by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, December 16. Also check out Sen. Tim Kaine’s interview with WTVR CBS 6 anchor Bill Fitzgerald. Very good questions, by the way…nice job by Bill Fitzgerald.
- Obama says ‘we will’ retaliate against Russia for election hacking (“In an interview that will air Friday on National Public Radio, the president said: ‘I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections … we need to take action.'”)
- Obama to hold press conference at White House on Friday (This could be VERY interesting.)
- Krugman: Useful Idiots Galore (“And it means not acting as if this was a normal election whose result gives the winner any kind of a mandate, or indeed any legitimacy beyond the bare legal requirements. It might be more comfortable to pretend that things are O.K., that American democracy isn’t on the edge. But that would be taking useful idiocy to the next level.”)
- To Understand Trump, Learn Russian (“For the Trump team, the pravda of the 2016 election is that not all Trump voters are explicitly racist. But the istina of the 2016 campaign is that Trump’s base was heavily dependent on racists and xenophobes, Trump basked in and stoked their anger and hatred, and all those who voted for him cast a ballot for a man they knew to be a racist, sexist xenophobe. That was an act of racism.”)
- Trump can’t deny climate change without a fight (“We can already hear the drums of war.”)
- Democratic donors call for Clinton campaign post-mortem (“The wealthy Democrats who helped pump over $1 billion into Hillary Clinton’s losing effort want answers.” Strongly agree; we BADLY need a thorough after-action report, as Clinton should have EASILY won this election.)
- Roof guilty of hate crimes in Charleston church massacre; execution possible (I’m not a fan of the death penalty, but if anyone deserves it, it’s this scumbag.)
- Brothers in White Resentment (“What gave us Donald Trump is what gave us Dylann Roof.”)
- Trump’s pick for ambassador to Israel supports West Bank settlements (Not acceptable, should be rejected.)
- Pundit Larry Kudlow a leading candidate for Trump’s Council of Economic Advisors (This is a bad joke, right?)
- Vladimir Putin wants a new world order. Why would Donald Trump help him? (“The president-elect is cozying up to U.S. foes and turning against allies.” Useful idiot or traitor?)
- John Podesta: Something is deeply broken at the FBI (“Congress needs to look into the FBI’s simultaneous overzealous probe of Hillary Clinton’s emails and lackluster response to Russia’s election hacking.”)
- More Republicans viewing Putin favorably(These Republicans are “sheeple.”)
- Editorial – The Russian incursion requires a swift and decisive response (And “Trump — who flatly declared he doesn’t believe the CIA — needs to treat the question with the gravitas it deserves, and withhold public judgment” I’d add that if Trump was involved in this, he should be in jail for a variety of crimes, including treason.)
- GOP’s worsening Obamacare muddle: There’s still no coherent strategy for replacing the ACA
- Liberals cribbing from conservatives’ playbook to attack Trump (“Activists are modeling their efforts after Judicial Watch’s successful efforts to antagonize Clinton.”)
- North Carolina Republicans lost. So they’re trying to change the rules. (“The state’s legislature could become the most anti-democratic in the country.”)
- Virginian-Pilot editorial: North Carolina’s undemocratic legislature (Time for everyone to boycott North Carolina?)
- Trump goes on a tear against the media (Seriously, this is way beyond Trump being right wing; at this point I’d take Evan McMullin or even Mitt Romney over this whackjob.)
- Trump smears magazine editor who published a critical review of Trump Grill (“Vanity Fair is the latest to feel the wrath of man who believes the First Amendment is too robust.”)
- Donald Trump’s management style may lead to total chaos in the White House — and that could be good news (“Trump’s unfocused management style might lead to apocalypse. But, hey, it could play well for the Democrats!”)
- Tim Kaine on what Virginians can expect from Trump presidency (Kaine says he’s concerned about Trump being “dismissive of our intelligence agencies…Russia engaged in cyberespionage against the United States to influence the election; at some point during the election, Donald Trump even called for them to do it, and we have to take that seriously.” Rex Tillerson “has been “out of step with American foreign policy…I’m very skeptical about the nomination for a variety of reasons.” “The climate issues are important…Virginia is very vulnerable…if you put people in office who are kind of anti-science, what other science don’t they agree with?”)
- North Carolina’s GOP Is Closing Ranks (“Why worry? Because the last time a party used white tribalism to take over the South, its hold lasted for decades.”)
- Cooper threatens to sue over North Carolina GOP ‘power grab’
- Stakeholder group pushes four ways to advance solar in Virginia (That’s fine, but we need a LOT more, as Virginia – thanks to Dominion and other bad actors – is wayyyyy behind when it comes to solar power – and clean energy in general. For starters, Gov. McAuliffe needs to stop coddling Dominion and instead read them the riot act.)
- It’s Deja Vu All Over Again (“Corey Stewart goes on a Twitter rant because he knows exactly what he’s doing.” Something seriously wrong with this dude, just like his former boss Donald Trump.)
- 2016 Republican ‘Advance’ Showcased 2017 Elections, Rising GOP Stars (Good reporting, MUCH more thorough than the traditional media ever does, although obviously – given that it’s a conservative blog – with a pro-Republican slant. Still, nice job!)
- Judge bars reporters from criminal hearing for state Del. Rick Morris (That’s b.s.)
- Survey: Obama’s approval rating hits new high mark in Virginia (Obama’s at 59%-38%, should be even higher but I’ll take it.)
- DuPont agrees to pay $50M in record-setting settlement for river contamination near Waynesboro
- In Virginia, county bigwigs cry ‘sewage’ to block a mosque (“The bigotry behind the board’s vote was transparent.” Can you imagine them doing this to a church???)
- Clarendon Ballroom reports harassing calls after declining to host Trump backers’ ‘DeploraBall’ (Why am I not surprised that Trump supporters would behave like this?)
- McAuliffe doubles down on pipeline support, hints at economic prospects (OK, I’ll double down on saying that he’s really really wrong.)
- Petersburg Police Department’s social media policy held unconstitutional
- Metro fires six after derailment probe finds that inspectors falsified records
- Liberty University to open on-campus shooting range (Jesus would approve. NOT!)
- Virginia Tech says former Hokies football coach involved in Wake Forest game plan leak
- Not quite as cold today, then snow to ice to rain late tonight through Saturday
