Tag: James A. Bacon
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Just Report It… Unless You’re a Conservative Parent
by James A. Bacon The Washington Post is still fulminating about the Youngkin administration’s “toxic” school tip line. By inviting parents to send “reports and observations” on divisive material taught in schools, writes the editorial board today, the administration could intimidate teachers and send “the message they should tread carefully, particularly on instruction involving race,…
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A Sneak Peak at VMI’s Diversity Training
by James A. Bacon Virginia Military Institute cadets will return to class in a week or so. At some point during the semester, they will undergo a round of “Inclusive Excellence” training. In June VMI’s chief diversity officer, Jamica Love, briefed the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion subcommittee of the Board of Visitors on what that…
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“This Community Doesn’t Have Excuses”
by James A. Bacon The Washington Post has a feel-good story about a Northern Virginia trailer park on Rt.1 where residents, mostly from Central America, have pulled together to help one another. They watch after one another’s children and give one another rides. They invite outsiders to come teach them practical things, like how to…
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Yup, Teacher Shortages Worst in High-Poverty Schools
by James A. Bacon I have long contended that the teacher shortage is most acute in Virginia’s high-poverty schools where student discipline is the worst, but I didn’t have the school-by-school data to back up the proposition. Now the Richmond Times-Dispatch has published data for Henrico County comparing vacancies in the school system’s five districts.…
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Map of the Day: Fiscal Stress
The Commission on Local Government has published its 2022 update on the fiscal condition of Virginia localities. No surprises here — the same geographical patterns hold as in the past. The most stressed localities are uniformly cities, and the most stressed are small cities. The least stressed are counties in Northern Virginia and on the…
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The Burning Deck
by James A. Bacon Occasionally, I get profoundly depressed about the state of our country. After surveying today’s news clips, today is one of those days. The latest furor over the raid on Mar-A-Lago crystallizes the depraved state to which our national politics has evolved. Do we believe the version of events propagated by the…
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Race As a Political Construct
by James A. Bacon Race is a social construct, as the Wokesters endlessly remind us. It’s one of the few observations from the left that I mostly agree with… or, at least, I did agree with until reading, Classified: The Untold Story of Racial Classification in America, by George Mason University law school professor David…
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Time to Throw the Spotlight on Virginia’s Education Schools
by James A. Bacon My Bacon’s Rebellion colleague Jim Sherlock has brought much-needed attention to the link between the Wokeness revolution in Virginia’s education schools and the collapse of learning at the state’s public schools. Virginia’s education schools increasingly see their role as less about teaching teachers to teach and more about bringing about the…
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Youngkin on the Mar-a-Lago Raid
A stunning move by the DOJ and FBI. This same DOJ labeled parents in Loudoun County as terrorists and failed to enforce federal law to protect Justices in their homes. Selective, politically motivated actions have no place in our democracy. — Glenn Youngkin (@GlennYoungkin) August 9, 2022 What do you think of Governor Glenn Youngkin’s…
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Teacher Shortages Aren’t the Only Manpower Problem in Schools
by James A. Bacon Virginia’s teacher shortage has become so acute that it has ignited widespread inquiries into what’s causing it. The explanations proffered by establishment media fall into two buckets: (1) teachers aren’t paid enough; and (2) teachers are quitting because conservative parents are meddling in their jobs. The latest example is an article…
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Partisan Explanations for Teacher Shortage Are Inadequate
by James A. Bacon Governor Glenn Youngkin and state senator Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, have given WLJA-TV alternative explanations for Virginia’s teacher shortage. Youngkin’s is partisan and incomplete, and Surovell’s is partisan and disconnected from reality. In an interview with the Washington television station, Youngkin blamed Democrats for holding up negotiations on the biennial budget that…
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Welcome to America, Land Where Killers Roam Free
by James A. Bacon Adrian de Jesus Rivera Guzman, 48, and his stepson Juan Carlos Anaya Hernandez, 24, immigrants who had fled gang violence in Central America, were in the wrong place at the wrong time. They were innocent bystanders doing landscaping work outside the Assembly Alexandria apartment complex when they were killed by gunfire.…
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Curfews Coming for Norfolk Nightclubs?
by James A. Bacon Norfolk police are cracking down on downtown nightclubs in the aftermath of another shooting incident, this one resulting in a sheriff’s deputy and three others being wounded. The city will expect all businesses in the entertainment district to explain why they deserve the “privilege” of operating, reports The Virginian-Pilot. City Manager…
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Want a Woke Version of UVa History? Go on a Student-Guided Tour
by James A. Bacon In June 2022 a University of Virginia alumnus took his college-bound daughter to visit Mr. Jefferson’s university. UVa was one of the young woman’s two top choices, and she looked forward to a tour of the Lawn and the Grounds. But disillusion set in quickly. At the orientation, a senior assistant…