Tag: James A. Bacon
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Don’t Californicate Virginia Schools
The author was raised in Virginia and attended college here before moving to California. He and his wife have lived in Silicon Valley for 25 years but they follow news in Virginia with great interest. He has consented to let me publish his letter on the condition that I not provide his name. — JAB…
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Who Needs a Stinkin’ Honorary Degree Anyway?
by James A. Bacon Governor Glenn Youngkin is scheduled to speak at the College of William & Mary’s Charter Day ceremony in three days, when he will receive an honorary degree. Taking umbrage at his stance against Critical Race Theory in public schools, three law school students have started a campaign, “No Degrees for Bigotry.”…
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What Was More “Political”: Heaphy’s Firing or His Hiring?
by James A. Bacon The Richmond Times-Dispatch ramped up the mainstream media’s criticism of Attorney General Jason Miyares in a story published over the weekend. The headline: “Jason Miyares removed the head lawyer at 3 state colleges. Professors and Democrats say he’s wielding excessive influence.” The initial wave of Miyares-critical stories, most prominently in The…
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How to Befuddle an Old Lady
My 92-year-old mother takes this COVID business very seriously, as one would expect from someone in a high-risk group. She’s double vaxxed and boosted. And she is assiduous about testing herself and others who enter her house. At the same time, she’s frugal, and a testing two-pack costs about $25 at the drug store. So,…
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Things Fall Apart: Peoples’ Republic of Charlottesville Edition
by James A. Bacon While various student groups at the University of Virginia are calling for defunding local law-enforcement programs, some parents of UVa students support a stronger police presence around the university after a wave of shootings last year. An open letter addressed to UVa President Jim Ryan and university police chief Tim Longo…
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Quote of the Day: Morrissey Takes No Prisoners!
The Richmond City Democratic Committee (RCDC) voted Thursday night to condemn state Senator Joe Morrissey, D-Richmond, for telling an NAACP official he would rip his heart out of his chest. “I was very upset to read, and then hear, Sen. Morrissey’s appalling and repeated threats of violence against a constituent, Mr. Jefferson,” said Jimmie Lee…
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What Should We Make of the Uptick in Anti-Semitic Hate Crimes?
by James A. Bacon On his first day as Governor, Glenn Youngkin issued an executive order establishing the Commission to Combat Anti-Semitism. “Our nation and our commonwealth have seen an intolerable rise in antisemitism in recent years,” said the order. “Sadly, in 2020, Virginia experienced a record number of antisemitic incidents…. Every incident of antisemitism…
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DEI For Thee But Not For Me
by James A. Bacon On Jan. 16, the University of Virginia announced that Provost Liz Magill had been chosen to serve as the President of the University of Pennsylvania. The same day, President Jim Ryan announced her replacement, Ian Baucom, dean of the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. Baucom had been widely…
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Boomergeddon Watch: We’re Right on Track
by James A. Bacon The U.S. national debt has passed a symbolically important milestone of $30 trillion. That’s up from the $13-$14 trillion when I wrote my book, “Boomergeddon,” in 2010 warning that the U.S. government was heading to functional insolvency by the late 2020’s or early 2030’s. I argued that higher deficits and debt…
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More Morrissey! We Can’t Get Enough!
by James A. Bacon Love him or hate him, Senator Joe Morrissey, D-Richmond, is hands down the most colorful politician in Virginia. The list of his transgressions against ethics and law is too long belabor here. I refer you to his Wikipedia biography, specifically the sections on “Reprimand, suspensions and first law license revocation,” “Conviction…
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Please, Please, Make This Study Go Away!
by James A. Bacon A General Assembly-ordered study has published its findings for making housing more affordable and accessible for lower-income Virginians and minorities. One can only pray that the report is relegated to one of those proverbial shelves that collects dust, and is never to be seen again. Its recommendations, if followed, would steer…
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These GMU Minions Refuse to Bend the Knee
by James A. Bacon Megan Darling, a 33-year-old George Mason University business school student, received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine in March and April and came down with a case of COVID-19 in December 2021, from which she acquired natural immunity as well. Like other students, she has been informed that she must get…
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Atif Qarni’s Alternate Universe
by James A. Bacon Atif Qarni, Virginia’s recently- departed secretary of education, has penned an opinion piece for The Washington Post that raises an important question (and I’m not being hyperbolic here): Is the man who oversaw Virginia K-12 and higher-education system for four years under Governor Ralph Northam totally disconnected from reality? The thesis…
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Need an Organ Transplant? No Religious Exemptions from COVID Mandates
by James A. Bacon During an annual consultation with the University of Virginia organ transplant team in January, Shamgar Connors met with a social worker as part of a “psychosocial assessment.” The 42-year-old Stafford County resident, who was undergoing kidney dialysis 12 hours a day, was on the waiting list for a donor kidney. Hospital…
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COVID, Risk, and Organ Transplants
This is the second of three posts about COVID and kidney transplants. James A. Bacon In January Stafford County resident Shamgar Connors, who has undergone kidney dialysis for nearly three years, engaged in an annual consultation with the University of Virginia Health system’s organ transplant team. His conversation with Dr. Karen Warburton went like this:…