Author: James A. Bacon
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Please, Governor, Focus on Virginia First
by James A. Bacon Virginians are still trying to decipher the intentions of Glenn Youngkin in traveling to so many Republican campaign events around the country. The Governor been in office about eight months. He’s barely gotten started in undoing the damage of his predecessor’s four-year term. He couldn’t really be thinking about running for…
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Virginia Missing Children: 400
Each year, more than a half million children go missing in the United States. In Virginia, 2,500 children have been reported missing (presumably this year) and 400 are actively missing, according to a press release touting a National Child ID partnership to be announced today by Attorney General Jason Miyares and Virginia Tech football coaching…
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Parents’ Rights Are On The Virginia Ballot. Again.
by Kerry Dougherty Good news. Virginia’s Democrats have taken the bait. So far at least four liberal school districts in the commonwealth have declared that they will defy Virginia’s Department of Education model policies on parental rights that were unveiled late last week. You know, policies that contain “radical” ideas such as these: “Parents have…
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Parental Rights, My Ass
Attack the most vulnerable and say it’s for everybody. What could go wrong? by Joe Fitzgerald The so-called “parental rights” policies designed to force questioning teens to out themselves to their families would affect perhaps 4,000 students in Virginia, according to the Post. Bringing it a little closer to home, that would work out statistically…
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FIRE to VMI: Hands Off the Independent Student Newspaper
by James A. Bacon The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) has asked the Virginia Military Institute to refrain from pressuring an independent student newspaper, The Cadet, to change its editorial stances. “Cadet staff have faced interference from VMI leadership, including pressure to make the paper’s content more flattering to the Institute, suppression of…
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UVa Updates: Jefferson Legacy, Honor System, Tuition Credit
The University of Virginia Board of Visitors met Thursday and Friday last week and discuss several matters of interest to the broader community. Here are some headlines: Clement Defends Jefferson’s Legacy; Ryan Stays Mum Jefferson Council blog Whitt Clement, rector of the University of Virginia, gave a brief defense of Thomas Jefferson and his legacy…
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Voter Suppression in Virginia? What Voter Suppression?
by James A. Bacon The Virginia State Conference of the NAACP has demanded that Attorney General Jason Miyares immediately replace his recently created Election Integrity Unit with a group to combat voter suppression and increase voter registration. Said Robert N. Barnette, Jr, President of the Virginia NAACP in a statement issued last week: Many studies…
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Do Slumlords Contribute to Violent Crime?
by James A. Bacon In the previous post, I argued that the underlying cause of violence in the City of Richmond is social breakdown stemming from erosion of the family structure and the resultant failure to teach children the skills they need to avoid and resolve conflicts. In the great philosophical debate over the extent…
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Another COVID Impact: Bad School Data
by Matt Hurt In a September 14th post, Jim Sherlock referenced some data points that were collected during the pandemic. Specifically he brought up the topics of chronic absenteeism and how the graduation rate didn’t seem to correlate with SOL scores. My intent here is not to refute any specifics; it is to inform readers…
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Youngkin on Fire
by Kerry Dougherty Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is a quick study. In eight short months he learned that there is no pleasing leftists. No matter how cordial you are, no matter how many times you extend your hand, the far left will slap you away if there’s an R after your name. Despite the amiable…
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Youngkin Unveils New Trans Policy for Schools
by James A. Bacon The Youngkin administration has issued a new set of model policies designed to uphold the “privacy, dignity and respect” of all students and parents in Virginia public schools, replacing a policy put into effect by the Northam administration in 2021. The new policies strike me as eminently reasonable. The guidelines make…
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Just as We Need Them More Than Ever, Virginia Libertarians Have Dissolved Themselves
by James A. Bacon In a profound disagreement over philosophy, The Libertarian Party of Virginia has voted to dissolve itself. In a 7 to 5 vote, the state central committee contended that the national image of the party was now “functionally indistinct from other alt-right parties and movements.” But the national Libertarian Party declared that…