Tag: Guest contributors
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Fairfax County Tax Dollars at Work
by Asra Q. Nomani One Thursday morning, in early August, author Ibram Kendi tucked Apple AirPods into his ears and nestled into his seat in front of a camera to chat online in an “exclusive” “conversation” with principals, teachers and staff of Fairfax County Public Schools. An hour later, he was done, and laudatory messages…
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The Undemocratic Origins of One Fairfax
by Emilio Jaksetic On July 12, 2016, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors adopted a One Fairfax resolution to achieve “racial and social equity” and “direct the development of a racial and social equity policy for adoption.” The Board of Supervisor adopted the final One Fairfax Policy on November 20, 2017. The Center for the…
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Will Virginia Teach Critical Race Theory to Kindergartners?
by Hans Bader This week, the Virginia Board of Education will meet to discuss a report that may promote destructive racial ideologies — the August 2020 “Report from the Governor’s African American History Education Commission.” James Sherlock laments “the fiercely negative approach to the teaching of African American history offered by the Governor’s Commission.” He…
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School Closings Reflect Ideology, Not Safety
by Hans Bader Schools in liberal northern Virginia and the state’s other metropolitan areas are currently educating students only online. In Virginia’s most conservative counties, students usually have access to some instruction in-person. In-person instruction is easier for elementary school students. They often have difficulty with remote learning, which can require mastery of electronic devices and concentrating…
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Keep California on the West Coast
by Bill O’Keefe Virginia has passed a law — SB 851 — requiring Dominion Energy to supply 30% percent of its power from renewable energy sources by 2030 and to close all carbon-emitting power plants by 2045. According to the Energy Information Administration, natural gas fueled 53% of Virginia’s electricity net generation in 2018, nuclear…
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Is a COVID Surge Coming in October?
by Carol J. Bova Statewide, the R0 (R-naught) value for COVID-19 moved up to 1.004 because of surges in the Near Southwest and Northwest for the week ending August 22, according to the Virginia Department of Health’s latest COVID-19 Model Weekly Update. If the RO is above 1, it indicates the potential for exponential increases…
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Vitamin D and COVID-19
by Carol J. Bova Researchers at the University of Chicago have found that Vitamin D deficiency is associated with a higher likelihood of contracting the coronavirus. In combination with other Vitamin D research, the results may point the way to a quick and inexpensive way to reduce COVID-19 deaths among African-Americans and Hispanics. David Meltzer,…
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Race Still Unknown in One of Five COVID Cases
by Carol J. Bova On July 27th, Bacon’s Rebellion asked the question, “Why is VDH Stockpiling Cases as Unknown Race”? The Northam administration had expressed concerns since March about the disparity of racial impacts from COVID-19. Yet 24% of confirmed cases at that time still had not been classified by race or ethnicity. More than…
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“The Only Unavoidable Subject of Regret”
by Erik Curren Comedian John Oliver recently joined the chorus denouncing America’s founding fathers as unworthy of admiration because of their connection to slavery. This time, the target was George Washington. Commenting on an episode of ABC’s morning talk show The View, in which Joy Behar said that statues of Washington deserved to stay up not…
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A Little Hope Goes a Long Way
by Carol J. Bova The University of Virginia Biocomplexity Institute’s COVID-19 Model Weekly Update for August 28 shows the R-naught reproduction rate was below 1.0 as of August 15 in every health region but the Northern one, and that number was barely over 1 at 1.018. A rate below 1.0 suggests that the viral spread…
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Don’t Mess with Mama Bears
by Chris Braunlich As a local School Board member many years ago, I learned the truism, “Never stand between a Mama Bear and her cub.” Education systems across the country are now learning it in real time. With most Virginia schools shut down for in-school learning, parents are trying desperately to find resources to supplement…
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Nursing Home PPE Shortages and Deaths Still Rising
by Carol J. Bova After a review of over 15,000 nursing home reports submitted to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), Brian E. McGarry, David C. Grabowski, and Michael L. Barnett published a paper in Health Affairs on August 20th. In “Severe Staffing and Personal Protective Equipment Shortages Faced by Nursing Homes During the…
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Democrats Govern in the Dark
by Shaun Kenney Del. Glenn Davis, R-Virginia Beach, was greeted with this notification as he attempted to log in for virtual voting: Whoops. Garren Shipley with the House Republican Caucus was more direct: Right now a member could be muted, attempting to get the Speaker's attention, and be ignored. The press and public would have…
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Records? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Records!
by Dave Webster On July 30, 2020, I served a Virginia Freedom of Information Act request on House of Delegates Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn regarding her removal of the Lee statue and other artifacts from the State Capitol, specifically inquiring as to who she hired, how much they were paid, and where she stored the artifacts…
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Bill Would Release Inmates Guilty of Involuntary Manslaughter
by Hans Bader Virginia’s legislature has a good chance of releasing many prison inmates guilty of involuntary manslaughter. In its special session this August, legislators plan to pass Senate Bill 5034, which would shorten many inmates’ sentences by increasing the number of credits they receive for good behavior while in prison. The bill would not…