Tag: James A. Bacon
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COVID, School Closings and the Real Racism
by James A. Bacon If you’re looking for evidence of “systemic racism” in Virginia schools, you can find it in a table produced by Matt Hurt, executive director of the Comprehensive Instructional Program, and published in the previous post. The table shows the extraordinary decline in in-person instruction that took place in the 2020-21 school…
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A New Form of Sexual Identity Enters the Lexicon: Gender Fluid
by James A. Bacon Loudoun Now has confirmed key details of the Daily Wire expose describing the ordeal of plumber Scott Smith and his family after his daughter was sexually assaulted in a high school bathroom by a boy dressed in a skirt. Yesterday I refrained from going ballistic on this story, which was based…
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VB School Board Shoots Down Resolution
by James A. Bacon Last night the Virginia Beach School Board voted down 4-to-7 a proposal that would clarify school board policy regarding training and teaching about race and racism. Among other guidelines, the resolution would have prohibited teachers from training, teaching or promoting, among other propositions, the ideas (a) that any individual by virtue…
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No Need to Call in Feds, Says Virginia School Board Association
by James A. Bacon It became national news when the National School Board Association (NASB) asked the Biden administration to investigate threats and violence against school board members around the country. The Justice Department announced it would collaborate with the FBI and local law enforcement to prosecute criminal behavior. The views of the national association…
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Bacon Bits: The Political Class in Action
Is Charlottesville governable? Charlottesville City Manager Chip Boyles has announced his resignation, making him the fifth interim or full-time city manager to leave the city since 2018, reports the Daily Progress. “The public disparagement shown by several community members and Mayor [Nikuyah] Walker has begun to negatively effect [sic] my personal health and well-being,” he…
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Descent into Madness: Loudoun County Edition
by James A. Bacon Two weeks ago the National School Boards Association (NASB) appealed in a highly publicized letter to President Biden to do something to stop the “threats and acts of violence against public school children, public school board members, and other public school district officials.” Attorney General Merrick Garland said the FBI would…
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Another Straw in the Wind…
With all due recognition that fund-raising emails are calculated to stir emotions (either positive or negative) for the purpose of inspiring donations, I find this appeal from the McAuliffe campaign to contain a remarkable confession. I’m flabbergasted, Jim … We’ve been sending you email after email about just how important this race is, but it’s…
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Resolution to Clarify Equity Training and Teaching
The Virginia Beach School Board will discuss the following resolution at a meeting tonight. WHEREAS, the School Board of the City of Virginia Beach, Virginia values diversity, promotes inclusiveness and is committed to providing a learning environment whereby ALL students have access and opportunities to benefit from the high standards, support and resources required for…
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Beating a Zombie Horse: Yes, Virginia, CRT Is Real
by James A. Bacon If these were normal times I could file this post under the “beating a dead horse” tab. Jim Sherlock and I have blogged repeated on the topic of Critical Race Theory in Virginia schools, providing abundant documentation along the way. But various parties — from the McAuliffe campaign to the Washington…
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What If They Threw A Party And No One Got COVID?
by James A. Bacon It has been a month since Hokie fans packed the stands of the Virginia Tech-University of North Carolina football game in Tech’s Lane Stadium, sparking social-media fears of a massive spread. Despite the spectacle of thousands of screaming, expectorating fans in close quarters, there has been no meaningful outbreak. Not only…
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Delta Variant On the Downhill Slide in Virginia
by James A. Bacon It appears that Virginia has turned the corner on the Delta variant. According to the weekly update from the University of Virginia Biocomplexity Institute Friday, the Institute’s COVID-19 model indicates that “cases have peaked and are in gradual decline.” I don’t know about you, but that strikes me as good news…
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W&L Alumni Rebels Deploy Nuclear Option
by James A. Bacon The Generals Redoubt, an association of alumni protesting the leftist drift of Washington & Lee University, scored a seeming victory earlier this year when the W&L Board voted to keep Lee — as in Confederate general and former university president Robert E. Lee — in the school’s name. But subsequent events…
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Three Quarters of Virginia School Students Feel Treated Fairly
by James A. Bacon The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) is ramping up for the 2022 Virginia School Survey of Climate and Working Conditions early next year. (Hat tip: Jim Sherlock) The survey is an annual exercise to gauge perceptions of safety, discipline, and working conditions in public schools. I have no idea whether the…
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Bacon Bits: Bafflement, Confusion… and Hope
What is wrong with this picture? Headline from FFXnow: “Inova temporarily closes urgent care centers in Reston and Tysons due to high patient volume.” On top of an influx of COVID-19 cases fueled by the Delta variant, Virginia hospitals are getting more patients — many of whom had delayed seeking medical care due to the pandemic…
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The Rise of the Political Class
by James A. Bacon Yesterday I noted polling of the race for governor in which Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin showed remarkable strength among minorities — 25% support from Blacks and 55% from Hispanics — along with a shrinking majority of Whites. That poll might have been an outlier, so I don’t want to make too…