Tuesday News: “Pressure is on for Garland to set an example with Bannon”; ” Democrats cannot simply ignore the GOP’s culture war attacks”; “Ted Cruz Picked a Fight With Big Bird and Lost”; “Virginia GOP targets clean energy law, but options for rollback are limited”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, November 9.

• Climate is the ‘biggest single opportunity’ the insurance industry has ever seen, CEO says
• COP26 Presented Forests as a Climate Solution, But May Not Be Able to Keep Them Standing (“The deal to limit deforestation and boost tree planting is only a small step toward slowing global warming, and key nations show few signs of adhering to the pact.”)
• Governments Are Sending Oil Executives to COP26 Despite Climate Pledges. Here’s a Look at the Fossil Fuel Influence in Glasgow (“A DeSmog analysis found that the delegations from multiple countries are heavily drawn from their oil ministries and even large oil companies. Shell and other publicly traded oil giants are also attending the climate proceedings under the cover of trade groups.”)
• As Pandemic Rebounds Across Europe, Germany Hits Record Covid-19 Tally
• Money for Carbon Cuts Is Missing the Mark in the Developing World (“Much has been made of late about capitalism getting religion on climate change. To be sure, financiers of developing-world infrastructure are increasingly forsaking coal-fired power plants, which are becoming economically unattractive and politically untenable. But what they’re largely building in coal’s place is less than pristine: plants powered by natural gas. That’s hardly evidence of the financial world’s conversion.”)
• Obama tells young climate change activists to ‘harness that anger’
• Taiwan says China can blockade its key harbours, warns of ‘grave’ threat
• The U.S. Is Getting Taiwan Ready to Fight on the Beaches (“Biden continues Trump’s ‘porcupine strategy’ to harden the island’s defenses.”)
• The attempted assassination of Iraq’s prime minister backfired spectacularly
• Japan, once a leader on climate, under fire for coal use at COP26
• Harnessing the energy of the ocean to power homes, planes and whisky distilleries
• India Eased Its Covid-19 Disaster. Fears of Complacency Remain.
• World’s Largest Hydro-Floating Solar Farm Goes Live in Thailand
• Islamic State violence dents Taliban claims of safer Afghanistan
• EU toughens visa process for Belarus officials over migrant crisis
• Belarus migrants: Poland fears armed border escalation
• White House tells businesses to proceed with vaccine mandate despite court-ordered pause
• How Easily Can Vaccinated People Spread COVID? (“Vaccination is the best protection against infection. But when breakthroughs do occur, a very basic question still has an unsatisfying answer.”)
• What Dr. Fauci sees coming for the pandemic this winter
• Vaccines offer an exit from the pandemic. Mandates work.
• Fed says China’s real estate troubles could spill over to the U.S. (“The bulk of the report discussed domestic U.S. financial conditions, and analysts downplayed the significance of the Fed’s comments on China real estate.”)
• Brainard Interviewed by Biden for Fed Chair as Search Heats Up
• Randal Quarles to resign at year-end, paving way for Biden to further remake the Federal Reserve
• Progressives ‘incredibly pessimistic’ they’ll get what they want in social spending bill
• A question for depressed Democrats: What did you expect? (“This is what Democratic presidencies are like: A hard slog, partial victories, and inevitable setbacks.”)
• SpaceX Carries NASA Astronaut Mission Home With Safe Water Landing (“The Crew-2 astronauts spent nearly 200 days in orbit, and their stay aboard the International Space Station was punctuated with surprises.”)
• The dean of Supreme Court journalists examines whether the institution has become a conservative bastion. (Duh.)
• Wake up to these ‘woke’ distortions
• What ‘Structural Racism’ Really Means (“…racism does not survive, in the main, because of personal belief and prejudice. It survives because it is inscribed and reinscribed by the relationships and dynamics that structure our society, from segregation and exclusion to inequality and the degradation of labor.”)
• Most Republicans won’t be able to distance themselves from Trump like Glenn Youngkin did
• A pollster tested 8 pieces of covid misinformation. On 6 of 8, more Republicans said they were true than false. (This is what a constant diet of right-wing media does to people.)
• Inside the Democrats’ Battle to Build Back Better (“House progressives delayed the infrastructure bill to protect the rest of Biden’s multitrillion-dollar agenda. Did it work?”)
• Biden has reached a critical moment in the battle for blue-collar voters
• NRSC chair Rick Scott declines to say if Trump-backed Senate hopeful accused of strangling wife is right candidate for the job (THIS is today’s Republican Party. Not that voters care, apparently…ugh.)
• Biden Faces a Political Risk in Rising Gas Prices, With Few Options to Respond
• Biden’s genial tone is back, but the sales job has just begun (“The president enjoys an I-told-you-so moment over the infrastructure bill.”)
• Does Adding Police Officers Reduce Crime? The Results Are Mixed
• Capitol rioter tells Jan. 6 committee about contacts between state Republicans, Trump allies
• Trump ‘throws sand’ in gears of Capitol attack inquiry amid legal setbacks
• New January 6 subpoenas increase pressure on Garland to set an example with Bannon (“The committee probing the insurrection placed its credibility in the hands of the attorney general with a flurry of subpoenas targeting Trump’s cronies”)
• House Jan. 6 committee issues subpoenas to 6 top Trump advisers, including pair involved in Willard hotel ‘command center’ (Those subpoenas are worthless unless they are ENFORCED. Why is Steve Bannon still defying his?)
• Journalist Reveals Key Capitol Riot Evidence Mike Pence Is Trying To Keep Hidden (“ABC’s Jonathan Karl predicts the House select 6 committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack will be looking to get hold of this next.”)
• In the Middle of Infrastructure Talks, Joe Manchin Has Pursued a Book Deal
• Folks, the Infrastructure Bill Is Way Better Than You Realize
• Red states draw GOP-friendly maps as Dems despair
• Democrats cannot simply ignore the GOP’s culture war attacks
• A secret tape made after Columbine shows the NRA’s evolution on school shootings (“Just after the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School, NRA leaders agonized over what to do. NPR obtained recordings of the calls, which lay out how the NRA has handled mass shootings ever since.”)
• Republicans’ “Party of Parents” Rallying Cry Is Gaining Steam (“After Glenn Youngkin’s victory in Virginia lit the match, party stalwarts and even voters are cementing the message.” Republicans are the exact opposite.)
• Indictment of Steele dossier source is more bad news for multiple media outlets
• Dave Portnoy of Barstool Sports wages war on Insider over article about his sexual conduct
• Fact check: Deceptive Republican attack ad uses images from Trump presidency to depict ‘chaos’ under Biden
• AOC Torches ‘Collection of Wet Toothpicks’ Gosar After Cringey Anime Clip of GOP Rep Killing Her
• Rep. Paul Gosar tweets altered anime video showing him killing Rep. Ocasio-Cortez and attacking President Biden (Gosar should be expelled from Congress immediately, probably should be charged with crimes.)
• Ted Cruz wants Texas to secede if ‘things become hopeless’ in the US (Cruz also should be expelled.)
• Ted Cruz Picked a Fight With Big Bird and Lost
• Fox News aired 88 segments about a sexual assault in Virginia to lie about and demonize trans people (“Right-wing pundits distorted the details of the story in order to create a national uproar over trans rights”)
• Fox News attacks Sesame Street for promoting vaccines — while the network practices vaccine mandates internally
• Keeping the Big Lie alive after Virginia: Maybe Glenn Youngkin was a fake? (“Gateway Pundit’s genius Virginia take: Maybe Youngkin win was ‘part of a larger psyop’ to steal future elections” This is crazy, even by “Gateway Pundit”‘s low, low, low standards.)
• Tucker Carlson Is a ‘Manipulative Son of a Bitch’ — and Other Thoughts from Adam Kinzinger
• State Farm stands by Aaron Rodgers after his vaccine comments: ‘Respect his right’ to have his own point of view
• Survivor of Rittenhouse shooting says he pointed gun at U.S. teen, tried to disarm him
• The New York Times Editorial Page Should Stop Publishing Nonsense (“Columns from Maureen Dowd, David Brooks and more rounded out quite a weekend for the paper of record’s op-ed section.”)
• Sen. Tim Kaine visits Fredericksburg to tout Build Back Better bill’s impact on child care, workforce training
• As Attention Turns To Richmond, Hope For A Big Education Budget (How would Youngkin pay for it?)
• Virginia GOP targets clean energy law, but options for rollback are limited (“Democrats’ narrow control of the state Senate makes repeal of the state’s Clean Economy Act unlikely for now, and market forces along with the state’s staggered regulatory appointments will make it harder to slow-walk implementation.”)
• How the Chesapeake Bay is warming — and what it means for us, according to new research
• Investigators Say Virginia Needs Stronger Safeguards for People Like Britney Spears
• Virginia Senate Democrats Call Foul on GOP Special Master Nominees (“All of the GOP’s nominees are currently on the payroll of Republican organizations; how can they be trusted to draw fair maps”)
• Senate Democrats ask Supreme Court of Virginia to disqualify GOP special master redistricting nominees
• Va. Senate Democrats ask state Supreme Court to disqualify Republicans’ nominated map drawers
• Two Virginia House races appear headed to recounts (“Del. Martha Mugler’s (D-Hampton) and Del. Alex Askew’s (D-Virginia Beach) races against their Republican challengers were close, putting each in potential recount territory.”)
• Partisan problems continue as Virginia redistricting falls on state Supreme Court (This headline is a classic example of what’s wrong with the “mainstream media.” In fact, the problem wasn’t generic “partisan problems,” but specifically Republicans’ refusal to act in good faith, plus an inherently flawed redistricting amendment in the first place.)
• Appreciation Thread for VA House Democrats’ Classes of 2017 and 2019 (Now, we’ve got to make sure that NONE of this progress is rolled back by Glenn Youngkin, Todd Gilbert, etc.)
• Audit finds Virginia Employment Commission inefficient, understaffed, and unprepared
• Monday (11/8) Virginia Data on COVID-19: 3-Day New Cases +3,386; 10-Day New Cases +12,157; Hospitalizations at 923 (Lowest Since Mid August)
• Misdemeanor offenders are flooding Virginia’s state mental hospitals for competency restoration (“It’s another strain on the state’s beleaguered system — and a civil rights issue for patients”)
• Richmond school board blocks Kamras’ progressive discipline plan for failure to comply with vaccine mandate
• Virginia Beach considering plan to stop city employees from running for mayor or city council
• 10 arrested after vandalism of Portsmouth Confederate monument receive $15,000 each
• D.C.-area forecast: Wonderful weather through Thursday before Friday rain and weekend cooling