Author: James A. Bacon
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VPM: Your Philanthropic Dollars at Work
The following missive comes from an email blast distributed by an unidentified “whistle blower” at Virginia Public Media unhappy about public radio’s priorities. I have not vetted this story, and readers should be sensitive to the fact VPM might offer a very different spin, but the allegations seem plausible enough to examine more closely. —…
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Virginia Is One Month Away from a Government Shutdown
Virginia Democrats hold both branches of the General Assembly and the Executive Mansion — and still can’t govern effectively. by Shaun Kenney Virginia still doesn’t have a budget. Instead of working on a budget, Senate Democratic leadership is now openly threatening a government shutdown unless they get what they want. Governor Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) is unapologetic on…
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Virginia’s Old-Fashioned Cat Fight
by Kerry Dougherty Someone recently asked why I’m so fond of including Tweets, er Xes, in my posts. That’s easy. There’s no better way to figure out what’s going on in the devious hearts of politicians than to read their Tweets. In the days after her businesses were raided by the FBI State Sen. Louise…
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Some Virginia Prosecutors Refusing to Enforce New Gun Laws
by Kerry Dougherty This is odd. Seems the same lefties who are unbothered by Fairfax County’s Soros-backed commonwealth’s attorney reluctance to prosecute illegal aliens or turn them over to ICE are having hissy fits over prosecutors who announced that they won’t enforce Virginia’s new – likely unconstitutional – gun law. Maybe some law-abiding citizens wouldn’t…
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How Abby Got Her Groove Back
by Chap Petersen A great advantage of being out of power is that you can speak honestly about what’s going on — and not care who’s offended. Abigail Spanberger served in Congress and ran for Governor as a moderate Democrat, standing apart from the AOC-Mandani socialist wing. By running on that brand (and largely avoiding…
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This Memorial Day, Maybe We Need to Read the Federalist Papers Again
As politicians threaten the independence of the judiciary and arrogate the power of the legislature over all other branches, maybe some remedial reading is in order? by Shaun Kenney After a rather shocking — and by shocking, I mean disappointing — exchange on social media with a sitting Virginia state senator regarding his misuse of…
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More Timeshare Architecture!
by Kerry Dougherty Scrolling through X the other day I stumbled on an amusing post by someone who asked AI to “roast” Virginia Beach. The result was spot on. Impossibly accurate. So I decided to give it a try. I asked ChatGPT to produce a “roast” of Virginia Beach. The prompts I gave only mentioned…
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The Need for Teacher Retention Data
by Matt Hurt The teacher shortage is a national problem and has been for a number of years. We have been provided data on this from VDOE as each year since 2022 through the teacher vacancy rates that have been published. However, the teacher vacancy rate has two significant components: the recruitment of new professionals into the…
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Virginia Redistricting Fails: The Fight Continues
David J. Toscano Faced with a potential Democratic wave this fall, Republican legislators across the nation continue their efforts to placate Donald Trump by adopting unprecedented mid-cycle gerrymanderings designed to protect their majority in Congress. Emboldened by the U.S. Supreme Court’s evisceration of the Voting Rights Act in the Callais decision, Republicans just adopted new maps in…
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Helmer Threatens SCOVA Justice
Maybe it isn’t Justice Kelsey that needs to be worried in 2027, but a coalition of Virginians sick and tired of Dan Helmer’s lust. For power. Of course. by Shaun Kenney Who is this magical “we” Dan Helmer is talking about? Have the Democrats already decided that Kelsey must go? Are Democrats seriously contemplating a…
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Fairfax Schools at a Crossroads
Rising budgets, declining outcomes by Stephanie Lundquist-Arora Fairfax County’s school board members are scheduled to vote today on the fiscal year 2027 $4.1 billion budget. Although there will be a $197 million increase in funds from last year, district leaders are still pointing to what they describe as a $28 million “budget gap,” referring to…