Bacon's Rebellion

  • Schools Shouldn’t Open Before Labor Day

    Posted on

    by

    Bob Rayner

    Oceanfront, Virginia Beach. Photo credit: Kerry Dougherty

    by Kerry Dougherty

    Better sit down, youngsters. Did you know you’ll only get OUT of school two days earlier than last year? Yep, your last day of classes is June 14, 2024. Last June you finished up on June 16th.

    Joke’s on you. Oh, and the teachers who pushed for the new schedule believing they’d get an early start on summer.

    Until 2019, Virginia’s public schools were prohibited from beginning before Labor Day. The law, nicknamed the “Kings Dominion Relief Act” was passed in 1986 to boost Virginia’s tourism industry, giving teens with summer jobs a chance to work through the traditional end of summer. (more…)

  • Yes, Virginia Democrats Really Do Want Abortion Up to 40 Weeks (and Beyond)

    Posted on

    by

    Bob Rayner

    by Shaun Kenney

    This November in Ohio, a referendum measure will be on the ballot that will not only enshrine abortion as a state constitutional right — the measure will eliminate parental notification and parental consent on any and all decisions about sexuality and gender in language so broad that it encompasses not just abortion but transgenderism as a question of “reproductive rights” — and it is coming to Virginia.

    The Ohio referendum is sponsored not only by Planned Parenthood and the ACLU, but also by an organization called URGE, and is backed by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) — two groups whose interest in pushing transgenderism is upfront and clear.

    Already, several Virginia Democrats running for public office have been open about their support for these referenda, many of which will be on the ballot in 2024 in the hopes that they will boost Democratic hopes in the presidential elections.

    The good news in Virginia is that our reticence about referenda is a long-standing practice designed to allow cooler heads to prevail. The General Assembly must approve the referenda twice in concurrent sessions in order for such items to be on the ballot. (more…)

  • Democrats Cannot Hide From Vote to Ban Gas Cars

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    By Steve Haner

    Yes, Virginia, the Democrats are coming for your gasoline and diesel powered cars. The only way to decouple Virginia from the California Air Resources Board’s relentless drive toward electric vehicles only on new car lots is to change the political landscape in Richmond and reverse a 2021 bill.

    A Republican candidate for Virginia Senate used the illustration above to challenge his opponent, current Delegate Danica Roem (D-Manassas), now seeking a seat in the less numerous body. The blog Blue Virginia rushed to Roem’s defense. Here is the full link to the article so you can get the link and the tenor of the message all in one. (more…)

  • The Enduring Value of Arlington’s Endangered Monument to Reconciliation

    Posted on

    by

    Bob Rayner

    The Confederate Memorial in Arlington.
    (Arlington National Cemetery; photo by Rachel Larue)

    by Donald Smith

    Jim Webb, former U.S. Senator from Virginia, former Navy Secretary, and certified badass (Navy Cross, Silver Star and two Purple Hearts from his service as a Marine officer in Vietnam) grabbed quite a bit of attention last week.  On August 18 he called for the Confederate Memorial at Arlington Cemetery to be spared.  You can read his commentary here, if you have a Wall Street Journal subscription (or have some free articles left.)  Here’s a link to a no-paywall article on Webb’s piece.  Here’s a link to the most prominent criticism I’ve seen of Webb’s piece, from Civil War historian Kevin Levin. 

    Webb’s commentary points out an important and, until now, mostly ignored repercussion of Congress’ blanket approval of the Naming Commission’s recommendations:  it diminishes our nation’s soft power.  That makes it harder for our military and diplomats to achieve our nation’s goals overseas without having to resort to coercion or violence.  (more…)

  • All Hat, No Cattle

    Posted on

    by

    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    Governor Glenn Youngkin. Photo Credit: Associated Press

    by Dick Hall-Sizemore

    In Texas, the phrase, “all hat, no cattle” refers to someone who is all talk with little substance. Governor Glenn Youngkin is in the running for one of those hats.

    The latest “Team Youngkin” fund-raising scare e-mail deals with fentanyl.

    It starts off by recounting the number of fatal overdoses in Virginia attributable to fentanyl. That is why, the Governor says, “I didn’t hesitate when Governor Greg Abbott asked for additional resources to assist in critical border security efforts in Texas. I deployed the Virginia National Guard, and 100 brave Virginians answered the call to serve and protect our Commonwealth by going to Texas and joining the mission to stop fentanyl from flowing unabated into America.”

    It is closer to home that Youngkin emphasizes the real problem. “Unfortunately, our efforts to punish the criminals who sell deadly fentanyl in our neighborhoods have been blocked by the far-left in control of the Virginia Senate.” He is referring to the Senate killing his legislation (SB 1490) that would have made anyone distributing a substance containing more than two milligrams of fentanyl, without the person obtaining the substance knowing that it contained fentanyl, guilty of attempted first-degree murder. If someone died from using that substance, the distributor would be guilty of first-degree murder. (more…)

  • The Decidedly Unintuitive Student Debt of Undergrads upon Graduation from Virginia’s Public 4-Year Colleges and Universities

    Posted on

    by

    sherlockj

    William and Mary

    by James C. Sherlock

    I had never until now looked at college costs from the perspective of the new graduate, as opposed to his or her parents.

    But it is fair to say that many look closely at their debt and their incomes after graduation and are taken aback, whether or not they borrow yet more to go on to graduate or professional schools.

    So, I have examined available state data on student debt at graduation of the undergrads at Virginia’s public 4-year colleges and universities between 2016 and 2021.

    If you expected the results that you will see here on their debts at graduation, you are much more informed that I was when I started.

    Some are startling, at least to me. (more…)

  • Satire: Lexington’s Battle of the Statues

    Posted on

    by

    Bob Rayner

    by Thomas Moncure

    The Virginia Military Institute removed the statue of former Professor (and Confederate General) Thomas J. Jackson from the front of barracks. In doing so they have meekly emulated the sterling example of the City of Richmond and other places. Cleansing the landscape of offensive historical figures is now the touchstone of our times.

    Much remains to be done at VMI. The statue of Virginia Mourning Her Dead must come down. The sculptor, Sir Moses Ezekiel, fought for slavery as a member of the Corps of Cadets at the Battle of New Market. His fellow Cadets buried at the base of the statue, who also fought for slavery, must be disinterred and removed. Perhaps they can be reburied wherever Washington & Lee University determines to place the deceased Lees when they are expelled from the University (formerly Lee) Chapel.

    But the most offensive statue is that of the avowed segregationist George C. Marshall. (more…)

  • Ignorance Erases George Wythe at a Virginia Community College

    Posted on

    by

    Bob Rayner

    George Wythe

    by Suzanne Munson

    Virginia Peninsula Community College recently announced the removal of the names of two historic American leaders from its buildings, George Wythe and Dr. Corbin Griffin, a surgeon for Virginia patriot soldiers, presumably because they once owned slaves. It should be noted that these were heroes of the American Revolution, not the Civil War, individuals who fought for this nation’s freedom from despotic foreign rule.

    One wonders how much time school officials spent on their American history homework prior to this decision, particularly with regard to the great Founding Father George Wythe.

    Yes, Wythe did inherit slaves and owned them for a while. But he also freed his slaves later in life, when he was legally able to do so, and provided generously for several of them in his will.

    Further, as a state judge, he shocked his contemporaries by becoming the first and only judge to rule slavery illegal, based on Virginia’s Declaration of Rights. (Hudgins v. Wright, 1806). The ruling was overturned by a higher court, but it was a principled stab by Wythe at the evil institution. (more…)

  • Jeanine’s Memes

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    From The Bull Elephant

  • Be Careful of What You Wish For

    Posted on

    by

    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    Supreme Court of Virginia

    by Dick Hall-Sizemore

    For those on this blog who advocate the election of judges in Virginia, The Washington Post today has an article that should give you second thoughts.  Courts cannot be isolated completely from partisanship, but it should be distressing for anyone, regardless of one’s partisan leanings, that a state supreme court, such as the one in Wisconsin described in the article, should be so politicized.  (Of course, the politicization has been there a long time.  The recent election and Democratic takeover just emphasizes it.)  Virginians should be grateful to have a judicial system that is shielded to a great extent from overt partisanship.

  • Psst, the War’s Over

    Posted on

    by

    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    by Dick Hall-Sizemore

    I saw this motorcycle in Lexington a few days ago.  Apparently, the owner missed the news that the war is over and his side lost.

    If he goes downtown, they should be able to bring him up to date.  (It is hard to see in this picture, but Main Street was lined with American flags.)

  • Bacon Meme of the Week

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

  • UVa Spending on Staff Surges, Spending on Students Trails

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    Inflation-adjusted percentage increase of UVa E&G expenditures (in millions of dollars) compared to those of all 15 Virginia public four-year higher-ed institutions.

    by James A. Bacon

    Always alert for opportunities to arm the University of Virginia Board of Visitors members with statistics they don’t see in their board presentations, The Jefferson Council presents the table above, compiled from data published by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV).

    The takeaway: UVa boosted overall E&G (educational & general) spending faster than Virginia’s other public four-year colleges and universities between fiscal 2011-12 and fiscal 2021-22, but UVa funds were more likely to flow to faculty and staff and less likely to go to student instruction, student services, or research support.

    E&G expenditures represent spending on an institution’s core educational mission. Under SCHEV’s accounting methodology, E&G strips out spending on athletics, dormitories, food service, and auxiliary enterprises. The Council’s data portal adjusts for inflation over the 10 years displayed above, so these figures reflect real spending, not funny money.

    SCHEV breaks down E&G expenditures by seven broad categories so the public can get a clearer idea of where the money is going. The data are consistent with the interpretation advanced by The Jefferson Council in previous posts that UVa has experienced excessive growth in administrative overhead. (more…)

  • Which Virginia Taxes Have Grown and How Much

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    Click for larger view.

    By Steve Haner

    What a difference just four years has made in Virginia’s financial condition, with the state’s General Fund tax revenue having increased 31% during the period and its Commonwealth Transportation Fund revenue increasing by almost 36%. This is comparing the annual results for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2023, just released, and the same summary for the year ending June 30, 2019. (more…)

  • Improper Parking and Other Unlikely Tales

    Posted on

    by

    Bob Rayner

    by Joe Fitzgerald

    Drunk driving and gerrymandering don’t usually go hand in hand, but there are exceptions. The race-based district-drawing skills of Virginia Democrats half a century ago had areas around majority black Petersburg represented in the state Senate by a rural Democrat from Windsor, 50 miles east. When the state senator got a DUI on his home turf, fickle memory tells me, the hearing was too far away for the local paper to send a reporter.

    The charge was probably reduced to improper driving. That’s a standard go-to when the various officers of the court know a guy was drinking but don’t think driving under the influence can be proven. I covered the case in Sussex County in 1984 of a man who had passed out, driven his car into a ditch, and slid over against the passenger door. He admitted to the officer who found him that he had been driving the car when it ran off the road. (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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