by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, September 19.
- Israelis Just Saved Their Democracy (“Netanyahu wanted to annex Palestinian land, neuter the Supreme Court and put himself above the law. This week’s election means those things won’t happen.”)
- Israel’s Netanyahu Seeks to Meet Rival to Form Unity Government (“Premier’s Likud trails main opponent 31 seats to 33: reports”)
- Netanyahu’s defeat would be good news for Israel — and the United States
- Israel’s election results could be the glimmer of dawn after a nightmare
- OECD Sees Global Economy Slipping to Weakest Growth in a Decade (So much “winning” under Trump, eh?)
- Pompeo calls attacks on Saudi oil facilities ‘act of war’ as Trump orders increase in sanctions on Iran (“Amid escalating tensions, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday presented remnants of what it said were Iranian-made weapons used in the attacks on two key oil facilities.”)
- U.S. and Gulf allies discuss response to Saudi oil attack
- In his showdown with Iran, Trump blinks
- “Our relations are with Israel’: Trump appears to give Netanyahu the cold shoulder
- Trudeau Apologizes for Wearing ‘Brownface’ Makeup in 2001 Gala (“Canada PM says ‘Aladdin’ costume at school party was racist. Opposition seizes on controversy ahead of tight election”)
- Climate crisis seen as ‘most important issue’ by public, poll shows (Yep.)
- Greta Thunberg: ‘We are ignoring natural climate solutions’ (“Film by Swedish activist and Guardian journalist George Monbiot says nature must be used to repair broken climate” Absolutely right!)
- Greta Thunberg Just Pulled an Iconic Move in Front of Congress (“The 16-year-old climate activist says it’s time for lawmakers to listen to science.”)
- Drain the swamp? Trump has named more lobbyists to Cabinet than Bush or Obama did in 8 years (“At least seven former industry lobbyists are in Trump’s Cabinet — and dozens more hold political appointments”)
- EXCLUSIVE: Trump’s interaction with foreign leader is part of controversial whistleblower complaint, former U.S. officials say (“The president’s communications with the foreign leader included a ‘promise’ regarded as so troubling that it prompted an intelligence official to file the formal complaint, the officials said.”)
- Trump’s New National Security Adviser Is Another Iran Hawk (“A former colleague of Bolton’s during the George W. Bush administration, O’Brien shares many of his hawkish views on China, Russia, and, especially, Iran… has compared Iran to Nazi Germany and sharply criticized Obama’s deal, which set limits on Iran’s nuclear production in exchange for sanctions relief.”)
- The Oceans Don’t Care What Associate Justice Boof Says (“Brett Kavanaugh looks set to kill any climate-change legislation until the tide reaches the Supreme Court steps.” Yep, Brett-bro is that awful.)
- What We Know About The Attack On Saudi Oil Facilities (“The strike was large and sophisticated…The group which has claimed responsibility probably didn’t do it…Saudi Arabia has shown wreckage of drones and missiles that look Iranian…The impacts on the site were made by objects coming from the west or northwest”)
- Trump and House Democrats snared in new intelligence storm
- Bolton unloads on Trump’s foreign policy behind closed doors (“John Bolton, President Donald Trump’s fired national security adviser, harshly criticized Trump’s foreign policy on Wednesday at a private lunch, saying that inviting the Taliban to Camp David sent a ‘terrible signal’ and that it was ‘disrespectful’ to the victims of 9/11 because the Taliban had harbored al Qaeda. Bolton also said that any negotiations with North Korea and Iran were ‘doomed to failure,’ according to two attendees.”)
- The President* Doesn’t Know Anything About Anything, But He Can Feel Things Slipping (“The economic indicators do not look good. So Trump is attacking the Fed.”)
- Correction: Trump never said all those things you heard him say (“Whether it’s deceit or memory malfunction, the consequence is the same: Friends and foes alike know that the president’s word is not to be taken seriously.”)
- CNN’s Corey Lewandowski catastrophe (“Wednesday’s interview shows that the network’s model is broken” Agreed; CNN is a disaster.)
- Barr praised 2017 book that claims colleges unfairly went after male students accused of sexual assault (“Before he was nominated attorney general, Barr also accused the Obama administration of ‘fanning the false narrative of a ‘rape culture.'”)
- GOP signals unease with Barr’s gun plan
- Massachusetts Rep. Kennedy to challenge Sen. Markey in Democratic primary (I see no reason to support Kennedy over Markey, who’s excellent – a climate hawk among other things.)
- Warren shows signs of broadening her base
- Kamala Harris bets it all on Iowa to break freefall (“The plan, described by sources familiar with it to POLITICO, is to ease up on big fundraisers and spend a lot more time in the first voting state.”)
- Harris support fades at critical stage (“Her failure to crack into the top tier in polls reflects a campaign that has failed to capitalize on the strong buzz she received after memorably attacking Biden on his stance on busing to desegregate schools during the first debate.”)
- The polls are in: here’s who won — and lost — last week’s debate (“…beyond the top five, Andrew Yang, Beto O’Rourke, and Cory Booker all have about 3 percent support each in national polls since the debate — a slight improvement for all three but not enough to bump any of them up to the top tier of candidates. The big picture is that the debate may have solidified the shape of the field — with Biden in first and Warren and Sanders probably in that order behind him.”)
- The White House should compromise with California on fuel efficiency standards (Actually, the White House should just back the f*** off.)
- Sen. Warner says hacking, disinformation are the future of war, and urges the U.S. to keep up
- Cuccinelli emerging as Trump’s leading voice on immigration (That’s horrifying; this guy’s an extremist who ranted about an “invasion” and called immigrant families “rats,” recall..)
- EDITORIAL: Time to automate voter registration (“TWENTY states and the District of Columbia use Automated Verification and Registration to update their voter rolls. Virginia should consider doing likewise.”)
- Editorial: The governor’s ambitious energy plans (God, this is moronic by the Republican Times-Disgrace. First of all, completely/wildly wrong on the facts. Second, they can’t even get their English language expressions right – should be “cannot be OVERstated,” not “cannot be understated.” Just dumb, dumb, dumb…this paper is complete crap.)
- Virginia Gov. Northam orders 100% carbon-free power by 2050
- The ‘Reverse Robin Hood’ rides again (“… nothing has had me shaking my damn head more than a news release issued last week by Cox, Del. Terry Kilgore, R-Scott, and two GOP House candidates. The would-be broadside took aim at the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, deriding the Democrat-favored “energy tax scheme” they said would raise electric bills 10 percent a year, citing the State Corporation Commission…If you had spent much of your 25 years in the General Assembly building a glass house by working to enrich corporate monopolies at the expense of their captive customers, you’d probably avoid throwing stones about potential increases in electric rates.”)
- Sen. Mark Obenshain wants to allow Fairfax accusers to testify
- A Conversation with DPVA Chair Susan Swecker at Josh Cole/Qasim Rashid/Amy Laufer HQ in Fredericksburg (Among other things, DPVA will no longer take money from Dominion Energy, Appalachian Power)
- How Energy Companies Corrupt State Politics (“Virginia’s Dominion Energy gives generously to candidates to get what it wants. But a political revolt is brewing.”)
- Can Dominion’s Promises Be Relied on? Case Study: Electric Charging at New Kent Rest Stop
- AG Mark Herring Condemns Trump’s Latest Attack on Clean Air and Climate Change Efforts
- Reynolds: Virginia’s huge opportunity cost on renewable energy exposed (“The ‘New Energy Economy’ Ship is setting sail. It’s leaving the dock and Virginia’s not on board. Looks like our business and elected leaders bought the ‘wrong ticket.’ Sadly, the Commonwealth of Virginia has apparently failed to commit to a ‘comprehensive total-economy’ State Decarbonization Plan, with necessary dates and full parameters.”)
- Metro has ordered Silver Line builder to stop running test trains because of construction flaws
- Voter registration is up more in Democratic strongholds, but will that translate on Election Day
- Video: “Packed Audience” for Last Night’s Virginia Climate Crisis Forum
- Cole, Milde clash over issues in House debate (Almost everything right-wing Republican Milde said was demonstrably false and/or crazy.)
- Population expected to shrink in rural Virginia (“Of the state’s 133 cities and counties, U.Va.’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service projects that 53 will lose population by 2040. Most of those shrinking localities are in south, southwest and western Virginia.”)
- Virginia Tech hoodie with designed bullet holes pulled; school and others react
- Virginia senators reopen search for Roanoke-based federal judge
- Amanda Chase Plans to Introduce Legislation Allowing Guns in Schools & Churches
- Stoney fires Richmond’s top administrator after scathing inspector general report finds city hired 5 of her relatives
- Video: Fairfax County School Board Republican Candidate Claims “One Fairfax” “Gives Authoritarian Power to…the School Board”
- Editorial: Lessons from Danville
- Editorial: Poquoson learns another lesson on race
- White supremacist’s threats led black Charlottesville candidate to drop out of race, feds say
- Florida man accused of threatening prospective City Council candidate (“Florida man” says it all.)
- Poquoson students disciplined, school officials say, after racist videos circulate on social media
- National Weather Service perplexed by radar over Virginia and North Carolina. A massive cloud of dragonflies may be to blame.
- Sun-filled days ahead but markedly warmer over the weekend
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