Tag: Guest contributors
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Are Microschools a Macro Trend?
by Andy Rotherham Around the country a string of public schools with test-based admissions have been under pressure to go to different admission schemes in an effort to increase student diversity – for instance lottery-based or enrollment slots allocated by feeder school. (At one level it’s a useful reminder that contra the rhetoric, many public…
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Parole Board Sets Free Another Murderer
Letter from Sen. Bill DeSteph, R-Virginia Beach, sent yesterday to Governor Ralph Northam. Dear Governor Northam, In August 2019, the Parole Board denied Harry J. Williams, DOC # 1008730, parole. These are the reasons they gave Mr. Williams: His history of substance abuse. The serious nature and circumstances of his offense(s). His prior failure(s) and/or…
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Warner and Kaine Wrong about D.C. Statehood
by Emilio Jaksetic On June 26, 2020, the House of Representatives passed the Washington D.C. Admission Act (H.R. 51), which would admit the District of Columbia (D.C.) as the 51st State. The House vote was essentially along party lines, with all Democrats (except one) voting yes, and all Republicans (and one Independent) voting no. Senators…
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Critical Race Theory Permeates New Student Survey in Fairfax Public Schools
‘I don’t need indoctrination, I need a good solid education in math, science, non-revisionist social studies, & English. Is that too much to ask?’ by Asra Q. Nomani FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. – On Oct. 19, as students at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology opened their laptops to check in for another difficult…
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Senator Warner Is Missing in Action
by Emilio Jaksetic As co-chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senator Mark Warner, D-VA, was vociferous about the need to investigate allegations of Russian collusion by President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign. But Virginia’s senior senator was silent in 2019 when the Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General identified serious defects and failings with FBI and…
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A Measured Consequence: More Heavy Drinking
by Carol J.Bova Yesterday, Jim Bacon wrote about “the unmeasured consequences of society’s reaction to the COVID-19 epidemic.” The RAND Corporation COVID-19 Update on October 8, 2020 provided a reference to a longitudinal survey that examined one of those consequences — alcohol usage. JAMA Network Open published a Research Letter, “Changes in Adult Alcohol Use…
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Richmond to Parents: You’re On Your Own
by Chris Braunlich A week after party-line votes killed Republican initiatives to assist parents of school-aged children financially with federal COVID-19 dollars, Governor Ralph Northam proposed sending another $223 million of those dollars to public schools, adding to millions already sent. There is a major divide in the way Republicans and Democrats view the role…
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Virginia Should Reject the National Popular Vote Compact
by Emilio Jaksetic On February 11, 2020, the Virginia House of Delegates passed House Bill 177. If enacted into law, the legislation would have made Virginia a participant in the National Popular Vote Compact (NPV Compact), and would assign Virginia’s Electoral College votes to the presidential candidate who receives a majority of the popular vote…
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Fairfax Tax Rate the Same, but Tax Burden Up
by Emilio Jaksetic The massive lockdown triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic has caused many businesses and workers to lose significant amounts of income and forced them into financially precarious situations. Despite the undeniable financial pain and suffering that many businesses, workers, and households are facing, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors insisted upon another increase…
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Older Virginians Account for Three Quarters of COVID Deaths. What Is VDH Doing?
by Carol J. Bova We’ve seen reports that close to half of the COVID-19 deaths are from outbreaks in long term-care facilities (i.e., nursing homes, assisted living or multi-care facilities, group homes). There’s another story though, when you compare COVID-19 facts by the age ranges the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) uses in its reports. The…
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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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More Graduates, Less Learning
by John Butcher The estimable Jim Bacon notices the increased graduation rates this year and wonders how much of the increase reflects the waivers issued by the Superintendent. We have some of the underlying data. On May 26, the Governor issued Executive Order 51 that provides, in part: Authorization for the heads of executive branch agencies, on behalf of their…
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How Well is VDH Managing COVID-19 Outbreaks?
by Carol J. Bova The Virginia Department of Health data is now equipped with extensive testing capacity and a small army of contact tracers to squelch outbreaks of COVID-19 in Virginia. Recent data regarding the number of outbreaks raises questions about how well VDH is doing its job. One concern is the validity of the…
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Changing the Rules for Absentee Ballots
by Emilio Jaksetic The Virginia State Board of Elections is proposing to disregard and nullify the statutory requirement that absentee ballots must be postmarked on or before the date of the election. This proposed administrative action makes a mockery of Virginia election law and is an appalling assault on the rule of law. The Virginia…
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Kendi’s Brand of “Anti-Racism” is Unconstitutional
by Hans Bader The Fairfax County Public Schools paid $20,000 to an advocate of racial discrimination against whites, for a 45 minute speech on “anti-racism.” They also are paying bus drivers to drive empty school buses, even as schools operate online. Fairfax County has 1.1 million residents, and runs the largest school system in Virginia.…