by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, January 10.
- A Shaky Start in Brazil (“President Jair Bolsonaro, dubbed the ‘Trump of the Tropics,’ takes power. With a vengeance.” He’s a disaster, just like Trump.)
- Congo Says Felix Tshisekedi Won Election, Rebuffing Independent Review (“Felix Tshisekedi was named the winner over Martin Fayulu, who was considered by independent observers to be the top vote-getter. Mr. Fayulu called the official results an ‘electoral swindle.’ The decision dashed hopes that the country might experience an undisputed transfer of power.'”)
- Trump says shutdown can be ended in 45 minutes, storms out of meeting with Democrats after half-hour (“I said bye-bye.”)
- Trump walks out of shutdown negotiations after Democrats reject wall money, calls meeting ‘total waste of time’ (In fact, the “total waste of time” is trying to reason with the petulant, disturbed 2-year-old in the Oval Office.)
- ‘A gut politician’: Trump’s go-to negotiating tactics not working in standoff (“Lawmakers of both parties are frustrated by the president’s vacillating approach as he demands a portion of his border wall in exchange for reopening the government.”)
- Shutdown impasse: 8 House Republicans break with Trump on shutdown strategy, back Democrats’ plan to reopen Treasury without new border wall funds
- Trump Hits the Wall (“And what’s all that sniffling about?”)
- A Memorial for Jamal Khashoggi
- Trump’s team had over 100 contacts with Russian-linked officials, report shows
- Facing gridlock, GOP senators seek big immigration deal to end shutdown
- The Shutdown Could Take Its Biggest Toll on the Most Vulnerable Americans (Who Trump and the Republicans don’t care about.)
- Trump heads to Texas as part of public relations campaign for border wall
- The ‘doomsday’ scenario: Here’s what happens if the shutdown drags on (“Economists warn that a catastrophe is in the making if the partial government closure continues for weeks or months.”)
- Trump’s threat to cut California wildfire relief leaves state officials baffled (“He criticized the state for ‘forest management’, a claim that was debunked and admonished the last time he made it”)
- Doug Jones Seeks Inquiry Into Misinformation Efforts in Alabama Senate Race
- Is the 2020 Democratic Presidential Field Finally Shrinking Rather Than Expanding? (Let’s hope.)
- There Is No Question Anymore Whether the Trump Campaign Was in Cahoots With the Russians (“His campaign manager very simply was.”)
- The end of Trump’s affair with ‘his’ generals (“The self-sacrificing ethos of the military remains alien to a self-obssessed president.”)
- Trump’s wall isn’t evil. It’s medieval. (“If we’re turning to 5th century technology to solve immigration, let’s learn from the greats.”)
- GOP senators challenge Trump on shutdown strategy
- Yeah, Sure, This Is What 2020 Needs (“If you’re looking to bet on the various people who can muck up the 2020 presidential election, you can do worse than put a little early money on Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Democrat of Hawaii, whose flea-on-a-griddle semi-progressivism is beginning to look less like charming eccentricity, and more like calculated mischief…Mazie Hirono should tell Tulsi Gabbard to go suck up to another dictator and stop trying to run for president on Mazie’s coattails.”)
- POLITICO Playbook: Trump’s one way out (“THE WHITE HOUSE made a flawed calculation a few weeks ago. They thought Pelosi would be ready to deal, and could deliver Trump his wall once she got past her leadership election. It was a serious misjudgment by an administration that frequently misreads the Hill — and is having a tough time reading Pelosi. THEY THOUGHT she would cave on the wall, and she isn’t…Pelosi has set a strategy and theory of the case, and she’s going to stick with it…THE HOUSE and other entities would likely immediately jump in, and try to have the courts stop the move. But it would allow Trump to claim progress — which the president is seeing none of at the moment. He could open the government, and say the wall is being built. And if the courts strike it down, then the president can blame the judiciary, something he’s done before.”)/li>
- Andrew Wheeler wins chance to serve as permanent EPA chief after strong anti-environment audition
- No, Washington Post, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is nothing like Sarah Palin (“The new representative embraces science. Palin, not so much.” The corporate media loves this “both sides” crap, including that progressives are supposedly the “left” equivalent” of the “Tea Party.” Total nonsense.)
- Tom Steyer, Billionaire Impeachment Activist, Won’t Run Against Trump
- A beefed-up White House legal team prepares aggressive defense of Trump’s executive privilege as investigations loom large
- Food inspections by the FDA have been sharply reduced, alarming critics (“Critics?” Seriously? This should alarm everyone.)
- Coast Guard families told they can have garage sales to cope with government shutdown (Trump yet again disrespects the military.)
- Experts saw signs of growing authoritarianism in Trump’s prime-time address (It doesn’t take experts to figure that out.)
- The Shutdown to End All Shutdowns (“The government doesn’t have to come to a halt every time Congress and the president can’t agree on funding it. Now might be the time for a big fix.”)
- House Democrats now asking questions about Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin
- So when will Fox News finally let Donald Trump’s shutdown end? (“By himself, Trump would have backed away from this disaster already. But Fox News is holding the nation hostage”)
- Conservatives rage over report that finds toxic masculinity is bad for men’s health (Ironic that they react with…yep, toxic masculine behavior?)
- Emergency declaration option for wall tests GOP
- Lou Dobbs and Sean Hannity advised Trump on shutdown strategy. His Oval Office speech reflected it. (“Trump’s address ripped language from their Fox shows”)
- Freshman Dems feeling the heat as shutdown drags on (“Spanberger, who represents a district won by President Donald Trump in 2016, spoke up at a closed-door caucus meeting Wednesday morning to warn Democrats were losing the messaging war in her district and needed to be more clear about the kind of border security measures they support.” Dems have said repeatedly what types of border security they support.)
- Democrats raise alarm, Republicans sound wary as Trump floats declaring national emergency
- Top Bernie Sanders 2016 adviser accused of forcibly kissing subordinate (“The claim is the latest complaint about a hostile environment for women on the campaign. Robert Becker denied wrongdoing.”)
- Presidential dreams pull Democrats away from key Senate races (That’s a huge mistake.)
- Kamala Harris says she’ll decide on 2020 soon, chides Trump on shutdown
- CNN’s Camerota presses Kaine over refusal to do any Senate business before shutdown ends (Did Camerota press Mitch McConnell on his refusal to do the Senate’s business and hold confirmation hearings on Merrick Garland? Hmmmm.)
- Kaine: end the shutdown. Cline: Trump should hold firm (Cline, of course, is as bad as predicted.)
- Virginia Democratic lawmakers decry ‘president’s political game,’ say federal workers getting ‘crushed’ by shutdown
- Opponents say Equal Rights Amendment would write abortion access into the Constitution. Supporters say that’s nonsense. Who’s right? (This asks, but doesn’t really answer, the question.)
- Virginia Study Finds Increased School Bullying In Areas That Voted For Trump
- Doron Ezickson: Herring bill aims to fight hate crimes
- Protect bay from politics (My god, this is so f’ing stupid, lazy and cowardly: it is NOT the “federal government’s dismissal of climate change,” it’s specifically Trump and many fossil-fuel-puppet Republicans. Don’t lump the entire federal government in with the denier @#$!@’s. In fact, the federal government issued a major report a couple months ago on climate change.)
- From 1619 to 2019: Virginia lawmakers back in session, 4 centuries after first meeting
- Appropriations chairman won’t consider $1.2 billion tax windfall in budget until Northam, lawmakers reach tax policy deal
- Va. Gov. Northam urges Republicans to embrace ambitious budget in annual address
- Video, Transcript: Gov. Ralph Northam’s First State of the Commonwealth Address
- As Virginia General Assembly Kicks Off 2019 Session, Here Are Some Bills That Caught My Eye
- In era of national gridlock and division, Northam urges Virginia lawmakers to find ‘a different path forward’
- Governor Northam Blows Up the Narrative With I-81 Upgrade Plan
- Video: Press Conference on Equal Rights Amendment; Will Virginia’s GOP-Controlled House of Delegates Kill It Yet AGAIN? (“The problem has been the House. It has never passed the House.”)
- Larry Roberts Announces He’s “Returning to Serve as Chief of Staff” to Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax
- Advocates for ERA ratification make push on opening day of General Assembly session
- Jared Calfee column: Make a high-quality education accessible and affordable to all Virginians
- Editorial: Two legal experts dispute Herring’s opinion on outdated schools
- Blue Ridge Caucus: New delegates get committee assignments, Del. Terry Austin joins budget panel
- New delegate’s bill would reset order of elections on ballots (“The legislator wants to have all offices up for election to appear on the ballot prior to ballot questions. Currently, the State Board of Elections has ballots ordered by president, statewide offices, constitutional amendment and bond referendum questions, and then followed by local offices and questions on local issues.”)
- Hampton Roads lawmaker proposes legalizing marijuana in Virginia
- Government shutdown affecting more of Hampton Roads as the weeks wear on
- Bhatti: Why SNAP matters to Southwest Virginia
- Appalachian Power gets approval to sell 100 percent renewable energy to customers. Hold the champagne.
- Video: Candidates Announce for SD31, Arlington/Falls Church Commonwealth’s Attorney, etc. (“Two contested races so far: 1) Parisa Tafti vs. Theo Stamos for Commonwealth’s Attorney; 2) Nicole Merlene vs. State Sen. Barbara Favola”)
- 3 new members join Virginia Beach’s first City Council meeting of the year
- Virginia senators work to correct issue with renaming of Charlottesville post office for Army Capt. Humayun Khan
- Newport News City Council passes support of Equal Rights Amendment on 5-2 vote
- And they’re off: Hampton council approves off-track betting facility
- At meeting, Arlington School Board could rename Washington-Lee High School after Mildred and Richard Loving
- Wind chills in the teens tonight, and cold gusts increase Thursday
