| A special kudos to the Wall Street Journal for exposing Biden's decline in a deeply researched article on June 4th -- which was panned by CNN and other major outlets as "Republican spin" (CNN, we are waiting for your retraction).
5.) Biden's debate performance is no longer about whether or not he should be elected in November, it is about whether or not he should be allowed to continue in office tomorrow. We live in a dangerous world -- Russian warships docked in Cuba, nuclear submarines off the coast of Miami, Chinese war games in the South Pacific threatening Taiwan, and Iranian nuclear weapons in development, to name just a few. The 25th Amendment was written for such a time as this. Special Counsel Robert Hur's report, which I quoted above, was a clear message to Congress that Biden was not fully capable. No wonder Biden and the DOJ are refusing to release the audio tapes from the Special Counsel's interviews. In light of the debate, not releasing the tapes is a dereliction of duty! The truth can no longer be hidden.
6.) While Trump came out on top in the debate, it is hard to say he "won." While the rules kept him in line, and he managed to drive home the border crisis and had a decent response on abortion, his defense of his administration's economy, and on explaining Biden's failures was lacking. He was oddly most animated when the debate descended into a battle of golf swings and handicaps. The BBC reported that the debate was widely panned in international media. Shame on Fox News for not being honest about Trump's less-than-stellar performance.
Both Trump and Biden held dueling rallies the next day...Biden gave an amazing speech filled with detail and passion, which for many, confirmed that Biden can read a teleprompter, which is not the same as being able to think clearly and articulate responses independently. Trump, as he did in the debate, showed passion and vitality, but did little to allay the fears he instills in moderate voters from both parties -- both of whom will be important in November, especially if Biden leaves the race.
7.) In a sign that Virginia is in play, Jill Biden held a rally in Virginia Beach prior to the debate, and President Trump rallied in Chesapeake with Governor Youngkin after the debate. Governor Youngkin gave a rousing speech, again making me wish he was our nominee.
8.) The existence of independent news outlets is more important than ever! Our Senior Fellow Steve Haner is an active contributor to Virginia's premier policy blog Bacon's Rebellion -- a truly independent outlet. Those of you who have been reading him (and me and others) on the blog need to know that a recent technical adjustment caused an unintended disruption to its subscriber process and I would encourage prior subscribers to resubscribe and new readers to consider subscribing by going to the main page and entering your email in the subscribe box on the left of the page. It's both free and invaluable.
9.) The Supreme Court overturned the Chevron doctrine last week -- curtailing the power of the administrative state to regulate and enforce rules that are not clearly backed by legislative language. This will require Congress to be more clear, the administrative agencies to be less expansive, and courts to be more active in reviewing decisions of the administrative state. This is a win for those worried about the role of federal bureaucracies in creating new powers for themselves, especially in the areas of environmental and labor regulations.
10.) In preparing for the pending legislative review of Virginia's Clean Economy Act, Thomas Jefferson Institute's Steve Haner has been writing a series of articles to help readers understand the law and what is at stake. His first article spelled out what the goals of VCEA reform should be, his second article debunked the notion that there is a man-made climate crisis, his third reviewed the existing VCEA and his latest exposed the concerns of activists and industry leaders gathering to work on a proposed change. It is not an exaggeration to say that the economy and quality of life in the Commonwealth are at stake if we do not make prudent reforms or outright repeal the VCEA.
11.) A Federal Judge has allowed the case challenging Virginia's withdrawal from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) to go forward. Former Deputy Attorney General J. Kennerly Davis wrote a great defense of Virginia's exit from RGGI -- mirroring our Steve Haner's view.
12.) The House of Delegates returned this week, and in one hour, managed to pass fixes to the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program (VMSDEP). The Senate floated an alternate fix the day before, which was soundly rejected by Governor Youngkin. The Senate returns Monday to take up this issue, but as I noted last week, Sen. Louise Lucas, Chair of the Senate Finance and Appropriation Committee, is flexing her power on this issue and has her own demands (skills games passage?) that she wants before any deal.
13.) Dwayne Yancey is seeking a study of why people are moving out of Virginia. In his article, Yancey all but answers his question when he points out that the top four states Virginians move to (Georgia, Florida, NC, and Texas) all have lower taxes. Other causes he mentions (poor transportation, weather) surely pale in comparison.
14.) The resolution to approve the parameters for collective bargaining in the Loudoun County Public Schools fell short of the two-thirds majority needed. Organizing will now have to wait until after school starts in August. As currently written, the requirement for 50 percent teacher participation in the vote has been removed. As we have written in our toolkit for collective bargaining, no bargaining should be allowed without a minimal threshold of participation, and without exceeding 50 percent agreement on a bargaining unit.
15.) Arlington County Public Schools approved labor contracts with its teachers union this week -- the first such agreement in 50 years.
16.) The Fairfax County School Board voted to introduce gender identity education to 7th graders as part of its Family Life Education Curriculum. Reading, writing, arithmetic, and gender…oh my.
17.) Kudos to Loudoun County Public Schools for joining the cell phone restriction trend!
18.) With just a 377 vote margin, Representative Good has claimed ballot box irregularities in a Lynchburg office, fires in other polling locations, and general suspicions of election integrity issues in calling for a recount (which will be done automatically by law). The irony…
19.) By far the best post-debate analysis -- with humor -- was by Jon Stewart of The Daily Show...if you can laugh at either or both candidates, this is well worth the 15 minutes...enjoy. | 
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