Bacon's Rebellion

  • UVa Board Backs Ryan on Lawn Signage Issue

    Posted on

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    James A. Bacon

    Photo credit: Washington Post

    by James A. Bacon

    The University of Virginia Board of Visitors has issued a statement backing President Jim Ryan for his handling of offensive signs posted on the doors of rooms on the Lawn.

    “Simply put, there are no exceptions to the protections afforded by the First Amendment against state attempts to regulate political speech,” says the letter signed by Rector James B. Murray Jr. “We are required to comply with the law, and the law is very clear.”

    However, an argument advanced by alumnus Aubrey M. Daniel III in a widely disseminated letter — that the Lawn’s status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site allows for regulation of expression — might be constitutionally defensible, says the statement, “if it were narrowly tailored to protecting the environment, if it applied neutrally to all opinions and points of view, and if it preexisted any particular controversy.” (more…)

  • Bacon Bits: Special Ethnic/Racial/Sexual Exploitation Issue

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    James A. Bacon

    VCU construction workers allege exploitation. From VPM News: Speaking anonymously, undocumented workers at Virginia Commonwealth University construction sites say they are being exploited by unidentified middle men who misclassify them as contractors instead of employees, deprive them of benefits, and don’t pay them for overtime. VCU said it does not hire undocumented workers (illegal aliens) and cannot account for the practices of the sub-contractors that its general contractors hire. The article leaves a lot of questions unanswered, primarily, which construction companies are engaging in these allegedly illegal practices? Who are the “middle men” the article refers to? Name names. Do Richmond’s larger, more reputable firms engage subs who hire and cheat undocumented workers? Alternatively, are the offending firms owned by Hispanics? If so, does the prevalence of this practice reflect VCU requirements for giving work to minority contractors? At the very least, VPM ought to be asking these questions.

    A COVID bonus. There’s a silver lining to every dark cloud. In the case of the COVID 19 epidemic, the unheralded benefit is universities’ crackdown on big parties. Restrictions on the number of people who can gather in one place puts a huge crimp in fraternity life at James Madison University, which is rated No. 33 for top party schools in America, reports the Daily News-Record. Let’s speculate about the downstream consequences… Tighter COVID-19 restrictions means fewer drunken parties… which means less drunken party sex… which means less “regret” sex. One can predict that fewer cases of regret sex will translate into fewer accusations of rape and sexual assault. We are witnessing a fascinating social scientific experiment. I hope someone is tracking the numbers.

    Meanwhile, in the racial healing department…. The Virginia Department of Education offers its monthly #EdEquityVa webinar series to provide educators with “professional learning opportunities” to advance “education equity.” This month’s offerings for Racial Equity & Anti-Racism include: (more…)

  • College Students See Free Speech on Campus as a Problem

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    sherlockj

    by James C. Sherlock Updated Sept 30 3:15 PM

    The results of a new, rigorously analyzed and very large-scale scientific survey of nearly 20,000 students’ perspectives of free speech at 55 different universities in the U.S. are beyond troubling.

    We will look at the overall results and specific results for the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech.

    This was the largest survey  of college students ever conducted about free speech on their campuses.

    (more…)

  • The Great Reshuffling of Higher-Ed Enrollment

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    James A. Bacon

    by James A. Bacon

    Yesterday I noted the fact that college enrollments in Virginia were holding their own despite the uncertainty and turmoil created by the COVID-19 epidemic. In particular, based on State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) data, I noted that enrollments had increased strongly — 6.6% — in the category of “four-year nonprofits,” most of which are small, liberal arts colleges. That seemed surprisingly — and counter-intuitively — upbeat. I had expected small liberal arts schools, which generally charge higher tuition, to suffer as students and families re-thought their educational priorities.

    Upon digging deeper into the numbers, I can report that “average” numbers can conceal wide variability. Indeed, what the fall 2020 estimated college enrollment counts shows is a great reshuffling of enrollment patterns at the four-year nonprofits. Regent University in Virginia Beach increased undergraduate enrollment by 15%. Hampton University, a historically black institution, suffered an 18% decline in undergraduate enrollment. (more…)

  • Absentee Tracking System Already Breaking Down?

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    Steve Haner

    Tracking on my ballot as of September 30, eight days since the last update.  Click for larger view.

    Okay, so where is my absentee ballot? The Virginia Board of Elections tracking system is falling down. This does not inspire confidence and needs to be fixed.

    I had the application in well in advance. The ballot was mailed on the first day, a Friday, and our local Postal Service delivery lady worked long hours on Saturday to get them delivered. I assume the absentee ballots were the reason mail was delivered at 8 p.m. that day. Thank you, Ma’am.

    I had it back in the mail Monday morning and as you can see above, the tracking service had it on its way to the Henrico Board of Elections by Tuesday, September 22. But the tracking has not been updated since that time. I’ve given it a week.

    UPDATE: It turns out there are two trackers, and the other one (here) does show my ballot as received by the county Sept. 23.   That is the tracker I remember from before.  So now the mystery is, why the second one?  And why is it not updated when the other one is?  The confusion this might create could be substantial.  The person who sent me the link to the correct tracker reported a similar problem on the newer one for his own ballot.

    The second process is being run by an outside vendor, Ballot Scout, and I don’t know when that started. Last June I cast a mail absentee (as a poll worker away from my home precinct I had that legitimate reason) and the tracking was prompt. It will need to be prompt this time if you want confidence in Virginia’s results. Another little wrinkle on this that should raise eyebrows — anybody can check the status of anybody else’s mail absentee on the second one, if you have their first and last name and the address. Huh? Anybody can see in real time if I’ve requested and mailed a ballot or not?

    –SDH

  • Dominion ❤ New Utility Bill Payment Plan

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    This time you get touched.

    By Steve Haner

    Dominion Energy Virginia loves the General Assembly’s most recent proposal on how to deal with mounting unpaid utility bills in the COVID-19 recession. You might not.

    The state’s dominant utility has activated its network of grassroots lobbyists (including company retirees and stockholders) to express their personal support to their hometown delegate and senator, in an email that a recipient shared:

    Last week the Senate Finance and House Appropriation committees passed budget bills that included assistance to those utility customers who have experienced economic hardship due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. All utilities have been impacted and the legislation recognizes that relief to those citizens most at risk will be different from one region and utility to the next. The direction adopted by both Chambers have been consistently supported by Dominion Energy…

    As predicted more than once, the unpaid bills ultimately come to all utility consumers. The approach outlined in the new budget language is a variation on earlier themes, but the bottom line is unchanged.   (more…)

  • Virginia Higher-Ed Enrollment Resilient in Face of COVID-19

    Posted on

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    James A. Bacon

    by James A. Bacon

    Undergraduate enrollment in Virginia’s nonprofit higher-ed institutions has declined only 1.3% this fall, far less than feared in many quarters, according to preliminary estimates released today by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV). There had been widespread concern that measures to combat the COVID-19 virus would disrupt campus life and discourage students from attending.

    (more…)

  • College Education as Consumer Fraud?

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    James A. Bacon

    The college diploma: not worth what it used to be.

    by James A. Bacon

    I’ve long warned that Virginia’s colleges and universities would pay a price for their embrace of leftist radicalism, intolerance of non-conforming views, and hostility to reasoned debate. Why, I asked, would parents spend tens of thousands of dollars yearly to send off their children to be indoctrinated with values and world views antithetical to their own? Here in Virginia, we’re seeing the first signs of resistance to campus radicalism from the alumni of Washington & Lee University and the University of Virginia. Now there are signs of the counter-revolution going national.

    In July, President Trump asked the Treasury Department to re-examine the tax-exempt status of colleges and universities, claiming that “too many” institutions are driven by “radical left indoctrination.” It’s a shame that Trump got involved because he polarizes everything he touches. Half the nation will automatically oppose anything he supports. But he was tapping into a very real issue. There is a deep and increasing resentment of higher-ed in America today.

    In the latest sign of the times, Ronald Kessler, a Trump-friendly journalist, has linked campus radicalism and college affordability, hitting themes that Reed Fawell, Jim Sherlock, and I have been hammering on for some time now. In an opinion piece he disseminated by email, “Colleges Are Consumer Frauds,” he touches upon arguments that Bacon’s Rebellion readers will find familiar. (more…)

  • House Offers $330 Million Utility, Unemployment Aid

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    By Steve Haner

    Virginia’s House of Delegates has proposed spending $120 million from federal COVID-19 relief funds to help at least some Virginia families catch up on their utility bills and wants to pump $210 million from the same source into the state’s unemployment insurance program.

    Both ideas surfaced when the House Appropriations Committee approved a set of budget amendments September 25 (more details here). Neither idea is matched in the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee amendments, also revealed Friday and summarized here. That $330 million in COVID assistance for individuals is a serious difference of opinion to be resolved in the coming conference process.

    The General Assembly so far is following Governor Ralph Northam’s advice to show restraint on state spending in the midst of the COVID-19 recession. Neither the House nor the Senate are proposing to raid state reserves to restore spending priorities frozen during the emergency. Neither is looking to increase any tax rates.

    However, both have plenty of ideas for spending the $1.3 billion in unallocated federal COVID funds provided to Virginia. And both combed through the budget looking for places to cut or unnoticed revenues, creating available money to be spent on their own priorities.  (more…)

  • Three Reasons to Take Down the “F— UVa” Sign

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    Aubrey Daniel as JAG prosecutor.

    Aubrey M. Daniel III, an alumnus of the University of Virginia and the University of Richmond law school, made his name as a young Judge Advocate General captain who successfully prosecuted the court-martial of Lt. William L. Calley Jr. for his role in the infamous My Lai Massacre. Daniel went on, after his military career, to become a top litigator with the Williams & Connolly LLP law firm. If you Google his name, you’ll find that he won widespread recognition (or notoriety) for a 1970 letter he penned to Richard M. Nixon, taking the president to task for comments he made about My Lai. Now Daniel, retired and living in Italy, has authored another letter, this one addressed to James E. Ryan, president of UVa, on the topic of profane political statements appended to room doors on the Lawn.

    It is a lengthy missive, so, for the convenience of readers, I will summarize the key points. But I would urge you to read the full letter.

    Ryan has stated that he is powerless to act because removing the infamous “Fuck UVa” sign would violate of freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution. Daniel outlines three distinct grounds for doing what Ryan seems to reluctant to do.

    1. The University of Virginia’s Lawn is a recognized world heritage site, accorded the same status as the Egyptian pyramids, the Taj Mahal, the Acropolis, and the Colosseum.  It is a privilege to live in a room on the Lawn, and that privilege is conditioned upon students’ agreement to comply with the rules governing its use. The plastering of unsightly political posters violates the aesthetics of the world heritage site.

    (more…)

  • No! We Want to Spend the Money!

    Posted on

    by

    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    By Dick Hall-Sizemore

    After more than a month into a special session called primarily to deal with revenue shortfalls resulting from the pandemic-induced economic slowdown, the House and Senate finally have produced their versions of a revised budget.

    I wonder if Governor Ralph Northam is regretting having even called this special session. Neither house limited its budget amendments to provisions related to revenue shortfalls, COVID-19 response, or the fiscal impact of other legislation being considered by the special session (criminal justice reform). For example, the Senate has an amendment related to the development of a “linear park” in the Shenandoah Valley. In effect, both houses have proposed major re-writes of the budget. (more…)

  • Contextualization in Talbot County, Md.

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    djrippert

    By DJ Rippert

    The Talbot Boys. As the debate over contextualizing history rages in Virginia there is an example of historical contextualization from Easton, Md., the issue started, as they often do, with a Confederate statue. In this case the issue surrounds “The Talbot Boys” statue which has stood at the entrance to the Talbot County Courthouse since 1916. As described by The Smithsonian, “A young soldier stands with a C.S.A. flag on his left side, holding it with both hands. The flag curls behind him, covering his back. He wears a broad-rimmed hat and an open shirt. The youth is meant to represent youthful courage and enthusiasm as portrayed in Longfellow’s poem “Excelsior.” The statue is mounted atop an inscribed pedestal, which is atop a base with plaques. A brass box containing the names of contributors was placed in the base.”

    Honest observers would naturally ask several questions. First, why a Confederate statue in Maryland? Maryland was a slaveholding border state during the Civil War and never seceded. Maryland’s Eastern Shore was a hotbed of Confederate sympathy in the Old Line State but for every Talbot County boy who fought for the Confederacy two fought for the Union. There is no statue honoring Union soldiers from Talbot County at the Courthouse. Second question —  why erect the statue in 1916 … 51 years after the end of the Civil War? (more…)

  • Alumni to UVa: Enough Is Enough

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by James A. Bacon

    The debate over “contextualizing” the Thomas Jefferson statue at the University of Virginia itself needs some context. Viewed in isolation, the idea of adding a plaque to the Jefferson statue alluding to his flaws as a slaveholder as well as to his political and intellectual achievements should not be a cause of great consternation. Jefferson was not a saint. To my mind, acknowledging his human frailties makes his accomplishments all the more vivid.

    But the Board of Visitors’ resolution earlier this month to contextualize the statue was not an isolated incident. The vote followed a long train of developments in which the university has sunk ever deeper into the quicksand of the left-wing interpretation of race, race relations, and the legitimacy of this country’s institutions. For many alumni, I suspect, the statue issue is simply the last straw.

    After supinely tolerating the destructive, leftward drift in rhetoric and burgeoning signs of the cancel culture while dutifully handing over their money like good little alumni, many UVa grads have run out of patience. As Thomas M. Neale wrote in a letter to university authorities, “Enough is enough. Where does this end?”

    The answer is that the leftward drift does not end until it meets resistance. For years, university leadership has responded mainly to internal constituencies, which are overwhelmingly left wing and steeped in social-justice ideology. The parents who pay the ever-escalating bills are not organized and have no power. Alumni are equally unorganized. Like a company union, UVa’s alumni association is a captive organization that functions as the administration’s alumni-propaganda arm. But the appearance of “Fuck UVA” signs on the Lawn and the decision to contextualize the statue — verbiage to be determined — were the sparks that lit the accumulated detritus that exploded into a forest fire. (more…)

  • A Tale of Two Governors

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    Pam Northam

    by Kerry Dougherty

    Every once in a while we get a delicious example of agenda-driven news coverage.

    Last week, for instance.

    On Thursday, headlines across the country gloated over news that Missouri Gov. Mike Parsons and his wife, Teresa had tested positive for COVID-19. Here, have a peek:

    CNN: This Republican Governor Refused A Mask Mandate. Then He Got Covid.

    AP: Missouri Governor, Opponent of Mandatory Masks, Has Covid-19.

    Washington Post: Missouri’s Governor Has Refused to Mandate Masks. Now He Tested Positive…

    Dripping with schadenfreude, aren’t they? Although they didn’t dare say it, the message clearly was, “We hope he dies. Would serve him right.”

    Fast forward one day and these same media outlets learned that Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam and his wife, Pam, had tested positive for COVID-19. Did those headlines point out that he is part of the mask mandate crowd? (more…)

  • UVa Leadership Justifies Contextualizing Jefferson Statue

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    by

    James A. Bacon

    The University of Virginia administration and Board of Visitors is caught in the crossfire as alumni push back against the radicalization of the university and denigration of its founder Thomas Jefferson. In the previous post, I published a letter written by Thomas M. Neale and co-signed by 200 others condemning the Board of Visitors resolution to “contextualize” the Jefferson state on the UVa grounds.

    Rector James B. Murray Jr., and President James E. Ryan wrote the following letter in response, which I offer with minor edits. — JAB

    The actions recommended by the administration and taken by the Board have been years in the making. In response to growing interest from our students, faculty, and community, the University has for some time now been addressing more fully its history and the life of Thomas Jefferson. Our work has been similar to the efforts of Monticello, more fully portraying Mr. Jefferson’s life to provide a complete picture of his (many) accomplishments, as well as his shortcomings, and to make these facts available to a larger audience. (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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