Tag: Guest contributors
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Absentee Voting by Mail Has Many Safeguards
by Rosanna Bencoach In a recent piece in Bacon’s Rebellion, “COVID-19 No Justification for Mail-In Voting,” Brian Glass questioned the security of mail-in voting by citing controversies in other states during previous elections. The underlying issues and outcomes varied but did not cast doubt on the entire system. As Dick Hall-Sizemore commented: Voting by mail is…
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Why Do 58 Nursing Homes Lack PPE?
by Carol J. Bova The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) publishes COVID-19 data reported by nursing homes as of May 31. Only five Virginia facilities reported not having enough essential supplies for current use, but that still put the safety of 554 residents plus an unknown number of staff members at risk for COVID-19…
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Polybius, ANTIFA, and the Cycle of Discord
by Scott Lingamfelter When I awoke this morning, like many of you, I found myself genuinely concerned about what is going on in America. The violence, looting, the wanton destruction of life and property are both shocking and unacceptable. Most people are angry with the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a rogue…
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COVID-19 No Justification for Mail-In Voting
by Brian Glass With the COVID-19 epidemic, adherents of mail-in voting in Virginia and around the country believe they have found the “hook” to pass their favored legislation. That idea needs to be revisited before the primary elections in June and the presidential election in November. Regardless of the epidemic, voting by mail is still…
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Federal Action Should Clarify COVID-19 Racial Impact
by Carol J. Bova Discussion of the percentage of black COVID-19 hospitalized patients in Virginia is based on the known racial identification of all COVID-19 cases. The breakdown of all cases shows this is a false narrative. We don’t know what the true racial percentages are because currently 32% of all COVID-19 cases have no…
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Accountability in the Age of Tribalism and Relatavism
by Verhaal Kenner Imagine you give a class of high school social studies students a quiz and ask: “A friend suggests that the both of you rob a bank. What would you say? What thoughts go through your mind?” In today’s culture, you could expect many students to give answers such as: “Which bank were…
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Dissecting the COVID-19 Death Statistics
by Carol J. Bova If you compare the COVID-19 hospitalization statistics published by the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) and the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association (VHHA), you’ll quickly see they don’t add up. On May 30, the VDH COVID-19 dashboard showed a total of 4,601 hospitalizations. The same day, the VHHA showed that 5,745…
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Staunton’s Election Lessons
by Chris Saxman Virginia’s most accurate statewide election locality — Staunton — just swept off City Council three Democratic incumbents in favor of three Republicans. Democrats go from a 6-to-1 majority to a 3-to-4 minority. This made headlines around the Commonwealth and political news sites. “Virginia is going Red this fall!” “Will Trump win in…
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Virginia’s Lockdown Violates Natural Law
by Deborah Hommer My favorite Greek tragedy play is Sophocles’ “Antigone.” The protagonist risks her life with civil disobedience by burying the body of her brother Polyneices according to the religious dictates (natural/higher law) of her God in defiance of King Creon’s edict (man-made or positive law). When confronted with the choice of whether to…
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Two Faces of the Face-Mask Mandate
by Sidney Bostian Governor Ralph Northam will announce tomorrow the details of a statewide mandate to wear masks in public spaces and businesses. “We are working through the policy. Obviously it’s an equity issue,” Northam said at his Friday news conference, adding that all Virginia residents would need access to face coverings and that he…
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The Emperor’s New Clothes — or the COVID That Didn’t Happen
by Carol J. Bova The May 22 UVA COVID-19 Model weekly report says the virus transmission rate dropped below 1.0 in the past week. It had averaged 2.2 prior to March 15. Here’s the explanation of what that means: Researchers use the transmission rate of a disease, often referred to as R-naught (R0), to measure…
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Virginia Ranks 41st Nationally in Nursing Home Ratings
by Carol J. Bova Medicare offers a “Nursing Home Compare” website. It uses a one- to five-star rating system for four categories: Overall Rating, Health Inspections, Staffing, and Quality Measures. There is a category called Special Focus Facility for a nursing home with a persistent poor quality of care, subject to more frequent inspections and…
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What, Exactly, Is VDEM Doing In the COVID-19 Emergency?
by Carol J. Bova The Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) is responsible for writing the Commonwealth of Virginia Emergency Operations Plan (COVEP) which “provides the framework for how the state will support impacted local governments, individuals and businesses.” A Virginia Municipal League (VML) web page provides Virginia localities a Continuity of Operation Plan (COOP)…
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It’s Time to Reopen the Schools
by Han Bader Several countries are reopening schools after temporarily closing them due to coronavirus. For example, Denmark and Norway have reopened their elementary schools. States in America should start reopening their schools, too. New research says that doing so won’t spread coronavirus to many adults, and it will have little effect on child mortality.…
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Needless Ban on Elective Surgery Shrank the Economy
by Hans Bader The economy shrank in 2020’s first quarter by a rapid 4.8% rate. Economists say the second quarter will be far, far worse, thanks to coronavirus. The virus’s spread triggered state lockdowns closing or restricting many retail establishments. Even before the lockdowns, fear of the virus shrank sales by discouraging people from leaving…