Friday News: “The Axis of Climate Evil”; The “Quisling in the White House”; Trump “totally unequipped to handle North Korea”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, August 11.

• It’s unambiguous and definitive. These five charts prove that the planet is heating up. (“An international report, from 450 scientists, shows proof of a warming world.” It’s not just “warming,” either, it’s ocean acidification and a lot of other potentially disastrous effects.)
• Krugman: The Axis of Climate Evil (“First, and most obvious, there’s the fossil fuel industry — think the Koch brothers — which has an obvious financial stake in continuing to sell dirty energy…Finally, there are a few public intellectuals — less important than the plutocrats and ideologues, but if you ask me even more shameful — who adopt a pose of climate skepticism out of sheer ego.”)
• Trump says he is ‘very thankful’ to Putin for expelling U.S. diplomats from Russia (As Rep. Gerry Connolly says: “Trump thanks Putin for expelling US diplomats from Russia. We have now moved from collusion to a Quisling in our White House.”)
• The Way Out of Trump’s Ad-Lib War With North Korea (“There is no military option short of a potentially costly and deadly war that would result in many thousands of military and civilian casualties, he said.”)
• What Does It Say That Half the GOP Base Would Support Trump’s Authoritarianism? (“Trump’s authoritarianism is merely the most extreme manifestation of the Republican party’s growing authoritarianism. The good news is that the transformation is not complete, and that enough remains of the old mainstream party to shackle the president’s most dangerous impulses. But the fact that he is being curtailed should not blind us to evidence of how far the party has already gone.”)
• Congressional investigators want to question Trump’s longtime secretary, Rhona Graff, in Russia probe
• China warns North Korea: You’re on your own if you go after the United States (“The statement came in a state-owned newspaper’s editorial. But China will step in, the newspaper wrote, if the U.S. tries a preemptive strike to force regime change.”)
• In dealing with North Korea, Trump needs allies — not bombast
• Someone needs to distract Trump with a shiny object (“He’s totally unequipped to handle North Korea.”)
• Trump is a toddler in a car (“His toothless threats are just as likely to encourage North Korea as to discourage it.”)
• The Trump Justice Department joins the GOP crusade to shrink the vote
• Trump Suggests North Korea Threat ‘Wasn’t Tough Enough’
• Wrestling With North Korea, Trump Finds Perilous Options
• CNN Fires Chief Trump Supporter Jeffrey Lord After ‘Sieg Heil’ Tweet (Yep, that’s what it takes to get fired by CNN, the worst “news” network this side of Fox.)
• None of these awful moments got Jeffrey Lord fired from CNN, but a two-word tweet did
• West Virginia’s governor wants a coal bailout. Republicans should ignore him. (So, are Republicans going to go all in for corporate welfare, picking “winners and losers,” etc?)
• Pundits Are Bending Over Backward to Find Meaning in Trump’s Bellicose Word Vomit
• It’s time to fight the alt-right — but not by actually fighting in the street (“Direct confrontation with alt-right goons is a bad idea: There are more productive channels for righteous anger”)
• White House adviser says people should stop criticizing white supremacists so much (“Gorka can’t stop talking.”)
• Former GOP Sen. Gordon Humphrey: ‘Seriously Sick’ Trump Must Be Replaced ASAP (“He is sick of mind, impetuous, arrogant, belligerent and dangerous.”)
• Why Is Trump Turning on the Ally He Needs Most?(“The president is on a sustained campaign against the Senate majority leader, despite his great control over Trump’s political fate.”)
• Trump-McConnell Feud Threatens GOP’s 2018 Senate Prospects
• Obama to re-emerge in ‘delicate dance’ with Dems (“But advisers to the former president acknowledge he also doesn’t want to be ‘a foil’ —as one top ally put it — for President Trump and the Republican leadership…Obama has already committed to campaign for Ralph Northam, the Democrat running for governor of Virginia. And he is expected to help other candidates running in races in November. “)
• White House vs. Democrats in tense standoff over judge picks (“Democratic senators accuse the administration of not consulting them on lifetime appointments to the bench.”)
• The Madman and the Bomb (“The nuclear launch process once haunted Nixon’s aides. 43 years later, is it finally time to reform the system?” Trump shouldn’t have access to them at all.)
• Breitbart’s war on McMaster bites Bannon(“The chief White House strategist is increasingly isolated in the West Wing as new chief of staff John Kelly tries to clamp down on negative news stories.”)
• Alt-right shindig: Neo-fascists plan giant rally to support Confederate flag — what could go wrong? (“A racist ‘Kumbaya’? Tribes of the alt-right hope to unite for big rally this weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia”)
• The GOP’s uphill climb in Virginia foreshadows challenges elsewhere (“Are Republicans’ endemic animosity toward government and incitement of white resentment a winning formula when Hillary Clinton isn’t there to scare off voters and the country has gotten a good look at Republican ‘governance’?”)
• Visual: Prelude to 2021 Virginia’s Senate Redistricting? (This is a big reason why Democrats need to hold the governorship.)
• Virginia Democrat Emphasizes Health Care In His First General Election Ad In Governor’s Race
• Looking at the big out of state money in the Va. gubernatorial race (How do you write an article on this subject and not mention the Koch brothers???)
• Editorial: What we learned from the Fairfax-Vogel debate (On the one hand, on the other hand…”both sides” blah blah blah.)
• Virginia’s environmental agency says contractor’s work for Dominion doesn’t pose a conflict on pipeline (Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha. Good one, dude!)
• Hydrologist: Appalachian Ridges Worst Place for Pipeline
• DEQ director hears residents fears about pipeline impacts to wells, springs and pristine streams (The problem is that the DEQ is a “captured” regulatory agency)
• Much-lampooned ultrasound bill revived in race for Virginia lieutenant governor
• Charlottesville prepares for a white nationalist rally on Saturday (“The protest of the city’s decision to remove Confederate statues follows a similar rally by the KKK last month.”)
• Williams: Monument Avenue panel is veering toward dead end (“Wednesday night’s standing-room-only hearing by the Monument Avenue Commission suggests that adding context to the monuments, rather than removing them, will not tamp down emotions. The mayor’s moderate approach — in contrast to more aggressive removal efforts in Charlottesville, New Orleans and elsewhere — left a trail of jeers on both sides of the issue and collapsed the middle ground he sought.”)
• Charlottesville police prep for two-front response for rally
• Breaking: ACLU, Rutherford Institute File Federal Complaint on Behalf of Jason Kessler
• Norfolk revives plan for downtown public art that would tell story of Massive Resistance and “Norfolk 17”
• Governor McAuliffe breaks ground on I-395 Express Lanes extension
• Mugginess and rain risks are back today and tomorrow, but Sunday may offer respite