Wednesday News: Virginia GOP "loyalty oath," "Ashley Madison" Stir Things Up
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
New Study Finds Black K-12 Students Suspended, Expelled Disproportionately in Virginia
 A new study by researchers at my alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania, finds yet more evidence (as if we needed any more!) that racism is far from dead in the United States of America, and certainly not in the South. Check this out:Nationally, 1.2 million Black students were suspended from K-12 public schools in a single academic year - 55% of those suspensions occurred in 13 Southern states. Districts in the South also were responsible for 50% of Black student expulsions from public schools in the United States...In 132 Southern school districts, Blacks were disproportionately suspended at rates five times or higher than their representation in the student population.Here in Virginia, it's not good either, as "Blacks were 24% of students in school districts across the state, but comprised 51% of suspensions and 41% of expulsions." In terms of "disproportionate impact," the report finds that "Botetourt County Public Schools, Falls Church City Public Schools, Lexington City Public Schools, Maggie L. Walker Governor's School, and Rappahannock County Public Schools are among [Virginia school] districts in which suspensions most disproportionately affected Black students." For instance, Botetourt's "disproportionate impact" score in the 2011-2012 school year was 4.3x, while Falls Church's was 3.8x. Others that jumped out at me were several jurisdictions, such as Fairfax County (3.0x), Loudoun County (3.0x) and Arlington County (2.8x), which trend "blue" politically but still show an unacceptably high ratio of African-American students suspended or expelled relative to their population.So what's causing this disparity? According to the authors of the study, it's exactly what you'd think: "The findings in our report point to the residual effects of Jim Crow, slavery, and unequal schooling," Harper said. "They are further explained by poverty trends, structural inequities in the education workforce, and a longstanding history of racial injusticethat cyclically reproduces itself, especially across these 13 Southern states."What's particularly unacceptable about this situation is this: Suspensions and expulsions can carry life-changing consequences for children. They impact academic performance and disrupt pathways to college, but also how a school and community perceive a student."It could take years to process through the trauma and stigma of being deemed a problem-that you're not responsible, not serious," Smith said. "Teachers and district leaders are signaling that you're not worthy enough for us to invest in."The bottom line is that this situation is sadly unsurprising, yet completely unacceptable, and it needs to change ASAP, just as the disproportionate shootings of African Americans by police needs to change ASAP, and just as the disproportionate application of severe punishments (up to and including the death penalty) towards African Americans needs to change ASAP. I'd be very interested to hear a response on this from the "blue" jurisdictions I noted above... |
Not a Shocker: White Supremacist, Former KKK "Grand Wizard" David Duke a Big Trump Fan
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Nope...this is not shocking at all if you look at polls of the Republican primary electorate and their nativist, xenophobic, homophobic, "birther," racist and otherwise obnoxious views. By the way, check out this new poll of New Hampshire GOP voters showing Donald Trump "lap[ping] the Republican field with 35% to 11% for John Kasich, 10% for Carly Fiorina, 7% each for Jeb Bush and Scott Walker, 6% for Ben Carson, 4% each for Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, and Marco Rubio, and 3% for Rand Paul." Clearly, Trump's message and persona isn't just resonating with David Duke... |
Video: Arlington's Terron Sims, Other Iraq War Veterans, Urge Congress to Support Iran Deal
| Excellent ad, very tough but also realistic, which is exactly what our approach towards Iran should be (in their view, the view of many intelligence and military people, a former head of the Mossad, most of our allies, etc.). Great job by Terron Sims of Arlington and his fellow Iraq War veterans on this one. Now, I'm looking at you, Sen. Warner, to announce your support for this historic agreement. |
Tuesday News Headlines: Virginia "GOP leaders plot to tie Donald Trump's hands"
| Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, August 25. Also check out President Obama's speech at the National Clean Energy Summit in Nevada. *China is unable to stop stock market plunge ("As markets plunged for the fourth straight day, Chinese authorities stood aside. But many other markets in Asia and Europe showed signs of recovery.") *The Stock Market Drop Exposes The Dangers Of Privatizing Social Security *Scott Walker falls flat on his face ("This is what happens when you try to trump the Donald.") *Scott Walker adds Virginia strategist *State GOP leaders plot to tie Donald Trump's hands (That includes Virginia's Republican Party and its chair, John Whitbeck.) *Top Democratic fundraisers invited to meet with Joe Biden at Naval Observatory *Donald Trump Is Not a Populist. He's the Voice of Aggrieved Privilege. *Barack Obama calls opponents of Iran deal 'the crazies' (Some of them definitely are, but some of them simply won't agree to anything coming from Barack Obama, whether he cured cancer or stopped a nuclear arms race or whatever.) *Krugman: A Moveable Glut ("Whatever the precise mix of causes, what's important now is that policy makers take seriously the possibility, I'd say probability, that excess savings and persistent global weakness is the new normal.") *Why Hillary Clinton's "Emailgate" Is a Fake Scandal ("The real scandal is about journalism and the weak standards employed to manufacture headlines.") *Don't fast-track pipeline process, Kaine says *Walker to speak at Family Foundation gala *Brat, Warner respond to stock market plunge (The last person in the world I'd ever listen to on economic issues is supposed "economist" Dave Brat.) *No prison for McDonnell until chief justice weighs in on bail issue *Our view: Why Roush should say no and decline reappointment (Hmmmm...not sure I follow this but alrighty.) *Newspaper: Police fatally shot man in Portsmouth, handcuffed him (Time for criminal charges against the officers who did this, assuming the report is accurate.) *The crisis in state's empty classrooms ("FINDING GOOD teachers is never easy. But years of stagnant wages and job insecurity have made it harder than ever to retain and attract talented educators. As The Pilot's Mike Connors reported Monday, summer break this year winds down with a raft of area and state public classrooms without permanent teachers. School opens just after the Labor Day weekend.") *Sigma Nu Fraternity suspends ODU chapter after display of offensive banners *Mountain Valley Pipeline may use controversial surveying law, judge rules *Norfolk officer connects police, gay community *D.C. area forecast: Fantastic through Friday, humidity returns by weekend |
Video: Republican Glen Sturtevant's Latest "Conversation" is Complete Crap
Monday, August 24, 2015
| So, in his latest "conversation" (in which, as usual, nobody else but him gets to talk), Glen Sturtevant - the Republicans' nominee for Virginia State Senate in the 10th district - argues that only those at "the very very top" have experienced an economic recovery, and that "it's been bad for six or seven years." Sturtevant makes these claims with a straight face, without any indication of self awareness or irony, which would be laughable if it weren't so absurd.First off, just to remind Mr. Sturtevant of recent history, the "Great Recession" began in 2007, which was actually eight years ago, with George W. Bush having been in the White House since 2001. Since President Obama took charge in January 2009, the economy has rebounded tremendously, with 65 straight months of private sector job growth, amounting to 13 MILLION private sector jobs under Democratic leadership. Now, Glen Sturtevant might not consider these 13 million Americans to be "real people," but guess what, they really are. As for Sturtevant's implicit argument that the rich have continued to get richer, there's a lot of truth to that, but since when did Sturtevant's Republican Party - the servants of the wealthy and powerful, the top 0.1% in other words - care about the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer? What, are they all Bernie Sanders now? Also, note that Sturtevant doesn't talk about how Republican "supply side" and "trickle down" economic policies (e.g., making the tax code much more regressive while trashing the power of working people in this country) have contributed heavily towards that concentration of wealth at the "very very top." Yet again, Sturtevant shows no evidence that he's at all aware of any of this reality. Nor does he mention that here in Virginia, the legislature and/or governor's office has for years been following economic policies of/by/for the corporations. Nor does he mention the impact of sequestration and other right-wing austerity measures on Virginia's economy. So what's Sturtevant's argument here, in the 15 seconds he's on camera spewing his talking points? In short, there isn't one, other than that people should vote for him because he will somehow, magically, "rebuild Virginia's economy," no doubt following the same right-wing policies that contributed to most of the economic problems we face today. Make sense? Make you want to vote for him? Nope, didn't think so. |
Video: Dow Down; Pat Robertson and Donald Trump Weigh in With Predictable Idiocy
As of 1:10 pm, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 99 points (having recovered almost all of its losses after a sharp decline at the outset), but wherever the market ends up doesn't really matter to the right wingers, who are happily leaping to predictably loony conclusions. That includes top Virginia Republican Party donor Marion "Pat" Robertson (it's God's punishment for abortion, but of course) and 2016 Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump (it's the Chinese, natch), neither of whom apparently understands the first thing about economics. Yep, that's today's Republican Party - ignorance, hysteria, fearmongering, demagoguery...all wrapped up in one lovely package. Next move: blame Obama, no matter what happens, because that's just what these guys do! LOL |
Monday News: Sloooow Start to the Week...Although Watch Out for #BlackMonday
| Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Monday, August 24. Also, check out the discussion last night on the Georgia-based Kudzu Vine radio show about Virginia politics. *Harry Reid: I will back Iran deal ("His support moves the Obama administration nearer to a veto-proof support") *Global Stocks Plunge Further Amid Doubts About China *Joe Biden Is Leaning Toward a 2016 Run ("Vice president's deliberations show how the presidential race is in flux for both parties") *Donald Trump's nativist bandwagon ("That is the kind of thinking that Donald Trump, and the Republican presidential candidates who are pathetically jumping on his nativist bandwagon, would bring to this country.") *Where Black Lives Matter Began ("Hurricane Katrina exposed our nation's amazing tolerance for black pain.") *Scott Walker Takes His Third Position On The Hottest Issue In The Republican Primary (This guy is a complete joke.) *Jim Webb: I met privately with Biden *Editorial: Donald Trump's immigration lunacy ("Trump is the candidate of the primal scream. Like a primal scream, his campaign has no coherent message, no organizing principle, no concrete agenda. It is an emotional volcano, a geyser of raw id. Like a volcano, it is a phenomenon to behold. But if it isn't capped soon, both the GOP and the nation could end up badly burned.") *Allen: Unilateral economic disarmament (Wow, for once I actually agree with George Freakin' Allen? "Pass a long-term reauthorization of the Ex-Im Bank with reasonable reforms before any more damage is done to American jobs and manufacturers.") *Ex-Midlothian man hailed as hero in helping subdue train gunman *Nationals are looking at long odds, 'have to get hot' to reach postseason *D.C. area forecast: Summer's best weather week begins, save today's storm chance |
VA GOP's 2013 Lt. Gov. Nominee Spends His Spare Time Supporting Anti-Gay Kentucky Clerks
Sunday, August 23, 2015
For a bit of background on these law-defying, anti-gay bigots see here. And yes, this is what the 2013 Virginia Republican Party nominee for Lt. Governor of our state does in his spare time, when he's not spreading "Four Pinocchio" lies about Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger. Also consider that E.W. Jackson's 2013 Republican ticketmates, Ken Cuccinelli and Mark Obenshain, were not appreciably different than he was/is on social issues. So what does that say about the Virginia Republican Party, and the national Republicans Party more broadly? |
Sunday News: "Virginia Way" a "euphemism for corruption"; Trump Takes on Pope Francis
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