One of the enduring controversies in Virginia involves the so-called “Gun Show Loophole”. I say so-called because the term “gun show loophole” generates intense debate and considerable emotion. In fact, this article on the “gun show loophole” was inspired by a Bacon’s Rebellion reader who took exception to a comment I posted about the need…

While Gov. Robert F. McDonnell was attorney general in 2006, he did nothing when informed about serious accusations that eventually led to the conviction and 10-year sentence of John W. Forbes II, a former state finance secretary. The accusations come from a front-page article today in the Richmond Times-Dispatch that details efforts to bring to…

Fellow Baconauts. Ever wonder who Groveton really is? Since he has become a regular blogger here, I have taken up the science of Grovetonology where I ceaselessly search for identifying clues. But his true identity remains a closely-held mystery. My threshold understanding is the following: Groveton is a guy who is some kind of executive…

Ever wonder why white opposition to darker-skinned immigrants seems to be centered in outer suburbs such as Prince William and Stafford counties? An analysis of new Census data provides the answer. The reason, the American Community Survey reports, is that immigrants from Latin America and other places are flocking to small towns and outer suburbs…

“Crestfallen” is the only way to describe the feeling. After ALL THE WORK on AntiPartisan action and AntiPartisanism, and then not get invited to the “No Labels” kick off on Monday at Columbia University!! There is no question about the need to stop Whack a Mole Politics and to stop Tossing Rocks at Empty Pigeonholes…

Conservatives are all thumped up about regarding U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson’s declaring a critical part of Obamacare unconstitutional. But before they break out the champagne, they need to consider a few points: The ruling deals only with that part of the health law that has the federal government requiring that all people buy health…

Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli racked up the biggest legal victory of his career yesterday when a federal judge ruled for Virginia in its legal challenge to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare). Wrote Federal Judge Henry E. Hudson on the provision that would compel Americans to purchase health insurance or pay a…

For months now, I have been harping on the theme that Virginia faces a challenging fiscal future and that we need to start getting our financial affairs in order now. Two more straws in the wind… The combined unfunded liabilities of the Virginia Retirement System and other state-supported pension plans adds up to $17.6 billion,…

Gov. Bob McDonnell has announced a $4 billion transportation plan, most of which would be funded through borrowing. The justification for heaping on new state debt is that building now will prove to be cheaper than building in the future, when construction costs and financing costs rise in tandem with a recovering economy. I can…

…………. Note: AZA held his annual holiday party at his SoHo loft Friday evening. Most of the team was there, MSM had to regret due to his leadership on the Marcellus Shale Hydrofracking. The host asked guests to bring suggestions for refining Observer’s 7 Dec humorous comment posted on “Lies About Federal Workers” concerning “The…

Fellow blog readers and Baconauts. Please help me with this. I was just getting over Barack Obama’s surrender to the conservatives on tax cuts when I opened this morning’s newspaper and learned that Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell is really a Keynesian and is willing to blow out the state’s troubled debt obligations to get roads…

The moaning was loud when President Barack Obama last week banned oil drilling offshore of the East Coast until 2017. Politicians from Democratic Sen. Mark Warner to Republicans such as Congressman Eric Cantor and Gov. Bob McDonnell decried the move. “It demonstrates a complete lack of confidence in (industry’s) ability to fix the problems experienced…

A certain Bacon’s Rebellion blogger whose initials are “JAB” has just written a book called “Boomergeddon” in which he takes a strong libertarian/conservative /Cato viewpoint to try and scare us into believing that the end is near because of government spending. And while I dare not name this individual because it would deeply embarrass him,…

From Peirce’s column on Citiwire.net: Cities’ revenues will plunge sharply as property taxes, in their first year of recession-impacted reassessments, get set to decline deeply in 2011. Local government fiscal shortfalls may total $83 billion, which the League of Cities estimates may force up to 500,000 staff reductions. Basic city services will shrink. Infrastructure projects…

We have read posts filed periodically on this blog by a co-blogger (I won’t mention any names but his initials are PG) about the “xenophobic” motives behind the “wicked brew of discriminatory laws” enacted by the “Know Nothings” of Prince William County. Chief among the ordinances passed back in 2007 and 2008 was a provision…