Author: James A. Bacon
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Advocacy and Activism for Teachers
The Virginia Education Association emphasizes radicalism and resistance over reading and math. by Victoria Manning The Virginia Education Association (VEA), the state arm of the National Education Association, has no interest in educating your children. Instead, they want to push “advocacy and activism for educators”—a goal they stated explicitly and repeatedly throughout their November 2025…
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A Coordinated Effort to Delegitimize and Intimidate the UVA Board
by The Jefferson Council Any discerning observer paying attention to the ongoing barrage of unprecedented attacks on the University of Virginia Board of Visitors (BOV) and its leadership cannot help but notice a striking similar pattern. The same allegations—largely manufactured, repetitious, and thinly sourced—are recycled again and again, apparently in the belief that if a…
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Great Idea: Online FOIA Libraries
I’d love to see one of these for the University of Virginia! — JAB
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Leadership by Example Has Broken Down at VMI
by George Mayforth My recent visit to the Institute during Parents Weekend—an occasion traditionally marked by pride in the Corps and confidence in the VMI system—left me with observations that must be addressed openly and honestly. These concerns do not arise from distant rumor or nostalgia; they come directly from what I witnessed on Post.…
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The Empty Bus to Nowhere
Why Virginia’s rural transit subsidies need a reality check by J.D. Wong If you live in one of Virginia’s picturesque rural counties, you may have seen a familiar, yet puzzling sight: a large, brightly branded public bus rolling down a country road or regional highway, carrying nothing but a driver and a volume of air.…
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Busted: GOP in Panic Mode Over Goldman Redistricting Strategy
by Paul Goldman Thank you sir: Mr. Emilio Jaksetic’s attempt to refute my article actually demonstrates the GOP is in a panic over my redistricting strategy. The GOP realizes I have indeed come up with a way to outfox Judge Thomas and his colleagues. Their rationale in the Texas case told Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger, House Speaker Don…
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A Critique of Paul Goldman’s “Outfoxing Judge Thomas”
by Emilio Jaksetic On December 5, 2025, Paul Goldman’s “Outfoxing Judge Thomas: An Alternative Redistricting Strategy for VA Democrats” was posted on Bacon’s Rebellion. Mr. Goldman presented a strategy that he claimed could avoid potential legal barriers to efforts by Virginia Democrats to amend the Virginia Constitution to return the redistricting authority to the General…
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More Blue on Blue
Prediction: as Democrats consolidate power in Virginia and relegate Republicans to the sidelines, the party’s internal schisms will come to the fore. (See “Geographic Schism Among Virginia Dems?”) That’s human nature. — JAB
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In a Toxic Culture, Defining What It Means to Be a Man
My favorite living sociologist (Edward Banfield passed away in 1999), the University of Virginia’s Brad Wilcox, is perhaps the leading conservative scholar on the sociology of the U.S. family. This tweet links to his review of Scott Galloway’s book, “Notes on Being a Man” in the Wall Street Journal. — JAB
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Virginia’s Most Conservative City Births Plan to Thwart Abortion Tourism
Lynchburg is proving that the fight against abortion starts at the local level. by Hayden Ludwig Planned Parenthood boasted earlier this year that “Virginia is the last state in the South without an extreme abortion ban.” That’s a campaign consultant’s way of twisting the truth: the Old Dominion has the most liberal abortion laws south of the…
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Bill Could Release Dangerous Murderers
by Hans Bader A bill introduced in Virginia could lead to the release of dangerous murderers who committed their crime as teenagers. If passed, SB60 would mandate that the Virginia Parole “Board shall not deny parole for a juvenile offender based on factors outside of his demonstrated ability to change, such as the nature of…
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UVA’s President Was Right to Resign
“Former university head Jim Ryan presided over a potential pattern of civil-rights violations, writes John D. Sailer at the Manhattan Institute — highlighting a fact that has largely been ignored by state Senate leaders intent upon asserting control over the University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors. From his article in the City Journal: Rather than…