February 4, 2022 - The Virginia Star

House of Delegates Passes Bill to Ban Consideration of Race in Governor’s Schools Admissions

February 4, 2022February 4, 2022 Eric Burk

RICHMOND, Virginia – The House of Delegates passed a bill banning consideration of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in admissions to Virginia’s governor’s schools. That’s a reaction to controversy at Thomas Jefferson (TJ) High School for Science and Technology, where officials instituted a merit lottery to try to expand the largely Asian American student base to underrepresented groups while still maintaining a high standard. Conservatives saw that as part of a broader wave of watered-down academic standards in the name of equity, and Republicans campaigned in 2021 on restoring Virginia’s educational standards of excellence.

Delegates debated HB 127 on Tuesday and Wednesday.

On Wednesday, Delegate Richard (Rip) Sullivan (D-Fairfax) said he and his wife spent years as proud TJ Colonials parents.

Commentary: Don’t Watch the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics

February 4, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

In December, the United States, United Kingdom and Australia all announced diplomatic boycotts against the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, and since then, several other nations around the world have joined the boycott.

A diplomatic boycott means that government officials from those nations will not attend the Olympic Games. This sent an important message to the citizens of those countries that attending the games even as spectators is immoral and at odds with the spirit of their own nation.

The Chinese Communist Party knew this, and in a preemptive attempt to avoid the embarrassment of empty bleachers, it made a decision on Jan. 17 not to sell spectator tickets to people from outside China’s mainland, and invite in controlled groups instead.

Virginia Attorney General Miyares Responds After Public Universities End Vaccine Mandates

February 4, 2022February 3, 2022 Peter D'Abrosca

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares (R) doubled down on his position that if public universities want to mandate COVID-19 vaccines, they must wait until the General Assembly passes a law to that effect.

“The COVID-19 vaccine is a critical tool in our fight against COVID-19, and it could save your life. The Attorney General has been vaccinated , has received the booster, and he encourages everyone to get the vaccine,” Miyares’ spokeswoman Victoria LaCivita told The Virginia Star. “He also promised to be an Attorney General that calls balls and strikes – and according to Virginia law, only the General Assembly can enact a statute that requires the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of enrollment or in-person attendance, as it has with six other vaccines.”

Grocery Tax Cut, Doubled Standard Deduction Advance in House of Delegates

February 4, 2022February 3, 2022 Eric Burk

The House of Delegates Finance Committee advanced a bill to eliminate Virginia’s grocery tax and a bill to double the standard deduction on income tax; those are two key promises Governor Glenn Youngkin made in his campaign as part of his focus on “kitchen-table issues.”

HB 90, sponsored by Delegate Joe McNamara (R-Roanoke) exempts food for human consumption and essential personal hygiene items from state and local sales taxes. On Monday, Delegates Candi Mundon King (D-Prince William) and Delegate Richard ‘Rip’ Sullivan (D-Fairfax) expressed concern about how a different Youngkin-inspired tax bill would impact low-income Virginians. McNamara recalled those remarks in the Wednesday committee meeting.

Schweizer: Yale, Other U.S. Institutions of Higher Learning Fail to Report Millions of Dollars From China, Chinese Nationals

February 4, 2022February 3, 2022 Neil W. McCabe

The investigative reporter and author of the new book “Red-Handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win” told The Star News Network that U.S. colleges and universities, such as the case with Yale University and Joseph Tsai, are not complying with federal reporting laws in regards to their gifts from China and Chinese nationals.

“Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 is very explicit,” said Peter Schweizer, the founder and president of the Government Accountability Institute and the host of “The Drill Down” podcast. “It says that if U.S. colleges and universities take in foreign donations, they’re required to report those to the federal government.”

Commentary: States Have the Power to Restore Faith in Our Electoral System

February 4, 2022February 3, 2022 RealClearWire

The faith, trust, and confidence in our election process has been in steep decline for decades. Concerns over hanging chads and dimpled ballots from 2000’s presidential election may now have been replaced with questions about photo ID and drop boxes – but the overall result is the same: The American people simply don’t trust the outcome of elections.

In fact, recent polls show only 57% of voters believe Joe Biden was legitimately elected in 2020. Similarly, just 61% of Americans believe Trump legitimately won in 2016.

Black Lives Matter Shuts Down Fundraising After Blue States Threatened to Sue

February 4, 2022February 3, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

Black Lives Matter (BLM) removed fundraising features from its website Wednesday after California and Washington threatened to hold the group’s leaders personally liable for its missing financial records, the Washington Examiner reported.

BLM hasn’t had a known leader managing its $60 million bankroll since May 2021, the Examiner reported. California demanded that BLM cease all fundraising activities Wednesday due to the BLM Global Network’s failure to report on its 2020 finances, and the state said it would hold BLM leaders personally liable if they do not submit information about the organization’s finances within 60 days.

Johns Hopkins Study: COVID Lockdowns Had ‘Little to No Effect’

February 4, 2022February 3, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

A newly-released study from the prestigious Johns Hopkins University revealed that the sweeping lockdowns in response to the Chinese coronavirus had “little to no effect on COVID-19 mortality.”

According to the Washington Free Beacon, the study was conducted through an analysis of 24 different studies that all focused on government mandates ordering the closure of various aspects of everyday life, including school and business shutdowns, mask and vaccine mandates, and stay-at-home orders, among others.

Study: Women Less Likely to Pursue STEM Careers in All 80 Countries Surveyed

February 4, 2022February 3, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

Young women were five times less likely than young men to aspire toward STEM careers in 80 different countries, according to research and a report from the Institute for Family Studies published in late January.

Women preferred “people-oriented” careers such as nursing or teaching, while men preferred “things-oriented” careers generally falling into STEM or blue-collar categories, researchers reported.

Sen. Hawley Wants the U.S. to Abandon Its Pledge to Let Ukraine Join NATO

February 4, 2022February 3, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri called on President Joe Biden to abandon NATO’s pledge to accept Ukraine as a member of the organization.

“It is not clear that Ukraine’s accession would serve U.S. interests,” Hawley wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “Indeed, deteriorating conditions in the global security environment caution otherwise.”

ISIS Leader Dies After Blowing Up His Family During U.S. Special Operations Raid

February 4, 2022February 3, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

A U.S. operation lead to the death of the leader of the Islamic State in northwest Syria late Wednesday evening, the Pentagon said.

The mission resulted in the death of its target, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, the known leader of the terror group ISIS, according to the Department of Defense. There were no American casualties and all U.S. forces were safely evacuated.

Black Lives Matter at School ‘Week of Action’ Teaches Kindergartners to Replace Nuclear Families with ‘Villages’

February 4, 2022February 3, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

Elementary and high schools throughout the country this week are having children participate in Black Lives Matter at School’s “Week of Action,” using lesson plan “resources” based on the activist organization’s core principles that seek to disrupt Western family structure, and teach children to affirm the “transgender” and “queer” lifestyles.

Black Lives Matter (BLM) at School has provided a toolkit for schools and teachers with a curriculum that features a movie for different grade bands matched to “the 13 guiding principles of the BLM movement.”

Commentary: Russian Appeasement Was a Left-Wing Monopoly

February 4, 2022February 3, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

One way of understanding the 2009-2014 Obama Administration policy of “reset” with Vladimir Putin’s Russia is to recall two iconic incidents.

The first was the 2009 “reset.”

U.S. Army to Begin Discharging Unvaccinated Servicemembers

February 4, 2022February 3, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

On Wednesday, the United States Army announced that it will begin the process of discharging any soldiers who refuse to get the COVID-19 vaccine effective immediately.

As reported by ABC News, the Army is the last branch of the United States military to fully discharge those who do not comply with the strict vaccine mandates; the Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps have already discharged all personnel who refuse the vaccines, from active-duty members to entry-level members at boot camps.

Facebook Parent Company to Lose $200 Billion in Market Value After Stocks Drop 20 Percent

February 4, 2022February 3, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

Facebook parent company Meta is on pace to lose roughly $200 billion in market value as shares plummeted early Thursday.

The company’s shares dropped as much as 23% in pre-market trading which, if the losses hold, would lose Meta roughly $200 billion in market value.

Anti-Defamation League Redefines Racism for the Second Time Since Summer 2020

February 4, 2022February 3, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) redefined racism again on Monday with what it called an “interim definition.”

Racism is now defined by the group as occurring “when individuals or institutions show more favorable evaluation or treatment of an individual or group based on race or ethnicity,” according to Professor Robert Livingston of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard University.

Virginia House of Delegates Passes Locality Gun Control Repeal

February 4, 2022February 3, 2022 Eric Burk

The House of Delegates passed a bill to repeal the 2020 law authorizing localities to ban firearms on locality property. Delegates debated the bill on Wednesday before the vote Thursday.

“House Bill 827 returns our code back to its prior position,” Delegate Tony Wilt (R-Rockingham) said on Wednesday. “Other portions of the bill: it eliminates the requirement to destroy firearms that are confiscated and rather allows them to be offered for sale through a licensed dealer. And it also limits the ability of localities to sue firearm manufacturers.”