Bacon's Rebellion

  • Bipartisan Praise Greets New Superintendent at Board of Ed

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    Todd Truitt

    by Todd Truitt

    State Superintendent Jenna Conway
    Photo credit: VDOE

    The Virginia Board of Education convened this week for its first meeting under the new administration of Governor Abigail Spanberger. The meeting represented a milestone for State Superintendent Jenna Conway, who presided over the Board for the first time in her new role. Rather than a reset, her first Board meeting as Superintendent signaled a steady, cohesive transition into the role.

    Conway had already spent seven years at the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE), most recently serving as a deputy superintendent overseeing early childhood care and education initiatives and receiving national recognition for those efforts.  

    Before arriving at the VDOE, Conway worked in early childhood at the Louisiana Department of Education during a period of sweeping, high-impact reforms—alongside neighboring states, like Mississippi—in which those states began implementing literacy reforms and raising academic standards to drive significant academic gains as part of the so-called “Southern Surge.” Some have credited those states’ improvements in early childhood programs as having been also crucial to their subsequent K-12 success.

    Gov. Spanberger’s promotion of Conway as the VDOE’s chief executive elevated a leader from within the VDOE’s ranks rather than bringing in an outsider. Her continuity is especially significant given the leadership turnover under former Governor Glenn Youngkin, during which Virginia had three state superintendents in four years (all of whom were outside hires).

    At this week’s Board meeting, Conway was already well known to the incumbent Board members appointed by former Gov. Youngkin. Several offered glowing praise for Conway.

    (more…)

  • Sever the New Severance Policy

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    James A. Bacon

    A businessman in a suit walking across a street carrying large bags of money, with a modern building in the background.

    by Jon Baliles

    With all of the issues facing Richmond on a daily, monthly, and annual basis and limited funds to address them, Mayor Danny Avula has decided as City Council debates his new proposed budget, he also wants to update the city’s pay plan with a five-pound bag of sugar to sweeten and fatten any future severance packages for selected positions.

    Avula’s new proposal redefines the hyphenated word “tone-deaf” and it would create a new top tier of “senior executives” who would be eligible for a year’s severance pay (52 weeks) no matter how long they work for the city. Current city policy offers a severance package for top officials up to 36 weeks (nine months) of pay if they have at least 15 years of service (with some exceptions for those with decades-long service).

    Avula’s spokeswoman Mira Signer said earlier this week, “The Mayor agreed to revisit and improve the severance policy for some senior employees. The proposed policy is based on best practice standards, and is a recruiting tool that will help attract top talent to very senior roles. All councilmembers were briefed on the proposed policy.”

    Chief Administrative Officer Odie Donald II defended the proposal at Monday’s Council budget hearing and said, “This is something that occurs in many of your best-run cities around the country.” Of course, most cities that have a similar policy do not have week-long water plant failures, meals tax fiascos, or almost $100 million in uncollected taxes. Some cities have some of those type of problems but we seem to have ALL of them, despite raising salaries enormously in the last six years and now we are told fat severances are the missing key that will fix all that, but I digress.

    (more…)

  • The Freedom to Believe — and Live What You Believe

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    James A. Bacon

    An image of an ancient parchment document displaying the text 'We The People' prominently at the top, with handwritten cursive and printed text, representing a foundational American political document.

    by Jeff Bayard

    Most Americans have never read the First Amendment religious liberty protections that apply to them — especially here in Virginia. They know the amendment exists. They just don’t know what it says. And even fewer know that Virginia adds a second layer of protection on top of it.

    Here is the federal text:

    “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”

    — U.S. Constitution, First Amendment

    Now read what Virginia wrote — in 1776, before the federal Bill of Rights even existed:

    “That religion or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence; and, therefore, all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience…”

    — Virginia Constitution, Article I, Section 16

    Notice the difference. The federal amendment restrains government: Congress shall not. Virginia’s constitution gives you an affirmative right: all men are equally entitled. You don’t just have the right to believe privately. You have the right to live your faith — in your home, your business, your counseling office, your daily life.

    That is double-layered protection. It was meant to be ironclad.

    (more…)

  • Why Virginia’s Radical Redistricting Attempt is Mobilizing Gen Z

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    James A. Bacon

    A blatant Democrat gerrymander is causing Zoomers to get active in politics.

    A diverse group of protesters holding signs that read 'Stop Gerrymandering' and 'Fair Redistricting Now' during a rally.
    AI-generated image credit: Grok

    by Drew DiMeglio

    Virginia is the latest in a large line of states pursuing mid-decade redistricting efforts. That’s where the similarities end.

    Unlike states whose state legislatures draw congressional lines, Virginia has a bipartisan redistricting commission formed of 16 citizens and lawmakers whose proposed maps require a supermajority of legislators in the General Assembly. 

    This commission was given the power to draw congressional maps after a 2020 amendment was approved by the vast majority of Virginians. The result of the commission has been clear: Virginia’s current Congressional districts were given an A rating for partisan fairness by the Princeton Gerrymandering Project. 

    The partisan apportionment lines up with recent statewide partisan results. Six out of the eleven districts are held by Democrats (55%), and five out of the eleven districts are held by Republicans (45%). That meshed with 2024 presidential election results, when Kamala Harris won 52% of the commonwealth’s vote, while Donald Trump captured 46%.

    Despite the clear results of this commission to bring fair representation to Virginians, state Democrats are determined to recapture power for themselves with a constitutional amendment transferring power from the commission to the legislature. This special election is slated for April 21st. 

    (more…)

  • State Sen. Aaron Rouse: Prevaricator or Totally Disabled?

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    James A. Bacon

    by Kerry Dougherty

    A smiling man wearing a suit and tie with a yellow and blue patterned tie, standing in front of a blurred background.
    State Sen. Aaron Rouse

    One of two things is true about State Sen. Aaron Rouse of Virginia Beach.

    He’s either badly disabled and unable to work due to concussions and other injuries sustained during his three seasons as an NFL safety.

    Or he’s a prevaricator.

    Take your pick.

    Either one casts doubts on his fitness to serve.

    I’ve met Aaron Rouse. In fact,I interviewed and endorsed him for Virginia Beach City Council when he ran against the good ole boy Beach cronies back in 2018. He seemed fine to me. Charming, as a matter of fact.

    He’s now in the General Assembly and last spring he lost in a crowded Democrat primary for lieutenant governor to Ghazala Hashmi. Clearly, Rouse has his eyes on the Governor’s Mansion. Every aspiring lieutenant governor does.

    At the same time that this ambitious politician is serving in the state senate and planning a future in politics he’s suing the NFL for its most generous disability benefits, claiming he suffers from complete and total permanent disability due to injuries he sustained playing football for the Green Bay Packers and the Giants.

    The Virginian-Pilot found this, in his complaint:

    “The medical evidence from treating physicians, including Dr. Felix Kirven, Dr. Scott Sautter, and Dr. Alan Wagner, supported Rouse’s claim that he is totally and permanently disabled due to the cumulative effects of multiple concussions and other injuries sustained during his NFL career.”

    Wait. What? Continue reading.

  • Fairfax’s No-Accountability School Zone

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    James A. Bacon

    by Stephanie Lundquist-Arora
    Republished with permission from IWFeatures

    Fairfax County Public Schools manages a $4 billion budget, but lacks a thorough audit mechanism. Skepticism has grown as spending has increased while student enrollment has declined. Adding to these concerns, critics point to the school board’s decision to appoint Kyle McDaniel—who has faced embezzlement allegations and remains involved in ongoing litigation—as vice chair of the budget committee.

    Last week, Fairfax County School Board Chair Sandy Anderson introduced a motion at a regular meeting to appoint Kyle McDaniel, a Democrat-endorsed, at-large member currently embroiled in an embezzlement scandal, as vice chair of the board’s budget committee. The motion passed with a 7-3 vote among its entirely Democrat-endorsed board members.

    Summary of a school board motion regarding additional member assignments for various committees for the school year 2025-2026.

    Melanie Meren, a member who opposed the motion, said, “I will not be able to vote for this motion because the board member who is proposed to be the vice chair of the budget committee is currently involved in a legal matter stating that he stole money from a company.”

    The scandal involving McDaniel began in March of last year, when Blue Label Aviation filed a civil complaint in Loudoun County, VA, alleging that McDaniel had embezzled money from the employer. McDaniel was the school board’s budget committee chair at the time and was forced to step down.

    (more…)

  • Pax Virginiae: Preparing Virginia’s Future Leaders for Service in War and Peace

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    James A. Bacon

    A promotional image for Pax Virginiae, showcasing preparing Virginia's future leaders for military and civic service. The image includes a backdrop of the Virginia state capitol, military personnel, and a graduation ceremony featuring a diverse group of cadets in formal attire.

    by Kenrick Brown

    The Washington, D.C.–Maryland–Virginia super-region — amusingly known as the “DMV” — is a vital center of American national security and the Free World’s global governance. If there is a “Pax Americana,” an American-led global order, then the “DMV” is arguably analogous to a modern-day Ancient Rome, but with nice suburban outskirts. How can Virginia’s universities contribute to American national security? Ut Prosim, “That I May Serve,” is the school slogan for Virginia Tech and hints at what is needed. Top universities in Virginia — not just Virginia Tech, but the University of Virginia, the College of William & Mary, Virginia Military Institute (VMI), Washington & Lee, and others — have a moral obligation to prepare future leaders for service to both the country and the commonwealth.

    To that end, five reforms described below would help ensure Virginia’s best and brightest schools are strengthening both American national security and the commonwealth’s institutional competence. In practice, that would mean placing greater emphasis in higher education on military, diplomatic, intelligence, and other forms of public service. At present, too many of the most capable and elite graduates enter private-sector paths, such as management consultancies and investment banking.

    Rather than sending our smartest graduates out west to Seattle or the Bay Area or up north to New York City, we should retain them in the “DMV” region to protect and defend the Constitution against enemies foreign and domestic. Think Washington, D.C., over Washington State, Virginia over California, and Arlington over Manhattan.

    Firstly, Virginia’s university leaders should re-embrace standardized testing for college admissions. During the Tang Dynasty of Imperial China (618–907 A.D.), civil service examinations expanded substantially in both use and political importance. Contemporary China uses the “Gaokao” — the national college entrance examination — as a principal mechanism for determining admission to universities. These include up to the country’s most elite institutions such as Peking and Tsinghua Universities.

    (more…)

  • The Virginia Senate’s Louise Lucas Dilemma

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    sherlockj

    The Virginia Senate’s Louise Lucas Dilemma

    by James C. Sherlock

    Scandals can have real victims. This one certainly does. The victims are poor people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, people who citizens think and hope are cared for by our Medicaid dollars under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

    A politically powerful member of the Virginia Senate has failed them in her private business.  Medicaid has paid her company to keep them well and safe, and to help them integrate as far as possible into society.  Instead, the business has a long history of repeatedly violating Virginia laws and allowing serious injuries to the people in its care.

    The same senator has for years sat in a position of direct authority over:

    • the laws under which her business operates,
    • her business’s regulator, and
    • the funding with which her business gets paid.

    The situation presents a moral and political dilemma for the Senate of Virginia and, indeed, for all of us. It also presents a legal problem for Virginia, as the Commonwealth is already under a federal injunction for failing to properly serve this very population.

    Here is the story. The Senator is poised to make it worse.

    (more…)

  • Recent ODU, Fairfax Violence Points Toward Wider Spanberger Issues

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    James A. Bacon

    It’s not just redistricting that’s on the ballot. Virginia Democrats have earned a NO vote on April 21st.

    by Daniel Cortez

    The tragedy of a decorated middle eastern Army veteran’s losing his life to a convicted felon at Virginia’s Old Dominion University remains more than troubling.

    ROTC instructor Lt. Col. Brandon A. Shah was perhaps on his last military assignment. He was an ODU alumni and an Iraq and Afghanistan war hero. Shah knew about facing an enemy in battle, but like every patriot did not expect to lose a life by the hands of a ISIS sympathizer who was a former veteran.

    Clearly as distressful was how two Sierra Leone men with the last name Jalloh, shocked the Fredericksburg community. Are investigators examining the recent murder of Stephanie Minter of Fredericksburg, allegedly stabbed to death at a Fairfax County bus stop by illegal immigrant and ISIS sympathizer Abdul Jalloh?

    Entering the U.S. from Sierra Leone in 2012, Jalloh’s rap sheet read like a criminal whose primary professional was committing more crime. Rape charges, malicious wounding, drug possession, trespassing, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, pickpocketing and assault are just a few crimes listed. Incredibly, Northern Virginia officials allowed Jalloh to be released 30 times prior to attacking Minter with multiple stab wounds to her upper body.

    (more…)

  • Stealing an Election as We Watch

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    James A. Bacon

    Spanberger to Biden: “You think you know how to steal an election? Hold my chablis, and watch what I can do.”

    A cartoon donkey wearing a mask runs out of a voting station while carrying a ballot box labeled 'VOTE'. The scene features American flags and scattered papers on the ground.
    Image credit: Chat GPT

    by John A. Lucas

    The Phony Moderate, Governor Abigail Spanberger, and her Democrat allies are trying to steal an election. But not just a single election. That would be child’s play. Their play is to rig the system to steal one election and then use it to scoop up other congressional seats. They hope to accomplish this by misrepresenting the nature of a Democrat-sponsored amendment to Virginia’s Constitution, all in the name of “fairness.”

    There is more than one way to steal an election.

    The headline includes the proposition that Phony Moderate Governor’s efforts aim, in effect, to “steal” an election. Democrats consistently sneer and attempt to deplatform anyone who has the temerity to suggest that maybe, just maybe, Joe Biden’s and the Dems stole the 2020 election. Because some readers may roll their eyes and immediately tune out (or unsubscribe) when they see references to “stolen elections,” bear with me while I begin with a short explanation why it is both fair and accurate to refer to “stolen” elections in a way not traditionally done.

    As with skinning cats, there is more than one way to steal elections, and the new form of electoral thievery takes a variety of forms. The old-fashioned tactics of phony voter registrations, forged ballots, votes case by dead people, and litigation over hanging chads have been supplemented by new forms of asymmetrical election warfare.

    (more…)

  • Virginia Democrats Pass the Most Extreme Gun Ban in America

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    James A. Bacon

    Democrats in Richmond successfully passed legislation in March to ban Virginians from owning everyday firearms.

    by Bronson Winslow

    A diverse group of people participating in a protest, holding signs with messages against gun violence and advocating for action.
    Image credit: Restoration News

    Without restraint or even the slightest hint of accountability to the Constitution, Democrats in Richmond advanced legislation to gut the very essence of the Second Amendment.

    In March, the legislature, dominated by a Democratic majority, sent SB 749 and HB 217 to the desk of Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D)—a longtime ally of the anti-firearm movement. These measures would ban many commonly owned firearms and impose strict magazine capacity limits. Democrats continue to call the bills “safety measures,” but they clearly conflict with the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen decision at the United States Supreme Court—which affirmed every individual’s right to carry a firearm in public for self-defense.

    The landmark Supreme Court ruling further affirmed that all firearm laws must be firmly rooted in the historical tradition of firearm regulation.

    Virginia Republicans have warned the legislation will invite costly legal challenges, pointing to post-Bruen rulings in lower courts that have struck down firearm restrictions inconsistent with constitutional protections.

    (more…)

  • Independent Gas Generator Faces State Permitting Gauntlet

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    Steve Haner

    by Steve Haner

    Artist rendering of the proposed Expedition Generation Station in Fluvanna County.

    The 1540-megawatt natural gas generation unit approved last week by the Fluvanna County Board of Supervisors has already been identified by the regional PJM Interconnection electricity grid operator as a key reliability asset. 

    The Expedition Generation Station is proposed by independent power producer Tenaska, which already has the 940-megawatt Virginia Generation Station at the same location. Approval of the special use permit needed from the county will trigger a series of additional applications at the State Corporation Commission and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. The goal is to start construction in 2028.

    The battle now moving to Richmond is likely to be as fierce as the contest over Dominion Energy Virginia’s proposed 944-megawatt natural gas plant for Chesterfield County. The state’s approval of that project is about to be challenged in the Virginia Supreme Court, the SCC has been notified.   

    When Dominion ran the same permitting gauntlet, DEQ boards like the Air Pollution Control Board were dominated by former Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin’s appointees, and those board will now be appointed by Democratic Governor Abigail Spanberger.

    (more…)

  • Building a Better Virginia

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    James A. Bacon

    “Power of the Pen” details bills on energy, healthcare, the economy, and more that conservatives can get behind.

    Cover of the Virginia Conservative Leaders Network's 2026 policy recommendations document featuring a large house and the title 'Power of the Pen' in elegant script.

    by Lynn Taylor

    Every April, Virginia observes a particular kind of anniversary — not just of battles, but of decisions. It was in April 1865 that General Lee signed the surrender at Appomattox, bringing the bloodiest chapter in American history to a close. But even in that moment of exhaustion and loss, Virginians understood that the real work of self-governance does not end with the laying down of arms. It begins again.

    That spirit of beginning again feels especially appropriate this month. On March 14, the Virginia General Assembly adjourned Sine Die, closing the books on the 2026 legislative session. More than 3,600 pieces of legislation were introduced — a staggering volume that reflects both the ambition and the appetite of those who believe the government should reach ever further into the lives of Virginia families. Now, roughly 20–22% of those bills sit on the Governor’s desk, awaiting her signature, her amendments, or her veto.

    This is the moment the Founders understood well: lawmaking is only one act in the drama of governance. The executive pen is the next. And in a Commonwealth that prizes individual liberty, limited government, and fiscal responsibility, that pen carries enormous weight.

    In response, the Virginia Institute for Public Policy and the Virginia Conservative Leaders Network have delivered the third annual Power of the Pen briefing to Governor Abigail Spanberger — an 80-page document reflecting months of collaborative input and careful policy analysis.

    (more…)

  • Data Centers – Lucy and the Football

    Posted on

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    James A. Bacon

    A cartoon scene depicting a character, Charlie Brown, being thrown upside down by Lucy while expressing surprise with the word 'AAUGH!' in a speech bubble.

    by Chris Saxman

    Virginia’s proposed move to end its data center sales and use tax (SUT) exemption eight years early is less about policy and more about predictability —and what happens as a result.

    Two simple analogies bring this into focus: the neighborhood Happy Hour and the timeless scene of Lucy pulling the football away from Charlie Brown.

    Happy Hour

    Imagine a restaurant or bar advertising a daily happy hour—discounted drinks, lower prices on food – a clear incentive to come in and spend money.

    Customers respond accordingly.

    They change behavior, make plans, and spend money based on that expectation.

    Now imagine the owner abruptly cancels Happy Hour halfway through the week—or worse, changes the rules after customers have already ordered.

    Price of Predictability?

    Both. But which one changes behavior more?

    Predictability.

    (more…)

  • Peronism: the Virginia Edition

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    James A. Bacon

    With approval ratings dipping and the redistricting power grab on thin ice, Spanberger is in trouble already.

    Graphic design featuring a stylized face with a sunburst behind it, set against a black and white background.

    by Shaun Kenney

    Unlike most prognosticators whose default positions tend to be one-side-good and other-side-bad, I desperately want Governor Abigail Spanberger to succeed. The challenges that we are about to face as Virginians — affordable energy, affordable housing, serious public education reform, a rethink of Virginia’s system of taxation and its impact on local government, the rise of artificial intelligence — is a far greater tidal wave than most anyone in state government realizes.

    Running on affordability was clever. Yet affordability was clever precisely because it ignored the question as to who made America less affordable.

    At present, Spanberger finds herself in a pinch between her promises to bring politics back to the center against a Democratic-controlled General Assembly that has now pinned her entire political future on an objectively unfair redistricting-for-cronies where — should it fail — Democratic congressmen such as Eugene Vindman will have to go crawling back to his own constituents explaining why he chose to fire them in April but reeeeely wants to represent them in November.

    More to the point, Democrats succeeded in passing over $6 billion in new tax increases, a host of unconstitutional 2A bills, tampered with free speech, and capped it all off with a threat to tax data centers into oblivion.

    Welcome to Peronism: Virginia Edition.

    (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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