Governor-elect Ralph Northam has chosen a Prince William County civics teacher, and former candidate for the House of Delegates and State Senate, to be education secretary for the Commonwealth. Atif Qarni is a military veteran, son of Pakistan immigrants, and a Muslim.
In his announcement Northam said:
“If we want to build an economy that works better for every family, no matter who you are, no matter where you live, we must begin with the foundation of a world-class education,” Northam said in a prepared statement. “We can accomplish it if we support our educators and school support professionals, uphold accountability, invest in and expand STEAM curriculum, and make early childhood education a priority.”
(Why do Democrats always want to spend more money on pre-K education when it’s never been shown to help children succeed? It’s all a wash by third grade.)
Qarni previously ran for the House of Delegates 13th district in 2013 and ran again in 2015 for state senate. He felt he did not get the backing from his party that he should have received. From an opinion piece Qarni wrote in the Washington Post he said:
I was invited to meet with the legislature’s key Democratic leaders and told I needed to drop out of the race because a Muslim would never win. I was told Republicans would use my religion against me and make my life miserable. Several Democratic Party members also told me that my wife’s headscarf would be a problem with voters, as would my beard, which I maintain for vanity, not religious purposes. I was told Richmond is black and white, not brown…..
In retrospect, I was a bit naive and possibly too idealistic. The same group of legislators who tried to persuade me to drop out of the race found a candidate they deemed better suited for the job. Not coincidentally, the candidate was a white Christian male. (Jeremy McPike)
Virginia Democrats claim to fight for ethics reform, represent working-class people and lead a big-tent party, yet they groom and recruit mostly white, Christian, male candidates. A party that prides itself on being inclusive can be very exclusive.
We knew that.
42 comments
MS. Jeanine,
Honestly you did a wonderful job in posting former Delegate Valentines bio in the piece about her appointment as Transportation Secretary.
Forgive me but I do not find the quality of previous achievements or works for this gentleman.
Is he truly qualified?
I expect we in our own County will get more from our local BOS and School system. The only that he could offer us is more revenue to do with as we see fit locally.
How does he expect to expand STEM education?
How will he transfer this expanded education from public schools to college admissions then onwards to our workforce?
In the new tax bill signed by President Trump, there is a provision for parents to use 529s to fund K-12 education. Parents can spend up to $10,000 per child per year for public, private, parochial or other religious education purposes. Ted Cruz offered this amendment and it passed. In Virginia, 529s only have to have the money in the account for a few days then it is open for a payout. This amendment offers parents more choice when it comes to their children’s pre-college education. Merry Christmas.
Donald J. Trump had the finest private school education that money could possibly buy. So did Bush 43’. And just look at what happened.
So, just what exactly are you trying to imply?
I am looking at what happened with each. Bush was but another elitist who had very little connection to the middle class. He came from a family where the obligation was to take care of everyone because they were not capable of caring for themselves. Trump came from a working family and, if you bothered to read his book, you would understand why he is so much different from the past 4 presidents – maybe the presidents back to Teddy Roosevelt.
Facinating. Your advice is to read a book? Not the Bible, the Koran, Hitler’s mein kampf, The Book or Morman, or the Catholic bible, But, the “Book of Trump” you say. Beyond belief. I do not need to read a Trump or Clinton book to know that they are both chronic, greed based liars.
Sorry, it is difficult to present actual facts to the Rbase, or the Dbase. Trump different? Well, he and the two before him just print money to basically pump into Wall St. and the pockets of the rich to prop up corrupt capitalism. Yes, Trump is different, different than the previous 44 presidents. Nobody can out lie Trump. Just as the Trump campaign was nothing but a lie, so is his administration.
As far as eduction goes. No doubt that the young see the chronic lies of Trump, and how he uses those lies and corruption to attain wealth and power. How wealth is now the barometer of success. And so starts the snowball effect.
As far as your obsession with welfare goes. Apparently you may not have the mental capacity to understand that eventually every welfare dollare that the government spends ends up in the pockets of the rich? Do you really think the likes of Walmart could survive without welfare
checks? Welfare subsidizes the rich, in both China and America.
Capitalism is a complete failure as it has been completely overun by corruption. Just as democracy, the news, and religion have also. Catholicism, and at the very least, most mainstream protestant religious brands are now greed based, and nothing but a scam. Follow the government money pumping up mainstream religion. And, just look at the “$oke of $udaism”. The “new” god of Judaism, along with the Israeli embassay, have long ago relocated to Wall St. and US Treasury. In short, instead of a firey cloud leading Jews, they now follow US and Chinese money wherever it takes them.
Look for my news letter coming out soon, hopefully in January.
First of all, the book I suggest you read was written by Trump and it describes his upbringing. You understand people by their life story – and his book has it.
Second, capitalism isn’t a failure. It is freedom and people are driven by all kinds of motivations – greed is one of them. The founders were very concerned about the excesses that personal freedom could bring and that is why they stressed religion in the public square which, in their view, was what promoted a moral society and undercut the worst aspect of personal freedoms. If you want a dictator, then go with the global socialist democrats and they will give you a regulatory welfare state.
Third, as far as education is concerned, the lies that you talk about come from political correctness not from an exchange of ideas. The left wants to shut down the exchange of ideas because it is much easier to do that than to convince people of the rightness of their ideas (particularly when the ideas are bizarre and wrong headed). You say Trump lies all the time yet the champion liar to date was obama.
I’m not implying anything…I’m saying if anyone is concerned about public education, the President just signed a bill to allow parents to pay for other education with a tax advantaged 529. Sorry, I thought it was clear. Merry Christmas!
I know of no documentation that Jews were here from the start. 200-300 Jews here by 1700? Our 100% corrupt government is made up of mostly people who claim Christianity. Washington, state capitols, county seats all long ago having been consumed by the worse people society has to offer, most claiming Christ. If in fact that were true, and they were really following Christian religious beliefs, would we have a 100% corrupt government, or face even one single problem of the nothing but problems that we face today? So lets just quit the “In God We Trust” BS. Because just like everything else that comes out of Washington, its a lie put out by those who claim to be followers of Christ. In fact, these days I think we could give ownership of the “IGWT” lie to the Republicans. But, here is my point. The government in Washington claiming Christian beliefs, now Republican majority, is and has been trying to force our lifestyle on Muslim country’s for at least the last 20-30 years. Isn’t Christianity and Judism based on follow “our” God or you will die? Why do we need 355 ships if not to project our beliefs on the rest of the world?
Why doesn’t China need but 1/10 of our defense budget? Where are the terrorist problems in China, which I believe basically has no religion? Why is China doing so well economically without “their” own god or book? China is being forced to increase it’s military to counter our aggression.
You write and complain about Muslims doing exactly what Christians and Jews in Washington are doing. Both claiming allegence to their version of God. All going worldwide to kill each other in the name of “their” God. All having a book they claim to follow, and none following it. It’s BS.
When it comes right down to it, isn’t the Bible a book of death? Starting with Abel, the flood, Egypt, the other battles/wars in the Old Testament. And then the New Testament, which is about the death of Christ. The death part is real, but, where is life part? Where?
Getting back to this guy, Quarni, being annoited education “god” in Virginia. Forget the religious BS for a moment. From what I know, he may not be qualified. If so, please reply with where he has any management or supervisor experience? Is he just another poltical pawn who was given a title and big paycheck to be a thorn in the ass of the right? Which makes the left happy, which rally’s the right. Northham did exactly what the right would have done. Fan the flames of division, while he jumps into bed with the power company and whoever else will write a check to their side.
The Democrats will get the boot after they screw up everything, after Trump finishes screwing up everything in Washington.
Our nation was founded by Christians and Jews who were here from the very start. Muslims and other religions had nothing whatsoever to do with our nation at the start and for many decades thereafter. The Muslim religion says that Muslims are to try to take over any nation they are in and to convert the people to Islam or kill them if they will not convert (Christianity and Judaism do not say that). If this guy makes any effort whatsoever in favor of Muslims in public schools, colleges or universities he needs to be strongly challenged. I had to take my child to private Christian schooling, and pay for it myself, because the public schools were supposed to be totally secular and the behavior was terrible. If this guy is going to do this particular job then he needs to keep his religion OUT of the schools and higher education institutions.
People are beginning to realize that public schools are not the benign places they were a few decades ago. The left has propagandized public schools and public schools no longer focus on education but socialization. A couple of years ago, the Head of the Fairfax school system simply admitted this on the radio. Education is neutral when it comes to politics. Socialization is not neutral and in the hands of leftists is indoctrination.
Ms. Jeanine,
My wife and I have struggled providing a Pre K education and our childeren have shown enormous gains.
It is the time spent in after K education that has allowed minimal gains.
I do feel that some pre K educations have no gains because the parents are not willing to take charge of the situation.
Maybe Pre K dollars need be redirected to students of free will to achieve educational goals.
Ammendment;
Our children’s President K came from Timberlake Christian not public school. Our childeren scored to high. No equality there!
The answer to the debacle of educational socialism is vouchers in the hands of parents. Every Democrat leader knows this and every one fears this. Why Republicans don’t take up this as a state and national cause is beyond me.
What is the answer to ambulance socialism? Firefighter socialism? Police socialism?
Are you really against public schools? Is that your position?
Should we instead issue ambulance vouchers? Firefighter vouchers? Police vouchers?
I wonder if you ever heard of the Battle of Athen, Tennessee. In that is the answer to why your ideas even at the lowest levels of government can become tyrannical and must be treated with suspicion.
We don’t provide vouchers when it comes to public safety. It has long been recognized that such things have become a necessity at the local level, and it is only necessary to federalize such things during extreme periods of emergency. Unfortunately, as we see today, it is necessary to concerned about a highly politicized FBI and DOJ.
Public schools have become politicized to the point that we have a Department of Education that interferes sociologically, politically and financially in local affairs. The solution to creating a better education system isn’t more regulatory government, but something different and more tailored to a child’s specific interests and capabilities – thus vouchers that follow the child and are managed by the parent. With the internet and distance learning, there is little reason for public schools and even universities to be functioning at specific geographic locations. Home schoolers, by the way, do meet in mass at convenient times and locations. Parents have always had the right to raise their children free of government interference yet it is obvious that this no longer applies to many public schools, particularly in the inner cities where it is assumed that parents don’t give a damn about their kids.
Finally, the Constitution defines the limit of government interference in the lives of people. As time has gone on, the fear of the founders has been realized when it comes to politicians amassing power supposedly in the interest of the citizenry but actually at the expense of their freedom. We are now venturing in the greatest of dangers – the socialist cradle to grave welfare state. And we see what that means in Europe – France is now in its third year of martial (dictatorial) law. Sweden’s great socialist humanitarian experiment is collapsing under the invasion of an alien culture. The Visagrad countries have told the EU to go to hell to protect their nation. Socialism at the national or global level has always been tyrannical and, if you bothered to reflect on it, it can never work any other way because the socialist state stands opposed to the interests of free individuals.
Parents make a difference, not the public pre-K schools.
As we always seem to find out, more demwits act out with the characteristics they claim conservatives have. You know? Like being racist, bigoted, islamophobic, etc,etc. As long as Mr. Qarni doesn’t force the tenets of islam upon our childrens, I could care less.
I care if he’s supporting government supported pre-school and leftist teaching in all of our schools.
I was solely speaking of Mr. Garis’ religious persuasion, as deviant as that is. He is free to be as confused as he wants, as long as he dorsn’t try to indoctrinate anyone in our schools. Sorry for the confusion.
With our newly elected governor, I am expecting we will have to fight just about every policy he tries to install. I will be praying for luck in the drawing for the 94th district!
What will be your indicator for “leftist teaching in all of our schools.” What could happen that would make you believe this was occurring, if it isn’t occurring already?
Do you think the state’s education secretary can order “leftist teaching in all of our schools” or are they properly under the control of the local school districts that fund them?
Why do you oppose public pre-school? Why is it different than funding public schools in general, or do you oppose that, too?
Is climate science leftist teaching? Evolution? Standard human biology?
Climate science isn’t science if it has a bias? Why is it that evolution is considered settled science and can’t be challenged. Any decent scientist knows that the very definition of science involves challenge to preconceived ideas. And exactly what is standard human biology? The biological sciences are changing at such a rapid rate that yesterday’s fantastic idea is today’s reality.
I suspect that if anybody complains about his appointment or the direction of education under his watch, they will be declared islamphobic. I will give him a chance to do good, and hope he does so. I will not, however, desist from criticism where merited.
I’m more concerned about him being a middle school civics teacher. They are generally not very good and the textbooks are terrible. I have no doubt he’s very far left.
Any parent who values their children has to beware the public school system. As we saw in NOVA and other places in Virginia, the LGBT agenda is now being taught to young children and bathrooms/showers are being opened to all. If possible, send you children to private school or, even better, home school. They will still have to deal with a corrupted society, but they can be the leaders who will bring America back to its constitutional and moral roots.
Where precisely are these schools where “bathrooms/showers are being opened to all”?
In Virginia I’ve always seen bathrooms with gender assignments.
As for Jeanine’s presumption, is there evidence to support the statement “I have no doubt he’s very far left.”? What erases your doubts on the matter?
I guess you missed the court case on the subject and the fact that Target has introduced open sex bathrooms to accommodate transgenders. As far as this guy being far left, do you really think a far right guy would be in a Northam administration?
A court case and Target permitting people to self-identify gender does not support your point. Apparently, you want people in skirts in the men’s room. Good luck with that.
She was a black woman with two little girls. She was a state representative as well and was very much into the politically correct culture of the left. One day, she went to a Target store. Her little girls had to go to the bathroom so she went into the ladies room with her girls. Suddenly, there was a masculine voice in the ladies room. The little girls became scared and asked mommy why was there a man in the ladies room. At that moment she realized that this wasn’t just another civil rights issue but a real issue of child safety, security and fear.
That is the problem with the left. When it is all grievance civil rights theory, then anything can be possible and acceptable. But when it hits them personally, then the PC practice just might not be the right thing. (There have been a number of incidents reported of men dressed as women just hanging in ladies rooms and security can’t force them out because of Target store policies. Target has now committed some 20 million dollars to make their restrooms into men/women rooms with lockable doors. Well, that doesn’t actually work either as there have been instances of men grabbing little girls and boys and locking themselves in such rooms to molest their trophies.)
Self-identification as you call it is simply an excuse for a psychopathic or sociopathic behavior. it is also quite destructive as men are entering ladies athletic contests and not unsurprisingly winning them. There is a very valid reason for separating the sexes for certain purposes and blurring the lines is destructive.
I can tell you are not well. I hope for better for you. Happier holidays to you!
Self-identification means keeping the government out of the bathroom, which would ordinarily be an issue you’d likely support. Self-identification means common sense.
Internal locks not enough for you because — well, you now worry people will use bathroom doors as barricades. Easily addressed with special security locks, but now you are obviously into second-guessing the decisions of private businesses.
The effect of your suggestion is to demand some people in skirts use the men’s room. I can accept people with skirts in the men’s room — I simply do not care who is in the bathroom, as I am focused with the activity and then depart.
Bottom-line: Your North Carolina politics play out in Virginia the same way they played out in North Carolina, and neither the business community nor many so-called “conservatives” (they are not conservatives when they want govt policing the potty) are on your side on thise.
Perhaps you should start a support group with Sideshow Bob Marshall. You can commiserate and dream up more nightmare scenarios. Bathroom barricades! The horror!
I guess we have to disagree. Self-identification is fine in the privacy of your home. It is not OK in public where laws and norms govern behavior. Transgenderism is a psychological disorder and you would normalize it. Sorry, but that makes you the problem, not me.
“Self-identification is fine in the privacy of your home. It is not OK in public where laws and norms govern behavior.”
Answer with a direct, clear response: Do you support govt gender determination? Would you base this on chromosomal analysis? What happens if, say, someone accuses Ann Coulter of using the wrong restroom? How does that play out in the world for which you wish?
What is it about the word “law” that you do not understand. There are laws governing all kinds of public sexual behavior and, per you, that constitutes sexual discrimination. As far as gender determination, parents put the sex on the birth certificate and that determination ought to be male or female not some bizarre combination just because of political correctness. At this point, 98+ percent of human beings recognize the differences between the sexes. The less than 2% want to turn it into a circus of corruption and perversion.
Oh, by the way, it is only folks like you that want to muddy the waters here, and they have been very successful in putting this bizarre sexual agenda into the courts and the classrooms.
Do you support govt gender determination? Would you base this on
chromosomal analysis? What happens if, say, someone accuses Ann Coulter
of using the wrong restroom? How does that play out in the world for
which you wish?
I wrote nothing about sexual discrimination in relationship to this issue. It has nothing to do with sex, everything to do with gender. Neither does it have anything to do with me or people like me, as North Carolina found its way out of this trick bag itself. Businesses make their own decision on this issue, to which you object. I say let the market decide on its own, just like those who select a bathroom.
I repeat: How do you propose government determine gender? Chromosomal analysis? How then do you defend Coulter in the women’s room? Plenty of others.
How thereafter do you enforce the laws you wish were on the books? Explain how you keep the police out of the bathroom, forcing people in skirts and dresses into the men’s room.
Sex is a synonym for gender.
They do not equate. No one ever asked anyone to have gender.
Stop avoiding the inevitable questions. I remind you that this started with your absurd declaration that Northern Virginia has opened bathrooms and showers to mixed groups.
I support freedom. Freedom for companies like Target to choose the bathrooms they provide on the conditions they prefer. Freedom for individuals to choose the gender with which they identify, recognizing that many– maybe two in a hundred — have natural ambiguity that persists long past the issuance of a birth certificate.
You support government in the bathroom. Bad idea.
It is quite funny. You want government in the bathrooms and I want individuals to respect cultural and historic norms. It is Obama who entered the bathroom wars and created sexual chaos in the very simplest of human matters.
And, the synonym of gender is sex. That is from the dictionary not me making it up. You want to confuse, I simply want clarity.
Oh, Target has the freedom to do what they want with bathrooms, but I have the freedom to stay away. Target has been hurt by pandering to transgenders and ignoring their customer base. Target messed with the safety and security of women and children, and they deserve to be shunned accordingly.
By the way, that 2 in 100 number applies to the entirety of the LGBTQ population. The CDC did a study of the numbers. So, if you were honest, you would recognize that all of society, the other 98 out of 100, has to corrupt and pervert itself to accommodate the 2 out of 100.
“You wrote “You want government in the bathrooms” as if you didn’t realize that is your own position. Confused much?
Clearly so. I look up the numbers on-line and they say two percent of the population is literally intersex — their gender ambiguous — and that this number does not refer to the entire LGBTQ population. Who is dishonest here?
Regardless of the numbers, it is a lot of people. If it is the lowest estimate that I’ve seen, which one-half of one-percent, then in the US this constitutes between one and two million people.
Corrupt and pervert? Bathroom privileges do not involve corruption or perversion at all, unless of course you want to see people in skirts walking into the men’s room. Surely this your goal given that you think their presence ill-suited to the women’s room.
Target’s decision to change their bathrooms is not part of a trend to open Northern Virginia bathrooms and showers to all, which was your original claim. It cannot survive even the mildest inquiry.
For the avoidance of doubt, I want the status quo. You want the law changed and that law would place government in the role of enforcing bathroom access. You want North Carolina’s now rejected law and that is absurd, even more ridiculous than your claim that NoVa now has open bathrooms and showers.
Well, 320,000,000 is a lot of people as well, and if majority rule is to be honored, then the entirety of your argument falls into disrepute. Respecting minority rights doesn’t mean giving into perversions and corruptions just because someone or some group wants it normalized. If we follow that argument, then every Charles Manson group and mass murderers ought to be respected because they constitute a group of Americans.
Actually, the transgender population is about .3% or 700,000. I don’t think afflicting the nation with sexual chaos to accommodate them is either desirable or necessary. And as far as status quo, the status quo a decade ago didn’t even mention transgenders – this is an entirely made up problem and it is quite dangerous because transgenders have a recognized psychological problem.
Actually, you are being dishonest. I gave you the CDC source and you dispute it without offering an alternative source. At one time Kinsey estimate 10%, an estimate utterly refuted by subsequent studies. The 2% has been around for a number of decades and the LGBTQ community does everything it can to hide it to make their numbers appear to be greater.
By the way, the LGBTQ community is pushing hard to open bathrooms and showers, changing rooms, and dressing rooms to anyone regardless of sex. What I wrote is “and bathrooms/showers are being opened to all”. And that is exactly what is happening thanks to law suits. Parental concerns are give short shrift, and a parent who objects to this wonderful future is called a bigot.
The majority has ruled on the bathroom issue and about Sideshow Bob who shares your passion for potty politics.
BTW, CDC says 96.6% are straight:
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr077.pdf
The remainder are not the issue here. Only those with gender ambiguity who wish to use another bathroom are at issue. And you want the ones with skirts and dresses in the men’s room.
The majority cannot override the basic human rights of even .0000000001 % of the population. That’s the point of basic human rights.
Well, the rule of law says you are wrong. The basic rights are defined in the Bill of Rights, There is no right to murder. There is no right to steal. There is no right of abortion. There is no right to infidelity. There is no right to any behavior other than that which is in the Bill of Rights – Religion, speech, press, peaceable assembly and self defense. Those are the rights that are guaranteed and even those rights have been steadily chipped away by the left.
And really, I could care less whether the number is 96.6% or 98.1%. It is the vast majority. As far as the American citizenry ruling on the transgender issue, that has never been submitted to vote. It is only by strong arming the public with lies and threats of economic loss that there is any tolerance of the transgender behaviors and disorders. The North Carolina situation which you extol never reached the citizenry of the state because it would have lost big time.
The rule of law says that even if every person in the US save one were white, they would nonetheless have no right to discriminate against the one that was not.
You are simply one of the most ignorant people I’ve ever encountered. It speaks volumes about the problems good conservatives face, tainted by extremists like yourself.
We need a healthy competition for the middle, but you are an example of those who tug the Republican Party to the extreme right. I want a healthy Republican Party expanding its base.
I find it interesting that you believe that discrimination isn’t lawful. By its very nature, criminal law is discriminatory.
As far as good conservatives are concerned, the Republican Party has been split into conservatives who value the constitutional limits of government and GOP elitists who think that global socialism is somehow the way to go.
As far as a healthy Republican Party, we have tried in the GOPe moderate way and it has proven to undermine the very principles we espouse as Republicans. (Far too many elected leaders talk Republican and when elected act moderate or even leftist – and then whine about being stymied from taking action. “We just can’t repeal obamacare because we don’t have the votes” is hogwash. It reflects a simple fact – politicians don’t give up power even when they promise to do so.
By the way, healthy competition for the middle starts with truth telling not a bunch of convenient lies, leading questions or hiding negatives. You have pushed the transgender issue as if there were no negative implications. There are, and they are destructive of the individual as well children who are being given a false impression of what transgenderism actually is. You obviously want to normalize this sickness by claiming it to be a civil rights issue.
Most of your arguments so far would take the Republican Party further to the left, not to the middle.
Here is an interesting little article about the dangers of marijuana. While you ignore the dangers of homosexuality on the public at large, you are equally at fault for ignoring the dangers of marijuana use. Everything is just sweetness and light, and it is quite convenient to bury hard truths.
———————————————————-
For 17 years, Chalfonte LeNee Queen suffered periodic episodes of violent retching and abdominal pain that would knock her off her feet for days, sometimes leaving her writhing on the floor in pain.
“I’ve screamed out for death,” says Queen, 48, who lives in San Diego. “I’ve cried out for my mom, who’s been dead for 20 years, mentally not realizing she can’t come to me.”
Queen lost a modeling job after being mistaken for an alcoholic. She racked up tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills, and her nausea interrupted her sex life. Toward the end of her illness, the 5-foot-9-inch woman weighed just 109 pounds.
Throughout the nearly two decades of pain, vomiting and mental fog, Queen visited the hospital about three times a year, but doctors never got to the bottom of what was ailing her. By 2016, she thought she was dying, that she “must have some sort of cancer or something they can’t detect,” Queen recalls.
But she didn’t have cancer. She had an obscure syndrome called cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, a condition only recently acknowledged by the medical community. It affects a small population — namely, a subset of marijuana users who smoke multiple times a day for months, years or even decades.
There’s no hard data on the prevalence of the illness. But in California and Colorado, which have loosened marijuana laws in recent years, some emergency physicians say they’re seeing it more often. One study in Colorado suggests there may be a link.