Larry Sabato cuts loose on the New and Improved! Daylight Saving Time: Now comes again the dreaded Daylight Saving Time–except for Vietnam, it’s the worst legacy of LBJ’s Great Society from the 1960s. The length of DST was expanded in 1974 and again in 1985, more evidence of the insidious but effective “Day Lobby.” This…

Ben posts the Senator’s retirement announcement here. Say what you will of the man, and Lord knows, I’ve said plenty, but Chichester’s decision marks the end of an era in Virginia politics. My understanding from discussions with people who know the Senator is that he had a strong set of values and an even better…

I’ll be taking a break from blogging during spring vacation. The Bacon family embarks tomorrow upon a cruise through the western Caribbean. The locale is almost incidental: Once you’ve seen one palm tree you’ve seen them all. (That’s just a joke, for the humorless among you. In point of fact, palm trees are endlessly fascinating…

Gov. Mark R. Warner succeeded in getting his 2004 tax increase passed largely on the basis of the promise to taxpayers that he had done everything humanly possible to streamline state government, cut the state workforce and make the state administration run leaner and more efficiently than ever. As evidence for his claims, he could…

Charlottesville Tomorrow has posted a podcast of a speech I delivered Tuesday to the Free Enterprise Forum in Charlottesville. It’s a variant of the stump speech I’ve delivered on several occasions in the past two months, laying out in concise form my view of (a) what’s wrong with transportation in Virgina today, (b) why the…

The grassroots email network is buzzing tonight with rumors that Sen. John Chichester, the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, will not be running for re-election. Chichester will reportedly make the official announcement on Monday. I affectionately referred to Chichester in my columns and postings as “Sir John ‘tax them until they’re dead and then…

The uproar caused by Texas Governor Rick Perry’s Executive Order mandating the HPV vaccine (Gardasil) for 6th grade girls caused the drug manufacturer Merck to announce it will no longer lobby states to make the vaccine mandatory for school attendance. In Virginia, the bill to order the mandatory vaccination of young girls passed the State…

Ever inquisitive, Bacon’s Rebellion has been busy investigating the concerns of Del. Brian Moran, D-Alexandria, that the Republican transportation plan would fund road building at the expense of “holding more classes in trailers, having fewer nursing-home beds for our elderly and failing to provide equipment to our first-responders.” (Ritual disclaimer: I am not defending the…

Bacon’s Rebellion slammed the Republican Party of Virginia for a recent video ad that twisted the facts in the transportation debate. (See “RPV Propaganda.”) Not to be outdone, Del. Brian Moran, D-Alexandria, has launched a website that treats the truth with even more contempt. “Protecting Virginia’s Future Starts With You!” proclaims noraid.net. “Stop the Raid…

A compromise presumes one side has merit. I don’t find that to be the case in the the removal of the Christian cross from a historically Christian chapel because the Cross is offensive to some intolerant, anti-Christian bigots. Yet, in the spirit of comity, not compromise, I support this statement below. Here is the statement…

The March 5, 2007, edition of the Bacon’s Rebellion e-zine is now available online. Never miss a single issue — get the e-zine delivered to your in-box. Subscribe for free. Here are this week’s features: One Man’s Garbage…is another man’s energy-rich biomass. Warrenton Mayor George Fitch views the town landfill as the key to energy…

The only thing worse than the GOP transportation package is the main argument being used against it: that using one percent of the General Fund budget to pay off the transportation bonds somehow endangers spending for schools, health care, law enforcement, etc. According to numbers released today by the House Speaker’s Office, the latest budget…

Joe Blackburn, who is waging a primary challenge to Sen. Walter Stosch, has launched his campaign web site. There’s not a lot to it yet and, as with so many state-level candidate sites, it lacks a blog. In December, Jim and I wondered whether the Blackburn candidacy would offer anything new and different from the…

In a recent blog post, “Arlington Goes Green,” I highlighted Arlington County’s push to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. While I applauded the county’s commitment to energy efficiency, I was concerned about what appeared to be a lack of Return on Investment analysis on the investment of taxpayer dollars. If there was any such analysis, it…

Here’s the TV ad released by the RPV to blackmail Gov. Kaine into signing the Transportation Compromise bill (AKA: Bill Howell’s Tax Increase). For a party that preaches accountability and responsibility, the many half-truths and lies in this ad are simply abhoring.