Author: Bob Rayner
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Progressive Legislators Declare “Profound Solidarity” with Criminals
from the Liberty Unyielding blog Killings and violence have risen in the U.S. over the last decade, as some government officials have come to sympathize more with criminals than their victims. The Virginia Legislative Black Caucus recently said it is “in profound solidarity” with Virginia’s prison population, and that its members “work to dismantle the…
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We’re Doctors. Implicit Bias Training Has No Place in Medicine.
by Martin Caplan, MD, and Kenneth Lipstock, MD Apparently, Virginia’s doctors and nurses are racist. This is the message of two bills that are moving through the state legislature. The bills would force medical professionals to take ongoing “implicit bias training” to get and keep their license. The problem is that such training is insulting, dangerous, and…
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Judge Uses Crude Statistics to Find Racial Profiling by Richmond Police
by Hans Bader A judge recently found that the City of Richmond racially profiles black motorists, dismissing the indictment of a black convicted felon accused of illegally possessing a gun. The judge did not find that defendant Keith Moore had been treated differently than a similarly situated white motorist. Instead, he ruled that Richmond police…
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Nasty Social Media Message Attacks Virginia’s Speaker of the House
by Kerry Dougherty Great. Just what embattled Virginia Republicans need now: an ugly social media post attacking the new speaker of the House of Delegates over a crime he committed and did time for almost 30 years ago. It’s no secret that Portsmouth Democrat Don Scott was convicted on drug charges in 1994 and served…
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Dartmouth Reinstated the SAT. Will Virginia Universities Follow Suit?
by Nancy Almasi Dartmouth College is making news regarding its return to using the SAT/ACT scores once again as a part of its admissions process. The policy will become effective in 2025 for the incoming class of 2029. Many colleges and universities decided to make the SAT/ACT test optional during the COVID-19 pandemic when health…
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Moving the Goalposts (for Banning Books)
by Joe Fitzgerald Everybody probably already knew what moving the goalposts meant, but with Taylor bringing in a new set of football fans, the sports-related metaphors can probably be used more widely. Moving the goalposts is of course a reference to changing the standards in the middle of a process. Latest example: the Rockingham County…
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Swallow the Money, Part 3 of 3
by Joe Fitzgerald VPAP and CFReports let you go from “How about that?” to “Oh, my God!” in 5.2 seconds. They’re attractive to the kind of nerds who used to go through the encyclopedia or the World Almanac. Yes, I did. Why do you ask? One local PAC became a subject for a dive into…
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Swallow the Money, Part 2 of 3
by Joe Fitzgerald There’s a donor in CFReports named “no name.” He, she, or it is listed on the report as “Name, No.” This same donor is called “Unknown Entity” in VPAP. Or perhaps “Entity, Unknown.” (VPAP and CFReports are described in Part 1.) This donor’s address shows up as Matt Cross’s house on his…
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Swallow the Money, Part 1 of 3
by Joe Fitzgerald When a governor was accepting gifts and amenities from a supporter some years back, the surprise for many Virginians came when it was time to indict him. The Feds had to do it, because he probably hadn’t broken any state laws, and eventually, after trials and appeals, he didn’t stand convicted of…
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The Return of Compulsory Chapel: George Mason Will Require Students to Take ‘Social Justice’ Courses
by the staff of Liberty Unyielding It’s the “return of compulsory chapel: George Mason University, a Virginia public institution, will require students to take two social justice courses,” notes Walter Olson of the Cato Institute. A student taking such courses will have “to demonstrate” “competencies” in “diversity,” “equity.” and “inclusion.” George Mason University is Virginia’s…
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The VMI Class of ’25’s Elephant in the Room
by the staff of The Cadet The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) Rat Mass of 2024+3 is now the Class of ’27. That recognition brings a time to pause and reflect on the past and future of what was and is no longer. The mantle will soon pass to the Class of ’25 for their Ratline…
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Rep. Bob Good Calls for Hearing on Naming Commission
by Donald Smith The Virginia congressman who represents Appomattox, where the Civil War started to end,* wants the House of Representatives to examine the impacts of Congress’ attempt to grapple with the legacy of that war — an attempt that could lay the groundwork for the legacies of Confederate generals and soldiers to be deemed…
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The Case for an RVA Meals Tax Amnesty
by Jon Baliles Today we are posting a special edition featuring an email from former restaurateur Brad Hemp that he recently sent to City Council about the meals tax fiasco you have probably heard about as a result of seven years of neglect at City Hall. The Mayor raised the meals tax in 2018 to…
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The General Assembly’s Gift to Virginia’s Students
by Matt Hurt During the 2024 General Assembly session, two bills were introduced which have the potential to provide two additional weeks of uninterrupted learning that Virginia’s students in grades three through eight haven’t had in a few years. Specifically, HB 1076 and SB 435 are two very concise sister bills which simply intend to…
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General Assembly Committees Approve Bill That Would Allow Even Serial Killers to Seek Release
from Liberty Unyielding When Virginia abolished the death penalty in 2021, Virginians were assured it wasn’t needed, because the worst killers could be given life sentences without the possibility of parole. But now, even the worst killers could eventually be released. Committees in Virginia’s Democratic-controlled legislature have approved bills to allow all inmates serving long…