Wednesday News: Trump Badly Needs a “Safe Space” After Midterm Mauling; “For Virginia, another Year of the Woman”; “Virginia women coming to shake up the House!”; “Hokie Landing” in Arlington

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, November 14.

• California fires have caused unprecedented damage, left at least 50 dead (This tragedy brought to you by man-made climate change, among other human screwups.)
• U.K. Said to Have Reassured Business on Deal: Brexit Update
• Pence says Myanmar’s handling of Rohingya ‘without excuse’ (Wait, I actually agree with Pence on something???)
• U.S. faces worst national security crisis in decades, commission warns (Thanks Trump!)
• Kevin McCarthy Emerges as Likely Victor in GOP House Leadership Contest (Basically, anyone who votes for Jim Jordan is the craziest of the crazy, the worst of the worst. That includes folks like Ben Cline from VA-06.)
• Yes, It’s Almost Decision Time For 2020 Democratic Presidential Hopefuls
• Trump, stung by midterms and nervous about Mueller, retreats from traditional presidential duties (Trump badly needs a “safe space” – heh.)
• How Trump’s move to put a loyalist over Mueller is already backfiring (“Bipartisan criticism and legal maneuvering may limit Matthew Whitaker’s options as acting attorney general.”)
• After clashes with first lady and others, Kelly may soon exit White House
• AP sources: Trump mulling a wide-ranging shakeup
• Staff anger spills over at White House (“A drumbeat of exits is mixing with Trump’s anger after the midterms and a much-criticized trip to Europe.”)
• The Republican Voodoo Tax Cuts Are Not Delivering (“That includes votes.”)
• Greenspan Says U.S. May Be Seeing the First Signs of Inflation (“The former Fed chair says a rising U.S. debt burden could derail the current expansion” Thanks Republicans!)
• The world is moving on from Trump. And others are stepping forward. (Yep, in two years Trump has squandered what took decades to build up. Really “making America great,” eh?)
• The Republican Party has a woman problem (“President Trump has nearly succeeded in purging GOP women from the House of Representatives.”)
• Matthew Whitaker is steeped in time travel and Bigfoot. He’s the right man for the job. (“Only such a man could successfully sell the notion that the special counsel’s inquiry is a hoax.” Yeah, Whitaker’s “special” alright.)
• 2018 Turnout Was the Highest of Any Midterm in More Than a Century (“2018’s 49 percent is the highest recorded in the last 25 midterms, dating back to 1914.” Yet it STILL means that a majority of eligible voters don’t vote.)
• Trump Thinks Legitimate Elections Are “Voter Fraud” (“The president’s anti-democratic impulses are in line with his party’s broader tendencies. He’s just less shameless about it.”)
• Melania Trump calls for firing of top national security aide in extraordinary move (“It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House” Can anyone even imagine Michelle Obama having done something like this???)
• Prejudice and hatred should not exist in America. My father understood that. (The daughter of Ronald Reagan says that a president saying “there are very fine people on both sides” is something that should not “ever happen in America.”)
• It’s time to follow doctors’ orders on gun violence (“The NRA inadvertently spurred a discussion of gun violence as a public health crisis.”)
• Trump Decided to Skip Cemetery Visit, Blamed Aides for Fallout: Report (Just imagine the reaction from right-wing talk radio, Fox, etc. if Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama had done something like this.)
• Melania Trump Exploits the John Kelly Power Vacuum (“She can be a knife fighter.”)
• Kyrsten Sinema’s Victory in Arizona May Be the Democrats’ Biggest Win of the Trump Era (“Sinema’s triumph sets the stage for a debate inside the Democratic Party about how to win red states in 2020 and beyond.”)
• ‘Stop lying’ about Florida recounts, Democrats warn Trump
• A Wake-Up Call for the G.O.P.(“My South Carolina district hadn’t voted for a Democrat in 40 years. What happened?” “As Republicans, we’ve drifted from our roots. The party, in fact, has a remarkable legacy on conservation and the environment — and this race suggests we should recommit ourselves to it.”)
• Abrams campaign wins court rulings as push for a runoff election continues (“A court extended the deadline to certify election results until Friday.”)
• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Nancy Pelosi, and the Democratic Battles to Come in 2019 (Oh, can’t wait. Not.)
• One week later, Democrats around the country continue to rack up good midterm results
• Ocasio-Cortez joins protesters in Pelosi’s office pushing for bold climate action (“Protesters call for a ‘Green New Deal.'” I’m all for a “Green New Deal,” but unfortunately right now Dems don’t have the power to deliver one. First we need to take back Congress – preferably by a big margin – and the White House. Meanwhile, we should focus on the states and localities for climate action.)
• Have You Been Indicted? Consider Running as a Republican. (“The party of Law and Order.” More like the party of Outlaws and Chaos!)
• A Week After the Midterms, Trump Seems to Forget the Caravan (Yep, which makes it crystal clear what complete bullshit this “story” was in the first place. So why did the media cover it like it was a real story?)
• ‘Things could get really dicey’: Trump is reportedly furious and lashing out at everyone as he realizes the how badly the GOP did in the midterms
• Yes, It Was A Blue Wave
• Trumps to skip Kennedy Center Honors again rather than face very vocal critics (“Lin-Manuel Miranda said Trump was ‘going straight to hell.’ Cher compared him to Hitler. Any surprise that Trump isn’t planning to cheer them on in December?”)
• Right-wing media and Trump Jr. peddle debunked, years-old story about illegal voters in Florida
• Mainstream media parrots Trump’s baseless claims regarding Florida recounts (“Repeating the president’s claims in headlines without giving proper context only spreads Trump’s lies and causes confusion, which is particularly detrimental during coverage of elections and undermines faith in the country’s democratic institutions. It also sets media outlets up as easy targets for Trump to manipulate, allowing him to more easily spread his dishonesty and lies.”)
• ‘The government’s story keeps changing’: CNN seen as likely to prevail in White House fight (“The White House’s shifting justifications for pulling Jim Acosta’s press badge won’t help it in the coming legal fight.”)
• The Real Florida Recount Fraud (“Republicans’ baseless claims poison the races for governor and senator.”)
• Republicans Need a Suburban Agenda (Eric Cantor: “These voters are leaving the Republican Party and we need to win them back.” Haha, good luck with THAT as long as you guys are the Party of Trump!)
• Sen. Mark Warner: The murder of Khashoggi wouldn’t have happened if Trump weren’t president
• Sen. Mark Warner: ‘We were all alsleep at the switch’ during election interference (With disastrous results.)
• Mark Warner Welcomes Amazon, But Warns Big Tech (“Top Democrat on Senate Intelligence wants to see more data transparency from Facebook, others”)
• Rozell: For Virginia, another Year of the Woman (“Virginia Democrats can thank women for the party’s success in picking up three congressional seats here in the midterm elections. Women candidates carried the Democratic banner in six of the 11 Virginia House races. They competed for districts that many observers said were un-winnable. On election day, they ousted three GOP incumbents, two of whom hail from Republican-leaning districts.” And hopefully 2019 will be yet ANOTHER “Year of the Woman” here in Virginia. Let’s make it happen!)
• Boon or boondoggle? Officials, lawmakers academics weigh in on proposed Amazon ‘megadeal’ (I’m with the Commonwealth Institute on this one – “it’s ‘critical that elected leadership, media, and the rest of us take a careful look at the realistic benefits and drawbacks of the deal,’ before public dollars are committed.”)
• Virginia reported 193 hate crimes in 2017 – but advocates say there were probably more
• Supreme Court asks if Cox has standing to challenge redistricting (“The Supreme Court ordered Cox and the plaintiffs who challenged the districts to file written arguments about whether the Republican-controlled House of Delegates has standing to appeal. In general, only someone harmed by a court ruling has the right to challenge it.” They’re only “harmed” in the sense of voters being able to choose the people who represent them, not the other way around!)
• The ‘Californication’ of Virginia (Right wingnut goes bonkers, grab some popcorn!)
• Virginia spends $6,500 per prison inmate on health care each year. A new report shows the state could reduce that cost.
• Reactions to Amazon’s HQ2 Crystal City/Arlington Announcement by Virginia Elected Officials, Candidates [UPDATED]
• A $2 Billion Question: Did New York and Virginia Overpay for Amazon?
• Governor Northam Announces Amazon Selects Virginia for Major New Corporate Headquarters
• Virginia Tech will open a $1 billion campus in Northern Virginia next to Amazon HQ2 (“The new campus, which U.S. Rep. Don Beyer, D-8th, jokingly called ‘Hokie Landing’ during a news conference, will have 100 master’s degree students next year in a temporary space and 500 master’s students within five years, the school said. Virginia Tech already produces the fifth-most engineering and STEM graduates in the U.S. The university plans to hire 50 faculty members for the campus.”)
• Editorial: Rural Virginia’s stake in Amazon (“This will generate more tax revenue for state coffers, an estimated $3.2 billion over 20 years. For all the proud declarations about how people in rural Virginia are strong and independent, the fiscal reality is that we’re dependent on Northern Virginia. Let’s make that even plainer: Northern Virginia subsidizes the rest of the state.” More broadly, “blue” America heavily subsidizes “red” America, which in turn hates “blue” America. Brilliant, eh?)
• ‘We have positive revenue from day one’; Virginia officials defend incentives used to land Amazon headquarters
• Amazon’s HQ2 could be a launching pad for a bright future for the D.C. region (“Virginia and the D.C. area are winners, along with New York. Now to mitigate the fallout.”)
• Amazon could be boon or bust for Metro and the region’s transportation infrastructure (“Advocates are hoping for the positive outcomes seen in Seattle, such as more transit use, biking and carpooling.”)
• In Crystal City, news of Amazon’s arrival inspires yearnings for a facelift (“A longtime nowhere neighborhood in Virginia could be about to become somewhere.” It needs help, badly.)
• As an Arlington resident, I’m excited about Amazon—and worried about housing costs
• Schapiro: Amazon, redistricting — different issues, similar implications
• Did Amazon just change Crystal City to ‘National Landing’? Not quite. Here’s the story.
• With Hoopla and Murals, Crystal City Welcomes Amazon
• Editorial: At first glance Amazon deal looks OK for Virginia (Seems like it; I agree for once with the Republican Times-Disgrace editorial board.)
• My Humble But Informed SD-33 Firehouse Primary Endorsement: Charlotte McConnell
• Judge considering motion to dismiss InfoWars defamation suit
• Richmond City Council holds property tax rate steady; demolition of Intermediate Terminal Building off table for now
• Bryan Stephens, Rick Weddle and Jim Spore: The importance of reliable energy in Hampton Roads (Ridiculous.)
• Hampton mayor stresses partnerships with others in ‘state of city’ address
• Fredericksburg council finalizes agreement with Potomac Nationals
• Chilly today, wintry mix arrives late tonight