Bacon's Rebellion

  • The Buck Stops Where, Exactly?

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    Richmond City Hall

    by Jon Baliles

    The cityโ€™s voter registrar is in the news again this week, and not because there is a primary election next week or huge elections both nationally and locally in November. This week, Graham Moomaw reported in the Virginia Mercury that the cityโ€™s Human Resource Department conducted a review of the Registrarโ€™s Office polices and recommended an โ€œimmediate departmental restructuringโ€ after its internal investigation following stories about alleged credit card misuse and nepotism in the office. Those findings were sent to state and local officials this week, and the Mercury obtained them through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

    Last month, Samuel Parker at the Times-Dispatch reported that Keith Balmer, the cityโ€™s voter registrar, had racked up almost $70,000 in charges on the city credit card for things like furniture, art, frequent lunches for the entire staff, and more. Some charges, like travel expenses for staff to a convention in Roanoke, seemed to be normal; but others, like nearly $10,000 spent at the fancy furniture store LaDiff seem a bit excessive for a city expense/office funded by taxpayers. In March, they had also reported there had been allegations of nepotism against the Registrar. (more…)

  • Maybe We Should Discuss the Political Determinants of Health

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by James A. Bacon

    As it takes up the issue of “social determinants of health,” the Joint Commission on Health Care is probing the social and economic origins of unequal health outcomes for different population groups in Virginia, according to Radio IQ.

    By defining the issue as social determinants of health, as opposed to social correlates of health, the political left has already won the battle. The inevitable result will be pressure to increase state spending on programs asserted (but never proven) to ameliorate social inequities.

    “There is a 20-year difference between the localities with the highest and lowest life expectancy rates in the state with Manassas Park at 89.3 years and Petersburg at 64.9 years,โ€ said commission staffer Jen Piver-Renna yesterday when briefing the Commission.

    โ€œThese are lifelong challenges people are facing: housing, health access, food access, crime, education,โ€ Commission Chair Rodney Willet, D-Henrico, told Radio IQ.

    Delegate Cia Price, D-Newport News drew the inevitable political conclusion: โ€œIf improving community conditions includes a healthy and safe place to live, we need to be thinking about that not just in this joint commission, but in general laws meetings too. There was redlining, underfunding, all of these things that have happened to communities which have caused these health issues.โ€ (more…)

  • Ignore the Hype. Last Year Hardly “Hottest” Here.

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    By Steve Haner

    This plows old ground for many Bacon’s Rebellion readers (here and here), but it was a new topic for the Thomas Jefferson Institute distribution list.ย  Some of you may be interested, and some of the NOAA screenshots are new ones.ย 

    One standard response when the Thomas Jefferson Institute challenges the wisdom of electricity carbon taxes or electric vehicle mandates is, are we not worried about the looming climate crisis?ย  The simple answer is no. Data that undercut the entire alarmist narrative are easy to find.ย 

    The premise for the 2020 Virginia Clean Economy Act, which the 2025 Virginia General Assembly may revisit, is the expressed concern over catastrophic climate change.ย  It is a constant refrain with many of our political leaders from the current president down to county supervisors.ย  But what if the entire premise is false or badly overblown?ย 

    A major and constant media drumbeat this year has been that 2023 was the hottest year on record and that 2024 will be hotter.ย  In Virginia, 2023 was unremarkable.ย  Even the summer months, the focus of the fear mongering about rising heat-related fatalities, showed no alarming trend.ย  For the data just go to a website managed by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).ย ย ย  (more…)

  • Is This What is Meant by Cult of Personality?

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    by

    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    by Dick Hall-Sizemore

    The primary race for Virginiaโ€™s Fifth Congressional District seat is a microcosm of what the modern Republican party has become. Both candidates, Bob Good, the incumbent, and John McGuire, a member of the Virginia Senate, are ultra-conservative. There is probably not any substantive difference between them on policy issues. Yet, they and their opponents are at each otherโ€™s throats. The issue:ย  who is more supportive of Donald Trump.

    The Virginia Political Newsletter has compiled a summary of the confrontations, including one in a church; the allegations, the cease-and-desist letter and the court suits. It is juicy reading.

  • Is Something Wrong at UVA Health?

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    UVA Medical Center

    by James A. Bacon

    An anonymous group of Charlottesville residents has organized to bring attention to issues troubling the $3.3 billion UVA Health division of the University of Virginia.

    Calling itself Parrhesia — Greek for speaking candidly and freely — the group of “concerned citizens of Charlottesville and patients of UVA Health” portrays the healthcare division as an oppressive workplace where doctors and nurses are disciplined for violating UVA Health “values,” are afraid to speak openly, and are subject to punishment if they do.

    The Parrhesia website makes no outright allegations of wrongdoing. Rather than speaking “openly and freely,” however, it has adopted the rhetorical device of making a statement or publishing an email and then asking, “is it true?” The issues raised are potentially serious. They include:

    • The unexplained departure of Doug Lischke, CFO of UVA Health;
    • Weaponization of ASPIRE, the health system’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion program, through the filing of anonymous complaints against doctors and nurses;
    • A culture of fear and retaliation;
    • Pressuring doctors to make false/misleading statements in patient medical records.

    (more…)

  • Lawsuit Details How VMI Has Captured Its Alumni Association

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by James A. Bacon

    Twenty-nine Virginia Military Institute (VMI) alumni have filed suit in federal court against the VMI Alumni Association, alleging that the organization is entwined so tightly with the VMI administration that it operates for the benefit of VMI and not its alumni members.

    The lawsuit recapitulates numerous controversies between dissident alumni and the association, including a thwarted takeover bid of the alumni association, a dispute over members’ access to alumni email lists, and the association’s suspension of seven members for ten years and one for life.

    Traditionalist alumni object to the direction the military institute has taken since former Governor Ralph Northam appointed Cedric Wins in place of J.H. Binford “Binny” Peay III as Superintendent in 2020, and they are unhappy with the way the alumni association has marched in lockstep with Wins.

    The rebels accuse Wins and the Northam-appointed Board of Visitors of undermining the Rat Line, the Honor Code, the memory of Stonewall Jackson, and other long-standing VMI traditions in a misbegotten quest for racial equity. Diversity, Equity & Inclusion initiatives inaugurated by Wins and his allies on the Board of Visitors have become a particular flashpoint. The lawsuit focuses, however, on issues relating to alleged abuses of power by VMI officials and the alumni organization in their feud with traditionalists. (more…)

  • Mountain Valley Pipeline To Start Moving Gas

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved the full operation of the Mountain Valley Pipeline. Gas from West Virginia will now flow. Environmentalist heads are exploding, but this is the best news for Western Virginiaโ€™s economy in a long while, and an encouraging sign of hope for energy sanity.

    A decade ago both this 303-mile, 42-inch line and the long-abandoned Atlantic Coast Pipeline project were announced, and more than one prognosticator doubted both would be built. But it is important to remember both started with bipartisan support, in an era before Democrats sold their souls to foreign wind and solar manufacturers.

    The regulatory and legal battle has been impressive, with the result being mainly delay and higher cost. But they didnโ€™t stop the project in the end. The added costs will end up as part of any future customer bills, but the underlying cost of gas itself remains low and very competitive against any and all energy alternatives.

    As the attached map shows, there are taps for the local gas distribution networks in the Roanoke Valley and in nearby Franklin County, which should be magnets for future industry. The pipeline owners claim the gas is fully subscribed — two billion cubic feet a day of heat, light, and economic value.ย  (more…)

  • Before the Bill of Rights, There was the Virginia Declaration of Rights

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    Virginia Declaration of Rights

    by Thomas M. Moncure, Jr.

    Reliable estimates place the number of Virginia residents born outside the United States at 12% to 15%. In 2012, for the first time since about 1650, a majority of residents were born outside of Virginia. And this native count includes first-borns who live in homes where Farsi or Hindi or Spanish is spoken. Ethnic Virginians -โ€“ those of us more than three generations deep — are now a distinct and shrinking minority in the Commonwealth.

    This onrush of aliens has obvious political consequences: Virginia turning from red to blue. A more subtle, if more substantial consequence, is dramatic cultural change. Coming from foreign places like Guatemala or Foggy Bottom, these new residents tend to focus on the national or international. They have some awareness of the federal precedents -โ€“ the coming 4th of July holiday is a reminder โ€“- but know little or nothing of the contribution of Virginia and the Virginians.

    We ethnic Virginians have been remarkably poor stewards of our own history. June 12 marks the 248th anniversary of the adoption of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, the single most important document in the development of American constitutional liberty. In a more perfect Virginia this would be the most celebrated date on the calendar. (more…)

  • Bad Blood in the Virginia Beach GOP

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by James A. Bacon

    I was fully prepared to believe the worst when I dipped into a Virginian-Pilot article about an indictment filed against Laura Hughes, chairwoman of the Virginia Beach Republican party. According to the Pilot, she was charged with the felony of “intercepting wire communications.” Another case of politicians behaving badly!

    It has become routine for Virginia elected officials and politicos to do stupid or unethical things, and I try to acknowledge the more prominent cases so readers can see that the corruption and incompetence they observe in their hometowns are all-too-prevalent elsewhere in Virginia. But after reading the Pilot’s account, I was left scratching my head. What was this all about?

    โ€œThe allegation that Ms. Hughes recorded an openly audible conversation in GOP Party headquarters with her cell phone is an absurd basis for a felony prosecution,โ€ says a statement released by Hughes’ attorney. โ€œThere is no allegation that any recording was surreptitious or done without the knowledge of those on an open speaker phone call. Neither is there any allegation that the alleged recording was shared or even played.โ€ (more…)

  • Now Fix the Clean Economy Act, Governor

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    By Steve Haner

    Governor Glenn Youngkin recently flew to Louisiana to join with other Republican governors in criticizing President Joe Bidenโ€™s energy policy, especially the presidentโ€™s hostility to hydrocarbon fuels. Youngkin and the rest gathered at an oil refinery to make their point that oil and gas should not go away in the decades to come.ย ย  ย 

    Energy realism begins at home. Right here in Virginia Youngkin has a golden opportunity to fix Virginiaโ€™s broken energy policy and to maintain energy choice in our state economy. The 2025 General Assembly may revisit the Virginia laws meant to eliminate natural gas electricity. Youngkin should make it clear early that he will only sign a bill that protects energy reliability, preserves consumer choice, and prevents major cost increases. ย  (more…)

  • Virginia’s Interstate Hell Hole

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    ย Annual Person-Hours of Delay on Interstate 95. Source: Radio IQ

    At a meeting this week of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC), reports Radio IQ, Director Justin Brown brought up what the radio station deemed a “troubling” point regarding the horrendous, worst-in-the-country traffic congestion on Interstate 95 between Northern Virginia and Richmond: the express lanes designed to alleviate traffic are run by a private operator โ€” Australia-based Transurban.

    โ€œThe way it’s structured, the state has to pay the operator if the state builds any projects that are proven to divert any traffic away from the I-95 express lanes,” Brown said. “We tried to quantify the monetary impact of that. But nobody had a great guess, and everyone said it would be really big.โ€ (more…)

  • Bond Rating and Back Slapping

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by Jon Baliles

    Mayor Levar Stoney reportedly pulled a back muscle two weeks ago from slapping himself on the back after he announced the city received a AAA bond rating from the Fitch Rating Agency. It is the first time the city has ever received the designation, although the other two main rating agencies, S&P Global (with a AA+ rating) andย  Moodyโ€™s (at Aa1), both have Richmond at one step below the vaunted AAA rating.

    The AAA rating allows the city to borrow money at the best possible and most favorable interest rate, which is certainly timely because the city is about to issue $170 million to build a baseball stadium ($130 million) and related infrastructure ($40 million).

    After two years of pretending the cityโ€™s plan for the Diamond District would create a CDA, and the new revenues from that developmentโ€™s early phases would pay the bond debt service for the stadium, the Mayor did an abrupt about-face in April and announced the city would issues all of the debt to build the stadium and infrastructure, which shifted all the risk to the city. He said it was a risk worth taking. (more…)

  • Jeanine’s Memes

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    From The Bull Elephant

  • The Cost of DEI? That’s the Easy Part.

    Posted on

    by

    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    by Dick Hall-Sizemore

    This whole argument over the cost of DEI at UVa. is a tempest in a teapot in budget terms. Even if one accepts the inflated figure of $20 million put forth by Open the Books, that is less than one percent of UVa.โ€™s adopted budget of $2.40 billion for the academic division for the next academic year. At the Department of Planning and Budget (DPB), we would call that a โ€œrounding error.โ€

    The university administration would likely be delighted for the Board of Visitors to spend a lot of time arguing about that one percentโ€”what is the definition of a DEI employee, what proportion of salary should be included, etc. There would be that much less time for the members to spend on trying to get a grasp of the bigger pictureโ€”the $2.4 billion and how that is spent. (more…)

  • Another Rubber-Stamped UVA Budget, But Some Useful Discussion This Time

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by James A. Bacon

    The University of Virginia Board of Visitors unanimously approved a $5.9 billion budget for UVA in 2024-25. The $2.4 billion budget for the academic campus in Charlottesville represents a 6.8% spending increase over the current year. The budget also includes $3.3 billion for the UVA medical center and $76 million for the College at Wise.

    Although the Board session was free from controversy, Board members did lay the groundwork for deeper analysis next academic year when Governor Glenn Youngkin’s appointees will comprise a 13-to-7 majority of the Board. In the scant time allowed for discussion, the Board addressed two critical topics that had been missing from the Ryan administration’s presentation of the budget: faculty productivity and the size and cost of the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion bureaucracy.

    Board member Doug Wetmore got straight to the point regarding DEI spending, asking point blank, “What’s the DEI budget for the upcoming year, and how does it compare to the previous year?”

    The DEI budget is $7.5 million, answered Chief Operating Officer J.J. Davis, who added that the number includes the cost of the EOCR (Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights) office, which is charged with enforcing federal civil rights law and is folded into the Division of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. (more…)

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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