Wednesday News: Trump “Purge” Begins as “Disarray” and Even “Real Panic” Sets In; “The Alt-Right Is Real. It Is Truly Terrifying”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, November 16. Also check out the NewsHour story on the rise in hate crimes in this time of Trump. Important comments by Rizwan Jaka of All Dulles Area Muslim Society (“ADAMS”) Center, Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center and Eddie Glaude of Princeton University.

• Key figures purged from Trump transition team (“Trump appeared to be increasingly uncomfortable with outsiders and suspicious of those considered part of what one insider called the ‘bicoastal elite.'” This is going to be an absolute disaster.)
• Firings and Discord Put Trump Transition Team in a State of Disarray (“U.S. Allies Struggle to Make Contact as Protocols Ignored” Utter debacle; very dangerous too.)
• Donald Trump’s Transition Team, Or Lack Thereof, Is Causing Real Panic (Heckuva job so far, eh?)
• There Is No Trump Pivot (“At least not yet.”)
• How Donald Trump might have saved Paul Ryan’s job (“A Freedom Caucus revolt against the speaker was brewing before Election Day.”)
• Democrats move to more aggressive stance against Trump (“A growing chorus of Democrats plan to focus on the immediate challenge of contesting Trump’s appointments to key roles, especially those that require Senate confirmation.”)
• John McCain: A Trump administration thaw with Russia is ‘unacceptable’
• This Viral Lie About Denzel Washington Is The Perfect Illustration Of Facebook’s Fake News Crisis (Facebook is a big part of the problem, not sure it can be fixed as it is fundamentally flawed.)
• Why social media is terrible for multiethnic democracies (“I don’t see how we can ever trust each other again.” —NYU social psychologist Jonathan Haidt”)
• The highest value for Trump’s transition team appears to be personal loyalty to Donald Trump (Definitely not competence, that’s for sure.)
• Glenn Beck: “The Alt-Right Is Real. It Is Truly Terrifying” (“Beck Points Out The Racist Intellectual Leaders That Make Up Alt-Right, And Steve Bannon’s Support For Them”)
• Trump owes us his tax returns now more than ever
• Don’t blame the electoral college. Here’s how Democrats can take back politics. (“They need a blue tea party movement to win on the state level.”)
• It’s the end of the West as we know it (“By design or by default, Donald Trump transmits signals of support to the forces seeking to fracture Europe.”)
• Wake up, Democrats: We’re in big trouble, and this is how to fix it (“Emphasize more jobs, not just fairer jobs; and achieve social progress with less social shaming.”)
• Trump’s campaign made it safe to hate again. Will he turn that around? (Doesn’t look like it so far.)
• I told conservatives to work for Trump. One talk with his team changed my mind. (“In a normal transition, there’s always disorder. This time may be much worse.”)
• Democratic-leaning cities brace for fight with Trump over sanctuary policies
• For my 92- year-old dad and uncle, history seems to be repeating itself (“When it comes to civil rights, it can often feel like three steps forward, two steps back.”)
• Trump could cause a train wreck at the Fed (“The Federal Reserve is set to raise interest rates. The president-elect might not like that.”)
• Trump’s ‘blind trust’ is neither blind nor trustworthy
• Bernie Sanders: Trump already breaking campaign promise to ‘drain the swamp’ (To the stark contrary, Trump is busy expanding the “swamp” as fast as he can.)
• Why Giuliani Shouldn’t Be Secretary of State (“The former New York mayor has demonstrated poor judgment throughout his career.” And he’s completely lost his mind in recent years.)
• Secretary of which state? Rudy Giuliani, America’s mayor, has worked for many countries not named America (“Giuliani, a top contender for Secretary of State, has personally pocketed millions from Qatar, Venezuela and others”)
• Voter suppression helped make Donald Trump president — now he’ll make it worse
• The GOP Civil War Is Just Beginning (“Formerly conciliatory Trump skeptics are backing away from the president-elect.”)
• There’s No Such Thing as a Good Trump Voter (“People voted for a racist who promised racist outcomes. They don’t deserve your empathy.”)
• Here’s How Bad It Is
• GOP foreign policy leaders grow despondent (“After a burst of optimism that Trump would take a conciliatory path, veterans of past administrations express alarm at names being floated for top posts.”)
• How Trump’s victory could give Russia another win (Putin is thrilled right now)
• Clinton’s lead in the popular vote passes 1 million
• Coal Isn’t Coming Back (“Market forces, not environmental regulations, have doomed the coal industry.”)
• Friedman: Mr. Trump, Help Heal the Planet
• Douthat: A Populism Unready for Power
• Obama: Congress stopped me from helping Trump supporters (Yep.)
• Obama in Trumpland (Obama “doesn’t want historians to write that he opened the door to a monster. So he’s pressing for a sunnier tale: the monster defanged, the nation safe and sound.” Except for one problem: the monster is NOT defanged at all.)
• Tim Kaine Cites Importance of Senate Democrats as Check on Trump
• Kaine: Senate Dems are an ’emergency brake’ (It’s time to start applying it.)
• Will Northern Va. stay blue for 2017 governor’s race? (That’s an important question.)
• Our view: Report on VEDP is damning
• Appropriations Committee promises to restore money cut from Va. State Police budget
• Jim Webb applauds Donald Trump, says election shows Democrats have lost white working class
• Schapiro: In attracting new business, Va. gets the business
• Justice Department weighs in on Virginia DMV class action case
• Virginian-Pilot editorial: Keep an eye on economic development spending (“A legislative report this week found that the economic improvement powers of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership to be near zippo.”)
• Voters across the country are taking transit funding into their own hands. Not so near the District. (“Meanwhile, Metro, an orphan divided three ways, struggles for cash.”)
• Council discusses voters’ rejection of light rail and the future of transportation in Virginia Beach
• Former Va. governor Bob McDonnell joins faculty of televangelist’s college (Hahahah, of COURSE he does — a perfect fit between Pat Robertson’s “school” and slimeball “Sodomy Bob” McDonnell.)
• Alexandria, Falls Church, Arlington officials see ways to cooperate, save money
• Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel to be expanded next fall
• Group of U-Va. students, faculty ‘deeply offended’ by Thomas Jefferson being quoted at school he founded (Hmmmm…)
• Liberty’s Falwell open to working with Trump on education issues (Gack.)
• More mild days through Saturday, then a blast of cold and wind