Category: Civil Rights, Individual Liberties
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WTJU Podcast: COVID-19 and the Economy
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in Agriculture & forestry, Bacon and Pigs, Blogs and Blog Administration, Business and Economy, Charity, Philanthropy, Nonprofits, Civil Rights, Individual Liberties, Consumer Protection, Corruption and Scandals, Culture wars, Disasters and Disaster Preparedness, Economic development, Education (higher ed), Education (K-12), Efficiency in Government, Elections, Electoral process, Energy, Entrepreneurs and Innovation, Environment, Federal issues, General Assembly, Governance, Government Finance, Government Transparency, Gun rights, Health Care, Housing, Immigration, Infrastructure, Insurance, Labor and Workforce, Media, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Poverty & income gap, Property rights, Public safety & health, Race and Race Relations, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Science & Technology, Social Services and Entitlements, Taxes, Telecommunications, TransportationBy Peter Galuszka Here’s is the twice-monthly podcast produced by WTJU, the official radio station of the University of Virginia. With me on this podcast are Nathan Moore, the station general manager, and Sarah Vogelsong, who covers, labor, energy and environmental issues across the state for the Virginia Mercury, a fairly new and highly regarded…
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Virginia, Watch the Florida COVID-19 Rollback Closely
by James A. Bacon Given the average age of Florida’s population — second highest in the nation — and the proclivity of the COVID-19 virus for killing the elderly, one might expect Florida to have one of the higher death rates among the 50 states. But, as the Wall Street Journal reports today, Florida’s death…
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Screwing Workers On Safety and Liability
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in Bacon and Pigs, Business and Economy, Civil Rights, Individual Liberties, Consumer Protection, Corruption and Scandals, Economic development, Environment, Federal issues, General Assembly, Government Finance, Health Care, Money in politics, Public safety & health, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Science & Technology, Social Services and Entitlements, TransportationBy Peter Galuszka At 4:30 a.m. on April 27, about 100 workers of the Greater Richmond Transit Company — half of the total – failed to show up for work. Worried about the health of its membership, Local 1220 of the International Amalgamated Transit Union demanded additional safety measures such as full personal protection equipment,…
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Lockdown Rebellion
This Internet meme (hat tip: John Butcher) made me laugh. The humor reflects the public’s growing impatience — dare I say agitation — at being cooped for nearly two months now. The rebellion against voluntary confinement is swelling. Over the past week I’ve observed more people walking outdoors in our neighborhood, and doing so in…
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Masks and Common Sense
by Kerry Dougherty Have you ever longed to commit a crime, but hesitated because you feared being caught on a security camera? You’re in luck. This pandemic couldn’t have come at a better time. Just don a ballcap and some sort of mask — surgical, or better yet, a bandana — and your fears of…
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Why Northam Is Such An Important Governor
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in Abortion, Feminism, Women’s Rights, Agriculture & forestry, Business and Economy, Charity, Philanthropy, Nonprofits, Civil Rights, Individual Liberties, Consumer Protection, Defense, National Security, Energy, Environment, Federal issues, General Assembly, Governance, Government Finance, Government Transparency, Government workers and pensions, Gun rights, Health Care, Immigration, Infrastructure, Insurance, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, LGBQT, Media, Money in politics, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Science & Technology, Social Services and Entitlements, Taxes, TelecommunicationsBy Peter Galuszka This is a bit like throwing chum at a school of sharks, but here is my latest in Style Weekly. I wrote an assessment of Gov. Ralph Northam that is overall, quite positive. My take goes against much of the sentiment of other contributors on this blog. They are entitled to their…
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Notes from the Right Wing Echo Chamber
By Peter Galuszka On Wednesday, I was standing next to the Capitol grounds in Richmond watching brightly decorated cars and pickups drive on 9th Street, their horns blaring. I was attending the drive by protest rally on assignment for Style Weekly and happened to speak to Jason Roberge, a Spotsylvania County resident who is one…
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No, Governor, Back-to-Work Protesters Are Not “Selfish”
by James A. Bacon Governor Ralph Northam has a problem with protesters who would like to see him reopen Virginia’s economy by phasing out his COVID-19 emergency decrees. In an interview with MSNBC, he said (as reported by Politico): I’m just as anxious as anybody else to open up our economy. We don’t need protesters…
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A Break from COVID — Gambling
By Dick Hall-Sizemore The Governor is in a tug-of-war with his Democratic colleagues in the General Assembly. The objects of their contention are the so-called “skill games” (also sometimes called “gray machines”). The skill games are video games now found in numerous truck stops and convenience stores that offer a cash prize to the winners.…
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COVID-19, Social Distancing and Risk
by James A. Bacon Among the useful new data sets published by the Virginia Department of Health on its COVID-19 dashboard is a map of “outbreaks” around the state. The dashboard does not define an “outbreak” but it appears to entail cases in which multiple infections are traced to a particular location. To no one’s…
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Limits on Liberty: Where’s the Outrage?
by Kerry Dougherty Remember the hordes of angry people – women mostly – who took to the streets after Trump was elected? They were so worried that his judicial appointments would interfere with their right to abortions that they wore pink vagina hats and called themselves “The Resistance.” Remember all of the lefties who took…
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No More Sand Castles
by Kerry Dougherty Two weeks ago, when Gov. Ralph Northam issued his over-reaching stay-at-home order that closed Virginia beaches to anyone not exercising or fishing until June 10, a young father politely emailed the Norfolk police for guidance. I’ve deleted his full name and email address for privacy reasons. I have seen the emails. I…
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Right Wing Uses Virus To Stifle Needed Reforms
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in Blogs and Blog Administration, Business and Economy, Civil Rights, Individual Liberties, Consumer Protection, Culture wars, Demographics, Economic development, Energy, Environment, Federal issues, General Assembly, Governance, Government Finance, Government Transparency, Gun rights, Health Care, Infrastructure, Labor and Workforce, Media, Money in politics, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Social Services and Entitlements, TaxesBy Peter Galuszka Right-wingers in Virginia have been apoplectic for months that Democrats finally captured the General Assembly after years of Republican control. They also were enraged that the legislature this winter passed a number of reforms that would draw Virginia into the 21st Century such raising the minimum wage, boosting collective bargaining, tightening rules…
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Wanted: Government Informants
by Kerry Dougherty Nosy neighbors and tattletales. They’ve been with us always. And they’ve always been despicable. When I was a kid a reclusive neighbor – we’ll call her Mrs. Murphy – spent all of her time peering out of her windows. If a kid so much as planted a bare toe on the Murphy…