by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, February 8.
- Our Climate Discourse is Gradually Normalizing an Atrocity (“Corporate-friendly green buzzwords, empty promises, self-deluded storytelling: those who refuse to confront the status quo have many techniques for appearing to take climate change seriously while in fact trying to make us comfortable with catastrophe.”)
- BP profit hits 8-year high as it boosts low carbon plans
- Why This Year Could Be a Tipping Point for Electric Cars (“Battery-powered vehicles made up 9 percent of new car sales last year, a boom that could make 2022 the year when their march becomes unstoppable.”)
- Fully renewable grid by 2030, no new coal or gas: CEC lays down new roadmap
- Olympics put China’s press intimidation on full display
- Canadians Aren’t Actually on the Brink of Civil War
- Neo-Nazis and QAnon: how Canadian truckers’ anti-vaccine protest was steered by extremists (“Ottawa’s occupation was a result of unrivaled coordination between anti-vax and anti-government organizations”)
- Canada truckers protest: Trudeau demands an end to trucker protest
- We Sent Some American Crazy Up to Canada. You Better Believe It’s Going to Rebound.
- Russia and China announce a bid to make the world safe for dictatorship
- Ukraine crisis: Macron says crucial days ahead after Putin summit
- France says Putin is moving towards de-escalating Ukraine crisis (Famous last words?)
- Macron meets with Putin, leading Europe’s diplomatic efforts to defuse Ukraine crisis
- What Biden learned the last time Putin invaded Ukraine
- Diplomatic shuttle: Macron in Kyiv after Putin talks
- Talks between Macron and Putin fail to produce Ukraine breakthrough
- It ‘Would Be Wise’ For Americans To Leave Ukraine, Says Biden
- Ukraine readies for insurgency as Russia prepares for possible war
- Biden vows U.S. will ‘bring an end’ to Nord Stream 2 pipeline if Russia invades Ukraine (“The 745-mile natural gas pipeline, which is built but not yet operational, would bypass Ukrainian transit infrastructure to deliver Russian gas directly to Germany.”)
- As Officials Look Away, Hate Speech in India Nears Dangerous Levels
- Dozens of People Were Massacred in Myanmar on Christmas Eve. This Is What It Looked Like. (“How far can a UN investigation of this gruesome attack go?”)
- After Labour leader hounded, UK PM Johnson under pressure over slur
- Axios-Ipsos poll: America learns to live with COVID
- Pressure on White House as governors shift on mask mandates (“President Biden has been burned before over setting timelines on a virus that defies the political calendar”)
- How Americans’ Exhaustion With COVID-19 Is Shaping Politics
- Two years into pandemic, politicians still getting tripped up over coronavirus restrictions
- Goodbye, omicron. Let’s open up the right way this time. (“We should use the time ahead to prepare for whatever unpredictable zig-zag the virus takes next.”)
- A victory to secure elections is still possible
- The GOP’s gerrymandering scheme backfires
- The RNC turns into an Orwellian horror show (“Are you now or have you ever been truthful?”)
- Democrats introduce measure to fund government until March 11
- There’s a name for someone who calls violence ‘legitimate.’ It isn’t ‘Republican.’
- SCOTUS Just Blew Up the Voting Rights Act’s Ban on Racial Gerrymandering (“By greenlighting Alabama’s egregious map, five ultraconservative justices declared open season on racial minorities’ voting power.”)
- Supreme Court, in 5-4 Vote, Restores Alabama’s Congressional Voting Map (This court is lawless and increasingly illegitimate.)
- Amy Coney Barrett’s Long Game (“The newest Supreme Court Justice isn’t just another conservative—she’s the product of a Christian legal movement that is intent on remaking America.”)
- Biden’s real Supreme Court choice: Bridge-builder or truth-teller?
- What To Make Of Polls That Show Americans Are Trending Toward The GOP
- Trump, Pence avoid going scorched-earth
- Obstruction Charges for Trump? (“The ex-president’s most recent tirade against the people investigating him may come back to haunt him”)
- The GOP has become the Jan. 6 Party. It stands for insurrection and authoritarianism.
- Will Trump’s Obsession with His Big Lie Save Biden and the Democrats? (“The past week has highlighted the cancer that is still eating at the G.O.P. and reminded anti-Trump voters why it is so vital for them to get out and exercise their democratic duty.”)
- Marco Rubio’s Mouth Refuses to Form the Words “Trump Was Wrong” (“Apparently it’s just physically impossible. “)
- Yes or no on Mueller report criminal charges? Don’t let Trump just run out the clock.
- National Archives Reportedly Recovers Kim Jong Un ‘Love Letters’ From Mar-a-Lago
- Trump Is Obsessed With Being a Loser (“His electoral defeat has pulled him into a deep, dark place. He wants to pull the rest of us into it as well.”)
- Donald Trump Promised He Wouldn’t Nominate a Black Woman to the Supreme Court
- New revelations about Trump’s past lawlessness preview a disturbing future (“He continued breaking the law even after being repeatedly told he couldn’t. What will he do if he returns to the White House?”)
- Senate GOP backlash smacks RNC after Cheney-Kinzinger censure
- The plan to ‘Trump-proof’ 2024 gets a big boost — from Donald Trump
- Once again, the police have killed a Black man for legally possessing a gun
- What’s behind the right-wing book-ban frenzy? Big money, and a long-term plan (“The campaign to get LGBTQ-friendly books and authors of color off the shelves isn’t ‘grassroots’ or ‘spontaneous'”)
- The Incredibly Obvious Way to Reduce Road Deaths That Goes Ignored (“Policymakers assume that most Americans are going to drive. They shouldn’t.”)
- How can you judge the quality of a news outlet? Look at how politically diverse its audience is
- Biden’s top science adviser, Eric Lander, resigns amid reports of bullying
- Peter Thiel to Exit Meta’s Board to Support Trump-Aligned Candidates (This guy is evil.)
- The most outspoken Trump supporter in Silicon Valley is leaving Facebook’s board
- Sidney Powell, ‘Kraken’ Lawyers Ask Appeals Court to Reverse ‘Intemperate’ Sanctions Order: We’re Not ‘Overwrought, Dangerous Lunatics’ (Uh yeah, they are!)
- Chris Christie: ‘Inexperienced’ DeSantis Gets ‘Too Cute’ In Avoiding Questions on Trump, Vaccines
- DeSantis refuses to take sides in Trump-Pence clash as 2024 speculation grows
- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signals support for ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill
- Joe Rogan’s Use of the N-Word Is Far From the Whole Story
- Spotify claims its newly released platform rules do not apply to this hate and misinformation on Joe Rogan’s podcast
- Neil Young takes aim at Spotify CEO, big banks (“The singer-songwriter has asked Spotify employees to quit their jobs while urging people to withdraw their money from big American banks.”)
- Florida Republicans ditch Texas-style abortion law for what they call a ‘generous’ 15-week ban
- Bret Baier will keynote event for GOP-aligned organization that “trains leaders to push forward the conservative agenda” (Fox is NOT a real news network.)
- First look: Biden to sell BBB in Spanberger’s swing district
- Luria: U.S. Needs to Provide ‘Strategic Clarity’ on Defense of Taiwan
- Wexton social media campaign focuses on human rights abuses in China
- Rep. Spanberger pushing to protect reliable access to school meals
- Meet Ethan Lynne, the Hanover teen who accused Gov. Youngkin of being a ‘bully’ on Twitter
- Youngkin says he regrets ‘unauthorized’ tweet attacking Virginia teenager (Youngkin only “regrets” that it became an issue.)
- VA Supreme Court Rules School Boards Can Make Masks Optional, Doesn’t Rule on Whether Youngkin Mask Executive Order Is Legal
- Supreme Court of Virginia punts on first school mask lawsuit
- ‘A slap in the face’: uproar in Virginia as governor relaxes school mask rules (“Most families want masks in schools – so why did Virginia’s new governor make them optional?”)
- Who is Youngkin’s real audience?
- Virginia Supreme Court rejects Chesapeake parents’ challenge of Youngkin school mask order
- Video: Brilliant Speech by Del. Candi King on Black History Month, the “Miseducation of the Commonwealth,” and the “New Era of Massive Resistance” (Del. King: “I ask, how we gonna win if we ain’t right within?”)
- Editorial: Parents’ tip line a thorn for teachers and PTA
- Ethan Lynne and Others Responds to Glenn Youngkin’s Non-Apology “Apology”: “While he acknowledged the situation, Governor Youngkin did not apologize and did not condemn what happened over the weekend.”
- Youngkin distances himself from campaign’s swipe at teen
- Governor Glenn Youngkin accused of ‘toxic culture’ after aides attack teen on Twitter
- Virginia education associations to Youngkin: Shut down the tip line and rescind Executive Order #1
- Audio: Fairfax County School Board Members Stella Pekarsky and Laura Jane Cohen Rip “Absurd” Legislation to Ban Teaching of “Divisive Concepts” (Laura Jane Cohen adds: “Should a nurse practitioner and a cyber security expert decide educational curriculum?”)
- Virginia COVID Cases, Hospitalizations Continue to Decline; Deaths, However, Are Up Sharply
- Republicans are targeting COVID-19 vaccine and mask mandates in Virginia. Here are the bills that are still alive.
- State’s watchdog issues first ‘racial, ethnic impact statement’ under new Virginia law
- Family of late VCU student Adam Oakes worries Senate hazing bill has been watered down (“Under its original form, the bill would have made hazing a felony if the victim dies or endures significant bodily injury. “)
- Virginia Senate OKs bill to make elections agency ‘truly independent’
- Senate committee rejects attempt to regulate hospital-owned insurance plans
- Affordable housing concerns tank energy efficiency proposal (So stupid.)
- Lawmakers Weigh Beagle Protection Bills
- Senate panel OKs Hackworth’s waste coal bill
- VA Senate scraps effort to abolish mandatory minimum sentences
- CASEY: The case for local militias in Virginia (“Which Virginia militia do you reckon will be the first to get a nuke?”)
- State lawmakers working to crack down on unsolicited, explicit photos (“The House has already rejected its version of the bill. A Senate version is still alive.”)
- House Republicans eyeing new rules for the use of natural gas
- Washington Commanders stadium bill clears first legislative hurdle easily in Virginia
- D.C.-area forecast: Several days of sunny skies as temperatures warm into the 50s
