Dear Friend of TJI, “We have no indication that they haven’t been able to get in Kabul through the airport. We know of no circumstance where American citizens who are carrying an American passport are trying to get through to the airport” unsuccessfully. -- President Joe Biden News Conference, August 20, 2021 “We’re also aware that some people, including Americans, have been harassed and even beaten by the Taliban.” -- Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin Briefing call to lawmakers, minutes later “Because of potential security threats outside the gates at the Kabul airport, we are advising U.S. citizens to avoid traveling to the airport and to avoid airport gates at this time unless you receive individual instructions from a U.S. government representative to do so. -- Security Alert from Embassy Kabul Less than 24 hours later “Biden’s press conference was a feast of disinformation: Americans are forming the indelible impression that this president is incompetent” -- Headline in British magazine The Spectator, August 20, 2021
Meanwhile … 1.) Afghanistan has, of course, pre-occupied the news. In The Washington Post, columnist Marc Thiessen argues that the disaster occurred because Biden gave the Taliban a green light (here). Over at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, Peter Wehner lists a long line of Biden betrayals (here). In National Review, Jim Geraghty categorizes “The True Extent of Biden’s Lies About Afghanistan” here. In response to resistance to helping Afghan interpreters, The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board notes “It isn’t conservative to betray a promise to those who fought with us” (here) Again at the Journal, Kimberly Strassel compares the responses of Republicans and Democrats to bad deals made by Presidents of their own party (here). Back at NR, Andrew McCarthy, who successfully prosecuted the first World Trade Center bombing, (and a former Jefferson Institute speaker) says “America has been in denial about the Taliban from the start” (here). 2.) And from Oklahoma, 60-year-old Allyson Reneau helped 10 members of the Afghan Girls Robotics team escape from what unquestionably would have been an ugly fate (here). An image of hope amongst chaos. 3.) Closer to home and the world of state politics, Virginia FREE Executive Director and former Delegate Chris Saxman muses on the impact of Biden’s Afghanistan debacle on federal spending bills and the 2021 Virginia elections here. Both The Washington Post (here) and the Richmond Times-Dispatch (here) report on competing college polls and conclude the same thing: The race is close and voters are up for grabs. 4.) One issue in the forthcoming campaign ought to be the rising cost of energy: Can you afford an electric-only economy, with no natural gas, no gasoline or diesel, and a 58 percent increase in energy costs? That’s the question the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy hopes to answer at a combined in-person/virtual conference on September 16 at 9:30 am. Co-sponsored by the Virginia Manufacturers Association and the Virginia Energy Consumer Trust, we’ll be sending out your personal invitation and details on Monday. But if you want to register early (in-person is limited to 80), email Steve Haner now at info@thomasjeffersoninst.org. 5.) What changes will result from the 2020 Census on which congressional and state legislative seats are apportioned? For starters, southwest Virginia will lose one congressional seat, according to the Virginia Public Access Project (here). Want to see how your precinct has changed compared to your County and the state as a whole? Click here and plug in your address. You can also check out any county, region or state data by clicking here. And the Richmond Times-Dispatch analyzes the extent of the change and the challenge if conservatives emphasize only issues appealing to shrinking population centers here. 6.) Children suffered from a year’s learning loss from covid, and few suffered worse than children with disabilities. Delegate Rob Bell proposed a bill that would give those children “aging out” an extra year, but it died in committee. The General Assembly allocated an additional $6.5 million in federal funds to provide that extra year, but State Education Superintendent James Lane pointed local school divisions to a loophole they could use to escape responsibility. After a news story reported the story (here), the legislature closed the loophole (here) to make clear they meant what they said. But even now, according to news stories, “weeks after lawmakers worked on a fix, advocates … have yet to hear from their local school systems or state education officials.” So much for the equity Governor Northam’s appointees claim to advocate. 7.) Former Bob McDonnell-appointed Virginia Secretary of Education Gerard Robinson now co-hosts a regular podcast, The Learning Curve, through our sister think tank, The Pioneer Institute. This week he interviewed University of Virginia Professor Emeritus E.D. Hirsch, Jr., and acclaimed author of Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know and How to Educate a Citizen: The Power of Shared Knowledge to Unify a Nation on a wide variety of educational subjects – from the need for common knowledge for informed civics, to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) changes to the quality of teacher preparation programs. Absolutely worth a listen here. 8.) Academic standards is yet another issue that should crop up in Virginia’s state races. Under the McAuliffe-Northam Board of Education members, Virginia’s reading standards have gradually dropped until it is now the only state with standards “Below Basic” in the National Assessment for Educational Progress – at the bottom of 50 states (here). Politifact rates the claim that McAuliffe lowered academic standards as “Mostly True.” (here). Even The Washington Post calls it a “retreat” (here and here). 9.) The McAuliffe-Northam Administration lowered standards in the name of “equity”, as a substitute for the hard work of ensuring all students had the resources (which are not necessarily only money), curriculum, and trained teachers needed to succeed. Lowering the bar provides the illusion of success, but illusion is easier than the real thing. We are not yet as bad as Oregon, where Governor signed a law allowing students there to graduate without proving they can write or do math (here). But give the Left another chance to finish the job in Virginia. 10.) Part of the Left’s strategy is an attack on meritocracy, best exhibited by the end of admissions tests at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. Over at the Wall Street Journal, Jason Riley says “Meritocracy is Worth Defending” (here). Finally … a friend sent a Postcard from 1969: A reminder that there’s nothing wrong with us that can’t be cured by what is right with us. Happy Sunday, Everyone. Keep the Faith. | |
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