Friday News: Trump Weighs In for His Pal Ed Gillespie with Insane Claim; Gillespie “wants Virginians to be very, very afraid”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, October 6.

• Trump plans to take first step toward undoing Iran nuclear agreement (“Under what is described as a tougher and more comprehensive approach, President Trump would open the door to modifying the landmark 2015 deal. But for now he won’t recommend the resumption of sanctions on Iran, said people familiar with aspects of his thinking.”)
• As ACA enrollment nears, administration keeps cutting federal support of the law (Isn’t it the job of the executive branch to carry out and enforce the laws passed by the legislative branch? If the president refuses to do that, shouldn’t he be replaced by someone who will?)
• Trump’s dangerous folly on the Iran deal (“He could end up causing the nuclear agreement to unravel.”)
• Here’s How Breitbart And Milo Smuggled Nazi and White Nationalist Ideas Into The Mainstream (“A cache of documents obtained by BuzzFeed News reveals the truth about Steve Bannon’s alt-right ‘killing machine.'”)
• The International Campaign To Abolish Nuclear Weapons Has Been Awarded The Nobel Peace Prize
• John Kelly’s personal cellphone was compromised, White House believes
• No, mass shootings are not ‘the price of freedom’ (“Plenty of free countries don’t see tragedies like the Las Vegas massacre.” Exactly, another brain-dead “argument” by gun nuts.)
• Loyalty to Trump isn’t enough (“His Cabinet members must also make their peace with his demand for unctous deference.”)
• Talking about mental health after mass shootings is a cop-out (“It’s America’s gun policies that are insane.” I mean, is this argument seriously that America has more mentally ill people per capita than Canada, Australia, the UK, etc? So, so stupid.)
• Roy Moore’s Neo-Confederate Sugar Daddy Has Deep Ties To Secessionists
• Banning bump stocks is not nearly enough
• The GOP Tax Plan Inches Forward (“House Republicans took a necessary first step on Thursday with the passage of a long-delayed budget resolution. The Senate may not be far behind.”)
• White House plans to demand immigration cuts in exchange for DACA fix (“Aide Stephen Miller, Trump’s top immigration adviser, is crafting a hard-line plan that risks blowing up any deal with Democrats.”)
• Trump talks of ‘calm before the storm’ after military meeting (WTF?!?)
• Trump Wants to Censor the Media (“The president’s call for a Senate investigation into news outlets for publishing unflattering stories about him is an attack on freedom of the press.” Impeach him now.)
• How the NRA and the far-right are quietly mobilizing to kill gun safety reform after Vegas (“If you’re talking about bump stocks, you don’t have to talk about assault rifles.” By the way, Virginia GOP Lt. Governor nominee Jill Vogel literally said she looooves assault rifles.)
• America’s Gun Fantasy (“Three percent of the nation owns half the firearms—to prepare for an ultraviolent showdown that exists only in their imagination.”)
• Democrats look to wreak havoc in GOP primaries
• GOP lawmaker Tim Murphy to resign (Murphy “will resign later this month following a report this week suggesting that he urged a woman with whom he was having an affair to have an abortion.”)
• Trump ‘Decertifying’ the Iran Deal Won’t Kill It — But There Will Be Dire Effects
• How Long Until We Debate Real Gun Laws?
• Krugman: Will Trump Trumpify the Fed?
• Seth Meyers blasts Tillerson’s ‘moron’ about-face: ‘When your name is Rex, you’re gonna be good at rolling over’
• As Trump Tries to Kill the Iran Deal, a Former Israeli Spy Lobbies to Save It
• The GOP’s tax reform push is already a huge mess (“They’re fighting both real and imaginary enemies.”)
• The Secrecy Undermining the Senate Intelligence Committee’s Russia Probe (“That’s not to say that partisan investigations don’t ever uncover important facts—partisan investigations from Iran-Contra to Whitewater to Benghazi added crucial information to the public record—but, unlike in a courtroom, there’s no judge or jury to decide the case, and the public is often left confused about the over-all conclusions.”)
• Movie Mogul Weinstein Paid Off Harassment Cases for Years (“An investigation by The New York Times found previously undisclosed allegations against the Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.” Now THIS is what the media is supposed to do.)
• Musk: Tesla can rebuild Puerto Rico power grid
• Trump says Virginia Democrat is ‘fighting for’ violent gangs (Totally demented.)
• Ed Gillespie wants Virginians to be very, very afraid (“The GOP gubernatorial candidate uses trickery and fear to harness the Trump base.”)
• Trump backs Gillespie for Va. governor, says Northam supports ‘violent MS-13 killer gangs’ (“The president injected himself into Virginia’s gubernatorial race, tweeting an endorsement of Republican Ed Gillespie and accusing Ralph Northam of backing the violent gangs. The tweet comes as polls have shown Gillespie trailing in the contest.”)
• NoVa tech group that has backed Republicans for governor stays neutral this year (“It’s a setback to Ed Gillespie, who is running as pro-business Republican”)
• Video: Justin Fairfax Utterly Routs Trump-Loving Jill Vogel in Virginia Lt. Governor Forum
• Vogel says Fairfax not informed enough ‘to talk intelligently’ about issues (Trying to decide who’s more disgusting, Vogel or fear-mongering, race-baiting Ed Gillespie.)
• Sharp words fly in lieutenant governor debate in Richmond
• Facebook investing over $1 billion, building facility in Virginia
• Henrico officials excited about Facebook project’s effect on business, community
• Democrat Roem flexes spending power with new TV ad in heated Virginia race
• Dominion Creates Clean-Energy Tariff for Facebook Data Center in Virginia (“Facebook appears to have successfully lobbied Dominion to add a renewable-energy tariff to its product portfolio, which may have much wider implications for the data center industry than Google’s deal in North Carolina”)
• Dominion plan for solar facilities key to Facebook project (Dominion should be told that if it wants to continue doing business in Virginia, it needs to go 100% clean energy as quickly as possible.)
• At William & Mary, the First Amendment’s best friend gets shouted down (Shouting down the ACLU? Seriously???)
• Editorial: Why is Southwest Virginia so strong for Confederate symbols when it was so weak for the Confederacy in the 1860s?
• Editorial: Norfolk focuses on mental health
• Steaminess builds as warmth persists, and welcome rain is possible by Sunday