Author: James A. Bacon
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Uh, Oh, Fairfax Schools Are Updating Grading Standards
by James A. Bacon Fairfax County Public Schools, the largest school system in Virginia, has updated its grading standards in an effort to make them fairer and more consistent, reports The Washington Post. Among the more prominent features of the new system, students will be allowed to retake tests for full credit. In theory, the…
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Ryan’s Testimony All Over the Map
by James A. Bacon Testifying under oath several days ago in a Daily Progress lawsuit to pry open a report into the slaying of three UVA football players, University of Virginia President Jim Ryan elaborated upon his official explanation of why he decided to withhold the report until after the trial of the alleged shooter…
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Youngkin Appointees Now a Majority in Virginia University Boards
by James A. Bacon With the announcement of his third round of appointees to the governing boards of Virginia’s public universities, Governor Glenn Youngkin has ushered in a new era for higher education in Virginia. For the first time in his two-and-a-half years in office, he will enjoy board majorities to back his priorities of…
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Governor, Pick Fighters for the UVA Board
Note: The Jefferson Council released this open letter to Governor Youngkin today. He released his nominations for university board seats shortly after. — JAB 28 June 2024Glenn YoungkinGovernor of the Commonwealth of Virginia Dear Governor Youngkin, You are getting close to the June 30 deadline for announcing five new nominees to the University of Virginia…
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Lies, Damn Lies, and Presidential Debates
by James A. Bacon Virginia played prominently in the disinformation spewed by President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump in their first 2024 presidential debate last night. Biden brought up the seemingly unkillable canard that Trump referred to the White supremacists in the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville as “good people.” Meanwhile,…
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Some Homeless Deserve Compassion, Others Don’t
by James A. Bacon The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule this week on a case that will determine if local governments can criminalize the homeless for sleeping in public, even when shelters are unavailable, reports The Virginian-Pilot. Citing National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) figures, the newspaper notes that there were nearly 6,000…
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Youngkin Tackles Maternal Health Disparities the Right Way
by James A. Bacon Governor Glenn Youngkin has launched an initiative to address disparities in maternal healthcare outcomes, and he’s doing it right. Rather than presupposing what the problem is and what the solutions are, he is resurrecting the Task Force on Maternal Health Data Quality Measures to do a deep dive into the data…
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Virginia Dems Find Enemies to the Left
BREAKING: The Virginia Democratic Convention has been disrupted by protesters advocating for Palestine. “Democrats, Democrats, can’t you see. Genocide is your legacy.” pic.twitter.com/A7T6zTkCW7 — Stu (@thestustustudio) June 22, 2024 by James A. Bacon At Virginia’s Democratic Party convention three days ago, Senator Tim Kaine wrapped up the proceedings with a good old-fashioned bashing of the…
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The Battle Over African-American History
“Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.” — George Orwell by James A. Bacon The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) is working on revisions to an advanced-placement course on African-American history, and the forces of wokeness are agitating to preserve the ideological framework they wrote into the course…
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Venture Global: Virginia’s Unknown Energy Giant
by James A. Bacon An Arlington-based company that most Virginians have never heard of could well alter the global energy balance of power — if the Biden administration doesn’t get in the way. In 2023 and 2024 alone Venture Global LNG., Inc., has announced long-term deals to supply 3 million tons of LNG to the…
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Bacon Bits: Encampments and Memorials
Globalize this! Nearly two-thirds (65%) of Americans recently polled by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) responded that setting up pro-Palestinian tent compounds was “never” or “rarely” justified. Nearly half (47%) said that students participating in college encampment protests should be expelled, suspended, or put on probation. Only 23% thought the demonstrators should…