Bacon's Rebellion

  • Deplatformed for “Hate” Speech: You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    Reka Gyorgy, a Virginia Tech senior who missed the cut to compete in the NCAA swimming finals because she was displaced by transgender Lia Thomas, has had her Twitter account suspended.

    “I’m a 5th year senior, I have been top 16 and top 8 before and I know how much of a privilege it is to make finals at a meet this big,” Gyorgy said in a letter reprinted on SwimSwam and Swimming World, which she subsequently tweeted. “This is my last college meet ever and I feel frustrated. It feels like that final spot was taken away from me because of the NCAA’s decision to let someone who is not a biological female compete.”

    Thomas, a University of Pennsylvania senior won the 500, defeating three Olympic silver medalists, including 20-year-old University of Virginia swimmer Emma Weyant, who placed second. (more…)

  • Asleep at the Wheel

    Posted on

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    James A. Bacon

    Letter to the University of Virginia Board of Visitors from Walter Smith.

    Ladies and Gentlemen:

    I expect you will ignore me, as usual, but, for purposes of establishing a record when the time for your contextualization comes, I must document your many failures and refusal to do your fiduciary duties, because I believe, if you had any honor, you would resign.

    You have the distinct honor of being in charge of one of the world’s premier public universities, with an historic legacy few other schools could match: a UNESCO World Heritage site designed by Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, third President, author of the Religious Freedom statute, and perhaps history’s greatest proponent of free speech. The University of Virginia was Jefferson’s dream, established as a public university to pursue truth wherever it may lead.

    Supposedly, you have been trained in your duties as Visitors. I sincerely doubt it. I have reviewed the Board Manual and the Board Basics booklet. The Board Manual’s first two duties list (1) the preservation of the ideals and traditions of the University and particularly encouragement of the maintenance of the Honor System by the student body and (2) the establishment of general education policy. As the recently released Alumni Association survey showed, support for the Honor System has dropped precipitously over the last 20 years, and the “single sanction” was overwhelmingly defeated in a March vote.

    I attribute this defeat not just to changing mores, but to your dereliction of duty. Similarly, I believe you are not establishing general education policy – you are rubber-stamping a radical, political re-making of the University of Virginia and abandonment of its legacy and mission. (more…)

  • One of the World’s Stupidest Inventions Now Illegal in Virginia

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    by

    James A. Bacon

    Who says Virginia’s polarized legislature can’t get anything done? Governor Glenn Youngkin has signed a bill banning the vehicle modification known as “Carolina Squat.” The law was inspired by the death of Virginian BJ Upton in a car accident involving such a vehicle.

    The modification raises the front of the vehicle significantly higher than the rear, affecting its handling. Headlights are pointed to the sky rather than illuminating the road ahead, the driver’s view is compromised, and the modification alters the dispersion of mechanical force in a collision.

    The Carolina Squat apparently is Redneck America’s answer to Mexican-American lowriders, which California made illegal in 1957 for similar reasons: the configuration altered handling characteristics. But the Carolina Squat looks far more dangerous than lowriders. The Governor’s press release touting the signing of the bill didn’t detail the causes of the accident that killed Upton, but it’s a good bet that driver visibility was an issue.  (more…)

  • FOIA Council Response on Open Meeting Requirements in Discussions of Local Government Contracts with Public Unions

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    sherlockj

    Courtesy collectivebargaining.com

    by  James C. Sherlock

    I submitted questions to the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council concerning FOIA open meetings requirements applicable to local government sessions discussing contracts with unions.

    I received a very prompt and thorough reply.  

    The following is the response of Alan Gernhart, Esq., Executive Director. (more…)

  • Another Promising Young Life Snuffed Out

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    James A. Bacon

    by James A. Bacon

    Our society has become inured to stories of drug dealers and other criminals shooting and killing one another on our cities’ streets. But we still maintain a capacity for outrage at the death of pure innocents — children and others who were unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

    Such was the case with Sierra Jenkins, a 25-year-old Virginian-Pilot reporter who was hanging out with friends outside Chicho’s Pizza Backstage in downtown Norfolk around 1:30 a.m. Saturday as the bar was closing. Gunfire broke out, and she was caught in the crossfire. A total of five people were shot. Sierra was killed, one other person died from his wounds, and three others were hospitalized.

    A Norfolk native, Jenkins graduated from Granby High School, earned a B.A. degree in journalism from Georgia State, worked as an intern at Atlanta Magazine and CNN, and joined the Pilot in 2020, where she covered education. Her editor called her a passionate journalist and “a bright and talented woman with so much going for her.” (more…)

  • The Road to Hell…

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    James A. Bacon

    by Phil Leigh

    About eighteen months ago Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney remarked that the removal of Confederate statues would not cost the city’s taxpayers any money because non-profit donors would provide the funds. About the same time the Mellon Foundation announced a $250 million grantmaking effort “to reimagine and transform commemorative spaces to celebrate America’s diverse history.” Translated to plain English, the Foundation was giving Stoney and others the money they want to destroy Confederate monuments and promote cultural genocide against the south.

    According to Luke Rosiak other “charitable” foundations—Kellogg, Ford, Rockefeller, and Carnegie—are the chief donors to Democrat school board election candidates seeking to disseminate Critical Race Theory throughout America’s educational system. Although such foundations are supposed to be do-gooders, they were typically organized to avoid inheritance taxes for family decedents. They are staffed by cultural elites whose conduct underscores the ancient wisdom: “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.” (more…)

  • The Real March Madness

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    James A. Bacon

    by Kerry Dougherty

    I can’t watch. It raises my blood pressure.

    I’m talking about the NCAA Basketball Tournament. For the first time in years I’m not glued to my TV during March Madness.

    I have my reasons:

    First, none of the teams that matter to me made the tournament.

    Second, I’m not in a pool this year. That significantly reduces interest.

    Third — and most important — after two years of trying to look away, I can’t stand any more pandemic theater. And that’s exactly what’s going on at every game where the cheerleaders are wearing stupid masks and virtually none of the thousands of spectators are sporting them. (more…)

  • A Low Solar Minimum Bill Ups Yours, By Design

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    by Steve Haner

    Virtue signaling can be fun.  It can also be profitable if you can shift the overall cost onto somebody else. That is what is going on in the battle over a proposed “minimum bill” for Dominion Energy Virginia customers who seek to partially escape the utility by signing on with a separate shared solar provider.

    Everybody who signs up for the outside service will still expect full power on cloudy days, or anytime some other circumstance reduces the flow from the solar panels owned by the third party. They just don’t want to pay the full freight for that back-up service, and would rather pass the bill on to you.  (more…)

  • Negotiating with Public Sector Unions in Virginia

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    by

    sherlockj

    Courtesy negotiations.com

    by James C. Sherlock

    Some Virginia local governments will be negotiating this year for the first time with public sector unions.

    There is a lot of experience and recommendations documented in other states upon which those governments can draw.

    Recommendation #1 is that cities, counties and towns hire:

    • law firms with proven experience representing municipal governments in negotiations with public unions; and
    • an independent auditor with experience in contract negotiations to assess the fiscal impacts of proffered terms and conditions.

    The unions will show up with seasoned contract negotiators. It is not a game that favors rookies.

    Always remembering recommendation #1, we’ll take a look at Virginia law and then at what the professional literature suggests are some of the ways for governments to prepare for first-time union negotiations. (more…)

  • What Virginia Can Do to Temper Inflation

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon


    by James A. Bacon

    Governor Glenn Youngkin has proposed using $437 million in unanticipated transportation revenues, much of it generated by the wholesale tax on gasoline, to give Virginians a three-month break on the 26-cent retail gasoline tax.

    During his campaign, Youngkin ran on a platform of addressing Virginia’s high cost of living and reversing the erosion of middle-class living standards. A vacation on the gasoline tax is certainly consistent with that theme. And with inflation running at nearly 8% over the past 12 months, Virginians need help wherever they can find it. They will find no succor from Democrats, whose list of unmet societal “needs” is endless. They are delighted to spend every dime in tax revenue on one of their favored causes — which, alas, rarely includes helping financially strapped middle-class taxpayers.

    While Youngkin has identified a winning issue, he needs to think bigger and more systematically. It’s fine to dial back the gasoline tax for a time, remove the sales tax on groceries, and try to repeal the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) carbon tax, but there is so much more that he can do.

    Forty-one percent of the cost of living, as calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is housing, 17% transportation, 7% medical care, and almost 7% education. Each of these categories is, to some degree, influenced by state-level budgetary and regulatory policy. (more…)

  • NCAA Champions!

    Posted on

    by

    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    Photo credit: Richmond Times Dispatch

    by Dick Hall-Sizemore

    The Commonwealth is home to another NCAA  basketball champion. The Randolph-Macon (Ashland) Yellow Jackets won the Division III championship yesterday.

    Most sports fans in the state will be unaware of this accomplishment. Of the major media outlets, only the Richmond Times-Dispatch and Roanoke Times covered it.

  • Richmond, Its Unions and Taxes

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    by

    sherlockj

    by James C. Sherlock

    Richmond residents should note that:

    The number of employees at City of Richmond in year 2020 was 4,140.

    Average annual salary was $56,410 and median salary was $50,001. City of Richmond average salary is 20 percent higher than USA average and median salary is 15 percent higher than USA median.

    Median per capita income in Richmond in 2020 dollars was $35,862. Median household income was $51,421. Approximately 21% of Richmond citizens live below the poverty level.

    The City of Richmond’s FY 2023 total General Fund budget is estimated to be $836,015,828, an 8.18% increase when compared to the FY 2022.

    The increases in spending represent a projected balanced budget based on estimated increases in revenues. Those in turn are driven by a projected increase in General Property Taxes – notably a 13.13% increase in real estate tax collections; increases in Sales Tax (9.27%); and increases in Prepared Meals Taxes (15.95%).

    Those increases in tax collections are largely from Richmond taxpayers. How many got double-digit increases in income in 2022? Just asking.

    Now the Richmond City Council is about to approve negotiations with its unions on pay and benefits. The RPS, of course has gone much further than the City Council in putting everything on the table.

    Those costs are not in the budget. (more…)

  • Slave-Holder Jefferson Paved the Way for Ending Slavery

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by Phil Leigh

    Critical Race Theory and Identity Politics advocates have gained enough influence to cause many Americans to despise some of our country’s most significant founders. Chief among such founders has been Thomas Jefferson. New York City, for example, removed a 200-year-old statue of Jefferson from its city hall last year.

    When race hustlers can persuade us to despise Jefferson, they’re well on their way to transforming America into a country that hates our traditional values. Unlike other countries, America was not founded because her people were of a common race. The nation was founded on ideals that united us. It was organized as a constitutional republic with no ruling family, thereby proclaiming the political equality of all her citizens whom she invested with the freedom to pursue their own interests with minimal government interference. Present attacks on founders focus on what they did not do as opposed to what they did accomplish. Although they didn’t abolish slavery, they did indeed organize the freest country in history. (more…)

  • Search for Community College Chancellor Left Youngkin Out of the Loop

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    Russell A. Kavalhuna, new chancellor of the Virginia Community College Systemby James A. Bacon

    Community colleges across the country are suffering declines in enrollment. The drop-off in Virginia is particularly acute. Enrollment has fallen 27% over the past 10 years, even as there are 300,000 unfilled jobs in the state. Virginia’s job recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic has been dismal — 43rd out of 50 states.

    Governor Glenn Youngkin thinks that’s a problem. And with the retirement of Glenn DuBois, who has served as chancellor of the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) for 21 years, he saw an opportunity to hire a new leader whose vision for workforce development was aligned with his own.

    But yesterday, the board announced that it had hired Russell A. Kavalhuna, president of Henry Ford College in Detroit, to succeed DuBois. The search committee largely left Youngkin out of the loop.

    The implications are bigger than the impact on the community college system alone. If the board of the VCCS showed Youngkin no deference, it’s not likely that the boards of Virginia’s other higher-ed institutions — fully stocked with Democrats appointed by former Governor Ralph Northam and/or Terry McAuliffe — will either. (more…)

  • Another Reliable Energy Provider Abandons VA

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    Artist rendering of now-terminated Chickahominy Power. Click for larger view.

    By Steve Haner

    First published this morning by the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy.

    A long-embattled plan to build a natural gas-fueled generating plant not owned by Dominion Energy has become the latest victim of Virginia’s patent hostility toward fossil fuels.  Environmental opponents and the incumbent utility will probably join in popping the corks.

    Chickahominy Power in Charles City County has posted a notice on its website that the project, once scheduled to start construction in 2019 and begin operation in 2022, is terminated.   Investors are seeking a location in Ohio or West Virginia, and the scope of the project has grown.

    Irfan Ali of Herndon, who uses the title managing member and who is the principal investor, now plans to develop data centers to use power from the plant, which is also designed to use hydrogen for fuel if that becomes available and economical.  He also plans to couple it with a carbon capture and storage system.

    “And I would have done that in Virginia, so Virginia is losing out in a big way,” Ali said. (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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