On Renaming Ships, Part II

If you can recall, several years ago I disagreed with renaming the USS Chancellorsville (CG-62) for several reasons: Firstly, there should be no opposition to honoring servicemembers who perish in a “losing” battle- instead, the argument was framed as “celebrating a Confederate victory”. Secondly, the ship CG-62 was already scheduled to be retired. Thirdly, Robert Smalls, an African-American Civil War privateer, deserved to have his name on a brand new ship- a capital vessel at that. Our military’s tactical strength is in making a decision and following through, rather than re-litigating the past. In this regard, the very recent- and apparently unilateral- proposal to rename the USNS Harvey Milk, a newly-built fleet oiler (T-AO 206), is a flyball. Before the ship’s keel was laid, it was the California congressional delegation that pushed for a ship named in honor of Harvey Milk, himself a Navy veteran. Among them was Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Fears of a “gay ship” led to the compromise of giving Harvey Milk an auxiliary ship, crewed by “professional” civilians, rather than a combat ship crewed by often-teenage sailors. The issues were discussed and a decision was made. On what ground should it be reopened, now that the ship is now in service? Were civilian mariners requesting religious exemption from working onboard the USNS Harvey Milk? I have seen no evidence of this. Did our military allies (particularly in the Middle East or Southeast Asia) request renaming of the ship? I have seen no evidence of this. Did notorious sexual acts happen more frequently on this ship, than on other Navy ships? I have seen no evidence of this. And if “frociaggine” (using Pope Francis’ term) occurred on the ship, the UCMJ, with its prohibitions on fornication, does not apply to the civilian crew*. The Secretary of Defense’s goal is to reclaim a fighting spirit, with a focus on “lethality, readiness, and warfighting”. Are you sure that renaming a fleet oiler ship contributes to that goal? * There are restrictions on intimate relationships between supervisors and their subordinates; and implemented within the last three years, between maritime cadets and other crewmembers. Views expressed are solely those of the author, and not the official position of the Department of the Navy or any of its subordinate commands.

Trump Came to Town

Virginia Beach and Chesapeake went all out for President Trump upon his arrival, completely shutting down 15 miles of busy suburban freeway so that his entourage had a completely private thoroughfare from the airport to a berry farm near the North Carolina line. Such accommodations inconvenienced some of his followers, who had to work on a Friday and did not have the luxury of spending the day perusing merchandise and food stands at the berry farm. A caravan thus formed on the backroads, arriving at the duck fields to find that there was no more room to hear the once-disgraced president speak. Cars lined the side of the road, new cars, no beaters. Their occupants had nice clothes, good hair, and smooth hands, untaxed by grueling work or hard living. Nearest to the berry farm were mansions with many cars in their front yards. One must wonder how much each automobilist paid for the privilege. Chesapeake used to vote for the Democratic Party, between the family farm Dixiecrats and the urban industrial neighborhoods of South Norfolk. But Chesapeake is now a suburban wonderland filled with economically secure members of the military industrial complex. Donald Trump was welcome here. A cul de sac served as promontory for those who could not enter the venue. For ninety minutes, Trump’s voice rehashed talking points soothing to the audience’s ears. From here, you could not see Trump, but his voice boomed invisibly over the fields like a FDR fireside chat, or how God talks to people in movies. Studies show that Trump’s biggest fans are unchurched. Trumpism is their religion. I’m no stranger to political speeches, which seasoned politicians always keep to 10 minutes or less. Trump’s hour and a half oratory was different. One woman told me that Trump “could speak so long, because he knows so much”. After Trump left the stage, cars started to fill up the Wawa fuel station. There were Teslas and big pickup trucks, and a few MAGA hats, t-shirts, and #FJB stickers. But it was remarkable how these hardcore Trump supporters blended in as the regular American citizens you would see at the strip mall or county park. Experts will say that Virginia is fool’s gold for the Republican Party, having gone 20 years voting for the Democrats. But Trump’s handlers knew what they were doing. Many of the cars came from rural North Carolina , the quintessential swing state audience, and the Chesapeake suburbanites added visual reinforcement to the rally, so important to Trump’s image as the American hero.

Gen X Still Remembers the Great Recession: A Virginia Chronicle

 

Having spent their lives fending for themselves, the theory goes, Generation X is naturally conservative. In the New York Times, Ross Douthat further speculates that this generation came of age in the 1980s and 1990s, a time of broad-based conservative and neo-liberal reforms that delivered public order and individual prosperity.

But exit polls in Terry McAuliffe’s two runs for Virginia Governor tell a different story locally. In his 2013 run, the 30-40 demographic voted strongest for the Democrat, while the under-30’s went for his unsuccessful Tea Party Republican opponent, Ken Cuccinelli. In his 2021 campaign, McAuliffe overperformed with the 40-50 demographic (who were 30-somethings in 2013); and underperformed with the 30-40 group, ultimately losing the race. This inversion of national trends perplexed me: why were our Gen X-ers more liberal than their national peers, while our millennials tilted to the right?

Did liberal GenX-ers move to Virginia when then-Governor Tim Kaine declared in 2008 that “Old Virginny is Dead”? Aside from the Democrats who held statewide elected office, Virginia for the next decade would still retain a distinctively conservative political culture. No, it was not Mr. Kaine’s come-on, but one facilitated by the Great Recession. I have said before that 1987 was the worst year to be born in post-WWII America; indeed, in the face of mass layoffs and unemployment, there were few jobs for recent college graduates in 2009-2010. Washington, DC, however, stood out from the rest. The Federal Government was hiring, and the Obama Administration was in-sourcing some analyst and policy roles that had previously been outsourced to contractors. Like California in the 1930’s, Washington, DC drew newcomers from across the country to these government positions.

Where would these newcomers live? Washington, DC’s outer suburbs, whose housing bubble had burst. Newly-built homes in cul-de-sac subdivisions were available to rent at affordable prices. Virginia’s conservative policies meant that the building boom was concentrated here, rather than in the equidistant Maryland suburbs. A general rebound in home prices benefitted homeowners in Manassas and Dumfries greatly. But that was a curse if they were renters.

Virginia Democrats in elected office tend to be either fiscally or socially conservative. In recent years, however, these suburbs are the home of the most vocal progressives in the Virginia Legislature. There was Democratic-Socialist Lee Carter, the liberal enforcer Haya Ayala, and transgender Delegate Danica Roem. Carter and Ayala are no longer in elected office; their fast ambition for statewide office ended in loss.

To explain away natural conservativism of Virginia millennials, there is a practical matter that won’t repeat in future elections, hopefully. Older millennials, especially mothers displaced from the workforce by lack of childcare options, are the largest beneficiaries of Governor Glenn Youngkin’s promise of “no more school lockdowns” for COVID-19. Tellingly, he won the “parent vote” by 12 points.   

In 2013, I thought it was the military vote that pushed the youth vote to the right. Virginia always had a base of young conservatives: military members from deep-Southern states: they preferred Bob Dole over Bill Clinton; John McCain over Barack Obama. After the War on Terror began, it became commonplace for servicemembers to keep their hometown residency, instead of switching it to their Virginia duty station. Thus, Virginia Republicans lost room for electoral error.

The parents of Northern Virginia millennials purchased homes long ago at affordable prices in now highly-desirable inner-suburban neighborhoods. In the 1990’s, they might have bought into a state college tuition prepayment plan for their children; an investment with an incredible effective rate-of-return. At that time, Governor George Allen successfully pivoted employment in the Cold War-Era Defense Sector towards the nascent I.T. Industry, avoiding the job losses and stagnation that hobbled Southern California for years. His fondness for market-based solutions finally modernized Virginia’s segregation-era economic system; a regulatory paradigm that kept people down, rather than help them grow.  Virginia’s youngsters were on trajectory for the professional-class: those with liberal, creative interests moved to the power cities of their respective careers. Virginia retained capital and infrastructure-heavy firms that thrive in a loose regulatory environment, such as banking and weapons manufacturing; the quants grew up and stayed at home, at least until financially stable. There is nothing like a libertarian living in their parents’ basement: childhood bedrooms offered short commutes and free rent.      

For aspiring young professionals, living in the City of Washington’s older housing allows for affordable options such as a shared bedroom. For those who work nights in the service sector, the minimum wage is progressive. Across the Potomac River in Virginia, the newer apartment stock of the Clarendon-centered “polo shirt corridor” tends to rent itself to young adults in higher-paying jobs such as finance and consulting. While the corridor votes solidly Democratic, Progressivism has no home here. This may change with the establishment of Amazon’s HQ2. Right-to-Work brought Amazon to Virginia; but ironically, all those Amazon tech workers might, through elections in representative democracy, spell the end of Right-to-Work in Virginia.  

Thus comes my political theory: While Gen X-ers came to Virginia in need; Millennials stayed in Virginia, in a position of relative strength and privilege.  

Will the Law Prevail? AGs as Celebrities and Public Servants

 

Ken Cuccinelli, who served as deputy secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security after his term as Virginia’s Attorney General (2010-2014), was perhaps a prototypical Tea Party Republican politician; but his term in office did not rock the status quo. A practicing patent attorney, he came from a golden age of law practice, when the American Bar Association was supreme. Opinions differed between liberals and conservatives, but the predominant trend was to empower the people through choice and autonomy; even if it varied from scientific research and planning favored in the immediate postwar era.

In the role of Attorney General, Cuccinelli’s work was informed by strict textualism as a servant of the state, rather than a judicial philosophy informed by groups such as the Federalist Society. As Attorney General, Ken Cuccinelli deferred to the legislature to repeal the one-handgun-a-month limit. This was a bipartisan effort: federal background checks instituted in the late 1990’s had reduced the importance of this purchase limit.

The status quo had definitely changed when Cuccinelli’s successor, Mark Herring (D) refused to defend Virginias’s traditional marriage law in the lead-up to Obergefell vs Hodges (2015); this deference to the federal courts was viewed as unprecedented in Virginia’s history. In retrospect, Herring’s choice has been seen as a decisive, if polarizing moment. At the time, defense of state laws and practices in the Federal Courts was widely seen as key function of the Attorney General’s office: “my Virginia, right or wrong”. Last year, former Governor Ralph Northam (D) never clarified why he endorsed incumbent Attorney General Mark Herring’s Democratic Primary opponent, leaving Virginians to guess the reason why: was it his judicial activism? Was he not progressive enough?

As former Attorney General Mark Herring was on his way out, he left his successor Jason Miyares (R) a suit against the Town of Windsor for racially-discriminatory policing practices. This again was a first; as in the past a gentlemen’s agreement would have been achieved between local government and the state, well before the courts would become involved. 

Bipartisan consensus is harder to achieve today, and the much-feared swing-state pendulum of diametrically opposite policies had arrived in Virginia. For a short time in 2020 after universal background checks for gun purchases became law again in Virginia (under pain of felony offense), I considered opening an online clearinghouse to handle these transfers; I’m glad I didn’t, since I would’ve gone out of business. Citing their own interpretations of the Second Amendment, the vast majority of rural and suburban Commonwealths’ Attorneys (county DA’s) decided not to prosecute private transactions done in accordance with prior law.

Newly-inaugurated Attorney General Jason Miyares promised to take politics out of the office. Even if he avoids going on stage in the national Republican Party spotlight, his judicial upbringing will guide his work. Born in 1976, the Federalist Society was active on Virginia law school campuses when he arrived at the College of William and Mary. This organization is now seen as an alternative to the American Bar Association, which critics claim to have become too liberal (i.e. defense-friendly) on criminal justice issues.

As the alt-right has taken to embrace chaotic, disorderly forms of personal liberty; he stuck his stake in the position of law-and-order. To him, freedom and support of law enforcement are complementary, not contrary. During his campaign, Miyares spoke from the steps of specific courthouses where criminal assailants were given light sentences. Son of a Cuban immigrant, he contrasted the terror of Cuba’s secret police knocking at the door, with America’s love of neighborhood spirit.  

He wants to be your local prosecutor, too; and has asked the legislature for joint jurisdiction with locally-elected Commonwealths’ Attorneys. If they won’t prosecute, Jason Miyares will. The changes could take effect as soon as July. In Fairfax County, the most populous jurisdiction in Virginia, and located just outside of DC, Steve Descano was elected as a progressive Commonwealth’s Attorney in the anti-Trump wave of 2019.  His predecessor left the Democratic Party in protest. Descano has proven himself to be a hothead with a temper, easy enough to be triggered.  While there are other “woke” prosecutors in the inner suburbs, the joint jurisdiction bill was about Descano, who seems easy enough to topple in what will be a raucous Fairfax County 2023 Democratic Primary.

How does the Attorney General put politics and individual philosophy back into the box it came from? Especially when popular elections are involved, these elements become deeply engrained in the interpretation and enforcement of laws. Two suggestions emerge from my experience with the engineering profession: Reinstate the fraternity-sorority of state bar membership by emphasizing core principles of “equality and justice for all”. Matters affecting governance within a state must be handled by local stakeholders; they cannot be outsourced overseas or to BigLaw; to do otherwise is to lose nuance, continuity, and collaboration. In this way, duty to the profession of law would supersede the temporal incentives of playing politics from the Attorney General’s office.

Voting Matters: The High Turnout Virginia Races

 

On a recent Tuesday night, Virginia just broke one of the longest statewide Democratic voting streaks in the nation, on par with California and New York. The oft-presumed blue state, which had not elected a statewide Republican since 2009, appeared quite red with a sweep of statewide offices.  With just three statewide offices, in addition to the two senators and the Presidential vote, these races have become high-stake affairs; and down-ballot offices coming with national notoriety.

The Democratic Party bench appears much weaker than before. Former Governor Doug Wilder, a Democrat, wisely criticized incumbents Terry McAuliffe, running for a second, non-consecutive, term as Governor; and Mark Herring, running for a third term as Attorney General, for blocking the advancement of new leaders. Congresswomen Abigail Spanberger and Elaine Luria represent future statewide potential; it seems unlikely that recently-elected Northern Virginia progressives could mount a successful statewide campaign.

 

The Party of Virginia’s Attorney General

Weeks before Incoming Attorney General Jason Miyares was elected, “Woke Prosecutors” found themselves under investigation for misuse of position, retaliation, neglect of office, and neglect of state law. Outgoing Attorney General Mark Herring seemed to be more interested in national issues, such as abortion, than what was happening in his own Loudoun County backyard. Prior to Mark Herring’s narrow 2013 election were a string of five one-term Republican Attorneys General who each sought higher office. Progressives handed Jason Miyares, 45 years young, fuel to feed his political ambitions.

 

Solid South or Something New?

Democrats held the Virginia House of Delegates for 2 years before losing it in this month’s election. Their last hold of the chamber lasted the entire 20^th century. Followed by 18 years of Republican leadership, these long tenures reflect the political stability of the Solid South. The recent, liberal Democratic Party majority chose confrontation, and the brute force of narrow statehouse votes, over lasting collaboration. Their leaders are now paying the price.

It would be premature to assume that the legislative “Class of 2019” was a mere blip on the Republicans’ rightful legislative dynasty. Prior to the Trump presidency, Republicans held a supermajority in the House of Delegates. Court-ordered redistricting allowed Democrats to gain seats, and suburban voters soured against the Republican Party during Trump’s presidency. Concerningly, today’s new and thin Republican majority has no representation in the first two rings of counties surrounding Washington, DC, and a scant two seats in the third ring; although Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin fares from Great Falls, an upscale district along the Potomac River. These growing Northern Virginia suburbs are at risk of becoming a one-party region.

A characteristic of the Solid South is the maintenance of social hierarchy, with the proven effect of limiting class mobility. Incumbent businesses are protected, creating a drag on productivity and economic growth. At the end of Massive Resistance to desegregation, conservative Democratic Party leader Harry Byrd had a choice: hunker down or embrace change. He chose the latter (although his statue would lose its place at the Virginia Capitol). This libertarianism, once favored by both major parties in Virginia, is found in areas such as gambling, alcohol; and business regulation, such as limiting non-compete clauses and favoring the right-to-work. As liberal Democrats have shied away from economic liberties, Republicans are in a better position than before to secure the votes of educated, suburban, pro-business moderates.  Blue Virginia noted that upscale, educated, politically-balanced districts within Democratic-voting counties had extraordinary turnout in this year’s election.

 

Virginia Senate Changes Little

With a 21-19 split in favor of Democrats, and a spirit of collegiality, one observer quipped that the Senate Democrats would work better with House Republicans than with the Democratic Party progressives who led the last two legislative sessions.

The Democratic Party leadership in the Virginia Senate might prefer to work on compromises to Glenn Youngkin’s agenda, rather than acting as a stonewall. In this later case, two swing-voting Democrats from Fairfax City and Richmond, with the incoming Lieutenant Governor Winsome Sears, a Republican, would hold immense power in government. In the last year, faced with a single defection from party line voting, marijuana and policing bills were decided on tiebreaking votes in the Virginia Senate. Outgoing Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax tipped these bills in favor of Democrats; on future tie votes, Winsome Sears would tip the bills the other way.

 

“RINO” Hunters Decide that Voting Matters

Virginia is home to many low-propensity and fickle conservative voters that continually vexed the Republican party. Geographically, they are concentrated in rural areas west of Richmond. They came out for John McCain in 2008, but were overwhelmed by Barack Obama’s supporters. They stayed home in 2012, when they could have won; then came out for Trump, but were again outvoted. It was to this group that Trump, in his fury, suggested boycotting future elections. This year, Republicans made a concerted effort to get these dissatisfied citizens to vote.  On gun and religious forums that appeal to this demographic, authors reminded readers to scrape off their bumper stickers reading: “My Governor is an Idiot”.

In a high-turnout election with six weeks of in-person early voting, Republicans prevailed, challenging the orthodoxy that increase ballot access favors Democrats. The 45-day early voting period, a now-permanent product of COVID-19 countermeasures, represents a unique opportunity for Republican Presidential candidates: they can ground-stomp for Virginia votes in October, before turning to traditional swing states in the last weeks of the race.

A Decade of Jewish Existentialism

 Source: Humans of JNF (www.jnf.org)

Long before the rise of Adolf Hitler, establishing a Jewish state became the rallying cry of Zionists. Subject to the Jewish Question for centuries in Europe and the Middle East, through persecution, exile, pogrom and finally, systematic extermination; it appeared that other remedy could suffice for the Jewish people.

Trouble existed from the beginning. From 1948 to 1967, Jews lost access to their historical monuments and worship sites as Jerusalem came under Palestinian control. The Jewish state was tentative, perhaps a false promise or aberration in the course of history. After Adolf Hitler died in his bunker, many Jews continued to live a psychological holocaust, resulting in secularization, loss of ties to Judaism and the Jewish community.

Survivors of the Holocaust were prolific in writing and thinking in the post-war decade, reviews and analysis of which can be found in the Arts section of The Wall Street Journal. Where was G-d, who let this horrible thing happen? What about the psyche of Jews of America, still excluded from certain neighborhoods, social clubs, and held at an arm’s distance by those in power? Could it happen here, considering the sensational Rosenburg trial that conflated Jewish tenets with communist ideology?

In contemporary evangelical thinking, the Six-Day War of 1967 was fulfilment of a biblical prophecy. Outnumbered by Islamic forces, Israeli soldiers defended and overpowered the assault that was predicted to end the existence of the Jewish state. In the following decades, Israel became a beacon guaranteeing the survival of the Jewish people. The state received persecuted Jews from the Soviet Union, and from Ethiopia.

It has become popular to criticize the existence of Israel. The younger generation of Americans do not know that Israel’s survival was far from certain; or that Israel is merely the size of New Jersey, requiring a strong defensive posture against Hamas’ missiles and guerilla tactics. Nor do they consider that Islamic allies have not offered broad-based residency visas for Palestinians and Israeli Arabs.   

Heads Up: John Warner; Exxon

The Virginia Senator

John Warner’s career in the US Senate bookended the Republican Party’s short era of dominance in Virginia. He was narrowly elected in 1978, in a state which favored conservative Democrats; and retired from the US Senate in 2009. He was certainly part of the Defense establishment, which once held economic and political power in Virginia; the submarine USS John Warner (SSN-785) is named in his honor. He drew support from across the political spectrum, running unopposed in 2002. Before his retirement, the nascent Tea Party movement branded this popular moderate as a RINO (Republican in Name Only). John Warner was indeed a RINO: “Reasonable, Intelligent, Nice and Open-minded”.

Warner's death comes at an inflection point as the Republican Party of Virginia (RPV) attempts to rebuilt from a lost decade of nominating Tea Party and Trumpist candidates, who failed to win any statewide election since 2009. If proof is found in pudding, these rural hardliners typically lost their November elections by 10 points or more; while mainstream candidates in 2013 and 2014 fell just one point short of victory. The RPV is optimistic for this year’s races, as the nominees are both diverse and chosen by suburban voters, who have marched towards the Democrats in the past decade. John Warner was richly eulogized by the nominees, showing that the late Senator is a model to be followed. 

 

Exxon Going Green?

This one is personal to me, as I dumped this laggard of a stock last year. Shareholders put Jeffrey Ubben of Value Act Capital onto Exxon's Board of Directors, in hopes of bringing the large corporation up to par in the future of energy. Ubben's unique thinking is that an "oil company" can be part of a "Responsible Investing" (ESG-focused) portfolio.  For other petroleum companies, the transition to green energy is nothing new. BP (British Petroleum) had long styled itself as "beyond petroleum", embracing a green sunflower as its logo.

The Fascist Moment

 In the manifestos of various nutjobs, there is a common theme favoring increased control of society, particularly in areas of immigration and family policy. To the disenfranchised, these radical solutions offer false hope of increased status and wealth. It would be easy to ignore the effect of such writings, but for the fact that crazed manifestos have enabled great evils in the past, from Mein Kampf to the writings of Dylan Klebold. Dare I say, we did have a Beta-Test of fascism in America, an unintended consequence of the national coronavirus response strategy.

At a fundamental level, fascists are miserable because you are outwardly happy. Their grievances often come from perception of deficit in their social lives, and they fantasize ways to remove joy and spontaneity from relationships, including hook-up culture. As an example of pattern rupture, the year-long government shutdowns of “non-essential” businesses such as bars and concert venues in many states may permanently alter what it means “to go out” for an evening. While social activities have moved from public spaces to private settings (at one service academy, daytime liberty on weekends resulted in a 15% COVID infection rate after just two months), researchers have found increased malaise among young adults. This may be confounded with other factors like lack of hiring in well-paying jobs.

Halting immigration from Africa, the Middle East, and Asia has featured in multiple extremist manifestos. The national border is sealed with policies reminiscent of the isolationist 1930s. Based on the adjusted travel patterns of my peer group, I would surmise that most international travelers and immigrants today are coming to the US from Europe, rather than the Global South.

Record Gun Sales- Gun ownership has increased, especially among women and racial minorities Some Leftist groups have embraced gun ownership, often as a response to the outwardly firearm-toting Far Right groups. It is impossible to stereotype who might be armed today. Notably, the new generation of firearm owners, predominantly urban or suburban dwellers, have purchased firearms for reasons other than hunting. Marksmanship, tactical training and self-defense have grown in prominence: this disassembled militia appears in manifesto writings.

Inequitable Health Outcomes- Higher COVID death rates among disfavored groups represents a racially and socioeconomically unequal loss of life. COVID infection crossed all walks of life, as seen in how the virus first spread through the global jet-set. But those with less reserves, in wealth or health, were more likely to perish.  Social Darwinist policies are frequently invoked in manifestos.  

Discussing birth rates during a prolonged crisis is a difficult subject, because of conflicting mainstream philosophies. On one hand, it is seen as the “responsible choice” to delay childbearing until one’s socioeconomic situation improves. In the other stream of thought, childbearing is life’s most essential activity, and minimal constraints should apply: in the religious context, this would include marriage between biological parents. As many of my friends are in this stage of life, I am interested to see how countermeasures applied in the Spring of 2020, such as no-visitation policies in maternity wards, affected the rate of home births; or if it caused couples to be discouraged, resulting in a birth rate drop this past Winter. What the evidence shows is that couples have postponed childrearing, except for the wealthiest young adults (see Refinery29, Insider). Survival of the fittest, much?

Reversion to traditional gender roles: Celebration of the family puts a softer edge on the general bluntness of fascist policies. Women, though, tend to bear the strain in domestic workload and missed career opportunities. As modern resources that enabled the two-income household became unavailable; be it daycare centers, grandparents, foreign au-pairs, and, yes, public schools; one parent had to step back from full-time work. In the past, it was assumed that a woman would take up domestic responsibilities; today, income, stability, and now, essentialness, are hashed out between the couple. Egalitarianism is to let the math speak for itself, and most often, Dad keeps pursuing his career.

Hopefully, the experience of the past year and a half has debunked any thoughts that fascism is a viable solution to the political difficulties in the United States. High-priority issues that have come to the fore-front in national discussion are learning and skills loss, alleviation of childhood poverty, and newfound respect for individual freedom.  There appears to be bipartisan agreement in saying “never again”, with regard to the challenges people and the nation have endured.

Appalachian Serenade

 

For at least the past decade, New Hampshire has been attracting conservative and libertarian-minded individuals from the Northeast, through the Free State Project and personal initiative. Strong gun rights, no state income tax, and boundless opportunities for rugged outdoor activities provide the incentives. The Granite State’s rural areas vote Democratic, while the more educated and urbanized southern part of New Hampshire, closest to Boston, prefer Republicans. This inversion of modern political trends can also be found in another mountainous state: West Virginia.

Lest anyone forget, West Virginia was a solidly Democratic state until Al Gore and John Kerry were nominated by the Democratic Party in 2000 and 2004. A legacy of coal-field patronage and low-wage labor resulted in a highly-unionized workforce and economically progressive politics. Until Obama’s “War on Coal”, it was unthinkable that West Virginia would make efforts to appease the staunch Republican appendage of the Eastern Panhandle, closest to Washington, DC. It already had competitive advantages in being home to the states’ highest average incomes, federal employment, two interstate highways, and a commuter rail line. But nobody can bring back coal: Virginia’s recent elimination of a coal production tax credit, which was was cut for economically ineffectiveness (the environmental reasons are still too touchy to mention), was but one signal that coal is dead or dying, and that clear minds needed to create a new strategy for economic growth in Appalachia.

West Virginia’s Governor Jim Justice (himself a Democrat turned Republican) passed a Right-to-Work bill, once unthinkable in a strong labor state. More interestingly, he has proposed eliminating the state’s income tax. Just west of Washington Dulles International Airport, the freeway splits. The left turn is for Route 7 /Harry Byrd Highway, into the prosperous horse-and-wine country, which is also growing as suburban bedroom communities. The right turn for Route 9 is the road less travelled. The narrow, meandering road heads into the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, which lies directly north and parallel to Route 7. Using radically pro-growth policies, and seizing on the current political turmoil and stagnant growth in non-metropolitan Virginia, Governor Jim Justice’s goal is to make his road the more travelled road. The experience of New Hampshire shows this to be a real possibility.

 

 

The Educated Working Class

Despite the vocal assertions of mainstream media, student loan debt is not killing millennials as a whole- 2/3 do not have loans as they have paid them off, acquired scholarships or grants (such as the GI Bill for veterans), or did not attend college. Furthermore, the average balance for those with outstanding loans is a reasonable $8000. (The conservative National Review provided these stats). But there are 6% with over $100,000 in loans, and likely a larger group with high five-figure debt: we could say a solid demographic quintile have large outstanding student loans.

Among this group, many face growing balances as a result of low monthly payments and a high interest rate. Many students were taken in for surprise: there is no counseling requirement for undergrad loans. This was the cost of following your dreams into struggling fields like journalism. Existentially, it calls into question the role of higher education: to pursue a passion, or seek return on investment? Historically, attending college was a ROI proposition, with exceptions for the wealthy elite and certain upwardly-striving debutantes. Then if everyone sought the ROI method, society would suffer as a whole. Compensation for teachers, social workers and public advocates did not rise to reflect the cost of increased professionalization in these fields. Low compensation is endemic to career fields with origins in “women’s work” and advocacy.

While the college graduate still out earns the non-college grad, the wealth gap has closed. At age 35, the skilled tradesman has a higher net worth than the loan-taking college graduate
An economic realignment of the tech and COVID eras has occurred. White collar unionization at workplaces such as Google is emerging. This reflects the precarious nature of employment: contract workers without a sufficient war chest  (cash reserve) to mitigate the risks of self employment or small business entrepreneurship.
A decline in entry-level positions makes it more difficult for new graduates to deploy learned skills in a meaningful way. Such self-employment is a principal part of the skilled trades. In the trades, the “get a good job” mantra could bring a middle class income, but creating your own job was the ultimate goal. White-collar professionals must now reckon with the change.

Politically, what can be done? Portable health insurance ( through the Affordable Care Act) is a key enabler. Universal Basic Income would assist in lieu of unemployment benefits
I advocate for student debt relief through interest rate reduction, rather than cancellation of principal. This is the fairest approach considering that a majority of students do make compromises to manage the cost of education, such as attending community college as a commuter student, or pursuing part-time studying while working. 

The college grad is in a different cultural milieu than the traditional working class, but its economic standing is not too far. It is a force to reckon with, electing progressive candidates. The hippie generation recovered its economic standing during the 1980s-2000 bull market; some college educated millennials from the comfortable middle class may not.

There exists dichotomies in political theory: working class vs rich, highly educated vs not; as well as labor vs management.
Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican, has called for a multiethnic working class party. Most likely speaking of  Economically secure part of the working class, holding rare or marketable skills, who is in control of their work life.

Nuances of Law and Order

This year, urban protests and general unrest in society created a mixed reaction in the electorate. In some parts of the country, Trump’s rhetoric of liberal politicians “destroying the suburbs” fell on deaf ears. Elsewhere, it was a resounding success. I have a theory why: as we near the middle of the Suburban Century (summed up by Mark Clapson in 1992), what happens in the inner-city does not physically or vicariously affect the lives of citizens in diverse, self-contained and far-flung suburbs.

Virginia Beach, VA

The Virginia Beach Oceanfront serves as the quintessential, walkable downtown for a military-heavy suburb. This spring and summer, tensions were high as protestors called attention to longstanding law-and-order policing on the beach. Over the Labor Day weekend, local group BLM 757 held its “Shut Down the Oceanfront 3.0” protest. True to form, the police gave citations to protestors who drifted from the sidewalk into the street. As a result of afternoon and night-time activity, families chose alternative locations for rest and relaxation; combined with COVID, this proved harmful to the ecosystem of local beachfront businesses.

At election time, Virginia Beach voted for Joe Biden and Representative Elaine Luria, a Democrat. On the same ticket, incumbent mayor Bobby Dyer, a Republican, was re-elected with 57% of the vote; and “RK” Kowalewitch, a conservative whose campaign signs read: “Law and Order”, won another 5% of the electorate.     

 

Suburban Richmond, VA

The Virginia State Capitol and Supreme Court building in Richmond were targeted by protestors as symbols of conservative political leadership. With much of downtown boarded up, the city provided a backdrop for political advertising. The jarring images did not ‘tip the needle’ in nearby Henrico and Chesterfield counties, who chose Biden and Representative Abigail Spanberger (D) by large margins. Both counties are home to a mix of employment options; heavy industry, light industry, service and some professional work. Freeways criss-cross these suburbs, linking towards northern and southern markets, and the international airport and deep-sea port of Hampton roads. Richmond, home to state government, several universities, and museums, is somewhat irrelevant to new suburbanites. Overall, there was no partisan change in Virginia’s congressional representation this year.    

 

Suburban Atlanta, GA

The land that served as a springboard for one-time House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and other conservative Republicans, helped to tip Georgia for Joe Biden. For 20 years, the Greater Atlanta area has been the nexus of a New Great Migration of African-Americans from the North to the South; the impact in politics, seen by the flipping of congressional seats, is very recent. Atlanta is a city of the New South; sprawling development centers on its record-breaking international airport and its freeways. The firewall between city and suburbs may be crumbling: while decades ago, suburban Gwinnett County blocked subway construction, a referendum for a transit tax may have passed, pending recount.

 

Los Angeles, CA

California is no friend of Donald Trump. But recent years of excessive solicitude given to drug pushers, car thieves and vandals struck a nerve in working and middle-class communities across racial lines. Since the Rodney King riots of 1992, Asian-American small business owners have been concerned about inadequate police protection offered to their communities. Legislation to “defund the police” dug up old pain. Voters in the state narrowly reaffirmed limits on affirmative action in the state, which were first put into effect in 1996; and sent new Republican representatives to Congress.  

 

Long Island, NY

During the George W. Bush years, as war deaths mounted, these traditionalist, conservative-of-the-gut counties questioned its allegiance to the GOP. But this year, as in 2016, their hometown son, Donald J. Trump of Queens, NY, did not produce the electoral revulsion seen in other suburbs of similar educational and demographic profiles.

While it appears that North Shore Rep. Tom Suozzi (D) will retain his long-time seat, his Republican opponent led in early counting. On the blue-collared South Shore, Andrew Garbarino (R) is expected to succeed retiring Rep. Peter King. Lee Zeldin (R) holds his seat in affluent Suffolk County. Nichole Malliotakis (R) has unseated Max Rose (D) in representing Staten Island and part of Brooklyn. These latter three seats were considered toss-ups going into the election. The Long Island suburbs are home to well-paid public servants and tradespeople of a vibrant New York City; COVID shutdowns and Bill de Blasio’s social permissiveness cast a malaise across white-ethnic New York. Upward mobility of strivers, from immigrant grandparents to civil service to Wall Street, created an unwavering patriotism and belief in the institutions of America. This legacy was challenged in 2020 by politicians on the left, who maintain that this upward mobility was not fueled by grit, but by systemic racism and unchecked privilege.     

Flash: That Time a Kennedy Lost

 

“Kennedy Loses”, a “Massachusetts First”, announces The Hill. That Kennedy is Joseph Patrick Kennedy III, grandson of Senator and US Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, who lost a Senate primary in Massachusetts this past week. “This isn’t a time for waiting, for sitting on the sidelines,” the now 39-year old congressman announced as he entered the race against incumbent Senator Ed Markey.

By running this race, Joe Kennedy was thought to be tacking one step ahead of 46-year old Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, a potential primary contestant for a future vacant Senate seat, who has a national profile. Joe Kennedy wagered his congressional seat, making this contest an all-or-nothing stake.  He started with a significant lead in polling, which recently had flipped for the incumbent. Kennedy’s strengths were said to be in working-class and minority communities, yet ultimately he lost in other traditionally working-class areas like seaside Gloucester.

Characteristic confidence and charisma did not save Joe Kennedy. Ed Markey, 74, outmaneuvered the red-headed youngster on the issue of youth. He obtained endorsements from progressive environmental groups, and ultimately claimed college towns like Cambridge, Amherst, and Dartmouth; in addition to Boston.  

In New England, there is a certain respect for established systems and patience, and waiting one’s turn. While the 1773 Tea Party took place in Boston, the modern-day fighting words of “Defeat, Retire, Kick Out” are not used in Massachusetts. In contrast to the West and New South, non-compete clauses are still enforced in the state, preventing the type of start-up culture seen in California. In a political machine, it is expected that participants start young, and wait their turn before advancing; in exchange for the benefits of incumbency. Instead of congratulating Kennedy for “sticking it to the man” and holding the veteran politician accountable, one commenter stated that Kennedy “put his personal ambition above the welfare of the country and waged a pointless and divisive campaign that diverted money and attention from places where both were needed”.

Ed Markey, who had served in Congress since the 1970’s, won election to the Senate in 2013 to fill John Kerry’s seat, as the latter became Secretary of State. (Joe Kennedy was born in 1980, and entered Congress in 2012). Markey entered Congress at a time when the average age in the body was decreasing. This anomaly occurred from 1960 to 1980; meaning that later Boomers and Gen X’ers did not continue the trend of youthful participation in politics. It is possible for Joe Kennedy to fail upwards, as there will be state races to compete for in 2022. Notable, no close Kennedy family has run for governor.

It’s a Sid Davis Production

In the middle decades of the 20^th century, Sid Davis was a prolific director of educational films seen on projectors in school classrooms across America. The nationwide impact of his short films was recognized by the New York Times, where after his lung cancer death at age 90, he received a page-long obituary in 2006. This film empire was all achieved on a low production budget, where economies included using a single vehicle as a prop. Sunny, new and well-maintained schools and parks served as the background, adding a priceless air of real-life to dramatic stories.

Various Southern California School and Police districts sponsored Sid Davis’ work, including Inglewood, Santa Monica, and Los Angeles County. The orderly suburban paradise, with its authority figures of parents, teachers, and police officers; was often held in contrast to Los Angeles’ skid row, which contained drunkards, pool halls, prostitution and nightlife. This dichotomy served as a backdrop for the dire consequences of straying from social conformity, which to its furthest ends included manslaughter and unmarried teen pregnancy. “You had an anchor in a social institution, now you feel adrift”, Sid Davis remarks about a high school dropout.

Despite his stiff morality, Sid Davis makes no appeals to religious authorities: his films are presented for a secular audience. His prime filmmaking years coincided with the Kennedy presidency, and the famous 1962 Supreme Court case on school prayer (Engel vs Vitale). Sid Davis’ films feature a racially diverse cast, first in the pool halls of Los Angeles, then later in integrated suburban settings.

Sid Davis films are a product of their times. For example, a teenage drunk driver is let off with merely a warning and phone call to his parents. Sid Davis’ most infamous short would be 1961’s “Boys Beware”, warning boys about the dangers of pedophiles, who were labelled exclusively as “homosexuals”. The corresponding film “Girls Beware” warned about casual sex, and received better reception among present-day audiences. Other films contained the results of cutting-edge research on the adolescent mind: One short, “Age 13”, features a low-income Hispanic teenager as it sensitively addresses the adolescent grieving process.

Sid Davis’ films present a top-down, “Do as I say, not as I do”, “Father knows best” attitude consistent with the era.  A 1970 film, “Keep Off the Grass”, presents a father, holding a cigarette and a cocktail, chastising his son for marijuana use. Sid Davis explains the difference: the casual drinker is unwinding after a productive day, and the marijuana user seeks to detach from any responsibility. Public Service Announcements and social guidance films for youth today tend to focus on the effects of peer pressure, instead of the expectations of authority figures.

Watch: 

The Bottle and The Throttle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyMRxHDT4x8  

The Dropout (1962): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GBx3RKi3j4

Sid Davis’ Obituary: https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/09/obituaries/09davis.html

State Capitals and Railroads: A Historical Symbiosis

Where’s your state capital? If on the East Coast, look for the train station. Railroads and majestic state capitals were built in tandem. As reliable streetcars were not available until the 1890’s, state capitals had to be located near downtown hotel and restaurant districts, and to mainline railroads reaching across their respective states.   

Washington, DC’s Union Station was built in 1906 six blocks north from the US Capitol. Most of DC’s municipal offices are located six blocks west in Judiciary Square. Simultaneous projects included a tunnel for trains to pass underneath- instead of across- Capitol Hill, a streetcar terminal for service to the old downtown, and construction of the restricted-access US Senate subway.

Legislators and staff in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and Richmond, Virginia also walk six blocks to their respective state capitals. 

Even though all parts of the state can be reached in a day’s ride on horseback, Providence, Rhode Island’s train station is located at the back door of the state capital.

The capital in Trenton, New Jersey is a half-mile from the train station, which serves high-speed electric trains between Washington, DC and New York City via Philadelphia.

Although the station is located on the “wrong” side of the navigable Hudson River, train service operates frequently on the Empire Corridor between Buffalo; Albany, New York; and New York City.

The very historic state house in Annapolis, Maryland, dating to 1772, used to be located at the terminal of a rapid commuter rail line to much-larger Baltimore; but was stranded after the railroad was abandoned in the 1950s. Light rail service was restored over a portion of the corridor in 1992, but ends some 15 miles from Annapolis.

Then-Senator Joe Biden commuted from Wilmington, Delaware to the US Capitol by Amtrak; but passenger trains have not served his peninsular state capital of Dover, Delaware in decades.

Augusta, Maine sadly lost their train service, which used to run in front of the state house promenade. A similar fate befell Concord, New Hampshire, where buses have replaced trains since 1967. Nevertheless, there’s always talk of restoring commuter rail service to Boston.

Montpellier, Vermont still has Amtrak service; although the hilly topography put the station a mile from town.

Springfield, Massachusetts and Hartford, Connecticut are served by Amtrak Northeast Corridor’s “Inland Route”, as well as respective state commuter rails.

Although few trains operate here today, Raleigh, North Carolina’s capital is also within walking distance of the rail line.

West Virginia is a young state, born during the Civil War. Three passenger trains a week serve Charleston, West Virginia on Amtrak’s sleepy and mountainous Cardinal Line between Chicago and Washington, DC.

Good Intentions versus Bad Actors

My eyes were fixated on the Crew Dragon spacecraft this weekend. This launch was the epitome of the prowess of scientists and industry. A successful space program is the sign of a healthy nation. The war in Iraq had derailed George W. Bush's early presidential ambitions for spaceflight, but not before NASA funded summer camps for youths like myself. So nothing said it better that we were a nation at peace again.

This weekend certainly had the flavor of turbulent 1968-1969. Had I posted this sooner, I would've spoken too soon. Many of the recent protests over Floyd George's death have been orderly, especially during the sunlight hours. Others have been disorderly, characterized by arrests and the use of tear gas, but nothing beyond the pale. However, during the cover of night, there has been arson and looting of boutique shops and liquor stores. Peaceful protest is a keystone of democracy. Rioting has an ugly history of suppressing the rights and security of marginalized groups, the destruction of Tulsa's Black Wall Street at the hands of white supremacists being one of many examples.

This last point is salient, because this week has seen many privileged individuals joining in the destruction of other peoples' property. These rioters truly believe they are advancing the goals of social justice, as they destroy minority-operated businesses. If history is any lesson, neighborhoods damaged in three hours by the bricks and gasoline of "social justice warriors" will stagnate for three decades. It is the underprivileged residents who will live among the burned-out buildings and lack of amenities. This was the case of Washington, DC in the aftermath of the 1968 riots.

Elected officials and community leaders, in both parties, are abdicating the responsibility to mediate in civil unrest, which requires both understanding the concern at hand, while demanding the rule of law and order. This was shown by Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan's successful handling of Baltimore's Freddie Gray riots in 2015. Minnesota, the generally harmonious Scandinavia of America, was ill-prepared to deal with urban riots, and the genie left the bottle.

Among intellectuals, moral relativism has taken precedence over absolute rights. "Arson does not cancel out a murder", or "this is justified", they say. When this thinking enters political philosophy, inaction prevails. Learned politicians vacillate over 'systemic injustice' and 'inclusiveness', instead of  building practical affirmative action plans that would get immediate results.  This weekend, looting was not confined to inner-city areas, but spread to affluent, educated suburbs like Bethesda, MD.

The Classroom and Coronavirus

In privileged quarters, students of elite colleges are asking for a “universal pass” on this semester’s courses. These colleges have returned the favor with Pass/Fail grading. (Anemona Hartocollis, NY Times, 3/28/20). Who are they to speak? Meanwhile, in the K-12 environment, contingency plans “tore off the bandage”, revealing deep discrepancies in our first-world society.

Internet access- Many families with broadband internet access face strict bandwidth limitations, which prevent full utilization of online meetings and classwork. Many rural households rely on dial-up internet, running over phone lines placed during the 1930’s Rural Electrification Act.

Technology- Among the working class, cell phones serve as the family’s primary link to the internet. Household surveys focus on whether or not a family has a home computer, etc. It does not consider if each member of the family- adults and school-age children- has a way to work online.   

Childcare arrangements- Among working-class and poor families, we might as well be back to the Upton Sinclair’s Chicago stockyards. Because of smaller and atomized families in a more mobile America, teachers have found that older children are taking care of younger siblings. In other cases, small children follow their mothers to attend chores outside the home. In certain quarters, teachers and the school system have been equated to child care providers; Kamala Harris was of this opinion.

Economic strategy for adverse time- This comes up in crisis management training for EMTs and fire squads: keep track of your receipts so the governor can hand FEMA the bill. Yet prior to this outbreak, the US had no clear strategy to handle the personal and small-business economic fallout of contagion. We are highly leveraged as a society, and run on thin margins as household budgeters, landlords, and business owners. Our savings rate is much lower than in Asia. Over the next year, displacement and eviction, as well as household consolidation into shared quarters, pose a risk of disruption to student’s learning.

Control of contagious diseases- Special protections for service workers, such as Plexiglas shields, were introduced too late. Outside of the medical field, transportation workers, police, and cashiers have been punished hard by the virus, with many untimely deaths. COVID joins a handful of other maladies whose patients receive care at government expense. Each of these diseases has a chapter in American history: Polio, leprosy, kidney failure (ESRF) and, until 1981, shipboard medicine.  

Coronavirus: Price Gouging Works for Me, but…

Panic-buying emptied the shelves of rice, canned goods, bleach, toilet paper and paper towels at the base commissary. Even the much-neglected Underwood potted meat was sold out. This was not a surprise, as every military family is required to have a nucleus of survivalist / prepper mentality (Survive, Evade, Resist, Escape is the name of the mandatory course).

But the grocery stores, convenience stores, and pharmacies in town were also laid bare. I thought of one place that hoarders may have passed over: the windowless urban corner store. Tiny and dim, small selection, but carrying all essentials. Including toilet paper and paper towels. They had a different supplier, perhaps the back of a family minivan or pickup truck: The brand names on the shelves were from Maryland and New York, not Lower Virginia. Or perhaps, living paycheck-to-supplement check, the neighbors couldn’t afford to hoard like the city gentry and suburbanites. More likely, the shopkeeper controlled demand by raising prices. Any big store or chain which took that libertarian step would’ve been pilloried by the press, excoriated on social media, and investigated by the attorney general. The corner store was small fry, probably selling 12 rolls of paper per day.

In the end, nobody ran out of toilet paper. Most consumers were able to procure their paper products through traditional means, as supplies were available, and at a fair price. Voluntary rationing and redistributing toilet paper from offices and schools to retail stores helped close the gap. As I only shopped once every other week, there was a snowball’s chance in hell that products would be on the shelf during the two hours a month I was in the grocery store. Paying a bit more for toilet paper saved me from making a special trip to the office, where that commodity is kept unused by the crate-load.

Go Ahead, Virginia, Ratify the ERA

Virginia is on track to be the 38^th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the US Constitution, which would constitutionally guarantee equality of rights on account of sex.  Virginia’s approval would meet the requirement for ¾ of states to ratify before a Constitutional Amendment is added. Once this step is complete, there will be issues to resolve.

First, Congressional authorization on the proposed Amendment expired in 1979. It will have to be renewed by a super-majority of Congress.

Second, several conservative states rescinded ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. It is unclear if a ratification can be rescinded.    

Two of the most common criticism of the ERA, first elucidated by Phyllis Schlafly, are that it will constitutionally guarantee a right to abortion, and same-sex marriage. In family law, there is a fear that ERA will allow lousy, incompetent men easier access to child custody. In Maryland and Hawaii, gender equality laws were used in the courts to procure recognition of same-sex unions. However, these proved to be exceptional cases. Many states, in fact, have Equal Rights Amendments in their State Constitutions; and a number of these have not legalized same-sex marriage or late-term abortion at the state level. Sympathetic moderate and conservative groups should emphasize this unspoken point.

So far, the US Constitution has not been amended during my lifetime. The 27^th Amendment, concerning Congressional pay, was ratified in May 1992.  

Good riddance, Mr. Cuomo?

Television personality Sean Hannity moved out of New York in 2014; President Donald Trump , a lifelong New Yorker who grew up straphanging on the city’s subway, moved out this year. Between these two poles, Governor Andrew Cuomo has presided over an exodus of residents. This is an exodus of talent, treasure and potential.

This struck a chord with me, because I watched my peers, born and raised on New York’s Long Island, Staten Island, and in Westchester County leave the Empire State by the handful. They graduated college and set out for the South, particularly Florida. With home purchases and families started, they aren’t coming back soon.  Weather was not the issue. It was housing costs, traffic delays, career prospects, and taxes; overall cost and quality of living.

Immigration from around the world masks the effect of this exodus; it is the difference between New York’s resilient dynamism and Rust Belt decay. But New York has made large investments in its youth; to include college tuition in recent years. Why is the Governor so willing to see the future disappear? I would point to entrenched constituencies who believe that things are “good enough” under current leadership. The critical mass demanding better, the citizen voters who put Andrew Cuomo’s father out of office in 1994, have decamped for other states, taking their New York educations, pensions and real estate proceeds with them.

Got My Name Changed Back

One prominent road in Arlington, Virginia just lost its Confederate name; and no one is looking back. Transecting Crystal City, future home of Amazon’s HQ2, Jefferson Davis Highway reverted to its pre-1920’s name, Richmond Highway. Signed as US Route 1, the road still connects Washington DC to Richmond, Virginia; though parallel Interstate 95 is the preferred, and usually quicker, alternative.  Route 1 is the common, layman’s name; except for the hotels and major businesses whose stationery list the once-lengthy street address bearing the Confederate States of America president’s name.

These business owners and representatives were supportive of the change. Damnata Memoria (Banished history) aside, a succinct name like Richmond Highway works in the text-and-Siri age. “Jefferson Davis” is also a mouthful to business partners and visitors for whom English is a second language.

When, in contrast, a residential street changes names, private citizens bear the burden of informing state agencies, banks and acquaintances of their new yet geographically identical address. Such is the talk in Hollywood, Florida, where city leaders are discussing renaming two suburban streets. In recognition of this challenge, local Lee Highway and Beauregard Street; also named after prominent Confederates, will retain their nomenclature for the foreseeable future.   

Another, slightly more southern segment of US Route 1 changed names sometime earlier. It occurred as a recently-country road was being upgraded to a thoroughfare compatible for the burgeoning national security and defense industries surrounding Fort Belvoir and Quantico. Street names are dynamic in the exurbs, where old roads designed to serve agriculture (literally, Farm-to-Market roads in Texas) are repurposed for office parks and residential cul-de-sacs. Motorists most likely noticed shorter backups well before they noticed a sanitized road name.

* This is my second blog post about Crystal City. Several years ago, before Jeff Bezos put the close-in suburb on the map, I pondered new uses for the transit-accessible, yet fading, neighborhood.