Friday News: “Cory Booker and Kamala Harris break the glass”; “Kavanaugh Will Kill the Constitution”; Kaine on Kojo Nnamdi Show

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, September 7. Also see the video, below, of Tim Kaine’s interview yesterday on the Kojo Nnamdi Show.

• Giuliani to AP: Trump will not answer obstruction questions
• Democratic Frustration Over the Supreme Court Finally Boils Over (“Led by Cory Booker, senators are breaking the rules to protest the GOP’s speedy consideration of Brett Kavanaugh. But their effort is likely too little, too late.”)
• Kavanaugh Testimony Ends With No Bombshells, But a Lot of Evasions
• The Anonymous White House Official Is a Collaborator, Not a Resister
• At His Supreme Court Hearing, Brett Kavanaugh Provides Evasive Answers on 9/11 and War Crimes (The more I hear from Kavanaugh, the less I like him.)
• Newly Revealed Emails Raise Fresh Objections to Kavanaugh Confirmation
• It Wasn’t Me: Pence, Pompeo and a Parade of Administration Officials Deny Writing Op-Ed
• Crazytown: A Bob Woodward Book, an Anonymous New York Times Op-Ed, and a Growing Crisis for the Trump Presidency (“The Republican ‘resistance’ goes public (sort of), and everyone freaks out.”)
• Kavanaugh Will Kill the Constitution (“The legitimacy of the Supreme Court is on the line.”)
• There Oughta Be a Law … (“President Trump’s contempt for the Constitution confirms the harshest charges leveled in recent accounts of his off-the-rails presidency.”)
• The Kavanaugh hearing shows us just how far the Senate has fallen (Thanks a LOT, Republicans!)
• How to stay sane in Crazytown (“More than ‘gutless’ leaks, we need accountability from voters and elected officials.”)
• We’re in a constitutional crisis. Only voters can save us now.
• We are a superpower run by a simpleton (“This is much worse than being run by a skilled liar. It is an invitation to manipulation and contempt.”)
• It’s about time: Democrats refuse to play by disingenuous rules (“Cory Booker and Kamala Harris break the glass”)
• ‘A never-ending cycle’: Book, op-ed show how some Trump aides work to curb his instincts (“The disclosures this week crystallized what has long been evident throughout the Trump presidency: A cadre of administration officials have worked to curb his instincts on a range of issues, from national security to trade to immigration.”)
• Warren calls for 25th Amendment to be invoked against Trump
• Psychiatrist: Trump admin officials contacted me because president was ‘scaring’ them
• Dems vow to grab Trump tax returns upon taking majority (This is badly needed, among many other actions.)
• Brett Kavanaugh Failed the Alex Kozinski Test (“The Supreme Court nominee shows you don’t have to be a sexual harasser to perpetuate a system of abuse.”)
• The Documents Cory Booker Released Don’t Matter. His “I Am Spartacus” Moment Did.
• Trump doubles down on ‘treason’ accusation after New York Times op-ed (“At Montana rally, president hails Republican who assaulted Guardian reporter as fighter ‘in more ways than one’” Trump is evil and dangerous, part infinity.)
• Obama speech to urge big Democratic turnout in November elections (“Obama has largely avoided the spotlight since Trump succeeded him last year. But Friday’s speech at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will mark the start of a flurry of activity as he hits the campaign trail in coming weeks on behalf of Democratic candidates.”)
• U.S. Businesses Make Last-Ditch Push to Avoid Planned Tariffs
• The Plot to Bring Down Pope Francis (“The pontiff’s silence speaks volumes as powerful conservative Catholic clerics, some of them colluding with Steve Bannon, try to force his resignation.”)
• Twitter Permanently Bans Alex Jones and Infowars
• A Heat-Check for Progressive Democrats (“In Thursday’s Senate primary in Delaware, Kerri Evelyn Harris hopes to capitalize on a grassroots energy that has seen black, female, and LGBTQ candidates redefining the left wing of the Democratic Party.”)
• Kerri Harris, Progressives’ Next Big Hope, Falls Short Against Tom Carper in Delaware
• Trump inauguration crowd photos were edited after he intervened (“Exclusive: documents released to Guardian reveal government photographer cropped space ‘where crowd ended’”)
• The apathy in the media regarding Brett Kavanaugh is a national scandal (“You’d think that conversation in the media would focus on the fact that this president — who is so unstable that his own senior staff members are sounding the alarm — is about to make a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court. You’d be wrong.”)
• Jeff Sessions Is Executing Trump’s Immigration Plans With a Quiet, Efficient Brutality (“The attorney general’s systematic gutting of immigration courts is the latest example.”)
• Brazil’s Presidential Front-Runner Is Seriously Wounded In Attack At Campaign Rally
• In Montana rally, Trump attacks Democrats for ‘sick’ attacks against Supreme Court nominee (Who in their right mind would cheer Donald Trump?)
• Bees are dying at an alarming rate. Amsterdam may have the answer. (“The city of 2.3 million people attributes the success to creating bee-friendly environments like the overgrown, sunburnt patch of shrubs that commuters pass by daily. The installation of ‘insect hotels’ and a ban on the use of chemical pesticides on public land also appear to have played a role.” Let’s do it!)
• New Kaine TV Ad Features Testimonials of Virginia Veterans About Kaine’s Support for Helping Veterans Get Jobs
• Spanberger Responds to Ad Attacking Her Record of Service and Integrity [UPDATED: DPVA Response]
• Video: Waynesboro GOP Chair Touts Ben Cline’s Extreme Anti-Choice Position, but Is “shaky when it comes to casting a ballot for Corey Stewart”
• BREAKING: Judge’s Opinion on VA-02 #Petitiongate Scandal Finds That Petitions Circulated by Rep. Scott Taylor (R) Staffers Were “rife with errors, inconsistencies, and forgeries”
• Lewis to canvass 6th District voters about pipeline
• Conservative PAC attacks Spanberger in TV ad for teaching at Islamic school (This appalling attack on a long-time CIA officer is all the more reason to vote…for Spanberger!)
• In first debate, Denver Riggleman accuses Leslie Cockburn of living in D.C., not 5th District (“Cockburn, a former “60 Minutes” producer and author, insisted that they live in Rappahannock. She then fired back at Riggleman, a former Air Force intelligence officer who with his wife owns a craft distillery outside of Charlottesville, for building a second location out of state. “You’re creating jobs — in Pennsylvania.'”)
• The fastest rate of sea-level rise on the East Coast is in Virginia Beach (Which is why we need to be slashing greenhouse gas emissions, not increasing them, as the fracked-gas pipelines will do. Hello Ralph Northam? Earth – almost literally – to Ralph Northam?)
• What would a nonpartisan approach to redistricting look like? Still not great for Republicans(“…, complying with the federal court order to redraw the districts is a losing proposition for Republicans no matter how the lines are drawn. The only question is how losing.”)
• Photos: Far-Right Republican Virginia State Sen. Dick Black Travels to Syria to Praise War Criminal Assad, Blame U.S. for Destroying Middle East, etc.
• Advanced energy: Thousands of Virginia jobs rely on it
• Editorial: Stanley formally asks: Is Virginia violating the Brown decision? (We should invest heavily in school buildings to make them top-notch facilities, including net-zero energy or at least LEED Platinum.)
• Virginia rally to focus on push for ‘climate justice’ (“The Rise for Climate, Jobs and Justice rally is scheduled Saturday afternoon at the Virginia State Capitol.”)
• Electric scooters popped up in a Norfolk for a few more hours, only to be impounded by city employees
• Blame is in abundance in deaths at Portsmouth City Jail
• Rockwool’s West Virginia plant continues to stir strong reaction in Loudoun
• Police investigate death of boy on Fairfax County school bus(“Police are investigating after a boy suffered a medical emergency on a Fairfax County school bus Thursday afternoon and was later pronounced dead at a hospital.”)
• Less hot today, but still muggy and it’ll also turn wet with time