Tag: Dick Hall-Sizemore
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To Boldly Go Where No One Has Gone
by Dick Hall-Sizemore A Virginia corporation is one of a handful of companies involved in developing an energy alternative that, if successful, will render the debates over solar, wind, and fossil fuels moot. The alternative is miniaturized nuclear power. Not to be confused with the small modular reactors (SMRs) being explored by Dominion Energy, these reactors,…
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Off the Interstate
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Here are some notable signs from my travel through parts of Southside Virginia last week. No, I was not in California. This is advertising a Martinsville movie theater at the top of a hill, known locally as “Hollywood Mountain.” I passed up getting lunch here. (Outside Martinsville) Yard sign in Mecklenburg County.
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“A Weak and Ineffective Republican”?
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Todd Gilbert may be having mixed feelings today. The U.S. Senate has a custom whereby a member can veto a presidential nomination for a district court judgeship or U.S. Attorney in his or her state. It is called a “blue slip” and Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee…
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Virginia Democrats Get Win in Fight Over Appointments
As reported by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Fairfax circuit court has sided with the Virginia Democratic Senate in its fight with Gov. Youngkin over some of his appointments to boards of visitors of institutions of higher education. The judge issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting recent appointees to the Board of Visitors at the University of…
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Youngkin Being Careful On His Way Out
by Dick Hall-Sizemore With one foot out of the Virginia Governor’s Executive Mansion and both eyes on the White House, Gov. Glenn Youngkin is being careful not to cross Donald Trump. In recent comments he has praised Trump actions and downplayed or publicly ignored any negative effects on the Commonwealth of recent Trump initiatives. Tax and…
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Constitutional Law 101
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The lawyers in the federal Dept. of Education and the Youngkin administration either don’t understand a court decision or are choosing to ignore it. The department has notified the school districts of Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William that their policies allowing transgender students to use restrooms and locker rooms that…
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Which Laws Do We Want to Enforce?
by Dick Hall-Sizemore In a recent post on Bacon’s Rebellion, I cited what I felt was the disproportionate treatment of some undocumented immigrants by the criminal justice system. There was a lot of push back. Most of the negative commentary centered around the fact that the immigrants were in the United States in violation of federal…
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Who is the Threat?
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The Richmond Times-Dispatch recently reported on three men caught up in Virginia’s criminal justice system. The first is Jordan Shelton, a 28-year-old Richmond man. He was on trial in Greene County on a charge of involuntary manslaughter, for which he could have gotten a sentence of ten years. Two years ago, Shelton was driving…
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Virginia Republicans in Congress Caved In
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The national debt is $36.2 trillion. Morgan Griffith (Ninth District), Ben Cline (Sixth District), and John McGuire (Fifth District), Republican members of Congress from Virginia have expressed great concern about the national debt. McGuire has called it “the biggest threat to the U.S.” Several years ago, Griffith lamented the “skyrocketing national debt.” Two…
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Where’s Jason?
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The U.S. Supreme Court, in its eagerness to enhance the power of the presidency, has potentially created a real mess over the question of birthright citizenship. Instead of ruling on the constitutionality of the President’s Executive Order ending birthright citizenship, the Court limited its ruling to the issuance of nationwide injunctions by…
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Do Conservatives Really Want This Precedent?
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The New York Times is reporting that the Trump administration has demanded that the University of Virginia fire President Jim Ryan as the condition for “resolving” the federal government’s investigation into the school’s DEI efforts. President Trump has declared DEI illegal. No courts have done so. As much as they dislike Ryan,…
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Major Hit to Virginia Budget Looming in Congress
by Dick Hall-Sizemore There are many provisions of the reconciliation bill now being considered by the U.S. Senate that would affect Virginia. One issue that would have a great impact is the proposed crackdown on health-related taxes or assessments used by states. The federal Medicaid statutes authorize states to levy taxes, or assessments as they…
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Skating on the Edge of Judicial Ethics
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Thanks to the reporting of the Fredericksburg Free Press, more detail is available on the case of the Spotsylvania County judge indicted on bribery charges. As noted in an earlier article in Bacon’s Rebellion, Richard T. McGrath, chief district court judge of the 15th Judicial District, which includes Spotsylvania County, was indicted…
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More Primary Day Observations
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Dwayne Yancey, editor of the Cardinal News, also has a newsletter, West of the Capital. In his latest edition of the newsletter he reports that there were a significant number of precincts in Southwest Virginia in which no one voted in the Democratic primary. No early votes; no voters showing up on…
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Thoughts on the Primary Election
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The biggest story from the Democratic Primary contest for Lieutenant Governor was that the folks that know Levar Stoney the best, the citizens of Richmond where he was mayor for eight years, are the ones who kept him from winning the nomination for Lieutenant Governor. State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (Chesterfield) won the…