Author: James A. Bacon
-
Virginia Sets up a Snitch Line
by Kerry Dougherty Here’s something that will warm the hearts of every Karen in the commonwealth: Virginia’s Department of Health has opened an anonymous snitch line. That’s right, no longer will these suburban tattletales have to give the side-eye to the unmasked or publicly berate people who disobey the governor’s arbitrary executive orders. They can…
-
Harsh But Fair? You Decide.
RPV Chairman Jack Wilson issued a statement today blasting Governor Ralph Northam for allowing COVID-19 to fester in Virginia nursing homes. In a missive headed, “Northam Creates Nursing Home Death Camps,” he said: There is a massive problem taking place in Virginia nursing homes and Governor Northam is sweeping it under the rug. When will…
-
Justin Fairfax Wants $30 Billion to Replace Old Schools
by James A. Bacon And so the campaign for the Democratic nomination for Virginia governor gains momentum… with a bidding war for who can spend the most money. Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax, one of five declared or likely Democratic candidates, has announced plan to rebuild all public schools in Virginia that are more than 40…
-
COVID Deaths Are Way Down. Wear Masks to Keep Them Down.
by James A. Bacon The number of new deaths in Virginia attributed to the COVID-19 virus fell to three yesterday, according to data published this morning on the Virginia Department of Health COVID-19 dashboard. That’s the lowest number since April 6. Meanwhile, the number of COVID-19 patients being treated in hospitals fell to 857, the…
-
Get Ready for the Taxpayer-Funded University Bailout
by Shaun Kenney Consider for a moment how much of a college or university’s budget comes from room and board, not to mention the prosperity of the surrounding economy. Now consider the precarious position most colleges and universities are in America, beset on all sides by administrators, federal and state regulations, and a college campus…
-
Coming to a City Near You: Middle-Class Flight
by James A. Bacon As the City of Richmond becomes increasingly ungovernable in the face of continued protests and vandalism, a lot of people are saying to themselves, “I’m out of here.” Here’s a prediction: Middle-class flight will become the next big thing. Richmond, like many other cities around the country, has enjoyed a strong…
-
It’s Good to Be King
by James A. Bacon Wise King Ralph, in his wisdom, announced yesterday that he would delay implementation of the Phase 3 rollback of emergency economic-lockdown measures. He reached that decision even though Virginia’s COVID-19 metrics show that the epidemic is receding rapidly. Unfortunately, despite declaring previously that he would be guided by those very same…
-
From Moon Walking to Slow Walking
by Kerry Dougherty I’m tired of writing about Gov. Ralph Northam. I wish he’d stop doing dumb things so we could all go back to ignoring him. But here we go again. This time it’s another Northam bait-and-switch. What is it with this governor? He claims to worship at the altar of science and numbers…
-
Look, Over There, a Squirrel!
by James A. Bacon Ever alert to signs of racism so subtle that most people can’t see them, the University of Virginia has altered its new V-Sabre logo to remove curves that had been added to the sword handles. At the unveiling of the original logo, the university had noted that “detail was added to…
-
Administrative Bloat and Racial Inequity in Higher Ed
by James A. Bacon Recently, I told the story of how Virginia Commonwealth University, which prides itself for embracing minorities and first-generation college students, is enacting a left-wing social justice regime. While fostering a culture of minority victimhood and grievance, VCU charges its students $25,419 in tuition, fees, room, and board. Among the “students of…
-
VDH Playing Catch Up
by Carol J. Bova The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) has made two major recent changes on the COVID-19 dashboard. On June 15, under Race and Ethnicity in the demographics tab, VDH moved about 20,000 cases between categories and added 380 total new cases. Category Cases reduced by… …
-
Ralph Northam’s Unworkable Rules for Schools
by Kerry Dougherty Last week I predicted that Gov. Ralph Northam would extend the present misery into the fall with unworkable, cockamamie restrictions on Virginia’s schools. Sadly, I was right. You might think that last year’s disastrous experiment in virtual learning would have convinced the governor that students needed to be back at their desks…
-
By the Way, Assaults on Virginia Police Officers Surged Last Year
by James A. Bacon So, the nation is in an uproar again, this time over the shooting death of Rayshard Brooks by a white police officer in Atlanta after Brooks resisted arrest, grabbed the officer’s taser and turned it on him. While this incident, like every other episode fueling the Black Lives Matter movement, occurred…
-
Virginia’s Department of Health and Misinformation
by Kerry Dougherty With each passing day the Virginia Department of Health looks more like a purveyor of panic than an agency protecting the health of Virginians with factual, up-to-date information. As the governor stubbornly clings to his overly-restrictive lockdowns and mask mandate, the department has proven useful to him as it supplies the public…
-
History, Statues, Graffiti
The Robert E. Lee statue has become a tourist attraction of sorts. Dozens of people were coming and going this afternoon when Laura and I walked by. Cars were driving around the traffic circle and passengers were waving Black Lives Matter signs out their windows. As much as I personally hate seeing the statues desecrated…