by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, August 26.
- Hurricane Harvey hits Texas, bringing heavy rain, storm surge (“The National Weather Service predicted total rain accumulations of up to 30 inches. Some areas of southeastern Texas reported 16 inches of rain by early Saturday.”)
- Trump pardons former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio (As the NAACP tweeted last night, “Pardon of Arpaio is explicit embrace of the racist policing practices that leave communities fearful of very ppl who should protect & serve.”)
- Trump signs directive banning transgender military recruits (As DNC Chair Tom Perez tweeted, “Transgender Americans already bravely serve every day. This order is an outright betrayal to those who have fought to protect our country.”)
- Trump ‘Adviser’ Sebastian Gorka Ousted From White House (I refuse to link to the Washington Compost, which called him a “fiery nationalist” in its headline. Instead, as New York Magazine accurately explains, “Gorka, whose fringe criticism of Islam as an inherently violent religion is pretty much the definition of Islamophobia,” and “Gorka, an American citizen who was born in the U.K. to Hungarian parents, had supported Hungarian ultra-nationalists and was reported to be a member of Hungary’s far-right, Nazi-linked Vitezi Rend party.” Neither of those things has anything to do with being a “fiery nationalist.”)
- Trump confronts top aide’s harsh public rebuke of Charlottesville response (“National Economic Council director Gary Cohn’s criticism was the most serious public condemnation of Trump’s behavior by a member of his inner circle since his presidency began, and it raised the question of how a president who puts a heavy premium on loyalty would react.”)
- ‘I Alone Can Fix It’ Becomes ‘It’s Not My Fault’
- Why Donald Trump Pardoned Joe Arpaio (“Joe Arpaio, the former Maricopa County sheriff, represents in miniature what President Trump would like to be more maximally—a successful American authoritarian.”)
- Commander in Chaos (“With a Category 4 hurricane barreling down on Texas, President Trump pardoned a controversial lawman, sent a ban on transgender soldiers to the Pentagon, and lost a flamboyant aide.”)
- A Pardon for Arpaio Puts Us in Uncharted Territory (“If the president immunizes officials who violate constitutional rights, there will be no limit on his power”)
- Trump Gives Mattis Wide Discretion on Transgender Ban
- Trump’s Pardon of Joe Arpaio Is a Clear and Ugly Message to Hispanic-Americans
- Trump Reportedly Ending DACA in Move That Will Not Upset White Supremacists at All
- Sebastian Gorka leaves White House, complains it’s not Islamophobic enough (“It’s unclear whether he resigned or was pushed out.”)
- McCain blasts Trump over Arpaio pardon (“The President has the authority to make this pardon, but doing so at this time undermines his claim for the respect of rule of law as Mr. Arpaio has shown no remorse for his actions.”)
- Believe The Meteorologists. Harvey Is Incredibly Dangerous. (Alternate headline: “Believe…Well, Everybody with Half a Brain, Trump Is Incredibly Dangerous”)
- CNN’s Ana Navarro: Sheriff Arpaio pardon is Trump’s appeal to the base while “slapping so many other Americans in the face”
- Trump’s Arpaio pardon sends a message to sheriffs: I’m your get-out-of-jail-free card (“Some sheriffs were wary of joining Trump’s deportation dragnet. Trump’s response: don’t worry about the courts.”)
- Federal Court Finds Texas Political Map Discriminated Against Minorities, Again (“It’s the fourth finding of discrimination in nine days.”)
- The U.S. Needs To Prepared for the Possibility that Trump Won’t Leave Office Peacefully
- If he’ll pardon Arpaio, why wouldn’t Trump pardon those who ignore Robert Mueller?
- Special Counsel Examines Possible Role Flynn Played in Seeking Clinton Emails From Hackers
- The idolatry of ‘whiteness’: Christians struggle to respond to Charlottesville (Tom Perriello on the VA GOP: “Some in the Republican Party want to water down the word bigot because they don’t want to answer for some of the things that the head of their party is doing”)
- Protesters Got Christopher Cantwell Arrested, Cops Didn’t Even Try
- After Charlottesville, Va. Democrats see opening to change 114-year-old monuments law
- Virginia Attorney General Herring Releases Advisory Opinion on Confederate Statues (“Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring issued an advisory opinion August 25 that states that localities do have the authority to remove or move confederate statues.”)
- State law doesn’t prohibit removal of Norfolk Confederate monument, city attorney says
- Virginia, region move forward on two key economic development initiatives
- McAuliffe signs two executive orders in response to Charlottesville violence
- Anthony Scaramucci is coming to Liberty University (Freak show.)
- Leaked memo: Delays, poor communication and a vacation hampered planning for Charlottesville rally
- Karen Keys-Gamarra for Fairfax school board (Even the Washington Post’s brain-dead Virginia editorial board – Lee Hockstader, basically – couldn’t f*** this one up. No brainer for Democrat Karen Keys-Gamarra; Republican Chris Grisafe is not a serious candidate for School Board)
- Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney postpones next Monument Avenue Commission hearing ‘in the interests of public safety’
- Editorial: Entrenched Culpeper teachers followed the rules, but face deportation
- ‘Shocking’: Neo-Nazis fly swastika, salute at shopping center where leader was killed
- Parents’ complaints about special education spurs changes in Virginia Beach schools
- A beautiful weekend, but becoming a little unsettled early next week
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