Bacon's Rebellion

  • Kendi Blames Capitalism, Prescribes Discrimination

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    by

    Steve Haner

    By Steve Haner

    The book was one the local librarian chose to display on the new acquisitions shelf, my curiosity was high, and by all accounts some  leaders in Virginia’s educational establishment are taken with and listening to the author. So I read Ibram X. Kendi’s “How to Be an Antiracist.”

    I will largely let the author, who graduated from Stonewall Jackson High School in Manassas, speak for himself below. It was possible the critics were exaggerating. His own words below indicate otherwise.

    I recommend the book to anybody really interested in this ongoing debate. Is this being directly taught to K-12 school children?  I doubt it, but maybe. Is it being taught to the next generation of teachers and is it at the heart of much of current in-service teacher training? Apparently. (more…)

  • Jeanine’s Memes

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    James A. Bacon


    Jeanine’s Memes from the Bull Elephant

  • Bobos and the Epistemic Regime

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    James A. Bacon

    by James A. Bacon

    David Brooks, writing in The Atlantic, serves up a brilliant update to his 2000 classic, “Bobos in Paradise,” in which he explores the nature of America’s new ruling class. Borrowing terminology from Jonathan Rauch, he introduces the concept of the epistemic regime — “the massive network of academics and analysts who determine what is true.”

    The epistemic regime, he writes:

    possesses the power of consecration; it determines what gets recognized and esteemed, and what gets disdained and dismissed. The web, of course, has democratized tastemaking, giving more people access to megaphones. But the setters of elite taste still tend to be graduates of selective universities living in creative-class enclaves. If you feel seen in society, that’s because the creative class sees you; if you feel unseen, that’s because this class does not.

    Thank you, David Brooks, for articulating ideas I have been groping to define in Bacon’s Rebellion. (more…)

  • Public School Systems on Fire

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    James A. Bacon

    Virginia’s public education system…. Er, sorry, that’s just a dumpster fire.

    I’m normally reluctant to post material from anonymous sources, but I’m making an exception in this case. The author of this post is not asking us to accept anything on his (or her) say-so. He (or she) points to Virginia Department of Education documents that can be readily found online. Much of this material has been reported on Bacon’s Rebellion, but the author pulls together multiple strands into a coherent whole. The impact is powerful. — JAB

    For months, the Virginia Department of Education has feigned ignorance about what might be behind all the fuss over critical race theory infiltrating the Commonwealth’s public schools.

    In article after article, State Superintendent James Lane’s spokesperson repeated the talking point that nowhere in the Standards of Learning — the curriculum standards that all Virginia public schools must follow — is there a requirement to teach critical race theory, or to incorporate critical race theory when presenting state-mandated academic content.

    By and large, education reporters and editorial writers in the state have bought this hook, line and sinker. (more…)

  • Northam Asks Good Questions About Amended Medicaid Budget

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    sherlockj

    by James C. Sherlock

    Governor Ralph Northam has raised an important issue relative to the budget negotiations. He has asked that the final bill not include an extension of a 12.5% increase in rates for Medicaid home- and community-based services for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities. The General Assembly put it in there anyway.  

    That amendment, submitted by Sen. Emmett Hanger, R-Mount Solon, extends the expiration date for the increases from the end of calendar year 2021 to the end of the fiscal year on June 30, 2022. Hanger’s amendment claims that: 

    “The costs of extending the rates are covered by the state savings in Medicaid from the 12 months of enhanced federal match for Medicaid Home and Community-based services included in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.”

    That is a budget offset of “free” money from federal taxes and the deficit, but not defense of the program itself.    (more…)

  • A Devil’s Alternative

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    James A. Bacon

    Free the pigs

    Under the Farm Animal Confinement Proposition, enacted four years ago California will begin enforcing provisions in 2022 that require farmers to raise pigs in spaces at least 24 square feet, up from 20 square feet in 2020. The good news is that pigs — one of the most intelligent and emotionally sensitive species on the planet — will enjoy better living conditions. The measure isn’t as good as letting pigs roam free, as is their right, but it’s a start.

    The bad news is that it could mean less bacon!

    California accounts for 15% of the national pork market, which effectively means it can dictate pig-raising standards across the country. The California rules would make it significantly more expensive to raise pigs. Which means fewer pigs. Which means less bacon.

    I am totally conflicted! Pig welfare…. bacon. Pig welfare… bacon. I just don’t know which way to turn.

    — JAB

  • Virginia May Kill Two West Virginia Coal-Fired Power Plants

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    James A. Bacon

    The John E. Amos coal-fired power plant near Winfield, W.V. Photo credit: Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times/TNS

    by Bill Tracy

    Kentucky may have already killed one West Virginia coal plant, and according to a recent article by West Virginia Public Broadcasting, Virginia’s State Corporation Commission may well shoot down two more.

    Apparently, by 2028, many U.S. coal-fired power plants face costly EPA mandates to upgrade their wastewater treatment and coal ash disposal procedures. Without the upgrades, the plants must shut down. (more…)

  • Women, Stop Blaming Men If You Can’t Have It All

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    James A. Bacon

    By Paula Harkins

    Yesterday I was invited to join an advisory panel for a Women in Leadership course hosted by a university in Washington, D.C. Excited to learn about the possibilities, I read up on the course only to find the words, “From the ongoing battle for equal rights to the breaking of barriers on the workplace, women face complex issues in a dynamic environment that has been dominated by men for centuries.”

    At that point my excitement ended. Let me explain.

    Obviously, I am a w0man. I advocate for women in leadership roles, and I mentor young women. I urge my mentees to lean in, know their value, and to speak up about their value. What I don’t understand is why women feel it necessary to include rhetoric on male domination in the workplace and leadership. Let’s look at some stats. (more…)

  • DMV Still Hiding Full Gas Tax Amounts

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    Steve Haner

    by Steve Haner

    The Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles is now hiding only 22% of the state’s existing motor fuels tax with misleading website data, not the 26% it was hiding when I wrote about this last year.

    In the chart you first find searching DMV on motor fuel tax rates, set out below, there is no reference to a statewide wholesale tax of 7.6 cents per gallon on gasoline. It is MIA, leaving the chart reporting a tax of only 26.2 cents. (That is up 5 cents from a year ago, and that is why the percentage “hidden” dropped.) (more…)

  • Coming to Virginia – a New State of Emergency?

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    by

    sherlockj

    Why is this man smiling?

    by James C. Sherlock

    The Governor’s 15-month emergency powers expired June 30, and, God, does he miss them.

    From The Virginian-Pilot:

    “School districts that aren’t requiring masks, including several in Hampton Roads, are running afoul of state law, Gov. Ralph Northam said Thursday.”

    OK.

    The bigger questions are

    • how long the governor will put up with the lack of emergency powers;
    • when he will start to follow Virginia’s Pandemic Emergency Annex to its Emergency Operations Plan; and
    • is the General Assembly even interested?

    (more…)

  • The Craziness Chronicles: Woke Kindergarten, Marijuana Candy and the Therapeutic State

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    by

    James A. Bacon

    Documenting Virginia’s steady descent into madness…

    Woke Kintergarten. Asra Nomani and her buddies at Parents Defending Education have caught the Fairfax County Public School system with its figurative pants down. A summer learning guide at Bailey’s Elementary school for the Arts and Sciences in Falls Church suggested readers follow Web links to “Woke Kindergarten,” “No White Saviors,” other contents informed by Critical Race Theory, and photographs including nudity and semi-nudity, reports The Fairfax Times. After an outcry, the schools removed the material, declaring that the postings were made “in error.” Translation: “We don’t disavow the material, we made a mistake posting it online where parents could see it.”

    The wrong kind of munchies. The Virginia Poison Center is recording a surge in calls relating to individuals ingesting marijuana edibles. Seventy-six percent were children, half of whom were under six, reports WTVR News. Fifteen children have been rushed to the hospital, and five required treatment in critical care units. Apparently, young children are drawn to the edibles, which look like candy, cookies or brownies. Virginia, which has decriminalized marijuana, is following the same path as states that legalized weed. Several of those states ban packaging that imitates popular snacks and the use of cartoons, animal shapes, or anything that might be attractive to children. Virginia should consider doing the same.

    Defunding school resource officers. Back in May, the Alexandria City Council defunded SROs (School Resource Officers) in city schools and reallocated $790,000 to hire a “mentoring partnership coordinator,” a public health nurse, a therapist supervisor, three senior therapists, and a human services specialist. Guess who’s not happy? Alexandria school officials. According to The Alexandria Times, the school board wants the SROs back. (more…)

  • SCOTUS: Give Rochelle Walensky Something to Cry About

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    James A. Bacon

    by Kerry Dougherty

    It won’t be long before the U.S. Supreme Court smacks down CDC Director Rochelle Walensky’s order that revived until October 3rd a glaringly unconstitutional eviction moratorium.

    I can’t wait.

    They’ll give the woman who was blubbering about her feelings of “impending doom” last winter something to cry about.

    In fact, the judiciary is already flexing its muscles. After landlord groups submitted an emergency filing to block the moratorium in D.C. federal court, a judge demanded that the government respond by tonight at 9 p.m.

    Putting aside the audacity of a U.S. president urging unelected bureaucrats to issue clearly unconstitutional orders, this entire impulse — to side with renters over landlords — is a leap toward Marxism. (more…)

  • Make “Contextualization” Open, Vibrant, Dogma-Free

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by James A. Bacon

    The University of Virginia has taken down the statue of Indian fighter George Rogers Clark and is expunging other monuments and tributes to individuals who fall short of lofty, progressive 21st-century ideals. President Jim Ryan has promised that the statue to Thomas Jefferson, the university’s founder, will stay. But it will be “contextualized.”

    What that contextualization will look like is anybody’s guess. The project has been handed to the “Naming and Memorials Committee” for elaboration. Will Jefferson be portrayed as a founding father and progenitor of principles that guide the United States today… or a slave-holding rapist? It is too early to say.

    What we do know is that considerable thought has been given to the machinery of contextualization. Whatever the message may be, it will be delivered digitally. Envision standing near the Jefferson statue, or the Rotunda, or the Lawn, or other spots deemed worth of recognition, such as the Black Bus Stop, the Ginger Scott Case, or the Coat and Tie Rebellion. You can take out your smart phone, scan a QR code, and access text and audio descriptions.

    But there are warning flags galore as to where this initiative is heading. (more…)

  • Critical Theory in Education – Clarity of Purpose Is Progressives’ One Virtue

    Posted on

    by

    sherlockj

    by James C. Sherlock

    Did you read the over 100 comments beneath The Left Is Lying: CRT Is Peddling Hate in Our Schools earlier today in this space?

    Quite a dogfight.

    Do you notice how the left tries to pretend that applied critical theory in education, which incorporates CRT but is about much more, is about only the teaching of history?

    The organizing principle, dogma really, of the critical theorists creating Virginia educational policy at VDOE is that American society is oppressive and must be dismantled through the K-12 public schools.

    That is one reason why those same policies deny the exercise by parents of their roles, obligations and rights at every turn. Parents form the very American society that the left wants to dismantle.

    We should stop the diversions and deal with what the left writes clearly that it is attempting. (more…)

  • Free Zywicki!

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    Todd Zywicki

    by James A. Bacon

    Virginia is now in full-blown panic mode over the Delta variant and the rebound in confirmed COVID-19 cases. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has designated a majority of Virginia localities as “high COVID transmission areas,” and media are reporting outbreaks everywhere from child care centers to summer camps. Cities, universities and employers across the state are enacting mask and vaccination mandates. Governor Ralph Northam is “actively considering” a similar mandate for state employees. 

    Against this backdrop, a George Mason University law professor, Todd Zywicki, has filed a lawsuit challenging the university’s vaccine mandate. Zywicki contends that he would have gotten vaccinated had he not already contracted and recovered from COVID-19, reports The Washington Post. But his immunologist says he has a strong natural immunity to the virus, as confirmed by positive antibody tests, and he objects to being coerced.

    “I would rather rely on the advice of my doctor,” Zywicki said, “than mid-level bureaucrats at Mason who are designing a one-size-fits-all solution.” (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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