Bacon's Rebellion

  • Our Cell Phones Are Still Off-Limits to Robocalls

    Posted on

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    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    By Dick Hall-Sizemore

    Here is a follow-up on a previous post.  The Supreme Court handed down a decision today that will probably be lost in the coverage of its other decision released today, the one about “faithless” Presidential electors. Nevertheless, the decision in that other case, Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants, inc., saves us all some aggravation.

    Current federal law prohibits robocalls to cell phones, except calls made exclusively to collect a federal debt. The association representing political consultants sued, arguing that the prohibition violated the First Amendment right of its members. In its ruling, the Supreme Court agreed that the law violated the First Amendment, but the political consultants did not get what they wanted. The Court’s ultimate decision was unanimous, but the Justices were remarkably split all over the place about the reasons for the outcome. There were four separate opinions filed. (more…)

  • The Truth about George Washington’s Choppers

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    James A. Bacon

    What survives of George Washington’s denture.

    There’s a new meme about George Washington’s teeth circulating on cable television — I’ve heard it twice in the past couple of days. It once was commonly held that Virginia’s most famous son had a mouth full of wooden teeth. But recent archival research indicates that he wore dentures made of carved hippopotamus ivory — and slaves’ teeth.

    Wow. Sounds horrible. What an evil slave owner. I can just imagine him riding around his plantation looking for slaves with fine sets of teeth. “I’ll take one of his, and a couple of his.” Tear down the statues. While we’re re-naming the Redskins, let’s rename Washington, D.C.!

    The truth, of course, is more complicated than our imaginations. The main source of evidence about the origins of Washington’s dentures is an entry in a  1784 Mount Vernon ledger book noting, “By cash pd Negroes for 9 Teeth on Acct of Dr. Lemoire (aka La Mayeur).” This Lemoire probably was Washington’s dentist, Jean Le Mayeur. (more…)

  • Existential Angst at a University Named After a Confederate General and a Slaveholder

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    James A. Bacon


    by James A. Bacon

    The culture wars are raging undiminished at Washington & Lee University, where the university community is struggling over the name of an institution honoring a former Civil War general and a slaveholder. On June 23, President Will Dudley laid out his administration’s priorities to promote diversity and inclusion. Building on the university’s success in recruiting “domestic students of color” — up 50% since 2016 — and increasing tenure-track hires of “faculty of color” —  by 45% over the past four years, he has laid out a new slew of initiatives.

    You can read his full letter here. Meanwhile, more than 100 W&L professors called last week for dropping Lee from the university’s name.

    What you can’t read on the W&L website is the response of many W&L alumni. Some of those responses are circulating in email chains. I reproduce four of them here for the benefit of those who might not otherwise see them.

    Response from Kazimierz J. Herchold, Class of ’68

    Subject: A Binary Choice
    Dear President Dudley and Washington & Lee Trustees:

    With respect, you and the Board completely misunderstand the situation which confronts you. Based on your latest memorandum, you believe that a series of concessions, appeals to civility and rational discussion, as well as pay offs involving faculty hires and financial giveaways to students of color, will somehow defuse the looming conflagration. (more…)

  • Time to Buy a Gun?

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    James A. Bacon

    by James A. Bacon

    I’ve never owned a gun. The last time I shot a rifle, using a 22 for target practice, was about 55 years ago when I was a kid. Guns always made me nervous. I don’t hunt — I don’t like killing animals. Besides, I felt I was far more likely to accidentally shoot my foot off than ever need a weapon for self defense. Now I’m reconsidering.

    Apparently, a lot of other Virginians are, too. Virginia gun sales set a record in June, reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Estimated firearms sales, based on mandatory criminal background checks, reached 81,204. That’s a 157% increase over the number of transactions in June last year.

    Much of the traffic is driven by gun owners stocking up on more weaponry. But Joshua Jennings, owner of Guns, Gear & Ammo in the Danville-Martinsville area estimates that one in ten are first-time buyers. “We’ve had some unusual buys, and what I mean by that is buyers who ordinarily would not statistically be likely to enter a gun store.”

    “Civil unrest, rioting, looting and calls to defund the police are unquestionably motivating factors of why this trend is increasing,” Mark Oliva, director of public affairs for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, told the Associated Press. “Americans are right to be concerned about their personal safety.” (more…)

  • Northam Administration Targets American Flag

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    James A. Bacon

    by Kerry Dougherty

    It’s official.

    Virginia is run by virtue-signaling morons.

    Their purpose is clear: They want to kowtow to the lawless elements in society.

    From paroling murderers to applauding massive protests during lockdowns, the Northam administration has shown little interest in law and order and less in protecting public property.

    On Friday these government knob turners ordered an American flag removed from a state construction site for fear that rioters would be triggered by the sight of the stars and stripes.

    Seems Northam’s factotums caught sight of a large American flag flying from the crane on a building project near the Capitol and panicked. These Democrats knew one thing: That flag had to go.

    Screw Independence Day. Who wants to upset the local criminals?

    Here’s how The Hill reported on Richmond’s ship of fools:

    (more…)

  • Civil War Statues… Slaveholder Statues… the Flag

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    James A. Bacon

    This Washington Post story needs no commentary. It speaks for itself.

    RICHMOND — Construction workers erecting a new office building for Virginia lawmakers unfurled an enormous American flag on the structure this week, just in time for the Fourth of July. But hours after the flag went up, state officials ordered it removed, calling the banner a “safety risk” and potential “target” for demonstrators.

    Protesters have taken to the city’s streets — including the Capitol Square corner where the 15-story future General Assembly building is rising — to decry police brutality and racial injustice since the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody in late May. While largely peaceful, the marches have turned violent at times, with protesters tearing down tall metal fencing at that corner and injuring Capitol Police with bottles and other objects.

    “Over the past month we’ve seen buildings and structures around Capitol Square vandalized and flags, dumpsters, a bus and other items set ablaze during demonstrations around the city,” Dena Potter, spokeswoman for the Department of General Services, said in an email Friday. “When we saw the flag, we were concerned that it could become a target so we told the contractor to remove it.”

    OK, I changed my mind. Maybe this does need some commentary…. (more…)

  • Virginia’s Latest Folly – Offshore Wind Power

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    James A. Bacon

    Crews install turbine foundations for the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind pilot project. Image source: Energy News Network

    by David Wojick

    Dominion Energy is planning to begin construction on 2,600 MW of offshore wind generating capacity within the next few years. The wind farm planned off the cost of Virginia Beach would be the largest offshore project in the United States. We are talking about something like 220 giant windmills, embedded in the ocean floor and sticking hundreds of feet into the air above the water. They will be on the order of one and a half times taller than the Washington Monument, which is really tall.

    Two features make this offshore wind plan a folly — too little wind and too much wind. Let’s look at too little wind first.

    The proposed site is around 30 miles offshore of the giant Norfolk naval complex. Sites are usually much closer in than this, but maybe the Navy told them to keep their distance. Or perhaps they are out beyond the very busy shipping lanes. Every ship from Central and South America, or the southeast U.S., headed for ports from Baltimore north to Canada, passes through this area. This in itself is a concern but not one we are looking at now.

    The problem is that this area frequently gets periods of a week or more when the wind is too low to generate any power. These are winds of 10 mph or less. Normal wind turbines require sustained wind of 33 mph or more to generate full power. Some new models with giant blades can do full power at just 23 mph. But neither generates much of anything at 10 mph. It is not a matter of no wind; low wind is enough. (more…)

  • The COVID Surge — Virginia Hangs Tight

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    James A. Bacon

    by Verhaal Kenner

    As of July 1st, Virginia is now in “Phase III” reopening as our state’s COVID cases seem to be almost holding mostly steady despite record daily infections in a few hot spots such as Hampton Roads. Phase III means the reopening of non-essential retail and restaurants (with six-foot table spacing). The complete  set of guidelines, found here, covers everything thing from camp grounds and beaches to racetracks and shooting ranges.

    According to CNN three days ago, Virginia was one of only 13 states not experiencing a significant surge in COVID cases.  The worst hot spot was a bar in East Lansing linked to 152 cases in the last week.

    Nationally, the country just broke a record 55,000 new cases in one day; that’s a growth of over 90% within about two weeks. Even with a slew of renewed lockdowns and mask regulations, the trend means it will likely take many weeks to get back to where we were a month ago.

    I’m impressed that Virginians seem to be largely acting responsibly and following practical guidelines. There are about 650 new cases a day in Virginia and with a population of about 8.5 million, it’s under the 10 per 100,000 threshold that New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are seeking to use as a standard for requiring travelers to quarantine for 14 days. (more…)

  • Dominion Scraps the Atlantic Coast Pipeline

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    James A. Bacon

    Breaking news: Dominion Energy and Duke Energy have announced the cancellation of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, citing ongoing delays and increasing cost uncertainty. The cost of the project had escalated from $5 billion to $8 billion, and, despite winning a victory in the United States Supreme Court, the power companies still have no certainty of gaining all the needed regulatory approvals.

    Said Dominion CEO Thomas F. Farrell, II, and Duke CEO Lynn J. Good in a joint statement:

    We regret that we will be unable to complete the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. For almost six years we have worked diligently and invested billions of dollars to complete the project and deliver the much-needed infrastructure to our customers and communities. Throughout we have engaged extensively with and incorporated feedback from local communities, labor and industrial leaders, government and permitting agencies, environmental interests and social justice organizations. … This announcement reflects the increasing legal uncertainty that overhangs large-scale energy and industrial infrastructure development in the United States. Until these issues are resolved, the ability to satisfy the country’s energy needs will be significantly challenged.

    (more…)

  • Educating the Educators in Social Justice Dogma

    Posted on

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    James A. Bacon

    Virginia Commonwealth University campus

    by James A. Bacon

    I’ve been thinking about Jim Sherlock’s recent post, “Marxist Critical Theory and Education,” in which he asserts, “Marxist critical theory ideologues have taken over the Graduate Schools of Education.” In the post he explores the disturbing implications of the claim, but does not provide the evidence behind it. I would not be surprised in the slightest if the statement were true, particularly in the nation’s so-called “elite” institutions — the more elite the institution, the more leftist its orientation.

    But I want to see the proof. As publisher of a Virginia blog, I want to know if schools and colleges of education here in Virginia have been taken over by leftist ideologues. I want to know the degree to which the next generation of Virginia teachers are being indoctrinated in leftist dogma.

    What follows is an admittedly cursory survey based upon a scan of education school websites. I invite readers to dig deeper and contribute via comments or op-eds.

    My quick, superficial finding is that most Virginia’s schools of education incorporate a commitment to inclusiveness, diversity and social justice to some degree. But they vary in the extent to which they seek to indoctrinate these values in their students. The Virginia Commonwealth University appears to be the most overtly ideological, explicitly committing itself to “eradicating structural and systemic racism.” At the other extreme, the emphasis at Virginia’s two historically black public universities appears to be educating students to become productive citizens, not to transform society. (more…)

  • Marxist Critical Theory and Education

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    sherlockj

    By James C. Sherlock

    Perhaps my biggest concern for our society is that Marxist critical theory ideologues have taken over the Graduate Schools of Education.

    From Jim Bacon’s post earlier:

    “The new cultural elite is envious and would like to reappropriate much of that wealth for redistribution as it sees fit. Even more alarmingly, the cultural elite has a totalitarian instinct. Convinced of its righteousness, it is bent upon imposing its values and priorities upon the rest of the population.”

    Critical theory was a primary creation of Karl Marx.

    It rejects capitalism, property rights, individual freedom and democracy without as far as I have been able to find in my research offering an alternative.

    Communism, socialism and fascism all attempted to achieve these goals. All three have proven practical and moral failures.

    “Socialism” only works with a capitalist economy and the person freedom to innovate and public welfare programs to redistribute some of the profits of capitalism.  That was the successful concession of the post-Mao communist party leaders in China that is being eroded today by the restrictions on personal freedom.  The Chinese economic miracle was capitalist, not communist.

    Communism and fascism have resulted in unprecedented human cruelty and suffering and ultimately societal destruction.

    Critical theory, of which critical race theory is but an offshoot, demands redistribution without considering what happens the day after redistribution, when, if unfettered, talent and effort will instantly start reinstating unequal distribution of property.

    (more…)

  • Flying the Flag for a Friend

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    James A. Bacon

    by Kerry Dougherty

    On the morning of the Fourth of July, on a leafy side street in Trenton, N.J., a tall, gray-haired man with a mustache will open his front door, step outside and solemnly hang an American flag.

    He’ll pause for a minute, ponder the Stars and Stripes, and then he’ll whisper, “This is for you, Tom.”

    Unlike those of us who catch flag fever only around Independence and Memorial days, this 80-something gent will simply be doing what he does every day.

    Ever since my dad died in 1998.

    He was my father’s closest friend for half a century. A widower now, the man lives alone in a house that once echoed with the sounds of young children, his wife’s piano and the barking of a long-gone beagle named Lady.

    He’s the last surviving member of a quartet of friends. (more…)

  • Redskins Likely to Change Team Name

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    djrippert

    A new look for DC football?

    by DJ Rippert

    And so it goes. The Washington Redskins issued a somewhat surprising announcement today stating that the organization will “undergo a thorough review of the team’s name.” While the statement does not definitively say that the team name will be changed, it is almost guaranteed to change given today’s political climate. Even Dan Snyder wouldn’t undertake a review of the controversial name only to conclude that “everything is fine with the name.” Would he? (more…)

  • Who Rules America in 2020?

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    James A. Bacon

    by James A. Bacon

    One of my college textbooks back in the early 1970s was a book by G. William Domhoff, “Who Rules America?” He argued, as best I can remember, that a corporate elite wielded power through its influence over government as well its control of cultural institutions such as think tanks, foundations, academic departments. Apparently, Domhoff has updated his book several times over the years, but his fundamental thesis hasn’t changed.

    It’s time for a fresh look at the question of who rules America. I would argue that America’s elites have fractured. A post-WWII corporate elite, based on wealth, still exists, but it has schismed. Some plutocrats remain relatively conservative on cultural issues, while others have embraced leftist nostrums. Moreover, there has arisen a cultural elite that is highly resentful of the power and privileges of the corporate elite. Members of the cultural elite aren’t mega-wealthy, but they are privileged and well-to-do, and they exercise enormous authority. They have captured the mainstream media, the universities, the foundations, the nonprofits, the museums and other cultural institutions, and through them, they frame the dominant narratives of our time.

    The old corporate elite was motivated primarily by a desire to perpetuate its wealth. The new cultural elite is envious and would like to reappropriate much of that wealth for redistribution as it sees fit. Even more alarmingly, the cultural elite has a totalitarian instinct. Convinced of its righteousness, it is bent upon imposing its values and priorities upon the rest of the population. (more…)

  • I Remember Stonewall

    Posted on

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    Peter Galuszka

    The day they drove old Dixie down. Removal of the Stonewall Jackson statue on Richmond’s Monument Ave. Photo credit: Associated Press

    By Peter Galuszka

    Confederate statues are finally coming down in Richmond and other Virginia cities, including one of Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. There have been outcries by sentimental mythologists and apologists on this blog and elsewhere about how “mob rule” is forcing issues and so on.

    Since some bloggers here have come up with their version of positive biographies about some of the figures, notably Matthew Fontaine Maury, an early oceanographer and Confederate Naval officer, I thought I’d weigh in on my own personal experience with Stonewall.

    Jackson was born on Jan. 24 1824 in what was then Clarksburg, Va., and grew up about 20 miles south in Jackson’s Mill near Weston Va. Then in 1863, irritated about Richmond’s racial policies and economic favoritism, residents seceded and created West Virginia which supported the North in the Civil War.

    By coincidence, I moved to the Clarksburg area in 1962 from the D.C. area when I was nine years old and resided there until 1969.

    It wasn’t exactly the “Southern” experience others seem to recall. For one thing, the homeland of “Stonewall” did not have many slaves or African-Americans. The area of Harrison County, however, held fairly mixed views about slavery and allegiance. While Jackson, a West Point graduate went with the South, his sister was loyal to the North. (For more details about Jackson’s life, read James L. Robertson Jr.’s excellent 1997 biography.) (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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