Bacon's Rebellion

  • The Facts of the Matter

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    “You are entitled to your opinion. But you are not entitled to your own facts.” — Daniel Patrick Moynihan: 

    Dear President Ryan, Provost Baucom, and the Board of Visitors,

    The former New York senator’s famous quotation perfectly describes the October 8 statement posted by the “Students for Justice in Palestine at UVA” on its Instagram page.

    I firmly and unequivocally believe in the First Amendment. Any individual student or group must be allowed to speak their mind, as long as their statements do not violate University policy or Virginia law. However, there are numerous falsehoods in the SJP statement. I will cite three particularly egregious ones:

    1. “Students for Justice in Palestine unequivocally supports Palestinian liberation and the right of colonized people everywhere to resist the occupation of their land by whatever means they deem necessary.”
    2. “While the Israeli government publicly declared war today, the war and genocidal campaign began over 75 years ago.”
    3. “The people of Gaza are denied freedom of movement, are under calorie restrictions, and are routinely bombed and brutalized by Israeli forces.”

    The three statements above are both factually wrong and morally outrageous. Below are the facts: (more…)

  • Things Fall Apart: Loudoun County Edition

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    James A. Bacon

    Loudoun County is not Appalachia. Loudoun County is not the inner city. It is, in fact, one of the most affluent counties — sometimes the most affluent county — in the country. But something is very, very wrong, and you can’t blame it on poverty. From Loudoun Now:

    In a statement emailed to division parents just before 8 p.m. Nov. 1, Loudoun County Public Schools Superintendent Aaron Spence said there have been 10 suspected overdoses at six of high schools [sic] this year. The news from school officials comes one day after the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office released a statement saying it was investigating eight student opioid related overdoses at Park View High School.

    Referencing the Loudoun overdoses, Governor Glenn Younkin called for greater school transparency with parents. (more…)

  • “Good old TikTok: Chinese spy engine and purveyor of virulent antisemitic lies.” Sen. Josh Hawley

    Posted on

    by

    sherlockj

    San Francisco High School students enflamed by false report from the NYT (which later offered “nuance”) broadcast worldwide on TikTok #freepalestine that Israel bombed that hospital in Gaza.

    by James C. Sherlock

    Taylor Lorenz, the estimable young Tech and Online Culture columnist for The Washington Post, has been the author of some of the most important reports on the Hamas-Israel war.

    Today, she published with Drew Harwell, a Post reporter covering artificial intelligence and the algorithms changing our lives, “Israel-Gaza war sparks debate over TikTok’s role in setting public opinion.”

    A pro-Palestinian hashtag, #freepalestine, had … 770 million views over the last 30 days in the United States, TikTok data show.

    To longtime TikTok critics like Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), that assertion offered further proof that the app, owned by the China-based tech firm ByteDance, is a secretive propaganda engine built to manipulate American teens for Chinese geopolitical goals — in this case, Rubio said, to “downplay … Hamas terrorism.”

    The same Post article, attempting balance, reports both the Sen. Hawley quote in the title of this piece and that:

    TikTok creators and social media experts say the reality (of reporting on the war) is more nuanced (than critics have asserted).

    “Nuanced.” What would we do without “TikTok creators and social media experts”? (more…)

  • Judge Issues Surprise Marijuana Ruling

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    by

    Bob Rayner

    from The Republican Standard

    A federal judge in Northern Virginia rejected an attempt to block a new Virginia law that imposes stricter limits on hemp products containing intoxicating amounts of THC. The law aimed to crack down on delta-8, a hemp-derived marijuana alternative. The judge ruled that Virginia’s regulations do not conflict with federal law and serve the public interest in protecting citizens, especially children, from substances like delta-8, indicating a challenging road ahead for the hemp industry in opposing the new law. (more…)

  • Delegate Won’t Correct False Accusation About Israel

    Posted on

    by

    Bob Rayner

    Sam Rasoul

    by Scott Dreyer

    On October 17, around noon Virginia time, a missile allegedly hit a Baptist hospital in Gaza. Almost immediately, many US mainstream news outlets blamed Israel for the attack and claimed “over 500” had been killed.

    As reported here, about four hours after the blast, Del. Salam “Sam” Rasoul (D-Roanoke) posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, “Today Israel bombed a hospital and a UN school. War crimes it will never be held accountable for. Over 1000 children dead in 10 days. Sickening.”

    Within hours, though, as more evidence came in and was examined, it became clear that the blast was not from an Israeli rocket strike, but from a failed Palestinian missile that dropped on Palestinian territory, hitting the hospital’s parking lot. On October 18, Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), who has access to classified information as a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, tweeted “we feel confident that the explosion was the result of a failed rocket launch by militant terrorists and not the result of an Israeli airstrike.” (more…)

  • UVa’s Modern-Day Barbarians

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    Image credit: Bing Image Creator

    by James A. Bacon

    The latest round of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has stirred up emotions at the University of Virginia more than any event since the George Floyd riots. Not only are students holding demonstrations and counter-demonstrations; faculty, parents, and alumni are chiming in.

    Eighty University of Virginia professors signed an open letter proclaiming themselves to be “unsettled” by the tone of a statement previously issued by President Jim Ryan concerning events stemming from Hamas’ October 7 terror attacks on Israel. Ryan expressed sorrow for the atrocities inflicted upon Israeli citizens, the writers aver, but did not acknowledge the sufferings of the Palestinian people.

    Meanwhile, more than 15o parents and alumni have signed a letter expressing concern for the safety of Jewish students in an atmosphere of increasing antisemitism nationally. The university, they say, needs to create a task force to eradicate antisemitism within the UVa community.

    The Jefferson Council members with whom I am in contact — and I have heard from many — are unanimously supportive of Israel. The Jewish state is far from perfect when measured against a utopian ideal of pluralistic, democratic, rights-respecting nations, but Hamas, a terrorist organization masquerading as a state, bears no comparison. It is in the same league as the Huns, Vandals, Goths, Vikings and other ancient barbarians who laid waste to the settled societies around them. Council members have chosen to side with the heirs of Western Civilization and against those who seek to destroy it. (more…)

  • Harvard History Professor to Lead Monticello

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    sherlockj

    Jane Kamensky, new President of Monticello. Courtesy of Harvard Crimson. Photo credit Soumyaa Mazumder

    by James C. Sherlock

    She is certainly qualified.

    On Oct. 17 the Thomas Jefferson Foundation announced that Jane Kamensky, Harvard history professor and director of the Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, will be the next president of Monticello.

    From an interview with Harvard Crimson.

    • “The combination of celebration, commemoration, and reckoning that takes place at Monticello in 2026 will not only do all those things, but will show America how to do it,” she said.
    • Kamensky said she looks forward to engaging the American public, especially young people, in a “shifted tone of conversation about American ideals and imperfections and possibilities,” she said.

    “Show America how to do it” is an aggressive vision, but we wish her well.

    There is evidence that there are mines in that field. She needs to try to carefully clear them, not set them off. (more…)

  • Court Blocks Pennsylvania from Joining RGGI

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    The states currently in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative tax compact. Pennsylvania will remain conspicuously absent, and Virginia departs in two months.

    by Steve Haner

    A state court in Pennsylvania has ruled that the regulatory decision to enroll that state in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) exceeded the authority of state regulators. It ruled RGGI is a tax that could only be lawfully imposed by the legislature.

    It was the Republican majority in one of the state’s legislative chambers that brought the legal challenge, so unless or until the political balance changes in that state, a vote to join the interstate carbon dioxide capping program is unlikely.

    Adding Pennsylvania would have been a major expansion of the 11-state RGGI compact. Its many fossil fuel power plants would need to buy $400 million or more worth of CO2 allowance credits per year, a third or more than Virginia’s power plants are being taxed.

    It is also one of the larger states in the PJM Interconnect regional power marketplace (it is the P) where the power plants do not pay into RGGI, lowering the relative cost of its power when it flows into other PJM states. Virginia electric customers are often using electrons from elsewhere in PJM.

    That the money the utilities must pay for operating their fossil fuel plants is a tax is something most RGGI proponents, including those in Virginia, vehemently deny. That was one of the key disputes in the challenge in Pennsylvania, where joining RGGI was a regulatory step initiated by its then-Governor Tom Wolf (D). (more…)

  • The Latest Campaign Finance Reports for State Senate Races

    Posted on

    by

    Bob Rayner

    by Jeanine Martin

    October finance reports are available at VPAP.org.

    Below is the amount of money raised in the most competitive Senate districts from October 1st to the 26th. Once again, Democrats, the party of the rich, have raised more money than Republicans in almost every race. But the energy we’re seeing around the commonwealth for Republican candidates has been impressive. (more…)

  • Virginia Set to Help Taxpayers for a Change

    Posted on

    by

    Bob Rayner

    from The Republican Standard

    Good news for Virginia taxpayers.

    In the coming weeks, several hundred dollars are heading back into the pockets of eligible Virginians. Up to $400 per household will be heading to mailboxes and bank accounts across the Commonwealth thanks to a surplus in the state budget recently signed by Governor Glenn Youngkin.

    In a media release issued by his office last week, Governor Youngkin stated.

    “As Virginians continue to face inflation and high prices as a direct result of policies out of Washington, D.C., these rebates are an important step going into the holiday season to help Virginians keep more of their hard-earned money for gas, groceries, and essentials.”

    NBC4Washington also noted that “the taxation department has an online lookup tool where taxpayers can go to see if they’ll receive a rebate.”

    If you enjoy having more control over your own dollars, don’t forget to think about the benefits of having leaders in the state that value the taxpayers as you head to cast your ballot in the state and local elections this year.

    Republished with permission from The Republican Standard. 

  • Democratic General Assembly Would Be Much Softer on Crime

    Posted on

    by

    Bob Rayner

    from Liberty Unyielding 

    Democrats are slightly favored to win control of Virginia’s legislature in this year’s election, although the election will be very close. If they take over, the legislature will become much softer on crime than it is now, because incoming Democratic leaders are more left-wing than their mainstream liberal predecessors. For example, if Democrats win control of the House of Delegates, the speaker of the House will be Democratic leader Don Scott, a convicted felon, not his mainstream liberal predecessor, Eileen Filler-Corn.

    Back in 2020, Don Scott proposed radical legislation that would release dangerous criminals from prison, even if prison and parole officials had proof of their continuing danger to society. It failed to pass back then, because Scott was a junior legislator, and Democrats were more mainstream liberal, and less left-wing, than they are now. The only moderate Democrats in the Virginia legislature are either retiring — such as state Senator Lynwood Lewis — or were defeated in the Spring 2023 Democratic primary. Some mainstream liberals are also leaving the legislature. George Barker was defeated in a primary by a candidate to his left, and Senate Majority Leader Richard Saslaw is retiring.

    Scott’s legislation in 2020 was very bad, and at odds with public safety. If he becomes House Speaker, he might be able to use his power to get his fellow Democrats to pass it. Then, he could hold Republican Governor Youngkin’s priorities hostage unless Youngkin allows such legislation to become law. For example, Scott could get Democrats to block the governor’s appointments. The Virginia Senate only approved Governor Youngkin’s appointment of Bert Ellis to the University of Virginia Board of Visitors because the Senate’s two moderate Democrats voted along with Republicans to confirm him. Both of those Democrats are leaving the legislature after this year. The House of Delegates can also block appointments to many posts in Virginia. (more…)

  • Governor Youngkin Steps to Curb Anti-Semitic Activities – How about Law Enforcement?

    Posted on

    by

    sherlockj

    by James C. Sherlock

    Governor Glenn Youngkin took action today with an Executive Directive to “Combat Antisemitism and Anti-Religious Bigotry in the Commonwealth and on Campuses.”

    It is excellent, and we look forward to immediate steps by other actors in the Commonwealth. (more…)

  • Dominion’s Wind Project Wins Federal Approval

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    Norfolk Virginian-Pilot photo of the first eight monopiles for Dominion’s offshore wind project, celebrated at a ceremony last Thursday upon their delivery.

    The Biden Administration’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has issued final approval for the construction of Dominion Energy Virginia’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project. Here is the release. A few more steps remain and should be completed by late January, according to BOEM.

    The announcement, fully expected since all previous U.S. projects have been similarly approved, followed by a few days the arrival of the first set of gigantic monopiles, the first eight of the 176 structures Dominion will build about 27 miles or more off Virginia Beach.

    The only coverage of their arrival was provided by The Virginian-Pilot. Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) attended and has praised the project all along. The paper provided only an indirect quote from his remarks:

    The project is also at the heart of Virginia’s all-of-the-above approach to energy production, which aims to make energy cheap and plentiful by employing fossil fuels, nuclear and growing green energy, said Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who attended the event.

    (more…)

  • Conservative Boycotts Work

    Posted on

    by

    Bob Rayner

    by Kerry Dougherty

    In the first month after Dylan Mulvaney began promoting the Anheuser-Busch beer, sales of America’s most popular beer dropped 26.5% while Modelo’s were up 13.5%. The Mexican beer quickly toppled Bud Light as America’s best-selling beer.

    Likewise, the June “Pride Month” boycott of Target resulted in a 5.4% drop in that company’s second quarter profits and caused Target to revise down its yearly numbers.

    These are cautionary tales. Pay attention, Eventbrite.

    The online platform that allows event organizers to distribute and sell tickets was targeted yesterday by Virginia’s Gov. Glenn Youngkin after he learned that Eventbrite unceremoniously dumped a “Protecting Women’s Sports with Riley Gaines” event at the University of California at Davis.

    Riley Gaines, the champion collegiate swimmer who was forced to compete against Lia Thomas, a biological male, is on a mission to keep men out of girls sports. (more…)

  • Will the Left Repudiate this Evil?

    Posted on

    by

    Bob Rayner

    (This column was published earlier today by The Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy)

    by Chris Braunlich

    “You dance with the one who brung ya” goes one of the oldest sayings in politics.

    It means that when elected officials get into public office, they vote with those who helped put them there.

    The deadly Hamas attack on Israel, an event slaughtering 1,400 Israelis that Hamas political bureau member Ghazi Hamad called “our message to the world,” has exposed divisions up and down the Biden liberal-left coalition – and sent a warning signal about those who power that coalition.

    Polling data demonstrate the split among Democrats, fueled largely by the young and the left.   It has already caused President Biden to shift his tone, and a recent Reuters report noted that “Biden, 80, has evolved in the face of a challenging 2024 reelection bid, (and) threats by some would-be supporters to withhold their votes over his lack of backing for Palestinians .…”

    Four hundred congressional staffers have signed a letter to their bosses opposing the Administration’s current approach. Two-hundred each among the former volunteers of presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have done the same. Groups supporting Biden are disbanding. (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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