among the defense attorneys, prosecutors, police, and judges. The judges were respectful and, sometimes, friendly toward the defendants, while at the same time admonishing them for their misdeeds. (more…)
Abigail Shrier, author of “Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters,” will be speaking tonight (Oct. 11) at 7:00 p.m. at the University of Virginia. Register here.
Kimberly J. Robinson, UVa Professor of Law. Official Photo
by James C. Sherlock
Fund it and they will come.
The Daily Progressreports that thanks to a $4.9 million gift from an anonymous philanthropist, a new “Institute” has been launched at UVa’s School of Law.
The new organization, the Education Rights Institute, plans to
“find ways to improve K-12 education and help educators address the obstacles that face disadvantaged students.”
Staff have been hired and the institute’s first projects are already in development. There will be a star-studded roll out on October 16th.
Excited?
Hold that thought while you read about the Institute’s leadership, goals and intentions. (more…)
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin issued an order Sunday to fly flags around the state at half-staff.
This was the statement issued by his office:
“In accordance with the authority vested in me as Governor, I hereby order that the flags of the United States of America and the Commonwealth of Virginia be flown at half-staff on all state and local buildings and grounds to honor the lives lost in the horrific terror attack committed against Israel and to hold those injured and held hostage in our thoughts.
I hereby order that the flags shall be lowered immediately on Sunday, October 8, 2023, and remain at half-staff until sunset on Saturday, October 14, 2023.”
Iranian-funded Hamas terrorists attacked Israeli citizens on Saturday morning, a day that totaled the single largest loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust. The attacks were also carried out on the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War.
As reported in Part 1, in a move hailed as “historic” and “first in the nation,” members of the Roanoke College women’s swim team held a press conference at Hotel Roanoke on October 5 to highlight the emotional, mental, academic and physical trauma they have been experiencing this semester.
In essence, the women were protesting a student who swam for Roanoke College on the men’s team two years ago, took a year off to experience a sex change, and then returned this semester to swim on the women’s team.
Award-winning swimmer and woman’s rights leader Riley Gaines opened the press conference by putting Roanoke College administrators and other “adults” who failed their students on full blast. (more…)
The Richmond casino referendum this week was once again in the forefront of the news but not because of the impending vote or the discussion of the numerous proposed “benefits” the casino advocates have promised every group under the sun. No, this week it was made known that the company driving the effort to approve the casino referendum (again) is facing the possibility of being delisted by NASDAQ.
Nevertheless, the casino advocates assure all of the potential voters that they will be able to pay the city the $26 million up front payment within 30 days of the approval of the referendum (as spelled out in the agreement), AND build their proposed $562 million casino, AND provide $30 million to the city tax coffers every year from here to eternity, AND still pay off all the organizations and groups and investors they are promising largesse to win approval of the second casino referendum.
No promise is too big, no cost is too high, and no vote is too expensive. (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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by Dick Hall-Sizemore
Roanoke College women’s swim team (front row) and supporters at press conference at Hotel Roanoke, Oct. 5, 2023 (photo/Scott Dreyer)
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by Jon Baliles
