Bacon's Rebellion

  • State Tax Harvest Under Northam Expands Again

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    by Steve Haner

    With the release today of the April 2021 Virginia state revenue report, a correction in an earlier post becomes necessary. Overall general fund state tax collections are not up 26% so far compared to four years ago, they are up almost 30 percent. Corporate income tax collections are not up 68%, but 86% over the same period four years ago.

    Your correspondent regrets the error and admits jumping the gun after the March report knowing things would become more dramatic soon. Since the essence of good communication is repetition, expect another update in a month. And as has been the case for a while now, expect Governor Ralph Northam to seek to distract the voters from what is really going on. (more…)

  • Do Not Discount the Anger Over School Shutdowns

    Posted on

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    James A. Bacon

    by James A. Bacon

    Arlington County is one of the “bluest” localities in Virginia, exceeded in its propensity to vote Democratic (81% in the 2020 election) only by black-majority cities like Richmond and Petersburg and the Berkeley of the East Coast also known as Charlottesville. (The way things are heading, I soon may be compelled to refer to Berkeley as the Charlottesville of the West Coast.) But the level of dissatisfaction with the Arlington County School Board’s handling of the COVID-19 school shutdown has many Arlington parents up in arms.

    I have issues with mainstreaming autistic children with major behavioral problems, but I think it’s a good thing to try if the children can exhibit a modicum of self control. Whatever one’s view of the matter, it is heart-breaking to hear what happened to Reade Bush’s autistic son when deprived of social interaction during Arlington’s fling with distance learning.

    As Bush testified to the U.S. House Labor and Education Committee last week, the social isolation was devastating. His son lost sleep, lost social skills, lost his love of learning, and lost his grip on reality. He created an imaginary world with 52 friends. On his ninth birthday, he asked his father, “Daddy, can I die for my birthday?” In November Arlington schools began providing partial in-person learning for students with disabilities, and the lad’s situation has stabilized. But Bush says his son is a full year behind in reading, reportsย ArlNow.ย  (more…)

  • Great Moments in Virginia Governance: John Marshall Higgins

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    James A. Bacon

    It looks like John Marshall Higgins, former superintendent of the Rockbridge County Regional Jail and former member of the Rockbridge County Board of Supervisors, will himself be heading to jail. He was convicted Sunday on multiple charges of failure to protect inmates, denial of medical care, and accepting money for favors.

    According to WSLS, Higgins accepted at least $3,000 in payments and other items from family and friends of an inmate in exchange for special treatment. The money was funneled through a scholarship fund operated by Higgins and his family. In turn, he allowed the inmate to have unsupervised contact visits, ice cream deliveries, unfettered access to jail facilities, and, at the inmate’s request, an upgraded cable package for the jail.

    — JAB

  • Glenn Youngkin’s Good Vibes

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    James A. Bacon

    by Chris Saxman

    Over the last week and a half, I attended three Glenn Youngkin campaign events with three different women — my wife Michele and our two daughters, Mary Kathryn and Nora. It wasnโ€™t intentional that I went to separate events with each of them, it just worked out that way. All three are college-educated suburban women.

    While you might think that in our house we talk politics a lot and always vote the same way, I can assure you — we do not. Never have. I have always told our kids to vote for the person you think is best for the job. We compare notes afterwards. Michele and I have been the same way since our first political conversations thirty years ago. โ€œWho did you vote for?โ€ โ€œOh, okay.โ€ โ€œHow about you?โ€ โ€œOh, okay.โ€

    The first event was at a local restaurant the Henrico GOP uses for its meetings in Innsbrook called Atlas 42. Good size. Clean. Plenty of room without being cavernous. Mary Kathryn and I went to check out the campaign of Glenn Youngkin. (more…)

  • This One Easy Trick Makes Gas Lines Grow Expontentially

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    by

    James A. Bacon

    Photo credit: Richmond Times-Dispatch

    by James A. Bacon

    As panic buying sends Virginians to the gas pumps to top off their tanks, Attorney General Mark Herring is encouraging citizens to report instances of price gouging.

    “This ransomewear (sic) attack on the Colonial Pipeline could create disruptions in the gasoline supply across the Commonwealth, and unfortunately, bad actors could take advantage of this just to line their own pockets,” said Attorney General Mark Herring in a press release. “Virginians should not have to worry about paying exorbitant prices for gas and other necessary goods during this time.”

    Herring encouraged Virginians to file complaints with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

    This is the absolute worst possible thing the state can do. Economics 101: During times like this, prices should rise. (more…)

  • Gas Shortages: Deja Vu All Over Again

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    Photo credit: New York Post

    by Kerry Dougherty

    Itโ€™s like old times. 1979 to be exact.

    Just 3 1/2 months into the Biden administration and weโ€™ve gone from energy independence to gas lines.

    Whatโ€™s next, 18% percent mortgages? Or will Joe borrow Jimmy Carterโ€™s old cardigan and urge us all to turn down the thermostats?

    Yep, everywhere I went yesterday it looked a lot like it did 32 years ago. Long lines of cars snaking around gas stations. Exasperated drivers pounding their steering wheels.

    I remember 1979 well because I was living in Northern Virginia and the odd/even gas rationing was chaotic. I became so desperate for fuel for my diesel VW Rabbit that I actually siphoned gallons out of the heating oil tank at my house one day.

    I can still taste it.

    Yes, I know thatโ€™s illegal. I believe the statute has run on that crime. (more…)

  • Seven GOP House Primaries on June 8

    Posted on

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    Steve Haner

    by Steve Haner

    Virginia Republicans in seven of the 100 House of Delegate districts still have House nominees to pick in the June 8 primary. The focus on last Saturdayโ€™s unassembled convention for statewide candidates has overshadowed these races.

    They will also be overshadowed by the Democratic nomination contests on the same date. But some of these Republican contests are showing signs of being heated, and with strong candidates picked for November could be some of the seats which determine control of the House.

    In the three western Virginia contests, Republican incumbents seeking new terms face internal challenges. Three other contests have more than one Republican seeking to challenge an incumbent Democrat. One seat, House District 51 in Prince William, will have no incumbent on the ballot (Democratic Del. Hala Ayala surrendered it to run statewide).

    For those of you Republicans or Independents who consider yourselves done voting until November, peruse the list and watch your email or snail mail for signs you are in one of these contested districts. Democrats, youโ€™re all getting pushed to show up anyway by your statewide races.ย  (more…)

  • Combating the Great Awokening

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    Read about woke math in National Review.

    by James A. Bacon

    Outside of the People’s Republic of Charlottesville, Northern Virginia is the most lopsidedly Democratic region of Virginia. It is also the most woke, and it is pushing the so-called “equity” agenda in schools more aggressively than anywhere else in the state. But the educrats have over-reached, pushing too far, too fast, and much of the population is up in arms. Insurgent groups are popping up over Northern Virginia, mobilizing support through social media, raising money to take back school boards, and using investigative-journalism techniques to delve into topics that local media refuse to cover.

    The Washington Post has covered the Great Awokening in Northern Virginia schools only anecdotally. The region’s dominant newspaper has devoted none of its investigative resources to probing school board machinations and excesses as it has with, say, racism at the Virginia Military Institute. Citizens have been on their own to figure out what is going on.

    Fortunately, one of those citizens is Asra Nomani, a parent of a student at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology who became outraged by the Fairfax School system’s equity-driven assault on the school’s admissions practices. A former reporter for the Wall Street Journal, she fought back with the tactics she knew. Linking up with other super-savvy Northern Virginia moms to create Parents Defending Education (see the leadership team here) the India-born Nomani has wielded the Freedom of Information Act like a Gurkha kukri to hack out the story that the mainstream media has been unable or unwilling to tell. (more…)

  • GOP Is Dead Serious About Retaking Governor’s Mansion

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by Kerry Dougherty

    Wow. Theyโ€™re serious. The Republicans really want to win in November and they set aside their predictable losing behavior to do it by nominating outsider multi-millionaire Glenn Youngkin to be the next governor of Virginia.

    This gambit might not work, but in an unusual election year, it could. The Democrats and Gov. Ralph Northam have made so many mistakes that there are rich issues to mine that may resonate with Northern Virginiaโ€™s liberal wine moms.

    Virginiaโ€™s schools, for instance: The desultory rate of reopening, thanks to Dems being in bed with the militant teacherโ€™s unions is a scandal. So is the dumbing down of education due to DOEโ€™s policies that are headed toward eliminating advanced math before 11th grade and advanced diplomas when students graduate.

    Then thereโ€™s public safety and the Parole Boardโ€™s shenanigans as they set killers loose. (more…)

  • An Old Use of Solar Power

    Posted on

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    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    By Dick Hall-Sizemore

    Greenhouses have been used since the time of the Roman Empire. A couple of Virginia Beach entrepreneurs are planning to use this old technology to harness the sun’s energy in a big way.

    Their company, Sunny Farms, plans to invest $60 million to build hydroponic greenhouses on more than 30 acres, about 25 football fields, over three years. It would be one of the largest greenhouse facilities on the East Coast. The goal is to produce fresh vegetables for the big box chain stores in Hampton Roads, as well as for military commissaries. In its first year of operation, the company projects it will grow 10 million plants. (more…)

  • CRT and Virginia History

    Posted on

    by

    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    “I have a dream.”

    By Dick Hall-Sizemore

    Over the past few months, there has been considerable commentary on Baconโ€™s Rebellion regarding Critical Race Theory (CRT). Many on this blog seem to genuinely fear that this theory, or frame of reference, presents an existential threat to society, with our schools becoming centers of โ€œMarxist indoctrination.โ€

    Before discussing the legitimacy of this antagonism regarding CRT, it is useful to define it. James Sherlock, who is the leading commenter on this blog raising the alarm about CRT, defines it thusly:

    โ€œIt postulates that racism is the driving force in society, that in order to understand power relations, in order to understand institutions such as the law, education, the Constitution, social relations, you have to understand that through the lens of race.โ€ (more…)

  • TCI Debate Rages in Comments on Proposed Rule

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    by Steve Haner

    The political wannabes in both parties and the stateโ€™s media are continuing to ignore it, but the argument over the proposed motor fuel carbon tax called the Transportation and Climate Initiative rages in comments on the proposal flowing into its advocates.

    The Thomas Jefferson Institute has also launched a short video (above), perhaps just the first, to alert the public through more populist means. It features owners of two regional fuel businesses, well known as major local employers and taxpayers. Without doubt, Virginiaโ€™s membership in TCI would shrink and perhaps severely damage those businesses.

    The video was actually ready to use had the 2021 General Assembly taken up the issue, but Governor Ralph Northam did not ask for legislative permission to join the interstate compact involved. The state remains involved in the planning for the cap and tax and ration scheme, now set for 2023 in the states who agree to the compact.

    If put in place, all fuel Virginia wholesalers would need to buy government-issued allowances to sell gasoline or diesel, in effect a carbon tax. The amount of allowances will be frozen to prevent the any growth in fuel sales, and then decline annually to force down consumption, in effect rationing.ย  (more…)

  • Our Deranged Economic Policy

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by James A. Bacon

    Back during the Great Depression, critics of President Roosevelt’s economic policies equated them with paying unemployed workers to dig holes and fill them back up. As loony as that sounds, it’s better than what government does today. At least the idea of paying people to dig holes honored the age-old connection between work and reward. Now the government just hands out money willy nilly, no effort required.

    I felt a full-scale rant coming on when I read this article in the Martinsville Bulletin his morning, which describes how businesses in Martinsville and Henry County in Southside Virginia cannot find find enough workers — this in a community which has long had one of the highest unemployment rates in the state.

    Will and Tammy Pearson, owners of two restaurants and a bowling alley, say they are so short-staffed that everyone who does have a job is working overtime. No one is responding to job advertisements. โ€œWith the unemployment and stimulus benefits,” says Will, “people donโ€™t want to work.โ€

    The Pearsons’ experience is common across the area. (more…)

  • VDOEโ€™s Radical Approach to SEL Far Exceeds Its Legislative Mandate

    Posted on

    by

    sherlockj

    Superintendent of Public Instruction James Lane

    by James C. Sherlock

    Superintendent of Public Instruction James Lane is running into fierce public resistance to draft SEL regulations. See the 409ย comments so far. ย They overwhelmingly oppose what he has offered as a draft SEL instruction in his April 23 memo.

    The basic problem is apparent.

    The Board of Education/VDOE are citing laws for authority in regulation writing that do not authorize the regulations they publish.

    The 2016 Republican-controlled General Assembly approved House Bill 895 and Senate Bill 336, now Code of Virginiaย ยง 22.1-253.13:4. Standard 4. Student achievement and graduation requirementsย subsection D.:

    The graduation requirements established by the Board of Education pursuant to the provisions of subdivisions D 1, 2, and 3 shall apply to each student who enrolls in high school as (i) a freshman after July 1, 2018; (ii) a sophomore after July 1, 2019; (iii) a junior after July 1, 2020; or (iv) a senior after July 1, 2021) In establishing graduation requirements, the Board shall:

    1. Develop and implement, in consultation with stakeholders representing elementary and secondary education, higher education, and business and industry in the Commonwealth and including parents, policymakers, and community leaders in the Commonwealth, a Profile of a Virginia Graduate that identifies the knowledge and skills that students should attain during high school in order to be successful contributors to the economy of the Commonwealth, giving due consideration to critical thinking, creative thinking, collaboration, communication, and citizenship.

    (more…)

  • We’re Mothers, Not Birthing People

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by Kerry Dougherty

    So much to talk about this Monday morning.

    So whatโ€™ll it be: The furious tabulation of ranked-voting ballots in the Republican nominating process? Elon Musk on Saturday Night Live? Fauci-the-Insane suggesting that seasonal masking might be the way to whip the flu in the future?

    Or the continuing bastardization of our language by lefties, who now have set their sights on mothers?

    All right, then. Letโ€™s talk birthing people.

    Last week a Democratic congresswoman no one had ever heard of — Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri — deliberately referred to mothers in a speech before congress as โ€œbirthing persons.โ€ (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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