Does anyone think this story would be huge news if Glenn Youngkin were still governor?
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Just Askin’
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A Recent Graduate’sTake on VMI
by Dick Hall-Sizemore
Because I have no personal contact or knowledge of VMI, I have been loath to weigh in on the debates that have been raging on this blog. However, last week, I had the opportunity to have an extended conversation with a recent VMI graduate, which I found enlightening.
Here is some background about the graduate in order to provide some context for his remarks:
- He is white.
- He and his family are moderate Democrats, very critical of Donald Trump.
- Although his parents supported him, VMI would not have been their choice of a college for him.
- He did not choose to enter the active military after graduation.
- He is on a path for a successful career.
He was dismissive of the proposed actions of the General Assembly and took issue with the charge that there is racism at VMI. He felt the core of the problems lay with athletes who were recruited by the school. They agreed to come to VMI because they wanted to play for a Division I school, not because they were attracted by the culture of VMI. On the contrary, they disliked being at the school. He pointed out that every cadet gets a copy of the “blue book”, which sets out the rules that cadets must follow. Every cadet, even athletes, is expected to follow those rules. Many of the athletes did not like being at the school and certainly did not like being bound by the strict rules. As a result, they often did not follow them. Consequently, they were disciplined and they complained.
In response to my question about Confederate heritage, the recent graduate replied that he did not see any emphasis on it at all.
He lavished praise on the academics of VMI. Each class has about 15 students. The classes are all taught by faculty members, not teaching assistants. The faculty members are well versed in their fields, but prefer a small college, teaching environment rather than a larger, research institution. Faculty members are readily available for consultation with their students. He related how one of his teachers had been especially helpful in helping him decide on his career path.
In summary, he recognized that the VMI experience was not suitable for everyone, but “it was good for me.”
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Quote of the Day — Jim Murray and Meredith Woo
From their column in the Washington Post, “U.S. universities have lost sight of their core task“:
America’s elite universities have superb engineering, computer science and medical programs that produce talented graduates. Yet even at the finest flagship schools, and certainly at the hundreds of other schools, too many of our most promising undergraduates remain in a cocoon of expensive dormitories, fluff curriculums, fraternity parties, overly solicitous faculty and isolation from the rigors of global competition. …
The question before the country is simple: Will American universities continue to prioritize institutional prestige over national purpose, or will they recognize that the nation’s future may depend on their willingness to collaborate?
James B. Murray Jr. is a former rector of the boards of the University of Virginia and William & Mary. Meredith Woo, former dean of arts and sciences at the University of Virginia and former president of Sweet Briar College, is on the faculty at Arizona State University.
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Small Business Suffers More from Bad Policies
by Chris Saxman
Small business costs and Virginia’s competitiveness in CNBC’s Top States for Business
Small businesses are central to Virginia’s economic dynamism, job creation, and regional resilience. However, higher taxes, expanding labor mandates, regulatory complexity, and litigation exposure impose disproportionate costs on small firms compared to large employers.
These pressures directly affect Virginia’s performance in CNBC’s Top States for Business rankings, particularly in categories measuring Business Friendliness, Cost of Doing Business, Workforce, and Economic Growth.
Why small businesses absorb costs differently
- Small firms lack scale to spread fixed costs such as compliance, legal counsel, and human resources.
- Owners personally absorb administrative and regulatory burdens, diverting time from growth and sales.
- Large firms amortize costs across thousands of employees; small firms experience them per hire.
- Increased risk exposure leads small businesses to delay hiring or cap headcount.
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Gerrymandering in Virginia is a Strategic Blunder for Democrats
Democrats are asking voters to protect democracy by abandoning America’s most sacred of democratic principles: that voters get to choose their politicians, and that elections mean something.
House Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, and Senate President Pro Tempore Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, outline their redistricting proposal, which they said is necessary due to Republican gerrymandering in other states, at the state Capitol Feb. 5, 2026. (Photo by Shannon Heckt/Virginia Mercury) by Alex Keena
Last year, President Donald Trump started a new “redistricting war” when he pressured Republicans in Texas to redraw their state’s congressional district map to help the party win five additional seats. In response, Democrats in California advanced a congressional map that stacks the deck in favor of Democrats, while several other states (both red and blue) have followed suit.
The latest battle of this redistricting war is now playing out in Virginia, where Democrats have advanced a measure that would temporarily undo the anti-gerrymandering reforms approved by voters in 2020 and replace the unbiased map with an extreme Democratic gerrymander. Although the measure is currently held up in court, the new maps are expected to give Democrats a 10-1 advantage.
As an expert on redistricting who has co-authored two academic books on gerrymandering, I see this as a colossal mistake for Democrats that could backfire in unexpected ways.
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The Most Aggressive Gerrymander of Any State
Virginia’s fantastical congressional creatures. Image credit: Chat GPT by Scott Dreyer
In what Cardinal News columnist Dwayne Yancey labels “sheer ugliness,” Virginia Democrats on Feb. 5 finally released their proposed new maps to carve up the Old Dominion into 11 new Congressional districts. According to the US Constitution, House seats are apportioned by population, so since Virginia has somewhat over 8 million residents, we have 11 members in the House of Representatives.
Of those current 11 seats, six are occupied by Democrats and five by Republicans. Many see this as reasonable since the Old Dominion is largely a “purple” state. For example, just one month ago, all three statewide offices were held by Republicans. Trump lost Virginia in 2024, but still carried 46.6% of the vote to Harris’ 51.8%.
However, the Democrats’ new map is projected to possibly give Democrats a 10-to-1 advantage in Congressional seats from Virginia. This was largely achieved by lumping in most GOP voters in the western third of the state into an oddly-shaped and solidly-Republican 9th District, and then most of the other ten districts were heavily gerrymandered to link Democrat-heavy areas in ways to outweigh GOP voters.
States usually draw new lines for congressional districts every ten years, after the latest census.
This year, however, Democrats are angered by the Texas legislature drawing new lines to favor Republicans in the Lone Star State. Thus, Virginia Democrats reason they must now “fight fire with fire” and redraw lines here too to offset possible Republican gains in Texas.
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Taxing Everything That Moves
Leaf blowers, guns, dog walking, dry cleaning—full government control means everything gets taxed in Democrats’ Virginia.
Taxing everything that moves. Image credit; Chat GPT by Jacob Grandstaff
It’s a truism that when Democrats gain a trifecta—full control of a state’s executive and legislative branches—they tend to tax every human activity. Virginia Democrats are aiming to exceed the stereotype by taxing animal activity, too.
Fresh off Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s January inauguration, Democratic lawmakers have flooded Richmond with over 50 new tax proposals. This barrage includes everything from vehicle repairs and gym memberships to dog walking and pet grooming.
Democrats seldom tell voters exactly how much they intend to tax them while campaigning for their votes. Instead, they launch an full-scale assault on the wallets of unsuspecting residents after getting elected. In Virginia, this is now possible because there’s no Republican governor left to veto any of these proposals.
Under Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), Virginia enjoyed four years of genuine fiscal restraint. He pulled the commonwealth out of the costly Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), saving families hundreds of millions in electricity bills. He eliminated the grocery tax and doubled the standard deduction, among other tax relief policies. Despite foregoing all that revenue, he still left the commonwealth with a $2.7 billion surplus, negating any need for future tax hikes if the government spends responsibly. These policies strengthened Virginia as a good place to start or relocate a business and raise families.
With Democrats holding the governorship and majorities in both chambers, however, the guardrails are now gone. Spanberger’s administration has already moved to rejoin RGGI, effectively imposing a backdoor carbon tax that will cost Virginians an extra $500 million per year—that’s $1,100 per household.
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Redefining Time
by Dick Hall-Sizemore
Most people to understand a “day” to constitute a 24-hour period of time. They understand that the term “work days” generally exclude weekends and holidays. Furthermore, for those that follow government and politics, “legislative days” is understood to mean those days in which the legislature is in session. Notwithstanding those commonly accepted definitions, Virginia’s Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives recently voted to consider the period between Feb. 10 and July 31 as one day.
Last year, President Trump invoked International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose some of his tariffs last year under the National Emergencies Act. As reported by the New York Times, “that law allows any member of the House to challenge an emergency by introducing a resolution that must receive a vote after 15 days.” A Democrat introduced such a resolution, but the Republican leadership in the House has delayed consideration of it several times by redefining what constitutes a day.
The last such delay expired on Jan. 31. This week, the leadership included a provision on a rule regarding unrelated legislation, that would count the period between Feb. 10 and July 31 as one legislative day, thereby extending the delay further. Three Republican lawmakers joined Democrats in defeating the measure. No Virginian Republican was included in that dissenting group.
As a result, Republican Reps. Kiggans, Wittman, McGuire, Cline, and Griffith soon will have to vote on a resolution to end Trump’s tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico, and Brazil. Some of the Virginians most affected by these tariffs are farmers and small manufacturers in the rural areas represented by these legislators who are highly dependent on fertilizer and other raw materials from Canada.
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Assembly, Dominion Seek to Bill Data Centers for Rising Energy Costs
by Steve Haner
Virginia’s major data centers could pay more for electricity and other customers less under a surprise legislative substitute that appeared in email inboxes Sunday and was rapidly approved Monday by a major Virginia Senate committee.
Senator Louise Lucas The proposal is politically attractive, already being touted a major consumer rate cut, but the detailed accounting analysis of whether it is fair will be punted to the Commission’s judges later this year. If the Commission decides not to agree with the politicians’ suggested allocation rules, it will take the heat, and the politicians will say they tried.
At issue is the marginal electricity price increase caused by the skyrocketing cost of future generation capacity within the PJM Interconnection regional marketplace, and the cost of large substations and power lines needed by the data centers. Under basic accounting rules for cost allocation, all the various customer classes pay a share of those.
As introduced, Senate Bill 253 from Senator Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, had nothing to do with either. Sunday, she began to circulate to fellow members of the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee a drastic substitute version that was apparently drafted by Dominion Energy Virginia lawyers.
The last minute “gotcha” move had obviously been well planned, because she also distributed a letter from the State Corporation Commission staff on the way it would impact various customer classes. The data centers would see their future bills jump almost 16%, while residential customers would see about a 3% reduction, perhaps $60-65 per year if they use 1,000 kilowatt hours monthly.
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Administrative Bloat in Fairfax County Schools
Image credit: Grok by Stephanie Lundquist-Arora
Republished with permission from IWFeatures
Julie Perry, a high school history teacher in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), told IW Features that she spends thousands of dollars each year on her students’ school supplies, classroom essentials, and decorations. Perry, who is running for the U.S. House of Representatives in Virginia’s 10th Congressional District, argues, “Education leaders across this nation are not spending the money properly that they receive in federal, state, and local tax dollars.”“They are spending the money on administrative bloat, DEI curricula that do not enhance student learning, and expensive lawyers from white shoe law firms,” Perry continued. “They are constantly having to defend themselves against lawsuits because they continue to knowingly break the law.”
Perry is right on all counts. Fairfax County, in particular, has spent more than $52 million on legal costs since 2020, according to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request obtained by IW Features.
(more…)Fiscal Year Legal Fees FY 2020 $6,401,077.94 FY 2021 $5,066,049.47 FY 2022 $6,312,989.17 FY 2023 $6,925,475.29 FY 2024 $11,619,332.03 FY 2025 $7,656,968.09 FY 2026 (July–Dec 2025) $8,047,874.69 Total $52,029,766.68
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Spanberger Has Declared War on the Second Amendment
The Democrat governor is preparing to trample the gun rights of law-abiding Virginians, confirming exactly what critics warned all along.
Image credit: Restoration News by Bronson Winslow
Newly sworn-in Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) is hellbent on turning Virginia into California, keeping her campaign promise to completely gut Virginians’ constitutional right to bear arms.
Spanberger, a longtime supporter of the radical gun abolitionist group Everytown for Gun Safety, promised on the campaign trail to push through every gun law former Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed—and it’s safe to say now she was not lying. Now, more than 10 bills are moving through the Virginia legislature targeting nearly every form of gun ownership—from how many bullets you can fire, to where you can carry, to what firearms you are allowed to own.
“I will sign legislation into law to make progress on these issues to keep Virginia families safe,” she said while campaigning at an Everytown rally in 2025. “I will not veto common-sense proposals like our current governor has done.”
Over the last four years, former Gov. Youngkin served as a shield for gun owners—vetoing 54 gun control bills sent to his desk by radical Democrats.
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If The World Is Getting Hotter…
Why On Day 14 After Paralyzing Ice Storm Does SWVA Still Look Like Frozen Tundra With Wind Chills Of 0 Degrees?
by Scott Dreyer
Ice chunks stacked up by a Roanoke County driveway one week after the Jan. 24 winter storm. Full disclosure: One, I am not a climatologist. Two, I understand the difference between weather (short-term conditions) vs. climate (long-term trends).
But just as an observer, it’s been really cold here around Roanoke for a long time. On Saturday, January 24, it began to snow, and during the night it turned to sleet.
(That was actually a huge blessing for us, since sleet bounces off, so most of us kept our power on. Many areas south of us, even in the Deep South of Mississippi and Alabama, had freezing rain which accumulates, gets heavy, and thus brings down trees and power lines with it.)
Then, on Sunday and Monday, bitter cold came in, turning that top layer of sleet into solid sheets of ice some four to five inches thick. In our area, we can usually just shovel off the snow or, better yet, wait a day or two for the sun to come out and the temperatures to get above freezing to do the snow removal for us.
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We Have to Destroy Democracy in Order to Save It!
by Chap Petersen
Image credit: Chat GPT About fifty years ago the United States was involved in a military conflict in Vietnam which lasted many years and did not end well.
There was a phrase from that era – “We had to destroy the village in order to save it” – which encapsulated its own self-defeating logic. We know better than the natives. We must force them to appreciate our values.
Fast forward to 2026.
Powered by the latest surge in the TDS virus, Democrats in the General Assembly are on the verge of passing a redistricting bill which will turn the state’s Congressional map into a Jackson Pollock painting – with the sole purpose of creating four new “Democratic” Congressional seats so as to … (wait for it) … SAVE DEMOCRACY!
The putative losers in all this are rural white voters, who are already the subject of disdain if not actual bigotry in large swaths of American culture. In a geography-based map, these voters would form a natural majority in three Congressional districts and significant share in at least three others.
In the Democratic map, most the “deplorables” will be “packed” into one District – the remainder will be divided up and thus outnumbered by suburban liberals in all others.
If this were done to urban black voters, it would be a blatant Voting Rights Act violation. But since it only applies to Trump-friendly white voters, then it’s ok!
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The Surreptitious Disappearance of the Capitol Square Preservation Council
Source: The Virginia State Capitol History Project (www.vacapitol.org by Don Smith
Breathtaking. Unsettling. Healing. Those meant-to-catch-your-attention words come from an article by the British newspaper The Guardian on the “reimagined” statue of Stonewall Jackson, currently on display at a contemporary “art” museum in Los Angeles.
Now, as members of The Guardian’s target audience — progressives — take full control of Virginia’s state government, is another prominent Stonewall Jackson statue in peril of being sent to the chopping block? (Literally, as we’ve seen in Los Angeles).
At the beginning of 2026, legally, the answer appeared to be: not immediately. But that has changed. Quietly, but drastically, changed.
Virginia Democrats and progressives complain constantly about the Stonewall Jackson statue that stands on the grounds of the Virginia Capitol.
Those of us who follow Virginia heritage news, or use Google regularly, took comfort in the fact that Jackson’s statue, and all the other monuments in Capitol Square, had a legally-established, extra level of protection from activists: the Capitol Square Preservation Council.
All of the statues on Capitol Square came under the authority of the Capitol Square Preservation Council.Title 30, Chapter 28 of the Virginia Code lists in detail the roles and responsibilities of the council. This is an excerpt from the Virginia Code (eEmphasis added):
With regard to the architectural, historical, archeological, and landscape features of Capitol Square and antiquities contained therein, the Council shall…[r]eview all plans or proposals for alterations, improvements, additions, renovations, or other disposition that is structural or architectural in nature. No implementation of such plans or proposals shall take place prior to review by the Council.
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It’s Not Just an Act
Loudoun School officials really do think unhappy parents are potential terrorists.
Don’t go — there’s more!
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