Author: James A. Bacon
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Dishonoring the Dead
by Jake Spivey Earlier this month, the Virginia Military Institute Board of Visitors voted to “expand the symbolism” of the Virginia Mourning Her Dead statue that memorializes the 10 VMI cadets who died in the Battle of New Market to include all former cadets who have died in battle. The board also approved a motion to…
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Virginia Project Sues for Defamation
The Virginia Project, a Northern Virginia organization that exposed the existence of an online effort to harass and discredit foes of Critical Race Theory in Loudoun County, has filed suit against Jaime Ann Neidig-Wheaton for defamation. In a March 18 livestream podcast, Neidig-Wheaton accused The Virginia Project of encouraging or “spurring” unnamed people to threaten…
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Paul Marik: COVID Quack or Pandemic Hero?
by James A. Bacon Across the state of Virginia, the fatality rate for COVID-19 patients entering hospitals has been 37.7%. Put another way, nearly two of every five patients died, according to Virginia Department of Health data. But in Norfolk, only 25.8% died. What accounts for that disparity? One possibility is that the dominant hospital…
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Bacon Bits: Snitchers and Whingers
The only good snitch is a woke snitch. The Loudoun County School Board has introduced a “Bias Reporting” form as part of its “Detailed Action Plan to Combat Systemic Racism,” reports the Washington Times. “The specific reason behind this action step is to utilize it as a means to amplify and elevate student voice,” a schools…
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Virginia Needs More Brave Teachers Like Christel Coman
The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) closed out comments on its proposed new guidelines for evaluating teachers on its Regulatory Town Hall two weeks ago. Jim Sherlock critiqued the standards on Bacon’s Rebellion, but nary a peep was heard anywhere else in the media. If accepted in the current form, teachers will be evaluated on…
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Fredericksburg Incident Exposes Tactical Divide Between Black Activists
by James A. Bacon Back in April, Isiah Brown made a 911 call to the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office concerning a domestic dispute. Brown told the dispatcher that he was going to kill his brother but also said he was unarmed. When a deputy arrived, Brown was walking down the street away from his house…
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Good News for Corruptocrats
by Kerry Dougherty Listen closely. Hear that? That’s the sound of champagne corks popping as local corruptocrats and sleazy businessmen celebrate the continued demise of local newspapers. I’m talking, of course, about The Virginian-Pilot. Or what’s left of it. And The Daily Press. Perhaps you heard. On Friday, shareholders of The Tribune Company, which owns…
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Dodging Emails Versus Dodging Bullets
by James A. Bacon What the Richmond Times-Dispatch considers news this morning… Headline: “Task force creating Richmond police oversight board publicly calls out Chief Smith.” Excerpt: “At some point, the unwillingness to engage with this body does start to feel like arrogance. I don’t think we can overlook it,” task force member and University of…
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The Case Against Structural Racism at VMI
Alternatively headlined: There Will Be Heat Death in the Universe Before You Read These Quotes in a Washington Post news article. Carmen Villani, Virginia Military Institute class of 1976, recently compiled a list of perspectives given by African-American alumni as well as actions taken by staff and professors that illuminate the military academy’s record on…
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The Great Scattering
Richmonder Doug Monroe is the founder of The Praxis Circle. an organization that explores philosophical and theological world views, primarily though not exclusively from conservative and Christian perspectives. Doug has interviewed dozens of literary and philosophical giants in the United States and United Kingdom and distilled key insights into short, digestible video clips. He also…
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Virginia Tops the List of Grossest States
Some outfit terming itself Zippia, the career expert, has published a ranking of the “grossest states” in America — and Virginia finds itself atop the list, followed by our neighbors to the south, North Carolina and South Carolina. The methodology for this (hopefully) tongue-in-cheek exercise combined metrics for dirty air, trash, the spread of the…
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A Jewish Community Heartbroken and Distraught
by Ellen Renee Adams and Daniel Staffenberg Richmond’s Jewish Community has watched the developments in Israel and Gaza with sadness, empathy and trepidation. The suffering of innocent Israelis and Palestinians is unacceptable. We are pained by the ways in which this conflict is being misunderstood and mischaracterized by some members of the media and our…
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Bacon Opens Mouth, Mayhem Ensues
I been blogging less and jabbering more this week. I don’t know if the world is better or worse off for it, but for those of you who subscribe to the theory that “there’s no such thing as too much bacon,” I offer the following for your listening/viewing pleasure. Two Mikes podcast. Conversation with Michael…
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What We’re Reading…
If you’re not subscribing to the Bacon’s Rebellion newsletter, The Blunderbuss, this is a taste of what you’re missing. The “What We’re Reading” feature links to must-read articles from outside Virginia that have caught the eye of our editors, Bob Rayner and Robin Beres. These are from today’s edition: Thank God for Big Pharma James…