by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, January 25.
- Trump says he would speak to Mueller under oath in Russia investigation
- ‘It’s a bad path’: GOP lawmakers blast Trump’s tariff decision (“At least six Republican senators condemned the president’s imposition of tariffs on solar panels and washing machines, a split that exposed their party’s divisions over global trade.” Trump just raised taxes; why aren’t “conservatives” all howling?)
- Trump Open to Giving Dreamers Pathway to Citizenship, For the Moment (Give it a few minutes, that will probably change.)
- Republicans Are Using the Russian Playbook on the FBI
- Trump: Sure, I’ll Talk To Mueller. Trump’s Lawyer: Oh God, No
- Soul of a Nation (“Regardless of how it does, it is important to keep two things separate. The first is outrage: Our election was attacked by a foreign power and Trump did not defend our nation or even fully acknowledge the attack, because it benefited him and he feared that acknowledgment would besmirch his brand. The second is Trump’s complete unfitness for office based on his character and his unrelenting assault on morality, ethics, truth, norms and decorum. The first issue is about the sovereignty of a nation, but the second is about the soul of a nation.”)
- The buffoon presidency? Davos elites learn to live with Trump (“The president will arrive in Switzerland to find global business leaders ready to welcome him — or at least to say he hasn’t been as bad as they thought he’d be.”)
- Budget talks progress, as Senate Dems drop Dreamer demand (“But House Democrats may not support a spending deal that lacks relief for young undocumented immigrants.”)
- Cotton Tales (“Tom Cotton’s lies make him a dangerous prospect to head the CIA”
The guy is a sociopath and pathological liar.) - Hundreds of newly created Twitter accounts pushed #ReleaseTheMemo (Shocker, eh?)
- Sentencing Larry Nassar Is Only a Start (“Others must also be held accountable for full justice to be served.”)
- MSU President Lou Anna Simon Resigns Amid Anger Over Handling of Nassar Scandal
- Here are the Larry Nassar comments that drew gasps in the courtroom (The guy is scum, clearly; how about everyone who enabled and/or protected him?)
- Inside the secret, sinister and very illegal cabal trying to destroy Trump (“The Illuminati? The Carbonari? Or perhaps the dreaded Rigatoni?”)
- Democrats lost the shutdown before it started (“The fight was both morally necessary and politically unwinnable.” I tend to agree. The answer? Win elections!)
- Howard Kurtz and the Art of Failing Upwards (“In his long and spotty career as a media critic, Howie Kurtz has been a monument to upward mobility, much like nausea is”)
- Is Ryan Zinke cynical or incompetent? (Why “or” and not “and?”)
- American democracy is failing. The courts are finally starting to notice. (“Democracy’s lost decade.”)
- Sarah Sanders tried to dismiss the latest school shooting in 3 seconds, and it got worse from there (Speaking of sociopaths and pathological liars, how about Sarah Huckabee Sanders? Ee gads.)
- Lawmakers clap back against Justice Department’s subpoena threat over ‘sanctuary cities’
- France’s Macron uses his Davos speech to roast Trump’s climate denial (“Macron has tried to position himself as a leader on climate action since taking office.” The United States, of course, should be the world leader on this. But of course not over ignoramus and fossil fuel industry tool Trump.)
- Sessions congratulates Trump for ending imaginary crime wave (“There’s just one problem — that crime wave never existed in the first place…as recent Brennan Center data indicates, violent crime in America’s largest cities has been steadily decreasing for more than two decades — through both Democratic and Republican administrations.”)
- Jeff Sessions Appears to Be Meddling in the Russia and Clinton Probes He Vowed to Avoid
- DOJ Revelation About Missing Texts Undercuts GOP Anti-FBI Talking Point
- Exclusive: House Science Committee members say President Trump’s lack of science advisers leaves us vulnerable to disaster
- The 2018 Democratic Wave Is About More Than Congress (“Democrats have already picked up 34 Republican-held state legislative seats this cycle. These victories, driven by a burst of enthusiasm in the progressive base, show we’re about to witness a remaking of the Democratic Party. Much of this momentum has come from a simple source: Democrats are running in more places. In Virginia, everyone knows that Democrats won big, but many people overlooked how many of those victories simply could not have occurred in past elections, because the districts were uncontested.”)
- Virginia lawmakers propose runoff elections, not bowls and film canisters, as new way to break ties
- CASEY: The Virginia legislature’s long, sordid saga of electric-utility ‘regulation’ (“If the General Assembly approves a new regulatory scheme promoted by power companies and their legislative lackeys, it’ll be the fourth time in 11 years ratepayers have been screwed. Why are voters putting up with it?” Great question; let your Delegate and/or State Senator know you won’t put up with this crap.)
- Lawmakers from both parties raise alarm about rush to redo Dominion oversight (This bill is a horror show. For starters, my understanding is that it refunds only a VERY small percentage of the $500 million to $1 billion in excess revenues Dominion raked in during the b.s. “rate freeze.” This whole thing has been a scam and a sham from the beginning, the epitome of Virginia’s state of “legalized corruption,” really. By the way, this bill can also start by multiplying those wind numbers by 100, solar numbers by 10, etc. Plus, Dominion needs to be forced to do a massive energy efficiency program, in addition to the tiny “weatherization” stuff the Dominion folks love to brag about.)
- This is what an unjustifiable police shooting looks like (“The release of a chilling video in the death of Bijan Ghaisar makes full disclosure — and accountability — imperative.”)
- Video shows Park Police fired nine shots into Virginia man’s vehicle, killing him (“The video reveals for the first time what happened after the 25-year-old accountant fled the scene of a fender bender.”)
- Anti-pipeline group wants more support from board of supervisors towards pipeline (“On Wednesday night, more than a dozen people showed up to the Augusta County board of supervisors meeting with anti pipeline signs and shirts, speaking against comments they say were made in a board meeting on Monday.”)
- Student privacy bills make gains in the General Assembly
- Editorial: Norfolk leaders’ pledge to residents (“THE NORFOLK City Council made a promise on Tuesday night when it voted to proceed with redevelopment of the 200-acre parcel of land known as the St. Paul’s area.”)
- School Board renames Davis Middle School after slave, Revolutionary War hero from Hampton (Good!)
- Cold quickly gives way to a milder weekend, but Sunday turns damp
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