Tuesday News: America’s Disgrace Goes to U.N.; “Trump should leave Rod Rosenstein alone”; New Yorker Story and Kavanaugh’s “Alarming” Fox Interview; “Virginia Prisons Ban Visitors From Wearing Tampons”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, September 25.

• Arctic lakes are leaking dangerous greenhouse gases. And one is behaving very strangely. (“The volume of gas wafting from Esieh Lake could deliver the climate system another blow if lakes like it turn out to be widespread.” We had better get off of fossil fuels on an emergency basis. And yes, that includes natural gas, which the industry falsely touts as “clean.”)
• Trump arrives at U.N. struggling to sell his foreign policy record
• Russia Promises Advanced Missiles to Syria After Rift With Israel (This is very dangerous.)
• Trump cuts a lonely figure at the U.N. (He’s a disgrace and embarrassment to America.)
• Trump grapples with dual crises over Kavanaugh and Rosenstein (Crises of Trump’s own making, pretty much.)
• Kavanaugh drama rattles GOP support (“Republicans signal they will wait to pass judgment on the Supreme Court nominee until hearing from him and an accuser later this week.”)
• What Rosenstein’s ouster would mean for Mueller (Nothing good.)
• Kavanaugh vows to fight allegations as Trump, Republicans dig in
• The Right Closes Ranks Behind Kavanaugh (“Conservative passion for the nominee isn’t rational any more. It’s a holy war.”)
• The Party of No Ideas (“Republicans aren’t even trying to run on their policies.” Of course not, because their policies are both awful AND wildly unpopular.)
• The Republicans Are at Their Battle Stations Now (“Mitch McConnell, Orrin Hatch and the rest are digging their trenches around Brett Kavanaugh—with disgraceful results.”)
• Trump should leave Rod Rosenstein alone (“The nation seemed on the brink of chaos Monday morning.”)
• Republicans are going to ‘plow right through’ a minefield (“Two on-the-record accusers have emerged in the past week. Are there facts and evidence that could help establish his innocence or guilt? Will more accusers follow?”)
• Yet another reason to call the FBI (“If Kavanaugh is telling the truth, he and his allies should want a professional, impartial investigation.”)
• The Democratic Dream: Defeat Kavanaugh, Win the Senate and Stop Trump Supreme Court Picks (It should be every sane, patriotic American’s dream.)
• Brett Kavanaugh: third woman expected to make accusations of sexual misconduct
• The Most Alarming Thing About Brett Kavanaugh’s Interview on Fox News (“The most alarming thing about Monday’s interview, aside from Kavanaugh’s robotic repetition, was how wildly it diverged in tone and substance from a letter he sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier on Monday.” Kavanaugh is completely full of crap.)
• Kaine is right: Record jobs growth streak precedes Trump (What we’re seeing now is simply a continuation of what Trump inherited from Barack Obama and the Democrats. Thanks Obama!)
• Justice Brett Kavanaugh would represent an immediate threat to LGBT rights (That alone should disqualify him.)
• Yale Law students protest alumnus Kavanaugh (“Students in both New Haven and D.C. protested the Supreme Court nominee Monday”)
• Rosenstein’s Departure Is a National Emergency (“Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation is now in mortal peril.”)
• How Russia Helped Swing the Election for Trump (“A meticulous analysis of online activity during the 2016 campaign makes a powerful case that targeted cyberattacks by hackers and trolls were decisive.”)
• Brett Kavanaugh’s Unusual Role in Defending Himself (“Faced with sexual-assault allegations, he has been more aggressive in fighting for his Supreme Court nomination than most of his predecessors.”)
• Kavanaugh spreads unfounded conspiracy theory in letter to Senate (“The deep state did it.” Kavanaugh is totally unfit to be a judge at all, let alone on the Supreme Court.)
• NRA president Oliver North: Brett Kavanaugh is being accused of sexual assault because “he believes in our Second Amendment” (North=Evil)
• Lisa Murkowski’s Vote on Brett Kavanaugh Is Looking Tougher Than Ever (“A startling incident in her home state brings things into focus—and ramps up the stakes.”)
• The Watergate Reboot Is About to Be Broadcast in High Definition (“Especially if the headlines read ‘President* Fires Rosenstein.'”)
• Anyone Who Claims to Know What Happens Next Is Lying (“If Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination is going to be pulled, though, it needs to happen before Thursday.”)
• Don’t Assume Trump Will Fire Rosenstein — Or That He Won’t
• Kavanaugh’s fate rests with Sen. Collins
• Brett Kavanaugh’s Fox News interview, explained in 5 phrases (“As Vox’s Andrew Prokop has pointed out, making repeated and vehement denials is a move right out of Trump’s own playbook for responding to claims of sexual misconduct.”)
• Fox News has failed to mention that Republican staffers reportedly knew about the second report of sexual misconduct by Brett Kavanaugh (“According to The New Yorker, some “senior Republican staffers” were aware of Deborah Ramirez’s claims last week — Republican lawmakers chose to push for a faster confirmation.”)
• Kavanaugh backer sexually demeaned by nominee in high school yearbook — and she just learned about it
• New Yorker reporters fact-check Brett Kavanaugh’s ‘false’ Fox News interview about sexual assault allegations
• Avenatti promises new Kavanaugh accuser to come forward in next 48 hours
• Bloomberg-founded gun control group launches ads to flip 15 GOP House districts (Those districts include VA-10 and our old pal, Barbara “Votes 98% with Trump” Comstock)
• Instagram co-founders resign, dealing a potential blow to Facebook (“The co-founders of the photo-sharing app, which is owned by Faceboook, had clashed with chief executive Mark Zuckerberg in recent months, according to a person familiar with the men’s decision-making.”)
• The Upside-Down Politics of the Kavanaugh Fight (“Republicans would probably lose by winning and win by losing.”)
• Kavanaugh mocked after citing virginity, strict social calendar in latest defense
• Hurricane Florence Brought North Carolina an Environmental Disaster (“Predictably, the state’s manic deregulation has led to unsafe conditions.” This is exactly why we need regulations!)
• Upheaval opens door for Republican outsider in Virginia congressional race (Other than a few quirks, Riggleman is pretty much standard-issue right-wing Republican. No thanks!)
• More than $1.5 million spent on ads in Virginia’s second congressional district race so far
• Warner, Kaine announce Virginia will receive $6 million to combat opioid crisis
• Blue Ridge Caucus: Roanoke Valley women join nationwide walkout in solidarity with Kavanaugh’s accusers
• Blue Ridge Caucus: Jennifer Lewis seeks additional 6th District debate with Ben Cline (“The two have already debated at Spotswood High School in Rockingham County, and they have their final joint debate scheduled for Oct. 22 at the Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance. Lewis said on Friday she accepted a debate hosted by the Lexington-Rockbridge County Chamber of Commerce on Oct. 24.”)
• Joyce: General Assembly responsible for outdated schools
• Virginia prison visitors to be barred from wearing tampons; contraband concern cited (Bizarre.)
• Virginia Prisons Ban Visitors From Wearing Tampons, Citing Contraband Concerns (Claire Gastanaga of the Virginia ACLU: “a policy like this one that requires those who wish to visit people who are incarcerated to set aside their dignity and health is simply unacceptable.”)
• Stewart seeks Asian support by vowing to fight racial preference in college admissions (Alexandria Democratic Committee Chair Clarence Tong: “Shameful coverage by the WaPo today. Corey Stewart is seeking to divide the AAPI community over a wedge issue of race in Harvard admissions. Why is this even a story? As a Harvard alumni, I am proud of the diversity of people and thought when I was a graduate student there. It seems suspicious to me that someone so aligned with Trump’s hard line immigration and neo-Confederate views is suddenly interested in my well being. No thanks Corey! Please stop questioning my intelligence.”)
• BREAKING: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals STAYS Atlantic Coast Pipeline Construction in National Forests
• FIASCO: Mountain Valley Pipeline Drops Rock-Hard Erosion Control Pellets From Helicopter on Kids’ Heads as Pipeline Cost Skyrockets to $4.6 Billion
• Wyatt Durrette column: If politicians were angels, no redistricting reform would be necessary
• Sinking island off Virginia’s Eastern Shore will get a new jetty (“The Northam administration calls it a short-term fix for a problem rooted in climate change.” Note that many of the people on this island don’t “believe” in man-made climate change.)
• Amid softening views and legalization elsewhere, Virginia marijuana arrests hit highest levels in a decade
• ‘This is an extraordinary animal’: Two-headed copperhead snake found in Virginia leaves experts in awe
• Portsmouth Councilman Mark Whitaker asks judge to toss jury’s guilty verdicts
• Facebook plans another $1 billion investment in Henrico (“Facebook will spend an additional $1 billion in a second phase of data center development in eastern Henrico County, according to multiple sources familiar with the impending economic development announcement.”)
• Morning fog and afternoon rain, wet into Thursday before nicer weekend