Category: Public safety & health
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Throwing Kids into the Volcano to Appease the COVID Gods
by Kerry Dougherty Am I the only one who noticed that once Joe Biden became president news outlets lost interest in the COVID scorecards they featured prominently during the pandemic? Remember those screaming headlines about cases and deaths that ginned up the hysteria daily? Just a memory now. But guess what? I’ve been quietly keeping…
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No Vaccination Mandates for Community Colleges
by James A. Bacon In stark contrast to the University of Virginia, James Madison University, and the College of William & Mary, the Virginia Community College System board has decided not to require students to be vaccinated in order to attend classes in the fall. “I believe it is in the best interests of our…
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Paul Marik: COVID Quack or Pandemic Hero?
by James A. Bacon Across the state of Virginia, the fatality rate for COVID-19 patients entering hospitals has been 37.7%. Put another way, nearly two of every five patients died, according to Virginia Department of Health data. But in Norfolk, only 25.8% died. What accounts for that disparity? One possibility is that the dominant hospital…
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Would Someone Please Explain the “Science”?
by James A. Bacon Let me get this straight. The University of Virginia has just announced that all students returning to the university starting July 1 must be fully vaccinated, or they will be barred from entering the grounds. But employees, while urged to get vaccinated, are under no such mandate. Exemptions will be allowed…
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As COVID Recedes, Focus on the Other Epidemic
by James A. Bacon From the Fauquier Times: According to Virginia Department of Health data, the number of Virginians who died from drug overdoses in 2020 increased 41% the previous to to 2,297. Local officials attributed the surge to the COVID-19 lockdown. “The pandemic has had a devastating impact,” said Jan Brown, executive director of…
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Masks on Kids: State-Sponsored Child Abuse
by Kerry Dougherty If you came here expecting to find fountains of gratitude to Virginia’s governor for restoring liberties he should not have removed in the first place, you’ll be disappointed. Ralph Northam was prepared to keep the commonwealth’s face mask mandate in place for months, until he was blindsided by the CDC on Thursday…
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Will Northam Cling to Mask Mandates?
by Kerry Dougherty Well, the ball’s now in Ralph Northam’s court. The CDC announced yesterday that it’s recommending vaccinated people lose the masks. Indoors and out. Imagine that! And, no, the science didn’t magically change yesterday. Many of us knew all along that a piece of cloth couldn’t stop a virus. What changed is that…
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Shots for American Kids While Indians Are Dying for the Vaccine?
by Kerry Dougherty It was yet another gird-your-loins day in Virginia on Thursday. Gov. Ralph Northam held a briefing on COVID-19, which could only mean one thing: more disappointing news from the Rajah of Richmond. Northam said he may lift his now-14 month-old emergency order- – an abuse of power by any standard — in…
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The Ballad Merger II: Cuts and Consolidations
by Carol J. Bova Upon the merger of Mountain States Health Alliance and Wellmont Health System in 2018, the first order of business for the newly created Ballad Health was shoring up its finances. If Ballad wasn’t successful at this, it would not have the resources to invest in the new services, facilities, programs, and…
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Why Can’t We Have a Governor Like DeSantis?
by Kerry Dougherty Help me out here. I’m trying to decide which of the seven deadly sins I’m committing every time I see Gov. Ron DeSantis on TV or in print and wish he were governor of Virginia. It is covetousness? Or envy? Well, dictionary.com defines the first as “eager or excessive desire, especially for wealth or…
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About Those Face Masks for Kids…
Letter from Sen. Bill DeSteph, R-Virginia Beach, to Governor Ralph Northam, dated May 5, 2021: With the onset of warm weather and summer quickly approaching, we request clarification of your mask protocol for children participating in required school activities. I heard from multiple constituents regarding yesterday’s high temperature and the dangerous effect it had on…
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Union Bosses Bullied the CDC to Keep Schools Closed
by Kerry Dougherty Anyone remember when Donald Trump was pummeled for putting pressure on the CDC over COVID? Wonder what those critics are saying now that we learn union bosses from the American Federation of Teachers essentially wrote public policy for the agency that kept children locked out of schools last winter. It’s an astonishing,…
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Maskless in Mississippi
by Kerry Dougherty There’s so much news we could discuss today. But it’ll have to wait until tomorrow. I’m here to be a little ray of Monday morning sunshine. I want to assure you that a lifetime of living as a free American can’t be wiped out by 14 months of living under the thumb…
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Did Joe Biden Just Cost Virginia Democrats 47,000 Votes?
by Chris Saxman Full disclosure on this one: I hate cigarettes. I have never smoked one — ever. When I waited tables and tended bar, the worst part of the job was cleaning ash trays. And that includes the time I had to break up a bar fight after which the teeth swallowing loser had…
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Word Salads from Wankers
by Kerry Dougherty It’s official. The CDC is run by wankers. (Yes, I am binge-watching Apple TV’s “Ted Lasso.” Why do you ask?) These fools constantly move the goalposts – remember 15 days to slow the spread? Remember just wear a mask for 100 days? – and issue rules that no one with a lick…