Bacon's Rebellion

Democracy Thrives in Sunlight

Author: James A. Bacon

  • The Masking of America

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    James A. Bacon
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    by Kerry Dougherty Here we go again. Seems America’s insufferable micromanagers have moved on from spying on neighbors to shaming strangers for not wearing masks at the supermarket. You know who you are. I feared this would happen the moment the CDC recommended that, when out in public, folks should consider wearing fabric face masks.…

  • COVID-19 Update: A Glimmer of Hope

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    James A. Bacon
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    The latest numbers from the Virginia Department of Health are heartening. The COVID-19 epidemic in Virginia has not peaked, or come anywhere near peaking. But maybe, just maybe, the rate of acceleration is slowing. Another way to put it: It may take a bit longer than we thought for things to go all to hell.…

  • The Progressives’ “Opportunity of a Lifetime”

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    James A. Bacon
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    by James C. Sherlock Virginia faces a crisis of governance during COVID-19, and the repercussions will play out in the General Assembly and in our elections for federal offices this fall. The political campaigns both within and outside the General Assembly will be about policy rather than the administrative skill to carry it out. In…

  • Virginia Jails and Prisons Brace for Pandemic

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    James A. Bacon
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    by a contributing writer Fears of COVID-19 outbreaks among prisoners and correctional employees have begun to be realized. Department of Corrections efforts to mitigate infections have been notably effective, yet confirmed cases now include 13 inmates and five staff, as well as one inmate in the Fairfax County jail. Dozens more are being monitored. Given…

  • COVID-19 Update: A Brief Respite in the Relentless Climb

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    James A. Bacon
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    Don’t get your hopes up. Yes, it is true that the number of new COVID-19 cases reported by the Virginia Department of Health this morning dropped 40%, but don’t make too much of one day’s results. As the chart above shows, the number of new confirmed coronavirus cases shows considerable volatility. Confirmed cases vary for…

  • Constructive Criticism in a Crisis

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    James A. Bacon
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    by James C. Sherlock Steve Haner and I have expressed the exact same three-phase reaction to state government missteps in the COVID-19 crisis. At first we gave the Governor slack because we knew he was unprepared and is supported by bureaucracies similarly unprepared for the new realities and that both needed time to adjust. Then,…

  • COVID-19 Update: Blastoff!

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    James A. Bacon
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    According to data published by the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) this morning, the number of new COVID-19 cases confirmed in Virginia Friday shot up to 395, up from 306 the previous day, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 2,407. To emphasize the change in the number of new cases, I have changed…

  • Percent of Positive COVID-19 Tests on Upward Trend

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    James A. Bacon
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    Ask and ye shall receive. In the comments section of a recent post, Don Rippert makes an interesting observation: “The cue for a serious outbreak seems to be a rise in percent positive for those being tested. That’s why Michigan and Indiana are being watched closely right now. As I recall from the article I…

  • COVID-19 Coverup?

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    James A. Bacon
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    by James C. Sherlock I have published criticisms of the Northam administration’s handling of COVID-19 crisis not to embarrass the administration but to inform it and recommend how it might improve. But I find the administration’s action in removing from public view the main source of that embarrassment — “the page you are looking for…

  • The Energy Free Market that Isn’t

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    by Jane Twitmyer The South, including Virginia, has been slow to build clean, transformed utility systems. Last year,  major corporations including Costco, Cox, Kroger, Sam’s Club, Target and Walmart petitioned Virginia regulators to allow them to meet their renewable energy goals by purchasing their electricity from third parties. Dominion Energy’s response was to commission a…

  • COVID-19 Update: Hospitalizations, Deaths Mount

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    James A. Bacon
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    Today’s data update from the Virginia Department of Health shows an an accelerating increase in confirmed new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths yesterday. Total COVID-19 cases: 2,012, up 306 over the previous day. The previously highest daily increase was 239. Total hospitalizations: 312, up 66 from the previous day. The previously highest daily increase was…

  • Virginia Shortchanged by National Stockpile? Don’t Complain, Do Something

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    by James A. Bacon Virginia has received only a fraction of the medical supplies from the Strategic National Stockpile it needs to fight the COVID-19 virus, according to documents released by the House Committee on Oversight and reform. “The new documents we are releasing today confirm the urgent warnings we have been hearing from our…

  • Latest COVID-19 Job Toll: 112,000 in Virginia Last Week

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    James A. Bacon
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    by James A. Bacon The latest unemployment claims are in, and they’re brutal — more than twice the level in Virginia (and across the country) of last week, which was, by far, the worst week in the history of the United States. For the week ending March 28, the number of seasonably unadjusted initial claims…

  • Help Is Available, Governor

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    James A. Bacon
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    by James C. Sherlock The issues I spotlighted yesterday in Governor Northam’s news conference are not a Democrat or a Republican thing. They just need to be fixed. If you or I were elected Governor, we would consider our new responsibilities.  We would find that we have basically four: Appoint competent and hard-working cabinet and sub-cabinet…

  • More COVID-19 Innovators and Heroes

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    From Taiwan with love. Dr. Scott Hickey, president of the Virginia College of Emergency Physicians, is contracting with two Powhatan County companies to produce boxes designed to protect emergency health care workers while they intubate patients with COVID-19. Designed by a doctor in Taiwan, the protective box is being replicated in the U.S. to shield…