Virginia@: Your October 18th Sunday Summary

Dear Friend of TJI,

With Friday’s approval of a re-configured state budget, the General Assembly’s special session limited to the budget and policing has now lasted longer than the constitutionally-mandated limit of 60 days on the regular session.

Meanwhile …

1.) Among the items approved was a bill prohibiting law enforcement officers from stopping motorists from driving with busted mufflers, headlights or brake lights, putting all Virginians in danger for the sake of "woke" political theory (here).

2.) Among the items not approved were Republican proposals providing assistance to parents struggling with the added expenses of educating their children at home while public schools are closed to in-class learning. House leadership, in fact, did not even permit debate. We describe the situation in the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star here.

3.) We have previously noted the controversy at University of Virginia over signs posted by one student on her publicly-visible Lawn Door stating “F—k UVA.” In the interests of equal time, we are pleased (very pleased … be sure to read it) to link here to her letter in the Cavalier Daily. Come spring, the author will be the proud graduate of a University she terms “a force of exploitation and violent aggression.”

4.) Our bi-weekly publication, the Jefferson Policy Journal, previously noted the Loudoun County School Board’s plan to abridge free speech (here). In the “Good News” category, the School Board has had second thoughts after pushback from the public (here).

5) The Left is claiming that filling the vacancy of a Supreme Court Justice is unprecedented. Last August, National Review’s Dan McLaughlin dug into that question and demonstrated it had plenty of precedent (here). He also quickly refuted Kamala Harris’ fairy tale about Abraham Lincoln (here), told during the Vice Presidential debate.

6.) And on the subject of the Amy Coney Barrett nomination, don’t miss our zoom meeting this Thursday with Rob Luther, who co-managed the process for recommending more than 150 federal judicial candidates and guided Barrett through her Appeals Court nomination; and Helen Alvaré, who teaches Family Law and Law and Religion and has been a delegate to various UN conferences concerning women and the family. Register by clicking here.

7) Speaking of great online meetings, don't forget to register for The Jefferson Institute's November 10 online webinar with Kevin Hassett, former Chairman of President Trump's Council of Economic Advisors. Co-sponsored with the National Review Institute, you can register by clicking here.

8.) Much has been made recently of Twitter’s censorship, but they are not the only Big Tech company to do so. Shelby Steele is an American conservative, author, columnist, documentarian, and Senior Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institute. His most recent documentary is What Killed Michael Brown, a look at what he calls “the real victimization” surrounding the 2014 police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Submitted to Amazon, a chronology of Amazon’s rejection can be found here, and has been reported in The Wall Street Journal (here and here) and in other publications (here). The trailer can be found here. Blocked by Amazon, you can purchase directly from Vimeo here.

9.) Protests by the Prince William County Education Association featuring child-sized coffins sparked outrage among its members, who found it “deplorable” and “despicable” (here). Dozens of teachers have left the union already. The Thomas Jefferson Institute’s VATeacherChoice program is offering a hand, letting teachers across Virginia know their alternatives in video (here), digital advertising (here) and on the web (here). Pass these on to a friendly teacher tired of the union politics!

10.) Dominion Energy has announced that they’ve completed reliability tests on two wind turbines (here), part of the Green Economy changes now expected to increase your residential electric bills by an average $800 per year (here). Over at Bacon’s Rebellion, Jim Bacon reports on how those wind turbines are often less than reliable (here). And Michael Moore (yes, that Michael Moore) points out why “sustainable energy” is really a bit of a scam (here).

Finally … The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that the budget deficit has grown to a record $3.1 trillion. There’s a reason for that (here).

Happy Sunday Everyone.

Is flying a kite sustainable?

Cordially,