Bacon's Rebellion

  • A Really Sweet Valentine

    Posted on

    by

    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    Photo Credit: WHSV

    By Dick Hall-Sizemore

    Governor Northam recently gave the budget conferees a $730 million Valentine.

    Based on January’s revenue report and year-to-date collections, the Governor has revised the general fund forecast to include an additional $410 million in FY 2021 and $320 million in FY 2022.

    The main factor leading to the increase was the unanticipated growth in sales tax revenues. Overall, the General Fund revenues through January grew by 6.0% over the same period a year ago. By comparison, the current budget is based on an estimated annual General Fund revenue growth of 1.2%.  The Governor’s letter to the money committees is here; a Power Point summation of the forecast increase is here; and the detailed January revenue report is here. (more…)

  • Enviros Help Kill Dominion EV School Bus Bill

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    School bus? Storage battery? No, utility profit center.

    by Steve Haner

    When the Senate bill that allowed Dominion Energy Virginia to buy a fleet of electric school buses with ratepayer dollars was up for discussion last week, three environmentalist lobbyists spoke against it. They focused on the excessive cost and questioned whether it was a reasonable way to develop useful battery storage.

    The counterattack was immediate and fierce and came from a Hampton Roads Democratic delegate.  “I can’t believe environmentalists are testifying that electric school buses are bad for the environment!” he shouted into his computer’s microphone. He ignored what they actually said and attacked on a false front, seeking to force them back into their accustomed swim lane.  (more…)

  • Virginia’s Double Standards for Justice

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    Mugshots of nine of the George Floyd protesters and/or rioters arrested in Richmond last year.

    by James A. Bacon

    Twenty-year-old Manny Wilder has been sentenced to three years in prison for chasing a group of Black Lives Matter protesters in Virginia Beach with a hatchet, yelling the N-word, and driving towards the group in a pickup truck. He didn’t actually hurt anyone, but prosecutors charged him with four misdemeanors, including reckless driving, abusive language, disturbing the peace, and disorderly conduct.

    “He was out there yelling that word while wielding a hatchet,” said a Virginia Beach judge, according to the Virginian-Pilot. Wilder appeared to be “full of hatred,” he added. “We can not tolerate hatred in the community.”

    Fair enough. Such behavior should not be tolerated. Wilder got what he deserved.

    How about the hundreds of other protesters and rioters who were arrested during the wave of unrest that swept Virginia last summer? You know, the ones who yelled abusive language, disturbed the peace, engaged in disorderly conducts, and oh, by the way sprayed graffiti, overturned cars, set buildings on fire, and assaulted police? Did they get what they deserved? (more…)

  • Progressives’ Next Target: Life Without Parole

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by James A. Bacon

    Progressives have all but won their battle to ban the death penalty in Virginia. Both houses of the General Assembly have voted to abolish Virginia’s death penalty, and Governor Northam is likely to sign the legislation. I’m OK with that. Our justice system is flawed. History has shown that too many innocent people have been condemned, and there is no walking back an execution if exculpatory evidence is found. But now the move is afoot to curtail life without parole.

    The number of Virginia inmates serving life sentences now constitute 14% of Virginia’s prison population (and 15% of the nation’s). Since 2003, the number of such inmates has risen 66%.

    Life-long imprisonment, progressives argue, does not add to public safety because the majority of violent offenders “age out” of criminal conduct as they get older.

    Funny thing about that. Murder victims don’t “age out” of anything. They’re dead. But in the minds of progressives, murderers are, in their own way, victims, too. Victims of society. (more…)

  • UVa Board Ponders 3.1% Hike in Tuition & Fees

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon


    by James A. Bacon

    The University of Virginia Board of Visitors is considering raising in-state undergraduate tuition up to 3.1% next year and hiking student fees by $114. The increases potentially would add $554 to tuition and fees next year, bringing the total to $17,860, reports the Daily Progress. Including room, board, books and other expenses, the total cost of attendance would reach $34,600 for students not benefiting from financial aid. Out-of-state students would pay $70,200 all told.

    Rector James B. Murray cited the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic. “2020 has been a tough year for everybody, for the students, parents and the administration. It’s been a financially troubling year and psychologically troubling year. We have lost a lot of revenue. We don’t have housing revenue, dining revenue, athletics, or student and public services. … The board is committed to keeping tuition increases at a minimum and using every other source of revenue whenever and where ever we can.”

    Said Murray: “Tuition is always the last lever that we pull.”

    Third-year student Madison Perry, one of two dozen students allowed to speak in the board’s first-ever open comment session, had a devastating come-back.

    (more…)

  • Baby Steps Toward Campaign Finance Reform

    Posted on

    by

    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    Del. Marcus Simon
    Photo credit: Bob Brown/AP

    By Dick Hall-Sizemore

    Virginia law prohibits a candidate for public office from converting “excess” campaign funds to her personal use when closing out her campaign finance account. However, there is nothing to prevent a candidate from using campaign funds for personal, non-campaign related, purposes during a campaign.

    Ever since his first General Assembly session (2014), Del. Marcus Simon, D-Falls Church, has introduced legislation to prohibit any personal use of campaign funds. Year after year, the bill died, with no recorded vote, until the 2019 session, when subcommittee votes were required to be recorded. That year, the bill died, 4-3, in subcommittee, with the four votes against it cast by Republicans. Last year, the bill was carried over again. (more…)

  • The Democratic Coalition’s Conflicts of Interest Cause Much Political Scrambling

    Posted on

    by

    sherlockj

    by James C. Sherlock

    It is tough to be a Democratic politician in Richmond or Washington. Now that they govern, they find it one big game of coalition whack-a-mole.

    I have written today of the conflicts between the interests of teachers unions and those of parents playing out in the Virginia General Assembly. That vital Democratic suburban women demo is in play.

    That is the tip of the iceberg for Democrats. They have assembled a coalition whose interests are fundamentally opposed. Those fissures are only fully exposed when they have unfettered governance, which they have now both in Richmond and Washington.

    The only things they seem to agree on are big government, free money and government regulation and control of nearly everything except their own interests.

    After that, it gets dicey. (more…)

  • Mandate Teacher Vaccinations in Virginia

    Posted on

    by

    sherlockj

    Louise Lucas, Chair, Senate Education and Health Committee photo credit: Virginian-Pilot

    by James C. Sherlock

    I wrote this morning about Virginia SENATE BILL NO. 1303 (Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute) Local school divisions; availability of virtual and in-person learning to all students.

    The lengthy Democratic substitute to a one-sentence Republican bill was written over the weekend to provide political cover to the Democrats. Unfortunately, it did much more than that, all of it bad.

    One provision states:

    “Prior to the start of the 2021–2022 school year, all teachers and school staff shall be offered access to receive an approved COVID-19 vaccination through their relevant local health district.”

    “Offered access.” I was asked by a reader whether I would recommend mandating teacher vaccinations.

    My answer is yes. (more…)

  • The Systemic Racism of Government Incompetence

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    Eric Fly

    by James A. Bacon

    Just as the COVID-19 virus was creeping into Virginia last March, the state shut down the Sussex County Health Department — and didn’t bother to inform local government officials for two weeks. To this day, reports WRIC, the health department remains closed, and a sign on its door reads, “All public health services for this area have been redirected to another location.”

    “They just quite frankly disappeared, Sussex Supervisor Eric Fly told WRIC. “They shut the doors and went away. We had no notification. There wasn’t an email, a phone call, a text.”

    Fly said that county officials were told residents could continue to get services and make appointments in Hopewell — 40 miles away. “We have an aging population, a lot of people don’t drive. We don’t have buses, we don’t have taxis.”

    Percentage of Sussex County population that is African-American: 57%. (more…)

  • Union-Written Bill Fundamentally Redefines Public Schools

    Posted on

    by

    sherlockj

    by James C. Sherlock

    Becky Pringle, NEA President

    Democrats are attempting to rush through a bill to provide political cover from a backlash by parents against the continuing closure of Virginia schools.

    Never ones to let a crisis go to waste, they have put union-written provisions in the bill that will permanently change the nature of the public schools for the worse.

    So let’s look at Virginia SENATE BILL NO. 1303 AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE Local school divisions; availability of virtual and in-person learning to all students

    There are four provisions in the bill that will change Virginia public schools, some forever. (more…)

  • Chilling Innovation

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by Bill O’Keefe

    Dominion Energy’s decision to build a gigantic windfarm and have net zero emissions by 2045 is a political ploy rather than a well-developed business decision. Why do I say that? First, Dominion buys bi-partisan political support in the General Assembly, as if it was needed. Second, it now gets broad support from the environmental community. And, if it flops, as it is likely to do, rate payers will be left holding the bail-out bag.

    Dominion plans to site over 200 windmills 27 miles off of the coast of Virginia. The area occupied will be about 176 square miles, which is three times larger than Richmond and about the size of Clarke County. The current cost estimate for this project is $7.8 billion, but that will certainly increase.

    By committing to a project of this size, Dominion is freezing innovation and putting its transmission grid at risk. The cold spell that is gripping the U.S. reveals a major vulnerability of wind and solar as well as the vulnerability of the grid. (more…)

  • Nursing Home Carnage Continues in Virginia

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by Kerry Dougherty

    With nursing home deaths in the news, perhaps you’re wondering how well the Rajah of Richmond — Ralph Northam — protected the commonwealth’s most vulnerable citizens.

    The answer: Not well.

    As of February 16, there have been 908 outbreaks in Virginia’s long-term care facilities and 3,147 COVID deaths.

    That represents a whopping 52% of all 6,047 confirmed COVID fatalities in the Old Dominion. Yes, you read that correctly, more than half of all Virginia COVID deaths occurred in nursing homes.

    That ought to be a scandal. Especially since the carnage continues. But it’s rarely mentioned at the governor’s pressers or in the media. (more…)

  • Fix Was In for VMI Contract, Lawsuit Alleges

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by James A. Bacon

    In awarding a contract to investigate racism at the Virginia Military Institute, the Northam administration stacked the deck in favor of preferred vendor, Barnes & Thornburg, and stymied efforts by a competing bidder, the Center for Applied Innovation (CAI), to contest the award, alleges a suit filed by CAI in Richmond Circuit Court today.

    The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), which managed the $1 million Request for Proposal, engaged in a “run the clock down” strategy of delay and hinderance to prevent CAI’s principal, Robert C. Morris Jr., from examining more than 1,000 pages of procurement documents within the 10-day period allowed under state law to file a protest, the lawsuit contends.

    Further, the lawsuit charges, SCHEV was acting at the behest of the Attorney General’s office and senior Northam administration officials to avoid “media attention” to the procurement process. (more…)

  • “Schools as Racial Justice Engines”

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    If there is the slightest doubt in your mind of what the Northam administration has in mind for Virginia’s public schools, just register for the latest #EdEquityVa Webinar on the topic, “Schools as Racial Justice Engines.”

    Here’s the description of the Virginia Department of Education-sponsored webinar:

    Trauma Informed Care for Racial Trauma and Strategies to Support the Unique Needs of Black Students in Schools

    Corresponding Equity 5 C(s): Compassionate Family and Student Engagement, Culturally Responsive

    Speakers include Charles A Barrett, the lead school psychologist with Loudoun County Public Schools, and Danielle Apugo, an education professor at Virginia Commonwealth University.

    Personally, I think that schools best fulfill their role as “social justice engines” by actually providing an education, as in, ensuring that kids are literate and numerate enough to function in society. But that’s just me.

    — JAB

  • Business as Usual in the Virginia Senate – “Dominion Dick” Saslaw Delivers

    Posted on

    by

    sherlockj

    Sen. Dick Saslaw (D)

    by James C. Sherlock

    Associate Press headline Feb. 15: “Virginia Senate Democrats kill electric rate reform bills.”

    Fish gotta swim, Senator Richard L. “Dominion Dick” Saslaw gotta be Senate Majority Leader and Chairman of the Virginia Senate Commerce and Labor Committee.

    Saslaw has received nearly a half million dollars in campaign donations from Dominion Energy and its previous CEO, Thomas Farrell. The Chairman literally would be cheap at ten times the price.

    From the AP:

    “The Senate Commerce and Labor Committee on Monday swiftly killed the last of more than half a dozen bills this session that aimed to reform Virginia’s system of electric utility rate review, which is seen by Wall Street investors as favorable to the utilities and by critics as an example of legislative capture by companies with an outsize influence over the General Assembly.”

    Dominion sweeping all before it actually gives some sense of stability to the General Assembly.

    Below is a list of campaign donations by Dominion Energy and Tom Farrell to the Senators who voted with Dominion on the closest vote, 8-7 to table Virginia HB1132 Electric utility regulation; initial triennial review, requirements, sponsored by Del. Jay Jones (D). (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.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

About

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.

Fund the Rebellion

Shake up the status quo! Your contributions will be used to pay for faster download speeds and grow readership. Make a one-time donation by credit card or contribute a small sum monthly.

Can’t wait until tomorrow

For your Bacon’s Rebellion fix?

Enter your email address to receive immediate notifications of new posts by email.

SUBSCRIBE

Search Bacon’s Rebellion

Categories

Archives

The Jefferson Council

Protecting Thomas Jefferson’s Legacy at the University of Virginia

Forgot Your Password?

Shoot me an email and I’ll generate a new password for you.

Latest