by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, November 19. A couple tweets capture my feelings this morning. First, Norman Ornstein: “Want Exhibit A of moral bankruptcy of mainstream press? See how many front page, above the fold stories on Mike Pence hiding emails.” Second, Rob Reiner: “A president-elect pays 25M for defrauding people of their life savings. MSM yawns. But use an email server legally, now that’s a story.”
- Trump signals intent to keep hard-line promises with choices for senior national security posts (I love the weasel words the corporate media comes up with – “fiery” as opposed to “bigoted,” “hard line” as opposed to “extremist.”)
- Government by the Worst Men (“Donald Trump’s appointees represent a coherent ideology and perspective, one that should terrify all Americans.”)
- A Trump University Settlement Is the Ultimate Con
- All That Stand Between Trump and Major Ethics Lapses Are Political Norms. Oh God.
- Trump agrees to $25 million settlement in Trump University fraud cases (“The deal ends the possibility that Donald Trump would be called in the midst of his transition to testify about the defunct real estate seminars.”)
- Trump’s security picks deepen Muslim worries about an anti-Islamic White House (Every non-Muslim should worry as well.)
- Sessions expected to bring sweeping changes to Justice Dept. (Yeah, really really bad ones, like not enforcing/gutting civil rights and environmental laws.)
- Trump’s fake-news presidency (“His array of impossible promises and false claims has all the appearances of a Ponzi scheme.”)
- Trump has made some dangerous appointments (“His choices for national security adviser and CIA director could trigger new foreign policy problems.”)
- This isn’t just a photo of Ivanka Trump. It’s a middle finger to democracy. (“Shredding democratic traditions, one image at a time.”)
- In the age of Trump, what is a Christian? (“It’s a haunting question, especially when tied to race.”)
- Trump’s big infrastructure plan? It’s a trap. (“…the Trump plan would not be a reasonable compromise — acceptance of its huge tax breaks for construction investors and profits for contractors would be a wholesale concession. Democrats supporting such a deal in the moment will find that their votes will wear poorly in the future.”)
- Donald Trump’s atrocious attorney general pick: Jeff Sessions will roll back voting rights and civil rights
- Donald Trump is bringing torture back: His entire foreign-policy team is comprised of big fans of the worst Bush-era practices
- Mike Pence Booed at ‘Hamilton’ Performance (Well deserved booing.)
- Social media sites can’t allow fake news to take over
- Mike Pence Saw ‘Hamilton.’ The Cast Had Something to Say. (“We, sir — we — are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents, or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights. We truly hope that this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and to work on behalf all of us.”)
- Bannon: ‘I’m not a white nationalist, I’m a nationalist’ (Uh, ok.)
- Like a double dose of Dubya: Donald Trump’s presidency will be like the George W. Bush disaster — only worse (“The Trump White House already resembles a far more extreme version of the disastrous Bush administration” And this one could very well be doubly disastrous.)
- Trump appointees endorsed link between Islam and radicalism (“Flynn, Bannon represent ‘Islamophobic’ thinking of the type rejected by Bush and Obama, critics say.”)
- What Trump’s early picks say about his administration (“The president-elect is rewarding the incendiary figures who helped guide his improbable campaign, but is also throwing a bone to establishment Republicans.”)
- Michael Flynn: An Alarming Pick for National Security Adviser
- Jeff Sessions as Attorney General: An Insult to Justice
- Mike Pompeo, Trump’s pick for CIA director, could take the agency back to its darkest days
- Jeff Sessions, Trump’s attorney general pick, would be a massive setback for civil rights
- Editorial: Maybe Democrats should have listened to Jim Webb (“Webb was the Democrats’ Donald Trump — just without the bigotry…Democrats are torn between two ways forward. One is to try to reconnect with those white, working class voters who are suddenly the stars of this year’s election. Or they can write them off for good, and bank on realignment working in their favor.”)
- Virginia Democrat urges party to move away from politics of fear (“Lone Muslim in the General Assembly scolds his party for demonizing Republican voters”)
- UVa officer who yelled ‘Make America Great Again’ at students has resigned
- Democratic state lawmaker resigns leadership post, calls for ‘radical change’ after Trump’s win
- Five of 12 anti-Trump protesters arrested in Richmond did not vote (Brilliant!)
- Norfolk mayor’s criticism of police chief’s decisions began early
- UMW ‘asking tough questions’ as it braces for budget cuts
- Franklin County community counters anti-gay slur with love
- Winter comes rushing in behind a strong front today, cold and windy into early week
