Author Archives: sherlockj

Harvard History Professor to Lead Monticello

Posted on November 1, 2023 | 22 comments

Jane Kamensky, new President of Monticello. Courtesy of Harvard Crimson. Photo credit Soumyaa Mazumder

by James C. Sherlock

She is certainly qualified.

On Oct. 17 the Thomas Jefferson Foundation announced that Jane Kamensky, Harvard history professor and director of the Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, will be the next president of Monticello.

From an interview with Harvard Crimson.

  • “The combination of celebration, commemoration, and reckoning that takes place at Monticello in 2026 will not only do all those things, but will show America how to do it,” she said.
  • Kamensky said she looks forward to engaging the American public, especially young people, in a “shifted tone of conversation about American ideals and imperfections and possibilities,” she said.

“Show America how to do it” is an aggressive vision, but we wish her well.

There is evidence that there are mines in that field. She needs to try to carefully clear them, not set them off. Continue reading →

22 Comments

Posted in Culture wars, DEI, Democracy and Western Civilization, Freedom

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Governor Youngkin Steps to Curb Anti-Semitic Activities – How about Law Enforcement?

Posted on October 31, 2023 | 38 comments

by James C. Sherlock

Governor Glenn Youngkin took action today with an Executive Directive to “Combat Antisemitism and Anti-Religious Bigotry in the Commonwealth and on Campuses.”

It is excellent, and we look forward to immediate steps by other actors in the Commonwealth. Continue reading →

38 Comments

Posted in Crime , corrections and law enforcement, Education (higher ed), Governance, Law enforcement, Planning, Threat Assessment

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What is Actually Taught about the History of the Jews and the Jewish State in Virginia Schools?

Posted on October 30, 2023 | 103 comments

German-Israeli woman Shani Louk, whose semi-naked body was paraded through Gaza by Hamas, has been declared dead. Her skull was found separated from her body. Credit Instagram

by James C. Sherlock

What comes first? Sadism or hatred? Does religious radicalism create sadists or do sadists flock there for approval and opportunity?

Some on the radical right and the radical left in the United States share a hatred for Jews.

The radical right may not be able to remember why, but pursue it anyway.

Radical Islam combines Nazi views and medieval sadism and does not hesitate to act them out. Remember the Munich Olympics massacre, 9/11 and the ISIS beheadings? Now Oct. 7th? Any questions?

Virginia’s schools have lessons to teach. Unfortunately it is not clear what the message has been and will be in the future. Continue reading →

103 Comments

Posted in Democracy and Western Civilization, Education (higher ed), Education (K-12)

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Foreign Student Influence in Students for Justice in Palestine Chapters at Virginia Universities and their “Allies”

Posted on October 28, 2023 | 87 comments

Caption: “Show up, share, and support the resistance movement! Let’s keep the momentum going” GMU SJP member

by James C. Sherlock

The SJP organizations at three Virginia state universities, the University of Virginia, George Mason University, and the University of Mary Washington, have been active since October 7th on the Hamas side.

Some attempt to thread two needles simultaneously: to separate Gazans from their elected government, the terrorist organization Hamas, and to separate Israelis from Jews.

In celebrating the October 7th slaughter, those are distinctions without a difference.

We’ll look at the influence of foreign students in Virginia universities’ SJP chapters, then the GMU chapter, and then briefly examine the progressive/Marxist “intersectionality” of SJP to see the extent of who and what we are dealing with.

The results are interesting, but not surprising. Continue reading →

87 Comments

Posted in Culture wars, Democracy and Western Civilization, Education (higher ed), Immigration, Marxism, Virginia Law

Crime and Punishment in Charlottesville

Posted on October 25, 2023 | 109 comments

by James C. Sherlock

UVa and Harvard are the two campuses most often cited by the national and world press as homes to the worst actors after October 7.

It is easy work.

I posted a column on Saturday making a series of recommendations for actions by the University of Virginia to protect its Jewish community and rid itself of those that threaten it.

That was my response to the infamous support of UVa-funded organizations for the slaughter of innocents in Israel by Hamas, a group designated by the United States as a terrorist organization.

Kill Jews “by any means necessary” they wrote.

Read the column.  I named them.

Now I have been told by the Executive Director of Hillel at UVa, Rabbi Jake Rubin, that the President’s office and law enforcement “have been incredibly responsive, helpful, and present during this difficult time.”

Good start, and Virginians thank them for it, but it does not answer the questions about enforcement of state and federal laws.

So, there is more to do. Continue reading →

109 Comments

Posted in Civil Rights, Courts and law, Crime , corrections and law enforcement, Culture wars, DEI, Education (higher ed), Education (K-12)

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The Proper Understanding of the Importance of Education

Posted on October 25, 2023 | 27 comments

October 20, 2020.  Fairfax Education Association President asks for Fairfax County Schools to remain closed for 2020-21 school year . Courtesy Fox 5.

by James C. Sherlock

Remember the schools being shut down in Richmond for the entire academic year 2020-21 for COVID?

Remember the teachers union protestations seeking the same outcome elsewhere in Virginia?

Of course you do.

Just a note to put that in perspective.

The IDF’s Home Front Command announced yesterday that Israeli schools and educational facilities across the central region of Gush Dan (Tel Aviv) will resume operations without restrictions starting Tuesday.

Jerusalem schools will also open Tuesday.

27 Comments

Posted in Education (K-12)

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The Impact of Virginia’s Certificate of Public Need Laws on Nursing Home and Home Health Care Availability and Expenditures

Posted on October 23, 2023 | 4 comments

by James C. Sherlock

I have come across a major study in the National Institute of Health’s National Library of Medicine that made a point that I have not explored sufficiently to this point.

It discusses the intersection of nursing homes, home health care, CON laws like Virginia’s Certificate of Public Need (COPN) law, and Medicaid expenditures.

I have shown over time in a series of columns how bad many of Virginia’s nursing homes are.

Antitrust authorities at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and at the US Department of Justice (DOJ) have long taken the position that CON laws are anticompetitive.

This study, conducted prior to COVID, indicates that COPN administration will ensure that nursing facilities not only have little competition from other facilities, which it was designed to do, but also will limit home health care expansion, which the COPN law does not mention.

That is very good for the Virginia nursing home industry.

It is bad for every other Virginian, every one of whom may need at least post-operative recovery and rehabilitation if not long term care.

Some will need it in a dedicated facility, others can be better served at home.

The study indicated that COPN will tend to make home health care less available and potentially raise total Medicaid spending. It also showed that market forces unconstrained by CON laws like COPN will tend to reverse those trends.

So this article is dedicated to our politicians and their constituents.

You. Continue reading →

4 Comments

Posted in Central planning, Consumer protection, Education (higher ed), ethics, General Assembly, Governance, Government Oversight, Health Care

Anti-Jewish Extremism at UVa — Next Steps

Posted on October 21, 2023 | 11 comments

Courtesy of SJP at UVa https://www.instagram.com/sjpuva/

by James C. Sherlock

The University of Virginia has made quite a national name for itself over the responses of its campus anti-Jewish extremists to the slaughter of babies in Israel.

It is not a reputation it wants.

On October 8th, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at UVa, an organization officially recognized by the Student Council and eligible for funding by the student activities fee, issued a statement “unequivocally support(ing) Palestinian liberation “by any means necessary.”

“Any means necessary.”

It was cosigned by:

  1. Afghan Student Association
  2. Arab Student Organization
  3. Asian Pacific American Leadership Training Institute (APALTI)
  4. Asians Revolutionizing Together at UVA
  5. Asian Student Union
  6. Bengali Student Association
  7. Black Student Alliance
  8. Black Muslims at UVA
  9. Central Americans For Empowerment (CAFÉ)
  10. Environmental Justice Collective at UVA
  11. Ethiopian Eritrean Student Association
  12. FeelGood at UVA
  13. Hindu Student Council
  14. Indian Student Association
  15. La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity Inc.
  16. Lebanese Club
  17. Minority Rights Coalition
  18. Muslim Institute for Leadership and Empowerment (MILE)
  19. Muslim Student Association
  20. Muslims United
  21. National Pan-Hellenic Council
  22. National Society of Black Engineers
  23. Nepali Student Association
  24. Organization of African Students
  25. Pakistani Student Association
  26. Persian Cultural Society (PCS)
  27. Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc.
  28. Political Latinxs United for Movement & Action in Society (PLUMAS)
  29. She’s the First at UVA
  30. Sigma Omicron Rho (ΣOP)
  31. Sikh Students Association
  32. Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers
  33. The 13 Society
  34. Turkish Student Organization
  35. undocUVA
  36. UVA Beyond Policing
  37. UVA Survivors
  38. Young Democratic Socialists of America

Continue reading →

11 Comments

Posted in Education (higher ed)

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Hatred of Jews at UVa – A Pot Brewed in the Faculty Lounge Boils Over

Posted on October 19, 2023 | 37 comments

PHOTOS of smiling infants hang next to their bullet-ridden coat pegs in a bloodstained nursery devastated by Hamas terrorists. A little girl’s bicycle lays in a bullet-ridden yard. Credit Internewscast.com

by James C. Sherlock

Israel was attacked by Hamas on October 7.

On October 8, this letter was issued in Charlottesville.

“Events” were “a step towards a free Palestine.”

On October 11, President James Ryan issued a strong message condemning the savage Hamas massacre in Israel. He deserves credit for that, but has not gotten it on the grounds of the University.

Also on October 11, Jewish students at the University felt it necessary to address the University community in the Cavalier Daily. Continue reading →

37 Comments

Posted in Culture wars, Democracy and Western Civilization, Education (higher ed), Education (K-12), Ethics, Freedom

“Girls with Pearls” in Petersburg

Posted on October 14, 2023 | 2 comments

Courtesy, Most Valuable Kids Program.  Rockdale Academy is in Cincinnati.

by James C. Sherlock

It is important now more than ever to celebrate people doing the right things for the right reasons. Good should be called out where found.

First Lady Suzanne Youngkin has taken helping Petersburg to heart and continues to support multiple initiatives to make that happen.  

She doesn’t have to do that, certainly to the extent that she has done and continues to do. It is clearly personal to her.

She is joining Petersburg Blandford Academy (6th grade of Vernon Johns Middle), Petersburg’s Communities in Schools (CIS), the Petersburg Women’s Club, and a small group of volunteers to bring the “Girls with Pearls” program to that city.

Girls with Pearls is a turn-key, school-based program that fosters leadership to change the outcome for girls by empowering them to plan for a bright future through education, personal responsibility and social awareness.

With those dedicated women and men behind it, Girls with Pearls will help young people become better adults.

They have our thanks and support.

2 Comments

Posted in Education (K-12)

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National Academy of Sciences Offers Superb Recommendations for Fixing Virginia’s Nursing Home Crisis

Posted on October 12, 2023 | 6 comments

by James C. Sherlock

Sometimes, we need to listen.

I just finished the 806-page 2022 report “The National Imperative to Improve Nursing Home Quality: Honoring Our Commitment to Residents, Families, and Staff” by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). It is downloadable at the link.

That study and report were utterly professional and thorough, as scientific as you expect, remarkably staffed and bipartisan in recommendations.

I have compiled from Appendix D of that report those remedies recommended for execution by states and nursing homes. They deserve to be the centerpiece of Virginia law and regulation going forward.

All of them. Continue reading →

6 Comments

Posted in General Assembly, Governance, Government Oversight, Health Care, Long Term Care and Nursing Homes

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Another Race Institute at UVa

Posted on October 10, 2023 | 98 comments

Kimberly J. Robinson, UVa Professor of Law. Official Photo

by James C. Sherlock

Fund it and they will come.

The Daily Progress reports 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. Continue reading →

98 Comments

Posted in DEI, Education (K-12), Marxism, Public employee unions, Unions

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Virginians Sail Towards Gaza

Posted on October 9, 2023 | 97 comments

USS Gerald R. Ford with Carrier Air Wing 8 embarked. Official Navy photo.

by James C. Sherlock

The U.S. Navy has sailed towards the sounds of battle for more than 200 years.

This time it is responding to the largest mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group, already in the Mediterranean Sea as part of permanently increased presence in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, to move to east as a reaction to Saturday’s attacks in Israel.

The Israelis will deal with Gaza.

The repositioning, crucial for our Israeli ally and our own regional interests, holds at deadly risk other actors in the region that may consider joining in the battle.

The officers and sailors in that battle group are mostly Virginians. Continue reading →

97 Comments

Posted in Defense, Democracy and Western Civilization

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Teach for America in Virginia

Posted on September 11, 2023 | 39 comments

by James C. Sherlock

One commenter on my last article was highly critical of Teach for America (TFA). I cannot let that go without refutation.

Look at the map of TFA places to work.  

You will see that in Virginia only the inner suburbs of the D.C. area have access to those highly motivated young people. Alexandria is the first school division in Virginia to partner with Teach For America. It is actively recruiting TFA volunteers.

Now look at North Carolina on the same map. Read the Charlotte-Piedmont Triad TFA web page.

Now look at the Petersburg teacher charts again. Continue reading →

39 Comments

Posted in Education (K-12)

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Petersburg School Board Folds on Union Bargaining

Posted on September 10, 2023 | 47 comments


by James C. Sherlock

The Petersburg Education Association has a plan for collective bargaining.

So, once, did the school board. Unanimously.

We have been looking for signs of strength in the Petersburg School Board so we can believe it will take strong and innovative measures to improve the city’s dreadful schools.

It is the wrong place to look. The union routed the board on collective bargaining without resistance.

Petersburg School Board – Official Photo

The state, during the Democratic interregnum in the General Assembly and governorship, made local government collective bargaining optional.

On June 21st, the Petersburg board passed a resolution for teachers, guidance counselors and librarians who hold a teaching license to have a form of collective bargaining.

As reported by The Progress-Index’s Joyce Chu,

The resolution does not allow teachers the ability to negotiate their wages or benefits, limiting the scope of negotiations to hours and scheduling, health and safety, and work rules.

Just a guess, but that board likely did not vote originally to allow negotiations on wages or benefits for a pretty good reason. Continue reading →

47 Comments

Posted in Education (K-12)

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