Category: Civil Rights, Individual Liberties
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Empty Gesture? UVa Board Endorses Diversity of Thought.
by James A. Bacon The University of Virginia Board of Visitors did more than endorse free speech on university campuses Friday when it voted to adopt a Council of Presidents statement on free speech: it endorsed the principle of viewpoint diversity. In 2021 the Board had embraced a statement on free speech by a commission…
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What Do We Owe To and Expect from a Special Ed Teacher?
by James C. Sherlock On February 16, USA Today published a story by Jeanine Santucci. That is the latest in an excellent series of reports on the shooting of Newport News first grade teacher Abigail Zwerner. Her article, “Virginia 6-year-old who shot his teacher exposes flaws in how schools treat students with disabilities.” raises questions that Virginians…
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Gov. Youngkin’s Latest Event Undermines Nikole Hannah-Jones’ Attack
by Tyler O’Neil Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, on Tuesday, joined fourth graders at Fort Monroe outside Newport News, Virginia, hosting an event teaching about the history of the fort, where Black slaves fled during the Civil War to become freemen at what became known as “Freedom’s Fortress.” The Youngkin event came two days after Nikole…
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Forget Waldo! Where is ERIC?
by James Wyatt Whitehead, V In 2012, seven states, including Virginia, formed the Electronic Registration and Information, Inc. (ERIC), with assistance from the Pew Charitable Trusts. Today, ERIC’s membership has risen to 32 states and the District of Columbia. ERIC’s mission is to assist states in maintaining accurate voting rolls. Every 60 days, states that…
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Unconstitutional Viewpoint Discrimination in Virginia K-12 Teacher Evaluation Standards
by James C. Sherlock Progressives, in the fullness of their dogma, oppose the entire Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights is specifically structured to limit the powers of government, which progressives find not only unsuitable, but unimaginable. In the Golden Age of Progressivism in Virginia, 2020 and 2021, they controlled the governor’s mansion, the…
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Viewpoint Discrimination in Hiring at UVa – “Presumptively Unconstitutional”
by James C. Sherlock The University of Virginia engages today in in-your-face viewpoint discrimination in hiring. The counterfactually named University of Virginia Office for Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights (EOCR) declares itself responsible for: Recruitment and Hiring: facilitating and monitoring faculty and staff recruitment and hiring and training faculty and staff regarding applicable laws and best…
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For Your Consideration: An Intellectual Freedom Protection Act
by James C. Sherlock I offer for your consideration the text of a draft Intellectual Freedom Protection Act proposed this morning by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). FIRE is the leading American voice supporting academic freedom, free speech and due process. In doing so they defend democracy itself. They are what the ACLU…
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Richmond’s Crime-Infested Neighborhoods, Terrible Public Schools and Equity
by James C. Sherlock It’s Black History Month. Even in Richmond. As a contribution, I am going to review the facts on the ground in Richmond — in its most crime-ridden neighborhoods and its worst public schools. Which are overwhelmingly Black. And co-located. In a city with a Black mayor and a Black school board.…
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The Players and the Dispute in the High Level Cage Match at UVa – Can a Racism Charge be Far Behind?
By James C. Sherlock I read yesterday morning on BR “Tragedies in Charlottesville” by UVa professor Loren Lomasky, who wrote: It is reasonable to judge that in either the longer or shorter version of the history of the university, no single individual has done it as grievous a harm as the man who now serves as…
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Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Virginia Public Schools – The Epidemic of Risky Behaviors and Experiences in Adolescents
by James C. Sherlock The 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) Data Summary & Trends Report: 2011–2021 , was released by the CDC on Monday, provides the most recent surveillance data, as well as 10-year trends, on health behaviors and experiences related to adolescent health and well-being among high school students in the United States. The survey was completed…
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Moral Injury Is Driving Doctor Burnout
by Dr. Scott Armistead Physician burnout is a major issue in the U.S., receiving attention in medical education, medical specialties and at various government levels. Moral injury, in my professional and teaching experience, is a significant and growing challenge to physician wellness. Moral injury happens when one’s personal convictions are unwelcomed and one is pressured…
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Mental Health and Virginia Public Schools – Part 1 – Progressives, School Closures and Child Mental Health
By James C. Sherlock We have arrived today at a situation in which huge percentages of Virginia children and adolescents exhibit mental health problems. Both sides of the political divide acknowledge the problem. It’s existence is not up for debate. Both blame the soaring pediatric mental health issues, a problem before COVID, on COVID school…
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What the Heck Did Norfolk’s Planning Director Say?
by James A. Bacon Norfolk’s planning director, George Homewood, has left his post, and city officials aren’t saying whether he resigned or was fired. But The Virginian-Pilot says the parting of the ways occurred after the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) Ethics Committee suspended him for violating the group’s ethics code. Reading the headline…
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Virginia Dems Refuse To Support Female Athletes
by Kerry Dougherty I’m old. Old enough to remember when there were sane members of Virginia’s Democrat Party. They’ve apparently died or left the building and the party is under the complete control of woke loons. Like Del. Eileen Filler-Corn, the former Speaker of Virginia’s House of Delegates, who recently pretended not to understand why…
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School Discipline in Virginia – Part 1 – PBIS
by James C. Sherlock Updated Feb 1 at 8:13:25 with a correction to IES assessment of PBIS. Newport News Schools first implemented Virginia Tiered Systems of Supports (VTSS) and its discipline component, Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), in the 2017-18 school year. That year Newport News Schools was in Cohort 3 of VDOE’s VTSS…