| Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... |
by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, March 8.
- Theresa May to EU: Help me out on Brexit
- History Could Doom U.S.-China Trade Deal (“By pushing for something that looks like an unequal treaty, Washington is virtually guaranteeing it will break down.”)
- China February exports tumble the most in three years, spur fears of ‘trade recession’
- Erdogan sabotages Turkey’s progress by turning away from the West (“Turkey has come to think it can call the shots, regardless of U.S. interests.”)
- Tariff Man Has Become Deficit Man (“Trump really has no idea how international trade works.” Trump is basically 180-degrees backwards on almost everything, from trade to climate science to immigration to ethics to…you name it.)
- Paul Manafort sentenced to about 4 years in prison in Virginia case (Judge Ellis is an absolute disgrace. Also, this digraceful leniency is white privilege at its ugliest.)
- The ‘Otherwise Blameless Life’ of Paul Manafort (“Trump’s former campaign chair has always acted with impunity, as if the laws never applied to him.” In fact, Manafort’s life has been full of blame for his disgusting, illegal, corrupt, unethical, etc. behavior. FU Judge Ellis.)
- Manafort’s light sentence slammed as ‘disrespectful,’ ‘lenient,’ ‘an outrage’ (“If you rob a bank you’re going to spend twice as long in prison as someone who steals millions otherwise”)
- Paul Manafort: Beneficiary of America’s Sentencing Gap (And of a disgraceful judge.)
- This Is Why Republicans Don’t Care What the President* Does, No Matter How Crooked or Barbaric (“It’s the judges, people. The judges.”)
- Democrats Could Go After Donald Trump’s Tax Returns Soon (“The documents could show how much money Trump makes, where it comes from and how much he pays in taxes.”)
- Trump defenders reach concern-troll phase: Democrats are just acting too mean! (“Pro-Trump pundits claim it’s a ‘tactical error’ to investigate Trump, Democrats heading down ‘dangerous path'”)
- The House’s willingness to stand up to the NRA shows the possibility for progress (“There is a new political reality on gun control.” Yep, if we elect Democrats.)
- House Democrats are afraid to investigate Trump’s family. They are mistaken. (“They believe any targeting of Trump’s children or their families, no matter the reason, will increase voter sympathy for the president.”)
- Pentagon may tap military pay, pensions for border wall
- Eric Holder Says Next Democratic President Should Consider Court Packing (Republicans have stolen a slew of judicial seats, including two on the Supreme Court. The question is, what do about it?)
- Trump thinks his supporters are the most gullible people on earth. Are they really? (Yep, for once Trump is right.)
- Kaine: ‘You’ll see Congress erupt’ if Trump starts issuing pardons
- The Case for Reparations (David Brooks of all people? Wow.)
- Republicans manage to get Democrats out of a jam — by showing the GOP’s true colors (“Then things got really weird. The voting began, and Republicans started voting “no” — on a declaration condemning hate. No, really. Republican dissenters included a member of the House leadership (Rep. Liz Cheney) and Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.), who fancies himself a friend of Israel, as well as veteran crackpots such as Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Tex.). Once more, Republicans snatched back the mantle of racial and religious insensitivity, announcing to the world that they couldn’t possibly be against both anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. Twenty-three Republicans voted no.”)
- For Republicans, Attacking Ilhan Omar Is a Many-Splendored Thing
- How House Democrats Totally Bungled This Ilhan Omar Controversy (“Exactly whom did their broad anti-hate resolution please?”)
- Ilhan Omar Is Hurting the Palestinian Cause (“It’s easy to be anti-Israel. But serious work, not divisive words, is what’s needed to make a difference.”)
- A conservative group alleges Ocasio-Cortez and her allies ran a PAC scam. But there’s no evidence of wrongdoing.
- Heartland Progressive Sherrod Brown Won’t Run for President in 2020
- Why Sherrod Brown will be missed (“Brown’s chances of actually winning the Democratic nomination were slim.”
- Facebook’s Removal of Anti-vax Content From Searches Is the Strongest Such De-platforming Move Yet
- Facebook’s shift to “privacy-focused” company: earnest change or cynical PR move? (“With Facebook under siege and beset by scandal, do we trust the boy-CEO to reform the surveillance giant?”)
- Sanders seizes pro-Omar lane in 2020 (“No other presidential candidate came out as quickly — or as forcefully — on the Rep. Ilhan Omar controversy as the Vermont senator.”)
- Biden is frontrunner, but many Dems doubt he can win
- “He’s Never Really Been Hit from the Left Before”: As O’Rourke Prepares to Run, 2020 Democrats Are Sharpening Their Knives—And Looking for an Achilles’ Heel
- Why, as members of Congress, we must call out Rep. Ilhan Omar’s comments (Co-authored by Rep. Elaine Luria of Virginia)
- Fox’s “news” team is an essential cog in a corrupt propaganda machine
- Bad-faith cries of Democratic hypocrisy are a favorite tactic in the conservative media playbook
- Dem leaders, progressives struggle over Medicare for all
- Here’s why conservative groups are so desperate to kill Democrats’ sweeping H.R. 1 legislation (“The ‘For the People Act’ (or H.R. 1) is a sweeping set of transparency and anti-corruption measures that aims to transform the American political system ‘in the face of a torrent of special-interest dark money, partisan gerrymandering and devious vote-suppression schemes'”)
- Democrats don’t need any more presidential candidates. They need senators. (“Let us all take a moment to praise Sherrod Brown.”)
- Warner weighs in on Russia probe, Cohen testimony
- Warner calls for passage of miner benefits legislation
- Virginia helps bolster legal argument to block seismic testing
- Senators join effort to boost funding for Chesapeake Bay cleanup
- Virginia Beach state senator Frank Wagner will retire, and Democrats have eyes on the seat (“Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam won the 7th Senate District with 54 percent of the vote in 2017…Two Virginia Beach Democrats, Susan Hippen and Kim Howard, have launched campaigns for Wagner’s seat in November.”)
- Va. Beach Sen. Frank Wagner won’t seek re-election, joining 2 other veteran Republicans (Wagner is owned and operated by Dominion Energy. Good riddance!)
- Racial reconciliation group led by McDonnell to help Northam amid race scandal (Beyond parody. The disgraced “Taliban Bob” McDonnell? Also note that Republicans like McDonnell are enemies of voting rights, healthcare, civil rights, etc. for African Americans. Only in Virginia?)
- Editorial: Herring’s performance on WAMU (The Republican Times-Disgrace of course bashes Dems, but ignores – or supports – Tommy Norment and the Virginia Republicans’ racist policies.)
- Did VA GOP House Leader Todd Gilbert Order His Political Director to Spy on ERA Campaign?
- Williams: Cotton inspired his art; for Pam Northam, it was a teachable moment gone awry. What can we learn at this juncture?
- Governor signs law banning all tobacco products at school
- Prince William County Board of Supervisors Election – Just A Couple Months Away. Go Angry!
- Next-generation Wampler announces House of Delegates candidacy
- Del. Danica Roem (D-Manassas/PW County) Post on I-66 Tolls, Transportation Funding, etc. Prompts Interesting Debate
- Meet Elizabeth Alcorn, the Dentist Leading 2019’s Blue Wave in Rural Virginia
- Streets, schools highlight Stoney’s $97 million capital spending plan, but everything hinges on his tax hikes (This is much-needed investment and should move ahead.)
- Editorial: Mayor Stoney’s ambitious tax plans
- D.C.-area forecast: Some conversational snow moves through later today, mixing with rain in spots
