Author: James A. Bacon
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In Higher-Ed, Diversity = Affirmative Action
by Allan Stam A couple of years ago, in a conversation with another dean at the University of Virginia, I was asked about my views on the ever-expanding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion enterprise. I explained that I was not a fan of the diversity movement and affirmative action. When asked why, I explained that my…
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Transparency and Accountability at VMI… and Every Public University
by James A. Bacon Virginia Military Institute Superintendent Cedric T. Wins was awarded a $100,000 bonus after his FY-2022 performance review, and the Spirit of VMI PAC (SOVP) wants to know what criteria the Board of Visitors used in granting him the award. The bonus, which was four times his previous $25,000 award, lifted Wins’…
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UVa Employee Donations Down to a Mere 91% for Dems
The percentage of campaign donations from University of Virginia employees fell from 95% in 2020 to only 91% this electoral season, according to data compiled from Federal Election Commission records by Walter Smith, a member of The Jefferson Council. Polls show that Hispanics, Blacks and suburban White women are deserting the Democratic Party in droves…
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Sanctuary Sell-Out
by Jon Baliles If you time warp all the way back to early 2017 (which on some days seems like 30 years ago), then-newly-sworn-in Mayor Levar Stoney issued a directive that Richmond would be a sanctuary city in opposition to then-newly-sworn-in President Trump’s executive orders on immigration (that were later struck down). Many cities across…
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Feel-Good Story of the Day: Ambulances for Ukraine
The Richmond Ambulance Authority (RAA) has announced the donation of one of its ambulances as part of the “U.S. Ambulances for Ukraine” initiative. The RAA partnered with the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association (VHHA), which coordinated donations from HCA Virginia, VCU Health, and the Northern Virginia Emergency Response System to stock the ambulance with medical…
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Internships and Upward Mobility
by James A. Bacon From time immemorial, it has been a priority of Virginia governors of both parties to promote workforce development through community college, job training programs, apprenticeships, and the like. An under-utilized strategy, suggests Beyond Academy, is college internships. Beyond Academy, which markets international internship programs, has published a report ranking the 50…
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A Jewish Perspective on Arlington’s Confederate Memorial
The Advisory Committee on Arlington National Cemetery has recommended the removal of the 32-foot-tall memorial to Confederate veterans buried there on the grounds that it is “riddled with racist iconography” and perpetuates the Lost Cause narrative. The following letter was sent today to the Committee. — JAB On March 19, 1841, at the consecration of…
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What If They Threw a Party and the Wrong People Came?
by James A. Bacon In an effort to overcome “catastrophic learning loss” among Virginia school kids over the past five years, Governor Glenn Youngkin has ramped up efforts to recruit more tutors. This morning, for instance, he announced a tutoring partnership between the Urban Leagues of Hampton Roads and Greater Richmond, and the state’s four…
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Team Youngkin Allocates $7.7 Million for “Extended-Year” School Programs
by James A. Bacon It’s a drop in the bucket compared to what’s needed, but it’s the right priority. The Youngkin administration is awarding $7.7 million in state grants to support year-round and extended-year instructional programs in 44 schools in five school divisions. “Extended-year and year-round school programs provide consistent and structured learning environments for…
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UVa Faculty Senate Censures Ellis for Thought Crime
by James A. Bacon The University of Virginia Faculty Senate has voted to censure Bert Ellis, a Board of Visitors member, for violating the university’s “foundational values” two years ago when he “prepared to vandalize a protest sign” by a resident of the Lawn. Ellis acquired a paint-scraper razor with the aim of removing a…
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Norfolk Man Accused of Triple Murder About To Be Freed
by Kerry Dougherty Good news for the soft-on-crime crowd: a suspected triple murderer is being freed in Norfolk because two witnesses didn’t show up for yesterday’s preliminary hearing. And because it appears that prosecutors aren’t exactly breaking a sweat trying to get this case moving. Antoine M. Legrande Jr.’s hearing was originally scheduled for September…
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Surveying the Damage in K-12 Schools
by James A. Bacon Last month the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) released its Nation’s Report Card, which showed that the average math test scores declined by eight points nationally. It was difficult for most Americans to know what to make of the loss. The scores were an abstraction. How bad was the loss of…
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Forgive and Forget The COVID Kooks? Nope.
by Kerry Dougherty This is rich. The COVID extremists who closed schools, mandated masks and vaccines, laid down nutty curfews, dictated the number of guests we could have in our own homes for Thanksgiving, ordered the elderly to die alone and shuttered churches, now want amnesty. Forgive and forget, they say, nervously. Let’s move on.…