Bacon's Rebellion

  • 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.

  • Virginia General Assembly to Consider Redistricting to Increase Democratic Representation in Congress

    Posted on

    by

    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    Virginia State Capitol

    Both houses of the General Assembly are planning to convene on Monday, Oct. 27.  The notices went out to the members today.  Technically, this will be a reconvening of the 2024 Special Session I, which never adjourned sine die.

    As reported by the Virginia Political Newsletter, the main item of interest will be Virginia getting into the redistricting fray started by the Republicans in Texas.

    Rather than summarize the report, I have copied it below:

    “Several sources confirmed to Virginia Scope on Wednesday that part of the special session’s focus will be on redistricting.

    Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, told Virginia Scope that legislators are meeting to address actions by the Trump administration.

    Speaker of the House Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, and his office did not respond to a request for comment.

    (more…)

  • More than 5,600 Illegal Alien Criminals Arrested in Virginia Since February

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    Image credit: Restoration News

    Spanberger would revoke Gov. Youngkin’s executive order that protects Virginia.

    by Victoria Manning

    More than 5,600 illegal aliens have been arrested in Virginia since Feb. 2025 thanks to federal and state law enforcement working together through the Virginia Homeland Security Task Force. Gov. Youngkin’s office told Restoration News those arrested included violent criminals including MS-13, Tren de Aragua, and other gang members affiliated with transnational criminal organizations.

    In Feb, Gov. Youngkin issued Executive Order 47 to keep Virginians “safe from dangerous criminal illegal immigrants.” The order directed state police and encouraged local sheriffs to work together with immigration enforcement to remove criminal illegal aliens from Virginia communities.

    Virginia’s Democrat gubernatorial candidate, Abigail Spanberger, has vowed to rescind Youngkin’s order—claiming it “tears families apart.”

    Illegal alien invasion harms Virginians

    Four years of wide-open borders under the Biden administration have wreaked havoc on Virginians. In 2023, Pew Research estimated over 230,000 unauthorized aliens were living in the state.

    (more…)

  • Jay Jones: Now the Target of a Criminal Investigation

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    A man in a suit gestures while speaking in a formal setting with architectural features in the background.
    Jay Jones

    by Kerry Dougherty

    Whoa!

    Jay Jones is in deep trouble.

    Just when the Dems’ attorney general nominee was hoping the daily headlines about his scandals might abate, he’s back in the news.

    And it’s worse than ever.

    According to Nick Minock, reporting for ABC News, Elliott Bondurant, a courageous New Kent County Circuit Court Judge — unafraid of Virginia’s powerful Dem machine — appointed a special prosecutor to get to the bottom of Jones’ sweetheart reckless driving deal.

    Specifically, the investigation will center on how Jones cleared his 1,000 hours of community service, which allowed him to avoid possible jail time.

    This arises out of his January 2022 arrest for flying along I-64 at 116 mph at 1 a.m. After numerous delays, his case was resolved with a guilty plea in 2024 after he supposedly performed 1,000 hours of “community service.” Half of those hours involved “work” at his own political action committee.

    Unlike offenders with similar charges, Jones neither lost his driving privileges nor went to jail. Or even had a suspended jail sentence.

    This case reeks. Jones is a member of a prominent Norfolk family. Apparently it’s good to have connections. Continue reading.

  • 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.

    (more…)

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

    Posted on

    by

    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…)

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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