Search results for: “amazon”
-
The Real Face of White Privilege
by James A. Bacon Behold the face of white privilege. Brian J. Bartels, a 20-year-old Amazon employee, was identified as one of the culprits involved in destroying a police car in Pittsburgh during demonstrations there. After police searched his residence and confiscated two guns, six spray-paint cans, gloves, books and other belongings, he turned himself…
-
Construction: Virginia’s Quiet, Strong Man
—
by
in Agriculture & forestry, Blogs and Blog Administration, Business and Economy, Civil Rights, Individual Liberties, Consumer Protection, Culture wars, Demographics, Economic development, Energy, Entrepreneurs and Innovation, Environment, Federal issues, Government Finance, Government Transparency, Infrastructure, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, Poverty & income gap, Property rights, Public safety & health, Race and Race Relations, Science & Technology, Social Services and Entitlements, Taxes, Telecommunications, TransportationBy Peter Galuszka For all the complaints about the COVID-19 pandemic in Virginia – the shut-down restaurants and (temporarily) closed beaches – one industry has been working steadily and quietly all along – the state’s construction sector. Builders haven’t missed much of a beat since the “state at home” orders started going out a couple…
-
COVID Confusion
by Kerry Dougherty Looks like it may be safe to lose the grocery gloves. We can take it easy with the Clorox wipes, too. No longer must we let Amazon packages marinate on the porch for days. Or scrub milk cartons with bleach in case some super-spreader touched it in the supermarket refrigerator case and…
-
A Pulse Oximeter for Every Virginia Home?
by Verhaal Kenner Imagine you have mild or modest COVID-19 symptoms and are told to stay at home. How would you know if the infection had gotten worse and you needed to head to the hospital? Doctors have been seeing what some are calling “happy hypoxics” -– individuals “appearing comfortable” with modest symptoms but suffering…
-
And Now For Something Completely Different
By Peter Galuszka Dear Baconauts, As you know, people like me have been described by a B.R. commenter as those who submit “scorch and burn, mock and smear writings encased in scornful, supercilious, opinionated, and shallow rhetoric.” I freely admit this and am damned proud of it. But instead of dishing out the usual sarcastic…
-
Latest COVID-19 Job Toll: 112,000 in Virginia Last Week
by James A. Bacon The latest unemployment claims are in, and they’re brutal — more than twice the level in Virginia (and across the country) of last week, which was, by far, the worst week in the history of the United States. For the week ending March 28, the number of seasonably unadjusted initial claims…
-
Keep Cash Flowing
by Chris Braunlich The government actions taken to flatten the coronavirus pandemic will most effect the smallest of businesses, as well as part-time and lower income workers such as restaurant wait staff, and ‘gig’ economy workers without benefits For small businesses, an SBA loan (even at discounted interest) is no substitute for customers and cash…
-
Doctors and Nurses Need Child Care to Fight Coronavirus
by Hans Bader Last week, several governors correctly closed their states’ schools to slow the spread of coronavirus. The draconian actions were needed to keep hospitals from being overwhelmed in the coming weeks as the number of coronavirus cases grows exponentially. But closing the schools will place heavy burdens on many parents who have to…
-
Northam Declares State of Emergency
by DJ Rippert Danger! Danger! Yesterday, Governor Ralph Northam declared that the Old Dominion was in a state of emergency due to the Coronavirus. Northam exercised these emergency powers five days after the first Coronavirus case was confirmed in the state. The online Patch newspaper from McLean reports that “a statement from the governor says…
-
Drugs in Prison
By Dick Hall-Sizemore The Virginia Department of Corrections (DOC) finds itself in a classic dammed-if-you-do, damned –if-you-don’t situation. On the one hand, it is facing a surge in illegal drugs coming into its prisons, enabled by drugs that are increasingly difficult to detect. On the other hand, it is facing popular and legislative outrage at…
-
A More Urgent Question than Ever: Who Will Cover the News?
by James A. Bacon Governor Ralph Northam and the 2020 General Assembly has engineered one of the greatest assaults on the middle class in Virginia history. You would never imagine that from reading the coverage by Virginia’s news outlets, whose reporters and editorial writers are so in sync with the new Democratic majority that the…
-
Higher Ed Bonds, Fees, and Donations
By Dick Hall-Sizemore Almost totally overlooked or ignored among capital projects in the budget bill are those higher ed projects financed with revenue bonds. They are probably ignored because their passage does not affect the state’s debt capacity and tax revenues are not needed for debt service. Nevertheless, they do have an impact on Virginia…
-
Bacon Bits: Antifa Hoax, Goose Sauce, Selling Nova Bike Trails
Hate crime hoaxes not just for minorities anymore. According to Willfred Reilly, the expert on hate crime hoaxes, the fastest-rising category of hoaxes is perpetrated by whites, as white groups take a lesson from the Left’s grievance-and-victimhood playbook. The latest instance involves a Civil War reenactor by the name of Gerald Leonard Drake, reports the…
-
Taboo Views on Race and Higher Ed
by James A. Bacon The reason for the academic under-performance of African-American students in K-12 and college is a matter of contentious debate in the United States. The dominant narrative holds that African-Americans are held back by racism either overt or unconscious. Conversely, some hew to the view that genetic factors such as IQ are…
-
“Virginia Values Act” Devalues Virginia
by Hans Bader The so-called “Virginia Values Act” has been approved by key committees of the Virginia legislature, aided by blatantly inaccurate claims. The VVA will revolutionize Virginia discrimination law, turning what once was a pro-business state into an anti-business state in key areas of employment, housing, and public accommodations law. The media is not…