The recent firings by P45 of four inspectors general in little over a month is unprecedented, demonstrating a determination to create unaccountable executive authority advocated by the radical right through elimination of oversight. Fortunately, this country has created a fail-safe option:… Read More ›
Local
It Happened Here
By Barbara Baum Levine It seems as though every news cycle is introduced by the word “unprecedented.” We reel in wide-eyed amazement at every action taken by the current Administration and ask how we got here. This week, we’ve watched… Read More ›
The Wall of Silence
By Barbara Baum Levine With respect and gratitude to Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, whose lyrical poetry and music continues to enlighten our perspectives. Hello, black folks, my dear friends, I’ve come to shoot you down again So racism keeps… Read More ›
Around the Novahood
PWC ESTABLISHES PUBLIC DEFENDER Virginia’s second-most-populous jurisdiction, and the only Virginia county that is majority-people of color, Prince William County, has lacked a public defender’s office. It relied, instead on a system of poorly compensated, court-appointed counsel to represent low-income defendants…. Read More ›
Remove Trump and His Senate Enablers
Editors’ Note: Reposted from The Washington Post, June 1, 2020. George Will is a well-known conservative columnist. By George F. Will This unraveling presidency began with the Crybaby-in-Chief banging his spoon on his highchair tray to protest a photograph —… Read More ›
Military Honors White Supremacy
Ten United States military installations across the South were named for Confederate Army officers during the first half of the 20th century. Editors’ Note: Editorial reposted from The New York Times, May 23, 2020. The white supremacist who murdered nine… Read More ›
COVID Spawns Bipolar Political Behavior
The COVID pandemic is likely to have many, as yet unknown, long-term effects. In the short term, there appear to be a number of distressing political phenomena that can be head-scratching. Some extremes in response to the pandemic offer divergent… Read More ›
Is Seafood Brain Food?
VoxFairfax has previously posted on the concept of canards as threats to rational thought and discussion. It seems certain that at least once in your life you have heard that seafood is “brain food.” Indeed, a 2016 article in Forbes,… Read More ›
Crumbs for the Hungry, Windfalls for the Rich
Editors’ Note: Excerpted and sourced from The New York Times, May 23, 2020, from a column by Nicholas Kristof. Kristof’s OpEd column caught our eye mostly because of the outrageous financial benefit it dissects. At the same time, the sheer… Read More ›
Skullduggery at CFPB in Payday Lending Research
Editors’ Note: Sourced from The New York Times, April 29, 2020. By Nicholas Confessore and Stacy Cowley Last summer, on his final day of work at the nation’s consumer finance watchdog agency, a career economist sent colleagues a blunt memo. He claimed that… Read More ›