FROM BORDER WALL TO NORFOLK What a change in administrations can mean! President Joe Biden is returning billions of dollars to a series of military projects, including funds to upgrade safety violations at a 64-year-old Norfolk Naval Shipyard building. The… Read More ›
Health Care
To Do Or Not To Do
By Frank Blechman Many, many times, I have been in “strategic planning” sessions in which someone has insisted that we had to pick one goal or one approach to that goal. Recognizing that time and other resources are limited, I… Read More ›
Electrifying America Like the New Deal
Editors’ Note: Reposted from The New York Times, May 1, 2021. Expenditures by the federal government are not necessarily expenses qua expenses but, rather, are often investments in the nation’s future prosperity, particularly those dedicated to children, families, education. Social Security… Read More ›
Who Needs Bureaucracy?
News junkies would be hard pressed to recall praise from an elected official over the work of a federal bureau. Sometimes, and sometimes not, during hurricane season, FEMA is lauded for its relief and rescue efforts. However, a walk through… Read More ›
POST-CORONA: From Crisis to Opportunity
Book Review by Frank Blechman Readers have noted that I can’t seem to just say what I have to say. I seem to wander around until I get to the point of my column. For those annoyed by this, I… Read More ›
Outside the Novahood
Editors’ Note: Our feature ‘Briefly Noted’ is now renamed Outside the Novahood to reflect more geographically its content: items that arise or occur beyond Northern Virginia and, sometimes, elsewhere. KNEELING ATHLETES BROUGHT TO HEEL Bluefield College, a school that competes… Read More ›
Making Equity Universal
By Frank Blechman Over the last few years, the number of observers who have ‘discovered’ inequities in the American system has exploded. Everywhere commentators looked, they found problems in education, health care, employment, and (my goodness) law enforcement. Some highly… Read More ›
Colloquy: Promote the General Welfare
Editors’ Note: This is the third in a series feature in which VF editors may join along with volunteer contributors to discuss a contemporary topic. This “real time” installment features Jim McCarthy, Frank Blechman, Barbara Levine, and Andrew Scalise. Our… Read More ›