| Dear friends and citizens, The organized and possibly foreign funded violent subversion of federal law enforcement we are seeing lately is the physical manifestation of what the political left has been doing to our laws, mores, and Constitutional rights for years. Prepare yourself for the new administration to join in opposition to the legal and lawful execution of immigration laws. Laws which were ignored, subverted, and broken at the federal level to facilitate the introduction of uncounted millions of illegal occupants. The monetary costs of maintaining this population, apparently done with malfeasance aforethought, are becoming apparent due to widespread revelations of fraudulent payments to ghost daycares and food programs. Of course, public safety has been threatened due to increases in crimes, rapes, and murders by people who should never have been admitted to this country. And there is more evidence every day of illegals diluting our voting and civil rights due to lax enforcement or planned inclusion in the voter rolls. This brings up the question: what is the nature of citizenship? And how are our young people being educated or worse yet, misinformed about the values that inform our republic? Our first Virginia Forum speaker this year is Jayme Franklin and she'll address the cultural divide that contributes to the misunderstandings about the rights and responsibilities of citizens that have brought us to this point. Please reserve your general admission or VIP tickets for that event here. Sincerely,  Will McGurn Interim President, The Virginia Council The Virginia Council is proud to present the first Virginia Forum event of 2026!  PURCHASE TICKETS Sponsorship packages are available to support one or all of our events! If you like to be a Virginia Forum sponsor for one or all 4 of our events please check the link below: For Virginia Forum Sponsorship Opportunities, for click HERE. Virginia Government updates: Youngkin reflects on his legacy as the ‘transformation’ governor - Cardinal News By Elizabeth Beyer House of Delegates to continue subsidizing members' child care costs in 2026 By Megan Pauly Here’s what Virginia is doing so far to reduce its SNAP error rate • Virginia Mercury By Charlotte Rene Woods CTB Votes in Favor of authorizing transfer of Shenandoah Valley Rail Trail Project By Ryan Hartnett Commonwealth Transportation Board approves Shenandoah Valley rail corridor transfer in split decision | Transportation | dnronline.com By Ryan Fitzmaurice Va. transportation board transfers rail and trail project amid public concerns • Virginia Mercury By Nathaniel Cline Legislative Logjam Will Democrats finally pass their data center guardrails By Christopher Stern Virginia lawmakers seek to balance energy affordability, reliability in 2026 By Patrick Larsen Va. lawmakers renew push for more energy storage - Cardinal News By Matt Busse Virginia Democrats to focus on renter aid during upcoming session | WVTF By Michael Pope After Virginia judges’ misconduct became public, lawmakers reinstated secrecy • Virginia Mercury By Ben Paviour Editorial: Youngkin’s commitment to mental health reform delivered results – The Virginian-Pilot Virginia proposal would seek review of any plan to federalize National Guard members - WTOP News By Scott Gelman Virginia’s “Affordability” Policies Will Backfire By Judge Glock Dominion Describes Efforts to Limit Turbine Radar Interference — Kerry: By Steve Haner The SCC approved Dominion’s gas plant. Now it’s reconsidering. What’s going on? • Virginia Mercury By Ivy Main Vindman comes out against 'cruel' plan for detention center in Stafford - Fredericksburg Free Press By FFP staff Inauguration Fundraising: 2009-2026 By VPAP.ORG  Articles, News, & Quotes: Presidential 1776 Award - Welcome Attention parents and teachers of high schoolers! Encourage your students to enter the Presidential 1776 Award civics competition, testing students in grades 9-12 on our nation's founding history. Hamilton, Jefferson, and the American Idea | RealClearBooks By Matt Riffe “Liberal socialism, as most people in the Western world imagine it, is purely theoretical. The practice of socialism is everywhere totalitarian.” — Friedrich Hayek Labor relations group: Big labor Virginia state senator spins anti-right-to-work fables - Cardinal News By Stan Greer UVA’s BOV to appoint Senate-rejected Board appointee to UVA Health board - Cville Right Now By Jay Hart Vote No 4 Xs - by Sheila M Furey, MD Four proposed Constitutional amendments will soon be voted on by the General Assembly. A year after water crisis, Richmond officials express confidence in revamped treatment plant By Graham Moomaw Prince William schools' transgender policy remains intact | Prince William | insidenova.com By Emily Seymour Years in the works, Riverside Smithfield Hospital is now officially open | WAVY.com By Jane Alvarez-Wertz Stuart Community Hospital opens for emergency and inpatient care - Cardinal News By Emily Schabacker Hegseth rails against cost overruns while touring Newport News Shipbuilding By Steve Walsh Renee Good: Woman killed by ICE agent in Minneapolis was ODU graduate, a mother of 3, poet and new to the city By AP Take the 250 Challenge - Virginia American Revolution 250 Commemoration - VA250 Here are 10 randomized History and Civics questions, taken from the USCIS Naturalization Test for new citizens and Virginia Standards of Learning for students. Take the 250 Challenge! Democrats Just As Godless As You’d Imagine, Study Shows | The Daily Caller By Derek Vanbuskirk Buffalo Mountain Natural Area Preserve expands by nearly one thousand acres to protect rare species and enhance outdoor access - Roanoke Daily Magazine By Viola Higgins Virginia is leading the nation when it comes to data centers — both the number already operational and the tally of ones under construction or planned. 2026 Global Data Center Outlook  History, Tradition & the 250th Anniversary of Independence  Religious Freedom Day Parade & Ceremony - FXBG Thomas Jefferson drafted the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom in Fredericksburg, Virginia. On Sunday, January 11, the public is encouraged to observe a parade departing from the train station and attend a unique ceremony at the Religious Freedom Monument on Washington Avenue. Ken Burns’ ‘American Revolution’ Distorts the Founders’ Religious Beliefs - Word on Fire By Dr. Kody W. Cooper How the Trump Administration Is Taming the Administrative State - The American Mind By Ronald J. Pestritto Finding the 'Golden Thread' Of Western Civilization By Casey Chalk Remembrance: William J. “Bill” Martin, 1954-2025 - Style Weekly By Rich Griset Virginia to place nine new historical markers across the state | WRIC ABC 8News By Alex Roever LISTEN: Happy Birthday Central Virginia Battlefields Trust - Fredericksburg Free Press By Ted Schubel (1) The Redheaded libertarian on X: "By extremely popular demand, I have compiled a source documents reading list for you all, the majority of which are free to you and where you can find them. This includes papers from our founders, letters, memoirs, and old newspapers. (Note: These are in no particular order, I" / X America’s Founding: Ironies and Compromises By Edward Short America250 - Jack Miller Center The Jack Miller Center is a Philadelphia-based educational nonprofit committed to solving the national crisis of uninformed citizenship by teaching America’s founding principles and history. (1) Freedom 250 on X: "“This is a moment for all Americans.” President @realDonaldTrump pledged that our Nation’s 250th birthday would be celebrated in a way worthy of our history, our values, and our future. To help bring that vision to life, he launched Freedom 250 uniting Americans to celebrate https://t.co/Oe4z2H6Xhi" / X When Common Sense Went Viral | The American Spectator | USA News and Politics By Will Sellers Virginia Museum of History & Culture Reserve tickets to Thomas Paine's Common Sense Commemorative Dinner, Saturday, January 31, at 6:30 pm The Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Liberty  A Nod Toward Liberty: New Founding Father bobbleheads debut By Vicki L. Friedman Former Special Counsel Jack Smith Confirms his Utter Contempt for the First Amendment Before Congress – JONATHAN TURLEY 5 Big Supreme Court Decisions to Watch for in 2026 By Fred Lucas Ninth Circuit Panel Embraces Robust Church-Autonomy Doctrine on Hiring | National Review By Ed Whelan Supreme Court to take up key Second Amendment challenges in 2026 | Just The News By Carleen Johnson Ranked-choice voting will be possible in Falls Church in 2027 | ARLnow.com By Scott McCaffrey Push to rein in Virginia FOIA costs heads back to General Assembly • Virginia Mercury By Markus Schmidt The nation’s strictest privacy law just took effect, to data brokers’ chagrin - Ars Technica By Dan Goodin Twisted History  The Federalist Staff’s 2025 Winners And Losers Of The Year Elle Purnell's winner: Arlington Cemetery's Reconciliation Monument Help us to stop the further destruction and degradation of our historic past today! Help us fight for an honest, legal process to determine the fate of these historic pieces of art from Richmond. Decisions made by the mob are not a democratic process, but tyrannical. There have been some victories, but Virginia's monuments and history are still at risk of being erased. PLEASE DONATE HERE Announcing The Virginia Council membership reward program. Sign up today on our website for the various levels of support!" Freedom Member level: Simple membership is free when you sign up for our email newsletter or attend a monthly meeting. Liberty level: For an annual contribution of $100 you get the newsletter, access to our monthly meetings and a commemorative Virginia Council lapel pin. Patriot level: When you step up to make an annual contribution of $250 you receive first access to tickets to our annual Christmas and Patriot Parties, the commemorative Virginia Council pin, and the newsletter and monthly meeting access. President's Council level: For a commitment of $1000 you receive the newsletter, access to our monthly meetings, 2 lapel pins, 2 invitations to both of our annual parties, and 2 VIP tickets to one Virginia Forum lecture of your choice. We hope you'll find these rewards an added incentive to help fund our efforts to restore a full view of Virginia's history, monuments & role that government plays in our lives. We appreciate all your support and encouragement and look forward to bringing you more compelling voices of liberty, freedom, and conscience over the next year. To become a Liberty, Patriot, or President's Council member, please make a contribution here. To volunteer, click here. The Executive Board of the Virginia Council If you are interested in donating appreciated securities, we now have an account to make it easy for you (see the information below). Contact us HERE for more details.  The Virginia Council Preserving Virginia’s history and creating a more prosperous future for all Virginians. Stay Hopeful. Stay Connected. P. O. Box 5 Manakin-Sabot, VA 23103, United States |
