Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, January 29. As for the graphic, it’s yet more evidence of the harm that Chuckie Todd and all the other corporate, right-wing “useful idiots” on Sunday morning’s blatherfest do to America and the world.
*Mainstream Media Outlets Help Romney Smear Hillary Clinton With Discredited Attacks (“ABC And CBS Uncritically Repeat Romney Attacks On Clinton”)
*MSNBC’s Chris Hayes Highlights Conservative Media Criticism Of Sarah Palin Following Iowa Speech (“Hayes: ‘Many Of Us Did Not Need Six Whole Years’ To Realize Sarah Palin ‘Has No Business’ Being President.” Right, it took me about six whole MINUTES to figure out Palin was an imbecile, and that John McCain’s decision to pick her as his running mate reflected extremely poorly on him as well.)
*Huckabee’s hateful true colors: Why his dig about Fox’s “trashy” women is so revealing (“His public image as a softy never quite matched his sexist, bigoted rhetoric. Now we know whom we’re dealing with.” Now? Many of us have known for years.)
*Tea partiers race to the starting blocks (No matter how far right the Republican Party lurches, it’s never enough for the John Birch Society “extremism…is no vice” wing.)
*Federal Coal Program Costing Taxpayers And States More Than $1 Billion Per Year In Lost Royalties (We have our own taxpayer-funded corporate welfare giveaways to the fossil fuel industry going on here in Virginia, too.)
*The NFL’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Year (”
From domestic violence and concussions to racist team names and angry cheerleaders, 2014 was a rotten year for pro football.” What’s amazing is that most Americans just keep on watchin’…)
*Andrew Sullivan Retires From Blogging (I was never a big fan, but he’s no doubt a major figure in the history of blogging.)
*Dems oppose Obama offshore drilling plan (Most, anyway, but not Senators Kaine and Warner. Ugh.)
*House and Senate panels defeat same-sex marriage bills (“House and Senate panels on Wednesday defeated measures that would have repealed the statutory prohibitions in Virginia law on gay marriages, civil unions and other personal contracts between same-sex couples.” Yep, that’s the Republican Party for ya.)
*House panel proposes raises for state employees, teachers
*General Assembly: House GOP spurns McAuliffe on reducing coal tax credits (The taxpayer-funded corporate welfare gravy continues for the fossil fuel industry. Ah, “free markets,” gotta love ’em.))
*Public contract should be public (“Open-records laws aren’t designed to be convenient for officials; they’re intended to ensure government operates transparently, particularly with regard to spending taxpayer dollars.”)
*Annoying but plausible: McDonnells could be fully cleared on appeal (“Fuzzy federal laws and Virginia’s lack of ethics rules could overturn the two convictions.”)
*This time, gun bill passes Virginia Senate committee (“After confusion in a committee Monday, a bill was reconsidered Wednesday. The legislation would stop someone from owning a gun for a year following a conviction for misdemeanor stalking of a family member, sexual battery of a family member or assault and battery of a family member.”)
*Parrish first Republican to enter race for Virginia Senate (“Manassas Mayor Harry J. “Hal” Parrish II will announce Thursday that he is running for the state Senate seat that retiring Sen. Chuck Colgan (D-Prince William) has held for a generation.”)
*HRT unlikely to get Va. lawmakers’ OK for dedicated revenue
*Va. bill would let Dominion keep its books closed to the public until 2023 (“The measure is needed to protect the utility from onerous federal regulations, the proposer says.” More like time to break up this out-of-control, thuggish, corrupt, polluting company.)
*Former Rep. Jim Moran from Northern Virginia to lobby on behalf of defense, tech (Shocker. Not.)
*Stop blaming U-Va. sorority sisters and other women for rape problem
*Tejada will not run for reelection to Arlington board
*DEVELOPING: Leesburg’s Ken Reid won’t seek re-election
*Cold today, with possible light rain or wintry mix; chance of weekend snow
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