Bacon's Rebellion

by Barnie Day

With a budget surplus looming, Virginia legislators are abandoning all fiscal restraint. Big winners could include beekeepers and Japanese snails.

Remember the “surplus?” That extra $1.2 billion—give or take a hundred million or so—that a robust economy might be kicking into the state’s coffers? Don’t get any ideas about laying hands on any of it. Through Tuesday of this week, members of the Virginia House of Delegates had filed budget amendments—865 of them—that would spend it three times. More

by E M Risse

A failing education system puts Americans at risk in a globally competitive economy and undermines our democracy.

Most readers of this column, some grudgingly, have come to agree that there is a direct connection between the pattern and density of land use and transportation (aka, mobility and access). Some were surprised to see that in our last column (“Education and Human Settlement Patterns”, Jan. 31, 2005 ) we dragged education into the discussion by examining importance of the size and location of school facilities. More

by Patrick McSweeney

Virginia tried funding transportation projects through “public-private partnerships” in the 19th century. Advocates of that approach today might think twice if they knew their history.

There is at least one good reason for requiring the teaching of Virginia history. It might allow Virginians to learn from the painful lessons of the past instead of experiencing the same pain over and over again. More.

by Patrick McSweeney

If you’re used to thinking of our northern neighbor as a land of liberalism, you might want to reconsider. While Virginians talk of raising taxes– again–guess who’s been cutting them?

Who would have thought? Even the Democrats in the Maryland General Assembly seem to be more opposed to tax increases than leading Republicans in the Virginia General Assembly. More.

by Douglas Koelemay

Now more than ever, Virginia’s General Assembly needs to tread lightly on matters of liberty, opportunity and the Constitution.

The ugly gorge cut into Capitol Hill facing Franklin Street in Richmond is a most dramatic indication that the rehabilitation of Virginia ’s Capitol is well underway. The draping of the western walls of the Capitol to shield work and workmen is another. Despite current disfigurements, this project ultimately will strengthen the foundations and utility of the structure originally designed by Thomas Jefferson. To that end, project directors have installed seismic devices as an early warning system to ensure their work doesn’t erode or undermine that foundation. More.

by James A. Bacon

As Americans sort themselves out geographically by lifestyle affinity, the culture wars can only get worse.

I got a chuckle after the 2004 presidential elections when droves of distraught Demos started applying for Canadian visas rather than live four more years under the oppressive rule of George W. Bush and the yahoos who re-elected him. I also took note, with some sympathy, of gay Virginia couples who talked of decamping to a state where they are more welcome rather than in a Commonwealth that considers them a threat to the institution of marriage. More.

Republican Attorney General candidate Steve Baril has called for a series of debates with his opponent, Del. Robert McDonnell. Most observers see this as the desperate act of a floundering campaign; the candidate who’s behind always wants more debates.

The Daily Press editorial page sees it a slap at their region:

First thought: It’s a swell proposition, if only Baril would attune himself to Peninsula sensibilities. He wants to have a debate in Hampton Roads and then suggests Norfolk. Thanks a lot.

Ah, a floundering campaign commits an almost unforgiveable gaffe.

As if we needed further proof of Barnie’s motto, “No good deed goes unpunished,” Habitat for Humanity homeowners in NVA are being overwhelmed by property tax increases. As noted in this Washington Post piece, the homeowners couldn’t benefit from the increases in their home’s value even if they wanted to, due to restrictions placed by Habitat.

One house built in Alexandria in 1999 has more than doubled in value since it was built and is now worth a half-million dollars. The monthly house payment, which includes real estate taxes, is up from $515 to $954 in the past 18 months — chiefly because of higher taxes.

Some jurisdictions are taking measures to reduce the tax burden on Habitat homeowners, but this is yet another example of a problem with local property taxes.

I enjoyed this Roanoke Times story on General Assembly pages. It’s a little disconcerting that so many of these great learning experiences go to students from politically connected families, but I suppose that’s to be expected. The article mentioned a few pages who went on to teaching or legal positions–I wonder if any former pages later were elected to the legislature.

I also wonder if Barnie used to ask his pages to look for additional hornet nests around Capitol Square ….

The Washington Post has done it again. They wasted front page, above the fold positioning and two full inside pages in Section A on another counter productive story on commuting. All the color, graphics, an expensive poll and lots of data wasted.

The two experts quoted told it as it is: “… transportation systems are breaking down … not able to provide minimum level of service …” (VDOT) “… nothing we can do … (when) people are making all the wrong choices…” (Federal District)

There was nothing in the story to help commuters start to make the right choices. There is data that some have made changes to improve their own commuting situation. Think how bad it would be without those intelligent changes.

When the reporter asked what we thought of the poll results we said it was just what you could expect from uninformed citizens. We then suggested that both government and the media shared the blame for not informing the public. They did not print that.

See our column “The Commuting Problem” 17 Jan 2005 at db4.dev.baconsrebellion.com and community scale news coverage that is much more to the point available at www.citizenet.com Search for “Living Here, Working There.”

EMR

…discrimination against any class of people for any reason in the Constitution of Virginia? I hope not.

Regardless of the “party” or candidate they would like to see win in November, fellow bloggers and all citizens should take a close look at George Fitch.

Bloggers who seem to support Mr. Kilgore’s party say he has put nothing but Business-as-Usual on the table. At the very least a strong Fitch showing will push Kilgore out of the least-common-denominator stance and cause him to show why someone should vote for him beside the fact that he is not Kaine.

For those who believe that Kaine is better than Kilgore and so they are tempted to sit out the primary (not just voting but suggesting others look at Fitch, etc.) may end up with Kilgore anyway. This is because, according to those who might support a member of Mr. Kaine’s party, he has offered nothing that will differentiate him from tweedle-dee, tweedle-dum my party/your party candidates of the past.

In a head to head contests between my party/your party candidates Republicans have won because they have come up with better slogans.

A strong showing by Fitch even without a Kaine vs. Fitch general election contest would force Kaine to show his colors.

EMR

In Federalist No. 10, James Madison said:

    “Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm.”

Given the legislative bills we saw come out of the General Assembly in Richmond this year (such as fining the wearers of droopy pants, applying outrageous penalties on drivers committing traffic offenses in the name of raising money for transportation, banning smoking across the state, and so on and so forth), I wonder whether Madison really meant to say:

    “There will be times when idiots will be at the helm!”

It’s time for some major leadership changes in the Republican House and Senate Caucuses.

Today’s Washington Post has an Amy Joyce story on the pitfalls of blogging in the workplace. Some bloggers who have said unkind words about their employers or their workplace have free expressed themselves into the unemployment line.

I suppose I am one who courts danger by occasionally blogging from work. I’ll put my productivity up against anyone’s and I am careful in writing about certain subjects, but I never write anything that I wouldn’t say to my boss or say to my whole organization in a staff meeting. But there’s the rub–the opportunities to speak frankly are few and far between. Most organizations don’t want to hear criticism, constructive or otherwise, and most subtly discourage innovate thinking or changes in time-honored practices or approaches. The “go along to get along” mentality is very strong.

Nonetheless, I’ve been surprised that blogs are almost exclusively the province of individuals who are not in positions of authority. In most organizations, much time is wasted at the water cooler wondering what the boss is thinking, what plans are being hatched, and what the organization’s leaders are really trying to accomplish. A boss with a blog and a vision could change the dynamics of an organization overnight.

Sadly, few private businesses, even the most successful, have a leader bold enough to share his/her ideas, observations, and passion on a regular basis. It’s also a lot of real work, not something to blow off on a subordinate.

I know that at one time Gov. Warner’s staff at least thought about him having a blog. Imagine if he did! Over the heads of the media, through the information barriers set up by the cabinet secretaries, past the tea leaf reading agency directors, and straight to the state employees who do or are supposed to do the work, straight to citizens, unfiltered–it would be amazing.

It would also be dangerous in this time when no utterance goes unrecorded or unnoticed by crack oppo researchers. It is said that the GOP has a treasure trove of questionable Howard Dean plain-speaking, recorded when he was a Governor trying to discuss issues as if he was just a regular Joe. When he turned out not to be the nominee, they didn’t need it.

Maybe someday we’ll see an organization with a leader whose primary means of communication with his/her far-flung empire is a blog. I’d like to be there.

Jim, looks like you’re making a living from the well-trod “Virginia as a National Laughingstock” beat.

When this droopy-drawers thing came out, I tried to look beyond the inanity of the measure to the social context. This sounded like something akin to the message Bill Cosby has been sending. Lord knows most of us nod our heads when Cosby sounds off and credit him with having a point. Everyone here at Bacon’s Rebellion was too busy guffawing to discuss that issue; thankfully, Reporterette gave me a smidgen of validation, albeit in a comment on the excellent Sic Semper Tyrannis.

Now, given the background offered by Barnie (story and comments)and the calls for changes in the Republican leadership by both Barnie and Phil (comments), I think we ought to stop the laughing, stop the one-liners, and seriously start to consider what this sordid episode really means.

I saw the excerpts of Del. Spruill’s speech criticizing his fellow Democratic Delegate Algie Howell and was surprised it did not raise more eyebrows. I don’t know whether it’s the Democrats who don’t have their caucus in order or Speaker Howell who doesn’t have the House in order, or whether it’s a little of both, but somehow members of this historic institution let a perfectly preventable spectacle occur under a national microscope. When the BBC starts calling Christina Nukols of the Virginian-Pilot for a story on the absurd shenanigans of our General Assembly, there has been a failure of enormous proportions.

Can this General Assembly be saved?