Category: Civil Rights, Individual Liberties
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Systemic Racism Lives
by Dick Hall-Sizemore For those folks on this blog who keep denying that systemic racism either ever existed or is still a factor in today’s society, I offer an incident reported in today’s New York Times as evidence that systemic racism is still alive and operating to discriminate against Blacks. Last summer, a Black couple…
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Progressives in Virginia In Position to Overrule Parental Objections to Invasive Child Gender Dysphoria Treatment
by James C. Sherlock The Virginian-Pilot, in an editorial, bemoaned Governor Youngkin’s endorsement of a policy that would require schools to tell parents about their kids’ transexual identity expressions at school. It’s as though the potential consequences of such a policy have never crossed his mind. The sure consequences of opposing that policy were not…
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Blue Ridge Pregnancy Center Targeted in June Attack
by Scott Dreyer According to the Catholic New Agency’s “Tracker: Pro-abortion attacks in the U.S. continue,” there have been over 90 attacks on crisis pregnancy centers, churches, and other pro-life targets since May 2022. That was when the draft opinion in the U.S. Supreme Court’s Mississippi Dobbs case was leaked to the public. To date,…
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Rent-A-Cops in the Schools Now?
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The Halifax County School Board is planning to hire a private firm to provide security at all county schools, in addition to school resource officers (SRO). That is the world brought to us by a gun-crazy society with its no-compromise embrace of the Second Amendment, aided by a compliant Supreme Court. As…
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Lee, Jackson, the Right of Rebellion, and Hanging Cromwell’s Corpse
by Jock Yellott As an August vacation from current events, let’s explore Virginia’s Right of Rebellion — and the question of Confederate treason. It’s in our state constitution Bill of Rights: “Whenever any government shall be found inadequate or contrary to [the benefit, protection, and security of the people] a majority of the community hath…
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Windsor Traffic Cops Broke No State Laws
by James A. Bacon Town of Windsor police officers won’t face state criminal charges for pepper-spraying a Black Army lieutenant during a traffic stop, but they aren’t off the hook yet. Hampton Commonwealth’s Attorney Anton Bell, named as special prosecutor in the Isle of Wight case, has asked the U.S. Attorney’s Office to open a…
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Outrage Is No Substitute for Thought
UVa students push back against learning about other viewpoints. by Shaun Kenney WARNING! This is a long one . . . so pour your favorite scotch or cup of coffee and be prepared to consider alternate viewpoints that may offend. As the libertarian philosopher Robert Nozick remarks, “My thoughts do not aim for your assent,…
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Little Guys Lose, Again
by Dick Hall-Sizemore A recent article on this blog about the high cost of housing generated a considerable amount of discussion. Much of the discussion centered around the role of government in contributing to the affordable housing shortage. I offer another reason: good old-fashioned capitalism. A recent article in The Virginian Pilot well illustrates this point.…
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Wonders Never Cease: WaPo Gives Fair Treatment to Alumni Rebellion
by James A. Bacon Every once in a while The Washington Post reminds us of the kind of newspaper it used to be — capable of producing balanced journalism. Education reporter Susan Svrluga has published an article describing the rise of what I (not she) call the alumni rebellion. She cites the concerns of Virginia-based…
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Twofers, Threefers
by Jim McCarthy As time passes, it seems a safe bet to conclude that the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v Jackson will be deemed an upheaval to American culture and politics greater than that of Brown v Board of Education. Dobbs may have unleashed a kraken-worthy pandemic of civic monsters to rival that…
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Regulations and the Costs of Doing Business in Virginia
by James C. Sherlock About the only category I found interesting in the “Top States for Business” rankings by CNBC, other than the progressive metrics that are featured in many of the categories, is “Cost of Doing Business.” Virginia’s worst score among the six categories of metrics is that one. The methodology used for costs…
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Portsmouth: Chaos + Casino = Chaos
by James C. Sherlock Portsmouth has a lot of problems. Look for them to get worse in February when its new casino is scheduled to open. A key thing you need to know about the casino is that it is the realization of Louise Lucas’ vision. Senator Lucas has spent 22 years promoting a casino…
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Despite Tighter Gun Laws, Firearm Violence Up in 2021
by James A. Bacon What role has the availability of guns played in the surge in violent crimes in Virginia over the past two years? The graph above summarizes the data from the 2021 Crime in Virginia report. Over the two-year period, the number of firearm-related crimes increased 10.9%, while the use of all other…
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6,000 Violent Crimes in Virginia Involved Guns Last Year
by James A. Bacon After a spate of mass shootings, gun control has moved to the top of the Democratic Party agenda. Here in Virginia, we got a reminder this morning of the omnipresent threat that gun-wielding thugs pose to public safety. Police arrested two illegal immigrants who were allegedly plotting to shoot up a…
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Virginia Jews and Their Differing Views on Abortion – Don’t Ask Public Radio
by James C. Sherlock Another day, and more intentionally misleading headlines in Virginia. This one from Radio IQ, written by Sandy Hausman. Jewish community leaders will fight attempts to restrict abortion in Virginia From the text. Delegate Eileen Filler-Corn, the only Jewish woman in the General Assembly, organized an online gathering to discuss her religion’s…