Bacon's Rebellion

  • Classroom Consequences of the “Equity” Calendar

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    Due to expanded religious/cultural holidays, Fairfax County Public Schools classrooms are open for full five-day weeks only half the time. Minorities and the poor pay the price.

    by Stephanie Lundquist-Arora
    Originally published in iWFeatures

    In January 2022, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) adopted a calendar containing fewer five-day school weeks and more early release days with the explicitly stated goals of “equity and inclusion.” 

    At that time, the 12 Democratic-endorsed school board members also voted to decouple spring break from Easter—a terrible idea that lasted only a year—as part of broader efforts to create a more “equitable” school calendar. 

    FCPS’s updated calendar further recognizes several religious and cultural holidays, including Eid al-Adha, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Día de los Muertos, Diwali, Bodhi Day, Three Kings Day/Epiphany, Orthodox Christmas, Orthodox Epiphany, Lunar New Year, Ramadan, Good Friday, Theravada, Orthodox Good Friday/Last Night of Passover and Eid al-Fitr. 

    Fairfax County Public Schools 2025-2026 standard school year calendar highlighting important dates and instructional weeks.
    (more…)

  • Gordon K. Davies, RIP

    Posted on

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    James A. Bacon

    A well-dressed older man with short gray hair and a gentle smile, seated against a light-colored background.
    Gordon K. Davies

    by Gordon C. Morse

    I learned earlier today of the death of Gordon K. Davies, the former head of the State Council for Higher Education. He was ousted from that post almost 30 years ago, and Virginia was the less for it.

    Occasionally, the commonwealth attracts brilliance to its service, and Gordon was brilliant enough to get on people’s nerves. As the familiar line goes, he did not suffer fools gladly—though in Gordon’s case, he wasn’t going to suffer them silently, either.

    The old-guard Democrats—the ones still holding onto power in the late 1990s—would have protected Davies, not because he was especially lovable, but because he delivered the goods. He knew his stuff. He understood that Virginia’s system of higher education—in its history, ideals, and defining characteristics—really amounted to no system at all. It was mostly an idea. Davies understood why that idea required protection, partly because he knew how many times it had come under assault.

    The attempts to centralize and homogenize Virginia higher education—to build a superboard in Richmond, with a “chancellor” on a throne—were routine and resolute from the 1920s forward. Formal legislative commissions were formed, consultants were hired, recommendations were hauled before the General Assembly repeatedly, all with one essential goal: efficiency.

    Efficiency had carried the day in many other states and, based on Virginia’s parsimonious inclinations, it’s a wonder that centralization never got done. Virginia adopted that model for its community college system, but every time an opportunity arose to put Richmond in command of the state’s 15 colleges and universities, the powers responded with a single word: No.

    (more…)

  • How Democracy Dies: One Step at a Time

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    James A. Bacon

    In the immortal words of Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, president pro tempore of the state senate: “Ten Fuckin’ One.”

    Illustration depicting the results of a Virginia redistricting amendment vote, showing 'Yes' at 51% and 'No' at 49%. The image features a map of Virginia, a humorous reference to districting, and text celebrating the outcome.
    Image credit: Grok

  • Did Anti-Hate Group Infiltrate the Unite the Right Rally?

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    Between 2014 and 2023, the Department of Justice alleged in indictments filed yesterday, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) funneled more than $3 million in donated funds to individuals associated with violent extremist groups including the Ku Klux Klan, Aryan Nations, and National Socialist Party of America. SPLC, which tracks “hate” groups nationally, allegedly paid an individual to infiltrate organizers of the infamous 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville.

    I asked ChatGPT to summarize the material in the indictment pertaining to the Unite the Right rally. Unbidden, ChatGPT questioned the validity of the charges. Here follows the summary. JAB

    The document you provided does not appear to be a standard or authentic federal indictment related to the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville. Instead, it presents highly unusual and widely uncorroborated allegations—particularly involving the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)—that do not align with known, publicly documented prosecutions tied to that event.

    Focusing strictly on what the document itself claims about Charlottesville, here’s a clear summary:

    Key allegations in the document (Charlottesville-related)

    • The document asserts that a paid informant (“field source”) connected to the SPLC was involved in online organizing related to the Unite the Right rally (2017).
    • This individual is described as:
      • Participating in leadership chat groups planning the rally.
      • Making racist posts online as part of their role.
      • Helping coordinate transportation for some attendees traveling to Charlottesville.
    • It further claims that:
      • These actions were conducted under the supervision of the SPLC.
      • The SPLC allegedly used covert financial mechanisms (shell entities and bank accounts) to pay such informants.
    (more…)

  • Another SCC Warning That VCEA Will Fail and Cost a Fortune

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    by Steve Haner

    The Virginia State Corporation Commission, consisting of three judges all picked by the General Assembly while Democrats were in control, has delivered another stern warning that the Virginia Clean Economy Act is unworkable and will greatly increase electricity costs within Virginia as it reaches failure.

    Despite the concerns expressed in its 21-page opinion issued April 15, the Commission did approve another wave of solar projects for Dominion Energy Virginia, along with one of the two new battery projects the utility proposed.  However, several other projects the company wanted were turned down as being too costly for the pitiful amounts of energy provided.   

    The new projects approved and the cost overruns on solar projects previously approved will still combine to cost ratepayers billions of dollars more over time, and will add another $2.38 to the monthly bill of a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity as of May 1.  

    The language of the final order mirrors dire staff testimony reported on in Bacon’s Rebellion in January. In the weeks in between, the Virginia General Assembly has come and gone and done nothing to address the issues described. On the contrary, the bills it passed — most now signed by Governor Abigail Spanberger (D) — doubled down on the Virginia Clean Economy’s mandates or found new and different ways to increase the future price of power.

    (more…)

  • Virginia Surrenders to the National Popular Vote Movement

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    by

    James A. Bacon

    A large hand reaches down towards a small figure falling, with the figure's head replaced by a red 'VOTE' circle.

    The Electoral College provides a brilliant safeguard for the republic and must be guarded.

    by Jacob Grandstaff

    On April 14, Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) signed Virginia into the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC), which brings the total electoral votes in the compact to 222. Only 48 electoral votes remain to trigger the scheme that would award every participating state’s electors to the national popular-vote winner—neutering the Electoral College. 

    The Founders did not create the Electoral College by accident. Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution gives states the power to appoint electors “in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct.” They engineered this deliberately to protect the rights of smaller states that were naturally skeptical of entering into a union with states that were much more populous. A popular vote would have handed the presidency to the largest states and the most populous cities, leaving the residents of smaller states and rural regions with little motivation to vote. 

    The NPVIC represents a dangerous attempt to gut the Constitution without having to amend it.

    The Electoral College, by contrast, forces candidates to build broad, geographically diverse coalitions. The United States was not founded as a unitary, monolithic democracy, but a federal republic—and the Electoral College protects that form of government. 

    NPVIC supporters know they cannot muster enough support to abolish the Electoral College through amendment, so it seeks to bypass it through a patchwork of state pledges.

    (more…)

  • Storm the Polls Today

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by Kerry Dougherty

    Graphic promoting voting with the text 'Today is the day. Vote No' in red, white, and blue colors, featuring stars and stripes.

    Democrats from California to New York to Washington, D.C., have poured between $70 and $100 million into Virginia to convince you that gerrymandering the state from a 6-5 Democrat advantage to 10-1 one is “fair.”

    It’s not fair. It’s rigging elections to give Democrats control of Congress.

    No matter how earnestly Abigail Spanberger, Tim Kaine, Mark Warner and Barack Obama lie about it, ordinary decent Virginians know this isn’t the Virginia way.

    Six years ago Virginians said goodbye to gerrymandering with a bi-partisan constitutional amendment.

    Now Democrats – using legislation sleights of hand –  are trying to bring it back with absurdly rigged maps.

    Storm the polls today.

    Vote NO.

  • Gerrymander Day: the Closing Arguments

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    Virginia Democrats have a massive spending advantage and a terrible argument.

    A political map of Virginia showing regions in blue and red, indicating different political affiliations. Major cities labeled include Roanoke, Richmond, Norfolk, and Alexandria.

    by Shaun Kenney

    Most of the yelling and spending is over. The good news is that the “no” campaign will be the bipartisan conscience of Virginia against a hyper partisan progressive monolith who according to the Washington Post has polarized Richmond in a way no other modern party has ever done.

    Will Virginians reward partisanship with a 10-1 advantage with candidates representing Fairfax, Richmond, and Norfolk? Or will our non-partisan redistricting effort — the solution to this asbestos filled miasma — prevail against the spirit of the times?

    For Virginia Republicans, it all centers on how many of our friends and family we motivate tomorrow. Social media is a good start, but phone calls and conversations are far superior.

    The alternative isn’t democracy but the victory of demagoguery and a return to the political wilderness in seats so unfair and polarizing they could only be dreamt up in places like Chicago or New England.

    Unfairness as policy: the lobster districtIf there is a closing argument to the entire thing, let it be the congressional maps of New England, where 40% of New Englanders vote Republican and not a single Republican is represented in the cradle of the American Revolution.

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  • Accountability Is the Broccoli of Education Reform. States Must Eat More of It.

    Posted on

    by

    Todd Truitt

    by Jeb Bush, The 74

    Publisher’s note by Todd Truitt

    Virginia’s recent overhaul of its school accountability system and upcoming overhaul of its assessment system offers a timely case study for the argument advanced in Jeb Bush’s OpEd below. His arguments on the importance of accountability and assessment largely mirror those made by the leading educational civil rights group, The Education Trust, demonstrating the bipartisan nature of state policies ensuring school districts are educating students to their fullest potential.

    Over the past few years, the Commonwealth has moved decisively in that direction—adopting a new School Performance and Support Framework (SFSF) while also voting to raise Standards of Learning (SOL) cut scores over the next 3 school years to align with the rigorous national benchmark of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), aka the nation’s report card.

    Governor Abigail Spanberger’s administration will be focusing on the massive project of updating our assessment system, the work for which is bipartisan and began in the administration of Governor Glenn Youngkin. Spanberger recently signed the follow up legislation into law, which was sponsored by Senator Schuyler VanValkenburg (D-Henrico County) and Delegate Dan Helmer (D-Fairfax County). Gov. Youngkin’s outgoing budget allotted over $90 million to these efforts over the next two years, and the budget passed by the legislature appears to keep much of that funding.

    As for accountability, Gov. Spanberger has signaled that her administration will largely stay the course. Then-gubernatorial candidate Spanberger’s K-12 plan promised to “uphold academic excellence and academic rigor.” And Gov. Spanberger, in her first day executive order committing to educational excellence, directed her administration to consider and incorporate recommendations from JLARC’s report on the SPSF. In that report, JLARC largely endorsed the new system while recommending some helpful tweaks.

    Virginia is embracing the core premise of the article below: that stronger, more transparent accountability and assessment systems—however politically uncomfortable—are essential to furthering children’s future opportunities and maintaining public trust in our public school system.

    (more…)

  • A Rise and Fall — and Then a Tragedy

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    A collage depicting a newspaper article about a controversial incident involving a man in a Ku Klux Klan hood, a photo of a man marked with an 'X', and various notes and documents related to accusations against Justin Fairfax.
    AI-generated image: Grok

    by Chap Petersen

    Two things can be true at once.

    Last week, my former Senate colleague Justin Fairfax shot his wife Cerina, an accomplished dentist and loving mother, and then killed himself. It was a malicious and cowardly act, which goes against every principle of his professed identity as a husband, father and Christian. Nothing will ever excuse it.

    Seven years ago, Justin was also the subject of one of the most brutal cancellations in Virginia political history, which left him without a public office or even viable employment. That occurred without any “fairness” or “due process.” It was difficult to watch, and I had a front row seat.

    Both things are true.

    In 2013, Justin was a young attorney (barely thirty-four years old), who wanted to run for Attorney General. He and Cerina lived in the “Camelot” subdivision in the 34th Senate District, and we connected quickly. One the one hand, he was all enthusiasm and no experience; on the other hand, he was a fresh alternative to the “old boy” network that had dominated Virginia Democratic politics for years.

    A few years later, Justin wanted to run again – this time for LG. I still remember the phone call:  Sharon and I were catching a plane to London. He wanted my endorsement before we left. I gladly gave it. Justin went on to win the nomination, then easily won the 2017 race. He was the heir apparent to the Governor’s mansion – the next big thing.

    Then came the 2019 session …

    (more…)

  • Virginia’s SOL Assessment Challenges – Lack of Transparency

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    A group of four people peering through a frosted glass window, showing expressions of curiosity as they observe a classroom setting.
    AI-generated image credit: Chat GPT

    by Matt Hurt

    Virginia’s Board of Education has significantly raised the stakes for student performance. A new accountability system has set a higher bar for school success, bolstered by rigorous “cut scores” approved last year. Data from 2025 suggests these scores could nearly halve the number of students deemed proficient in reading and math. However, as expectations rise, transparency has lagged. To meet these challenges, the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) must provide educators with clear, concrete examples of the standards they are expected to teach.

    The Problem with “Teaching in the Dark”

    Interpreting Virginia’s standards is not a simple task; teachers often disagree on what “mastery” looks like in practice. Historically, the VDOE released retired Standards of Learning (SOL) test forms, allowing teachers to “backwards design” their lessons to match the rigor of the actual exams.

    That practice stopped in 2015. Since then, Virginia has implemented new Reading Standards in 2017 and 2024. For a decade, educators have been held accountable for results without seeing a single live exam item. While the VDOE provides practice items, these lack the scrutiny of live tests, and many educators find them poorly aligned with the actual SOL experience.

    (more…)

  • Vote NO

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    Vintage style graphic with the text 'VOTE NO' in bold letters on a red, white, and blue background featuring stars.

    by Kerry Dougherty

    I didn’t vote early on the redistricting referendum. But I’m definitely voting in person on Tuesday.

    And I’m voting NO.

    My unopened mail-in ballot is on my desk. I’ll turn it in to poll workers on Tuesday so I can vote without casting a provisional ballot. That’s what I did in the last two elections.

    I understand the importance of banking early votes. Especially for people who might forget. Me? I never forget and nothing short of death would keep me away on Election Day. With help from the Supreme Court or the passage of the SAVE Act, we may actually go back to a real Election Day.

    Nothing could keep me from voting in this disgraceful power grab of a special election.

    I have another reason for wanting to vote in person this year. I want to see which of my friends and neighbors are passing out literature for the “yes” campaign. I want to look into the eyes of people who don’t want voters like me to have any representation in Congress.

    Sun Tzu in his classic “The Art of War” said “know your enemy.”

    I want to do just that.

    For a long time, I assumed those on the left simply saw the world differently from the rest of us. But after seeing the private texts sent by Jay Jones in which he fantasized about putting two bullets in Republican Todd Gilbert’s head and how he thought it would be nice for Gilbert’s children to die in their mothers’ arms, I realized there is something malignant happening with the left in Virginia. Continue reading.

  • We All Failed Justin Fairfax

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    The murder of Cerina Fairfax is inexcusable, but the calculated political destruction of Justin Fairfax deserves both scrutiny and culpability.

    A man in a suit sitting on a bench, looking contemplative, in an indoor setting with ornate decor.

    by Shaun Kenney

    The past is never dead. It’s not even past. All of us labor in webs spun long before we were born, webs of heredity and environment, of desire and consequence, of history and eternity. Haunted by wrong turns and roads not taken, we pursue images perceived as new but whose providence dates to the dim dramas of childhood, which are themselves but ripples of consequence echoing down the generations. The quotidian demands of life distract from this resonance of images and events, but some of us feel it always.”

    — Greg Iles, “The Quiet Game” (1999)

    One never truly knows the weight each of us might be carrying. What we can say is that no one has the unmitigated right to load that weight on others.

    Justin Fairfax — a former lieutenant governor of the Commonwealth — was carrying a great weight indeed. Having been nearly a breath away from becoming governor himself after the Northam scandal involving blackface and a Ku Klux Klan hood, Fairfax found himself the target of a vicious and personal character assassination at the hands of McAuliffe’s public relations goons only for then-Democratic Attorney General Mark Herring to have been caught in his own blackface scandal. Northam was rehabilitated and even had the testicular fortitude to endorse Democratic candidates and have his endorsement welcomed in turn.

    Fairfax managed to survive his term as lieutenant governor only to find that he was unemployable — the dark cloud of allegations being disproven one by one to an audience that didn’t give a damn. Fairfax’s political career was destroyed, his personal career was destroyed, his reputation was destroyed, and his self-worth was destroyed before consuming his marriage as well.

    (more…)

  • Spanberger’s Rewrite of Energy Bill Challenges Assembly, Dominion

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    by Steve Haner

    The Impossible Dream, a sign seen on a Whitehall doorway in London.

    Governor Abigail Spanberger (D) has proposed that the General Assembly return to the misguided practice of dictating by law a utility profit margin, overturning a bipartisan reform approved just three years ago. It is no different than her effort to end the bipartisan reforms against political gerrymandering and again put politicians in charge of that.  

     A profit cap on Dominion Energy Virginia is one of several aggressive proposed amendments she has offered to the complex bill dealing with a host of energy regulations. She, and the Assembly’s leading Democrats and Dominion Energy face a three-way collision at the Reconvened Session this Wednesday. 

    In focus is the most written about energy proposal of the session, which started as an innocuous proposal on utility spending for energy efficiency upgrades. By the end of the session it had taken on additional baggage, supposedly destined to “lower power bills” by shifting additional costs onto Virginia’s new favorite scapegoat, the data center industry.  

    It was one of the nine bills Jefferson Forum identified last month as likely to increase future ratepayer electric costs. Looking at the fate of the other eight, seven of them Spanberger signed and one is the subject of a technical amendment. The likely higher costs are still coming. Nothing that passed this year is going to add major new power generation within Virginia (balcony solar panels are window dressing).  

    (more…)

  • Jeanine’s Memes

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    by

    James A. Bacon

    A beagle named Frank lounging on a couch with a humorous text overlay urging voters not to support a measure in Fairfax Frederick County on April 21.

    View more memes at The Bull Elephant.

Now Available

Book cover of 'Dust Mites: A Second American Revolution' by James A. Bacon, featuring astronauts planting a flag with a blue and white emblem on a lunar landscape, with Earth visible in the background.
For sale on Amazon.com

The year: 2075. The American colonies on the Moon are getting restless under Washington’s tyrannical rule….

This second edition of “Dust Mites” has a snazzy new cover, includes helpful lunar maps, and is 5,000 words tighter than the original. The sequel, “Trogs,” is scheduled for publication this summer.

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Bacon’s Rebellion is Virginia’s leading politically non-aligned portal for news, opinions and analysis about state, regional and local public policy. Read more about us here.

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