by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Sunday, December 31. Happy New Year’s, and here’s to hoping that Democrats kick butt in 2018, just as we did in 2017 but on a MUCH bigger scale…
- Iran’s government warns protesters they will ‘pay the price’ for mass unrest (“The anti-government protests were the largest since a 2009 uprising over disputed election results, and were poised to seriously challenge the administration of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, a moderate politician who promised key economic reforms.”)
- What the Hell Is Happening in Iran? (“NIAC research director Reza Marashi, who worked in the Office of Iranian Affairs for the State Department under the Obama administration, notes that the current political climate in Iran does not appear conducive to massive change, but that the gap between state and society will remain — making protest waves like the present one possible — so long as the political, economic, and social aspirations of the Iranian people remain unmet.”)
- How the Russia Inquiry Began: A Campaign Aide, Drinks and Talk of Political Dirt (“In 2016, George Papadopoulos, a Trump foreign policy adviser, revealed to a top Australian diplomat over drinks that Russia had information on Hillary Clinton.”)
- How Can Trump Help Iran’s Protesters? Be Quiet.
- For Trump, a Year of Reinventing the Presidency (“In ways that were once unimaginable, President Trump has discarded the conventions and norms established by his predecessors. The office has become a blunt instrument to advance personal, policy and political goals. Will that change the institution permanently?” It had better not, or you can kiss our country – at least as we used to know it – goodbye.)
- Trump Is Still Happily Mixing Government Affairs With His Private Businesses(“And not a single Republican elected official seems to care.” Of course, if Obama or Clinton had done this, Republicans would have impeached them a loooong time ago.)
- Dem senators fight to out-liberal one another ahead of 2020 (“A half-dozen Trump foes race to embrace the liberal zeitgeist, occupying space Bernie Sanders once had to himself.”)
- In first year, Trump starts delivering on vow to shrink government (Can all the damage Trump is doing to our country ever be undone? I don’t know, but we’ve got to try…)
- 2017’s top political feuds
- Erica Garner, Activist and Daughter of Eric Garner, Dies at 27
- Donald Trump’s First Year as President: A Recap
- Trump’s vendetta against federal law enforcement
- Republican Attacks on Mueller and F.B.I. Open New Rift in G.O.P.
- Ex-DNC chair: Biden would ‘win overwhelmingly’ against Trump in 2020 (Perhaps so, but I don’t really listen to Ed Rendell on anything.)
- 2020 Dem primary could be a New York affair (“Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.), New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy have all been mentioned as potential candidates in 2020.”)
- Democrat: ‘Mueller knows far more than people think’
- Kansas police kill an innocent, unarmed man while responding to fake 911 call (“The ‘swatting’ hoax by online gamers resulted in the 973rd shooting death by a police officer in 2017.” Those “gamers” need to be in jail for a loooong time.)
- Report: Pence’s Aspen-area neighbors hung ‘Make America Gay Again’ sign
- Can American Society Overcome the Fake News Phenomenon? (It’s not looking promising at the moment, that’s for sure.)
- Trump reportedly broke his promise to step away from his business (“No one could have seen this coming.”)
- No. 2 story of year: Democrats sweep Virginia statewide election (Nice job by Reema Amin, who as far as I’m concerned has rapidly become one of the best political reporters in Virginia.)
- It’s Time to Modernize Virginia’s Management (“Virginia is the only state in the nation that bars its governor from seeking re-election. Past occupants of the office — Republicans such as Jim Gilmore and Democrats such as Tim Kaine and Mark Warner — have argued for years that the ban makes absolutely no sense and hampers a governor’s ability to manage the state. Just as a new governor learns the ropes, so to speak, it’s time to elect another one.”)
- As Virginia’s population grays, Alzheimer’s and dementia threat looms
- Editorial: We had 17 questions for 2017. Here are 17 answers
- Critics of Dominion see unexpected wins in 2017 elections
- Metro officials mulling a major redesign of the bus system try to figure out why people aren’t riding (“As Metro’s bus ridership continues to wane, General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld is pushing a drastic idea: Start from scratch.”)
- Virginia man arrested, charged with attempting to obstruct terrorism investigation
- Scoring Stoney: A look at how Richmond’s new mayor is living up to his campaign promises
- Gordon C. Morse: Democrats should appreciate benefits of moderation (Wow, this is completely bonkers. Apparently now progressives, including new members of the House of Delegates and also this blog, are the “tea party of the other end,” a place “where Democrats go to dance naked in the moonlight and grin at each other.” Uhhhh…riiiiight. Meanwhile, supposedly, “Democrats do not even have a majority yet and appear ready to give rein to their own batch of crazies.” And who would those “crazies” be exactly? And why? Because they want such radical things as Medicaid expansion, a push for clean energy, commonsense gun legislation and voting rights? Yeah, totally crazy – LOL!)
- Bitter cold and blustery to close out 2017; not much better to start 2018 (“A new batch of arctic air sends wind chills toward zero as we approach midnight tonight.”)
