Tag: Guest contributors
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Leadership by Example Has Broken Down at VMI
by George Mayforth My recent visit to the Institute during Parents Weekend—an occasion traditionally marked by pride in the Corps and confidence in the VMI system—left me with observations that must be addressed openly and honestly. These concerns do not arise from distant rumor or nostalgia; they come directly from what I witnessed on Post.…
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Government Shutdown Threatens to Upend Governor’s Race
By Chris Braunlich For more than a half century, it has been the case that Virginia elects a Governor who is from the opposite party as the President elected the year before. With one exception. In 2013, the year after Barack Obama’s re-election, Virginians sent Democrat Terry McAuliffe to the Governor’s Mansion. The background to…
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The Local Car Tax: Still Hated, Still a Target for Repeal
By Kimberly Pinter and Callahan Burton Governor Gilmore was right. His “No Car Tax” slogan resonated with all Virginia vehicle owners and catapulted him to the Virginia Governor’s mansion in 1997 with 56% of the vote. The tax is universally hated and perceived as unfair. You pay good money for a car (plus sales tax!), more…
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They’re Canceling Little Old Ladies Now
by Audrey Carpenter A Town Hall meeting will be held Sept. 17 at Smart’s Mill Middle School, 850 North King Street in Leesburg, for the public to weigh in on the issue of renaming Francis Hazel Reid Elementary School. Email comments are also being accepted at: [email protected]. This Town Hall will be the first of several…
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A Trainwreck of Misinformation
by Saundra Davis The recent Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) School Board work session on the new Virginia accountability system could easily become a case study on misinformation in educational policy. FCPS staff and board members were startlingly misinformed on the difference between state accreditation vs. federal accountability, and FCPS staff could not accurately inform…
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Un-Cancel Robert E. Lee
by Gibson Kerr Cancel culture is all about tearing things down. It is inherently destructive. It builds nothing. It creates nothing. It only destroys. Like the Vandals who destroyed Rome, cancel culture is destroying American culture. Systematically, it targets and eliminates America’s heroes. It is fueled by anger, bitterness, envy, and vindictiveness. It is the…
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The “Black Jobs” Narrative is False, Harmful
By Derrick Max While most of the post-debate news coverage is still rightly focused on the mental acuity (or lack thereof) of President Biden, the use of the term “Black jobs” by former President Trump in the context of low-income, unskilled jobs that will be impacted by our open southern border, bothers me almost as…
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Senator Lucas’ “Big Gamble”
by Kayla Owen Virginia state Senator and Chair of the powerful Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee, Louise Lucas, is known for her love of casinos, skill games, and other gambling enterprises. Her greatest political gamble may be unfolding before our eyes this week. When Virginia’s biennial 2024-2026 budget was signed on May 13, 2024, just…
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Marriage Promotes ‘White Supremacy,’ George Mason Professor Says
by Jerome Woehrle “Marriage fundamentalism” promotes “white supremacy,” according to a professor at Virginia’s largest university. “Marriage fundamentalism, like structural racism, is a key structuring element of White heteropatriarchal supremacy,” wrote George Mason University Professor Bethany Letiecq in the Journal of Marriage and Family. “Marriage fundamentalism can be understood as an ideological and cultural phenomenon,…
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EPA Told CVOW Wake Has Air Quality Impacts
By David Wojick In formal comments, the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT) has asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to assess the adverse impact of the giant Virginia offshore wind project on air and water quality. The issue is far-reaching because all big offshore wind facilities could have these adverse effects.
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An American Opportunity Story, from Missouri to Virginia
by Dan Stoddard Though some of today’s political leaders and commentators may try to tell us that the American Dream is dead – or was always a myth – they are wrong. America is still the Land of Opportunity. Throughout the country there are countless examples of women and men of humble beginnings who have…
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Why Is Anne Holton Claiming the Length of Virginia’s School Closures Didn’t Matter? (Part 2)
(Editors’ note” Part 1 of this series ran yesterday on Bacon’s Rebellion.) by Vernon Taylor (a pseudonym) Let’s take a look at Anne Holton’s claims about Virginia’s prolonged school closures and learning loss, which were made at a Dec. 12, 2023, meeting of the Virginia Board of Education, of which she is a member. …
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Why Is Anne Holton Claiming the Length of Virginia’s School Closures Didn’t Matter? (Part 1)
by Vernon Taylor (a pseudonym) The Virginia Board of Education meeting on December 12th, 2023 had a rare moment of must-see TV (22:50 – 29:27). In an attempt to gaslight parents, students and educators everywhere as she ignored the preponderance of data from COVID-era and post-pandemic studies, Board Member Anne Holton proposed an amendment striking…
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Metro is at the Precipice. Declare Bankruptcy.
By Derrick Max Tuesday, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) warned that without substantially greater subsidies from DC, Maryland, and Virginia, they would be facing a $750 million annual shortfall that would require draconian cuts in services, including closing 10 stations, cutting 67 bus lines, and laying off 2,000 employees. They would also freeze…
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Poor Test Results No Problem If You Ignore Them
By Nancy Almasi There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns had a real and persistent impact on our children’s education. Learning loss continues to be the subject of daily news reports, with SAT and ACT test scores at an all-time low. Overall, math and reading scores on standardized tests are at…