Bacon's Rebellion

  • Losing Trust

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    Fairfax County Public Schools: more money, fewer students

    A visual representation of a balance scale, with a bag of money labeled 'Public Funding' on one side and a student walking towards a school labeled 'Enrollment' on the other side, symbolizing the relationship between school funding and student enrollment.

    by Stephanie Lundquist-Arora

    There has been a significant decline in enrollment in Virginia’s largest public school district. Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) experienced the largest drop in student enrollment of any district in the state from 2015 to 2025, according to the University of Virginia Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service. While neighboring Prince William County Public Schools — the state’s second-largest district — grew by 3,970 students, FCPS saw a decrease of 6,894 students during the same period.

    It’s not that the number of school-aged children in Fairfax County is declining — in fact, the opposite is true. From 2019 to 2025, the population of school-aged children increased by more than 9,000. But families with greater financial means and/or flexibility are seeking alternative educational options as concerns grow about the performance and outcomes of the district’s public schools.

    As FCPS leaders request $4.1 billion in the proposed fiscal year 2027 budget, many taxpayers are also expressing frustration. Critics rightly argue that increased spending has not translated into improved student outcomes. From 2019 to 2025, average per-pupil expenditures rose by more than $6,000, while average SAT scores declined by 35 points over the same period.

    Not surprisingly, FCPS stopped publishing SAT scores on its website several years ago. In response, the Fairfax County Taxpayers Alliance regularly submits Freedom of Information Act requests and shares the results publicly.

    (more…)

  • Tightening the Nuts and Bolts

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    Former Secretary of Finance Steve Cummings explains how the Youngkin administration saved hundreds of millions of dollars a year through tighter financial controls: more internal audits, better cash flow management, stronger cyber-security, and attention to nuts-and-bolts financial management.

     Jim Bacon: Greetings, everyone. I’m Jim Bacon, and this is the Oinkonomics podcast. In our last podcast, we talked to former finance secretary Steve Cummings, who gave us an overview of the Youngkin administration’s fiscal and economic accomplishments. There was a lot more ground to cover, so Steve has graciously agreed to return for another round. This time, we’re going to take a closer look at the nitty-gritty aspects of keeping Virginia one of the most financially strong states in the country. Welcome back to Oinkonomics, Steve.

    Steve Cummings: Thank you, Jim. Appreciate being back again.

    Bacon: Last time we chatted, you touched upon Governor Youngkin’s thinking that the state secretary of finance should take a CFO-like approach to the job. Traditionally, the position has been organized around budgeting, budget forecasting, collecting revenues, paying bills, and managing debt. But the modern CFO does a lot more. So, let’s start with a high-altitude description of the job as you see it.

    Cummings: I mentioned this in our last conversation that as I got into this role, I realized that many states have different structures to their Secretary of Finance function, and many of them have elected officials that are part of finance, but frankly, those elected officials really aren’t accountable to the Secretary of Finance. And that would typically be in the areas of controller or treasurer. And what’s distinctively different in Virginia from many others, is that it is structured like a true CFO office. I had planning and budget, I had tax revenue collections, I had fund management within Treasury and the group that does debt, and then payments that go outside to vendors and to other constituents that the Commonwealth owes money to.

    (more…)

  • Democrat Groups Invest $19 Million to Pass Redistricting Referendum

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    A donkey standing next to a large sack spilling out stacks of money in front of a grand building.
    Image credit: Grok

    by Ken Reid

    Republicans have so far failed to get the state courts  to stop an April 21 referendum to suspend bipartisan redistricting and enable the Democrat-controlled General Assembly to draw new maps to give them a 10-1 advantage in U.S. House races this fall.

    And it would also seem Republicans are at a disadvantage to the Democrats – again! – in raising the money needed to get the gerrymandering defeated at the polls.

    On VPAP.org the other day, I discovered that the top donors in Richmond are not Dominion Power or Michael Bills Clean Virginia, but two Washington, DC-based Democrat groups who are putting a combined in $19 million to pass the referendum.

    House Majority Forward, which VPAP listed as giving $10 million, is described on its web  site “a progressive, non-profit organization committed to promoting economic growth and opportunity, social justice, environmental stewardship, and democracy in the United States of America. We aim to achieve these core goals through aggressive advocacy of policies that move America in the right direction.”

    The president of House Majority Forward is Mike Smith, a longtime Democratic Party staffer. Mike Smith is also the president of the House Majority PAC, a position he has held since January 2023, according to InfluenceWatch.com.

    Punchbowl News Feb. 24 reported the party’s campaign, Virginians for Fair Elections, has already spent $5.3 million on ads and referenced the $10 million from House Majority Forward.  

    The other Democrat money group is “The Fairness Project,” which is listed at $9 million in donations.

    (more…)

  • While Del. Rasoul Condemns ICE, Illegal Alien Stabs Fredericksburg Woman to Death

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    A collage featuring multiple mugshots of a man arranged in a grid, with a clear photo of a woman in the center.

    by Scott Dreyer

    On Monday, February 23, Stephanie Minter, 41, of Fredericksburg, was found stabbed to death at a Fairfax County bus stop with multiple knife wounds to the upper body. Minter was a mother whose life was ended far too soon.

    The next day, police arrested Abdul Jalloh, 32, from Sierra Leone, who entered the US illegally in 2012, during the Obama Administration. Sierra Leone is a tiny country in West Africa between Liberia and Guinea. Sierra Leone is about 78% Muslim and 21% Christian.

    Unbelievably, Jalloh has been arrested more than 30 times for charges of rape, malicious wounding, assault, drug possession, identity theft, trespassing, larceny, firing a weapon, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and pickpocketing.

    Decrying the lack of media attention to the story, a Twitter/X user posted this accusation:

    “Judges released Illegal Abdul Jalloh 30+ times before he murdered Stephanie Minter.

    “The Legacy Media doesn’t care.

    “AP news stories: 0
    PBS news stories: 0
    NYT news stories: 0
    NPR news stories: 0
    ABC news stories: 0
    CNN news stories: 0
    Washington Post news stories: 0
    MSNBC (aka MS NOW) news stories: 0″

    An independent review of these websites seemed to verify that the above sources have no stories about this incident (with the possible exception of MS NOW, whose search link appears unresponsive).

    The silence is perhaps most surprising from the Washington Post, since Northern Virginia is in its coverage area and their byline touts “Democracy Dies in Darkness.”

    (more…)

  • Spanberger’s Illegal-Aliens-First Agenda

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by Kerry Dougherty

    A close-up of a woman with long hair wearing a badge, set against a stylized background of a historic building with a vibrant red overlay and a Virginia flag visible in the corner.

    Sadly, the House of Delegates holds the power of impeachment for “mal-administration, corruption or endangering the state” and controlled by far-left politicians who agree with Spanberger’s Illegal-Aliens-First agenda. So there is no path to abort her governorship. Yet.

    Perhaps you heard, on Monday, February 23, a 41-year-old woman named Stephanie Minter was stabbed to death at a Fairfax County bus stop. Charged with her brutal murder is a 32-year-old illegal alien from Sierra Leone, named Abdul Jalloh.

    Law enforcement – such as it is in Fairfax county – was familiar with this dirtbag who entered the country illegally in 2012 and had a final order of removal in 2020.

    In a just world, in a sane one, Abigail Spanberger would be on the road to impeachment for deliberately and maliciously endangering the lives of Virginians.

    In his 14 years in the country, Jalloh has been a one-man crime spree. He’s been arrested 30 times for everything from rape to assault but Fairfax prosecutor Steve Descano dropped the charges in almost all of those cases.

    According to DHS:

    His criminal history includes more than 30 arrests for charges of rape, malicious wounding, assault, drug possession, identity theft, trespassing, larceny, firing a weapon, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and pick pocketing. ICE previously lodged a detainer against Jalloh in 2020, and he was granted a final order of removal by a judge who found he could be removed to any country other than Sierra Leone. This case illustrated the importance of third country removals to get criminal illegal aliens out of the U.S.

    “We are calling on Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger and Virginia’s sanctuary politicians to commit to not releasing this murderer and violent career criminal from their jail without notifying ICE,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis. Continue reading.

  • Virginia School Officials Should Not Be Their Own Regulators

    Posted on

    by

    Todd Truitt

    by Todd Truitt

    As Virginia’s new Democratic Governor, Abigail Spanberger will soon shape the direction of public education statewide through five appointments to the Virginia Board of Education. Based on her longstanding focus on transparency and eliminating conflicts of interest, her administration can chart a different course with respect to a recent Virginia practice.

    The Spanberger administration will have to consider an important question in choosing these appointees: Should current school district or school officials serve on the very board that regulates them?

    As a licensed attorney and Certified Public Accountant—professions governed by strict conflict-of-interest rules—I strongly believe the answer should be no.

    This is not about personal character. It is about institutional design, good governance, national best practices and, in particular, public confidence in our public school system.

    (more…)

  • The $4 to $5 Billion in Tax Hikes the Assembly is Approving

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    by Steve Haner

    The tax increase proposals still pending at the 2026 General Assembly will extract another $4 to $5 billion annually from Virginians if enacted, shared between the state and the local governments.    

    The Democrats in political control have taken a bow for producing competing budget proposals that are not dependent on major tax increases, and for killing the large income tax increase and sales tax expansions some of their members proposed.  That does not mean there will be no tax increases forwarded to Governor Abigail Spanberger (D) for approval.

    Three proposals will impact most households and one of them was already signed by Spanberger, with the other two endorsed by her and expected to be signed.  There are at least five other pending bills which will produce revenue from specific transactions that only some Virginians will have to pay, transactions they can choose to avoid. 

    The most unusual and noteworthy of those is a state gross receipts tax on the sale of firearms or ammunition of 11 percent, a far higher tax rate than any sales tax imposed anywhere in Virginia and far higher than the gross receipts taxes imposed on retailers by Virginia local governments.  

    (more…)

  • Virginia Sanctuary Funding: Following the Money Trail

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    The financial infrastructure behind Virginia’s transformation

    by Jeff Bayard

    Map of Virginia showing current and upcoming sanctuary policies, with areas of current sanctuary policies in dark red and areas at risk under 2026 legislation in a lighter shade.

    In Part 1, we documented the sanctuary architecture already built across Virginia. In Part 2, we identified the organizations executing the playbook. Now we follow the money—tracing Virginia sanctuary funding to its sources.

    Policy campaigns require staff, offices, lobbyists, and lawyers. Someone pays for all of it. Our investigation traces funding flows from major national foundations through policy organizations to Virginia advocacy groups. The trail leads to familiar names.

    The three-tier funding model

    Virginia sanctuary funding follows a model refined over two decades. It operates on three tiers.

    Tier 1: Major Foundations. At the top sit wealthy foundations that have made immigration policy a strategic priority. The most significant include George Soros’s Open Society Foundations (OSF), the Ford Foundation, and the Carnegie Corporation.

    Tier 2: National Policy Organizations. Foundation money flows to national groups that develop strategy, create model legislation, and coordinate campaigns. Key players include the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC), the National Immigration Law Center (NILC), and the national ACLU.

    Tier 3: State Advocacy Groups. Money reaches organizations that execute campaigns in specific states. In Virginia, this includes CASA, the Legal Aid Justice Center (LAJC), the Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights (VACIR), and ACLU of Virginia.

    Money flows down. Model legislation flows up. The coordination is documented. Here’s what we found.

    (more…)

  • Extended Teacher Leave Entitlement Could Hit Schools Hard

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    by Derrick A. Max

    The Richmond Times-Dispatch ran my guest column this morning that warns of the significant learning loss that will likely occur from the Paid Family and Medical Leave bill (SB2) that is quickly winding its way to the Governor’s desk for her promised signature.

    As I have written previously, the Virginia General Assembly is about to pass the most expansive and expensive paid leave bill in the country — one that will increase its utilization and cripple small businesses.

    Today’s article exposes the likely impacts it will have on our already struggling schools, as teachers who already get summers off are covered in this bill. As I wrote in the Richmond Times-Dispatch:

    Research has repeatedly shown that teacher absences reduce student learning. One national study found that each additional stretch of teacher absence lowered student achievement in measurable ways, particularly in math, because substitute instruction rarely matches the effectiveness, pacing and subject mastery of the regular classroom teacher.

    (more…)

  • Virginia’s Sanctuary Playbook

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    A coordinated national campaign is targeting the Commonwealth.

    by Jeff Bayard

    Map of Virginia highlighting areas with current sanctuary policies in red and regions at risk under 2026 legislation in a lighter shade, titled 'Sanctuary Virginia: Now vs. Coming'.

    Part 2 of a 3-part investigative series: Virginia’s sanctuary transformation — happening while you weren’t watching

    This is not grassroots advocacy. Virginia’s sanctuary playbook follows a documented national pattern—one developed by policy organizations, funded by major foundations, and already deployed in California, Oregon, Illinois, and Colorado. Our investigation reveals the coordinated campaign now targeting the Commonwealth.

    In Part 1, we examined what sanctuary jurisdictions are and the architecture already built across Virginia. Now we expose how this happened—and who made it happen.

    The sanctuary playbook Virginia is following

    Over the last decade, national advocacy groups have developed a repeatable pattern for sanctuary policy. Their strategy starts by limiting local participation in enforcement. Next comes building out local “trust” policies. Finally, they lock restrictions into state law. Their own materials describe how this approach has spread from early states like California and Oregon to newer targets.

    (more…)

  • Virginians for Ayatollahs

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    A protest poster announcing a National Day of Action on March 2, demanding to stop the war on Iran. The design features bold yellow text on a black background, highlighting the date and message.

    The Answer Coalition posted a call online on Feb. 28 for support of their Day of Protest on March 2 at 39 locations across the country against the US. and Israel war against Iran.     

    “Initial co-sponsors of this day of protest include: ANSWER Coalition, The People’s Forum, National Iranian-American Council, Democratic Socialists of America, Palestinian Youth Movement, American Muslims for Palestine, Black Alliance for Peace, CODEPINK, Center on Conscience and War, About Face.”

    One location is in Richmond, Virginia.

    Donations are being collected online by Progress Unity Fund PUF/Answer Coalition.

    On Saturday, Feb. 28, Columbia University’s largest anti-Israel group, “CUAD (Columbia University’s Apartheid Divest) held a gathering with signs in Persian saying,” Death to America,” according to a NY POST report online on Mar. 1. The group was forced to remove the phrase from X or face removal of the page.

    — Carol Bova

  • When a Weary Party Makes Its Stand

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    The April 21 redistricting referendum will be a test of courage worthy of the Commonwealth’s Founding Generation.

    by David Botkins

    Close-up portrait of a smiling man with short light-colored hair, wearing a dark blazer and a checked shirt.
    David Botkins

    There are moments when the question before us as Republicans and as Virginians is not simply what we believe, but whether we still have the courage to act on those beliefs.

    We are in such a moment now — a moment of crisis, yes, but also a moment of choosing. We stand at a crossroads in the life of our Commonwealth. The political landscape has shifted beneath our feet. Republicans are exhausted, demoralized, and outnumbered. Institutions we trusted have been bent, the rules rewritten, and our voters pushed to the margins. It is tempting to hope that courts, national figures, or the next election cycle will somehow reverse the tide.

    But deep down, we know the truth: no one is coming to save Virginia but Virginians themselves.

    And that realization brings me back to the 250th anniversary of the nation we helped birth. The idea that free people can govern themselves was not theoretical here. It was lived, defended, and handed down. Now it falls to us — weary as we may be — to decide whether that inheritance will endure.

    A commonwealth under one-party rule

    For the first time in years, Democrats hold every statewide office and both chambers of the General Assembly. That is the result of recent elections. But what they have chosen to do with that power should alarm anyone who believes in balance, fairness, and the integrity of our institutions.

    (more…)

  • Data Center Showdown

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    Tuesday, February 24 was cold and blustery at the Arlington Courthouse, where the Court of Appeals was meeting. Welcome to the front lines of the “Third Battle of Manassas,” which has been going on for 3.5 years — just a few months less than the American Civil War.

    A man in a light coat speaks to reporters outside a courthouse, surrounded by journalists with microphones and notepads. The scene captures a busy atmosphere with urban buildings in the background.
    Chap Petersen speaking to media.

    What’s at stake? The future of western Prince William County and really the entire Commonwealth of Virginia, which has been Ground Zero for data center development over the past decade. A quick recap of the relevant facts:

    In December 2023, the Prince William County Board approved “the Digital Gateway” (a/k/a “Wheeler’s Folly”) — a massive development featuring 37 data centers spread over 2,000 acres. The largest data center project in U.S. history, it is sited directly adjacent to Manassas Battlefield, displacing open fields and farms where over 100,000 Americans gathered for battle.

    In an event defining the term Deus ex machina, the County failed to timely place the advertisement for the December 2023 public hearing. Faced with a “lame duck” Board that would lose their seats on December 31, the developer chose to proceed with the hearing anyway … and here we are.

    Tuesday’s argument consolidated two appeals, each challenging the Board’s flawed rezoning. My clients are neighboring landowners, including the American Battlefield Trust, who seek to preserve the rural crescent. (My very able co-counsel is Craig Blakeley of Alliance Group representing Oak Valley HOA). We are opposed by a half-dozen major law firms representing the top legal talent in Virginia. The Appeals Court judges were well-prepared and peppered us with questions. They will be ruling within a few weeks and, very likely, the case will continue to the Supreme Court, unless the Prince William County Board chooses to admit its mistake and pull the plug.

    (more…)

  • VMI Under Siege

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    The fight for military excellence is only beginning.

    Plaque displaying the name 'Virginia Military Institute' and the year it was established, 1839.

    by Bronson Winslow

    After regaining full control of Virginia’s government in November, Democrats swiftly abandoned their carefully cultivated image of moderation.

    Already by January they had begun advancing sweeping ideological priorities, with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) mandates at the forefront. Among their most prominent targets was the Virginia Military Institute (VMI), an institution deeply entrenched in the history of Virginia.

    The decision to target VMI was not made on a whim. It was the continuation of a “progressive” war started by former Gov. Ralph Northam (D), himself a VMI alumnus who called for an independent investigation into the school in 2020, spurred by a Washington Post article claiming the school promoted a racist and sexist environment.

    Unsurprisingly to those of us who know VMI well, the investigation concluded that “VMI has no explicitly racist or sexist policies that it enforces,” and further stated, “the investigation did not identify conclusive violations of Title VI or Title IX.” Despite this, the report alleges “an overall racist and sexist culture” at VMI—and Democrats ran with it.

    (more…)

  • Hazing Revisited

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    Five young men sitting around a table adorned with a white lace tablecloth, casually sipping tea from small cups. The table is filled with various pastries and snacks, and the background features a warm and cozy room with decorative items and a 'PARTY' banner.
    Image credit: Chat GPT

    by Buddy Weber

    Last week, the Free Press published an article by Catherine Morrissette, “Why Hazing Makes Better Men.” The impetus for the article was the release of some police body cam footage of an initiation ritual in the basement of a fraternity at the University of Iowa. The footage went viral and the responses on social media were uniformly negative.

    She wrote:

    In less than a week, it has accumulated over a million views on YouTube, and over 50 million on X. “Crazy what men will do for the validation of other men,” reads one X post with almost 500,000views. “It’s really a grooming ritual—training members to normalize exploitation, hierarchy, and silence,” reads another. The New York Post called the incident “disturbing.”

    The university suspended the fraternity for violating its policy on hazing.

    Although her headline characterized the incident as hazing, she likened it to historic rites of initiation for young men. She wrote:

    As uncomfortable as the video appears, these young men are going through something together—and the disgust and discomfort are exactly the point. (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.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

About

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.

Fund the Rebellion

Shake up the status quo! Your contributions will be used to pay for faster download speeds and grow readership. Make a one-time donation by credit card or contribute a small sum monthly.

Can’t wait until tomorrow

For your Bacon’s Rebellion fix?

Enter your email address to receive immediate notifications of new posts by email.

SUBSCRIBE

Search Bacon’s Rebellion

Categories

Archives

The Jefferson Council

Protecting Thomas Jefferson’s Legacy at the University of Virginia

Forgot Your Password?

Shoot me an email and I’ll generate a new password for you.

Latest