by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, March 15. As historian/author Kevin Kruse says, “I want to stress how far off the rails this is in terms of not just our norms and our expectations but our laws. There’s a lot that’s deeply unconstitutional here. I get that they’re trying to flood the zone and overwhelm the opposition, but the opposition shouldn’t let itself be overwhelmed. It shouldn’t accept this as the new normal, which is what the administration wants us to do.” Also, David Rothkopf writes: “If the last six weeks are any indication, the damage Trump and Musk and MAGA will do in the next six months will be horrific. Millions of lives will be shattered whether due to job losses, loss of vital government services, national economic misfortune resulting for economically ignorant policies, international programs shut down, and illegal prosecutions and arrests. Critical government capabilities will be obliterated. The rule of law and our rights under the Constitution will be relentlessly attacked.” So…on that cheery note, on to the news headlines…ugh.
- Covering every roof with solar could supply 2/3 of global electricity – study (“Covering every roof with solar panels could cover most of the world’s electricity needs – and eliminate all fossil electricity generation”)
- Trump moves to close facility that helps track planet-warming pollution (Psychopathic.)
- UK hoping to work with China to counteract Trump’s climate-hostile policies (“Ed Miliband visits Beijing as part of plan to create global axis working in favour of climate action”)
- Hundreds of Thousands Will Die (“The writer, surgeon, and former U.S.A.I.D. administrator Atul Gawande on the Trump Administration’s decimation of foreign aid and the consequences around the world.”)
- ‘All the birds returned’: How a Chinese project led the way in water and soil conservation (“The Loess plateau was the most eroded place on Earth until China took action and reversed decades of damage from grazing and farming”)
- As Trump and Putin menace Europe, I say this: vive le Churchillo-Gaullisme! (“Our continent must be prepared to defend itself, by combining the best of its two most influential traditions”)
- Republican Russophilia: how Trump Putin-ised a party of cold war hawks
- Trump says he was being a ‘bit sarcastic’ when he promised to end Russia-Ukraine war in 24 hours (Nope, there was NOTHING “sarcastic” about Trump’s promise to end the war in 24 hours.)
- Trump Admin Nixed Contract Helping Kidnapped Ukrainian Children (Evil.)
- Starmer tells global leaders to ‘keep the pressure’ on Putin over ceasefire in Ukraine
- Russia-Ukraine war live: UK says Putin will come to table ‘sooner or later’ as world leaders discuss peace plans
- After Trump appeal, Putin says he will spare Ukrainians in Kursk if they surrender (What a joke.)
- Ukraine war briefing: Zelenskyy says ‘good chance to end war quickly’ as he urges pressure on Putin
- ‘On the Tightrope’: Britain Tries to Bridge a Widening Trans-Atlantic Gap (Good luck.)
- It Isn’t Just Trump. America’s Whole Reputation Is Shot.
- Why Trump is singling out South Africa and accusing it of being anti-white and anti-American
- Trump Administration Expels South Africa’s Ambassador to the U.S. (“Secretary of State Marco Rubio had lashed out on social media over comments critical of President Trump that the ambassador had made to a think tank in Johannesburg.” Just a reminder that Rubio was confirmed 99-0. So yeah, that’s our US Senate…)
- Hamas says it will only release American-Israeli hostage if truce agreement is implemented
- US rejects ‘impractical’ Hamas demands as Gaza truce hangs in balance
- The U.S. should lift sanctions on Syria (“The economy is in free-fall, security is precarious and there is a danger that Syria might become a failed state. The U.S. can help.”)
- ‘They killed him in cold blood’: the cycle of revenge in north-west Syria (“Over 1,000 people – including 745 civilians – were killed in attacks last week that mostly targeted Alawite minority”)
- Ovens and bone fragments – BBC visits Mexican cartel ‘extermination’ site (Humans at their worst.)
- Canada ‘will never be part of the US’, says new PM Mark Carney amid trade war (“Former Bank of Canada and Bank of England governor sworn in and expected to call election soon”)
- Canada reconsidering F-35 purchase amid tensions with Washington, says minister
- How Trump united Canada against him and flipped its election upside down (“A bitter taste of Trump has inspired newfound patriotism among Canadians and dampened the electoral prospects of the Canadian political party most aligned with him.”)
- Draft List for New Travel Ban Proposes Trump Target 43 Countries
- She saw family in Lebanon. Now this Brown Medicine doctor is being held at Logan for deportation. (Crazy shit.)
- Why is Donald Trump crashing the US economy? Because he’s high on his own supply of fake news (“Addicted to Fox News and outlets even more extreme, the president finds support and justification for actions disastrous to Americans and the world”)
- US consumer sentiment plunges on tariff fears, inflation expectations jump
- Consumers and Businesses Send Distress Signal as Economic Fear Sets In
- Under Trump, AI Scientists Are Told to Remove ‘Ideological Bias’ From Powerful Models (Trump wants AI to be flooded by far-right, racist, xenophobic, anti-Semitic, homophobic, etc. content?)
- Trump Orders Gutting of 7 Agencies, Including Voice of America’s Parent
- What court orders? Trump’s moving full steam ahead to slash more federal workers (So if Trump can just ignore the law and the courts, that means we no longer have rule of law.)
- Trump calls for jailing his perceived opponents in Justice Department speech (EXTREMELY dangerous.)
- Fact check: Trump’s false claims on immigration, Biden, Ukraine in DOJ remarks
- ‘Scum,’ ‘crooked’ elections and ‘corrupt’ media. What Trump said inside the Justice Department
- Donald Trump, In DOJ Speech, Calls CNN And MSNBC “Illegal” For Reporting Negatively On Him
- Trump calls his opponents ‘scum’ and lawbreakers in bellicose speech at Justice Department
- Trump baselessly accuses news media of ‘illegal’ behavior and corruption in DOJ speech (And by “Baselessly,” CNN meant to say “Falsely,” but for some reason used the much weaker word.)
- Trump Pledges To ‘Expel Rogue Actors’ In Political Speech At Justice Department (“President Donald Trump used a visit to the Justice Department on Friday to air a litany of grievances.”)
- What happens when so much national security expertise is tossed aside? (“Trump’s focus on “weaponization” at the Justice Department and FBI risks ignoring foreign threats.”)
- Trump Expands Attacks on Law Firms, Singling Out Paul, Weiss
- Donald Trump, Mahmoud Khalil, and Free Speech Under Siege: “We’re in an Alarming Period”
- ‘It’s a clusterf**k’: Inside DOGE’s IRS takeover
- Government shutdown: Did Dems make the right move?
- ‘Uniting anger’: Democrats fume over Schumer’s handling of funding fight
- Schumer Under Fire as Pelosi and Other Democrats Criticize Shutdown Retreat
- Top House Democrats Throw Chuck Schumer Under The Bus Amid Funding Fight
- Dem Civil War Erupts With ‘Screaming’ and Primary Threats Behind Closed Doors (“Democrats are finally fighting amid MAGA 2.0—but it is with each other. President Donald Trump picked a side in the party’s burgeoning civil war Friday, praising his longtime foe, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer”)
- Vance discusses Elon Musk’s ‘mistakes’ and ‘incremental progress’ on the economy in NBC News interview
- Pro-Israel group says it has ‘deportation list’ and has sent ‘thousands’ of names to Trump officials (“Betar US is among far-right groups supporting Trump effort to deport students involved in pro-Palestinian protests” UGH.)
- As Trump Attacks Elite Colleges, Their Usual Allies Are Nowhere in Sight
- Trump demands unprecedented control at Columbia, alarming scholars and speech groups
- The right dominates the online media ecosystem, seeping into sports, comedy, and other supposedly nonpolitical spaces
- Inside the Democrats’ new media strategy to reach voters and take on Trump (“How Democratic lawmakers are turbocharging their presence online — both as content creators and collaborators with other influencers.” Are they all on Bluesky?)
- Walz, Newsom and Buttigieg Are Among Democrats Stirring 2028 Presidential Chatter (Hell no to Newsom after he sat down for pleasant chats with two far-right extremists – Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon.)
- What on Earth Is Gavin Newsom Doing?
- The GOP’s Fears About Musk Are Growing (“Some Republicans are starting to worry about what DOGE could mean for them and their constituents.” Duh.)
- Elon Musk Shared, Then Removed a Post Absolving Dictators for Genocide (Yep, that’s the guy who’s basically co-president!)
- To Survive This, We Must Break the Fourth Wall (“The time for old-world politics is past. It’s time to break the fourth wall and talk frankly and in detail about Musk, Trump, Putin, and Xi, and their attack on America. And then we must create a compelling vision for what comes next. A return to the status quo — whatever we imagine that to be — is no longer possible”)
- Crisis is the solution to the public attention problem (Sure, crisis will get many peoples’ attention, but the crisis itself will do so much damage that the attention won’t counterbalance that?)
- Democratic Senator Mark Kelly to let go of his Tesla over Musk’s federal cuts (Excellent – every Democratic leader should do the same, ASAP!)
- The Facebook tell-all Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t want you to read, briefly explained (Which means EVERYONE should read it!)
- Kevin Drum, Influential Early Political Blogger, Dies at 66 (Wow, the “mainstream media” actually covered the death of a BLOGGER??? Surprising, given the utter contempt with which these elitist douchebags have always held citizen journalists.)
- Alan K. Simpson, a Folksy Republican Force in the Senate, Dies at 93 (It would be great if today’s GOP had some Alan Simpsons in it – but it doesn’t.)
- Senate unanimously approves fix to prevent $1B cuts for District of Columbia, sending bill to House
- The Politics Hour: Why a federal spending bill could blow a billion dollar hole in D.C.’s budget (“Virginia Senator Tim Kaine joined Kojo and Tom to explain why he planned to vote ‘no’ on the Republican-backed spending bill, even if it means a government shutdown.”)
- Here’s how Virginia’s senators voted on bill to avoid government shutdown
- Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-VA07) Nails It: “Allowing this CR to proceed puts a Democratic Party stamp on it. It demonstrates weakness when the American people need strength.” (House Democratic Leadership adds that they “will not be complicit.”)
- Subramanyam, fed. lawmakers to investigate military airspace near National Airport after plane crash
- Connolly Joins Colleagues to Demand Answers Over Detention and Attempted Deportation of Mahmoud Khalil
- WINSOME, LOSE SOME: With a Campaign in Shambles and Primary Opponents on Her Heels, There Are No Wins for a Hiding Winsome Earle-Sears
- Sears staffers say she is more conservative than Trump and insult her primary opponents
- New Report: U.S. House Bill’s SNAP Cuts Could Blow a $352M Hole in Virginia’s Budget, Increase Risk of Hunger for 800,000
- Bill to boost college opportunities for prisoners awaits Youngkin’s action (“Measure represents ‘shift in penal philosophy,’ advocates say”)
- Virginia’s top schools leader, Lisa Coons, abruptly resigns
- Lisa Coons resigns as Virginia’s superintendent of public instruction (“The governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment before press time.”)
- Va. won’t get expected $21M for local farm food to schools, food banks
- One month after catastrophic flooding in Southwest Virginia, still no word on requests for a federal disaster declaration (Trump’s utter contempt and disregard for HIS OWN VOTERS is simply astounding. Also, has Rep. Morgan Griffith DEMANDED this money from Trump???)
- Del. Jed Arnold will not seek reelection (“The Smyth County Republican cited his wife’s struggle with long COVID as his reason to step aside.”)
- Henrico producing sewage sludge with harmful levels of forever chemicals
- Watchdog report clears former city spokesperson of wrongdoing over credit card use (“The Richmond Times-Dispatch previously reported the spokesperson had used her city credit card to spend tens of thousands of dollars at firms registered to her former business partner.”)
- Capped landfill in Richmond may become a ‘solar meadow’
- Editorial: Times-Dispatch relocates to Hanover
- CWG Live updates: Lots of weekend clouds, plus late-Sunday storms
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