Bacon's Rebellion

  • Welcome to the New Year, Same as the Old Year

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    James A. Bacon

    2021 New Year baby?

    by James A. Bacon

    Three hundred and sixty-five days ago, my wife and friends and I tossed confetti, tooted our noisemakers and welcomed in a new year. Twenty twenty, we all agreed, couldn’t possibly be worse than 2019.

    It didn’t take long to disabuse us of that notion. First came the coronavirus. Then the George Floyd protests and riots. And then the presidential election. We won’t be celebrating New Year’s Eve with anyone this year — we’ll be hunkering down in social isolation — but we’re thinking that, short of an outbreak of nuclear war, 2021 has got to be better than our current annus horribilis.

    But it could be a close call.

    On the positive side, we should be on the downward slope of the COVID-19 epidemic as vaccines are administered and herd immunity sets in. Life for most will return to normal. We’ll be able to socialize and travel once more. But 2021 will be no epidemiological nirvana. The virus will do plenty of harm on its way out. Millions more Americans will be infected and tens of thousands likely will die. Many people will suffer lingering medical after-effects from the virus. And the nation will be dealing with the economic, mental-health and fiscal fallout for years to come. (more…)

  • Words Matter

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    James A. Bacon

    by Kerry Dougherty

    It started Wednesday morning with an innocent phone call to the “Kerry and Mike Show.”

    A caller was talking guns – what else? – with Mike Imprevento and mentioned that someone had wanted to GIFT him a gun.

    What’s wrong with GIVE, I thought, gritting my teeth.

    Mike responded with something about GIFTING firearms and I couldn’t control myself. I was in such a state that I could no longer focus on the firearm issue.

    “Stop!” I begged. “Gift is a noun. Give is a verb. You give a gun, you give a gift. You do not GIFT!” (more…)

  • Critical Lizard Theory Sweeps Nation

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    Peter Galuszka

    By Peter Galuszka

    Bacon’s Rebellion has been filled with many thumbsuckers about how “Critical Race Theory” is an existential threat to Western Civilization.

    But now there is a new theory of concern that makes the racial considerations seem, well, so 2020.

    It is called “Critical Lizard Theory” and it actually exists.

    According to NBC News, investigators are probing possible links between Nashville suicide bomber Anthony Quinn Warner and the conspiracy idea that many prominent people in the world such as Queen Elizabeth, the Clintons, Barack Obama, Madonna, Paul McCartney and even Bob Hope are or were lizard-like aliens who arrived on Earth and assumed human characteristics.

    There seems to be evidence that Warner made trips to an undisclosed spot in Tennessee to check into aliens, NBC reports. Warner is believed to have constructed a bomb at his suburban Nashville home and placed it in a recreational vehicle before setting it off in the city’s downtown. (more…)

  • The Race Industry Can Never Declare Victory

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    sherlockj

    by James C. Sherlock

    Karl Marx

    I read an op-ed by Scott Johnston this morning in the Wall Street Journal: “Revolution Consumes New York’s Elite Dalton School.” The subtitle was “Teachers of $54,000 Zoom classes demand a lowering of standards and hiring of a dozen diversity staffers.“ It is very much worth a read. Told of an eight-page list of demands by most of the faculty and staff of the Dalton School, a hyper-expensive Upper East Side school. One of its insights was:

    “It is telling that the manifesto begins with a quote from a Marxist professor named Robin Kelley, someone who professes admiration for Trotsky’s “permanent revolution.” Should the Dalton administration give in to every last demand, there will be a new list tomorrow. The goal posts move quickly in this racket.”

    It reminded me that there is a secret about the race industry that corporations, government agencies, universities and school systems must understand. Most of them actually do understand but either support Critical Race Theory or seek what they think is the path of least resistance whose costs can be contained with other people’s money. Those in the “least resistance” camp are fools.

    The race industry in America is in the grievance business, a very large and profitable enterprise. It is self-justifying, necessary because it says — loudly and backed with a combination of shaming and threats — it is. It is expanding daily and providing six-figure jobs for people who learned nothing positive, creative or otherwise useful in college, only grievance.   (more…)

  • Murder Rate Rose by 37% in U.S. Cities In 2020

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    James A. Bacon

    Crime scene of a recent Fairfax County murder. Credit ABC News.

    by Hans Bader

    Murders have skyrocketed this year, as local governments have become softer on crime. In the 57 major cities for which data is available, the murder rate is up an average of 36.7%. Murder went up in 51 cities, and down in only six cities. Murder is up 74.1% in Seattle, 72.3% in Minneapolis, 55.5% in Chicago, 54.1% in Boston, 39.2% in New York, 34.5% in St. Louis, and 30.4% in Los Angeles.

    This huge rise in murder occurred as progressive prosecutors became softer on crime, parole became available to more murderers, and the death penalty stopped being used in most states.

    In the last few years, voters in many areas have elected left-wing prosecutors who refuse to “prosecute entire categories of crimes” and thus “enable crime to explode under their watch,” notes the Heritage Foundation. For example, in 2019, Steve Descano was elected as Commonwealth’s Attorney in Virginia’s Fairfax County. He defeated the incumbent, a moderate Democrat, in a close Democratic primary election by massively outspending him. His campaign was funded mostly by a PAC bankrolled by left-wing billionare George Soros, which gave Descano over $600,000. (more…)

  • The Learn-What-You-Need-When-You-Need-It Education Model

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    James A. Bacon

    by James A. Bacon

    I stumbled across an ad on the Washington Post website that attracted my attention. AWS (Amazon Web Services) was advertising its cybersecurity certification training.

    Click on the ad and you land on an extensive website promoting the company’s cybersecurity curriculum. “Start your security training journey,” proclaims the header.

    Explore the paths to building security skills with this introduction to AWS Training and Certification. … Discover on-demand digital and live classroom training opportunities for all skill levels or roles. … Learn more about the comprehensive security curriculum designed by AWS experts.

    The goal of AWS, the cloud subsidiary of Amazon, is to develop a cadre of IT professionals certified to use the AWS platform. What particularly intrigues me is how the training curriculum differs from conventional courses in Virginia’s community colleges and four-year institutions. The fact that classes are delivered in both digital and in-person classroom formats is the most obvious but least interesting difference. (more…)

  • More Data on SW VA’s Breakout School Performance

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    James A. Bacon

    by John Butcher

    We have seen that the divisions in SW Virginia (“Region 7” in the VDOE system) formed their own organization, the Comprehensive Instructional Program (“CIP”), that brought nice improvements in student performance.

    While we wait to see whether the Board of “Education” will punt on the 2021 SOL testing, I’ve been looking over the 2019 data (there being no tests in 2020). The data for Region 7 paint a lovely picture.

    You may recall that, since undertaking the CIP, Region 7 has seen major improvements in the pass rates of its economically disadvantaged (“ED”) students.

    (more…)

  • Another Major Judicial System Reform

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    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    by Dick Hall-Sizemore

    Perhaps the most surprising item in the Governor’s recently-presented budget bill was the proposal to increase the size of the Virginia Court of Appeals by four judges, from 11 to 15. It is certainly one of the most controversial. The Republicans immediately decried the proposal as “court packing”.

    As usual, the issue is more complicated than its opponents would have one to believe. The Governor’s proposal reflects the unanimous recommendation of a two-year study conducted by a working group appointed by the Virginia Chief Justice and the Judicial Council. (The membership of the Council consists of eight judges, two attorneys in private practice, and the chairmen of the House and Senate Courts of Justice Committees.) That recommendation is supported by both the Virginia Chamber of Commerce and the Virginia Manufacturers’ Association. (more…)

  • The Creative Genius in Homeschooling

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    James A. Bacon

    Nasiyah Isra-Ul. Credit: The Virginia Star

    by James A. Bacon

    The homeschooling movement is a seething pool of innovation, and the most unlikely of people are driving the change. For example, Nasiyah Isra-Ul, a Liberty University sophomore, has launched a venture to provide customized courses, interactive lessons, and consulting services to homeschooling families.

    Isra-ul was homeschooled, and when her mother began working full time, she developed personalized learning plans for her younger brother. She was just 15 years old. Then she developed plans for other families in their homeschool group. Now, thanks to a $10,000 grant from the National Society of High School Scholars, she has launched Canary Academy, writes The Virginia Star.

    “What we want to do is leave it up to the parents to make the final decision as to how they want to homeschool,” she said. “Our goal is to help parents homeschool better, but not to take control.” (more…)

  • You Can’t Make This Stuff Up: Fairfax Courts Edition

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    James A. Bacon

    Judge David Bernhard

    by Hans Bader

    A judge in Virginia’s Fairfax County has ruled that portraits of white judges must be removed from a courtroom to protect a black criminal defendant’s right to a fair trial. The idea that white people are so scary or racially offensive that just seeing them deprives minorities of a fair trial would have been viewed as laughably racist even a few years ago. But in today’s bizarre political climate, this idea is viewed as progressive. So the judge’s ruling was applauded by the liberal media.

    Judge David Bernhard ruled that the white portraits had to be banished, in Commonwealth v. Shipp. As he put it, “The Defendant’s constitutional right to a fair jury trial stands paramount over the countervailing interest of adorning courtrooms with portraits that honor past jurists,” because those portraits were “overwhelmingly of white individuals.” Since 45 of the 47 judges were white, he viewed their portraits as “symbols” that black people are “of lesser standing.” (more…)

  • Where Has the ACLU Been?

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    James A. Bacon

    by Kerry Dougherty

    Gosh, I’m getting old. I’m old enough to remember when the ACLU — the American Civil Liberties Union — cared about constitutional rights. You know, the civil liberties of ordinary decent people.

    No more.

    As best I can tell, this far-left organization has been largely indifferent over the past 10 months as government officials, using COVID-19 as an excuse, merrily stomped all over our civil liberties.

    In some places — Virginia, for instance — law-abiding, healthy Americans are told they can’t leave their homes during certain hours. The government dictates how many people can gather in private homes. Children are not permitted to attend public school, including kids with disabilities who are entitled by law to an education tailored to meet their needs.

    Until the U.S. Supreme Court stepped in, many Americans were told they couldn’t attend worship services. On top of that, dozens of autocratic governors are extending emergency orders for months on end without legislative oversight.

    Does the ACLU care? (more…)

  • Social Distancing — UVa Edition

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    James A. Bacon

    Cartoon circulating among University of Virginia alumni. — JAB

  • Floating Nukes: a Better Alternative?

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    James A. Bacon

    Schematic of a floating nuclear power plant. Credit: JVE Journals

    by Bill O’Keefe

    Dominion Energy, with the blessing of the Legislature is in the process of building a monstrous wind farm off the coast of Virginia. It will be 27 miles offshore and occupy an area of over 176 square miles — 92% as large as Richmond. When fully built, there will be 220 windmills, each standing 200 feet above water level. The cost is currently estimated to be $7.8 billion but cost overruns are inevitable. Think about this long enough to form a mental picture of what this will look like.

    Since the Legislature has mandated a net zero emission future in the coming decades, Dominion is more than willing to take up the challenge and accommodate the Legislature’s dream. Not only is Dominion guaranteed a rate of return on the power generated but it also profits from capital construction expenditures. Non-regulated corporations should be so lucky. And, if it turns out that the windfarm doesn’t produce as promised or is made obsolete by technology or more accurate climate science, it won’t be Dominion that takes the loss, it will be Dominion’s customers.

    When all is said and done, our electricity rates will be much higher than they are today — 12 cents per Kwh, well below states like California committed to the zero-carbon path. California’s residential rates are almost 20 cents per Kwh and rising. One estimate says they will rise to 40 cents when the natural gas ban is fully implemented. (more…)

  • COVID-19 Infections Up but Flu Infections Down

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    James A. Bacon

    by Carol J. Bova

    The 2020-2021 flu season began with the week ending October 4 – Week 40.  “There have been 2 infections in Virginia during the 2020-21 flu season to date,” the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) said on December 17. By comparison, last year Virginia experienced sporadic cases from weeks 40 through 44, local occurrences in Weeks 45-46, and jumped to widespread cases from Week 47 of 2019 into April of 2020.

    According to reports from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), this flu season, after more than 469,000 tests, there are only 789 recorded cases and 168 deaths in the entire country. News reports in mid-December noted the unusual pattern of low influenza numbers and speculated on the reasons. (more…)

  • Jefferson, Monticello and Slavery

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    James A. Bacon

    Monticello at sunset

    by James A. Bacon

    My wife and I had the good fortune to join friends in a “private” tour of Monticello last evening. (Because of COVID, Monticello no longer conducts the traditional tours of 25 or so people per group, so all tours are small and “private.”) It has been a decade or more since I last visited the place, but considerable progress has been made in renovations of the house and grounds. I learned many tidbits about Jefferson that I either never knew or had long forgetten. 

    As the movement gains momentum to delegitimize the founding fathers, especially slaveholders, T.J. remains a subject of controversy and debate. Accordingly, I report here some of what I learned that might illuminate aspects of that debate.

    Indebtedness. Jefferson began construction on Monticello in 1768 on a plantation of 5,000 acres. His first design for the building was, quite frankly, unremarkable. After visiting France, where he was exposed to both classical architectural styles as well as architectural novelties, he totally redesigned the building and scrapped the work that had been done to that point. The result was an architectural masterpiece — and a significant addition to his debt. (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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