Tag: Dick Hall-Sizemore
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The Camel in the Tent
In 2022, the General Assembly disregarded two long-standing principles of funding transportation projects in the Commonwealth. Republican Gov. Youngkin followed down that path this year. The General Assembly has dedicated sources of revenue to be used for transportation, with general government functions being financed by general income and sales taxes and other special funds. The…
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Contracting Out the Space Race
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Because the focus of this blog is on Virginia politics and public policy, I am loath to venture beyond those boundaries. However, I have recently become concerned about an issue (nonpartisan, I hope) that has ramifications beyond the Commonwealth. I am interested in the opinions of those on this blog who may…
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The Fight Against Invasives
by Dick Hall-Sizemore One fascinating aspect of the General Assembly is legislation that does not make headlines but is important to a fervent group of Virginians and that could have an impact on the state as a whole. In recent years, the problem of invasive plants has gained the attention of legislators. In 2009, the…
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A Traditional Conservative Issues Warning
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Liz Cheney was in Richmond Saturday night delivering her warning about Donald Trump. Cheney represented Wyoming in the U.S House of Representatives and held the No. 3 leadership position in the Republican caucus. She served on the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. Her speech…
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Doing the Math
by Dick Hall-Sizemore I have a dilemma. I can’t decide if I am just like most old farts who think “the way I used to do it” is the right way and the modern way is all screwed up, or if I am just out of touch with the modern way. Here is the situation.…
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The Speaker Rules
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates is widely regarded as the second-most powerful figure, after the Governor, in Virginia state government. Speaker Don Scott (D-Portsmouth), elevated to the position this session after only two terms in the House, has let the power go to his head. Rather than acting like…
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Dueling Fiscal Impact Statements
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Providing a fiscal impact statement (FIS) for legislation is a positive aspect of the legislative process. The statement can alert the legislators to the possible fiscal implications of a bill under consideration and its estimated cost. Thus, legislators are in a position to make a more informed decision about supporting the bill.…
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Biting the Hand that You Need
by Dick Hall-Sizemore If you are a Virginia governor entering the last two years of your term with your party in the minority in both houses of the legislature and are depending on the other party to help you put in place a major project which would be part of your legacy, why would you…
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Checking up on Steve Descano
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Contributors and many readers of this blog have been highly critical of Steve Descano, the Commonwealth’s Attorney for Fairfax County. They belittle him as being a Soros-backed, “woke” prosecutor, soft on crime. They seem to have missed Descano’s involvement in a recent high-profile case. As described by The Washington Post, the defendant…
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But It’s Just a Little Bit of Money
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Ben Cline, the Commonwealth’s Republican member of the U.S House of Representatives from the 6th District, is very upset about the level of federal spending and the state of the federal deficit. Cline is chairman of the Republican Study Committee’s Budget and Spending Task Force. In a press release last year, he…
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Didn’t We Settle This Divisive Concept Long Ago?
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Governor Glenn Youngkin has signed on to a constitutional position that Virginia and other Southern states used to justify secession from the United States over 170 years ago. Here, in a nutshell, are the events that led to this situation: Greg Abbott ordered razor wire placed in the Rio Grande River to…
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Competition for Schools
by Dick Hall-Sizemore One of the good bills introduced in the General Assembly this year would bring a measure of competition in public schools. Put in by Sen. Mark Peake (R-Lynchburg), SB 552 would require school districts to allow students to attend any school in the district. Currently, districts are allowed to adopt such open…
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Richmond Shoots Itself in the Foot–Again
by Dick Hall-Sizemore It never ceases to amaze me how the City of Richmond seems unable to accomplish even the most basic functions of government right. The latest snafu occurred in the office of the General Registrar. A fourth of the voters requesting absentee ballots for the upcoming Democratic presidential primary election received outdated instructions.…
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The Monster at the End of the Book
by Dick Hall-Sizemore We have created a monster. The genie is out of the bottle. Whatever metaphor you want to use, there is no going back and the way forward poses great dangers. The monster or genie is AI. The media are full of the promising possibilities of AI improving our lives—great leaps in medicine,…
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A Doggone Tale
by Dick Hall-Sizemore A recent special election in Southside Virginia is a stark illustration of how a small special interest group can exercise out-sized power. In mid-December, long-time state Sen. Frank Ruff (R-Mecklenburg), announced he was resigning from the Senate, shortly after having been re-elected to a seventh term. He had received a diagnosis of…