Category: Civil Rights, Individual Liberties
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Bacon Bits: Fear, Loathing, and Excess
Rise of the surveillance state. The Virginia Supreme Court has declared that Fairfax County’s mass collection of license plates does not violate legal privacy protections. Automated cameras can collect and store data even if a driver is not suspected of committing a crime, and police can access the data for 364 days after its entry…
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Why We Love Governor Ralph
By Peter Galuszka He’s been through “coonman,” “blackface,” a muddled interview about late term abortion, and aggressive and controversial steps to stop the pandemic, but Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam has sprinted through a recent statewide poll with flying colors. According to a new Washington Post-Schar School poll, more than half of Virginia’s registered voters approve of the…
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UVa’s Lawn Scandal — Bad Leadership and Worse Lawyering
by James C. Sherlock, University of Virginia, College of Arts and Sciences, 1966 Hira Azher’s profane sign on the door of her room on the University of Virginia’s Lawn has made headlines, and the ensuing controversy has raised many questions. This article will highlight a new issue. University administrators, I will argue, botched the handling…
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Is a Mighty Storm Coming?
By Peter Galuszka November’s election is coming during one of the most dangerous and deeply divisive periods in American history. There are some clear warning signs that a contested election could lead to significant unrest and violence and perhaps worse. Race-related demonstrations, the COVID-19 pandemic and the constantly polarizing rhetoric from Donald Trump have all…
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Fraternities as Bastions Against the Cultural Totalitarians
by James A. Bacon Back when I attended the University of Virginia many moons ago, I was a GDI — an acronym for a God-Damned Independent. During the fall rush my first year I attended two fraternity parties on Rugby Road and found nothing entertaining about hanging out with people whose sole purpose seemed to…
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UVA Legal Counsel Opines on Free Speech
The “F— UVa” sign on the door of a University of Virginia resident of the Lawn violates no university policy and is protected by the First Amendment, concluded University Counsel Timothy J. Heaphy. However, a new policy banning all signs on lawn room doors could pass constitutional muster if applied prospectively instead of retrospectively. “A…
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Loudoun’s “Anti-Racism” Discriminates against Whites
by Hans Bader The Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) are planning to impose illegal racial preferences in student discipline, and have already made changes to school admission policies that are being challenged in court. The district also plans to restrict teachers’ out-of-school speech, by punishing them for speech that disagrees with school policies, and by…
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A Public Service – Watch Angela Davis Speak at UVa
by James C. Sherlock The University of Virginia did all of us a favor when it hosted and recorded a speech by the Marxist Angela Davis through its Excellence in Diversity Series from September 2017 through March 2018. The credit on the UVa web page below the video states: Angela Davis’ work as an educator –…
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Free Speech Guaranteed — Except When You Disagree with Us
by James A. Bacon The Loudoun County School Board expects public school employees to conduct themselves in a professional manner. A draft policy for professional conduct contains all the usual things one would expect. Teachers and other employees should treat students and peers with dignity, respect and civility. They should not bully people, consume alcohol…
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Major Impacts of Northam’s War against Teachers
Federal school funding threatened; Democrats and unions in a bind; Lawsuits coming by James C. Sherlock Ralph Northam declared on August 30 of this year that Virginia’s schools are systemically racist and that teachers are presumptively racist and must be treated and monitored. In addition to threatening to create turmoil in the schools and damage to the…
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Trump’s ICE Scandal in Farmville
By Peter Galuszka In a remarkable display of incompetence, the Trump Administration this summer transferred dozens of undocumented aliens being held in detention centers in Arizona and Florida to a private prison in Farmville just so special federal tactical officers could beef up crowd control in Washington, D.C. Consequently, some 300 inmates at the Farmville…
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Elmer Gantry In Lynchburg
By Peter Galuszka The resignation of Jerry Falwell Jr. amid a series of scandals may have a strong impact in Virginia where his late father built an extraordinary, ultra-conservative evangelical university in Lynchburg that later became highly politicized lightning rod supporting President Donald Trump. Falwell has been caught up in a number of controversies including…
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It’s Way too Early to Discuss a Vaccine Mandate
by James A. Bacon Four days ago State Health Commissioner Dr. Norman Oliver said he planned to mandate a COVID-19 immunization once it’s safely released to the public. Yesterday Governor Ralph Northam said he’s not planning a mandate, despite what his top health official said. When asked why the the Governor wasn’t embracing the stance…
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Virginia Educational Reform – Place, Class, Race — Or All Three?
by James C. Sherlock I am an optimist by nature. Optimism wins elections, and optimism can bring about democratic change. Governments at their most basic level are created by people to protect themselves from outsiders and to minimize conflicts within their own ranks. From a condo association to Congress, that is a core role. …
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Will “Racial Healing” at GMU Foster More Racial Division?
by James A. Bacon The progressives’ imposition of identity politics on Virginia’s public universities continues apace. Hans Bader has already called attention to a July announcement by George Mason University’s new president, Gregory Washington, of a “Task Force on Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence.” None of Virginia’s media outlets seem to have paid attention. Your humble…