Bacon's Rebellion

  • Spanberger Inherits School Improvement Push

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    The future political prospects of Democratic Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger could rise and fall with student test scores.

    by Kevin Mahnken, The 74

    Two women embrace joyfully in a school cafeteria, with one wearing a blazer and the other adorned in a floral top.
    Abigail Spanberger visits Hermitage High School. Photo credit: Flickr

    Democrats’ romp in  Virginia elections offered an almost complete redemption of their poor performance four years ago. 

    In that race, Republican Glenn Youngkin upset national expectations to seize the governorship, with a raft of GOP challengers riding his coattails to both statewide office and a new majority in the House of Delegates. Their victories were powered by growing discontentment with then-President Biden, but also backlash to local education moves ranging from COVID-era school closures to proposed limitations on gifted education.

    Those results, among the first signs of the tumult that would come to define the Biden era, were flipped this time around. Virginia Democrats racked up commanding margins up and down the ballot, with U.S. Rep Abigail Spanberger’s gubernatorial win accompanied by a 13-seat swing in the legislature. The part of unpopular incumbent president was played by Donald Trump, whose sagging approval in the state helped sink Republican candidates. 

    What’s not certain is whether Spanberger and her party have won back public trust on the issue of K–12 schools — or whether they intend to roll back portions of the far-reaching education agenda enacted during Youngkin’s time in office. The outgoing governor has shepherded the adoption of a new school accountability system, raised cut scores for proficiency on federally mandated exams, and revamped the state’s academic standards in history, math, English, and computer science. Some of his initiatives have won support from across the political aisle, but resistance from some educators and progressives could tempt the ascendant Democrats to reverse others. 

    (more…)

  • Harrisonburg Councilman Denounces ICE Actions

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by Deb and Joe Fitzgerald

    In a Harrisonburg City Council discussion Wednesday of ICE activities in the city, council member Nasser Alsaadun, an Iraqi-American immigrant, made a heartfelt personal statement about what it means when Immigration and Customs Enforcement seizes a city resident.

    Portrait of Nasser Alsaadun, an Iraqi-American immigrant, wearing glasses and a dark suit, with a neutral background.
    Nasser Alsaadun

    “I wanted to thank council members, Mayor Reed and the City manager, for having the courage actually to make movements towards our people, and as an immigrant, I feel the pain when they take you away from your family. I have a friend who has been detained and taken from his family and his daughter, nine years old, for more than three weeks or more. She still cries every single day, and is asking everyone, ‘Why? What did my father do?’

    “And I know him, he’s a great man, he has a PhD and no criminal record, and he’s working hard. He wants just to be a peaceful person with his family, with his kids here. He’s taking his education and obeying the law and paying his taxes and everything. Just he wants to be safe with his family. That’s all. And in return, he was treated inhumanely. Why? For nothing?

    (more…)

  • Winners, Losers and Lessons from the ’25 Elections

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by Chris Saxman

    Winners

    Abigail Spanberger – the former congresswoman ran a virtually mistake- free campaign. Smart, disciplined, and organized Spanberger ran up the margin of victory through an onslaught of TV ads and message consistency. In a sea of chaos, she offered boring but good. Suburban voters like that and Virginia suburban voters can’t stand Donald Trump. See lessons below. Spanberger made history as the first female governor in Virginia and she has a real opportunity to be one of the best given all the challenges ahead. If her campaign is an indication of her upcoming fast four-year term, Spanberger should overperform expectations.

    House Speaker Don Scott — wow — the onslaught of commercials by House Democrats was impressive was due to the fundraising prowess of the Speaker. Those ads also mirrored the messaging of Spanberger. No wonder Democrats won swing voters almost 80/20 which piled up 13 new House Democrats. That makes 64 out of 100. Speaker Scott looks to be in firm control of the Virginia House well into the next decade. Savvy, pragmatic, and strategic. Now that’s a trifecta.

    Affordability — what’s President Trump focusing on this week? Affordability. When state and city campaign themes change messaging in the White House? Yeah, that’s called Winning. His ideas are unaffordable — tariffs, tariff rebates, and pressuring the Fed to cut interest rates (shhh.. don’t tell Heritage), but will Democrat ideas be any better? Republicans in the midterms better be praying that the Supreme Court tosses Trump’s tariffs. And don’t get me started on 50-year mortgages… Alex, I’ll take Dumb and Dumber for $800, please.

    (more…)

  • Virginia Nursing Homes – Southwestern Region Update

    Posted on

    by

    sherlockj

    Virginia Nursing Homes – Southwestern Region Update

    by James C. Sherlock

    This article was revised on November 16 to provide a better view of the data.  The format the author chose wasn’t getting the job done, so he revised it.  Changes in the text are made only to reflect the updated spreadsheet.  It should provide more clarity.

    This is the third article in a sub-series on nursing homes sorted by region in Virginia. The regional classifications correspond to the ones used by the Virginia Department of Health.

    The comments on each region will focus on staffing because of its paramount importance, but the data offer much more information. The first article was about the Eastern Region, the second about the Central. This one is about Virginia’s Southwest.  

    (more…)

  • Virginia’s Nursing Homes – Central Region Update

    Posted on

    by

    sherlockj

    Virginia’s Nursing Homes – Central Region Update

    by James C. Sherlock

    This article was revised on November 16 to provide a better view of the data.  The format the author chose wasn’t getting the job done, so he revised it.  Changes in the text are made only to reflect the updated spreadsheet.  It should provide more clarity.

    This is the second article in a sub-series on nursing homes sorted by region in Virginia. The regional classifications correspond to the ones used by the Virginia Department of Health.

    The comments on each region will focus on staffing because of its paramount importance, but the data offer much more information. The first was about the Eastern Region. This one is about the Central Region.  

    (more…)

  • Virginia’s Nursing Homes – Eastern Region Update

    Posted on

    by

    sherlockj

    by James C. Sherlock

    This article was revised on November 16 to provide a better view of the data.  The format the author chose wasn’t getting the job done, so he revised it.  Changes in the text are made only to reflect the updated spreadsheet.  It should provide more clarity.

    This will be a sub-series on nursing homes sorted by region in Virginia. The regional classifications correspond to the ones used by the Virginia Department of Health.

    The comments on each region will focus on staffing because of its paramount importance, but the data offer much more information.

    This one is about the Eastern Region.  

    (more…)

  • Democracies and Its Friend/Enemy Distinctions

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    A group of historical figures engaged in a discussion, with one in armor representing a warrior and others in classical attire, set against a backdrop of detailed sculptures.

    by Shaun Kenney

    The University of Virginia enjoys a near-exact copy of Raphael’s School of Athens — nearly a copy only because the original is owned by the Vatican which has a certain allergy regarding exact copies of their collections. In their wisdom, a near-exact copy was produced that is precisely four inches smaller than the one found in the Apostolic Segnatura.

    The room where Raphael’s most famous work was originally designed for the library and study of Pope Julius II only to be converted to use by the Vatican’s equivalent of the U.S. Supreme Court — quite literally the Courts of Grace and Justice.

    Politicians are often quick to mention that politics itself is not and never will be the School of Athens. The late Virginia State Senator Russ Potts used to quip that politics ain’t beanbag, which is true only in the sense that beanbag at least had a certain set of rules and a culture of honor. After all, who would beanbag someone twice in an elevator?

    The problem with “defending democracy”

    Of course, Raphael’s painting was there for the consideration of an audience, initially popes and cardinals only to yield to those presenting their cases before the court. One of those lessons is in the upper left, where among the people are two characters. The man to the right? None other than Socrates himself enumerating his case before the mob. Within the midst of this mob, a man clad in armor with his hand on the hilt of his sword. Who is this individual? Some believe him to be Alexander the Great, others Pericles — and others believe him to be Alcibiades (Pericles’ heir).

    (more…)

  • Virginia’s Dreadful Nursing Homes – Part 7 – How to Stop A Deadly Scheme

    Posted on

    by

    sherlockj

    by James C. Sherlock

    A brutal pattern is observed repeatedly.

    Some chains offering the worst nursing homes in America have established a singular process for profit maximization. It is seen in a combination of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) data on their operating subsidiaries and city/county property records on their real estate subsidiaries.

    CMS and state agencies, failing systematically to access property records, do not fully understand those structures.

    The scheme makes frail and injured people suffer horribly and die too soon from a lack of both medical treatment and assistance with the activities of daily living. Stomach-turning stories of the outcomes and citations for neglect and abuse are regularly recorded in state inspection reports. Small fines sometimes follow. They constitute rounding errors in the profits.

    The managers and owners of the chains do not care. Administrators and Directors of Nursing in their operating facilities go along or are fired. Medical Directors work for the chains, not the operating subsidiaries, and seldom, if ever, visit residents.

    The process used is stunningly profitable. Seldom is anyone held accountable.

    The whole scheme is based upon government-insured loans. This article will recommend a permanent solution to that problem.

    (more…)

  • Shutdown Vote: Why Kaine Went Right and Warner Went Left

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by Paul Goldman

    Senator Tim Kaine speaking at an event with an American flag in the background.
    Photo credit: Virginiapolitics.org

    Usually, U.S. Senator Mark Warner revels in being the deal-making, more conservative Virginia Senator, wearing liberal attacks as a badge of honor. Senator Tim Kaine is usually attacked by conservative Republicans for being too liberal and suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome. Kaine revels in those attacks.

    Senator Mark Warner speaking passionately at a podium, gesturing with his hands.
    Photo credit: Washington Post

    But on the congressional shutdown vote, Kaine went Republican MAGA right while Warner went Bernie Sanders left. Has politics flipped its magnetic field? Is the rapture so close that Tim and Mark are trying to get good with God? 

    The answer is far simpler. Warner is up for reelection next year. He knows he’s vulnerable to a primary challenge from the Bernie Sanders wing of Democratic party. The Vermont Senator Sanders is already all over the Internet, blasting the eight Democrats who voted with the Republicans. Sanders hasn’t accused them of selling out to Trump. Or being like the leaders of Vichy France. Not yet anyway. Warner figured it was better to join Bernie than fight him. It surely seemed the safer political move. But is it really? 

    Senator Kaine is not up for reelection next year. It’s no surprise none of the Democrats siding with the Trump Republicans are up for reelection next year. As Yogi Berra would say, some things are too coincidental to be a coincidence.

    (more…)

  • San Francisco on the James

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    A look at some of the far-left laws Virginia Democrats will enact in 2026 now that they have full control of the General Assembly and governor’s mansion.

    View of the Golden Gate Bridge spanning across a body of water, with blue skies and clouds in the background.
    The Golden Gate Bridge spanning the James River. Image credit: Grok

    by Victoria Manning

    Democrats have been in control of at least one branch of Virginia state government since 2013, with complete control in 2020 and 2021. Although Republicans wielded Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s veto pen for the last four years, they were unable to enact any legislative changes to help the commonwealth. Now that Democrats have full control of all branches of government, Virginia will quickly become East California.

    Some of the most concerning actions that Democrats have already promised are two constitutional amendments that will be placed on the 2026 ballot. The first will be one of the most radical abortion laws in the nation—permitting abortion up until birth with no restrictions. The other is a redistricting effort that will allow Democrats to control nearly all congressional and legislative districts. Democrats hope to undo a 2020 constitutional amendment, supported by 66 percent of Virginians, which created a bipartisan redistricting commission.

    On the campaign trail, Democrats also promised to eradicate Virginia’s right to work laws. Mandatory union collective bargaining for the public sector, including teachers’ unions, will be quickly implemented.

    Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger promised to quickly rescind Gov. Youngkin’s executive order requiring state police cooperate with ICE. Virginia will become a sanctuary state for illegal alien criminals.

    (more…)

  • The Virginia Election: a Repudiation, But No Endorsement

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    If the voters were upset with the way things are, it sure didn’t come with an imprimatur for stupid.

    A view of the Virginia State Capitol building featuring its iconic white columns and clean architectural lines, set against a dramatic sky.

    by Shaun Kenney

    A few key takeaways:

    • Virginia Democrats ran on affordability — and will now have to deliver.
    • Speaker Don Scott is pledging to govern with restraint; cautions against overreach.
    • Virginia Republicans turn in worst gubernatorial result since 1965.
    • Fewest number of Republicans in House of Delegates since 1988, which opens up the Virginia GOP to new leadership options in 2027.
    • Virginia Republicans will have to find a new leadership cadre repudiating the antisemitic “groyper” right — the serious infection being underreported.

    Victory has a thousand fathers and defeat is an orphan. So goes the old saw about who to blame as Virginians have been drowned in a series of self-crafted after-action reports which seek to fix blame rather than fix the problem.

    Of course, it’s not terribly hard to decipher what message Virginians were sending and to whom, and why Virginia Republicans struggled got our asses kicked failed to resonate against a national backdrop. Some lessons:

    (more…)

  • November 11

    Posted on

    by

    Dick Hall-Sizemore

  • The Data Centers’ “Irreparable Harm” Sham

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    Inside a modern data center featuring rows of servers, cooling systems, and illuminated cables.
    Ai-generated data center image: Grok

    by Mac Haddow

    In Prince William County, the story of the PW Digital Gateway has become a master class in legal hypocrisy. After a complete examination of the evidence, Judge Kimberly A. Irving ruled that the Board of County Supervisors’ vote approving the massive data center corridor was void ab initio because the County failed to provide the public with legally required notice, the developers cried foul. Now, before the Virginia Court of Appeals, they are wringing their hands and lamenting “irreparable harm.”

    Let’s be clear: the only irreparable harm at stake here is the damage these developers are trying to inflict on the rule of law, public trust, and the integrity of Prince William County’s zoning process.

    The Oak Valley Homeowners Association motion to the Appeals Court to reconsider their stay granted to the defendants provides a complete view of Judge Irving’s decision, and what the defendants buried in their briefs to the Appeals Court.

    (more…)

  • SNAP Recipients Can Do Their Own Eyebrows

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    A close-up of a woman with closed eyes, having her eyebrows threaded by a person's hand using thin thread.
    No one on SNAP should be getting their brows, lashes or nails done. If they can afford those luxuries they can feed their own families.

    by Kerry Dougherty

    Looks like the Democrats caved. Finally.

    Or at least 9 of them came to their senses regarding the damaging government shutdown that is in its 40th day.

    They got nothing. The shutdown was for nothing. Yet it did ensure that a seething bloc of Virginia federal workers headed to the polls last Tuesday to elect the most left-wing slate in the commonwealth’s history.

    It’s no coincidence that five days after federal workers stormed the polls and sent a radical band of wokesters to Richmond, the shutdown was grinding to a halt.

    Late Sunday night the vote was taken and arms were twisted as a handful of Democrat Senators decided to reopen the federal government.

    Among them was Sen. Tim Kaine.

    Kaine claimed that he’d been “too focused” on the Virginia elections to end the shutdown earlier.

    Someone tell the senator that he isn’t paid to campaign in state elections. He’s in Washington to do a job in Congress.

    Prior to Sunday Dems said they’d support reopening the government only if Republicans would agree to keep subsidies on Obamacare premiums for one more year.

    A very clever form of extortion. Continue reading.

  • Transition Team Light on Virginia Government Experience

    Posted on

    by

    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    by Dick Hall-Sizemore

    Picture credit: Richmond Times-Dispatch

    Gov-elect Spanberger seems on the verge of repeating a mistake that then Gov.-elect Youngkin made four years ago — surrounding herself with advisers from her former world rather than from Virginia government and politics. 

    Youngkin, a complete neophyte in politics and Virginia government, brought in people from the investment banking world and agency heads, several from out of state. The investment banking world is totally different from Virginia government and politics. Based on reports from long-time state employees, there was a steep learning curve. Youngkin is now on his third Superintendent of Public Schools.

    Spanberger is in danger of going down the same path. Granted, she has more experience with Virginia and government than Youngkin had, but her experience has been in Congress, a whole different world. Also, she spent a year or so going around the state preparing to run for governor. That gave her some exposure to different areas of the state and to members of the General Assembly. But those efforts are not a substitute for years-long familiarity with Virginia government. Here is who she has announced as her chief of staff, deputy chief of staff, and transition team:

    Chief of staff — Bonnie Krenz-Schnurman. Background: Served as Spanberger’s chief of staff for five years in Congress and since she has been a candidate; previously, senior policy adviser at the White House Domestic Council under Obama; before that, managed a national malaria program in Tanzania for the Clinton Health Access Initiative.

    Director of transition team and deputy chief of staff — Karen Mask. Worked as field director in Spanberger’s Congressional campaigns. Before that, was a senior policy analyst at the Virginia Dept. of Health and a special projects coordinator with the Virginia Dept. of Education.

    (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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