Governor Youngkin Actions and Reactions

[GURPS]

The governor’s office released the following list of executive actions that he signed:

• Executive Order Number One delivers on his Day One promise to restore excellence in education by ending the use of divisive concepts, including Critical Race Theory, in public education.
• Executive Order Number Two delivers on his Day One promise to empower Virginia parents in their children’s education and upbringing by allowing parents to make decisions on whether their child wears a mask in school.
• Executive Order Number Three delivers on his Day One promise to restore integrity and confidence in the Parole Board of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
• Executive Order Number Four delivers on his Day One promise to investigate wrongdoing in Loudoun County.
• Executive Order Number Five delivers on his Day One promise to make government work for Virginians by creating the Commonwealth Chief Transformation Officer.
• Executive Order Number Six delivers on his Day One promise to declare Virginia open for business.
• Executive Order Number Seven delivers on his Day One promise to combat and prevent human trafficking and provide support to survivors.
• Executive Order Number Eight delivers on his Day One promise to establish a commission to combat antisemitism.
• Executive Order Number Nine delivers on his Day One promise to withdraw from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).
• Executive Directive Number One delivers on his fulfilling his Day One promise to jumpstart our economy by cutting job killing regulations by 25 percent.
• Executive Directive Number Two delivers on his fulfilling his Day One promise to restore individual freedoms and personal privacy by rescinding the vaccine mandate for all state employees.

Governor Youngkin Signs 11 Orders On Day One In Office; Includes CRT Ban, Investigating Loudoun County Officials

New Virginia Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin signed 11 executive orders and directives on his first day in office after being sworn-in over the weekend. “No matter who you voted for, I pledge to be your advocate, your voice, your governor,” Youngkin said at his inauguration speech on...

www.dailywire.com

 

[Hijinx]

Sounds like a good start.

 

[DaSDGuy]

He campaigned on those issues and he was voted into office to do what he just did.

 

[LightRoasted]

If I may ...

Speaking of critical race theories ...

A new & accurate map of Negroland and the adjacent countries : also upper Guinea, showing the principle European settlements & distinguishing wch. belong to England, Denmark, Holland & c : the sea of the rivers being drawn from surveys & the best mod

Relief shown pictorially. Decorative title cartouche with figures. Shows boundaries, rivers and principle settlements, with tents showing areas inhabited by nomads. Includes notes. Copy imperfect: Mounted on paper backing, stained along center fold line and throughout. Handwritten at bottom: A...

www.loc.gov

 

[WingsOfGold]

Yessssssssssssssss!

 

[GURPS]

Youngkin Cleans House At State Diversity Office


On Wednesday, the new governor tapped Angela Sailor — former official in the George W. Bush administration and vice president of The Feulner Institute at the Heritage Foundation — to work as the state’s chief diversity, opportunity and inclusion officer.

Indeed, the term “opportunity” replaces the term “equity” in the position’s title, signaling a new mission for the agency. According to an executive order from Youngkin’s office, Sailor will “promote free speech and civil discourse in civic life,” serve as an “ambassador for unborn children,” and “be responsive to the rights of parents in educational and curricular decision making.”

“The people of Virginia elected the most diverse leadership in the commonwealth’s history,” Youngkin said in a statement, as reported by Virginia Business. “Virginia is big enough for the hopes and dreams of a diverse people. Angela Sailor’s experience in government, nonprofits and the private sector will guide us as we ensure that the government is working for all Virginians across our diverse commonwealth, especially when it comes to economic opportunity for all Virginians.”

 

[GURPS]

In Defiance Of Youngkin, Fairfax Public School Demands High Schoolers Participate In ‘Privilege Bingo’


In the school district’s latest move defying Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s executive orders banning “inherently divisive concepts” from public education curriculum, Oakton High School, which is part of Fairfax County Public Schools, asked students to participate in a “privilege bingo.”

The exercise titled “identifying your privilege” is littered with bingo spaces accusing students who are a “military kid,” “white,” “male,” “cisgender,” “Christian,” and more of being privileged.

According to a report in The Daily Wire, Assistant Superintendent Douglas A. Tyson told concerned parents that the screenshot in question originated from “an approved FCPS English Curriculum lesson that is centered around students selecting a ‘choice’ test and examining in detail the author’s perspective on a wide-range [sic] of issues.”

The exercise, Tyson continued, was designed for students to determine whether authors have “privilege that may or may not be present in the work” and then reflect on their own biases based on their race as well as economic and educational status.

 

[Hijinx]

A description given by an Asst. Superintendent with high sounding words that is still basically Critical Race Theory warmed over.
Bastard's just won't give it up.

 

[GURPS]

Virginia Democrats Make Masks Optional in Schools After Opposing Youngkin’s EO​

But Youngkin had one Virginia senator in his corner: Chap Petersen from Fairfax City. Petersen was iffy about mask mandates in schools so he supported Youngkin’s idea.

The SB 739 bill requires schools to teach in person. Petersen added a bipartisan amendment that allows parents to choose to unmask their children.







0


Allahpundit at Hot Air shared the scorching letter Petersen sent to Fairfax County public schools. The first part is priceless (emphasis courtesy of Allahpundit):

More critically, the decision to wear a mask in public – when there is so little correlation with public health – makes it de facto a political decision. In other words, by wearing a mask in a public setting, the wearer is able to communicate a political message, e.g. “I Care About Others” or “I voted for Biden” or even “I’m Vaccinated.” The ability to communicate a political message is the essence of our First Amendment, but coercing others into adopting that statement, especially a student in a public school, is the exact opposite…

Yikes.

Petersen is a decent politician. He objected to former Gov. Ralph Northam’s endless pandemic mandates concerning schools.

Even though Petersen supported Youngkin’s order he wanted to do it through legislation: “We needed to solve this ourselves. And we will. I don’t like executive orders…We needed to act to end the mask wars.”

What a shock, though, that other Democrats joined Petersen. That’s sarcasm because Democrats know the majority of people are sick of mandates. It’s why Democrat governors decided to end mask mandates. Illinois Gov. Pritzker and New York Gov. Kath Hochul are weighing their options.

 

[GURPS]

Virginia Democrats Vote For Bill That Would End Masking Kids, Just Days After Cheering Court Setback For Youngkin​

The amendment was proposed by State Sen. Chap Petersen (D-Fairfax), who earlier this week said “Forced Masking” violates the First Amendment.

“It has become hard, if not impossible, to find a respected medical researcher who still defends Forced Masking of Children as a public safety measure,” Petersen wrote Monday, according to The Daily Wire.

“The decision to wear a mask in public – when there is so little correlation with public health – makes it de facto a political decision. In other words, by wearing a mask in a public setting, the wearer is able to communicate a political message, e.g. ‘I Care About Others’ or ‘I voted for Biden’ … You are forcing children to make a political statement that they (and their parents) may not believe. That violates the First Amendment,” Petersen added.

“For the past two years, we have seen the lives of our children disrupted and destroyed by a pandemic that posed little, or no, threat to them physically. Too many decisions involving children have been dictated by political expediency. As a parent, I’ve had enough,” he wrote. “In the coming days, I will ask the Governor to either send down special legislation or amend existing legislation so as to end the Forced Masking of Children. We will pass that with a bipartisan majority and this sad episode will finally end.”

 

[Hijinx]

The question is why is the Fairfax school board in a panic?

Is it because they are so frightened about the Covid or frightened about losing their power play.
I think it's losing the power that is their real fear.

 

[GURPS]

Loudoun County Eagle Scout suspended for obeying Gov. Youngkin’s mask rules: This is ‘disgraceful’​

Loudoun County student and Eagle Scout Jarod Missler participated in a protest against mandates by showing up to school maskless alongside 15 other students. The Woodgrove High School senior and his classmates were immediately escorted to speak with school administration and were punished with a 10-day suspension with the potential of being extended by the superintendent.

Missler and his father, Fairfax County police sergeant Andrew Missler, joined "Jesse Watters Primetime" on Tuesday to express their frustrations. Andrew Missler told the story of how he attended his son’s first day of suspension to give school principal, Dr. William Shipp, a piece of his mind.

 

[GURPS]

Federal judge grants injunction against Youngkin school mask order, with limits​

“Today’s ruling affirms that Governor Younkin’s Executive Order 2 and Senate Bill 739 is the law of Virginia and parents have the right to make choices for their children,” he said.

Christopher Seaman, the lead plaintiff whose 8-year-old son in Albemarle County was diagnosed with leukemia in 2018, took to Twitter Wednesday night.

“Victory! Preliminary injunction granted by the federal court preventing defendants from enforcing EO 2 and SB 739 (the mask-optional law) in schools where the plaintiffs & their children are enrolled,” he wrote.

Lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, who’ve taken on representation of the 12 students and their parents, told Moon during oral arguments earlier this month that they were not seeking the return of blanket mask mandates in Virginia’s public schools. Instead, they said, they wanted individual schools and school boards to have the freedom to require masks in targeted settings to protect particularly vulnerable students.

Tasha Nelson, the Manassas mother, said she’d asked her school to help implement an individualized plan for protecting her son Jack, a 10-year-old student at Jennie Dean Elementary with cystic fibrosis. But she told InsideNoVa earlier this month that the school effectively told her their hands were tied by SB 739, which passed the General Assembly in February and took effect March 1. Because the school couldn’t require that students directly around Jack would be masked, doctors have recommended that Jack stay home from school until community transmission reaches lower levels.


Do these parents take their imunocompromised spawn out in public ... Wal-Mart , Restaurants ? Any place they maybe exposed to ANY Disease, not just covid ? What did these parents do prior to 2019

Is there ANY Proof IC people are getting and dying from Covid in any significant numbers to demand everyone else change what they do

 

[GURPS]

However, the governor’s office countered, stressing that the emails are not considered public information.

“When a constituent writes to the Governor he treats that communication as confidential and would not share the contents with the public. There is an expectation of privacy that he takes very seriously,” spokesperson Macauley Porter explained.

The outlets filing the lawsuit include The Associated Press, Axios Media, CNN, the Daily Dot, Gannett Satellite Information Network, Gray Media Group, National Public Radio, NBC Universal Media, Tegna, Scripps Media, Sinclair Broadcast Group, Tribune Publishing Co., and WP Company.

I’m not one to mince words, so I’ll just say it: The only reason these activist media outlets want these emails is so they can expose the individuals who wrote in. Does that sound too cynical? It shouldn’t, given what we have seen these organizations pull over the past five years.

Remember when CNN threatened to dox an individual who created a pro-Trump meme that mocked the network? After a video showing former President Donald Trump beating up a man with the CNN logo superimposed on his head during a WWE event went viral, the outlet tracked him down and said they reserved the right to reveal his identity if he was not sufficiently apologetic.

Media activists from the network also harassed an elderly woman who ran a Facebook page that shared a pro-Trump event believed to have been organized by Russian agents.

We All Know Why the Press Is Furious Youngkin Won’t Turn Over Tip Line Emails

redstate.com

 

[BOP]

He campaigned on those issues and he was voted into office to do what he just did.

A refreshing change from the usual politics.

Besides, if he didn't follow through, his Lt. Gov. could, and would kick his ass.

 

[GURPS]

Say, look who still doesn’t appreciate accountability and transparency! Following multiple instances of failures by the Loudoun County Public Schools to report sexual assault incidents on its campuses, the controversy over transparency and parental notification exploded into national politics. The attempts to cast parents as “domestic terrorists” for protesting at LCPS helped vault Republicans Glenn Youngkin to victory as governor and Jason Miyares as AG.

The two soon ordered a grand-jury probe into LCPS violations, which Loudoun County now desperately wants to prevent:

The Loudoun County School Board is seeking a temporary injunction to prohibit any further actions by the special grand jury convened by Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, WTOP has learned. …
In the new filing, Attorney Steven T. Webster, said Youngkin’s executive order exceeded the governor’s authority, by ordering Miyares to do a “full investigation” of LCPS, with a request that Miyares take any appropriate actions “to protect the citizens of the Commonwealth and hold accountable any individuals who have violated existing law or violated the rights of victims of crime.”
Virginia code permits the commonwealth’s Attorney General to prosecute criminal cases in local courts for a limited number of offenses, or “unless specifically requested by the Governor to do so.”
According to the complaint, the authority to empanel a special grand jury is limited to the local commonwealth’s attorney.
In addition, the special grand jury is not intended to be used to investigate noncriminal matters, or policy issues.

That’s a rather dramatic reversal from their previous position, Miyares’ office told WTOP:

In an email, Miyares spokeswoman Victoria LaCivita said: “Loudoun County Public Schools stated publicly they would cooperate with the special grand jury. Asking for an injunction is just the latest in a series of efforts to prevent the citizens of Loudoun from learning the truth about conditions existing in Loudoun County public schools that promote criminal activity, proving this investigation is warranted and necessary. This injunction is a waste of taxpayer money and the investigation will continue.”

BREAKING: Loudoun County school board begs court to shut down grand-jury probe into misconduct

hotair.com

 

[GURPS]

Gov. Youngkin Signs Bill Limiting Emergency Powers, with Democratic Governors Showing What Not To Do​

Democratic governors, including Youngkin's predecessor, Gov. Ralph Northam, have certainly served as examples of what not to do. Macaulay Porter, the press secretary for Gov. Youngkin, referenced the previous administration in a statement for Townhall about the impact of these bills.

"The governor will continue to take action against overreach. Given the previous administration’s power grabs during Covid, he was pleased to limit the governor's emergency powers during a state of emergency and reiterate his commitment to a smaller government. He will continue to empower Virginians and their ability to challenge potential government overreach," she said.

It wasn't just Northam though, or former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY), who was forced to resign last August due to allegations of sexual misconduct, though there was a whole host of complaints and scandals, including how he handled the pandemic. Govs. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) and Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) are still in power.

 

[GURPS]

In a statement provided to The Federalist, VRF President Doug Truax said he’s “puzzled” as to why Youngkin, “who said he favored election transparency,” would sign legislation that makes it more difficult for Virginians to see “the election records they pay for.”

“He’s on the wrong side of history here. People are demanding more transparency in their elections, not less,” he said.

Truax also added that VRF “is committed to publishing the voter rolls in all 50 states” and that the group “will take legal action in states that prevent publication, such as Virginia.”

During the 2021 Republican gubernatorial primary, Youngkin pledged to make election integrity “a top priority,” with the then-candidate releasing a five-point plan aimed at establishing “‘legal voting standards’ for election processes.” Among the key tenets of the plan were calls to update “voter rolls monthly to provide accurate voter information,” as well as to strengthen “Virginia’s voter identification in ‘all methods of voting'” and verify “‘all mail-in applications and ballots’ to ensure they are ‘legitimate and timely.'”

Youngkin Law Forces Election Group To Remove Voter Rolls List

'He's on the wrong side of history here. People are demanding more transparency in their elections, not less,' VRF's president said.

thefederalist.com

 

[GURPS]

An unusual deal gave Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin $8.5 million in cash and tax-free status to his almost $200 million in stock, a lawsuit says​

Now, that transaction is under attack by a Carlyle shareholder in Delaware Chancery Court. The suit, filed last week by the city of Pittsburgh Comprehensive Municipal Pension Trust Fund, says the $344 million deal harmed Carlyle’s stockholders, who received nothing in return when they funded the payday.

Meanwhile, the Carlyle insiders who received the payouts escaped a tax bill that would have exceeded $1 billion, according to the complaint, which accuses Rubenstein, Youngkin and other Carlyle officials of lining their own pockets at the expense of people like police officers and firefighters.

“The kind of impunity that Carlyle’s control group acted with is shocking and unacceptable,” lawyers for the Pittsburgh pension fund said in their complaint.

“The beneficiaries of the city of Pittsburgh Comprehensive Municipal Pension Trust Fund are municipal fire and police personnel serving the city of Pittsburgh. Many are first responders putting their lives on the line every day. They depend on the integrity of the financial markets to provide for their retirement.”

The Carlyle payout exemplifies the private equity industry’s laser focus on avoiding tax bills.

 

[GURPS]

Virginia Dems Hardest Hit After Latest Glenn Youngkin 'Scandal' Crumbles Under Scrutiny​

The latest one, as reported by multiple media outlets including the Associated Press (AP) and the Richmond Times-Dispatch (RTD), revolves around a political ad agency being awarded a $268,000 contract to produce a tourism video where Youngkin was featured prominently.

The ad agency, Poolhouse, was “behind Glenn Youngkin’s successful bid for Virginia governor, which created his branding and specializes in work for Republican candidates,” according to the RTD, who really hyped up the “favoritism” angle in their headline:

“Virginia paid Gov. Youngkin’s political ad agency $268K to make a tourism ad — featuring Youngkin.”

But when you read down deep into the fine print of the RTD’s piece, you get hints that this really isn’t much of a scandal at all:

Virginia Tourism Corporation reached out to two advertising companies on May 5, offering them a chance to bid on the state tourism commercial as well as seven large billboards designed for display on airport walls. The competition for Poolhouse, which branded Youngkin’s logos and images in his successful 2021 run for governor, was limited.
In the case of what it called the “Governor’s Welcome Project,” Virginia Tourism Corporation reached out to Poolhouse and The Martin Agency, based in Richmond; and then on May 10 to Arlington-based Henninger Media Services, after a Martin Agency representative said the company couldn’t bid, according to Virginia Tourism Corporation.

According to the RTD, the Martin Agency could not meet the deadlines so they declined the bid offer. The other agency, Henninger, never submitted a bid. So Poolhouse won it by default. A spokesman for the Viginia Tourism Corporation (VTC) also told the RTD that they “reached out to Virginia-based entities it believed could produce a high-quality product within a short time frame,” which might explain why the competition was, as the RTD suggested, “limited.”

Switching over to the AP’s write-up, a dive into the details of the article further nukes the favoritism narrative by noting that Youngkin’s office specifically asked the VTC to reopen the bidding process after Poolhouse had initially been offered the contract, because the Youngkin administration didn’t want to give off the appearance that they were playing favorites (bolded emphasis added):

According to VPM News, the tourism agency initially gave Poolhouse the contract without soliciting any bids at all. The change in course came after Youngkin’s office expressed concern about the perception that the procurement process was biased, Mike McMahon, vice president of operations and finance, told the station in an email.