Bacon's Rebellion

Democracy Thrives in Sunlight

Tag: Les Schreiber

  • Ed Gillespie’s Trumpian Appeal to the Alt-Right

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    James A. Bacon
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    by Les Schreiber The recent events in Charlottesville to protest the removal of the Robert E. Lee statue morphed into a shocking display of anti-Semitism.  The pictures of torch-bearing protesters chanting “Jews will not replace us” resembled 1930s marches in Nuremberg, Germany.  The current leader of the Republican Party, Donald Trump, could not bring himself…

  • Steve Bannon: Richmond Boy Made Good… Er Bad

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    James A. Bacon
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    by Les Schreiber Virginia has contributed much to the political growth of the United States: George Washington as leader of the Revolutionary Army and first president; Patrick Henry as fiery supporter of the Revolution; Thomas Jefferson as author of the Declaration of Independence and third president. More recently, Doug Wilder became the first African American…

  • Virginia Retirement System — Trouble Ahead

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    Last week as I was watching the business channel, I was very interested in the comments of AIG’s head of investments about the effects of low interest rates on his firm. For those involved in life insurance and other long-term products, today’s historically low interest rates pose a significant problem. With negative rates on investment-grade…

  • The System Is Rigged… and Trump Ought to Know

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    Back in the day, Virginia was one of the most reliable Republican states in presidential elections.  That changed in 2008, with the election of President Obama.  Current polling indicates that the deeply flawed Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton has a double-digit lead over Donald Trump.  The core of this support seems to be amongst college-educated whites…

  • Why “The Donald”

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    Last summer as the Dow Jones average hovered near its all-time high of 18,000+, one of the commentators on the CNBC business channel commented that Lloyd Blankenfein had just joined the billionaire’s club. I was a bit taken aback. While Goldman is the premiere investment bank on Wall Street, during the 2008-2009 financial crisis, the…

  • A Book Review for an Election Year

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    Along with income inequality, one of the most-discussed issues in the Presidential election year is the role of money in political campaigns.  Following the Roberts Court’s ruling in the Citizens United Case, which basically equated money with free speech, large numbers of Political Action Committees masquerading as charities, such as the Americans for Progress, were…

  • Welcome to the Fan, Randy

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    In recent years Virginia’s politics has appeared disjointed. In the past two presidential elections, the Democratic nominee has prevailed here. The current governor as well as both U.S. Senators, John Warner and Tim Kaine, are Democrats. Yet representation in the House of Representatives favor the House G.O.P. by a ratio of 8-to-3.  It is small…

  • Thanks For the Memories

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    I have not written much over that past several months because I have been dealing with some family problems. I thought a brief article on the Dave Brat interview might be worth a comment. Boy,was I wrong. I was upset at one of the responses to my Brat article and have decided that continuing to…

  • Dave Brat, What to Make of this Guy?

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    As I flipped though the New York Times Sunday Magazine, I was shocked to find a full-page interview with Rep. David Brat.  The Times usually does not pay much attention to House freshmen, but Brat has created a high profile for himself by becoming an outspoken member of the “Freedom Caucus” of ultra-right wing Republicans…

  • Economics Works

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    Les Schreiber
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    Now that Jim and his great family are enjoying a break on the OBX, I thought some far Left stories from the New York Times might brighten his day. I retired from teaching at the end of the 2008-09 school year. That was right in the middle of the financial crisis. Unlike Goldman Sachs, which…

  • Comments on a Book Review

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    Les Schreiber
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    Yesterday, on this site, a book entitled “Ethics and Economics ,” authored by      Mr. Wight,was discussed. The review raised a few points that were a bit unclear to me. One of the points made was that the government lacks knowledge about society. This is a bit surprising since the Bureau of Labor Statistics,…

  • Something to Think About

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    Les Schreiber
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    Last week I was reading in the New York Times an article on Jeb Bush’s plans for the economy. One of his talking points was to reduce the federal workforce by 10%. For a state as dependent on the Feds as Virginia, this could have serious financial implications. Already, in the CNBC rankings as the…

  • A New Book On Recent Virginia History

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    Les Schreiber
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    Without trying to upset anyone, I can report that the dreaded left-leaning NYT has a book review that may interest some readers of this site. “Something Must Be Done About Prince Edward County” is reviewed in Sunday’s book review. The book,by Richmond resident Kristen Green is the story of how and why Prince Edward closed its…

  • Who Are They To Hate Now?

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    Les Schreiber
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    Virginia’s GOP has suffered some significant loses over the past few days. The “Stars and Bars” have become toxic, Roe v Wade is still the law of the land, the Affordable Care Act has again been ruled Constitutional by the Supremes and gay marriage is the law of the land. Isn’t it time for fauxconomist…

  • Coal Business

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    Les Schreiber
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    For those looking for something to do on a hot Sunday, have a look at the business section of today’s New York Times. On the first business page there is a very “interesting” article concerning Richmond based Massey Energy and Don Blankenship . The story told is not a pretty one and led to the…