Saturday News: America Mourns, Biden Visits All Three Attack Sites, “marks 9/11 anniversary with tribute, call for unity”; “Five Extremely Simple Reasons Why Biden Made the Right Call Mandating Vaccines”; Trump “getting into Glenn Youngkin’s head”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, September 11 – twenty years since one of the worst days in our nation’s history.

• What’s the worst that could happen? (It depends what humanity does – or fails to do.)
• ‘We’re going after creatives that greenwash fossil fuels’: the group targeting ad agencies (“Jamie Henn, the founder of Fossil Fuel Free Media, on how advertising agencies help legitimise the fossil fuel industry” Good, nail them!)
• Grass is good. Lawns are terrible. (Agreed – you can do something VERY good for the environment by tearing out part or all of your “lawn” and replacing it with native plantings. Also, ditch fertilizers and, obviously, pesticides – which, among other things, kill bees and other pollinatorst.)
• The world remembers lives lost on 9/11
• Israel catches four of six Palestinian militants who escaped from jail
• US Forces Were Training the Guinean Soldiers Who Took Off to Stage a Coup
• ‘Imminent Threat’ or Aid Worker: Did a U.S. Drone Strike in Afghanistan Kill the Wrong Person?
• U.S. has flagged 44 Afghan evacuees as potential national security risks over the past two weeks, vetting reports show
• CIA-trained Afghan forces who helped Americans and others evacuate now await resettlement in the U.S.
• CNBC poll shows very little will persuade unvaccinated Americans to get Covid shots
• Unvaccinated People Are 11 Times More Likely To Die Of COVID-19, New Research Finds
• Vaccine mandates are hard. So is covid.
• Five Extremely Simple Reasons Why Biden Made the Right Call Mandating Vaccines
• Unvaccinated people were 11 times more likely to die of covid-19, CDC report finds
• U.S. could authorize Pfizer COVID-19 shot for kids age 5-11 in October -sources
• Biden thought he could persuade vaccine skeptics. He couldn’t. So he embraced mandates.
• The hyperbolic GOP reaction to Biden’s vaccine mandate shows why it’s necessary
• Biden Is Right: Vaccine Refusal ‘Has Cost All of Us’
• Right-wing vaccine disinformation is killing people, and the propagandists are furious Biden is fighting back
• Analysis: Biden’s vaccine mandate signals a White House done with persuasion (That’s actually not true; they’re very much continuing with persuasion while also instituting more vaccine mandates, which probably should have been done months ago.)
• Biden’s Vaccine Rules Ignite Instant, Aggressive GOP Opposition (Unhinged and, of course, totally wrong.)
• Republican Governors Are Reacting to Biden’s Vaccine Mandate With Their Usual Calm, Cool Demeanor (In other words, batshit crazy.)
• Biden’s COVID Vaccination Strategy Triggers Full-Scale Republican Meltdown (“The right-wing backlash to new mitigation efforts is as predictable as it is aggravating, with GOP politicians and pundits ranting about ‘tyranny’ and ‘totalitarianism.'” In fact, there are already vaccine mandates – and have been for decades! – for many, many other deadly diseases.)
• Republican threats to Biden’s vaccine mandates unlikely to succeed, experts say (“Biden’s mandates pass muster because he is filtering them through the lenses of workplace safety and federal spending powers authority, legal experts told NBC News.”)
• Biden marks 9/11 anniversary with tribute, call for unity
• Biden commemorates 9/11 anniversary with stops at all three attack sites
• False, toxic Sept. 11 conspiracy theories are still widespread today
• The 9/11 anniversary should make us think about the setbacks, and successes, of the past 20 years
• Two Decades After 9/11, Are We Safer?
• What the U.S. Has Learned About Fighting Terror Since Sept. 11
• America mourns on 20th anniversary of 9/11 terror attacks
• Two decades later, tactics shift in fight against terrorism
• Since 9/11, most terrorism in this country has been made in the USA
• 20 Years On, No End in Sight for the War on Terror
• ‘A message of resilience’: Americans reflect on 20th anniversary of Sept. 11
• How Growing Up in New York After 9/11 Shaped These Muslim Leaders
• The ‘Ground Zero Mosque,’ A Right-Wing Fever Dream That Never Was (“What started off as a vision for an iconic Islamic center in Manhattan brought death threats and backlash. Muslim Americans are still feeling it.”)
• “There Was a Betrayal” (“Inside one of America’s biggest Muslim groups on 9/11—and the devastating weeks after.”)
• Sept. 11 united America. Twenty years later, the nation stands divided. (“‘The United States is a far less confident and optimistic nation now than it was in September 2001,’ historian Michael J. Allen said.”)
• In the wake of Hurricane Ida, Fox is doubling down on climate denial in order to attack Biden’s infrastructure plan (Fox “News” is evil incarnate.)
• Shell Readies Gulf Pipeline Restarts in Major Step After Ida (Oil, of course, is one of the things fueling the climate crisis.)
• Natural Gas Excluded in Democrats’ Budget Plan for Clean Energy (Good, because natural gas is absolutely NOT clean.)
• States across American west see hottest summer on record as climate crisis rages (“California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Utah faced historic heatwaves, which were made possible by human-caused global heating, a study found” Get off of fossil fuels, ASAP!)
• Fact-checking the false but viral story about F-22 pilots resigning after a vaccination text from the secretary of defense (Social media is a disaster.)
• Democrats make case to Senate parliamentarian for 8 million green cards
• The trouble with Biden’s first eight months (” There are a lot of signs that Democrats don’t fully grasp the extent of the GOP’s radicalization or accept that it must be addressed aggressively. Many in the party remain cautious, incrementalist and obsessed with bipartisanship.” Agreed 100%; the brilliant Perry Bacon, Jr. nails it again.)
• The cult of the weapons of war has another victory over reality and reason
• Robert E. Lee was a stone-cold loser
• Breyer’s airbrushed portrayal of the judicial process (“Could the timing of Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer’s new book be any worse? It’s hard to imagine. Breyer’s latest — an earnest testament to the nonpartisanship and professionalism of his conservative colleagues…” Breyer REALLY doesn’t get it. Ugh.)
• Facebook sent flawed data to misinformation researchers.
• Rudy Giuliani associate Igor Fruman pleads guilty to soliciting foreign campaign contributions
• A dangerous trend among GOP candidates shows the Trump threat is here to stay (“The vow to subvert future election losses is becoming a badge of honor.” Absolutely horrifying.)
• Will Trumpism Dominate the GOP Future—and Will Trump? (“Next year’s midterm elections should reveal how the former president’s efforts are affecting the fate of the Republican Party, his rivals, and his own aspirations”)
• The Trump Coup Is Still Raging (“The more important part of the coup attempt — like legal wrangling in states and the attempts to sabotage the House commission’s investigation of Jan. 6 — is still going strong. These are not separate and discrete episodes but parts of a unitary phenomenon that, in just about any other country, would be characterized as a failed coup d’état.”)
• Mike Lindell held secret meeting with Trump on “reinstatement day”
• New Poll Shows California Voters Want to Keep Gov. Gavin Newsom (“With just days until voting closes, the governor appears poised to beat the recall.”)
• Florida appeals court rules in favor of DeSantis, reverses order to allow mask mandate ban in schools
• Salesforce offers to relocate employees and their families after Texas abortion law goes into effect
• Texas Governor Greg Abbott Pulls Ahead in Race to Determine Biggest GOP Asshole (“Abbott has declared he’ll defend Texans’ ‘right to choose’ not to get vaccinated, after signing a law effectively banning abortion.”)
• Affidavit: Texas man murdered woman, shot her husband, because they voted for Biden (Horrifying.)
• ‘A difficult day’: Pentagon survivors struggle with the memories of 9/11 attack
• Democratic lawmakers visit early childhood programs in Fairfax to urge passage of reconciliation bill
• Kamala Harris visits Hampton University, touts necessity of STEM education
• Video, Photos: VP Kamala Harris Visits Hampton U as part of National HBCU Week to Discuss Importance of STEM Education (“HBCU’s are not only competing, but they are also leading”)
• Incumbent protection takes center stage at Virginia redistricting commission
• McAuliffe Calls on All Nursing Home, Assisted Living and Residential Facilities Serving Virginia Seniors to Require Employee Vaccines Against COVID-19
• Schapiro: Putting Youngkin’s campaign on the couch (“Donald Trump may not be coming to Virginia but he’s getting into Glenn Youngkin’s head.”)
• Harris to hold fundraiser for McAuliffe ahead of Virginia governor’s race
• With election wins, Va. Republicans could pass laws restricting abortion. The race for lieutenant governor is key.
• McAuliffe Says Abortion Is on the Ballot in Virginia
• Flip-[and Hold]-A-District Friday: Volume IX (Del. Mike Mullin, Del. Cliff Hayes, Del. David Bulova, Del. Don Scott, Blakely Lockhart, Ella Webster, Elizabeth Bennett-Parker)
• Governor Northam weighs in on President Biden’s vaccine mandate for businesses (“It’s unfortunate we have to mandate things but the only way we are going to get this pandemic behind us is to get people vaccinated”)
• Friday (9/10) Virginia Data on COVID-19: With Delta Now Dominant, Hospitalizations (2,150) at Highest Level Since Mid February, 10-Day New Cases (+35,392) Highest Since Early February
• Virginia isn’t requiring teacher vaccines, but the federal government could do it soon (“So far, no school districts in Hampton Roads have approved vaccine mandates for teachers and staff.”)
• Increased vaccinations could help Va. avoid up to 200,000 cases, but rates have barely budged since July
• She became mayor to reform Charlottesville. After her police chief was fired, she’s calling it quits, too. (“Nikuyah Walker’s resignation comes days after Charlottesville’s first Black woman police chief was fired by the city manager.”)
• Northam was right to grant clemency to the Martinsville Seven. He should extend it to the living, too.
• Gov. Ralph Northam applauds President Joe Biden’s new vaccine mandate (“We are fighting a biological war. The enemy is the virus. It’s not me versus you”)
• Rural GroundGame Returns For 2021; Organization Commits To Immediate and Sustained Support For and Investment In Rural Democrats
• Health officials investigating possible measles exposure in Northern Virginia
• How The Rise Of Post-9/11 Defense Contracting Helped Reshape Local Neighborhoods
• Arlington Remembers Lives Lost 20 Years After Attack On Pentagon (“The Arlington County government held a ceremony Friday morning to remember the 184 lives lost at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001.”)
• Richmond remembers the fallen, first responders and troops 20 years after 9/11
• Saturday events in Roanoke, New River valleys commemorate 20th anniversary of 9/11 attacks
• D.C.-area forecast: Quite nice today before summer makes a comeback (“Today’s classic September. Sunday and into early week feels more like August.”)