Tuesday News: “Putin Chooses a Forever War”; Time For “Barrage of Sanctions”; “What does Putin want? The same thing Trump sought.”; “Republicans have found their goal: Turn back the clock to the 1950s”; “Trump’s Twitter Knockoff Suffers Bumpy Launch”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, February 22.

• The West’s Delusion of Energy Independence
• Putin Chooses a Forever War
• Putin’s absurd, angry spectacle will be a turning point in his long reign
• Surprising cracks, if small ones, appear in Kremlin support for Putin on Ukraine
• What we can expect after Putin’s conquest of Ukraine
• Wooing Allies, Publicizing Putin’s Plans: Inside Biden’s Race to Prevent War
• Putin moves in eastern Ukraine could be opening phase of possible large-scale invasion, multiple US and western officials say
• Why Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons — and what that means in an invasion by Russia
• ‘Unacceptable’: World leaders condemn Russia on Ukraine
• Biden imposes sanctions over Putin’s recognition of breakaway Ukraine regions
• West Plans Sanctions as Putin Orders Troops to Breakaway Zones
• Putin’s angry speech rewriting Ukraine’s history (Putin seems unhinged, which is pretty disturbing, given that Russia has thousands of nukes.)
• Johnson promises ‘barrage of sanctions’ over escalation
• This is the way the postwar world ends
• What does Putin want? The same thing Trump sought. (“They share some common goals: Weaken international institutions and upend Western democracy.”)
• As the West condemns Russia over Ukraine, Beijing strikes a different tone (“Beijing is navigating a complex position as the crisis in Ukraine intensifies, attempting to balance deepening ties with Moscow with its practiced foreign policy of staunchly defending state sovereignty.”)
• Inside the High-Stakes Fight to Control the Narrative on Ukraine (“As Putin searches for a false pretense to invade Ukraine, the Biden Administration has moved to release, in real time, what it knows of Russia’s war plans.”)
• Russia’s Post-Invasion Plans in Ukraine Involve “Widespread Human Suffering,” U.S. Warns (“The White House reiterated its expectation that Putin will invade Ukraine, even as Biden agreed “in principle” to meet with the Russian leader, should he go the diplomatic path.”)
• Zelensky rules out ceding territory to Russia in late-night address to Ukraine
• Is Putin Choosing War? (“The chances to avoid a disastrous full-scale invasion are now nearly spent.”)
• Putin orders troops to eastern Ukraine, drawing condemnation at emergency U.N. meeting (“The Russian president’s recognition of two breakaway regions was seen by the United States and its European allies as a dramatic provocation.”)
• Vladimir Putin’s Hall of Mirrors (“The Russian president sees the world through the lens of maskirovka and provokatsiia.”)
• Ukraine crisis jolts Europe to push for secure energy supply
• Germany moves to halt Nord Stream 2 certification over Russia’s actions
• Germany Halts Russia Gas Pipeline After Putin Orders Troops to Ukrainian Breakaway Regions
• Oil Prices Approach $100 on Threat of Ukraine War
• For Ukraine’s Jews, the Threat of War Stirs Memories of Past Horrors
• A Pointed Response to Putin’s Provocations (“A wary patience at this point is not the same as appeasement, of which the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, accused the West. Whatever Mr. Putin’s end game, his moves for now seek to prod and provoke Ukraine and its Western friends into just the kind of overreaction the hawks advocate.”)
• Putin’s Endgame: Unravel the Post-Cold War Agreements That Humiliated Russia
• Canada lawmakers extend emergency powers for truck protests
• Canadian truckers’ COVID ‘freedom’ fight is absurd next to Ukraine’s struggle with Russia
• Fact check: Debunking more false Fox claims about the Canadian convoy protests
• Got a Covid Booster? You Probably Won’t Need Another for a Long Time
• White men as victims: America’s most dangerous fantasy (“The notion that white men are a persecuted minority isn’t just ludicrous — it paves the way for racist violence”)
• ‘A singular focus’: Durbin is determined to make history as he works to confirm Biden’s Supreme Court pick
• The IRS is broken. It will take a big investment to fix it.
• GOP tries new ways to undermine IRS as the agency faces major tax return backlog
• Trump’s GOP critics to gather in Washington with an eye on 2024 presidential race
• ‘Something Went Wrong’: Trump’s Twitter Knockoff Suffers Bumpy Launch
• Trump’s legal problems are about to get a whole lot worse
• Democrats tune out national news during Biden era
• High-profile GOP governors are losing popularity. Democrats should take note.
• Republicans have found their goal: Turn back the clock to the 1950s
• J.D. Vance’s attack on Gen. Barry McCaffrey is obscene. It’s also not unusual for today’s GOP.
• Amendment to Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill would force schools to out students in 6 weeks (Evil.)
• Global health innovator Dr. Paul Farmer passes away at 62
• Michigan basketball coach Juwan Howard suspended for the rest of the regular season
• Kaine, Luria take aerial tour of places in Virginia that will benefit from $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill (“After an aerial tour, the lawmakers say the measure will have a major impact on, among other things, bridges and sea-level rise”)
• Kaine, McEachin endorse nomination of Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground to National Register of Historic Places
• New Wason Center Poll: Youngkin Underwater at 41%-43% Approval; Majority Disagrees with Him on Teaching Racism/”CRT”; Masks in Schools; Clean Energy/Climate Action; Abortion… (Also, a majority of Virginia voters would rather spend budget surplus on underfunded government services than providing tax cuts/rebates.)
• New Poll Shows Virginians Disapprove of Governor Youngkin and Strongly Reject His Far-Right Agenda (“Youngkin is the first Virginia Governor to have a poll with a majority of disapproval rating in his first year in office.”)
• VA Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw: “This year we have seen unprecedented attacks on our public schools, working families, and public health” (Also notes, “Governor Youngkin inherited a well-run state with an important Triple-A bond rating plus an impressive surplus”)
• Video: Del. Jeion Ward Delivers Powerful Black History Month Speech, Says “I don’t think there’s a tip line…when our children’s feelings are hurt…or they are bullied about…the color of their skin” (“I’m not talking about our children living in the 1950s and 1960s, I’m talking about our children living today” in Virginia.)
• Video: Del. Don Scott Cites New Wason Center Poll, Calls on Gov. Youngkin to “Course Correct,” Says “It’s Hard To Be This Bad, This Fast” and “The Honeymoon Is Over” (Del. Scott says Youngkin does NOT have a mandate, but “reminds me of the guy who was born on third base and thinks he hit a triple.”)
• Attorney General Miyares Breaks the Law…Again (“In case you missed the Attorney General’s illegal, unethical, and incompetent behaviors, here’s a list of his failures to date”)
• From Showtime to the Executive Branch for a GOP activist (“A woman who appeared in a Showtime special discussing Critical Race Theory is now working for the state government in a paid-political position. Patti Hidalgo Menders was featured briefly on The Circus during an episode covering the race between Governors Glenn Youngkin and Terry McAuliffe – now she is doing community outreach for the Office of the Attorney General.”)
• Va. Senate panel kills bill to lighten penalties for concealed carry violations
• Legislation repealing Virginia Clean Economy Act rejected by Senate panel
• House and Senate working to iron out differences in education budgets
• Senate panel votes down House bill to exempt small businesses from minimum wage
• Virginia Senate Commerce and Labor Committee Kills House Republicans’ Minimum Wage Repeals
• 10-Day New COVID-19 Cases Down 87% Compared to 1/19; Hospitalizations Continue Declining; Deaths Remain Relatively High
• Youngkin claims progress in reducing backlog in unemployment claims; advocates are skeptical (Unemployment claims are FAR lower than they were during the first few months of the pandemic, thanks to the national economic recovery.)
• Senate votes to bring back misdemeanor reporting requirements for school principals
• Stoney threatens to leave education funding level next year if impasse over schools budget remains
• Full Disclosure Briefing: Luring the Washington Commanders to the Commonwealth
• Editorial: Better care for veterans (“The impending opening of a new veterans care center in Virginia Beach will bolster the health options available to Virginia’s veteran population.”)
• Victims of Va. Tech, Va. Beach mass shootings seek to create permanent fund for survivors, families
• D.C.-area forecast: Staying warm through tomorrow with clouds and some showers