Weekly Column: The U.S. Supreme Court Decision Threatens Women’s Fundamental Rights

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette, Springfield Connection, The Prince William Times, The Fort Hunt Herald, and Potomac Local in the week of June 26, 2022.

The U.S. Supreme Court Decision Threatens Women’s Fundamental Rights

Last week the U.S. Supreme Court issued three very important decisions: Carson v. Maikin, New York Rifle & Pistol Assn v. Bruen and Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Org. (Dobbs).  The Carson case relates to taxpayer funding of religious schools.  NY Rifle affects firearm violence prevention.  Dobbs eviscerates a woman’s right to make her own healthcare decisions.  This column addresses the Dobbs decision.  I will discuss NY Rifle next week, Carson and the Governor’s budget amendments in future columns. 

             The Dobbs case overruled the landmark Roe v. Wade decision which has been the law of the land since January 22, 1973.  That decision held that the right to privacy embodied in various amendments in the U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights gave women a constitutional right to make their own healthcare decisions.  Justice Samuel Alito wrote that the Roe case was wrongly decided and should no longer stand. 

Weekly Column: Historic Investment In K-12 Education

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette, Springfield Connection, The Prince William Times, The Fort Hunt Herald, and Potomac Local in the week of June 7, 2022.

                Last week, I wrote about some of the local effects of the bipartisan budget agreement that we sent to the Governor last week.  This week I will write about some of the broader issues addressed in the budget.

               First, I was not pleased with the tax cuts which I believe are short-sighted.  The budget contains several other priorities I do not support such as a new $100 million “college laboratory school” program and new funds for school resource officers, but bipartisanship requires compromise.   

Weekly Column: You Can't Always Get What You Want

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette, Springfield Connection, The Prince William Times, The Fort Hunt Herald, and Potomac Local in the week of May 31, 2022.

               On Wednesday of this week, I cleared my trial calendar and headed to Richmond to vote for the bipartisan conference report on our $188 billion state budget.  The compromise was a mixed bag.  This week, I will write about some local priorities in the budget.  Next week, I will write about the coming tax cuts and some of the broader investments that benefit the entire Commonwealth. 

               First, the Commonwealth’s current fiscal picture appears healthy but I have serious concerns that our excess revenues are largely driven by $5 Trillion of federal stimulus monies that have been pumped into our economy instead of solid underlying economic fundamentals.  It is very dangerous to reset tax rates assuming revenues that could vanish when the stream of borrowed money fizzles out.