Tuesday News: Our Racist “President” Strikes Again (“You’re not nervous right? Speaks perfect English!”); So Long “Silent Sam”; “Trump is conning coal country”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, August 21.

• Trump dares ‘worst CIA director’ Brennan to sue as security row deepens (Worst “president” ever calls someone else the “worst?”)
• ‘We Abandoned Them’: Pope Condemns Sex Abuse and Cover-Up (Far worse than “abandoned,” actually.)
• Krugman: The G.O.P.’s Climate of Paranoia (“There’s also, I believe, an additional relevant lesson from the climate story: the special rage of those who knowingly act in bad faith.”)
• Despite Talks With China, Trump Is in No Rush to Call Off His Trade War
• Microsoft says it has found a Russian operation targeting U.S. political institutions
• Kavanaugh proposed graphic questions for Clinton about the Lewinsky affair (This guy is a disgrace and shouldn’t be a judge at all, let alone on the Supreme Court.)
• Exclusive: Trump worries that Mueller interview could be a ‘perjury trap’
• Russian Hackers Now Targeting Conservative Think Tanks (“The Russian military intelligence unit that sought to influence the 2016 election appears to have a new target: conservative U.S. think tanks that have broken with President Trump, a report by Microsoft found. The shift underscores the agency’s goals of disrupting any institutions that challenge Moscow and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.”)
• Exclusive: Trump demands Fed help on economy, complains about interest rate rises
• Pope Francis has spoken. Can the Church keep shielding pedophile priests?
• Almost 250 officials have spoken out against Trump’s decision to revoke Brennan’s clearance. Here’s a list.
• So Many Guns, So Much Smoke (“GOP obstruction is indefensible, but Democrats don’t need to see more documents to vote against Brett Kavanaugh.”)
• ‘Speaks perfect English’: Trump praises border agent at event honoring immigration ‘heroes’ (“You’re not nervous right? Speaks perfect English!”)
• Why ‘Medicare for all’ is playing poorly in Democratic primaries (“It may be a rallying cry for progressives, but it’s not often translating to electoral success in swing districts.”)
• Once-safe GOP seats threatened by blue wave
• The Modern Automobile Must Die (“If we want to solve climate change, there’s no other option.”)
• Zinke Blamed “Environmental Terrorists” for Wildfires. Here’s The Crazy Backstory That Led To that. (“It all goes back to a Libertarian activist in the 80’s.” These people are all nuts.)
• Zinke caught red-handed trying to sell off public lands (Massive corruption.)
• Mulvaney lobbying to exempt friend’s company from Trump tariffs (Ditto – corrupt.)
• Fox & Friends sanitizes anti-government extremists (“The Three Percenters is an armed anti-government militia; Fox & Friends called its members ‘pro-gun demonstrators'”)
• If I Didn’t Keep Hearing Brett Kavanaugh Is Such a Nice Guy I Might Think He’s a Republican Hack (“Of course, that would involve looking at his actual record”)
• Trump Won’t Care, But His Wall Is an Environmental Disaster in the Making (“And the first casualty might be water.”)
• Trump’s Deregulation Frenzy Isn’t Trumpism, It’s Republicanism (“Any other Republican president would’ve waged the same war on clean air he’ll launch Monday.”)
• Watergate Witness John Dean Thinks Trump Has A ‘Real Problem’ With Don McGahn
• Melania Trump’s Anti-Cyberbullying Tweet Does Not Go Over Well (“I hope you realize that you’re married to the poster boy of cyberbullying.”)
• University of North Carolina Students Topple Confederate Monument (“The Silent Sam statue, located on the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill, has been a target of vandalism and protests for decades.”)
• Warner proposes forbidding presidents from revoking security clearances for ‘political reasons’ (“His tactics are reminiscent of another president who abused his office to settle scores…”)
• Uranium mining case to be heard by U.S. Supreme Court in early November
• Tim Kaine releases second TV ad in re-election bid with focus on Roanoke medical facility
• Northam calls special session for legislature to redraw districts (This session will make it crystal clear that it’s Republicans being obstructionist and not cooperating with the courts.)
• Kirk Cox Responds to Gov. Northam’s Call for Special Redistricting Session
• Va. Republican congressional candidates stay away from Senate nominee Stewart
• Video: Pressed by Indivisible Cville Member, VA-05 Republican Denver Riggleman Says He Will NOT Campaign with Corey Stewart
• Brown wants to take part in lawsuit hearing, Democrats file new evidence
• Editorial: Why Forbes says Trump is conning coal country (“Domestic coal use is actually down, even under Trump, and is going to keep going down no matter what Trump does. American utilities are retiring coal plants at a rate of one every 16 days, ‘the same pace as during the Obama years.'”)
• Construction pause gives momentum to Atlantic Coast Pipeline legal challenges
• COMMENTARY: Stop pipelines’ devastation of Virginia waterways
• Who pays for Northam’s tax proposal? (“The Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Policy, a nonpartisan research organization, published a report last month about the potential benefits of making Virginia’s earned income tax credit fully refundable. Families who get the refunded credit would likely spend it on home repairs, debt payments and vehicle purchases or maintenance, according to the report.”)
• Chesapeake council majority places ease of re-election over higher voter turnout (“If the Chesapeake City Council, especially its Republican-endorsed members, really wanted to increase voter turnout for local elections, it would’ve switched them from May to November.”)
• Editorial: RVA’s civil Civil War protest (Seriously? “This is how civilized democracy works and we’re proud, but not entirely surprised, to see it modeled so elegantly right here in Richmond?” Alrighty.)
• Henrico School Board member resigns, citing health reasons (“A Henrico County School Board member is stepping down a year early as she undergoes treatment for breast cancer. Lisa Marshall has represented the Tuckahoe District on the School Board since 2008. Tuesday will be her last day.”)
• Virginia Man Threatened to Kill People at His Mosque: Police (“Fairfax County Police said 22-year-old Zulqarnain Khan threatened to kill everyone he encountered at the Masjid Noor Mosque on 8608 Pohick Road in Springfield. Khan prevented people from entering the mosque and threatened people as they left the mosque as well, police said.”)
• How Richmond Public Schools wants to spend its extra school maintenance money
• Scattered showers this morning, strong thunderstorms possible this evening