by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, January 2. Regarding Willard “Mitt” Romney’s op-ed, as former Clinton, Holder and Schumer aide Brian Fallon puts it, “Mitt Romney could stand up to Trump in deeds rather than just words by announcing support for the bill to reopen the government that the Senate approved unanimously last month and that McConnell now refuses to bring back up out of deference to Trump.” Regarding bats***-crazy Virginia State Senator Dick Black (far-right R)’s retirement, personally I was hoping that he’d stick around so we could kick his butt outta there. The question is whether Republicans can find a strong candidate for a district (SD13) that Tim Kaine won by 19 points over Corey Stewart in 2018, that Ralph Northam won by 11 points over Ed Gillespie in 2017, and that Hillary Clinton won by 6 points over Donald Trump in 2016.
- Congress to reconvene with no end in sight for federal shutdown
- White House: Pelosi’s plan to reopen the government ‘a non-starter’
- What to watch: Five fights awaiting Trump, Congress (“Government funding…Nominations…Debt ceiling…NAFTA…Foreign policy”)
- Stocks Open 2019 With a Tumble Over Weak Chinese Data (“Global stock markets fell on the first trading day of 2019 on deepening fears of a slowdown in the Chinese economy, extending a turbulent period for equities.”)
- In Newly Divided Government, Who Will Control the Political Agenda? (“Democrats taking power in the House plan to push an anti-corruption agenda. But President Trump appears set on keeping the focus on immigration. The first order of business will be to end the shutdown, now heading into its 12th day over an impasse on border wall funding. Mr. Trump invited lawmakers to a Wednesday meeting.”)
- US fires tear gas across Mexico border to stop migrants
- The Trump Tax Cut: Even Worse Than You’ve Heard (“Skeptical reporting has still been too favorable.”)
- Trump Is Essentially Back Where He Started With North Korea (“In a speech, Kim Jong-un seemed to challenge President Trump to backtrack on the goal of zero North Korean nuclear weapons, our correspondent writes in an analysis. But the overall tone of one of the world’s fiercest armed standoffs has improved, and by some measures there has been modest progress.”)
- Bolsonaro declares Brazil’s ‘liberation from socialism’ as he is sworn in (This guy is going to be a disaster.)
- Trump goes after retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal for ‘big, dumb mouth’ (Trump yet again attacks a highly respected member of the military, a place that “Bonespurs Don” has never served.)
- Trump claimed he knew ‘more than the generals.’ Now they want nothing to do with him. (“As Mattis and Kelly depart Team Trump, Petraeus, McChrystal, and Keane denounce the Commander-in-Chief.”)
- Investors Are Still Cautiously Optimistic About 2019. But Here’s What Could Go Wrong. (“After an unexpectedly bad year for the stock market, investors are eager for clues about what 2019 will bring. The hope is that the underlying U.S. economy is sound, but last year’s plunge, the worst annual drop in a decade, could be the start of something more sinister.”)
- What the Democrats’ 2020 Field Looks Like Now (“These seven candidates have early leads. Here’s how each could build on his or her popularity—or blow it” – “Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, Beto O’Rourke, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, and Cory Booker.”)
- How Elizabeth Warren Could Win The 2020 Democratic Primary (“Warren’s campaign looks like it could go either way. With some skill and luck, she could launch herself right into the thick of the nomination fight. But there are plenty of reasons to be pessimistic about Warren as well, starting with her stature among her own constituents.”)
- In shutdown, national parks turn into Wild West: Many people, few overseers (“Visitors are enjoying the free access, but trash cans are overflowing and restrooms are locked. If nature calls — well, the woods are over that way.” This situation is a metaphor for the entire Trump presidency – overflowing trash, chaos, etc.)
- Trump invites lawmakers to border security briefing ahead of new Congress’s start (“The president also used the first day of 2019 to insult a retired U.S. commander in Afghanistan as a dumb loudmouth, sing the praises of an ultranationalist former aide and tell America to ‘ENJOY THE RIDE.'” And by “ultranationalist,” the WaPo actually means “white supremacist” and/or “neo-fascist.” But the Post won’t just come out and say that, for whatever reason.)
- Elizabeth Warren Knows It’s Not Just About Trumpism. It’s About Completely Rebuilding Our Politics. (“What’s on the table is something approaching a second Reconstruction. The Massachusetts senator helped put it there.”)
- Netflix Drops Hasan Minhaj Episode In Saudi Arabia At Government’s Request (What?)
- Mitt Romney: The president shapes the public character of the nation. Trump’s character falls short. (The new Jeff Flake? And I don’t mean that in a good way.)
- Internet unites to brutally mock ‘nauseating’ Mitt Romney op-ed trashing Trump (Oliver Willis: “Mitt Romney is an enabler. He will be a limp noodle like every other republican and cuck to Trump. Mitt Romney is a moral black hole and is one of the key architects in Trumpism. Period.”)
- How Biden Has Paved the Way for a Possible Presidential Run
- Trump’s spider is calling to Congress’s fly. Congress shouldn’t take the bait.
- Jay Inslee Is Running for President (“The Washington governor has a single-minded focus: pulling the country back from the climate-change brink.”)
- What the Believers Are Denying (“The denial of climate change and the denial of racism rest on the same foundation: an attack on observable reality.”)
- Philadelphia New Years Day parade ridicules ‘pee tape’-clutching Donald Trump in hilarious dance routine
- Republican and Democratic strategists wreck Trump’s ‘deplorable’ attack on retired general’s military service
- BREAKING–Senator Dick Black retiring (Wow…the most bat****-crazy, faaaar-right member of the Virginia General Assembly finally going away? What will Black’s pal Bashar Assad do without him?)
- Virginia 2019: “Best Case Scenario for Democrats in Redistricting, and…Corresponding Ratings [Changes]”
- Liberty University’s Jerry Falwell Jr. on Trump: ‘I can’t imagine him doing anything that’s not good for the country’ (Falwell is a full-fledge cult member. As for statements like “It’s a distortion of the teaching of Christ to say Jesus taught love and forgiveness and therefore the United States as a nation should be loving and forgiving,” clearly Falwell isn’t a real Christian.)
- Leading Virginia Republican: “Inequality is not automatically an indication of injustice…Poverty is the natural state of human beings.”
- Editorial: Crisis in Virginia’s foster care system
- Building on school needs (“Virginia schools require a perennial effort to address the backlog of delayed capital project”)
- Editorial, Jan. 1, 2019: Our creed (The far-right RTD editorial board explains its “reasoning.”)
- Upstart candidates for prosecutor hope to bring reform wave to Northern Virginia (“Upstart?” The WaPo is so weird; where do they come up with this crap?)
- Developer cuts deal with Virginia Beach to build surf park and entertainment center on Dome site
- Editorial: Goodlatte’s legacy, part one: The technology congressman (Is this going to be a whitewash for an absolutely horrendous Congressman?)
- LOOKING AHEAD: Will a historic push to expand gambling in Virginia go anywhere?
- Gifting Daniel Snyder any money or land for a new Redskins stadium would be absolute madness (Agreed. Any politician who supports this will face a major backlash.)
- Charlottesville Police Department sees ‘mass exodus’ of employees
- Northam participates in First Day 5K in Midlothian
- Virginia Airbnb hosts earn total of nearly $104 million in supplemental income
- ‘Celebrating New Year’s the wrong way’: Once again, gunfire a problem in Richmond on New Year’s Eve
- Fairfax Co. police catch man who escaped custody
- Colder today with rain likely tonight; no snow in sight
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