by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, December 22. Also check out Seth Meyers on the effect “Donald Trump’s cabinet picks might have on climate change.”
- For top jobs in Trump’s government, right look matters as much as résumé (Bizarre — “reality TV”-type “thinking” comes to real life.)
- The Trump family must make clear that influence is not for sale
- Republicans always do what the Koch brothers tell them, right? Not this time. (“GOP leaders are pushing a business tax reform plan in the House, but the billionaire bank-rollers of right-wing politics don’t like it.”)
- James Comey’s year of unintended — and ruinous — consequences (Definitely ruinous, not sure they were unintended.)
- Trump on future of proposed Muslim ban, registry: ‘You know my plans’ (Sounds like a cartoon villain – what next, “you can’t stop my diabolical plans…with the laser…bwahahahahahaha?”)
- Timid Liberals Blew the Election by Flinching at Hillary Clinton’s Email Server (“As near as I can tell, Hillary Clinton did nothing wrong. Period. No shilly-shallying, no caveats. It’s true that the optics were sometimes bad, and the whole affair showed off Clinton’s political instincts at their worst. But that’s it. Both legally and ethically, she did nothing wrong. And liberals should have been willing to say so. But a lot of them weren’t…Liberals should have defended her with gusto from the start…The result was that in the public eye, both liberals and conservatives were more or less agreeing that there was a lot of smoke here. So smoke there was. And now Donald Trump is a month away from being president.”)
- N.C. lawmakers abandon attempt to repeal ‘bathroom bill’ (Time to expand boycotts of North Carolina.)
- Health Plan Sign-Ups Rise Even as G.O.P. Plans Its Repeal
- Exclusive: A Former Apprentice Producer Responds to Donald Trump Being Elected President (“Did we think this clown, this buffoon with the funny hair, would ever become a world leader? Not once. Ever.”)
- Rex Tillerson’s Special Friend in the Kremlin (“Trump’s secretary of state nominee is a gift for Putin. He’s an even bigger gift for Putin’s right-hand man.”)
- Trump hasn’t been sworn in yet, but he’s already done with ‘drain the swamp’ (“It was a good run.”)
- Donald Trump’s trade team has based their analysis on a remarkably silly mistake (This entire administration is going to be a “remarkably silly mistake” – or worse.)
- In North Carolina, a return to strong-arm rule
- Trump’s budget director pick: “Do we really need government-funded research at all” (Extremist nutjob.)
- How Facebook’s Fake News Ecosystem Empowers Total Lies (“How Fake News Purveyors Used Facebook To Create The Notorious ‘Pizzagate’ Conspiracy Theory”)
- Editorial: Our first look at the candidates for governor
- Revised sales tax proposal leaves many Va. retailers unhappy
- Arizona agrees to bar use of execution drug Virginia plans to use next month (We’re nastier than Arizona? Congrats…or something.)
- Virginia Republicans Are Going to Introduce a 20-Week Abortion Ban for the Third Time (They are obsessed with controlling women’s bodies.)
- Virginian-Pilot editorial: Coastal health imperiled by push to drill (It’s also stupid from an economic perspective, as the world is moving rapidly towards solar, wind, etc.)
- Most Norfolk schools employees earn less than local counterparts with same experience, report says
- Wanted: Retired teachers to help troubled Va. school district (“Gov. McAuliffe appealed to retirees to consider returning to Petersburg’s classrooms.”)
- Cancer-stricken ‘Jeopardy!’ champ Stowell was Virginia Tech graduate
- Arlington offers a lesson in school diversity (“A student questions the Arlington School Board’s commitment to reducing economic segregation.”)
- City attorney: Richmond mayor lacked authority to unilaterally authorize $1.9 million in bonuses
- Mild sunshine today; Saturday showers clear out for Christmas
