Bacon's Rebellion

  • Reality TV at Its Worst

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    James A. Bacon

    by Kerry Dougherty

    As members of Congress indulged themselves in a farcical hearing yesterday with Attorney General William Barr, Richmond had a televised spectacle of its own. Virginia’s folksy Governor Ralph Northam staged his own little show, a press conference, which featured the usual blame game.

    Northam expressed concern about rising numbers of COVID cases in Hampton Roads and blamed it on selfish people and — wait for it — liquor consumption!

    Without any supporting data, of course.

    As a result of Northamโ€™s apparent hunch, restaurants will once again be crippled as theyโ€™re forced to reduce indoor capacity to 50%, stop serving alcohol at 10 p.m. and close by midnight.

    Terrific. Air-conditioned restaurants will be full of empty tables just as the climate turns Honduran and al fresco dining loses its appeal.

    โ€œThis effectively closes all bars,โ€ Northam boasted, forgetting that Virginia doesnโ€™t even have bars.ย  โ€œThis is about stopping the spread of COVID-19 in Hampton Roads. … We all know alcohol changes your judgment. You just donโ€™t care as much about social distancing after youโ€™ve had a couple of drinks.โ€

    Oh, please. (more…)

  • Who is Behind NAH, LLC?

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    James A. Bacon

    Screen Grab from the contractor’s invoice filed by NAH, LLC, for $1.8 million in work performed in removing Confederate statues and cannons.

    by James A. Bacon

    Most of the Confederate statues and memorials in the City of Richmond are gone. Only the statue of Robert E. Lee, the subject of ongoing litigation,ย  remains. The statues and cannons are not coming back. The broken egg cannot be reassembled. But there are legitimate issues relating to Mayor Levar Stoney’s use or abuse of power. It’s one thing to remove the statues in accordance with state law and local ordinance. It’s another to take them down in violation of the same laws and ordinances under pressure from protesters and mobs.

    One big question is by what authority Stoney spent $1.8 million to pay the contractor that removed the memorials. City Council never appropriated the funds. An employee of a state agency familiar with state procurement policy, who asks to remain anonymous, thought Stoney’s procurement of statue-removal services seemed “irregular,” so she filed a Freedom of Information Request for more information. She shared the resulting documents with Bacon’s Rebellion.

    Among her more interesting findings was the fact that Stoney contracted on July 1, 2020, with a Henrico County entity, NAH, LLC, to do the work. The paperwork for creating the partnership had been filed with the State Corporation Commission June 22 — only days previously. The timing suggests that NAH was not an ongoing business enterprise but was formed for the express purpose of removing the statues.

    That raises several questions. Who are the principals behind NAH? How was the plan conceived? Do the principals have any connection to Stoney beyond the signing and execution of the contract itself? (more…)

  • How Hospital Monopolies Extract their Pound of Flesh

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    James A. Bacon

    by James A. Bacon

    The average cost of family coverage in a private health insurance plan in Virginia ran more than $26,300 in 2017, according to data from the Commonwealth Fund. That number includes the employer share of the insurance premiums, the employee’s share, and out-of-pocket costs. If you want to understand why middle-class standards of living are eroding in the United States, this is a big reason why. If you want to improve middle-class standards of living, then you need to also understand why the cost of medical insurance is so bloody expensive.

    There are lots of scapegoats in this story. Big Pharma and the high cost of prescription drugs is a favorite villain. The insane red tape associated with administering health plans is another. But one of the biggest drivers of higher health costs gets very little attention: the amalgamation of hospitals into vertically integrated health care systems that enjoy monopoly power in the so-called medical “marketplace.”

    This post puts into writing many of the key points I made in the webinar presentation found in my previous post. Healthcare in Northern Virginia is dominated by the Inova Health System, in western Virginia by the Carilion Clinic, and in Hampton Roads by Sentara. (The market in Richmond is divided between Virginia Commonwealth University, Bon Secours, and HCA.) In this post, I’ll focus on Hampton Roads to illustrate the dynamics at work in all healthcare markets. (more…)

  • Pontificating about Health Care

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    James A. Bacon

    In a webcast produced by YourFreedomHub, I explain the political economy of healthcare in Virginia. Long-time readers of Jim Sherlock’s columns and my columns on this topic will find much familiar material. The value in watching the presentation is seeing many strands pulled together in a coherent narrative. Also, I do provide some evidence not published before on Bacon’s Rebellion (or anywhere else in Virginia for that matter) showing how much more Virginia hospitals charge for procedures — from colonoscopies to tonsillectomies — than do ambulatory surgery centers, of which there are very few, thanks to the Certificate of Public Need.

    Jump to the 3:00 mark to skip the preliminaries (sorry, YourFreedomHub) and get straight to the presentation. As I view the presentation, it’s pretty clear why I make my living as a writer, not a television personality or TED talker.ย  But, hey, if you’re self-isolating from COVID-19 or Governor Northam has shut down the serving of alcohol your favorite bar in Virginia Beach, it might be worth watching.

    — JAB

  • Attorney General Herringโ€™s Legislative Package

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    sherlockj

    by James C. Sherlock

    The Virginia Constitution (Article V, Section 5) assigns the Governor legislative duties. He is the only member of the Executive Department assigned such duties. The Attorney General has, well … none.

    Of the duties of the Attorney General (Article V, Section 15), the Virginia Constitutions says only: โ€œHe shall perform such duties โ€ฆ as may be prescribed by law.โ€

    The Attorney General heads the Office of the Attorney General, also referred to as the Department of Law. Under the laws of Virginia, primary duties of the Attorney General include:

    • Provide legal advice and representation in court for the Governor and the state in general and to members of the Virginia General Assembly and local government officials;
    • Defend the state in cases or criminal appeals and suits filed against the state;
    • Prosecute significant crimes; and
    • Defend the constitutionality of state laws.

    Those duties illustrate why the Attorney General was not given legislative responsibilities in the Constitution.

    It is impossible for him to both advocate for or against laws and be seen to be faithfully executing his duties. Virginians will always wonder whether such an advocate will fairly execute the laws or fairly advise the Governor and General Assembly. (more…)

  • Where’s the Oppression, Mr. Qarni? Please Show Me the Oppression!

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    James A. Bacon

    by James A. Bacon

    Atif Qarni, Virginia’s secretary of education, urges people to fight systemic racism and injustice in U.S. society. Addressing local elected officials, he said in June, “You have significant power to dismantle systems of oppression that may include policies, practices, or processes that negatively impact the lives of Black people or people of color. This may seem like a daunting task, but the first step is actually a simple one. Look at your budget. Your budget reflects your values and where you are investing your resources.”

    Taking Qarni’s counsel to heart, I have been looking at Virginia educational spending — drawing upon the Virginia Department of Education’s newly published school quality profiles. So far, I have found no evidence whatsoever of budgetary priorities that disfavor blacks. To the contrary, I found that black students in Henrico County benefit on average from greater funding. Disparities might exist elsewhere — there are 133 school districts in Virginia — but I have not yet found any.

    Today, I take a look at the City of Alexandria school system. Alexandria is notable for dedicating spending per-pupil far in excess of the state average — $17,077 per student in 2019-20 compared to $11,560 statewide. As seen in the graph above, there is little difference between dollars allocated to black, Hispanic and Asian in the city’s 14 elementary schools, but whites receive $400 to $500 less on average.

    If a “system of oppression” exists in Alexandria, it’s a system that steers more money to schools where “people of color” — mostly blacks and Hispanics — predominate than to schools with larger percentages of white students.

    (more…)

  • New Houses for $150,000

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    James A. Bacon

    by James A. Bacon

    It remains an eternal mystery why it costs in the realm of $250,000 or more per unit to build apartment buildings for the poor in the Richmond region. The Danville Redevelopment and Housing Authority is delivering five new houses on their own lots near downtown Danville, for a sales price as little as $130,000.

    According to a feature article published by Virginia Community Capital (VCC), which helped finance the project, the homes sit on large lots and have brick foundations, covered front porches, driveways and carports. The houses have low operating, maintenance and utility costs. Buyers can choose finishing touches such as granite countertops and hardwood floors, which could push the sales price up to $150,000.

    The cost of housing in this project is still far cheaper than anything that public housing authorities can deliver in Virginia’s major metropolitan areas. The secret: Danville is using manufactured housing. (more…)

  • Brace Yourselves: Another Northam Presser Today

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    James A. Bacon

    by Kerry Dougherty

    Get ready, Virginia. Gov. Ralph Northam, the man who canโ€™t stop the rioting in Richmond but thinks he can stop the spread of COVID-19, is holding a press conference.

    No, he wonโ€™t be announcing strong measures to end the violence and lawlessness roiling the streets of the Capitol. Like most Democrats, the governor appears indifferent to anarchy.

    Instead, heโ€™s laser-focused on Tidewater, saying weโ€™re a COVID-19 hot spot.

    One thing you can count on: By this afternoon the Ruler of the Commonwealth will issue another decree restricting the rights of Virginians.

    Heโ€™s been making little threats on Twitter about whatโ€™s coming:

    Heโ€™s been making little threats on Twitter about whatโ€™s coming:

    (more…)

  • Why is VDH Stockpiling Cases as Unknown Race?

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    James A. Bacon

    By Carol J. Bova

    The Northam administration started expressing concern about the disparity of racial impacts of COVID-19 as early as March. But the number of confirmed cases with race/ethnicity listed as “Unknown” has grown to 20,886, or 24% of all cases. How is such a huge gap in the data even possible?

    Here’s the chronology:

    March 11: The administration formed the Health Equity Workgroup (HEWG). “The HEWG was built into the initial forming of the COVID-19 Unified Command structure as directed by Dr. Norman Oliver, the Virginia Commissioner of Health. states the website.

    April 8: Governor Ralph Northam said that race was unknown for 54% of COVID-19 cases. Health Commissioner Norman Oliver said that some private laboratories and private medical providers were not reporting the data. Said Northam: โ€œWeโ€™re exploring ways to make sure that they do.โ€

    April 20: The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) did not report race or ethnicity for 3,130 or 34% of all reported COVID-19 cases. (more…)

  • Public Employee Collective Bargaining – Questions for Attorney General Herring

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    sherlockj

    by James C. Sherlock

    As a consequence of the successful teacher revolt in Fairfax County, there are major legal questions which must be answered concerning the initiation of public employee collective bargaining in Virginia next spring.

    In accordance with Virginia Code ยง 2.2-505, members of the General Assembly can request official opinions of the Attorney General. Private citizens cannot. I urge General Assembly members of both parties to submit the questions posed below.

    Teachers associations in Fairfax County Virginia successfully employed threats not to return to work that resulted in a change to Fairfax County Schools policy.

    From the Washington Post,ย โ€œTeachers in Fairfax revolt against fall plans, refusing to teach in-person,โ€ June 26, 2020:

    โ€œA day after one of the nationโ€™s largest school systems announced its proposal for fall learning, teachers within Fairfax County Public Schools rose in revolt and refused to teach in-person, as the (previously announced by the school board) plan demands, until officials revise their strategy.โ€

    Those actions force Virginians to confront the consequences under Virginia law of collective bargaining with public employees that will be legal starting in May of 2021. Some but not all of the possible issues are addressed here.

    (more…)

  • GMU Race-Based Discrimination Is Unconstitutional

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    by

    James A. Bacon

    Gregory Washington, president of George Mason University

    by Hans Bader

    As part of a new “anti-racism” push, George Mason University plans to discriminate based on race in favor of faculty of color. On July 23, Dr. Gregory Washington, the president of GMU, announced that “We will develop specific mechanisms in the promotion and tenure process that recognize the invisible and uncredited emotional labor that people of color expend to learn, teach, discover, and work on campus.”

    Dr. Washington announced these proposals in the context of the “national conversation” about race following “the murder of George Floyd.” His goal is “establishing George Mason University as a national exemplar of anti-racism,” with a “metric-driven,” mandatory “vision” of “anti-racism” to be pursued by each “college and school,” incorporated into the “universityโ€™s planning and budgeting process.”

    That includes a “Task Force on Anti-Racism,” “systems and standards of anti-racism,” “required diversity, inclusion, and well-being coursework,” and the mandatory inclusion of an “anti-racism statement on all syllabi.” An initial $5 million is pledged for campus initiatives promoting anti-racism and diversity.

    But legally speaking, the changes he proposes to the promotion and tenure process are themselves racially discriminatory. (more…)

  • Bacon Bits: And in More Riot-and-Protest News…

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    James A. Bacon

    Image credit: Progress-Index

    Support the blue. Here’s a story covered by the (Petersburg) Progress-Index but ignored by the Richmond Times-Dispatch (Virginia’s newspaper of record for left-wing causes): Several hundred people gathered in Chesterfield County to support the blue. Remarkably, no rocks were thrown, no windows broken, no cars or buildings torched, and no one was arrested.

    Crying Wolf. Up in Alexandria, a group of about 30 assembled Sunday morning assembled in front of the house of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf to protest the detention and removal of demonstrators in Portland, Ore., by federal officers, reports the Washington Post. The peaceful protesters — these actually were peaceful — were joined by some of Wolf’s neighbors. Wolf himself was nowhere to be seen, but another group of neighbors lined his lawn with tiny American flags and planted handmade signs saying, “Thank you for your service.”

    Wokeness won’t save you from the mob. Meanwhile, Virginia Commonwealth University administrators have learned that no matter how woke you are, you can’t buy off the mob. VCU has gone further than any other higher-ed institution in Virginia to embrace social justice principles, but the university suffered more than $100,000 in damage from 80 windows broken by a predominantly white mob bent on protesting the police and creating mayhem Saturday night. (more…)

  • Yeah, Antifa in Richmond Is Real. Even the Mayor Admits It.

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    James A. Bacon

    by James A. Bacon

    Conservatives have been mocked for suggesting that “Antifa” members have numbered among protesters roiling Virginia the past two months, but yesterday Richmond Police Chief Gerald Smith, with Mayor Levar Stoney at his side, said the police believe that Antifa and individuals influenced by Antifa participated in the predominantly white mob action that led to vandalism, arson and assaults on police Saturday.

    To be sure, Stoney contended that white supremacist “boogaloo boys” were spearheading the event with the intent of discrediting peaceful protesters, according to this Blue Virginia summary. But he did not contradict Smith’s assessment that Antifa was involved.

    Smith said he believes that the flyer promoting the demonstration (displayed above) originated from outside the Richmond region, as did some of the protesters arrested during the mayhem. Richmond police are conducting an investigation into the origins of the event.

    Stoney’s reaction to the event is interesting in two ways. (more…)

  • The Bravest Woman in Richmond

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    James A. Bacon

    Kim Gray. Photo credit: Style Weekly.

    by James A. Bacon

    Kimberly Gray, a Richmond City Councilwoman and mayoral candidate, espouses a philosophy that some people in the era of Black Lives Matter find offensive. “I’ve been verbal about protecting all citizens,” she tells Bacon’s Rebellion. “This is my city. I love my city. I want it to be a place where everybody feels safe in their own homes, from Gilpin Court to Monument Avenue.”

    That outlook has put her at odds with the social-justice protests sweeping the city that erupt episodically in looting, arson, vandalism, and confrontations with police. As an African-American, Gray is sympathetic with some of the protest movement’s aims, such as removing the Confederate statues from Monument Avenue. She also supports peoples’ Constitutional right to peaceful protest. But she has a problem with demonstrators toting semi-automatic weapons on her doorstep. And she is one of the few public figures in Richmond to forthrightly criticize the systemic use of low-level violence to intimidate and silence opponents.

    Gray’s willingness to stand up to the mob has put her in the cross-hairs of the anarchic left-wing movement that has kept the City of Richmond on edge for more than two months. She was subjected to low-level harassment for weeks even before a crowd of roughly 200 descended upon her house in Jackson Ward last week, banged pots and pans, blew air horns, hurled insults, brandished guns, and shouted threats. That incident generated brief media attention when she complained that the Richmond Department of Police never dispatched officers to her residence.

    In the Richmond mayoral race this year, Gray has been thrust into the position of defending law and order. (more…)

  • How Fed Policy Is Wrecking the Economy

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    James A. Bacon

    by James A. Bacon

    Of all known government interventions in the U.S. economy, the most insidious and dangerous is regulation of the price of money (interest rates). Years of Federal Reserve Bank monetary stimulus and quantitative easing, promulgated for the purpose of easing or avoiding a recession, is wrecking the U.S. economy in ways that are only dimly understood. In the most important essay you can read this month — perhaps this year — Ruchir Sharma, chief global strategist for Morgan Stanley Investment Management, shines light on the problem in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, “The Rescues Ruining Capitalism.”

    The op-ed is must reading for anyone who seeks to understand the direction of the national economy, and is vital even for readers with a Virginia-centric viewpoint because if the U.S. economy falls victim to declining productivity, slower economic growth, and aggravated income inequality, so, too, will Virginia’s. If economic growth stagnates, we must make commensurate adjustments to our budgetary and policy aspirations here in the Old Dominion — which our local political class shows no inclination to do.

    Here follows a Reader’s Digest-like condensation of Sharma’s key points, with occasional interpolations. (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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