Hat tip: John Butcher
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Everything’s Better with Bacon
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Jeanine’s Sunday Memes — Bernie’s Mittens Edition
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Lacshrecse Aird Offers a Road to Nowhere
by James C. Sherlock
Jim Bacon today posted an important essay. If you have not yet read it do so. This essay builds upon it.
Del. Lacshrecse Aird (D-Petersburg) Del. Lacshrecse Aird, D-Petersburg, has offered a joint resolution, apparently destined for passage, that would:
โExpand(s) the charge of the Virginia Department of Health’s Office of Health Equity to address racism as a public health crisis to ensure that statewide policy efforts are analyzed through an intersectional race equity lens and offer funding recommendations.”
The phrase โintersectional race equity lensโ needs to be unpacked, for Del. Airdโs benefit as well as that of the rest of the General Assembly. The bill itself offers no definitions, soย I will use the definitions from a primary source, Racial Equity Tools. ย
From that source, โintersectional racial equityโ in healthcare or anything else contains the following elements:
- Intersections of Race and Ability
- Intersections of Race and Class
- Intersections of Race and Gender
- Intersections of Race and LGBTQIA* Identities
- Intersections of Race and Other (Cultural, religious) Identities
From but one of those โlensesโ, a feminist journal: (more…)
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How to Take a Flawed Healthcare System and Make It Worse
Lashrecse Aird by James A. Bacon
The House Rules Committee has passed a resolution that recognizes racism as a “public health crisis” in Virginia. To remedy alleged systemic racism, HJ 537, submitted by Del. Lacshrecse Aird, D-Petersburg, would expand the charge of the Virginia’s Office of Health Equity to ensure that state health policy is analyzed “through an intersectional race equity lens” and offer funding recommendations based on that analysis.
The bill also calls for training for Virginia elected officials, staff members, and state employees on “how to recognize and combat implicit biases.”
The resolution passed in a 13-to-5 vote, which suggests it stands a strong chance of being adopted by the full House of Delegates.
The sad irony is that if this doctrinaire framework for approaching healthcare policy is adopted, it will do almost nothing to help African Americans become healthier. Implementation of its proposals might even make racial health disparities worse. One thing can be said for certain: By distracting from the real flaws of Virginia’s healthcare system the bill would work to protect the status quo. (more…)
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Charter Schools and How Things Work in Virginia
Sen. Dick Saslaw (D) Springfield – Official photo by James C. Sherlock
As an object lesson on how things work in Virginia, Iโll relate a story of campaign donations, the Virginia Education Association, a Democratic Governor, a Republican Senator, Democratic Senator Dick Saslaw, his wife Eleanor and charter schools.
The Virginia Education Association
The Virginia Education Association has given nearly $1.8 million in campaign donations to Virginia state candidates over the years, nearly all of it to Democrats. The VEA, like the National Education Association and its smaller rival, the American Federation of Teachers, hates charter schools for reasons — both actual reasons and those stated by the unions — that we have detailed here in the past.
Dick Saslaw.ย The Virginia Senateโs most prominent opponent of charter schools has been Sen. Dick Saslaw, D-Springfield.
From a newspaper report on January 28 of 2013:
The Virginia Senate narrowly killed a pair of constitutional amendments dealing with two perennial Republican favorites: right-to-work and charter schools.
Democrats helped defeat a constitutional amendment from Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg, that would have created more opportunities to open charter schools in the state.
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Dig This — the Virginia GOP As a Big Tent Party!
by James A. Bacon
Virginia Republicans, divided between populist cultural conservatives and traditional free market/small government conservatives, may well immolate themselves when it comes time to select candidates for statewide office. I proffer no predictions. But, should the GOP find some way to maintain a facade of unity, there is one very promising sign for the future: The party is attracting candidates from beyond its traditional white racial/ethnic base.
The Bull Elephant, a partisan Republican blog, lists 10 declared or talked-about candidates for governor, five for lieutenant governor, and five for attorney general. The seven minority candidates include:
Sergio de la Peรฑa, a retired Army colonel and Trump administration appointee to the Pentagon. The 65-year-old de la Peรฑa, whose Mexican family moved to the U.S. legally, says he learned English and assimilated. As a candidate for governor, he supports making English the state’s official language and would end benefits for illegals. He supports funding law enforcement, prosecuting looters and rioters, and the right to bear arms. On jobs, says his website, “Sergio will restart the economy by creating an open and competitive economic environment.” (more…)
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Remembering the Forgotten Robert E. Lee
The General’s Redoubt, a group of alumni organized to keep the “Lee” in Washington & Lee University, have produced two short videos exploring Lee’s legacy in American history. The first touches upon his personal humility and gift for leadership, his strong reservations about slavery, and his revival of a university devastated by war.
Amazing fact: Lee freed the slaves of his deceased father-in-law while the war was raging. He converted two slaves into salaried employees at his headquarters tent. Ironically, when General U.S. Grant’s wife visited him in the field, she brought a domestic slave with her. Her family’s slaves were not freed until January 1865, two years after the Lee family slaves won their freedom. (more…)
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Why Is No One Hyperventilating about Systemic Sexism in Healthcare?
by James A. Bacon
A Virginia male who contracts the COVID-19 virus is 11% more likely to die from it than a Virginia female, demonstrating the pervasive sexism embedded Virginia’s healthcare system. Despite the fact that the life expectancy at birth of a male in the commonwealth is only 74.7 years compared to 80.0 years for a woman, the Northam administration is doing nothing — NOTHING, I tell you! — to correct this grotesque imbalance.Readers who know me well can probably guess that I don’t really think the healthcare system is systemically sexist. Regardless of the disparity in statistical outcomes,ย I think structures are in place to ensure that males and females enjoy equal access. And I think hospitals and providers do their level best to give everyone quality care.
Consider this an illustration of “Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics,” as I shall explain. (more…)
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Virginia’s Name Games
by Kerry DoughertyThe good people of Charlottesville and Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, and Nelson counties will no longer have to suffer the indignity of being part of a health district named for a loathsome American who left no legacy worth honoring, established no university worth attending and contributed nothing to the cause of liberty in the United States.
Iโm talking, of course, about that American scoundrel Thomas Jefferson. As of this month, the Thomas Jefferson Health District will be called the Blue Ridge Health District, sparing the population of the part of the commonwealth that Jefferson loved so well, the pain of hearing his name when they check COVID numbers or seek the vaccine.
I learned about the name change on theย Virginia Department of Health website, which got me wondering, did folks in the TJ District complain about the moniker? Did anyone claim that TJโs name was so offensive they could not bear to have any contact with the health department there?
Nope, came an emailed reply yesterday afternoon. No complaints that anyone there was aware of. (more…)
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Positive Developments in Freedom of Expression at UVa
James B. Murray Jr., UVa Rector by James C. Sherlock
I am an alumnus of the University of Virginia and have been one of the most prominent public critics for its drift into left-wing ideology at the expense of academic freedom and the best interests of its students. ย
University of Chicago Principles
I have recommended both publicly and privatelyย that my university adopt the University of Chicago Principles, or their equivalent.ย
I understand the administration has been working on the development of the Universityโs own version, UVA Principles. I expect them to have many similarities to the Chicago example, but with a few embellishments unique to UVaโs history and circumstances.ย
At the urging of the Board, President Jim Ryan has a group working on this. It will, without pressure, move at the pace of the academy, meaning years, unless Dr. Ryan treats it with the same urgency that he treated racial tensions in the Spring. Iย hope he will move it forward quickly.
Nevertheless, I expect UVa will get this done. (more…)
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Election Law Transformation Continues Apace
The status of the National Popular Vote Compact, which goes into effect once enough states have signed on to let the national totals determine their electoral votes. By Steve Haner
As Iโve explained too many times to people who wonโt believe it, President Joe Biden won Nov. 3. While there remains no evidence of widespread fraud or error, election law changes achieved by Democrats in key states were a major contributing factor to that outcome.
That transformation started here in Virginia in 2020, was boosted by the pandemic, and is continuing into the 2021 General Assembly. Here are some of the key proposals pending which Democrats believe โ with reason โ will bolster their electoral successes. I also point to a good idea to restore public confidence, which they quickly defeated. These are just some on an incredible list of election bills this year, and that list seems to miss some.ย (more…)
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Northam Owes Virginians Answers on COVID-19
by Shaun KenneyFormer Speaker Kirk Cox, R-Colonial Heights, has been assiduous in his criticism of Governor Ralph Northamโs handling of the COVID pandemic โ and for good reason.
Consider the successes enjoyed by West Virginia. Rather than plugging in to the federal system that mandated distribution centers, West Virginia instead activated its National Guard to create a 50-man hub designed to reach out to communities and coordinate directly with them.
Instead of going through big box stores, West Virginia opted to use local pharmacies and small businesses.
Rather than leaving things to chance and assuming that local health departments and state hospitals would simply pick up the slack, West Virginia opted instead to utilize over 250 pharmacies โ all trusted by their communities โ to achieve a first in the nation result.
Meanwhile, Virginia struggles with a ranking of 49 out of 50. (more…)
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There Is a God and He Has a Sense of Humor
President Biden. Credit: deadline.com by James C. Sherlock
The Left won control of government in the most recent elections nationally and in Virginia. Elections indeed have consequences.
The focus on race instead of class by the newly victorious left will have major consequences here.
A combination of (1)ย Biden policies requiring antiracism training for federal workers and contractors; and (2)ย state requirements for biannual antiracism training for teachers and rewriting of syllabi to achieve antiracism together will be felt more heavily in Virginia, especially dark blue Northern Virginia, than anywhere else in the nation.
Virginia, because of its massive concentration of federal workers and contractors in Northern Virginia and military and contractors in Hampton Roads, will be the state most heavily effected by the new Biden administration policies.
Virginia’s education system is already in the midst of an antiracism transformation at the hands of the Governor, the General Assembly, the Department of Education, left-leaning school boards in districts like Albemarle County and left-wing schools of education in Virginia such as those of UVa and VCU.
I am going to use this essay primarily to offer commentary from the Left on what this means and whether it will work. (more…)
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Do We Need More Stimulus — or a Fix for Job-Skill Mismatches?
Scene from a Bassett Furniture factory floor in Bassett, Va. As in North Carolina, jobs in Martinsville and Henry County, Virginia’s furniture-manufacturing hub, are going unfilled. by James A. Bacon
The U.S. unemployment rate in December was 6.7%, way down from its 14.7% peak in April, but still high by historical standards. Thus, it comes as a shock to find that furniture-industry jobs paying as much as $30 an hour for experienced upholsterers are going unfilled.
Tom Barkin, the perambulating president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, was surprised to discover in his travels through the Fifth District that North Carolina furniture manufacturers were struggling to hire workers. Writing in the current issue of Econ Focus, he describes his conversations.
One executive after another told me his firm had job openings; some listed 40 or more. How could this be, at a time when so many people were hurting โ when many thousands of workers in industries like food service and hospitality were out of work?
Perhaps the reason, Barkin theorizes, is that the industry has a bad reputation after a generation of layoffs. Or perhaps the problem is a “mismatch” in the geography and skills of laid-off workers. (more…)
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Add an Extra 40 Days to the School Year? It Just Might Work.
Jason Kamras by James A. Bacon
Jason Kamras has spent much of his time as superintendent of the City of Richmond school district blaming systemic racism for the system’s failure to educate thousands of inner-city school children, and most of his remedies call for more money — even though city schools spend significantly more per pupil than neighboring jurisdictions whose students perform far better. He has trumpeted one bad idea after another. But at long last, he is proposing an initiative that could be useful. I’m not being sarcastic here. I think it’s an idea that many school systems should explore.
In his proposed budget for the next fiscal year, Kamras submits the usual requests for more pay — a 2% raise plus a 1.17% step increase for every employee — and he wants to use federal stimulus funds to address what the Richmond Times-Dispatch refers to without elaboration as students’ “socio-emotional issues.” That’s a new term in the leftist lexicon. I’m guessing it has something to do with the trauma of poverty and racism. I imagine that we’ll hear more about it in the future.
Then there’s this: Kamras wants $8 million to add 40 academic days to the school year — in effect, creating year-round school — for 5,000 “high needs” students. (more…)
