Friday News: Massive Russian Propaganda Effort Aided Trump; “The Lawsuit Presidency”; “The Populism Perplex”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, November 25.

• Russian propaganda effort helped spread ‘fake news’ during election, experts say (Despite all that, Hillary Clinton will end up winning the popular vote by around 2.5 million votes.)
• Trump must build a wall — against conflicts of interest (If he doesn’t do that ASAP, the Electors should reject him. If the Electors don’t do that, Congress should impeach him.)
• The Lawsuit Presidency (“The $25 million settlement of the Trump University fraud cases is only the tip of the iceberg.”)
• The Constitution lets the electoral college choose the winner. They should choose Clinton. (“The electors should not veto the people’s choice, which was Hillary Clinton.”)
• Trump Turning to Ultrawealthy to Steer Economic Policy (Enjoy, white working class, as you get totally screwed.)
• Republicans Divided Between Romney and Giuliani for Secretary of State (I’m not a big fan of Willard Romney, but Rudy Giuliani is a corrupt, frothing-at-the-mouth madman with ZERO foreign policy chops. This SHOULD be a no-brainer for Romney, but noooooo…)
• Here’s hoping Trump flip-flops even more
• Trump inaugural committee having a hard time finding people to perform at swearing in ceremony (Good. Hopefully nobody with any talent will perform.)
• Jill Stein raises over $4.5m to request US election recounts in battleground states (Could Stein, after doing so much damage, actually do something good for a change?)
• White-Collar Supremacy (“There’s nothing new about the alt-right’s intellectual aspirations.”)
• Secret Service in talks to rent space in Trump Tower: report (Absolutely absurd, like everything else with this slimeball and neo-fascistic buffoon.)
• The Populism Perplex (“Democrats have already been pursuing policies that are much better for the white working class than anything the other party has to offer. Yet this has brought no political reward…I don’t know why imagined liberal disdain inspires so much more anger than the very real disdain of conservatives who see the poverty of places like eastern Kentucky as a sign of the personal and moral inadequacy of their residents. One thing is clear, however: Democrats have to figure out why the white working class just voted overwhelmingly against its own economic interests, not pretend that a bit more populism would solve the problem.”)
• Peak “crony capitalism”: Donald Trump indulging in corrupt favoritism isn’t surprising — but so much of it so soon?! (“After running on claims he’d fix a corrupt system, Trump is setting up an economy that enriches his associates”)
• The Alt-Right Is Using Trump (“Ben Shapiro on how the group will take advantage of its newfound prominence.”)
• Why Turkey Is Salivating for President Trump (“The president-elect has a lot in common with Turkey’s leaders — starting with disdain for the establishment.” Both authoritarians as well.)
• Trump’s team of gazillionaires (“The self-styled champion of the working class assembles an administration that could be worth as much as $35 billion.”)
• The world according to Breitbart (“The alt-right publication recently led by Steve Bannon has clashed at times with Trump’s world views.”)
• Trump’s media feud enters new era
• Worried about the administration of president-elect Trump? Try opening your wallet (“Groups that support women, minorities and veterans look to donations to thrive.” And the environment and animals and…)
• For Khizr Khan, work goes on
• In troubled Virginia mobile home park, a legal battle brews (“Manassas residents withhold rent payments as part of their effort to force sewer repairs, stave off eviction.”)
• Study finds cigarette excise taxes can be counterproductive (Uhhhhhh….this “study” was by the far-right, Koch-sucking Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy. Ignore it, or better yet, mock it.)
• Hispanic student is a model of citizenship at Richmond’s Greene Elementary
• Any showers today are unlikely to hinder Black Friday shopping; windier and cool this weekend