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Recent Posts: Local, Virginia, and Perspective
FCTA Wonders:
(1) Is it worse to not learn because gov't schools are closed, or to not learn reading, math, and 1776 history when gov't schools are open? (2) Will Va. adopt destructive and expensive green energy policies like California? (3) Can U.S. citizens' trust be restored in government, corporate, and educational institutions? (4) Will the U.S. return to equal justice under the law?
2026-07-02 (Tax) FCTA: Fairfax Co, Vienna Real Estate Taxes Over Last 50 Years, by David Swink
A FCTA board member, and Vienna resident since 1975, provides raw real estate tax data for fifty years, from 1976 onward, for both Fairfax County and the Town of Vienna.
2026-06-30 (SVa) Fx GOP: Va Dems Finally Pass $207B Budget; New Energy Tax Added
The Virginia General Assembly's data center tax break fight is over. A last-minute compromise keeps the tax break for data centers -- and bills you for it instead. The $207B budget became law without Spanberger's signature.
2026-06-30 (Nat) SCOTUS: CITIZEN vs. SUBJECT - The Thomas Dissent, by Justice Clarence Thomas
"I am not sure that today's opinion will stand the test of time. The Citizenship Clause 'added greatly to the dignity and glory of American citizenship.' Today's opinion devalues that citizenship. I respectfully dissent."
2026-06-29 (Nat) AMAC: Democrats Have a "DINO" Problem, by Sarah Katherine Sisk
The Democrat establishment is rightly at DEFCON 1 -- and the threat isn't from Republicans, but rather a growing band of openly socialist candidates promising to wreck the party from the inside and build something far more radical in its place. These are the DINOs -- Democrats-In-Name-Only. ... (DemIslamiCommies ??)
2026-06-17 (Tax) Fx GOP: Fx Co Taxpayers Fleeing; 'Undocumenteds' Fill the Gap
The IRS says taxpayers are fleeing Fairfax; the Census says it's growing. Both are right. ... Fairfax's population is growing, so costs are increasing, while the property-tax base that pays for this is moving elsewhere.
2026-06-17 (Sch) Fx GOP: FCPS Refuses Cutting 'Teacher Workdays' to Increase Class Time
... but cutting Christmas and other holidays are being considered.
2026-06-12 (Pot) OfTwoMinds: AI's Insurmountable Flaw: "Mass Regurgitation Of Misinformation"
The foundation of all "value" is fact, truth, accuracy and the transparency, replicability and accountability of the processes validating fact, truth, accuracy. If AI is incapable by its nature of validating all these, it's worse than useless -- it's destructive on a system-wide scale.
2026-06-03 (Nat) Reality Index: What U.S. Inflation Actually Costs, by Tom Elliott
The Consumer Price Index gets the cheap stuff right and the expensive stuff wrong. The Reality Index measures the gap between what the government reports and what families actually pay, showing that the dollar has lost far more purchasing power than is officially reported. (100% inflation 2020-2026.)
2026-05-28 (SVa) Bacon's Rebellion: Virginia One Month Away from a Gov't Shutdown, by Shaun Kenney
Virginia still doesn't have a budget. Senate Dems are playing a game of chicken, threatening a government shutdown unless they get the Tysons casino and other left-wing goodies added to the budget, due July 22. The governor may have to use her line-item veto power just as Youngkin did.
2026-05-27 (S50) Epoch Times: FL Plans to Eliminate Property Tax for Homeowners, by Jacki Thrapp
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on May 27 called for a special legislative session to pass his plan to exempt homeowners from paying property taxes on their permanent residence. "Taxing something that you own repeatedly, which is a property tax, is the worst way to do taxation!"
2026-05-27 (Tax) Fx GOP: Fx Co Had $260M Surplus, but Taxes Still Up, No Taxpayer Rebates
For years the Fairfax Co Board of Supervisors has hiked your tax bill while quietly running surpluses -- $260 million in unspent funds in 2024 alone. The boards of other Va jurisdictions -- Henrico, Louisa, and Richmond -- have voted to give tax surpluses back. Fairfax homeowners deserve the same; elections in November.
2026-05-21 (Sch) EdNews Va: At FCPS - Risng Budgets, Declining Outcomes, by S. Lundquist-Arora
A 36% increase in FCPS superintendent's salary, and a 55% rise in per-pupil spending since 2019, has not improved student outcomes.
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