Monday News: “As a Nation Mourns McCain, Trump Is Conspicuously Absent”; Tim Kaine on “What John McCain Taught Me About Governing, Losing and Life”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Monday, August 27.

• As a Nation Mourns McCain, Trump Is Conspicuously Absent
• Trump Reportedly Nixed Statement That Called McCain a ‘Hero’
• John McCain’s Parting Message: Our Greatness Is in Peril (“Today’s Republican Party is the biggest threat to the country that McCain served and loved. He offered an alternative.”)
• John McCain’s Climate Change Legacy (“The senator from Arizona brought climate science into Capitol Hill hearings and cap-and-trade legislation to a vote, but then moderate Republican politics changed.” What if McCain had won the 2000 GOP presidential primary over Dubya?)
• John McCain’s Death Leaves Foreign-Policy Void (“Senator was a driving force behind a foreign policy based on U.S.-led internationalism”)
• Myanmar’s military accused of genocide in damning UN report
• U.S., Mexico Said Poised to Reach Nafta Deal Soon as Monday
• Obama, Bush Asked To Speak At John McCain’s Funeral; Trump Told To Stay Away
• Opera of Demons (“This wannabe-king’s court is filled with rats and weasels more interested in their own preservation than his. Trump demands loyalty, and loyalty freely given should be honored and revered. When the dishonorable attempt to purchase it, either with money or fear, it will always prove false in the end.”)
• John McCain Was a Flawed Politician I Never Stopped Admiring (“For the loyalty he inspired among people, for his unquestioned physical courage, and for his instinctive response to the call of the better angels”)
• Great-Heart Is Gone (“Who will have the fortitude to pick up the torch from John McCain’s grasp?” There’s nobody on the Republican side, that’s for sure.)
• In most of the country, McCain is being lauded as a hero. On Arizona’s GOP campaign trail, he’s a pariah (Which tells you everything you need to know about today’s batshit-crazy/extremist Republican Party.)
• Gunman Kills Two, Then Himself, in Mass Shooting at Florida Video Game Tournament
• Jacksonville shooting: three dead including gunman at Madden NFL19 gaming event
• Neil Simon, Preeminent And Prolific Playwright And Screenwriter, Has Died At 91 (“He had his biggest hit in 1965 with The Odd Couple, about a pair of mismatched roommates. The film version followed, as did a ’70s TV sitcom.”)
• Coal Country: EPA Plan Is Short Term Boost, No Solution For Industry Decline
• Brett Kavanaugh Has a Nearly Perfect Record of Speeding Up Extinction (“He could be the deciding vote in a case that aims to gut the Endangered Species Act”)
• The DeVos School for the Promotion of Student Debt (“The education secretary is working hard to protect the scandal-ridden for-profit education industry from accountability.”)
• Trump misstates approval rating in latest poll (“A poll released Sunday by the Wall Street Journal and NBC News found that Trump has a 44 percent approval rating.”)
• House GOP efforts to increase female lawmakers falling flat (If you’re a woman, you should vote Democratic. Period.)
• Inside the Midterm Campaigns’ Fight to Ward Off Cyber Attacks — Before It’s Too Late
• Archbishop Claims Pope Francis Was Complicit in Cardinal’s Abuses (“The 77-year-old Viganò, who has plenty of professional baggage and enemies in the church, testifies in his 7,000-word letter that Cardinal McCarrick’s history of sexual misconduct was known in the upper echelons of the Vatican for more than a decade.”)
• Juan Williams: Gaming out the midterms
• Arizona governor faces pressure over McCain replacement
• Arizona Governor Faces a Tough Choice: A Senator Made From McCain’s Mold or Trump’s
• Scoop: Republicans secretly study their coming hell
• Report: Worried GOPers Privately List Potential Probes If Dems Retake House
• ‘Sleeper’ case could torpedo Mueller report (WTF?)
• Donald Trump didn’t want the White House to release a statement praising the life of John McCain
• Attorney for Michael Cohen backs away from confidence that Cohen has information about Trump’s knowledge on Russian efforts
• Plastic straw ban? Cigarette butts are the single greatest source of ocean trash (“Cigarette butts have long been the single most collected item on the world’s beaches, with a total of more than 60 million collected over 32 years.” Cigarettes are disgusting in every way.)
• Watch what Sacha Baron Cohen gets these conservative internet trolls to do with a dummy of Donald Trump
• Donald Trump’s “white genocide” rhetoric: A dangerous escalation of racism (“Trump’s embrace of a white supremacist conspiracy theory hits a dangerous new low in his authoritarian ranting”)
• Sen. Tim Kaine: What John McCain Taught Me About Governing, Losing and Life
• Kaine wins left’s ire by not saying ‘no’ to Kavanaugh — yet
• Q&A: Sen. Tim Kaine on gun violence and civil rights in Virginia
• Editorial: On pipelines, Northam finds middle ground hard to hold (As usual, corporate newspapers are ridiculous with their false equivalency and “both sides” “middle ground” language. Sometimes, there’s simply a right way to go about things and a wrong way to go about things. In this case, we shouldn’t be building new fossil fuel infrastructure and we SHOULD be racing ahead on energy efficiency, solar and wind power. End of story.)
• Hampton Roads congressmen said felony crimes by former Trump associates don’t mean impeachment is coming (Scott Taylor should be worried about his own legal troubles…)
• Video: After #WomensEqualityDay Screening of “Iron Jawed Angels,” Actor Alyssa Milano Declares “we have a chance in Virginia to make history…to be the 38th and final state to ratify the [ERA]”
• Hundreds attend event to support Virginia’s effort to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment
• So far this year, the number of mumps cases in Virginia has tripled
• Long hours, low pay and constant turnover: Social services agencies in Virginia struggle to keep staff
• L. Scott Lingamfelter column: Virginia needs an immediate tax fix now and genuine reform soon (Not sure I’d listen to anything right wingnut Scott Lingamfelter has to say about anything…)
• Stewart fires up Republican base at local fundraiser (“If elected, Stewart said he would support Trump, individual tax cuts, repealing the Affordable Care Act and building a wall along the Mexican border.” Gack! And even worse, Stewart keeps politicizing the tragic murder of Mollie Tibbetts, even though her family has made it clear they do NOT want it politicized. That’s Corey for ya…)
• Delegate ‘taking seriously’ about retirement (“Del. Riley E. Ingram said last week he is ‘talking seriously’ about retiring from the House of Delegates seat that he has held for the past 26 years.”)
• Richmond police, mayor join community in rally against violence after a ‘tough week’ in city
• Hot and steamy through Thursday, when it may turn stormy