Author: James A. Bacon
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Hijacking George Floyd: Mass Transit Edition
Here’s another example of how white liberals are hijacking the George Floyd tragedy to advance their special-interest agendas on the grounds of social justice. At the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission meeting last night, Chair Katie Cristol observed that “Systemic racism, and the opportunity to confront it, is present in every feature of our lives, including…
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Are Northam’s COVID-19 Policies Racist? By the Left’s Logic, Yes
by James A. Bacon Now that Governor Ralph Northam has declared his intention to take down the Lee Statue on Richmond’s Monument Avenue in the cause of racial equity and justice, perhaps he could take another step — one that would actually affect the lives of African-Americans in a tangible way. He could accelerate the…
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Phase Two. It’s About Time.
by Kerry Dougherty Yippee! Welcome to Phase Two, Virginia. Looks like we can once again dine indoors and go to the gym now that Gov. Ralph Northam is finally loosening his authoritarian grip on the commonwealth. Like dutiful subjects, we are supposed to be grateful. I’m not. I’m more annoyed about the lockdown now than…
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Accountability in the Age of Tribalism and Relatavism
by Verhaal Kenner Imagine you give a class of high school social studies students a quiz and ask: “A friend suggests that the both of you rob a bank. What would you say? What thoughts go through your mind?” In today’s culture, you could expect many students to give answers such as: “Which bank were…
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COVID-19 Update: All Trends Positive
Over the last few days I almost forgot we’re in the middle of a COVID-19 epidemic. Maybe that’s because thousands of people have been marching down the streets of Richmond and other Virginia cities in defiance of Governor Ralph Northam’s prohibition on gatherings of more than 10 people. But I will give the protesters credit.…
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The Statues Will Come Down… and the Revolution Will Roll On
by James A. Bacon So, the Lee statue on Richmond’s Monument Avenue is coming down, and, most likely, so will the rest of the other statues honoring Confederate generals and leaders. Governor Ralph Northam will announce today plans to remove the equestrian statue of Lee, reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and Mayor Levar Stoney has said…
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Limits on Crowd Size Don’t Apply to Protests
by Kerry Dougherty “How is this fair?” Shannon Jones wants to know. How is it that her grandfather’s funeral was forced – by order of the governor – to be almost a non-event while demonstrators and protestors violate Virginia’s 10-person crowd-size rules with absolute impunity? I have no answer. Perhaps someone will show this to…
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Ralph Northam on the Racial Protests
by James A. Bacon Speaking yesterday, Governor Ralph Northam gave his thoughts about the wave of protests and rioting that followed the death of George Floyd by the hand of a white Minneapolis policeman. Floyd and others, he opined, were wrongfully killed “simply for being black.” People across the country are “hurting and angry, and…
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Northam Relaxes Death Grip
by James A. Bacon Governor Ralph Northam had a lot to say yesterday, some good and some not-so-good. In this post I’ll focus on the positive: Beginning Friday, most of Virginia will move to “Phase Two” of the rollback of COVID-19 emergency decrees. Under Northam’s kinder, gentler Vulcan Death Grip, the maximum number of individuals…
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Mask Shaming: Suburbia’s New Sport
by Kerry Dougherty That’s it. I’m done. I just deleted that good neighbor app from my phone. The one I used to peruse when I was bored to see photos of lost cats, dog droppings in inappropriate places or to find the occasional interjection: What was that noise? But in the past few weeks this…
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McKay Lurches Left
by Chris Braunlich Nothing so epitomizes the Fairfax Democratic Party’s lurch leftward as the last 48 hours. On the afternoon of Sunday, May 31, the Fairfax County Democratic Committee issued a re-tweet noting “riots are an integral part of the country’s march towards progress.” This came after a night of destruction, with civilians beaten, churches…
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The Real Face of White Privilege
by James A. Bacon Behold the face of white privilege. Brian J. Bartels, a 20-year-old Amazon employee, was identified as one of the culprits involved in destroying a police car in Pittsburgh during demonstrations there. After police searched his residence and confiscated two guns, six spray-paint cans, gloves, books and other belongings, he turned himself…
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Government Goons Shut Down Hampton Restaurant
by Kerry Dougherty Like many Virginia restaurateurs, The Pepes were relieved when the governor finally allowed outdoor dining to resume earlier this month. The owners of several Peninsula eateries had been surviving on take-out orders since Gov. Ralph Northam’s executive order closed all Virginia restaurants in March. They reopened The Barking Dog at the Sunset…
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Fairfax Democratic Party Praises Riots
by Hans Bader In one of America’s largest suburban counties, the Democratic Party praised the recent riots that inflicted major damage on cities such as Minneapolis and Washington, D.C. As Josh Kraushaar of the National Journal notes, the Fairfax County Democratic Party said, “Riots are an integral part of the country’s march towards progress.” This…
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Who Are the Protesters? Who Are the Rioters?
This Washington Post photo shows several of the dozen protesters taken into custody during the Richmond protest/riots. What do they have in common? They all look like college-age white kids. They don’t look like white supremacists who infiltrated the protests with the goal of fomenting violence and discrediting the protesters. Maybe looks are deceiving. Hopefully,…