Author: James A. Bacon
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Ralph Northam’s Power Play
by Kerry Dougherty Has the governor of Virginia gone mad? After several weeks of acting with remarkable restraint, Ralph Northam on Monday suddenly gave in to his tyrannical impulses. He sternly ordered all schools closed for the rest of the academic year. Someone give this man a calendar. It’s MARCH. On the 13th of this…
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Options Available for Waiving Federal Healthcare Laws
James C. Sherlock I provide here an update on the status of waivers of federal health care laws in response to the COVID-19 crisis. All of the source materials are official government websites. On March 13, President Trump declared a public health emergency under the authority vested in him by the Constitution and the laws…
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Yes, the COVID-19 Trendline Looks Exponential
John Butcher, publisher of Cranky’s Blog, has turned his attention from K-12 education to the COVID-19 virus. In scrutinizing yesterday’s data in the previous post, I asked if the spread of the WuFlu was decelerating. He has answered the call, submitting the graph above, which I shall interpret for you in a moment. We’re not…
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COVID-19 Update: Whoah! Is the Spread Decelerating?
Media headlines are focusing on the fact that three more patients died of the COVID-19 virus in Virginia yesterday. But Virginia Department of Health data reported only 38 new cases and six new hospitalizations. The numbers represent a reversal of what had been an exponential rate of increase in confirmed cases. I don’t want to…
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Act Now to Bring State Budget in Line with Reality
by James A. Bacon About 18 months ago Secretary of Finance Aubrey Layne conducted an analysis of state government finances to see how they would hold up under the stress of another recession of the magnitude of the Great Recession. Hardly anyone thought that a downturn was in the cards; the economy was chugging along…
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Northam Last in COVID Crisis Management? Based on What Evidence?
by James A. Bacon This morning I was intending to compose a post critical of Governor Ralph Northam’s approach to the COVID-19 crisis. But then I read this article in the Washington Post: “Grading the region’s coronavirus response: Hogan 1st, Northam last, and Bowser in the middle.” Much against my nature, I feel compelled to…
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Freeman Dyson, Scientific Consensus and Virginia Politics
by Irfan K. Ali One of the most brilliant scientists of the 20th century, Freeman Dyson, recently passed away. This most unassuming man hobnobbed with the likes of Albert Einstein, Richard Feynman, John von Neumann, J. Robert Oppenheimer, and other giants of science and technology. He was a true giant in the world of science.…
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The Kind of Behavior that Spawned the French Revolution
by Kerry Dougherty Some well-meaning person tagged me and about 100 others on Facebook last weekend urging us to pray to Saint Rocco. The patron saint of pandemics. I appreciate the sentiment. But I have a better idea. Find me the patron saint of lost life savings. I want to pray to THAT guy. I…
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COVID-19 Update: Exponential Rate of Increase Getting More Exponential
Forgive me for the mathematically nonsensical headline, but it drives home the point: Not only is COVID-19 spreading more rapidly, the rate of increase in infected patients is increasing. The Virginia Department of Health dashboard shows that 67 new cases were confirmed, and seven more coronavirus patients were admitted to hospitals. The number of fatalities…
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Which Will Kill More People: COVID-19 or a Sharp Recession?
by James A. Bacon Having done everything I can to raise the alarm about COVID-19 in Virginia, I’m having second thoughts. Clearly, forceful government action is needed to cope with the most dire public health challenge of recent years. But it’s possible to do too much. We need to think about the trade-offs. At least…
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Politicians and COVID-19: First, Do No Harm. Second, Do No Harm
by James C. Sherlock Do Not Regulate Surgical Decisions There are things the state should not do during an emergency. Regulating elective procedures is one of them. I agree with the statement of the hospitals[1]. If we had more hospitals and far more physician-owned ambulatory surgical centers, the problem would have an alternative solution. But…
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COVID-19 Update: Virginia Has Reached Exponential Growth
It looks like COVID-19 in Virginia is going exponential. Today’s Virginia Department of Health update of coronavirus statistics indicates that another 38 cases were confirmed yesterday, bringing the total to 152. The number of hospitalizations increased from 20 to 25. The previous one-day increase (yesterday) was only 20 cases. To some, those might seem like…
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Everyday Heroes in the COVID-19 Battle
There will be plenty of time later for pointing fingers of blame regarding who should have done what in the battle against the COVID-19 virus. In the meantime, many Virginians are doing remarkable things in a time of crisis. Entrepreneurial creativity, community spirit, and a can-do attitude will help get us through. Some heartening stories:…
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Virginians, Look to State/Local Government for COVID-19 Response
by James C. Sherlock Our schools generally don’t do as good a job teaching civics education as they used to — that’s an old man talking! — which leaves a lot of people confused as to where to look in a crisis. The conversations we see on Bacon’s Rebellion reflect that confusion even among the…
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The New Normal: Social Zoom and Quarantinis
by James A. Bacon We’ve been in self-isolation for only a week, and already we’re getting cabin fever. Laura and I were especially disappointed by the cancellation of our bi-monthly book club meeting, which would have entailed gathering more than ten people in one place. Fortunately, thanks to the miracles of technology — broadband and…