In The Merchant of Venice, the Bard of Avon, William Shakespeare, assigns Portia the task of imploring Shylock for mercy for Antonio’s life subject to his losing a “pound of flesh” for an outstanding financial debt. “The quality of mercy… Read More ›
State
NSFY and NIMBY
“No soup for you” (NSFY) echoes the now-iconic soup Nazi from the hit TV show Seinfeld in a 1995 episode when a customer is chastised for attempting to change an order, thereby disrupting the rhythm of the food shop. “Not… Read More ›
Most Important Product
Over eight years, 1954-1962, Ronald Reagan, as spokes master for the popular TV series General Electric Theatre, opened each episode with an introduction that “Progress is our most important product.” While economists and other corporate pundits might agree on measures… Read More ›
An Era for ERA?
Editors’ Note: Excerpted and reprinted from The Washington Post, February 9, 2022. By Casey Park A few years ago, Kati Hornung made her family a promise: As soon as Virginia ratified the Equal Rights Amendment, she’d be done. She’d stay… Read More ›
Towns Without Pity
We need an understanding heart..Why don’t they help us, try to help usBefore this clay and granite planet falls apart. ~Town Without Pity by Gene Pitney, 1961. When does a town just wither away—officially? Since 1997, three Virginia municipalities have… Read More ›
Beyond Our Border
NORTH CAROLINA Other than a common border of some 230+ miles, Virginia and the Tar Heel State are as different as their names. While the Commonwealth was able recently to rely upon its Supreme Court to draw political boundary maps… Read More ›
GMU Re-Koched
There are several cognitive cautions that may sensitize a reader’s appreciation of important information. Among these is the elegant French caution that the more things change, the more they remain the same. Another is the guide that instructs the reader… Read More ›
An Unanswered Question
Last week, VoxFairfax posed the question ”What Are Republicans For?” The query was not original to our blog but had been cast by President Biden at his marathon presser last month. There were no identifiable media or internet reports of… Read More ›
Silence of the Lambs
On January 21, 2022, one day before the 49th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Virginia’s new attorney general, by way of the state’s solicitor general, advised SCOTUS that the landmark case was “wrongly decided” and that “Virginia is now of… Read More ›