Friday News: NRA, CPAC Go Full “John Birch Society”; “Nasty, Brutish and Trump”; Fairfax County School Board Adopts Resolution on Combating Gun Violence

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, February 23. Also, see below for video of the Fairfax County School Board last night discussing – and voting to adopt (at 1:26 of the video) – Board member Ryan McElveen’s resolution on combating gun violence. Among other things, the resolution “calls upon the United States Congress and state legislatures, including the Virginia General Assembly, to prioritize the protection of students and school system employees by passing legislation that more effectively regulates access to firearms in the interest of public safety, funds public-health research on firearms related issues, and advances mental health supports.””

• Trump to announce new sanctions against North Korea; South Korea preps for talks with North
• Wayne LaPierre’s speech: a reminder of the paranoia that gave us Trump (“Wayne LaPierre followed the NRA’s customary post-mass shooting moves in his CPAC speech – and at times sounded like Trump’s twin”)
• Putin ally spoke to Kremlin before his mercenaries attacked U.S. forces
• NRA head breaks silence to attack gun control advocates: ‘They hate individual freedom’ (Not at all, but we do hate you and your blood-on-its-hand organization.)
• Krugman: Nasty, Brutish and Trump (“In short, you might want to think of our madness over guns as just one aspect of the drive to turn us into what Thomas Hobbes described long ago: a society ‘wherein men live without other security than what their own strength and their own invention shall furnish them.’ And Hobbes famously told us what life in such a society is like: ‘solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.’ Yep, that sounds like Trump’s America.”)
• Let the Teachers Teach (“Even police officers often fail to hit their target when they shoot. How much worse would such an unintended consequence be in a crowded school?”)
• Trump Suggests Giving Bonuses to Trained and Armed Teachers (This is the wrong approach in pretty much every way.)
• NRA national spokesperson Dana Loesch lied to Stoneman Douglas student Emma Gonzalez (Loesch is definitely one of the worst people in America, along with her boss Wayne LaPierre.)
• There Was a “Good Guy With a Gun” at the Parkland Shooting. He Did Nothing.
• Kasich’s team gears up for possible 2020 bid (“A primary challenge to Trump is under discussion, though supporters say the outgoing governor is more likely to run if Trump doesn’t.”)
• Nearly 500 Days After the Election, CPAC Crowd Chants ‘Lock Her Up’ (These people are dangerous, demented and anti-democracy.)
• Trump and the GOP won’t act on gun control. So we must. (“Americans must mobilize to kick politicians who refuse to act on gun control out of office.”)
• The Russians are coming. Republicans need to do something about it.
• As Gunman Rampaged Through Florida School, Armed Deputy ‘Never Went In’ (So much for the “good guy with a gun” stopping the “bad guy with a gun.”)
• What Do Jotted Talking Points Say About Trump’s Empathy?
• Three major car rental companies dump the NRA (“The backlash is growing.” Everyone needs to dump this extremist, insurrectionist organization.)
• CNN’s Town Hall on Guns and the Unmaking of Marco Rubio (“As a moment in American politics, the pummelling of Rubio felt like an expression of collective rage at the falseness of so much that happens in Washington: the pivot, the dodge, the pallid follow-up question. “)
• Robert Mueller Puts the Squeeze on Paul Manafort and Rick Gates Yet Again
• First National Bank dumps NRA, will no longer issue NRA Visa card
• Reality sets in for the coal industry: Trump is powerless to save it (“Coal plants now shutting down faster under Trump than Obama.”)
• Trump denies wanting to arm teachers, advocates for arming teachers in same tweet (Once a nut, always a nut.)
• Mark Warner: Social Media Giants Are ‘One Significant Event Away’ From Loss of Consumer Faith (How about playing a major role in helping to elect Trump???)
• Missouri governor indicted for allegedly taking nude photos of a woman without her consent (“Eric Greitens was reportedly escorted out of the governor’s mansion in handcuffs and later released on his own recognizance.” And yes, he’s a Republican.)
• Rubio at pivotal moment on guns
• NRA’s LaPierre warns conservatives of ‘socialist state’ (This guy is John Birch Society all the way.)
• Is This Time Different? (“Toomey’s support suggests there might be just enough movement to tip Congress into a familiar pattern: the Senate is capable of producing some modest legislation that House Speaker Paul Ryan isn’t inclined to call up without the president’s support.”)
• Wall Street May Be Rethinking Its Relationship With Guns
• Ivanka Trump ready to ‘cheer’ at Olympics. Is she ready to chat with North Korea, too?
• GOP-led push for Medicaid expansion faces roadblocks (“The state’s hospitals, which have previously said they were reluctantly open to the idea of new taxes if it helped get Medicaid expansion passed, have expressed concerns about the House’s plan to include the tax in the budget. They’ve also noted that the state would see an overall savings by expanding Medicaid, even without the tax. Sen. Emmett Hanger, the lone Senate Republican openly in support of expansion, said Thursday that tax was a key reason why he doesn’t support the House’s budget proposal.”)
• Emily’s List backs Democrat Abigail Spanberger in race to challenge Rep. Dave Brat
• Editorial: Does Corey Stewart really know Southwest Virginia better than Terry Kilgore? (Corey Stewart epitomizes the absolute worst of today’s Republican Party.)
• Editorial: William & Mary making way for the future (“IT TOOK 325 years, but the College of William & Mary has employed its first woman president.”)
• Atlantic Coast Pipeline’s projected price tag swells by up to $1.5 billion (Disastrous boondoggle; anyone who fell for this crap is a sucker.)
• House and Senate adopt budgets separated by ‘chasm’
• Va. House budget includes Medicaid expansion; Senate version does not (“And now, the hard part of reconcilliation”)
• Corey Stewart brings toilet paper to state Capitol, calls Republicans who support Medicaid expansion ‘flaccid,’ ‘garbage’
• Senate panel approves long-term suspension bill
• Arlington’s office vacancy rate could mean budget cuts, layoffs (“About 50 county jobs and some programs would be eliminated. Residential property tax bills would increase about $300, and there would be jumps in parking rates.”)
• Former President Jimmy Carter to speak at LU commencement
• Why Norfolk is planning to tear down half of its public housing
• Henrico students call for support to participate in national gun violence protest
• Clouds control the weekend, along with periodic rain and wind (“Today sets the mood for the weekend, with clouds, occasional rain and light wind. Highs will be in the mid-40s to near 50. The clouds and rain will stick around over the weekend but it’ll warm up a bit.”)