Bacon's Rebellion

  • SCC Staff Sees Need for More Gas Because Wind Will “Collapse”

    Posted on

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    Steve Haner

    by Steve Haner

    SCC reveals Dominion has low confidence in its wind plant on the coldest of days.

    The staff of the State Corporation Commission (SCC) has concluded that Dominion Energy Virginia cannot meet the energy demands of our data- center based digital economy with renewable energy projects alone, and “does not oppose” adding natural gas.

    “It is unlikely, in Staff’s opinion, that renewable energy development alone will suffice to serve the Company’s forthcoming energy and capacity needs caused by data center demand,” wrote Public Utility Division manager Andrew T. Boehnlein in testimony filed back on August 19. Boehnlein in part focuses on the unreliability of offshore wind.

    The testimony is part of the utility’s pending application to build a new natural gas plant in Chesterfield County, subject to a full SCC hearing starting September 23. The staff analysis concluded “there is reasonable support for the claim that the Company is currently resource deficient, and that the Company will be significantly more resource deficient if the projected data center load growth materializes in whole or in part.”

    That testimony came from Steven E. Smith, a Public Utilities Division analyst, but in both cases it is clear they were signing off on consensus opinions. Smith reported they were “not opposed” to the application but noted that the company’s application had not really proven that the proposed 944-megawatt peaker plant, only slated to run on high demand days, was the best choice to address the coming energy shortage.

    In similar testimony in another case, this one dealing with Dominion’s application for a rate increase, the SCC staff chose to highlight the deficiency of utility-scale solar projects when reliable energy is in short supply. As previously reported, it noted all of Dominion’s big solar projects were failing to meet promised output. All of them.

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  • Viva Abigail!

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    James A. Bacon

    The revolt to normal

    A young woman wearing a sombrero and traditional attire rides a brown horse, pointing into the distance against a colorful sky with clouds and hills.

    by Gordon C. Morse

    It all comes down to leadership, we’re forever told. In that regard, two national newspapers recently took measure of Abigail Spanberger, the clear front-runner in the race to become Virginia’s next governor.

    “Welcome to the year of the national security mom,” The New York Times announced.

    Spanberger’s biography “helps convey a gut-level grasp of Virginians’ everyday anxieties about schools and crime and providing for their families and experience making tough calls in life-or-death situations involving national security,” wrote commentator Michelle Cottle.

    This “hits the sweet spot of making her seem simultaneously exceptional and relatable,” Cottle wrote. “A butt-kicking résumé.”

    “Message: Here is a leader both formidable and approachable, tough and caring, driven by her commitment to service.”

    Oh, help.

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  • The Latest FIRE Free Speech Ranking

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    James A. Bacon

    List of universities with their rankings and scores, including The University of Virginia, George Mason University, and others.

    The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression have graded Virginia universities D grade overall in its 2026 College Free Speech Rankings. That was actually better than the national average of F.

    The University of Virginia was tops in the state with a 21st-place ranking out of 250 institutions, largely on the basis of its formally adopted policies — good enough to garner a grade of C-. However, that represents a significant decline from its No. 1 ranking last year. Virginia Tech and James Madison University garnered Fs for grades.

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  • 22nd in Education Freedom

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    James A. Bacon

    A color-coded map of the United States showing different states ranked by specific criteria, with a legend indicating ranks from 1-10, 11-20, 21-30, 31-40, and 41-51 using different colors.
    Heritage Foundation Education Freedom rankings

    Virginia ranks 22nd in education freedom among the 50 states and Washington, D.C., in the Heritage Foundation’s Education Freedom Report Card. The Old Dominion scores high in transparency (No. #2) and civic education (No. #3), but not so well for teacher freedom (No. #25), education choice (No. #33) or return on investment (No. #33).

    See Virginia details here.

  • American Rights Do NOT Come from Government

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    James A. Bacon

    by Chap Petersen

    Close-up view of the Declaration of Independence, highlighting the words 'Congress' and 'Declaration of the thirteen united States.' The document is aged and features ornate typography.

    As a lawyer, I both teach Constitutional Law and argue matters which arise under the U.S. Constitution.

    These cases involve phrases like “right to free speech,” “free exercise of religion,” “due process” and “equal protection under the law.”

    The above quotes are in our U.S. Constitution — but where do those rights actually come from?

    At a public hearing on Wednesday, September 3, Senator Kaine of Virginia criticized a Trump appointee for stating such American rights were God-given.

    Citing a divine source for American rights was “deeply troubling,” he said, the kind of kooky thinking associated with  theocratic regimes, such as Iran.

    Instead, these freedoms come from “our governments.”

    Senator Kaine’s opinions are not unusual in today’s secular age. Claiming that rights come from God is archaic and anti-progressive.

    But that’s exactly what the Founding Fathers believed. Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence states it best:

    “We  hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

    The Second Inaugural Address of Abraham Lincoln also cited divine right in explaining the American Civil War:

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  • Delegate Rasoul, You Are Not Qualified to Lecture Me on Israel

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    James A. Bacon

    by Paul Goldman

    Move over, Lizzie Borden. Former House Speaker Filler-Corn charges Delegate Sam Rasoul with “(f)ueling one of the oldest forms of hatred in the world, repackaged in the language of activism.” 

    She is referencing antisemitism. This is one of the harshest criticisms anybody of the Jewish faith can direct at anybody. Particularly someone with Rasoul’s bio. She is in effect calling him a Jew hater. By doing so, she likewise implicates the Roanoke Democratic Committee and others for their support of him.

    (For background of the spat, read “Rasoul’s Anti-Zionism Roils Roanoke.”) — JAB

    Ms. Filler-Corn is entitled to her opinion. But she has neither the stature nor the record to make herself out as some moral authority on such matters. Being Jewish doesn’t automatically make you an authority on antisemitism, the Middle East, or a true advocate of equality for all. Credibility comes from the heart of your record, not your circumstance of birth.

    In 2023, I was subjected to antisemitic attacks making headlines as far away as California. The fact I led the opposition to their casino infuriated Richmond Mayor Stoney, labor unions, RVA’s Black leadership, and Democratic Party officials. The only successful opposition in the Commonwealth. A lot of people were going to make a lot of money from that project. I was called the usual anti-Jewish names, the Judas Jew, whatever, over the public airwaves by a person working for the pro-casino forces. My anti-casino campaign won citywide 62% to 38%. 

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  • Is Robert E. Lee Making a Comeback?

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    James A. Bacon

    by Gib Kerr

    Portrait of Robert E. Lee in a Confederate uniform, showcasing his distinguished appearance with a beard and military blouse.
    If anyone can find an image of the West Point Lee portrait, please post it in the comments. — JAB

    America is coming to its senses.

    After a tumultuous period of temporary insanity following George Floyd’s death in 2020, when hundreds of statues and memorials were removed—often by violent mobs—passion is giving way to reason. Things are (thankfully) getting back to normal.

    The latest sign of America’s restoration is the return of the 20’ portrait of Robert E. Lee to the library at the United States Military Academy at West Point. The painting of Lee in his Confederate uniform had been removed as part of the Orwellian “Naming Commission” that purged the military of any memorials to former Confederates.

    Announcing the return of Lee’s portrait, an Army spokesperson said, “At West Point, the United States Military Academy is prepared to restore historical names, artifacts, and assets to their original form and place. Under this administration, we honor our history and learn from it — we don’t erase it.”

    The damage done by cancel culture in the post-George Floyd frenzy was unprecedented. Reminiscent of the French Jacobins, Chairman Mao’s Cultural Revolutionaries, or the Afghani Taliban, woke radicals gave no quarter to Southerners who chose to defend their homeland in the Civil War. Historical figures like Lee were universally and unfairly demonized, then systematically eliminated.

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  • About the Latest SOL Scores…

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    James A. Bacon

    by Charles Pyle

    Governor Glenn Youngkin speaking at a podium with signs promoting literacy and education in Virginia.

    In his September 2 contribution to Bacon’s Rebellion, John Butcher offers a tight analysis of the performance of students on the 2025 Standards of Learning tests. It was good to see the byline of my former Northside neighbor, who decades ago could always be counted on to purchase far more Boy Scout popcorn and peanuts than he could possibly consume.

    John rightfully ignores Governor Glenn Youngkin’s fabulous statements that the statistical noise captured in the 2025 pass rates on the 2025 Reading and Math SOLs somehow represents improved performance despite more difficult assessments.

    If public education were organized along the lines of Holy Mother Church, a swarm of bishops would be in Richmond investigating this apparent miracle.

    Historically, pass rates always fell with the introduction of more rigorous tests. I used to tell reporters — I left VDOE in 2023 after 20+ years as communications director. I now amuse myself by delivering news and snark on WRVA — that if you raise standards and there is no impact on pass rates then you haven’t raised standards. Over time, pass rates recovered and increased as more and more students met and exceeded the higher benchmarks.

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  • Assess Yourself a Tax Break (Since City Hall Won’t)

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    James A. Bacon

    by Jon Baliles

    A miniature house model surrounded by toy figures reviewing a property tax bill, with cash and a coffee cup in the background.
    “Honey, I shrunk the property tax bill.” Image credit: Bing Image Creator

    If you own property in the City of Richmond, you likely received your new assessment in the mail this week, and in almost every neighborhood, property values have once again gone up, with some areas seeing double digit increases. Many areas saw increases above the citywide average increase citywide of 5.74%.

    That means the city’s budget will grow this year once again as it has over the last decade+, with property owners as the Sherpas carrying most of the weight. The city’s total general fund budget in FY2018 when Mayor Stoney took office was $542 million, with $238 million of that revenue (about 44%) coming from real estate tax payments. This year, the Fiscal Year 2026 general fund budget (which took effect July 1) was $1.056 billion with $607 million coming from real estate taxes (about 57% of the general fund budget).

    In that time, few at City Hall have seen fit to try and help relieve the burden of property owners as the city becomes more and more costly and expensive on so many levels. Renters are paying more, too, because of the higher assessments (among other reasons). Councilwoman Trammell’s repeated efforts to lower the rate by even a couple of cents has earned a few votes but not enough to successfully reduce the rate or burden. It is driving people out of the city to the counties (or elsewhere) where tax rates are being reduced without a corresponding reduction in services (or an amplification of excuses).

    In 2017, the median home price in the city was about $247,000 and the median annual tax bill was $2,964 ($247 per month). In 2024, the median price was about $370,000 according to Virginia REALTORS with a tax bill of about $4,440 (about $370 per month) while the real estate brokerage firm Redfin showed a 2024 median price around $423,000, with a tax bill of about $5,076 (about $423 per month). Any way you slice it, the city is spending more than ever before and taxes are correspondingly rising.

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  • Jeanine’s Memes

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    James A. Bacon

    A person with extensive facial tattoos and large ear gauges, featuring text that humorously states, 'CAN'T FIND A JOB BLAMES THE GOVERNMENT.'

    See more memes at The Bull Elephant

  • Please Get Kerry an Unabridged Copy of the Declaration of Independence

    Posted on

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    James A. Bacon

    (Written in response to Kerry Dougherty’s column “Tim Kaine Needs a Copy of the Declaration of Independence.” — JAB)

    Close-up view of the Declaration of Independence document, highlighting the text and fading parchment texture.

    by Paul Goldman

    Kerry, you can’t trust AI. Let this be a good lesson. When Thomas Jefferson wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence — later edited by Franklin and Adams to keep the Southern states all-in on the Revolution — what did he mean by “inalienable rights?”

    No need to bore anyone with too many details. Especially when Kerry’s asking Senator Tim Kaine to resign for failing to read a founding document.

    Since President Trump regularly claims the Constitution says what it doesn’t say, I guess Kerry’s asked him to resign too. I consider myself a good Kaine supporter. But if Kerry’s willing to throw Trump under the bus along with Kaine,  I’m sorry, Timmy, but I gotta take that deal. Like the president says, all things are transactional. Even inalienable rights.

    Kerry is right on one thing: Our public school system will now actually have to go back to teaching these historic documents once again. But what does Kerry think they’re gonna teach exactly? 

    Jefferson and his boys were really playing a word game back in the 18th century. We need to ask ourselves: When they wrote those stirring words in the Declaration of Independence, they also knew only a handful of Americans actually had actual access to those rights. So yes, technically, all the slaves, all the white women, all the indentured servants, all the White guys with little property, had those rights in theory. But they never had those rights in reality for centuries. Most importantly, however, they would have no chance of getting them at least here in America unless the Revolution succeeded and actually gave us a democracy. 

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  • Bacon Meme of the Week

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    James A. Bacon

    A frying pan on a stove with strips of vegan bacon cooking, next to a package of vegan bacon, and a humorous text overlay about the product.

  • Electricity Carbon Tax Advocated by Spanberger Rises Again

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    By Steve Haner

    Spanberger loves RGGI. Electricity will cost more.

    Based on the most recent carbon tax imposed on the member states of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), Virginians will pay about $500 million more per year for electricity if Virginia again becomes one of those member states.  Your vote in November may determine that. 

    Democratic nominee for governor Abigail Spanberger has pledged to rejoin the RGGI compact and reinstate the carbon tax.  Republican nominee Winsome Earle-Sears has promised to maintain the policy of Governor Glenn Youngkin and stay outside of RGGI.  There is also a pending lawsuit that challenges Youngkin’s actions in withdrawing.

    There is a clear demarcation between the political parties on rejoining RGGI and adding this cost to Virginia’s electricity customers.  Getting us out of RGGI was Youngkin’s most successful initiative to lower electricity bills.  Every Virginia generator – both utilities and independent generators – had to buy an allowance (pay a tax) for every ton of carbon dioxide its plant emits from using coal, oil or natural gas. 

    RGGI held its third 2025 auction for carbon emission allowances September 3 and the results were released today.  The clearing price to purchase an allowance was set at $22.25 per emitted ton. The peak was a year ago at $25.75 per ton. The first two 2025 auctions cleared at just under $20 per ton.  

    (more…)

  • Fairfax County Public Schools Tells Registrars to Destroy Student Identification Documents

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by Stephanie Lundquist-Arora
    Republished with permission from IWFeatures

    Fairfax County Public Schools is issuing new guidance to public school registrars, telling them to purge copies and digital uploads of students’ personal documents from school records. 

    Schools have long required these legal documents to prove a student’s identity, residence, and relationship to his or her parents and caregivers. Yet, on July 1, Dave Anderson, Fairfax County Public Schools’ senior district manager for student registration, who earns an annual salary of about $150,000, sent an email to school-based registrars that states, “Based on recent Division Counsel guidance … FCPS will no longer retain copies of identification documents, including the student birth certificate, in the student’s cumulative file. … For clarification purposes, identification documents refer to copies of a parent’s photo ID, such as a driver’s license, passport, etc.”

    Email from Dave Anderson regarding new guidance for Fairfax County Public Schools registrars on purging personal documents from student records.

    The email did not provide registrars with a reason for this policy change, and there has been no official communication with parents about the change. This leaves moms like me, who have three children currently enrolled in Fairfax County Public Schools, wondering why the leaders of the largest public school district in Virginia are suddenly determined to destroy student documents proving students’ identification, residency, citizenship, and relationships to parents. 

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  • Tim Kaine Needs a Copy Of the Declaration of Independence

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    James A. Bacon

    by Kerry Dougherty

    We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. From the Declaration of Independence.

    Ladies and gentlemen, l present Tim Kaine, U.S. Senator from Virginia. At the Senate confirmation hearing for Riley Barnes to be Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, he belched out the following.

    This was in reaction to Barnes’ statement, “We are a nation founded on a powerful principle, and that powerful principle is that all men are created equal, because our rights come from God our Creator — not from our laws, not from our governments.”

    Kaine found Barnes’ view of civil rights, “troubling.”

    I find Kaine troubling. 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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