Tag: Dick Hall-Sizemore
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UVa to Trump: No Thanks
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The University of Virginia has declined to sign the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” proposed by the Trump administration. In exchange for agreeing to a long list of terms, institutions signing the contract were offered “allowance for increased overhead payments where feasible, substantial and meaningful federal grants, and other federal…
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A Protege of Clarence Thomas at UVa. ?!
by Dick Hall-Sizemore After reading incessantly on this blog that the faculty of the University of Virginia is hopelessly progressive and woke and that students studying there will be indoctrinated in progressive ideas that are bad for the country, imagine my surprise upon learning that one of the leading originalist interpreters of the Constitution teaches…
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Opportunity or Faustian Bargain?
by Dick Hall-Sizemore (Author’s Note: The following article is unusually long, even by my standards. The subject is a federal policy document recently sent to the University of Virginia and eight other institutions of higher education. The document is ten pages long and contains numerous provisions which could have a significant impact on higher education…
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The Pediatrician-in-Chief
by Dick Hall-Sizemore At his press conference last week, President Trump railed at length against giving young children multiple vaccinations at once. In his view, doctors were pumping all this stuff into those “beautiful bodies.” At times, he alluded to 80 vaccines, as if children were being given every vaccine available. At other times, he…
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Another Virginia Trump Nominee Runs Afoul of Trump
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Poor Donald Trump. His appointments as U.S. Attorney in Virginia are proving to have too much independence and integrity. First there was Todd Gilbert in the Western District. Now, there is Erik Seibert in the Eastern District. Seibert’s office was overseeing the investigation of Letitia James, New York Attorney General, for mortgage fraud regarding…
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Signs of the Times
by Dick Hall-Sizemore This weekend I spent time in the center of Virginia. That would be that area west of I-95, south of I-64, and east of the Blue Ridge–encompassing Powhatan, Buckingham, Cumberland, Campbell, Bedford, and Franklin counties. Some I just passed through on the main highway (Rt. 60); others I spend more time in…
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Impersonal Medicine, But There Are Bright Spots
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Eye exam Many years ago, I went to Benny Lambert for my regular eye examinations. His optometry office was in a small building in Jackson Ward across the way from downtown Richmond. No one was ever in the small waiting room when I got there. There was one receptionist. Behind the receptionist’s desk, there was…
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Another Power Struggle Between Youngkin and General Assembly
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Another dispute between Gov. Glenn Youngkin and the General Assembly, one that has faint echoes of one occurring north of the Potomac, has taken on a larger life with parties turning to the Virginia Supreme Court. Before going into the details, some background would be helpful. The Virginia Constitution provides, “The Governor shall…
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My Soapbox: Dorm Rooms
by Dick Hall-Sizemore A common complaint, on Bacon’s Rebellion and generally, is about the high costs of colleges. I am usually sympathetic to such complaints. I see the projected costs of the higher ed institutions my grandkids are going to or are considering. But, then, I run across articles like this and this and I become very…
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Be Careful What You Wish For
by Dick Hall-Sizemore President Trump has directed the Secretary of Education to expand the reporting requirements of institutions of higher education in order to determine if any of those bodies are still using race as an admissions criterion. Accordingly, the Secretary has directed the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) to collect the following data…
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Maybe Ryan Should Have Toughed it Out
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The Trump administration has found that George Mason University (GMU) has violated federal law with its DEI policies. A spokesman for the Dept. of Education said, GMU “waged a university-wide campaign to implement unlawful DEI policies that intentionally discriminate on the basis of race.” The penalty? The president of the university, Gregory Washington, must…
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Another Violent Immigrant Caught
by Dick Hall-Sizemore On August 8, ICE officers arrested and detained another violent immigrant in the Richmond area. Arman Momand, a 19-year old rising senior at Henrico’s J.R. Tucker High School, had been charged by Henrico police with reckless driving, evading police, and driving without a license following a driving incident last December. However, the…
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Crime, Bloodshed, Bedlam, Squalor in D.C.
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Now we know what qualifies as a serious crime for the Trump administration. On January 6, 2021, a violent mob attacked the United States Capitol. Several law enforcement officers were assaulted, some seriously injured. In January 2025, President Trump pardoned them all. On August 10, 2025, as reported by the Washington Post,…
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Off the Interstate: A Whale of a Museum
by Dick Hall-Sizemore In Southern Virginia, where the Piedmont region begins to become the Blue Ridge, is the city of Martinsville, the home of the Virginia Museum of Natural History. The building and its contents are impressive. The museum’s mission is “to interpret Virginia’s natural heritage within a global context in ways that are relevant to…
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What Goes Around, Comes Around
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The Richmond Times-Dispatch had an interesting article about Mark Christie. Christie served a member of Virginia’s State Corporation Commission for 20 years until Trump appointed him to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in his first term. In January, Trump named Christie to head FERC. Then, in June, Trump fired Christie without…