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Bacon Meme of the week
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Index Minimum Wage? Do the Tax Code, Too.
By Steve HanerOne bill that certainly is heading for Governor Glenn Youngkin’s desk is the increase in the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour as of two years from now. Both versions, House Bill 1 and Senate Bill 1, raise it to $13.50 for next year, with the $15 level kicking in a year later. Both bills are now out of their first committees.
It was a campaign promise. The Democrats in both chambers coordinated to make it their first bill of the year on both sides. Smart marketing. Soon the Republican governor must decide whether it becomes his first veto, with Republican legislators then having to vote to sustain it or not. (more…)
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An American Opportunity Story, from Missouri to Virginia
by Dan StoddardThough some of today’s political leaders and commentators may try to tell us that the American Dream is dead – or was always a myth – they are wrong. America is still the Land of Opportunity. Throughout the country there are countless examples of women and men of humble beginnings who have achieved a degree of success and contribution they could hardly have dreamed of as children. I know because I have seen them, I have met them, and (in a small measure) I am one of them. I write this because I want to share with young people and their parents what I believe are keys to that success – keys that for them will unlock those same opportunities for a happy, successful, and fulfilling life in this great country of ours.
There is nothing particularly special about me – and that is exactly the point. I have no unique, innate talent (that fifteen-inch vertical leap cut short my hopes of pro basketball career at a very early age). Despite that fact, my life has taken me from a small home in rural Missouri, to becoming a senior executive at a Fortune 500 company here in Virginia. Along the way I’ve travelled to multiple countries; shaken the hands of congressmen, senators, governors, and at least one vice-president; and had the opportunity to serve my country in the United States Navy. I have also been blessed with the ability and the means to serve and contribute to numerous charitable and social welfare organizations over the years.
So how did a young man who grew up in a mobile home, far out in the country, whose father never finished high school because he left to join the Navy and fight in World War II, and whose mother raised him after having lost a leg in an automobile accident at a young age, have so many opportunities? Application of a simple formula – one that is available to young people of all backgrounds: getting an education, having a thirst for knowledge, accepting that risks and challenges are a part of life and that setbacks are not signs to give up, but opportunities to learn and grow, and a lot of good old-fashioned hard work. Those things, along with integrity, respect for others, strong faith, and love of family and of country, are the quintessential American Values – ones that any young person can and should embrace. (more…)
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Roanoke’s Murder Crisis
Mayor Sherman Lea Sr. (D). During his administration from 2017-2023, Roanoke City has had an unprecedented 123 murders. by Scott Dreyer
Roanoke City, with about 97,000 residents, suffered a record-breaking 31 murders in 2023,causing some to question the city’s leadership and direction.
Based on public announcements and appearances, how concerned are Roanoke’s leaders about the Star City’s murder pandemic?
In Mayor Sherman Lea Sr.’s (D) announcement that he will not run for re-election in 2024, he made no-mention of the gun violence / murder crisis or work that needs to be done to address it. His only reference to “guns” was touting the “Formation of the Gun Violence Prevention Commission.” He also boasted the “Removal of Robert E. Lee Memorial,” even though Lee died in 1870.
Lea ignored these bloody Roanoke benchmarks since he won election as Mayor in 2016:
- 2017, record-breaking 17 murders (up 41.6% from 2016);
- 2022, record-breaking 18 murders (up 5.8% from 2021);
- 2023, record-breaking 31 murders (up 72.2% from 2022);
- Not counting 2016, 123 murders 2017-2023;
- First Mayor in Roanoke history where every year in office had double-digit murder rate.
When Mayor Lea was asked about this situation, a staff member emailed: “Mayor Lea is unable to offer comments and would like to direct you to the City Manager’s office.” (more…)
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Loudoun County Schools Defy FOIA Requests
Insignia, Loudon County Public Schools by Kerry Dougherty
Luke Rosiak is the best investigative reporter in Virginia. There isn’t a close second.
Several years ago, The Daily Wire reporter uncovered Loudoun County Public Schools’ attempts to hide serial bathroom sexual assaults from the public.
Rosiak’s reporting ultimately resulted in the firing of former school superintendent Scott Ziegler. And the election of Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who made parents’ rights a cornerstone of his campaign.
Rosiak is tracking down another potential blockbuster, but school officials in Loudoun are not cooperating. Apparently, they never learn.
The Daily Wire is now headed to court to try to wrench documents from the hands of secretive Loudoun school officials. These documents will reveal just how much public money the county’s school district blew in recent years settling embarrassing lawsuits.
So far, school officials are playing cute with FOIA, pretending that certain so-called privacy laws allow them to keep that information secret. (more…)
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Virginia Bill Would Allow Even Serial Killers to be Released After 15 Years
from the Liberty Unyielding blog
On January 9, a bill was introduced to let Virginia prison inmates be released after 15 years with the approval of a judge. Even serial killers serving life sentences without parole would be eligible for release. In 2022, a similar bill easily passed the Democratic-controlled state senate, only to die in the GOP-controlled House of Delegates. But this year, Democrats control both houses of Virginia’s legislature, so it may pass.
The bill, HB 834, would not require all inmates to be released after 15 years, but it would encourage their release by letting judges release inmates based on factors slanted in favor of release, and by giving most inmates the right to a taxpayer-funded lawyer to argue for their release. The bill instructs judges to consider factors that typically favor release, such as “support from” stakeholders for the inmate’s release, “and the petitioner’s efforts to participate in any educational or therapeutic programs.” It does not list factors such as deterrence and retribution, even though the Supreme Court has ruled that those are both valid reasons to keep an inmate in prison, in decisions such as Tison v. Arizona (1987).Such early releases would increase crime and make it harder to deter premeditated murders. A 2014 study in the American Economic Journal found that early releases of prison inmates increased Italy’s crime rate. A 1998 study found that longer prison sentences deter violent crimes more effectively than short ones, based on California’s experience after it increased sentences for repeat offenders who commit murder, robbery, or rape. (See Daniel Kessler, et al., Using Sentence Enhancements to Distinguish between Deterrence and Incapacitation, National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper 6484 (March 1998)). (more…)
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Will Democrats Revisit Virginia Net Zero Laws?
Senator David Marsden, D-Fairfax, sees “serious problems” in Virginia’s net zero laws. By Steve Haner
For the third year in a row, Democrats in the Virginia Senate have shot down an effort to divorce Virginia’s auto dealers from California’s impending mandates on electric vehicle sales. But before the predetermined vote went down, the new chair of the committee made a surprise announcement that he and his colleagues are open to revisiting Virginia’s legal rush to end fossil fuels.
Senator David Marsden, D-Fairfax, said he and Senator Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, have discussed using the period between the 2024 and 2025 General Assembly sessions to convene a conference on the 2020 Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA) and the many other statues they passed to suppress coal, oil and natural gas use. Republicans later shared his musings on X.
What serious problems, Mr. Chairman? Tell us more.
Marsden is the new chair of the Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee and Deeds now chairs the Commerce and Labor Committee. The Virginia Mercury noted Marsden’s comments at the tail end of its report on the meeting, but it was the only actual news to break out that afternoon. The Richmond Times-Dispatch failed to mention Marsden’s announcement but had a nice photo of a half-empty Tesla charging lot in California.
Truth would have been better served by a photo of the stranded EV’s waiting for crowded, failing chargers in frigid climes this week. There is a reason consumers have not been rushing to buy EV’s at the expected rates. Despite the happy talk from mandate proponents, the targets are pie-in-the-sky. The only winner in this whole process is Tesla, getting rich selling carbon credits under the cap-and-trade element of the California regime. (more…)
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It’s a Different House Courts
Del. Vivian Watts (D-Fairfax), chair, Subcommittee on Criminal Laws by Dick Hall-Sizemore
Long-time observers can attest to the significant changes that have occurred in the legislature over the decades. Perhaps nowhere are these changes more evident than with the House Courts of Justice Committee and its Subcommittee on Criminal Law.
This committee and its criminal law subcommittee had a reputation as being tough, and many legislators, especially non-lawyers, dreaded appearing before them. Its members were some of the most senior members of the House and most were experienced trial lawyers. It was a rowdy and colorful group. The committee handled more legislation than any other committee.
For many years, the legendary A.L. Philpott (D-Henry), widely acknowledged as having the deepest knowledge of criminal law of any legislator, reigned over the committee and subcommittee. During most of the current century, Rob Bell (R-Albemarle), another delegate with extensive experience with criminal law, chaired the subcommittee and then the full committee.
The committee and subcommittee had the reputation of being hard-nosed about criminal law. However, being experienced trial lawyers, most members were cognizant of the possibility of proposed legislation having unintended consequences if not worded precisely. Therefore, they would often go over bills line by line to ensure that the meaning of the proposed language was clear. (more…)
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Covid vs. Religious Freedom at UVA
by James A. BaconThe University of Virginia has paid more than $1.8 million in legal fees fighting a lawsuit filed by UVA Health employees who were fired, despite religious objections, for refusing to take the Covid vaccine. And that’s just through November. Given the continuing litigation, billing has likely passed the $2 million mark.
Eleven former employees filed a lawsuit a year ago, claiming that the $3 billion-a-year-in-revenues health system arbitrarily declined to grant them religious exemptions from the vaccine mandate.
Hunton Andrews Kurth is the lead law firm for UVA, charging between $600 and $900 per hour for legal services and racking up $1.52 million in charges through November, according to documents The Jefferson Council has acquired through the Freedom of Information Act. Eckert Seamons has charged $240,000, and IslerDare $70,000. (more…)
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Morals, Coddling, Mental Illness, and Wokeness
*** sponsored content ***
Jonathan Haidt by James A. Bacon
Jonathan Haidt is one of the most important public intellectuals in America today. If you’re not familiar with his work, you need to be. You’ll get a chance to hear him when he comes to the University of Virginia February 8 as a guest of The Jefferson Council.
The social psychologist (and former UVA professor) gained national attention in 2012 with the publication of his book, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion, which asks the question, why can’t we all get along? In America, liberals and conservatives hew to different sides of six fundamental moral realms such as Fairness/Cheating and Liberty/Oppression, he argues. Differing moral sentiments translate into different worldviews, which inform different political positions. Moral intuitions are the primary driver, and reason follows mainly as a means to justify those intuitions. Though an old-fashioned liberal who has confessed to having never voted for a Republican for president, Haidt eschewed demonizing those who think differently. Liberals and conservatives alike, he said, are prone to group thinking, rationalizing their intuitions, and confirmation bias (seeking data that confirms their worldviews while ignoring data that doesn’t).
Jonathan Haidt
February 8, 2024, 6:30 p.m.
Nau Hall Auditorium
Register here
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Birth Dearth Portends Continued Public School Enrollment Losses
The Demographics Research Group at the University of Virginia Projects significant erosion in public school enrollment in Virginia through 2030 — the effect of a seemingly permanent Covid-prompted loss of some 40,000 students to private schools and home schooling, combined with a shrinking birthrate that was evident before the Covid epidemic. Hamilton Lombard has the story here.To see a map showing gainers and losers, read on…. (more…)
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Why Is Anne Holton Claiming the Length of Virginia’s School Closures Didn’t Matter? (Part 2)
Anne Holton (Editors’ note” Part 1 of this series ran yesterday on Bacon’s Rebellion.)
by Vernon Taylor (a pseudonym)
Let’s take a look at Anne Holton’s claims about Virginia’s prolonged school closures and learning loss, which were made at a Dec. 12, 2023, meeting of the Virginia Board of Education, of which she is a member.
1. Virginia Data Are Sparse
Holton did not specify to which data she was referring. But Emily Oster of Brown University and other researchers looked at pre- and post-COVID test data from 12 states, including Virginia. The peer-reviewed study found that learning loss was generally “larger in school districts with less in-person instruction,” with Virginia’s test data showing the greatest correlation between school closures and learning loss. In addition, similar to the statement by Sturdefin about chronic absenteeism, the study notes its results are consistent with pre-COVID research on learning loss from summer break and unplanned closures.
2. The PISA Data Did Not Show a Significant Causal Effect
As explained above, Rotherham pointed out the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results still showed a modest causal effect. For instance, students from countries with closures of less than 3 months performed better on average in math than those from countries with closures longer than 3 months (Box II.2.1). (more…)
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Still Acting Like a Rookie
by Dick Hall-SizemoreGovernor Glenn Youngkin does not seem to be a fast learner. He seems to think he is still at the Carlyle Group where the top brass announced deals and the rest of the organization fell in line. That’s not how it works with a bicameral legislature, especially when your party is in the minority in both houses.
About a month ago, the governor announced, with much fanfare, a plan to bring the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals to Potomac Yard in Alexandria. It would be a $1.5 billion deal involving the construction of a sports arena and supporting facilities. A new sport and entertainment authority would oversee the project, including issuing bonds to fund it. The General Assembly would need to approve the legislation creating the authority.
The General Assembly has convened and the members have questions about this deal. However, as reported by the Washington Post, the administration has few answers. It does not have the bill language ready for the members to review. Even more basic, at the end of last week, it did not have a patron for the legislation lined up. Delegate Luke Torian (D-Prince William), chairman of the House Appropriations Committee said that the administration had asked him to carry the bill in the House, but he was still waiting to see the bill. “I hope to have an opportunity to see it over the course of the weekend,” he said. (more…)
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U.S. Constitution Calling Jason Miyares . . .
by Jock Yellott
Affirmative action is unconstitutional, said the U .S. Supreme Court last June.
But we’ll keep doing it until somebody tells us not to, says Virginia’s Department of Transportation. In some quarters, it seems we’re seeing Massive Resistance to the Supreme Court’s ruling.
An especially absurd, and ongoing, affirmative action boondoggle called the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program magnifies the cost of Virginia roadbuilding … and causes minority lay-offs. Yes: it’s hurting the minorities it is supposed to help.
Recently, a Charlottesville small business won a city contract to build a bike path. But the Virginia Department of Transportation told the City: deny them the contract. Not enough “good faith effort” to go find minority subcontractors, they opined.
Losing the contract means laying off the small business’s employees. Nearly half of whom are minorities. (more…)
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Thank Coal, Gas for Your Warm House Today
PJM generation mix as of 8 a.m. this morning. Coal, natural gas and nuclear are meeting the vast majority of the demand. By Steve Haner
Good morning, Virginia. Your lights and heat are on, and you can thank coal and natural gas. Here are the 8 a.m. charts from PJM’s website, which you can check periodically today as the winter weather closes in. Those fuels were providing more than 66% of our electricity, with nuclear providing almost another third. Go to the website for the interactive version. The 9 a.m. chart is little changed.
The data are for the entire PJM region, not just Virginia.
Billions of dollars into the renewable energy transition, various renewable sources were providing less than 6 megawatts throughout the entire system, not even 5% of demand. Solar should increase a bit as the day proceeds, but the projection (on the same website) is that wind will dip toward the middle of the day.
The breakdown of generation from renewable sources, mainly hydro. The solar output should improve but in much of the region winter storm clouds will continue to limit it, and snow may pile up on solar panels. Remember, this is a holiday and the peak demand projected for the workday tomorrow is higher. But the sun may be back to help at least a bit.
We could be Alberta, Canada. Here is what they are going through. Or Texas. Read those links and know, that is the future the General Assembly and the wind and solar industrial complex that owns it have planned for us.
