Bacon's Rebellion

  • Trump Policies Hurt Virginia Farmers

    Posted on

    by

    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    by Dick Hall-Sizemore

    Virginia soybean field Photo credit: Va Tech

    The 2025-2026 soybean harvest and market began in September with Virginia soybean farmers having lost their biggest customer as a result of Trump’s tariff policies.

    In 2023 (the latest year for which figures are available), soybeans were Virginia’s top agricultural export at over $1.4 billion. Exports to China accounted for $784 million (56 percent) of that total. In retaliation for the high tariffs imposed by the Trump administration this year, China imposed a 20 percent tariff on American soybeans. That tariff, in combination with existing taxes and duties, pushed the overall rate on U.S. soybeans to 34 percent. As a result, U.S. soybean exports to China have been zero since May. As a Purdue University Center for Commercial Agriculture report recently noted, “The U.S. soybean harvest began in September without any orders from the world’s largest buyer: China.”

    Currently, Virginia soybean farmers, who increased the acreage devoted to soybeans from 500,000 acres in 2023 to 600,000 acres this year, face an unenviable situation—rising costs and decreased demand for their product.  As Virginia Business explains, “Coming into this year, many farmers were just hoping to break even because crop prices were weak while costs had increased. But Trump’s tariffs, which helped make their crops uncompetitive around the world, drove prices down further, and tariffs on steel and fertilizer sent farming costs up even more.” The Federal government estimates that soybean farmers will lose $100 an acre this year. With 600,000 acres in cultivation, that could translate into a total loss of $60 million for Viriginia soybean farmers this year.

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  • The A.G.’s Job Is NOT Fighting Trump

    Posted on

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    James A. Bacon

    A contributor

    Del. Marcus Simon, D-Falls Church-Fairfax, wrote a long email to constituents Oct. 21 regarding the Attorney General’s race.

    Photo of a man in a suit, smiling. He has short black hair and is standing against a wooden background.
    Delegate Marcus Simon

    He spent much of the missive on what the Attorney General does, and endorses fellow Democrat Jay Jones, but it’s a lukewarm endorsement at best.

    Simon, an attorney himself, writes in part:

    “The office of Attorney General in Virginia is often overlooked, buried down-ballot beneath the governor’s race and even some state legislative contests. But make no mistake: this office is one of the most consequential in the Commonwealth not only for its influence on Virginians’ daily lives, but for its power to check federal overreach when Washington veers off course. In the age of Donald Trump’s return to the White House, the party that holds this office will determine whether Virginia stands up for the rule of law or stands aside.”

    Simon goes on, writing:  “During Trump’s first term, Democratic attorneys general from states like California, New York, and Massachusetts successfully blocked dozens of unlawful federal actions – from the travel ban to the rollback of environmental protections to efforts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. If Virginia’s AG had joined those coalitions, the Commonwealth’s 8.8 million residents would have had a stronger voice in those national fights.”

    If you visit the Virginia Office of the Attorney General web site, click the “About the Office” drop down button, you will not see any mention of the word “federal” in the duties and responsibilities of the AG, which is described as “the Commonwealth’s law firm. In addition to representing the interests of the people of Virginia, our clients are Virginia state government and the state agencies, boards and commissions that compose it. “

    See for yourself.

    (more…)

  • IRP Part 2: Dominion Bill Projections Just Keep Exploding

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    By Steve Haner,

    Two years ago, Dominion Energy Virginia predicted that by 2035 a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity would pay $174 per month. That represented a 50% increase over the first 15 years of compliance with the Virginia Clean Economy Act. The current bill, just five years into the age of VCEA, is already just below $160.

    It its revised integrated resource plan, filed with the State Corporation Commission last week and discussed in another Bacon’s Rebellion post today, the company is now predicting the 2035 price for that residential customer using exactly 1,000 kWh will be $255.79, which is instead a 120% increase over the cost at the time VCEA passed.

    There is that $140 per month or almost $1,700 per year figure for the increased power bill cost that is popping up in some House of Delegates campaigns. That prediction initially came from a 2022 report issued by the Center for the American Experiment. And Dominion’s internal estimates are not the only ones published in the IRP. It has a second set of figures, higher, which use a method for estimation recommended by the SCC staff. 

    Below is the chart that Dominion included in its 2023 IRP document that predicted the cost increases for the capital plan it preferred at that time.

    Source: 2023 Dominion IRP. This is for the company’s preferred proposal. CAGR is combined annual growth rate.
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  • Dominion Says VCEA Compliance Means Many New Nukes

    Posted on

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    Steve Haner

    By Steve Haner,

    The North Anna nuclear plant. Think four more that big by 2045 to comply with VCEA.

    If or when Dominion Energy Virginia complies with the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA) and closes its hydrocarbon generation units, the best way to power Virginia will be a truly massive amount of new nuclear power.

    That comes from the latest iteration of Dominion’s ever-adjusting integrated resource plan (IRP), filed with the State Corporation Commission last week. In July the SCC accepted but did not really endorse the company’s 2024 IRP, following a long battle with environmental activists upset about its reliance on new natural gas generators. 

    One criticism of the 2024 proposal was that it covered only 15 years and thus did not reach 2045, the deadline in the VCEA for the retirement of all the company’s coal, oil and natural gas plants. In 2024 the company still operated about 12 gigawatts of powerplants burning those fuels, mostly natural gas. 

    This document does project to 2045 and like previous IRPs offers several scenarios for maintaining reliable service to the company’s growing customer base, now about 2.8 million customers. One scenario marked “forced retirements” has a plan for full VCEA compliance. It adds more than 12 gigawatts of nuclear, more than three times the size of the company’s current four-reactor nuclear fleet.

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  • The Moral and Ecological Necessity of Converting from Burgers to Bacon

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    Map of the United States showing per capita hoofprint in kgCO2e, with color gradient representing varying levels from 500 to 1,731 kgCO2e.
    Map Credit: Nature

    Hey, ecowarriors, Nature Magazine has introduced the concept of the “carbon hoofprint,” which measures the carbon impact of meat across the U.S. The bottom line (according to ineluctable logic of the study) is that to save the planet, we need to eat less beef and eat more BACON!

    Map showing the carbon hoofprint measurements across various cities in Virginia and nearby regions, with color-coded indicators representing the carbon intensity of meat consumption.

    To spare readers from the necessity of squinting, I have expanded the portion of the map displaying the hoofprints of Virginia and surrounding locales.

    The carbon intensity of a city, it seems, is driven largely by the proportions of beef, poultry and pork consumed. But supply chains and the geography of “meatsheds” play a role. What’s important to know is that beef is the most carbon intensive of the meats and (based on an unscientific eyeballing of the maps below) pork is slightly more benign than chicken. Kudos to the Washington Metro. Richmond, Hampton Roads and pretty much everyone else: bad, bad, bad!

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  • Don’t Bet Against Virginia’s Economy

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    By Derrick Max,

    Governor Glenn Youngkin (R)

    If you only read the headlines, you might think Virginia’s economy is teetering on the brink. A recent Cardinal News story declared that the Commonwealth’s GDP growth has fallen from 6.2 percent to 1.7 percent, and touted warning signs spelled out in “three new (economic) reports” that claim to show serious trouble ahead. Setting aside the fact that one of those three reports has had to revise its gloomy estimates upward after Virginia outperformed every metric they cited as reported by TJI’s Steve Haner, the implication from these reports is that Virginia’s economy is sliding backward.

    Virginia’s reality tells a very different story.

    Yes, GDP growth slowed this year. But that statistic, stripped of context, gives a distorted picture of Virginia’s true economic health. The 6.2 percent figure the article celebrates was a short-term rebound after pandemic disruptions and included massive federal infusions; it was never sustainable. A return to 1.7 percent growth isn’t collapse — it’s normalization far more in line with historic levels. The deeper truth is that Virginia’s economy is restructuring in ways that will strengthen, not weaken, Virginia’s long-term prosperity.

    Beyond the GDP Headline

    GDP is a lagging indicator; it measures what has already happened, not what is coming next. And what’s coming next for Virginia is enormous. Since Governor Glenn Youngkin took office in 2022, the Commonwealth has secured more than $125 billion in new private investment, a record pace according to the Virginia Economic Development Partnership and well above the $81 billion gained under Governor Northam. Those dollars represent new plants, new jobs, and long-term tax revenue that will materialize over the next decade.

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  • Dysfunction Junction

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    Virginia’s statewide contests near an end.

    by Gordon C. Morse

    So, here we are. The morning steals upon the night. The election approaches. Two weeks to go.

    About this debate last week. It raised a number of questions and not just about the two candidates for attorney general.

    Jay Jones, the Democratic candidate, said he was sorry for sending out hateful text messages three years ago speculating on the violent demise of then-House Speaker Todd Gilbert and his family.

    Is he? Is Jones truly sorry? A year or two ago – or immediately after sending those comments – did Jay say to himself, wow, maybe I shouldn’t have expressed those thoughts in a place where I might have to revisit them?

    The messages were sent to a female Republican member of the House of Delegates, which is curious on its own. Did he reconsider, express regret and ask her to erase what he wrote? Once nominated for statewide office this year, did Jones anticipate potential problems and take preemptive action? Did he get out in front of it and publicly apologize? Did he seize the initiative?

    Nope. He didn’t do any of those things and it’s reasonable, on that basis, to doubt the quality of his judgment.

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  • Marc Elias’ Political Machine Rides to the Rescue

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    The powerful Democrat law firm that bankrolled the Steele dossier is now defending a Virginia candidate accused of running in a district where she doesn’t reside.

    Four printed voting flyers featuring the word 'VOTE' alongside the American flag.

    by Jacob Grandstaff

    Once again, the Elias Law Group has arrived to defend an embattled Democrat, this time in Stafford County, Virginia. The firm, founded by Marc Elias—the same political operative who bankrolled the now-infamous Steele dossier against President Donald Trump—has made a career of jumping into state election cases whenever Democrats’ electoral interests are threatened.

    This week, Elias’s firm came to the defense of Stacey Carroll, the Democrat nominee for Virginia’s 64th House District, who faces allegations that she doesn’t actually live in the district she’s seeking to represent.

    The lawsuit to remove her from the voter rolls—and thus from the ballot—was filed by three local voters, who have gathered evidence that Carroll registered at an address in the district while residing outside of it—a clear violation of the Virginia Constitution’s residency requirement.

    Carroll’s lawyers at Elias Law Group have filed a motion to dismiss on three grounds.

    (more…)

  • No Kings: Aging Hippies with a Bloodlust

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by Kerry Dougherty

    A bar counter with a glass of water in the foreground and a TV in the background displaying a college football game.

    Like most normal Americans I was too busy on Saturday to even notice the No Kings protests.

    I was doing what many of us do on Saturdays in the fall: Watching college football.

    In fact, I’d forgotten all about the protests until I checked Facebook Sunday night and saw that several of my geriatric friends were posting merry photos of themselves carrying placards.

    I’d rather watch football from noon until 2 a.m., I thought, but you do you.

    Yesterday, though, I scrolled through social media and what I found was alarming.These weren’t just aging hippies getting some much needed exercise and sunshine.

    The protests had a dark undertone. Seems the left has moved on from just celebrating abortion to celebrating assassination.

    Clearly, Jay Jones is not the only Democrat wishing death upon his political opponents. The Depends gang is similarly murderous. In fact, this desire to destroy Trump and his supporters is spreading among the left.

    It wasn’t just one whacked out protestor with a bloodlust. There were lots of them. Continue reading.

  • Former Swim Captain Blasts Spanberger’s Stance on Trans Athletes

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    Spanberger’s mushy messaging on protecting girls in sports disqualifies her from being governor, says Lily Mullens, former Roanoke College swim team captain.

    A young woman wearing a Roanoke College swimming shirt is speaking at a podium during a press conference, expressing her views.
    Lily Mullens

    by Scott Dreyer

    On October 9, the two candidates for governor — Democrat Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger and Republican Lt. Governor Winsome Sears — engaged in their only debate.

    Many have decried that there was only one sixty-minute debate, which allowed only superficial handling of many important issues, while many other crucial topics never even came up.

    But at least there was one debate between them, because in the race for the next lieutenant governor, the Democrat candidate Ghazala Hashmi has not agreed to any debate against her GOP opponent John Reid.

    One topic in the gubernatorial debate was whether the two would continue to honor Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s policy to restrict bathroom and locker room access in schools to people of their specific, natural gender from birth.

    (more…)

  • Democrats Dominate Energy Discussions With GOP MIA

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    Clean Virginia Director Brennan Gilmore and Sen. Schuyler VanValkenberg, D-Henrico.

    By Steve Haner,

    “The energy bills are…” shouts the emcee on the stage. “Too damn high” comes the immediate response from a crowded meeting room in the east end of Richmond October 16. 

    That call and response mantra constantly punctuated a long and creative presentation on Virginia’s energy dilemma from the point of view of the activist group Clean Virginia. The point of view varies greatly from the Thomas Jefferson Institute’s views on why electricity prices have been rising in Virginia and are likely to rise even more.  

    The rising cost of living and the pinch it creates on Virginia’s families and businesses is arguably the political issue in this 2025 election season that has the broadest impact. Everybody needs electricity. 

    As the campaign season comes to its close, Democrats have spent far more time talking about rising energy costs than have most Republican candidates. Politics like nature abhors a vacuum. Rising energy prices and the wave of data center electricity demand have created another of those “giant sucking sounds” that concern voters, rightly. 

    Clean Virginia, Virginia’s largest non-party, non-corporate campaign donor, is using its rallies to shape voter opinions for November and the legislative agenda for the coming 2026 General Assembly.   

    Argue with Clean Virginia’s interpretation and recommendations as much as you want (and we do), the event itself – one of four across the state this month – was a clever show, packed with punchy progressive messaging that was clearly being enjoyed by the audience of mostly young activists. The tee shirts with the slogan were tempting, because Thomas Jefferson Institute agrees bills are higher than they should be.  

    (more…)

  • “No Kings” Demonstrations in Virginia

    Posted on

    by

    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    by Dick Hall-Sizemore

    Demonstrators in Richmond Photo credit: Richmond Times Dispatch

    Thousands of Virginians participated in “No Kings” demonstrations yesterday to protest actions of the Trump administration.

    Crowd-size estimates are always tricky to judge.  Organizers tend to exaggerate turnout; police departments have begun to shy away from providing estimates; often, press reports do not identify the source of the estimates. With those caveats in mind, here is a sampling of crowd sizes around the Commonwealth (if the report identified the source of the estimate, it is noted in the comments):

    Richmond—The Capitol Police estimated 3,500-4,000 in attendance. The organizers claimed more than 14,000 participated. The difference may be a result of different venues. The demonstration started in Capitol Square, where the Capitol Police were on duty, and proceeded up Broad St. to Monroe Park at VCU. 

    Hampton Roads—Virginia Beach:  3,000 (organizers); Williamsburg: 5,000 (organizers)

    Charlottesville—“at least 10,000” (organizers)

    Roanoke—“over 2,000”

    Staunton—1,700

    Fredericksburg—“More than 2,000”

    Demonstrations were also scheduled in Norfolk, Chesapeake, Newport News, Fairfax, and other localities, but press reports were not available this afternoon.

    There was no violence reported nor any arrests. Demonstrators in Staunton recited the Pledge of Allegiance and sang the Star-Spangled Banner.

    In anticipation of the demonstrations, Gov. Glenn Youngkin had put the Virginia National Guard on “state active duty conducting training.” It is not clear what such status entails, although reportedly “a task force made up of a ‘Quick Reaction Force’ and ‘Ready Reaction Force’ are set to be staged outside of Richmond on Friday, including a ‘Non-Lethal Weapons Platoon.’ Presumably, other National Guard troops placed on active duty during the weekend were to report to their readiness centers (they are no longer called armories) where weekend training is usually held.  Since there was not much

    National Guardsmen picking up trash near White House. Photo credit: Fox 5 Washington, D.C.

    for them to do, perhaps the Governor could have had them be useful by picking up trash when the demonstrations were over as was the case in D.C. earlier this year.

  • Jeanine’s Memes

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    A cartoon depicting a politician sitting at a desk with paperwork, speaking to a woman, addressing voters' concerns with the comment about answering difficult questions after being hired.

    View more memes at The Bull Elephant

  • UVA’s Weldon Cooper Backpedals on Economic Gloom Yet Again

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    By Steve Haner,

    In April, economic prognosticators at the University of Virginia published a prediction that Virginia would lose 32,000 jobs during 2025. The Al Gore-like jeremiad was promptly adopted by Virginia Democrats who used it in speeches and advertising to claim Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin and his chosen successor, Winsome Earle-Sears, were mismanaging the economy.

    As the negative ad blitz was reaching its peak near Labor Day, the same deep thinkers at the same once-trusted Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service issued a follow up that quietly adjusted that prediction downward, this time asserting the state’s end of year employment numbers would reflect an 11,700 decrease from the end of 2024. The Democrats kept using the more worrisome but discredited larger number.

    A new report just popped up and now the prediction is that Virginia will lose just 1,800 jobs this calendar year. The trendline alone makes that also shaky. To try to keep you from noticing, the authors introduced and overused the word “stagnation” to describe the situation Virginia faces as all states absorb the headwinds from the new tariff regime and federal spending reductions. The new headline is their claim the state’s unemployment level will reach 4.8% next year, a jump from the 4.6% they predicted in the August report.

    That gave the Democrat Abigail Spanberger’s campaign and the Democratic mudslingers at Blue Virginia enough ammunition to issue another condemnation of Youngkin’s economic leadership, with plenty of side references to President Trump’s tariff regime and reductions in the federal workforce. But given that the initial predicted job losses were nothing but an in-kind campaign contribution masquerading as research, this unemployment projection should also be taken with skepticism.

    (more…)

  • Bacon Meme of the Week

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    A grumpy-looking cat with a humorous caption stating 'My favorite vegetable? BACON.'

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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