by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, February 11.
- It’s about 50 degrees warmer than normal near the North Pole, yet again (And record heat in Australia, plus above-normal temperatures around the globe and a major Antarctic ice sheet close to breaking off. Nope, no global warming here! Seriously, though, this should be treated as an all-out emergency, certainly not denied or minimized by anyone.)
- Michael Flynn’s Debacle (“Trump’s national security adviser’s potentially false statements about his pre-inauguration contacts with Russian officials are a major scandal.” The Trump administration’s Iran-Contra equivalent?)
- Hundreds arrested in immigration enforcement raids in at least six states (“The actions, which officials said targeted known criminals, also netted some immigrants who did not have criminal records — an apparent departure from Obama administration policy.” Unless they have actually committee a crime, this is not acceptable.)
- Americans Now Evenly Divided on Impeaching Trump (“Support for impeaching Trump has crept up from 35% 2 weeks ago, to 40% last week, to its 46% standing this week. While Clinton voters initially only supported Trump’s impeachment 65/14, after seeing him in office over the last few weeks that’s gone up already to 83/6.” There’s no question, except by Fox “News” zombies, that he’s unfit to be president.)
- Trump considers writing ‘brand new’ immigration order
- CIA freezes out top Flynn aide (“The agency denied a security clearance for a key aide to the National Security Adviser — ratcheting up tensions between Flynn and the intel community.” Flynn needs to go, ASAP.)
- Trump’s two-year presidency (That would only be if Democrats win back both the House and the Senate, which is a long shot but what the hell, might as well go for it!)
- Trump to Dems: ‘Pocahontas is now the face of your party’ (Why does Trump say bizarre, racist, misogynistic s*** like this? Perhaps because that’s how he thinks?)
- Editorial: America’s So-Called National Security Adviser (Flynn “was always a flawed choice for national security adviser and is irreparably damaged now. No one can believe what he says.” Plus, he’s borderline treasonous.)
- Trump has some awkward exchanges with the Japanese prime minister (“The two world leaders engaged in a 19-second handshake that didn’t appear to end well.” VERY weird.)
- Swarming crowds and hostile questions are the new normal at GOP town halls
- Why Trump Has Declared War on the Judiciary (“He’s making things awkward for his SCOTUS nominee and hurting his chances in court. What’s his endgame?” Authoritarianism?)
- Trump’s China Cave-in Sends a Terrible Message (“The president learns that global politics are harder than a business deal.”)
- Tennessee woman makes the faith-based case for Obamacare (There’s a strong faith-based case for the Affordable Care Act, protection of our environment, welcoming immigrants, and pretty much the opposite of everything Trump and his supporters believe in.)
- Trump brings up vote fraud again, this time in meeting with senators (Trump is mentally unhinged if he really believes this crap, which would imply the 25th Amendment needs to be invoked ASAP.)
- Trump’s attacks on the press — and how the “liberal media” myth has empowered him (“In reality, the mainstream media, or the ‘corporate media,’ is driven primarily by business rationale and the profit motive, not some left-wing or liberal agenda. This is evidenced by the media’s institutional structure, and the startling fact that 90 percent of the media today is owned and controlled by just six multinational corporations — compared to 50 different companies in 1983. “)
- The Grand Old Party of disenfranchisement (“In Virginia, a racially tilted effort advances to block felons from voting.” Heinous.)
- An expensive, useless wall: Cost estimates for Trump’s border boondoggle run higher than promised (It’s worse than useless, it’s wildly counterproductive, stupid, etc.)
- Virginia Adds Another Challenge to Trump Immigration Order, Asks Federal Judge for Injunction (Great work by AG Mark Herring and Virginia Solicitor General Stuart Raphael!)
- Heald: Warner will regret Tillerson vote (The only way Warner would ever regret that vote is if he’s successful primaried in 2020. Very unlikely.)
- Editorial: Why can’t Democrats win the General Assembly? (Not sure why the Roanoke Times is acting like this is a new finding or something. Everyone who follows Virginia politics has known for years that Democratic voter “dropoff” is worse than Republican voter “dropoff” in non-presidential years.)
- General Assembly ousts State Inspector General June Jennings over Jamycheal Mitchell investigation (Virginia Republicans really don’t like Gov. McAuliffe’s appointees, particularly if they are female!)
- Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe pledges to keep vetoing anti-LGBTQ legislation
- Why we probably haven’t seen the last of the Virginia GOP’s attempt to ban abortion after 20 weeks
- Hundreds of Virginia high school students walk out in support of immigrants
- ICE arrests alleged ‘criminal aliens’ in Northern Virginia
- Candidate Perriello Weighs in on Charlottesville Statue Controversy (“Perriello, a native of Charlottesville and a former 5th District representative, says he supports the decision to have the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee moved.”)
- Virginia lawmakers weigh legislation protecting critical Yelp reviews, political speech
- More than 10,000 Women’s March and inauguration attendees have donated their unused Metro cards
- U. S. withholds millions of dollars until Metro Safety Commission is created
- Senate defeats bill to let judges order online publication of legal notices
- Feds probing ex-Norfolk Sheriff Bob McCabe’s ties to jail contractor. What is Correct Care Solutions?
- Touted red tape reduction bill withers on the vine
- Mild weekend with chance of Sunday showers; cold again Monday with gusty winds
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