Bacon's Rebellion

  • City of Richmond Bumbles Along

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    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    by Dick Hall-Sizemore

    Hopefully, the new Richmond mayor, Danny Avula, will avoid the examples of his recent predecessors who spent their terms chasing shiny, big economic development projects and instead will try to improve the basic operations of city government. That will be a tall order in itself.

    One of my long-term complaints has been that the City of Richmond seems unable to do the basic things that local governments do. The most recent examples:

    1.A couple of weeks ago, the city sent out thousands of tax rebate checks with the wrong names on them. It had to cancel those checks and reissue them.

    2. Not to be outdone by the finance department, the mail room overseen by the city’s Dept. of Information Technology sent out hundreds of debt collection notices the next week to the wrong addresses. To make matters worse, in this latest incident, “residents’ names, addresses, claim numbers and debt amounts [were] issued to the wrong locations.”

    The new mayor has his work cut out for him.

     

  • DEI for Dummies

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    by

    James A. Bacon

    This is Part 3 of a three-part series, DEI in the Dormitories

    by James A. Bacon

    The 200+ Resident Advisors who populate the University of Virginia’s undergraduate dormitories are required to put on several events for their hallmates and suitemates each semester. The RAs are given a small allowance for food for these get-togethers, one of which must have a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging (DEIB) theme. For the DEI events, the RAs are strongly encouraged to consult a “DEIB Catering Guide.“

    The 2024-25 edition of the Guide provides some pointers to keep in mind when planning a multicultural event. Food can be a great way to share a culture, but the handout warns, “We want to be aware of reducing a culture to just its food. Is there any additional lesson or discussion about the food and culture? Does this food have a larger cultural significance?”

    The Guide helpfully provides a list of minority-owned businesses in the Charlottesville area that the RAs might consider patronizing: nine Black-owned businesses, three LatinX-owned, seven Asian-owned, one LGBQT+-owned, one Jewish-owned, and the Kindness Cafe, which “supports people with disabilities.”

    Although they may not be minority owned, restaurants are listed that serve food of mostly non-White cultures: soul food, Mexican, Chinese, Thai, Korean, Hawaiian, Indian, Turkish, Mediterranean. Somehow an Italian restaurant, Mona Lisa Pasta, made the cut. “This list,” states the Guide, “can be helpful if you are centering an identity group and would like to share more about the culture and cuisine.”

    Few details escape the eyes of the student leaders of the Resident Advisor program, which defines its mission of making UVA dormitory residents feel included and welcome. They are especially attentive to the perceived needs of so-called marginalized groups.

    (more…)

  • “Green” Mandates, Profit Demands Drive Dominion Price Hikes

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    Steve Haner

    Dominion’s White House Solar farm in Louisa County

    By Steve Haner

    The pending price increase for electricity from Dominion Energy Virginia is higher than the 14% jump reported by the news media, which basically parroted company releases. Should all of Dominion’s current rate applications at the State Corporation Commission be approved, residents and businesses will pay about 20% more.  

    The 1,000-kilowatt hour monthly bill used for illustration (smaller than many households really see) was about $116 just before the implementation of the 2020 Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA). All the pending price increases could take that to about $170 within two years.  And that almost 50% increase is not the end, as additional VCEA compliance costs will keep piling on for years to come.  

    A repeal of the legal mandates to tie Virginia’s energy future to intermittent wind, solar and battery power would not take us back to the lower costs before it passed. But it would bend the future cost curve downward and save Virginia’s households and businesses billions of dollars over time. Will the issue be put to the voters in November by the candidates? Will they fall for claims that the problem is all the data centers and not the “green” mandates?  

    On April 1, Dominion, serving 2.7 million Virginia customer accounts, announced a pair of major rate applications. In one, it seeks a 15% increase in its base rates, and that increase is despite removing a major expense item that is now included in base rates. In the second, it wants about a 50% increase in the separate bill charge for fuel and purchased power, in part to pick up that expense it removed from base rates.     

    Those two requests would add more than $21 to the current bill of just under $141 for that 1,000- kWh user. But the media accounts (and the company’s own news release) ignored all the other price increases pending at the SCC, which will add another $7 to the bill for 1,000 kWh if approved.  These pending applications are all VCEA compliance costs:  

    (more…)

  • Woke Bootcamp

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    James A. Bacon

    Part 2 of a three-part series, DEI in the Dormitories.

    by James A. Bacon

    Eddie came to the University of Virginia as an out-of-state student. The move was a big leap for him, and the transition was not easy. Fortunately, the Resident Adviser (RA) on his dormitory hall helped him fit in. “He was here for me,” Eddie recalls. “I wanted to do the same for other guys.”

    After applying to the program and getting accepted, Eddie (not his real name) arrived in Charlottesville before the fall semester to undergo week-long training. He expected to get practical counseling tips: how to help someone through a hard time, for example, or how to establish healthy boundaries. Some of the advice was useful, such as recognizing depression and dealing with suicidal ideation, but he says the training took an unexpected turn.

    Much of the conversation revolved around the trainees’ “identity” — their racial, ethnic, religious, and gender background. Instead of focusing on academic excellence or the Honor Code or the multitudes of ways students could bond with others over common interests, Eddie says, RA training dwelled on the challenges of “marginalized” students.

    White students were told at times to confront their privilege, Eddie says. “They’re very strict with the type of mindset they want you to have…. It’s almost to the point where you’re being indoctrinated into the DEI ideology.” He describes the training as “woke bootcamp.”

    UVA President Jim Ryan is scheduled to report back to the Board of Visitors by April 7 on the progress he’s made in eliminating racial preferences and dismantling Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at UVA in line with presidential and gubernatorial directives. A close look at the Housing and Residents Life program shows how tricky that will be.

    It’s easy to give jobs and programs new titles and delete DEI rhetoric from website pages — just swap out “DEI” with “inclusion and belonging.” Such superficial actions don’t touch the philosophy that animates DEI, however. It is difficult for Board members, who are fed carefully curated information by the administration, to know what’s happening on the ground.

    (more…)

  • The Plumber’s Apprentice

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    James A. Bacon

    by Calder Svendsen

    Image credit: Bing Image Creator

    I recently needed a plumber and was surprised when he showed up with an apprentice in tow — one of my former students. The young man had dropped out the year after taking my class, a decision that surprised no one who knew him well.

    He was capable, witty, and clever enough to recognize that nothing in his senior year of high school was going to push him in a direction he wanted to go. Rather than spend another year in coursework he found irrelevant, he left school and, without a clear plan, was corralled into his father’s plumbing business — his dad’s way of ensuring he had a path forward instead of drifting without one. Now, he’s on track to be fully certified in his trade, and by the time his former classmates are still figuring out their next steps — whether in college or elsewhere — he may already be earning more than any of his former teachers.

    But for all his intelligence and work ethic, he couldn’t fit into the rigid mold of high school. Like many of his peers, he felt his time there was more of an obligation than a meaningful experience — something he had to endure rather than something that guided him toward his future. Dropping out seemed like the only real choice he had left, the last bit of agency left to a sixteen-year-old who had already learned everything he felt was valuable in a traditional classroom.

    Now, even with a GED, he carries the stigma of being an underachiever, as if leaving school to pursue a trade makes him less successful than those who stayed.

    (more…)

  • Jeanine’s Memes

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    by

    James A. Bacon

    From The Bull Elephant

  • DEI in the Dorms

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    Part 1 of a three-part series, DEI in the Dormitories

    by James A. Bacon

    To visit the Instagram page of the University of Virginia’s residence advisors (RAs), who mentor dormitory students and enforce the rules, is to pass through a portal into a world of happy thoughts and contagious exuberance. The RAs, as they are known, exude positivity. In short TikTok-like clips, they express why they signed up for the job.

    Allison, a third-year student, gives a two-handed wave and forms a heart sign as she shares what being an RA means to her. “I think about building connections and fostering a community within a dorm,” she says. It can be intimidating for first years to walk into a dormitory not knowing anyone, she explains, but by organizing teas or movie nights she can bring them together and “open up the conversation.”

    The number of RAs is either 240 or 295, depending upon which UVA web page one consults. The slots are coveted because they provide free room, a meal plan, and leadership opportunities.

    No doubt Allison’s enthusiasm is typical. But there is a dark side to UVA’s Housing & Residence experience. According to Bacon’s Rebellion’s sources, “woke” ideology permeates the program throughout: from the recruiting of the RAs, to their training, to the orientation and events they put on, to even the dormitories RAs are assigned to.

    Critics say UVA’s mission has morphed from education to indoctrination. The process commences before students even enter a classroom. It starts with the dorm-room orientation they receive from their RAs, and it continues throughout the year.

    (more…)

  • Blue Collar Kids

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    James A. Bacon

    by Calder Svendsen

    Image credit: Chat GPT

    He said, “Look, I do the work, I’m passing, I’m just trying to graduate.”

    And he was right, on all counts. He was an average student who did average work and gave average answers when prompted. He had a penchant for distraction, even when he showed an interest in whatever we were reading in English class, and I honestly couldn’t blame him. He wasn’t rude about it, just disinterested.

    His mind was elsewhere—on job sites, on repair calls, on the HVAC business his father had run for as long as he could remember. His humor and work ethic were inherited traits, passed down from a man he deeply admired. He and the other “tech kids” in class made sharp observations about their goals and ambitions and had no qualms about sharing them.

    “I’m not making any money here,” was the common refrain, followed closely by “We already know if we’re going to college or not.” One of them told me bluntly: “I can’t use what most of y’all are teaching.”

    When I pressed him on why he didn’t just graduate early and head straight to trade school, he explained the catch. The only way to finish ahead of schedule was night school or summer school, both of which cost money. Neither was an option—he was already working every moment he wasn’t in class.

    (more…)

  • Bacon Meme of the Week

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    by

    James A. Bacon

  • New Tariffs Will Damage Virginia’s Economy

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    By Derrick Max,

    No one can say we weren’t warned. During his debate with then Vice President Kamala Harris, President Donald Trump clearly stated, “other countries are going to finally, after 75 years, pay us back for all that we’ve done for the world, and the tariff will be substantial…” Promises made, promises kept. Unfortunately.

    I don’t think, however, that anyone could have imagined that “substantial” tariffs would include a baseline 10% tariff on all imported goods, and higher, individualized reciprocal tariffs on countries identified as having the largest trade deficits with the United States. Beyond these broad measures, specific sectors are also targeted, including a 25% tariff on all imported automobiles and auto parts. The tariffs also eliminate previous exemptions to the existing 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, which have been in place for some time.  

    The scale of these tariffs is actually beyond “substantial,” reaching levels not observed since World War II. The magnitude of the Trump Tariffs is the equivalent of bringing a bazooka to a pillow fight.

    President Trump’s flag-adorned Rose Garden ceremony included a “reciprocal tariff” chart that gave the false impression that tariffs were far higher than they actually are, that the United States is on the losing end of most existing tariffs, and that the new “reciprocal tariffs” would only be half of what our trading partners are charging us.

    But the tariff column on the President’s chart was completely disconnected from any actual tariff. It was really a number derived by taking the difference between imports and exports with each country, divided by that country’s exports to the US, then attributing that deficit entirely to tariffs and other protectionism. That ratio was then divided in half to produce what the administration calls a “discounted reciprocal tariff.” In other words, any country with whom we have a trade deficit is assumed to have used higher tariffs to gain that advantage and would be punished with a “reciprocal tariff” equal to a rate of half of their trade deficit — an amount that is multiple times higher than their tariffs on our goods.

    The truth is, however, most deficits are caused by a country having a comparative advantage (and in some cases an absolute advantage) in producing a specific product that makes it more efficient to import than to produce, while freeing up labor and capital in our market to make other goods and services that we can either consume or export. This is the “economics 101” of all voluntary trade which applies equally to trade between nations.   

    (more…)

  • Bacon Bits: Politicians Behaving Badly

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    by

    James A. Bacon

    Just the kind of guy you want running your school system… Todd Stewart Williams, former vice chair of the Smyth County School Board, has pleaded guilty to using at least six male minors to produce child pornography, reports Cardinal News. Williams spent more than $10,000 buying nude images from at least six underage male victims. He did this while serving on the school board. Said acting U.S. Attorney Zachary T. Lee in a press release: “This case demonstrates that even those who are entrusted by our communities to oversee the welfare of our children may harbor intentions to exploit them, and for that reason we must be ever vigilant and responsive when our young people report abuse.”

    Grow up, people! Aaron Rawls got into a big argument with his fellow Martinsville City Council members last week, and Mayor L.C. Jones ordered a deputy to escort him out of the closed session. Speaking to WSET News, Jones said he acted appropriately to “prevent something worse from happening.” Rawls hit back: “He can stop lying about members of Council and start including us in some things a bit more often and do it with reasonable notice.”

    Ceasefire in GOP circular firing squad? The discord in Martinsville is small potatoes compared to Lynchburg City Council, where two Republican factions have been at odds for two years running. Despite the intra-party rancor, Republicans managed to expand their City Council majority to six-to-one in November’s elections. (That must tell you something about how weak the opposition was.) From what I can tell as an outsider, the disagreements revolve around personality clashes and personal loyalties. At last, reports the News & Advance, there are signs of a rapprochement. If Republicans want to win local elections, it does help to show they can govern. If they want to show they can govern, it helps to stop treating each other like the enemy.

  • Ellis Unchained

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    Someone finally said it: UVA President Ryan needs to go.

    Bert Ellis in the studio of The Schilling Show. Image credit: The Schilling Show

    by James A. Bacon

    Now that he’s been booted from the University of Virginia Board of Visitors, Bert Ellis is free to speak his mind. And in an interview yesterday on The Schilling Show, a Charlottesville talk radio show, he didn’t hold back on what needs to change at UVA — starting with pushing out President Jim Ryan.

    During the half-hour interview, Ellis muted criticism of Governor Glenn Youngkin, who fired him for unspecified violations of the Board of Visitors code of conduct, trained his fire on the “far left” faculty and administration of the University, and described what it takes to bring about change in the face of institutional opposition.

    “The governor and I agree on the mission. We disagree on how to implement the mission,” Ellis said. “The mission to me is, if we’re going to fix this university, the only way to fix it is to get rid of the president. He’s driving this thing hard left.”

    Youngkin appointed him to the Board three years ago to be a change agent, Ellis said. “I want you to rattle cages,” he said the Governor told him. “I want you to take the beach and hold the beach for reinforcements until we have enough that we can blow the enemy off.” There was no ambiguity in the message, he added. “It wasn’t sneak ashore and say, pretty please may I have a spot on your beach?

    Schilling asked what went wrong, giving him an opening to discuss the behind-the-scenes drama that led to his ouster, but Ellis chose simply to defend his behavior as a Board member.

    (more…)

  • PJM Capacity Auction Costs Coming to Your Dominion Bill

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    By Steve Haner

    Cost of one megawatt-day of PJM contracted generation capacity effective July 1.

    Dominion Energy Virginia has asked to increase the amount it charges customers for fuel by more than 50%, in part because the cost of that fuel has proven stubbornly high and in part because it now wants to charge us for its out-of-state capacity contracts using the same account as fuel.

    The proposed increase in the fuel factor is $10.92 per month ($131 per year) on an average bill of 1,000 kilowatt hours, but of course many customers use far more kWh than that in an average month.  The Rider A charge has been $20.74 per 1000 kWh since last July.

    This is separate from and in addition to the company’s proposed increase in its base rates, filed on the same date. That may be the focus of a future column.

    The proposed fuel change, if approved, would go into effect July 1. The annual review of the fuel charge used to be a routine and boring process but is now worth exploring. 

    The increase in Rider A is also separate from and in addition to the $3.22 per 1,000 kWh that Dominion is collecting for the massive deferred fuel charges incurred before 2023. That second, “securitized” fuel recovery remains in effect for several more years. The combined fuel cost as of July 1 will be just under $35 per 1,000 kWh. The sum of the two does not seem to be mentioned anywhere in the application (but could have been missed).

    As this author predicted, all the 2023 election year blather about that deferral process being “bill relief” was utter nonsense, and this warning came true: 

    (more…)

  • Who’s Liberating Whom?

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    by

    James A. Bacon

    by Gordon C. Morse

    Loved the headline over an opinion in The Washington Post last Sunday morning: “The beginning of the end of the Trump era.”

    Well, that was easy. What a relief! And I was beginning to worry.

    The argument contained within the Post piece, such as it is, seems to recognize that something fundamental has occurred, that the writer thought (along with his friends and colleagues, he says) that it was a sea-change of sorts. Trump über alles, but then, no, he realized he was wrong. It was just a passing Trump moment, a phase of sorts, now already hung on its depraved techniques and implausible assertions.

    The Post ran this piece, in all likelihood, because it yearns for it to be true. Likely the paper put the headline on the thing, not the writer. Thus people open the paper and see that the storm has passed and a new, better day beckons. It was all just a bad dream.

    The single best advice that any Democrat can receive these days? Come to grips with the world on your own. Do your own homework. Think for yourself. And, for the sake of all that’s holy, put aside most anything you find in The Washington Post or The New York Times these days.

    If you want to contemplate something, consider a tipping point that could knock the Trump administration back. At that moment, public attention will turn to the Democrats in the hope that they will offer a reasonable alternative. Should that hope be frustrated by the Democrats dancing about, doing all the things they were doing prior to November, with little amendment, American political frustration will become acute.

    It’s not easy to diagnose events as they occur and understand what they may mean down the road. In 1988, I was in Oxford, England, rummaging about the odds and ends of a basement church sale and spotted a post card that I’ve kept on an office bookshelf ever since.

    (more…)

  • Bacon Bits: Narrative Busters

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    by

    James A. Bacon

    Selecting the facts that fit the narrative. George Mason University business school professor Brad N. Greenwood was the lead author of an academic article arguing that Black newborn babies are three times more likely to die if cared by for White doctors than Black doctors. Mainstream media jumped on the findings of systemic racial bias faster than a dog on a kitchen-counter steak. Now that study is under attack. Critics say that Greenwood and his co-authors did not adjust for the fact that high-risk, low birth-weight babies tend to be referred to specialists who happen to be predominantly White. Worse, Greenwood apparently suppressed a finding that White babies are also more likely to die if treated by White doctors. The Henrico-based Do No Harm organization obtained documents through the Freedom of Information Act showing that Greenwood wrote in the margin of a draft: “I’d rather not focus on this. If we’re telling the story from the perspective of saving black infants, this undermines the narrative.” Get the details in The Daily Caller.

    From boxing gloves to brass knuckles. Governor Glenn Youngkin supposedly fired conservative businessman Bert Ellis from the University of Virginia Board of Visitors for ungentlemanly interactions with fellow board members and university administrators. But his replacement, former state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, “could prove even more confrontational,” opines Jeff Schapiro in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. As AG, Schapiro recounts, the Cooch sued his alma mater (where he had earned an engineering degree) to obtain emails written by climatologist Michael Mann relating to a research project funded with state dollars. UVA fought the Freedom of Information Act request and won in the courts. The public may have forgotten the litigation, which occurred in the early 2000s, but Cuccinelli and UVA long-timers certainly have not. Personally, I’m hoping that the Cooch will join The Jefferson Council in fighting for transparency at UVA. Ellis donned boxing gloves in his sparring with UVA officialdom. If past is prologue, Cuccinelli will wear brass knuckles. That’s just what UVA needs, though not necessarily what Youngkin wants.

    Paging Steve Haner… paging Steve Haner… Dominion Energy wants to boost its base rates by 13.9%, which could add $21 a month to a typical household’s electric bill by 2027. According to press reports, Dominion blames inflation and investments needed to reliably serve growing demand by data centers. How much do Virginia’s General Assembly-mandated net-zero carbon goals figure into the increase? If only Virginia had a journalist capable of cutting through the complexity and fog….

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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