by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, February 19. As Phillips O’Brien writes this morning: “I know some people don’t like it when I say the USA has taken sides against democracy. They prefer it when I say Trump or MAGA. However in this case, I don’t think such sensitivity is helpful. Indeed I would call it deceptively comforting. The USA elected Trump (with a clear plurality of the vote). It also gave his party a majority in the Senate and the House). These majorities have gone on to confirm his cabinet choices which include a combination of dangerous extremists and incompetents.”
- ‘The path forward is clear’: how Trump taking office has ‘turbocharged’ climate accountability efforts
- Here Are All of Trump’s Major Moves to Dismantle Climate Action
- Climate change is robbing Pacific islands of another resource: Tuna
- Trump’s Pivot Toward Putin’s Russia Upends Generations of U.S. Policy
- Ukraine and Europe made to sit outside as US and Russia sharpen their carving knives
- A Belgian Congo Plan for Ukraine (“Trump’s vision reminds me more of old-fashioned imperialism, in which powerful nations tried to seize the wealth of less-powerful nations just because they could. This doesn’t look to me like Weimar Germany in the 1920s; it looks like the Belgian Congo in the late 19th century, a personal possession of King Leopold which he brutally exploited for its rubber and ivory.”)
- Zelenskyy hits back at Trump’s comments, says Ukraine is not for sale
- Steve Rosenberg: How Putin and Trump shook the world up in a week
- Trump is living in a Russian ‘disinformation space,’ says Ukraine’s Zelenskyy
- Trump says Ukraine ‘should never have started it’ in comments about war with Russia (This is INSANE – in fact, Russia is 100% the aggressor, 100% at fault, and Trump is just a puppet of Putin at this point.)
- The US Has Taken Sides–Against Democracy (“In an evening press conference, Trump went full-Putin and blamed the Ukrainians for the war and made it clear that he had deliberately excluded them from the negotiations.”)
- ‘Russian asset’: Trump scorched over ‘disgusting’ comments blaming Ukraine for war
- Musk backs criticism of Zelenskyy that says he ‘doesn’t want peace’ (Musk is also a Russian asset – and he’s got access to all of our personal data, etc. This is beyond unacceptable!)
- Trump says Zelensky ‘should have never started’ war with Russia (Trump is 100% deranged – and dangerous.)
- Trump delivers another blow to Ukraine and a new boost to Putin (If you voted for Trump, endorsed him, campaigned for him, donated to him, whatever – this is YOUR FAULT!)
- Vance’s Munich Disgrace
- US top diplomat Rubio visits the UAE after landmark talks with Russia over Ukraine war (No Democrat should have voted to confirm Rubio.)
- EU envoys approve more sanctions against Russia to mark the third anniversary of its war on Ukraine
- Sidelined by Trump, Macron tries to rally Europe on Ukraine. But divisions run deep
- Europe Flails for Response After Trump Blames Kyiv for Ukraine War
- Gaza ceasefire’s future uncertain as Netanyahu sidelines security chiefs in negotiations
- Brazil Charges Bolsonaro With Attempting a Coup (This is what should have happened in the U.S. after 1/6/21, but noooooo…)
- Trump says AP will be curtailed at the White House until it changes its style to Gulf of America (Note: the name of that body of water has been the Gulf of Mexico for 100s of years, and remains so today.)
- State Dept. orders cancellation of news subscriptions around the world (Ridiculous.)
- Trump says he will introduce 25% tariffs on autos, drugs and chips (This will result in prices going up for American consumers.)
- U.S. homebuilders raise alarm over tariffs as sentiment falls to 5-month low
- U.S. weighs destroying $500 million in stockpiled covid tests (Insane.)
- USDA says it accidentally fired officials working on bird flu and is trying to rehire them (Can you even imagine the reaction by Republicans and the “mainstream media” if this happened under Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris, etc???)
- Kennedy says panel will examine childhood vaccine schedule after promising not to change it
- RFK ‘s plan to make America healthy again? Round up people with mental health conditions in camps (“Robert F. Kennedy wants to replace standard psychological care with unpaid labor on ‘wellness farms'”)
- Judge Chutkan rejects call from Democratic AGs for temporary restraining order blocking DOGE’s access to federal data
- Trump reverses decades of civil rights advances (“We are witnessing a reversion back to Jim Crow”)
- Trump signs order to claim power over independent agencies (Another move to be a dictator, and NOT just on “Day 1”. So where’s the alarm by the American people?!?)
- Inspectors General Fired by Trump Speak Out
- F.D.A.’s Food Safety Chief Resigns Over Trump Administration Layoffs (“The chief said the loss of critical employees overseeing the nation’s food supply made his work impossible. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation’s new health secretary, has pledged to gut the division.” We’re really, really screwed.)
- Trump cuts threaten a ‘generation of scientists’ as many weigh leaving US (“President’s call to ‘Make America Healthy Again’ has led to slashes in NIH funding – endangering jobs and vital research”)
- Early data show homicides dropped 16% in 2024 (On this topic, Americans are consistently, and wildly, wrong in thinking that the crime rate is always high and rising…)
- It’s Not Time to Protest, It’s Time to Strike
- Despite DOGE, Trump’s agenda calls for adding trillions of dollars to U.S debt
- DOGE Claimed It Saved $8 Billion in One Contract. It Was Actually $8 Million. (Off by a factor of one thousand. Brilliant!)
- Not Even DOGE Employees Know Who’s Legally Running DOGE
- GOP privacy hawks brush off concerns about DOGE data dives (Well, then, Politico, maybe they’re not “privacy hawks” and maybe you shouldn’t call them that???)
- Musk and DOGE Might Soon Have Access to the Most Lucrative Defense-Contract Database of All (Wildly corrupt and unacceptable.)
- After ceding power of the purse, GOP lawmakers beg Trump team for funds (These people are a DISGRACE.)
- Musk Ally Demands Admin Access to System That Lets Government Text the Public (“A worker resigned in protest rather than giving Thomas Shedd access to Notify.gov, which they said would allow him to see ‘all personally identifiable information moving through the Notiy system, including phone numbers,’ 404 Media has learned.”)
- Bannon Calls Musk a ‘Parasitic Illegal Immigrant’ (Gotta agree with Bannon on this one! LOL)
- Musk and Trump put on lovefest in Sean Hannity interview (“Pair spoke about each other in glowing terms, rejecting accusations of the billionaire usurping the president’s limelight – and power”)
- It’s Going to Take Years to Train Another Generation of Federal Workers
- Trump Cabinet Officials Embrace Far-Right Influencer Who Has Praised Fascists (“In a recent book, Jack Posobiec hailed Francisco Franco and Augusto Pinochet as role models for the MAGA right.” Totally f’ed up.)
- Judge halts firing of intel agency personnel involved with DEI
- Postmaster general to step down, asks for replacement (So Biden was never able to fire him, but now that Trump’s back, he’s outta there???)
- ‘Good luck with that.’ Trump administration terminates privacy officials at agency overseeing government hiring and firing (WTF???)
- Tens of millions of dead people aren’t getting Social Security checks, despite Trump and Musk claims (Of course not – how f’ing stupid.)
- Wokeness Is Not to Blame for Trump (“How a misdiagnosis of the 2024 election has calcified into self-defeating conventional wisdom.”)
- Trump says he has instructed DOJ to terminate all remaining Biden-era US attorneys (Again, imagine the reaction if Biden had done something like that???)
- Donald Trump Has Already Spent $10.7 Million Of Taxpayer Money Playing Golf (Again, imagine if Biden or any Democratic president had done something like this???)
- Trump’s DOJ Erases Report On Violence Against Native American Women (Sick.)
- New York Gov. Hochul Discusses Fate of Eric Adams With Democratic Leaders
Top Trump official enforcing president’s political agenda at justice department (So Biden’s and Garland’s entire “theory of the case” – restoring the norms of DoJ as a fiercely independent agency and protecting it against a possible second Trump term – were totally wrong. Greeaaaat.)- “I’m Suffering:” Holiday Massacre of Federal Workforce Is a Rude Awakening for Rural Westerners
- Here’s how feds save lives, Mr. Musk: Expertise and 24/7 dedication
- Defense Dept. firings expected to start soon, officials say
- Musk-linked group flexes its muscle in a crucial Supreme Court race in Wisconsin
- ‘Stephen, let’s calm down’: Yelling Trump aide berates host as he loses cool live on CNN (Highly emotional fascist.)
- 11-Year-Old Texas Girl Bullied Over Family’s Immigration Status Takes Her Own Life (Horrible.)
- Kennedy Library closes abruptly (Thanks to Trump!)
- ‘Time for Him to Go’: New Yorkers Sour on Eric Adams (Adams is probably the greatest disgrace ever as NY City mayor.)
- Video: Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA08) Says “We may not be too far” from “Civil Disobedience, a la Nelson Mandela or Gandhi” (“I deeply believe we will get through this too…to the extent that what this Administration does is bad for our country, there will be payback.”)
- Virginia GOP feud with conservative wing spills into critical election year (“5th District leaders once again clash with state party over loyalty tests, raising concerns about unity in 2025 races.” BTW, this headline is VERY misleading/false; in fact, there’s no “conservative wing” of the VA GOP – it’s ALL highly conservative. Maybe one could argue that there’s a right wing and a FAR right wing, but that’s about it. Yet the media continues with its antiquated, false narratives…)
- Youngkin acknowledges anxiety felt by federal workers as cuts continue (Whatever – Youngkin needs to push back, HARD, against Trump. IMMEDIATELY!)
- Virginia General Assembly Sends the Right to Contraception Act to Governor Youngkin’s Desk (“It’s time that [Youngkin] stops listening to extremists and instead starts listening to Virginians.”)
- Youngkin, legislators differ on VMSDEP funding level as costs rise
- Should Virginia police be allowed to lie to children?
- Virginia lawmakers weigh social media restrictions for kids
- Higher ed bill passes legislature, giving faculty and staff a seat — but not a vote
- Winsome Earle-Sears Reiterates Her Support for Trump’s Attacks on Virginia Jobs (“This comes after Sears defended — and doubled down on — her support for Trump’s threats to Virginia’s workforce and economy.”)
- Four Years After Glenn Youngkin Promised to “Restore Excellence in Education,” New Scorecard Finds “Virginia Ranked 51st in Math Recovery Between 2019 and 2024,” “41st in Reading Recovery Between 2019 and 2024”
- Schapiro: Boy, oh, Boysko, those Dems play rough (The media loves these intra-Dem fights, as one of their all-time favorite narratives is “Democrats In Disarray!”)
- Virginia Legislators Pushing to Use Taxpayer Funds for Natural Gas Projects (“In a House spending plan, $22 million would go toward natural gas infrastructure supporting a potential data center project in rural Southwest Virginia and chicken processing plants on the Eastern Shore.”)
- UVa board to meet on gender-affirming care as legal uncertainty grows
- Protesters hold anti-Elon Musk demonstration outside Arlington Tesla dealership
- Editorial: Region is ready for snowfall thanks to the National Weather Service (“Hampton Roads is ready for the possibility of heavy snow thanks to the National Weather Service, which President Trump and Elon Musk have in their crosshairs.”)
- DWI Charges Dismissed Against Loudoun Prosecutor
- Youngkin says Southwest Virginia facing ‘all-hands moment’ as another storm approaches
- CWG Live updates: A cloudy chill today, with a touch of snow possible into Thursday. (“In total, a dusting to around 1 inch is possible in the D.C. area.”)
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