Bacon's Rebellion

  • Miyares Plays Fast and Loose with Truth

    Posted on

    by

    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    by Dick Hall-Sizemore

    Attorney General Jason Miyares

    Before 2020, offenders convicted of felonies and incarcerated in Virginia prisons were eligible for up to 4.5 days credit toward their sentences for every 30 days served.  They did not automatically receive these credits; violation of prison rules or violent behavior could result in a reduction of “earned sentence credits.”

    The 2020 General Assembly enacted legislation that expanded these sentence credits for some offenders.  Depending on their behavior and participation in rehabilitation programs, these inmates could earn up to 15 days credit per 30 days served.  The exceptions, the offenders who were not eligible for the expanded sentence credits, were those convicted of any of a long list of violent offenses, including murder, malicious assault, robbery, rape and other sexual offenses, and kidnapping.  The “enhanced earned sentence credits” (EESC) were to be applied retroactively.  The legislation had a delayed effective date, July 1, 2022, to provide the Department of Corrections (VADOC) time to reprogram its sentence calculation programs.

    In his attempts to kill the legislation or modify it through budget amendments, Gov. Glenn Youngkin was able to delay the full implementation of the EESC provisions until July 1, 2024.  Attorney General Jason Miyares also attacked the legislation and tried to restrict it through interpretation.  Twice the Virginia Supreme Court  rejected his interpretations.

    Miyares has made his opposition to the EESC a major part of his campaign for re-election.  In a guest commentary in Cardinal News in July, he asserted, “because of Virginia’s early release program, 53 Virginians were murdered.”  During the debate between candidates for Attorney General, he upped his claim, declaring, “Seventy Virginians are dead today, dead today, because a felon that was supposed to be behind prison [sic] got out early.” 

    Seventy people killed by offenders released earlier than originally intended.  That’s a shocking number; one that could call for reform of EESC.

    Except it isn’t true.

    (more…)

  • Virginians’ Dreadful Nursing Home Dilemmas Part One – Assessing the Information

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    by

    sherlockj

    Virginians’ Dreadful Nursing Home Dilemmas Part One – Assessing the Information

    by James C. Sherlock

    Disclaimer. The author is a member of the Virginia Nursing Home Oversight and Accountability Advisory Board established under Governor Youngkin’s Executive Order 52.  Nothing in this series should be taken to represent the opinions of the Commonwealth or that Board.

    This series will explore the dreadful and dangerous choices faced by many who seek nursing homes in Virginia. It will illuminate those choices in various regions of the state in consecutive articles.

    Too many facilities should be avoided, but there are simply not enough decent choices in many areas to support local nursing home demand. Those choices and competition generally are limited purposely by Virginia’s Certificate of Public Need (COPN) law.

    For years I have offered testimony in this space based upon excellent Virginia Department of Health (VDH) reports of inspections. Many describe terrible conditions and the resulting human tragedies. Those conditions are cited by VDH inspectors in the reports as violations of the federal Social Security Act and federal regulations for its enforcement. Virginia law and regulations for nursing homes are in every case less demanding than federal counterparts, so are in practice useless. Federal money and therefore federal supremacy are involved.

    The widespread negative publicity generated by the results of the December 2024 raid on Colonial Heights Rehabilitation and Nursing Center raised public awareness of the problem. That in turn resulted in the 2025 General Assembly passing decades-needed additional regulatory authority and funding for hiring of additional inspectors by the Virginia Department of Health (VDH).

    The highly accelerating trend of individual complaints to VDH on nursing homes is another result of that publicity. Both are welcome.

    The dilemma for Virginians is posed mostly by out-of-state for-profit chains whose breakneck growth since early 2000 has led to their dominance in many geographic areas. That growth continued with the closing in September 2025 on the purchase of seven nursing facilities from Newport News-based Virginia Health Services (VHS) by Brick, New Jersey-based Marquis Health Services.

    Rapid discharges of patients from hospitals to skilled nursing beds are driven by government and private insurers to lower the total cost of treatment. That treatment is underwritten by Medicare. That policy makes good sense as policy.  It bends the overall insurance cost curve downwards.

    The long-term care beds are paid for primarily by Medicaid reimbursements.

    The unwritten assumption of government policies is that there are sufficient capably staffed beds to accept them. That assumption is demonstrably untrue in many communities in Virginia and elsewhere.

    The methodology described below will be used in this series for assessment of the options for seekers of nursing homes in several Virginia locations.

    (more…)

  • Virginia Dems Convene “Return to Gerrymandering” Session

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by Kerry Dougherty

    Let’s be clear about what’s going on in Richmond right now with the sham “Jay Jones” Special Session.

    Democrats, desperate to get Jay Jones off the front pages and Winsome Earle-Sears off the campaign trail, are staging an unprecedented 11th-hour session of the General Assembly to try to ram through a Return-To-Gerrymandering constitutional amendment.

    With one week left until Election Day these panicked partisans have scrubbed Jones’ name from Abigail Spanberger’s campaign bus and sent their nominee for governor barnstorming through Virginia while Earle-Sears — who actually has a job — is forced to stay in the capital to preside over the Senate.

    They’ve seen the polls. They know their candidates are in trouble. These Chicago-style machine Democrats are willing to do anything to get a win.

    The lieutenant governor is also prohibited from raising funds while the General Assembly is in session, so supporters of Winsome Earle-Sears should flood the Republican PACs with money to keep her ads on TV.

    Especially this one:

    Continue reading.

  • Transgenderism and the Meltdown of Objective Reality

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    A surreal landscape featuring a melting clock and a figure in a suit gazing at a dilapidated building, symbolizing the distortion of time and reality.
    Image credit: ChatGPT

    J. Kennerly Davis

    Many of the serious threats posed and damage done by the radical ideology of transgenderism are now widely recognized and openly discussed: The emotional and physical assaults on girls and women in spaces that should be safely reserved for their private use. The abject unfairness, indeed, the illegality, of boys and men competing in sporting events reserved by custom and law for girls and women. The destructive steps taken by politicized public school officials to alienate students from their parents and destroy the institution of the family. The severe medical mistreatment of confused minors by licensed professionals who supposedly have sworn to “do no harm.”

    Even worse than these is the threat posed and damage done by radical transgenderism to reason itself, our ability to think, understand, and form rational conclusions about the objective reality of the world around us.

    It is by reason, using words that have objective meanings, that we form concepts, convey information, ask questions, and construct arguments to persuade others. And it is only by empirical reasoning firmly anchored in reality that we can hope to truly understand the world around us, master its challenges, and grasp its opportunities. Without such reasoning, we cannot develop as individuals or advance as a society.

    (more…)

  • Off the Interstate: A Public Figure Honored

    Posted on

    by

    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    by Dick Hall-Sizemore

    Whenever I travel to anywhere west of the Blue Ridge that is south of Staunton, I take U.S. Rt. 60. Such trips usually include a stop at a restaurant at Cumberland Courthouse that serves some of the best fried oysters in the Commonwealth and at a decent price, along with lemon meringue pie. If I am going to Lexington, that two-lane road over the Blue Ridge between Amherst and Buena Vista is fun to drive, although I would not recommend using it if it is raining, at night, or during the winter.

    In 1969, U.S. Rt. 60 from Richmond to Lexington was designated by the General Assembly as “ the James A. Anderson Highway.” There are signs along the roadside at various intervals that inform motorists of that designation. Most such highway designations recall politicians whose names are familiar, but this one drew a blank for me, and I always wondered who James A. Anderson was and why he merited having a highway named for him.

    Brig. Gen. James A. Anderson was the Virginia State Highway Commissioner from 1941-1957. Before being appointed commissioner, he had a distinguished career at the Virginia Military Institute and state and federal government. 

    (more…)

  • Mississippi and Louisiana Schools’ Decade-Long Surge Past Virginia

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by Todd Truitt

    A woman with blonde hair and a blue blazer smiles in front of a blue background and a flag.
    Former Mississippi and current Maryland state superintendent
    Carey Wright

    Much attention has been paid lately to what’s being called the “Southern Surge” in K-12 education on the National Assessment of Education Progress (aka, the nation’s report card or NAEP). Misinformed statements made during the recent New Jersey gubernatorial debate about Mississippi and Louisiana’s educational results have shed new light on the dearth of attention paid to it by the press and education scholars. Contrary to the statements made, Mississippi and Louisiana have been showing consistently stellar improvements on the NAEP the past decade, especially for the least advantaged
    demographics.

    After education expert Chad Aldeman analyzed the demographic subgroup data showing both Mississippi and Louisiana outperforming New Jersey, I dug into that 2024 NAEP data for Virginia (administered in January 2024). Both Mississippi and Louisiana are outperforming Virginia with not only the least advantaged demographics (Black, Hispanic, and Economically Disadvantaged), but also the most advantaged demographics (White, and Not Economically Disadvantaged) — more detailed data is at the bottom of the article. And both states are doing it while spending less money per pupil (Mississippi) than, or a comparable amount per pupil (Louisiana) as, Virginia.

    A summary table comparing the performance of Mississippi and Louisiana with Virginia on the 2024 NAEP assessments for underrepresented and advantaged groups, highlighting specific categories where they performed better.
    (more…)

  • Jason Miyares Crime Fighter V. Soft-on-Crime Jay Jones

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by Kerry Dougherty

    Attorney General Jason Miyares

    Polls are all over the place this year in Virginia. But the fact that Jay Jones is within 20 points of Attorney General Jason Miyares is not just a scandal, it’s a sign that bitter partisans in the Democrat party care more about a D after a name than public safety.

    For his entire legal career Jason Miyares has been fighting criminals. His opponent has a soft spot for them.

    That’s frightening.

    Jones has a record of voting against the police and in favor of criminals when he was in the House of Delegates.

    Former Delegate Jay Jones

    According to Del. Carrie Coyner, Jones once told her he was fine with a few cops dying in the line of duty if it would persuade others to practice restraint when dealing with criminals.

    According to Virginia Scope:

    “Coyner said… we had a pretty heated conversation about public policy and pain involving qualified immunity. I served on the Courts Committee for a short period of time. A bill to remove qualified immunity for police officers, which protects police officers from personal liability in their line of duty and their line of work, and he believed that they should not have qualified immunity, and he was trying to convince me to agree with that, and I said, ‘No, police officers have to make a split second decision about whether or not to shoot a gun to protect themselves or protect others. And if they’re having to think about, will this strip my whole family of everything … are they going to be able to make that split-second decision?’ And I said, ‘I believe that people will get killed. Police officers will get killed.’ And he said, ‘Well, maybe if a few of them died, that they would move on, not shooting people, not killing people.’ And I said, ‘that’s insane.’

    So cops ought to take a few bullets to teach them a lesson? Is that what Virginia wants in its top prosecutor? Continue reading.

  • The Constitutional Amendment Democrats Should Be Pushing

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by Paul Goldman

    House Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, has done independent minded challengers to the political status quo like me a real “solid.” Inadvertently, of course, since I have been one of his leading critics.

    I admire Don’s political skills. His daring takedown of the previous Democratic Speaker is textbook Machiavelli. The man is a stone gamer. He has exceptional political talent not to be underestimated. Presumptive governor-elect Abigail Spanberger just got a tutorial. She’s long claimed to be against super-partisan redistricting. But she dares not criticize the Speaker. Her staff says governors play no role in redistricting. That may true now. But not if he is successful in changing the Constitution. They know that. Even if the media doesn’t. 

    John F. Kennedy said, “to whom much is given, much is asked.” Virginia gave Don a second chance. He could never have been Speaker in any other state.

    He needs, therefore, to repay the debt by making sure the poor children in Virginia get at least one fair chance. This is a defining moment.

    (more…)

  • Jeanine’s Memes

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    A humorous meme comparing expectations of the future from the 1980s with the reality of 2025, featuring a character looking surprised and a pizza box with instructions.

    See more memes at The Bull Elephant

  • Democrats Rush Back to Gerrymander Virginia, If We Let Them

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    By Chris Braunlich,

    Green = majority voted yes. Only in Arlington County did a majority of voters opposed the 2020 constitutional amendment to ban gerrymandering of Virginia election districts.

    You have to be pretty confident – no, make that “arrogant” – to tell 2,770,704 Virginia voters that you’re willing to stick it to them.

    But that’s exactly what Virginia House and Senate Democratic leaders appear ready to do at 4:00 pm on Monday, all in the cause of enhancing political power and rejecting the voters’ will.

    In 2020, Virginia approved a change to the highly partisan redistricting process in Virginia, with more than 2.7 million voters (66 percent of the vote) approving a Constitutional Amendment placing redistricting in the hands of a bipartisan Redistricting Commission. If the Commission fails to agree on new maps, the amendment threw the issue into the hands of the Virginia Supreme Court to decide.

    Thanks to the voters’ decision to support the amendment, that’s exactly what happened when redistricting last took place. The result is a General Assembly with a 21-19 Democratic majority in the Senate and a 51-49 Democratic majority in the House of Delegates.

    Of Virginia’s 11 Members of Congress, 54.5 percent (six) are Democrats, having gained 51.8 percent of the votes for Congress. Five Members of Congress (45.5 percent) are Republican, having won 48.2 percent of the four million votes cast for Congress.

    All in all, Virginia’s district lines produced elected officials that are about as evenly matched as they could possibly be.

    But that’s not good enough for Democrats in the General Assembly.

    (more…)

  • Bacon Meme of the Week

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    A humorous image featuring a man with a beard in a black suit, sitting at a table holding a beer bottle. The text reads: 'I DON'T ALWAYS EAT BACON, BUT WHEN I DO, I PUT EXTRA BACON ON MY BACON.'

  • This Is What America Has Come To Under ICE

    Posted on

    by

    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    George Will

    by Dick Hall-Sizemore

    For all those Bacon Rebellion commenters who are so anxious to praise and support ICE, you would be well served to read George Will’s latest column. Will is not a progressive; not a radical left-winger; not even a Democrat. He is a bona fide conservative. As evidence of his credentials, he was the first person the newly formed Jefferson Council invited to speak at UVa. They even hosted a cocktail party for him.

    For those of you who do not subscribe to the Washington Post, for whom Will writes two columns a week, you can check out the story of George Retes, born in the U.S. of a mother who was a citizen, here.

    Here are some details that Will supplied that are not in the other account:

    1. Retes’ driver’s license identified him as an Army veteran. The “ICEmen” (Will’s term) didn’t bother to check it.

    2. He has a Disabled Veteran license plate.

    3. One of the rear windows of his car had an “Iraq War Vet” sticker.

    4. He was made to sit on the curb after being pepper sprayed and hit with tear gas with his hands zip-tied behind him for four hours.

    Will concludes by asking, “How many appalling incidents are occurring during today’s tsunami of sometimes lawless ‘law enforcement’? ICE might not know and, if it does, might not speak truthfully.” He laments that ICE “behaviors besmirch the reputation of the nation [Retes] served.”

  • Authentic Abigail on Dumping the Anti-Gerrymander Rule

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    When they show you who they are, believe them. That clip, first noticed on X back in August, struck me as a bit of “authentic Abigail,” especially the tone when discussing Republicans. There goes the moderate mask. Perhaps even then there was a quiet plan to try to do what she said couldn’t be done, overturn the state’s anti-gerrymandering constitutional provision by next year. But clearly, she was ready to push for it by 2028. Will of the voters? That can’t be allowed to stand in the way of the progressive agenda.  This needs to be shared widely.  

  • Did Speaker Don Scott Just Elect a GOP AG?

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by Paul Goldman

    A blue donkey representing the Democratic Party and a red elephant representing the Republican Party face each other, their foreheads touching in a symbolic display of political rivalry.
    Image credit: Bing Image Creator

    Have Democratic Speaker Don Scott and Democratic General Assembly leaders thrown Democratic Attorney General nominee Jay Jones under the bus? Talk about the proverbial October surprise: Scott has announced an unprecedented move to do a super-partisan redrawing of the state’s congressional districts.

    Is this legal under the new Virginia Constitution redistricting provisions enacted a few years ago? NO. At least Scott admits as much. He says he wants to change the constitution to allow his unprecedented power play. His plan will require a special statewide constitutional amendment referendum election next April

    Yet the people of the Commonwealth voted 2-1 in a 2020 statewide referendum to ban any partisan redistricting. The two new constitutional provisions stripped the General Assembly of its traditional role in redistricting. Giving the power instead to a nonpartisan Virginia Redistricting Commission. If the VRC proved unable to draw the new districts, the new constitutional provisions gave the power to the Virginia Supreme Court. 

    (more…)

  • Panicked Virginia Democrats Embark on Naked Power Grab

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by Kerry Dougherty

    An illustration depicting a blue donkey symbolizing the Democratic Party, looking angry, facing off against a red elephant representing the Republican Party.
    Image credit: Grok

    Dems in Virginia are in a panic over the Republican momentum, which increases with each new Jay Jones scandal.

    So they’re yanking Winsome Earle-Sears off the campaign trail and forcing her to stop raising funds during a “special” General Assembly session scheduled to begin on Monday.

    It’s special all right. It’s a naked power grab and it reeks of desperation.

    It also appears that Jason Miyares will have to stop raising money once the General Assembly goes  into special session. Virginia law prohibits statewide officer holders from fundraising during a session.

    Fresh off their No Kings weekend, Virginia Democrats unveiled their most partisan, oligarchical, undemocratic move: With 12 days left before the election, Democrats are calling the General Assembly into a special session on Monday at 4 p.m..

    This is unprecedented chicanery. It’s the behavior of grasping, machine-like politicians. This is Tammany Hall on the James.

    Will Virginians recoil from these undemocratic tactics? We can only hope.

    It could backfire. Democrats hold just a one-vote majority in each chamber. That means every Democrat delegate running for re-election will have to haul their derrières to Richmond and beclown themselves for a quorum. Republicans should ignore the session and continue to campaign and appeal to voters with common sense.

    The purpose of the session is odious: Continue reading.

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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