Today is Earth Day. Friday is the Day of Silence. Both are celebrated, acknowledged, taught – what is the right verb? – in Virginia public schools. What are the public policy issues for politics in schools? Set aside support or opposition to Environmentalism as theology or the Homosexual political agenda. Consider who decides what –…

From today’s Times-Dispatch: A man and woman who live in Louisa County face child-endangerment charges after a family member discovered their two young children intoxicated on cocaine last week, authorities said yesterday. … The boys tested positive for cocaine and a prescription drug found in tranquilizers and sleeping pills. One child was three years old,…

One of my favorite flyspecks is the Tideland town of Swan Quarter, N.C., a tiny burg off the undulating marshes of Pamlico Sound. Years ago, I used to occasionally report from Swan Quarter for a small daily newspaper about an hour’s drive to the west. My late Dad, a urologist, got a fair number of…

Two weeks ago the last PART of THE PROBLEM WITH CARS went on line at Bacon’s Rebellion. Our mail is running 60-40. 60 Percent say: “Right-on! Cars ARE the problem…” 40 Percent say: “No way! You will have to pry my cold dead hands off the steering wheel…” I will not do that, but someone…

Once upon a Monday dreary, while I pondered weak and weary, over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore … the April 21, 2008 edition of the Bacon’s Rebellion e-zine popped into my inbox. Suddenly, the clouds parted, the sun started shining, and life was good. And here’s what the e-zine contained: The…

At 8:50 AM on “The “Mega-State” and the Creative Class” post of 18 April by Jim Bacon, Laura said… “Groveton, Most of your observations about Europe ring true. The one statement that does not, ironically enough, is about the United States. Human settlement patterns in the U.S. are no less an artifact of government intervention…

EMR ruffles feathers. Imagine that! Ed Risse had a chance to speak truth to power last week when he participated in a round table discussion with Fauquier County’s supervisors on the topic of developing a “functional and sustainable future.” Read a bit more about the session in this advance story published in the Fauquier Times-Democrat.…

I’m back from Augusta, Ga., and I’m probably miles behind the rest of the Virginia blogosphere on this topic, but I figured I’d post it anyway. As a father who has sent two daughters through college and anticipate doing the same for a son, I would be most unhappy if my child were attending Randolph…

To answer the obvious question: Yes, I did see Tiger Woods. We camped out around the 11th hole yesterday, and we made a point of staying there until Woods played. As much as I have zero use for celebrity worship, I couldn’t come to the Master’s golf tournament and miss seeing him. And trust me,…

This post is about the Have Nots in the workplace in the Supercapitalist (Robert Reich’s term) economy. Previously I posted about the conditions that frame the individual person’s economic condition. Those conditions can be improved substantially in Virginia by increasing capital. Lower taxes, personal and corporate, create Commonwealth Trust Accounts, reform health care (not addressed…

Well, Baconauts, I find myself in sunny Augusta, Ga. — except it’s not very sunny around 8 a.m. this morning: The town is covered with a thick fog. Anyway, I’m here to observe what has become one of the nation’s largest sporting events. At its peak, up to 150,000 people will crowd the fairways to…

In the first installment of Supercapitalism Redux I listed what I thought were Robert Reich’s key correct findings. Here are my suggestions on what we should do in Virginia about those findings for the common good in the Commonwealth. Everyone has more money and stuff than 30 years ago. Our American poor are richer, materially,…

Norfolk Southern wants to build a $35.5 million intermodal facility in Montgomery County to transfer shipping containers from trucks to rail in an initiative that could remove 150,000 trucks a year from Virginia’s highways. Not only that, but the project could create as many as 2,900 jobs over a 14-locality area from Radford to Lynchburg,…

Re: Supercapitalism: The Transformation of Business, Democracy and Everyday Life by Robert B. Reich. Jim Bacon asked his writers to read and report on this book by former Clinton cabinet official, Robert B. Reich. Here is my homework in several installments. Reich describes the changes in America, and across the world, caused by the transformation…

The Bacon’s Rebellion e-zine publishes again. The April 7, 2008, edition skewers the forces of ignorance and lethargy. Check it out at db4.dev.baconsrebellion.com. Don’t miss a single issue — sign up for your free subscription here. We’ve got a great line-up this week: First, Shoot All The Cars While Virginians seem hell bent upon raising…