Bacon's Rebellion

  • The Middle Class’s Death by a Thousand Cuts

    Posted on

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    James A. Bacon

    A Chinese lingchi execution, circa 1905. Source: Wikipedia

    by James A. Bacon

    Two items in the news today serve as a reminder of how the rules enacted by the American governing class benefit the rich, aid the poor, and tighten the screw on the middle class.

    The new tax dodge. First, The Wall Street Journal describes the increasingly widespread tactic in which the super-wealthy borrow money at extremely low interest rates created by Federal Reserve Board monetary policy in order to avoid triggering the taxable event of cashing in capital gains. “You could buy a boat, you could go to Disney World, you could buy a company,” said one tax adviser. “The tax benefits are stunning.” The Journal describes the strategy as “Buy, Borrow, Die” — borrow money against stock holdings to pay for everything, and never pay income or capital-gains taxes. Ever.

    The impact of super-low interest rates on the middle class is very different. The suckers and schmucks who pay taxes on their paychecks and manage to build a nest egg over a lifetime find themselves collecting near-zero interest on their bank CDs, money market funds, and treasury bills. While the super-wealthy borrow at near-zero rates to avoid taxes, middle-class Americans generate near-zero incomes on their savings — and get taxed on that miniscule income in the process! (more…)

  • Thank You for Your Support

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    James A. Bacon

    Thank you, thank you, Bacon’s Rebellion readers. I have received more than the $880 I need to pursue the Freedom of Information Act query into the use of No Trespass Warnings at the University of Virginia. No need to send more for now… But I may be coming back with a follow-up request.

    — JAB

  • Mask Pollution

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    James A. Bacon

    by Kerry Dougherty

    Everyone knows that wearing a mask all day is unpleasant.

    Recent studies – one in the U.S., another larger study out of Germany — concluded that masks are actually unhealthy for children. Unsurprisingly, the mainstream media ignored the findings.

    Fortunately, The Federalist didn’t:

    The JAMA report measured averages of 13,120 to 13,910 ppm of carbon dioxide in the inhaled air of children wearing masks, which is over six times higher than the unsafe threshold. The study further pointed out this measurement was after only three minutes of wearing a mask. Children forced to wear masks at school find themselves wearing masks for hours, five days a week.

    Apparently, so did the CDC.

    Last week that agency unveiled its guidelines for schools and recommended that unvaccinated children be masked all day in school — except when outside — which means elementary school kids who are too young to be vaccinated will most likely be sporting face diapers this fall. (more…)

  • Journalistic Competence and Integrity, Explained – Part 2

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    sherlockj

    V-P building in Norfolk being turned into 181 apartments

    by James C. Sherlock

    We are back to the story posted on the front page above the fold by the Virginian-Pilot on Sunday, July 11. This is Part 2 of my critique.

    Last time  we discussed a lot of false flags in that story. In this one I will take up the story’s references to social emotional learning and transgender students. (more…)

  • Journalistic Competence and Integrity, Explained – Part 1

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    sherlockj

    V-P building in Norfolk is being turned into 181 apartments. Staff members working from their homes.

    by James C. Sherlock

    A couple of reporters, Sara Gregory and Matt Jones, wrote the lead front page article in The Virginian-Pilot print edition today.  

    It was headlined “Critical Race Theory, Explained” and was presented as news, not opinion.

    The line between the two is more blurred every day. I wish it were not, but that is not my objection.

    People are entitled to their own opinions on critical race theory and its implementation in K-12 schools. Honest people can disagree. But a newspaper is not entitled to wrongly redefine ideas that form the basis of an active public debate and then criticize one side.

    That happened here. (more…)

  • Rejected by Facebook

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    James A. Bacon

    Bacon’s Rebellion has been using reader donations to promote readership of the blog and The Blunderbuss newsletter on Facebook. The ad in question did not mention COVID, stolen elections or other verboten topics. To see the ad and the reason for the rejection, keep reading… (more…)

  • Larry Sabato Is Not the Problem at UVa

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    James A. Bacon

    Larry Sabato

    by James A. Bacon

    Rich Anderson, Virginia GOP chairman, is unhappy with the partisan bias of University of Virginia political-science icon Larry Sabato, whose tweets have turned bitingly anti-Trump. Anderson contends that eight of Sabato’s tweets from the past year appear to violate the university’s mission statement and faculty code of ethics.

    “A reasonable taxpaying citizen can readily conclude that Dr. Sabato is demonstrating the rankest form of bitter partisanship,” Anderson wrote in a letter to University of Virginia President Jim Ryan. “In order to have faith in our institutions, it is essential that Virginians hold accountable those public employees and officials who violate institutional values, codes of conduct, and other guidelines of professional behavior.”

    Rich Anderson

    Anderson is entitled to his opinions, of course, as is Sabato. The question is whether the answer to Sabato’s bias is suppression of his viewpoint. Are Republicans now endorsing cancel culture tactics — if the Left does it, it’s OK for GOP to do it, too? Fight fire with fire?  I understand the temptation but I think it’s a big mistake. Republicans and conservatives should stand for protecting everyone’s right to free speech and expression.

    (more…)

  • Jeanine’s Memes

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    James A. Bacon

    Jeanine’s Memes at the Bull Elephant

  • A Cautionary Tale

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    James A. Bacon

    Dominion’s experimental wind turbines off the Virginia coast.

    by Bill O’Keefe

    The General Assembly, Governor Ralph Northam, and Dominion Energy are proud of their commitment to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050.  Dominion routinely showcases its planned wind farm 27 miles off of the Virginia coast. Before Dominion and the Commonwealth get beyond the point of no return — governments don’t acknowledge sunk costs, opportunity costs or terminate failed programs — they would do well to closely examine the experience with wind power in Germany.

    Germany is a leader in the green energy movement and has installed over 30,000 windmills. The German renewable energy program started in 2000. After 20 years, there is a problem. The German wind power industry is suffering setbacks. Hardly any new turbines are being built, and more and more old wind turbines are being phased out. Some of the problems don’t apply to Virginia since they concern on-shore wind mills but there are lessons to be learned.

    Many German wind farms are threatened with shutdown. The German Renewable Energy Act, which has been in force since 2000, guarantees wind turbine operators secure subsidies for twenty years. Without subsidies they are no longer profitable. By 2025, there is a risk of 15,000 MW of wind projects will be lost corresponding to over a quarter of Germany’s onshore wind power. (more…)

  • Where Is a Parents’ Bill of Rights for Virginia?

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    sherlockj

    by James C. Sherlock

    Sometimes, the simplest and certainly one of the best ways for a public official to serve the public is to inform them about things they care about.

    The Attorney General of Indiana, perhaps the best governed state in America, has just published a roadmap for parents and caregivers to “exercise their legal right to have a voice in their children’s education.”

    It is called the Parents Bill of Rights and is exactly the kind of initiative attorneys general should take to inform citizens of their rights on issues of public importance.

    Good luck seeing such an assessment from Virginia’s AG. (more…)

  • President’s Executive Order Could Bolster Healthcare Competition in Virginia

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    sherlockj

    by James C. Sherlock

    Yesterday President Joe Biden issued an executive order (EO) on competition that has the potential to significantly affect Virginians, especially our monopolized regional healthcare markets. 

    While an EO does not have the force of law, the president as chief executive can set priorities. The executive departments will honor the EO where not barred by law.  

    Federal judges appropriately will not be influenced by an EO. However, EOs put the hand of the chief executive on the scales of executive department prosecutorial decisions and regulatory actions. That will affect the cases that the the Federal Trade Commission, the Justice Department, and the targets they bring before those judges.

    In the healthcare sector, a White House Fact Sheet indicates that the EO “tackles four areas where lack of competition in healthcare increases prices and reduces access to quality care.” Those are prescription drugs, hearing aids, hospitals and health insurance.  

    There is already fierce competition in the pharmaceutical industry. I consider the prescription drug portions of the order a threat to future drug development, but President Biden undoubtedly has already taken account of my opinion on that. (more…)

  • Virginia’s Two-Decade Housing Construction Shortfall

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    James A. Bacon

    by James A. Bacon

    The pace of new housing construction in Virginia has fallen markedly since 2000 compared to the three previous decades, according to the Virginia Association of Realtors.

    Between 1968 and 2000, 49,700 permits on average were issued annually for the construction of new housing units in Virginia. Since then, permits issued have averaged 37,600 new units yearly. Over the past two decades, the “housing gap” amounted to 243,000 units, writes Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist for Virginia REALTORS, in the association’s blog.

    The deficit in housing construction drives up rents and home prices, Sturtevant says. “The consequences of the housing shortfall go beyond economic. Insufficient housing production has led to lower rates of household formation, more young adults living at home with their parents, and significant deterioration of the housing stock in many parts of the country.”  (more…)

  • Time to Take the Fentanyl Scourge Seriously

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    Funeral service for Jayla McBroom, victim of a fentanyl overdose. Photo credit: Washington Post

    by James A. Bacon

    Drug dealers are lacing opioids, marijuana and cocaine with  fentanyl in the Washington area, reports The Washington Post. The city medical examiner identified the super-addictive and often deadly drug in 95% of the 85 overdose deaths through March this year. Law enforcement authorities are seeing similar increases in fentanyl overdoses in Arlington and Alexandria as well.

    Writes the Post:

    Emily Bentley, Alexandria’s opioid response coordinator, attributes the recent spike to dealers lacing substances with the cheaper, more addictive fentanyl. She noted that unsuspecting marijuana users may be taking drugs laced with the synthetic opioid, broadening the types of drug users who could be impacted.

    Society has not yet come to grips with the fentanyl scourge. If we thought crack cocaine was bad in the 1980s, fentanyl is worse. Fentanyl is cheap, like crack, but it is even more addictive — reportedly 50 times more potent than heroin. Dealers have discovered they can create a market for their product by mixing it with other drugs. Thousands of Americans are dying. (more…)

  • The Latest Academic Cant in Virginia Schools: “Learning Is Not Time Bound”

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    by

    James A. Bacon

    Jason Van Heukelum

    by James A. Bacon

    Standards may be eroding in Virginia public schools, but there is at least one metric that educators generally agree is critically important: attendance. That consensus is built on the common-sense premise that students probably won’t learn much in the way of reading, math and history if they don’t friggin’ go to school! Showing up doesn’t guarantee positive results, but not showing up pretty much guarantees negative results.

    It does not take a PhD in education to understand this. An idea once relegated to the fringe of progressive philanthropic foundations is insinuating itself into the real world of Virginia’s public school systems. The new view can be seen in a written statement by Winchester schools Superintendent Jason Van Heukelum, as reported by The Winchester Star.

    “We intentionally embraced an opportunity that was presented by the pandemic to show our students and families that learning is not time-bound.”

    (more…)

  • COVID’s Latest Victims: Those Afraid to Return to the World

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    by

    James A. Bacon

    by Kerry Dougherty

    If there’s one thing we can all agree upon it’s that mental health services are woefully inadequate in Virginia.

    Our jails are filled with mental patients. So are our homeless shelters. Our state hospitals are so packed that they usually don’t have any beds available.

    So, given the limited resources available, am I the only one wondering why mental health resources are being spent to help people who are afraid to come out from under their beds now that the COVID emergency is over? (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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