Full Text of Classics in Western Literature
The Great Books provide valuable lessons in life, but unfortunately are not emphasized these days. Here are 40+ local HTML copies of books that every educated person should make an effort to read and be able to discuss intelligently.
Fairfax Co Schools: College Prep
FCPS ClgBd: FCPS College Board Reports for 2017,2018,2019,2020,2021,2022,2023 Note: FCTA had to FOIA these reports and provide hosting, as FCPS does not post them on its web site.
2024-01-06: FCTA Makes Three Presentations ... on tax rates, transportation, green energy, right-to-work, school choice, pensions
Fairfax Co Taxes: Massive New Bond?
2023-08-15: FCTA: Reasons to Oppose 2023 $435M School Bond Referendum Since 1994 Fairfax County and Schools have spent $360M (plus interest) on four projects that were so controversial that the supervisors were afraid to put them up to referenda. The latest massive $435M proposal is even less justified, as schools have an excess $190M, and interest on bonds adds over $200 to the average real estate tax bill.
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?
2024-03-14 (Tax) FCTA: Fairfax County Notice of Proposed Real Property Tax Increase Public posting, one half of page A5 in the Washington Times. Includes an average increase of 2.86 percent for residential and a decrease of 1.24 percent for non-residential real estate. Public hearing April 16, 2024 at the Gov't Center.
2024-03-06 (Rxx) Brownstone: In Health Care, We Are Flying Blind, by Jeffery A. Tucker In American healthcare, risk assessment has been outlawed (HIPAA in 1996; Obamacare in 2010) as regards to costs to the consumer, who thus has no guidance or incentive to make intelligent health care choices, and who must thus resort to internet searchs for healthcare advice.
2024-03-03 (SVa) Fx GOP: 14 Bills That Hurt Virginia Elections, Deserve Governor's Veto Virginia already has some of the worst election laws in the country, passed by Democrats starting in 2020. Fourteen more bad bills are ready for the governor to veto, including HB1454 and SB246: removing the identifying features used to distinguish between citizen and non-citizen driver's permits (so illegal aliens could vote).
2024-02-29 (Nat) Brownstone: The Consensus Conspiracy, by Thomas Buckley Both 'onsensus' and 'conspiracy' are defined as "a group of people thinking that something is most likely correct or good or the best way to do or think about something", differing only in psychological perception. So covid and climate change, for example, start out as consensus and eventually fall into the conspiracy category. Perhaps the real menace afoot today: the 'consensus theorist'.
2024-02-26 (Tax) Fx GOP: Real Estate Tax Rate Poised To Go Up. Is The Sales Tax Next? Fairfax County residents are bracing for a double-whammy to their property tax bills with a proposed 4-cent increase to the real estate property tax rate (to $1.135 per $100 assessed value) along with rising home valuations. (Compared to: Arlington $1.038; Prince William $0.966; Loudoun $0.875; Stafford $0.9175).
2024-02-20 (Sch) FXX Now: FCPS wins TJ admissions 'racial diversity' battle, by Angela Woolsey Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology's current 'racial diversity' admissions policy will remain in place after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to consider a lawsuit alleging that it discriminates against Asian students.
2024-02-19 (Nat) Brownstone: Schumpeter on How Higher Education Wrecks Freedom, by Jeff Tucker A book that pays high returns for decades with endless insights is Joseph Schumpeter's Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy (1943). He predicts the rise of today's credentialed managerial class, detached from the real-world consequences of the ideas they push, assuming unique cultural power and a united interest in constructing social and political systems that benefit themselves at others' expense.
2024-02-18 (Trn) FCTA: Replace DC Metrorail with Buses Only?, by David Swink Bus mass transit system in three U.S. metro areas examined, and operational costs extrapolated to DC Metro: 41% of the cost of DC Metrorail; costs much less, even if the bus fares were free.
2024-02-15 (Nat) Brownstone: The Great Reset Didn't Work: The Case of EVs, by Jeffrey Tucker We are living through one of history's longest and most excruciating versions of "We told you so." Every bit of the warnings regarding the Covid mandates proved true. And now those early warnings about EV mandates are also proving true, as unsold electric vehicles clog dealer lots. What astonishing illusions were born of this nutty and destructive period!
2024-02-13 (Tax) FXX Now: FCPS seeks 10.5% budget increase from taxpayers, by Angela Woolsey With the FCPS already gobbling 53% of the budget, I guess [FCPS Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid] must think that taxpayers will be held hostage to the mantra our "world class schools" require more and more support staff and "innovation" as in electric buses. -- Comment from reader.
2024-02-13 (Sch) FCTA: Fairfax Co Schools - Spending More and Teaching Less, by Arthur Purves As FCPS spending goes up, achievement goes down. Over the past 5 years, per-student cost is increasing, from $16K to $21K, while SAT scores are falling, from 1218 to 1181. Never in half a century have FCPS SAT scores seen such a precipitous decline. And FCPS wants a 10.5% budget increase for that?
2024-02-06 (SVa) WT: Youngkin's deal with Monumental Sports is "Good for Virginia", Tim Parrish Typical sport-stadium deals (Tennessee Titans, Buffalo Bills, Las Vegas Raiders and Oklahoma City Thunder) use general obligation, or GO, bonds, which basically leave taxpayers on the hook to fund a project with funding that would otherwise be used for roads, water systems and other state infrastructure. Gov Youngkin instead made a deal with Monumental Sports and Entertainment to use a revenue bond tied solely to the arena itself. So no new taxes or tax increases!