by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, February 8.
- Congress set to vote on budget deal that would add $500 billion in spending (And now the same “Freedom Caucus” crazies, like Dave Brat the “economist “- hahaha – are hysterical about deficits/debts, just weeks after they voted for a debt-exploding $1 TRILLION tax cut for rich people and corporations. Yes, they have zero shame, self awareness, etc.)
- White House officials knew about Porter’s abuse allegations and scrambled to protect him
- Right revolts on budget deal
- White House staff secretary Rob Porter resigns after abuse allegations (“The administration official reportedly did not have full security clearance.”)
- Trump’s Worst Watcher (“Do you remember back when everybody thought John Kelly was going to calm down the Trump White House? Stop laughing.”)
- Trump praises Elon Musk for SpaceX launch, forgets Musk is from a ‘s**thole country’ (“The president praised Musk’s recent Falcon Heavy test-launch as ‘American ingenuity at its best.'” Yep, Musk is an immigrant. From Africa. But of course he’s white, so that’s ok with Trump and his fellow white supremacists.)
- Military parades are about ego and power. Of course Trump wants one. (Trump is such a strong case for a mandatory psychological review before you can become president. Needless to say, Trump would flunk.)
- Trump’s military parade draws bipartisan rebuke
- “Beyond Disbelief”: John Kelly’s Defense of Rob Porter Roils the West Wing
- Trump says new FBI texts are a “bombshell.” They’re not. (“This is yet another chapter in the open conservative case against Peter Strzok and Lisa Page.”
Disgusting.) - Pelosi gives longest continuous speech in House history in bid to force immigration votes
- U.S. Strikes Pro-Assad Forces in Syria
- Budget Deal Hits Turbulence in House From Pelosi, Conservatives
- Fox News’ latest ‘bombshell’ on Obama and the FBI is a total fraud (“Trump is already tweeting about it.”)
- Britain’s oldest skeleton had dark skin and blue eyes, and the internet is freaking out (“The news is also really one of the best things in 2018 so far, given the growing prominence of white supremacy in Western politics, based on faulty conceptions of nativism and race.”)
- Kristof: President Trump, if You’re Innocent, Why Act So Guilty?
- Trump’s Backward View of Immigration (“The president is targeting sensible immigration policies, while smearing those who come to the U.S. illegally as criminals.” He’s a racist, period end.)
- Donald Trump’s Hair Illusion Came Undone and We All Missed It (“It was the worst hair day of what has been a bad hair life.” LOL)
- The GOP Has Become the Anti–Law Enforcement Party
- Can Speaker Ryan Convince House Republicans to Support the Budget Deal?
- The Rise and Fall of John Kelly’s Reputation (“The White House chief of staff is facing new scrutiny for his defense of a staffer who has resigned following accusations of physical abuse from two ex-wives.”)
- Right-wing media embarrassed again after latest Page-Strzok message conspiracy theory blows up in their faces
- New Fox News FBI text pseudo-scandal falls apart on Outnumbered (“I’m just saying we cannot make the leap from that text message that Barack Obama was getting briefed on the Clinton investigation… from national security perspective, he had every right to be briefed about the Russia investigation”)
- Trickle-Down Corruption (“GOP power grabs in three states can be traced to the dirty politics of McConnell and Trump in Washington.”)
- Russians penetrated U.S. voter systems, top U.S. official says
- Pelosi’s Dreamers protest leaves some Democrats wanting (“But other lawmakers praised her eight-hour talkathon, even if it failed to produce the desired result.”)
- EPA’s Pruitt Suggests Global Warming May Not Be A ‘Bad Thing’ For Humans (Yes, Pruitt is evil.
And insane. And a tool of the fossil fuel industry. And…) - Republican Ruthlessness and Democratic Ineptitude Got Us Here (Republicans “saw the census year of 2010 coming from a mile off. They recognized the importance of electing state legislators for the purpose of redrawing maps so that they more easily could elect more members of Congress.” And Democrats completely missed it, despite many of us yelling at them to pay attention.)
- Democrat: I would fire White House chief of staff for keeping Rob Porter (“Democratic Rep. Don Beyer (Va.) on Wednesday suggested he would fire White House chief of staff John Kelly for keeping staff secretary Rob Porter as a White House aide despite knowing about allegations of abuse against him.”)
- State regulators say proposed utility overhaul still limits ability to issue refunds, lower rates (“Wagner and Saslaw claimed Monday in the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee that their bill will not permit ‘double charging’ of customers, but the report says the legislation is unchanged in that regard.” Yep, Wagner and $a$law are lying; both need to be defeated next year.)
- Outdoor dog tethering issue highlights urban-rural divide in Virginia legislature (Humane treatment of animals should not know urban/rural boundaries.)
- Virginia House panel votes down bill to block government subsidies for new Redskins stadium (Pathetic.)
- Acknowledging controversy, state senator withdraws bill to exempt judiciary from FOIA
- Editorial: Virginia shows the changing politics of solar (“…the rise of renewables is now being driven by conservatives’ favorite solution to almost everything, the free market.” Except that’s not true; in fact,
“conservatives” love corporate welfare for fossil fuels and other industries they favor.) - Majority of Democrats running for Congress in Va. pledge not to take money from Dominion, ApCo
- Editorial: Vriginia’s excellent, bipartisan regulatory reform plan (First of all, the far-right Republican Times-Disgrace editorial board misspelled Virginia in its headline. Second, this editorial is all the evidence we need that the “bipartisan regulatory reform plan” needs to be killed.)
- Fairfax County to investigate claims that fire department tolerated sexual harassment
- Coal ash dispute headed for more study under bill that clears Senate committee
- $770M Virginia Beach schools budget plan would expand kindergarten, cut class sizes and give raises
- Petersburg School Board votes to remove Confederate names from three schools
- Richmond education advocates back Stoney’s meals tax proposal
- Sunny but cold today, and the weekend is milder but quite wet
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