Author: James A. Bacon
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The Transgender Contagion
*** Sponsored Content *** by James A. Bacon Abigail Shrier deserves a Pulitzer Prize for her 2019 work of journalism, “Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters.” She’ll never get the recognition she deserves from the literary establishment, though, because her conclusions transgress some of the holiest orthodoxies in the progressive canon. Despite the…
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Universities as Incubators of Nervous Breakdowns
by James A. Bacon I’ve been arguing for some time that the United States — and Virginia is no exception — is experiencing a collective nervous breakdown. Mental illness is surging. Disorder is spreading. Rhetoric is becoming increasingly histrionic. Bizarre behavior once limited to the fringe is going mainstream. You can’t measure the accelerating social…
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Antifa Failed to Make Conservative Conference a Ngo Go
by James A. Bacon A conservative media summit featuring journalist Andy Ngo was disrupted by threats of violence by left-wing militants, but the show did go on Saturday. The conference of roughly 50 attendees was scheduled originally to be held at the Commonwealth Club in downtown Richmond. Organizers lined up an alternate venue, but that…
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Charts of the Day: Teacher Vacancies
by James A. Bacon The teacher shortage at Virginia’s public schools is getting worse. School divisions report 4,304 unfilled positions in the 2023-24 school year, according to a recent report by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC). Out of a teacher workforce of about 87,000, the creates an average statewide vacancy rate of…
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Woke Bloat at Virginia Universities
by James A. Bacon Step aside California! Public universities in Virginia have built larger diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) bureaucracies than taxpayer-funded universities in any other state, concludes a new backgrounder by The Heritage Foundation. The DEI bureaucracy at the University of Virginia includes 94 employees listed on its website, says the report. Virginia Tech…
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By the Way, What Is Virginia Tech’s View on Parental Rights?
Virginia Tech’s interim dean of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion has been accused of violating Tech’s email policy by forwarding a message that slammed local conservative school board candidates as “hateful,” according to The Daily Signal. In responding to an email sent to her Tech account blasting the local candidates for their “anti-trans” and “anti-woke” outlook,…
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Alumni Groups File Amicus Brief in Virginia Tech Free Speech Case
by James A. Bacon The Alumni Free Speech Alliance (AFSA) and alumni groups from nine colleges and universities, including The Jefferson Council, submitted an amicus curiae brief to the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday urging the court to hear a case brought by Speech First over the issue of bias reporting practices and procedures at Virginia…
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Factoid of the Day: Speeding in Virginia
Virginia has the third highest rate of fatal crashes in which someone was driving faster than the speed limit or too fast for road conditions, according to personal injury law firm Heninger Garrison Davis in an analysis of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data. Virginia recorded 906 fatal crashes; speed figured as a factor…
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Want to Save the World? Teach a Kid to Read.
Reading skills among Virginia’s public-school children as measured by Standards of Learning (SOL) test scores are dropping through the floor. Among the remedies that Governor Glenn Youngkin proposes to address the threat of mass illiteracy is requiring under-performing students to receive three to five hours of tutoring per week. Good luck finding the tutors, warns…
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Virginia Colleges Fare Pretty Well in 2024 FIRE Rankings
In case you’re wondering how all Virginia institutions scored in the 2024 FIRE free speech rankings, here is a summary of the universities included in the survey. For perspective, I’ve included the top and bottom scorers. Liberty University is listed separately, as it is one of six that prioritize other values over free speech. Remember,…