Thursday News: “Texas shows us what post-democracy America would look like”; “The media’s blatant failure in warning about the threat to Roe v. Wade”; Far-Right, Extremist SCOTUS “Just Came Out of the Shadows”; “Texas law immediately elevates abortion issue in Virginia governor’s race”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, September 2.

• U.S. Envoy Kerry Says China Is Crucial To Handling The Climate Crisis
• China Warns U.S. Strained Relations Could Sink Climate Cooperation (“John Kerry, President Biden’s climate envoy, is in China this week pushing leaders to aggressively cut greenhouse gases. But the worsening U.S.-China relationship is taking center stage.”)
• The Amazon rainforest’s most dogged defenders are in peril (“We have to sleep in the forest with fear.”)
• Cost-slashing ‘world-first’ offshore wind, wave and solar hybrids set for EU debut
• How Spain is shutting down its coal industry to transition to renewables
• Biden Affirms Support Against ‘Russian Aggression’ in Meeting With Ukraine’s Leader
• Prince Harry blames ‘mass misinformation’ for Covid vaccine hesitancy
• White supremacist praise of the Taliban takeover concerns US officials
• Facts are finally starting to penetrate bad Afghanistan punditry
• ‘Everybody screwed up’: Blame game begins over turbulent U.S. exit from Afghanistan (Why is it screwed up to end an unwinnable, forever war?)
• It was time to end the long wars. Now, Biden must make a new era work.
• With Afghan Retreat, Biden Bucks Foreign Policy Elite (Which is a big part of why they’re so angry that we’re ending this war!)
• The Taliban have declared victory. Now they must reckon with a country freefalling into chaos
• Taliban Battle Opposition Militias, Wield New Power in Kabul
• Republicans are guilty of mind-boggling hypocrisy in their attacks on Biden’s Afghanistan exit (Republicans’ “superpower” is utter shamelessness.)
• Biden is rejecting nation-building. But not our right to use force anywhere. (“He won’t launch new ground wars, but America will continue to project its power outward.”)
• The Kabul evacuation illuminated a dangerous strain of thought in the military about civilian control
• Massive randomized study is proof that surgical masks limit coronavirus spread, authors say
• Moderna Announces Submission of Initial Data to U.S. FDA for Its COVID-19 Vaccine Booster
• The keys to ending anti-vaccine madness: Fear and the law
• McConnell: ‘There isn’t going to be an impeachment’ of Biden
• McCarthy threatens firms that comply with request to keep information related to Jan. 6 attack on Capitol (McCarthy needs to suffer serious consequences, but something tells me he won’t, because do these #@$!ers EVER suffer serious consequences?!?)
• The Hurricanes Are Winning
• Biden attempts to turn page on Afghanistan with domestic refocus (Alternate headline: Biden does his job.)
• Democrats defeat GOP effort to declare ‘lost confidence’ in Biden after Afghanistan withdrawal (Did Republicans do the same to President Ford after Vietnam fell? President Reagan after the Beirut barracks bombings? Of course not.)
• Liberal groups to Democrats: Your chance to save democracy is disappearing
• There Are Two Real Ways to Answer the Texas Abortion Law (“Which means that the only things to do now are work to protect the vote and fix the courts—the boring tedious work that also happens outside the spotlight and beneath the fold. If the systemic machinery of justice isn’t immediately repaired, what happens in the shadows is going to keep catching us off guard, late at night…”)
• The Texas Abortion Ban Is A Dangerous Blueprint For Other Red State Lawmakers (“This is not a ‘What happens in Texas stays in Texas’ situation,” said NARAL’s Kristin Ford.)
• The Supreme Court allows an alarming anti-abortion law to take effect (“And the loss of abortion rights in Texas may not even be the most troubling aspect of this case.”)
• Say goodbye to Roe v. Wade (“We used to think the Supreme Court was hesitant to overturn it completely. Not anymore.”)
• Texas Is Trying to Overturn Roe v. Wade All by Itself
• What banning abortion at 6 weeks really means (“Texas’s so-called heartbeat law bans nearly all abortions.”)
• The media’s blatant failure in warning about the threat to Roe v. Wade (“Political pundits everywhere claimed legal abortion access wasn’t in danger. The Supreme Court just allowed Texas to ban abortion at six weeks.”)
• Supreme Court Lets Texas Ban Abortion With Vigilante Justice
• The most restrictive abortion law in the country just went into effect in Texas. It was ignored by cable news until it was too late. (“The law wound its way through the courts this past week, but there wasn’t a single segment on it until last night”)
• Supreme Court Declines To Block Extreme Texas Abortion Law In 5-4 Ruling
• Democrats condemn supreme court for failing to block Texas abortion law
• US supreme court refuses to block radical Texas abortion law (“Court voted 5-4 to deny emergency appeal from abortion providers against law that bans abortions once medical professionals can detect cardiac activity”)
• The Texas Abortion Ban Is Just the Beginning
• Republicans Are Turning Activists Into Enforcers (Totally unacceptable.)
• Texas abortion law: Supreme Court votes not to block ban
• The “soft” overturn of Roe v. Wade exposes how far-right John Roberts has let the Supreme Court go (“SCOTUS has figured out how to evade GOP-harming headlines by using the shadow docket and other shady strategies”)
• Sen. Warren: Congress could pass Roe v. Wade (Well then do it!)
• What The Texas Abortion Ban Does — And What It Means For Other States
• Supreme Court Lets Texas Six-Week Abortion Ban Stay in Force
• Supreme Court denies request to stop Texas 6-week abortion ban, with John Roberts and liberals dissenting (This is the result of: the stolen Gorsuch seat; the highly questionable Kavanaugh and Barrett confirmations.)
• Prosecutors: Jan. 6 rioters committed more than 1,000 assaults on police (Which will lead to very long sentences, right? If not, why not?)
• AP sources: Intel shows extremists to attend Capitol rally
• Apocalyptic Storms Leave Trail of Death From NYC to Philly
• ‘Seek Higher Ground Now!’ Ida’s Remnants Spawn Weather Chaos In Northeast (“The National Weather Service issued its first flash-flood emergency for New York City.”)
• New York Hit by Catastrophic Flooding
• Trump Organization’s security director agrees to testify to grand jury
• Another Trump Organization executive to appear before NY grand jury as prosecutors probe former President’s business
• Amtrak might add more than 50 new routes. But they still won’t be faster than a car (That’s utterly pointless; waste of money.)
• Biggs to call on McCarthy to boot Kinzinger and Cheney from GOP over January 6 probe
• Inside the 2024 Race to Inherit the MAGA Base (“Ron DeSantis, Ted Cruz, and Mike Pompeo have begun racing each other to the bottom to claim the party’s base. Will Trump get in the ring too?”)
• Purdue Pharma Is Dissolved and Sacklers Pay $4.5 Billion to Settle Opioid Claims
• Florida Hospital Full of Dying, Unvaxxed Thirtysomethings
• Lurch to the Right May Imperil Texas’s Attraction for Employers
• Texas shows us what post-democracy America would look like
• How anti-California propaganda and racism are driving the recall
• The effort to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom is struggling, new California poll shows
• Joe Rogan, A Podcasting Giant Who Has Been Dismissive of Vaccination, Has Covid
• The New York Times whitewashes Republican governors’ anti-vaccine political actions (The NY Times is a disgrace to journalism.)
• Sweetgreen CEO: Vaccines and Masks Will Not Save Us, But Salads Might (Imbecile.)
• Appalachia’s clean energy transition must address racial inequity, advocates say
• Sen. Tim Kaine discusses future of passenger rail in New River Valley
• New Report: Under *Democratic* Leadership Virginia Makes “Huge Leap” From WORST State for Workers to Top Half in the Country! (So now, under Democratic leadership, Virginia’s #1 for business AND in the top half for workers (up from #51 under Republican “leadership”))
• Texas law immediately elevates abortion issue in Virginia governor’s race
• Video: Abortion Access Advocates Stand in Solidarity After Texas SB 8 Bans Abortion After 6 Weeks
• Virginia abortion access advocates participate in national rally opposing new restrictions in Texas
• Glenn Youngkin’s Top Endorser Donald Trump Falsely, Irresponsibly Claims Election Fraud in Virginia Could Turn Close Election Into “Not Close If They Cheat”
• Trump fans election fraud theme as Virginia governor candidate Youngkin walks tightrope (This headline sucks. In fact, there’s no “tightrope” – you either support democracy and reject the Big Lie or you don’t. Period, end of story.)
• Views on mask mandates, vaccines differ greatly between Va. governor candidates (McAuliffe has the responsible position, Youngkin the irresponsible one.)
• Video: After Youngkin Campaign Staffer Devin O’Malley Calls Sebastian Gorka’s Right-Wing Radio Show as “Josh” to Defend His Boss From Charges of Being a “RINO,” Gorka Rips Youngkin For “hiring people to lie on national radio” (Gorka taunts Youngkin: “if he did that on your orders, everybody knows who you are…Step up to the plate if you’re man enough.”)
• Why Isn’t Terry McAuliffe Cruising in Virginia?(“He was a successful governor. It’s a blue state now (so we say). So why is the Virginia gubernatorial race so close?”)
• STATEMENT: Terry McAuliffe on Texas Abortion Ban and Glenn Youngkin’s Dangerous Agenda to Ban Abortion in Virginia
• McAuliffe talks abortion, Youngkin taxes at Virginia forum
• Virginia’s gubernatorial candidates share sharply opposing views on business, economy
• 43% Jump in Virginia Billionaire Wealth – Almost All Tax-Free; 9 Virginia Tycoons Have Enjoyed $18 Billion Increase in Wealth Since Pandemic Began
• Virginia maps out optional per-mile road fee program for 2022 launch
• New Opinion from Virginia AG Mark Herring Says Firearms Prohibited at Early Voting Locations
• Wednesday (9/1) Virginia Data on COVID-19: With Delta Now Dominant, Hospitalizations at Highest Level Since Mid February, 10-Day New Cases (+35,763) Highest Since Early February
• LWV-VA files amicus brief in prison-redistricting lawsuit
• With Legal Weed Hard to Buy in Virginia, Delta-8 Fills the Void
• Virginia Stores Offer New Ways to Go Green
• VA Del. Nick Freitas (R): The $15 Minimum Wage Wins the “Worst Bill of the Year” Award
• Editorial: Virginia’s redistricting slog (“The new commission charged with redistricting has a lot against it, but at least citizens can watch the proceedings unfold.” Citizens can only watch what’s broadcast…not all the conversations, map drawing, etc. happening when the cameras aren’t on.)
• Charlottesville Police Chief Fired By City Manager
• Hampton Roads hospitals spar over impact of hospital-owned insurance plans (“A report commissioned by Chesapeake Regional Medical Center warns integration could hurt consumers.”)
• With Legal Weed Hard to Buy in Virginia, Delta-8 Fills the Void
• Liberty University has more COVID-19 cases than 4 larger Virginia campuses combined
• News organizations challenge motion to block media from hearing for man charged with killing Newport News police officer
• VCU is reconsidering its policy on allowing unvaccinated students to attend in-person class; 450 unvaccinated students still registered
• D.C.-area forecast: Breezy and pleasantly mild today, and dry through Saturday