Sunday News: “Come Back Barack; “The G.O.P. Is Fooling Itself on Taxes”; “Days of Greed and Desperation”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Sunday, November 19.

• Zimbabwe’s ruling party fires Robert Mugabe as leader (“Zanu PF has sacked the president and replaced him with Emmerson Mnangagwa, the deputy he dismissed two weeks ago”)
• The once and future Democratic consensus on climate change (“… this seems like a good opportunity to share one of my oldest and most enduring unpopular opinions, namely: the Waxman-Markey bill was good. Furthermore, if there is ever again to be consensus about a federal approach to climate change, it’s probably going to look something roughly like the Waxman-Markey bill.”)
• Blue States Practice the Family Values Red States Preach
• When the Right Pushes Fake Jews
• Top general says he would resist “illegal” nuke order from Trump
• The Trump Administration Is Making War on Diplomacy
• The G.O.P. Is Fooling Itself on Taxes (“…the actual bill that the House passed last week — and the modestly different plan the Senate is considering — is a dreadful piece of policy. It would cause the deficit to soar and, as a result, probably reduce economic growth. It would also raise taxes for millions of middle-class families. And most Americans realize that the tax plan is dreadful.”)
• How the Bonn climate talks survived Trump (“The White House sparked a furor by pushing coal, but U.S. negotiators largely stayed the course from the 2015 Paris deal.”)
• Why a Believer in Tax Cuts Could Derail the Senate Bill (“Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin became the first Republican to voice opposition to the Senate’s version of the tax bill, saying he needed to see more favorable treatment for small businesses.”)
• Senate GOP running out of options to stop Moore
• Pastor supporting Moore: ‘More women are sexual predators than men’ (This is someone who shouldn’t be a pastor or any other kind of leader. Ee gads.)
• ‘Russian Backdoor Overture’ to Kushner Involved Close Putin Ally
• Paul Krugman: Days of Greed and Desperation
• WATCH: SNL’s ‘Come Back, Barack’ is the R&B slow jam Trump-era America so desperately needs
• Trump’s Tweets Are Hurting Him With the Voters He Needs Most (“Trump’s social media rampages aren’t just damaging him, they’re causing swing voters to reevaluate both his priorities and the very health of the economy.”)
• Virginia economy is hostage to the federal government, economists say (“ODU study: Gov.-elect Northam needs help from Washington to get the state on better footing.”)
• Editorial: The finance secretary Virginia needs (“In the appointment of Layne as secretary of finance, Northam is off to a promising start.”)
• Schapiro: In defense of lobbyists (Another bizarre Jeff Schapiro column. This time, he makes several factually incorrect claims about DeSmogBlog – starting with that it’s not 1 1/2 years old, it was founded in 2006. It’s also an energy/enviro blog, not a Democratic Left blog or whatever. Also, Schapiro asserts that opposition to corporate lobbyists dominating our government is some lefty thing, even though this is a completely nonpartisan issue. And by the end of his column, he’s basically bashing corporate lobbyists, making him…a lefty, I guess? As I said, bizarre column.)
• Editorial: How Dominion’s pumped storage project began (“The General Assembly and the governor have already said yes. Dominion is now studying two potential sites, one in Tazewell County, another in Wise County, and hopes to settle on one in early 2018. Meanwhile, environmental groups such as the Sierra Club are now starting to ask critical questions about a $2 billion project that seemed to come out of nowhere and has moved with remarkable speed.”)
• Push for state approval to remove statues faces long odds
• Editorial: Balance of power (“Next House of Delegates will be more diverse and more evenly split, which should mean better representation”)
• EDITORIAL: Regional transportation authority? Let voters decide
• How Mayor Stoney says his approach to Richmond Coliseum redevelopment is different
• Gusty winds today and colder through tomorrow; mainly dry through Thanksgiving