Wednesday News: “Trump declares war on America,” “attempts a major step toward dictatorship”; “Trump mandates all federal agencies send email blaming Dems for potential gov’t shutdown”; “The Mainstream Media Is Catastrophically Failing To Meet The Moment”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, October 1.

• Despite the Trump Administration’s Best Efforts to Suppress It, Climate Science Is Alive and Well Online (“Hundreds of scientists worldwide are collaborating to combat misinformation by making accurate climate information widely available to the public.”)
• Russia warns of escalation risk if US sends Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine
• Trump’s latest policy 180 on the war in Ukraine could strike deep into Russian territory
• Moscow Indicates Retaliation if Europe Uses Russian Assets for Ukraine (“Amid a plan to lend $165 billion to Ukraine using Russian state assets, European officials are mindful of the possibility of Russian blowback.” Call Russia’s bluff – ASAP!)
• Blair, Tapped by Trump for Gaza Plan, Brings Expertise — and Baggage
• Scoop: How an Israeli attack inadvertently launched Trump’s Gaza peace plan
• Pfizer’s Drug Price Cuts Yield Three-Year Trump Tariff Reprieve
• Pope Leo criticizes ‘inhuman’ treatment of immigrants in US
• ICE agents assault amNewYork reporter at Federal Plaza immigration court; another journalist seriously injured after shove (Goons.)
• A Reagan-Appointed Judge Just Wrote a Blistering Anti-Trump Decision (“Federal judge William G. Young attacked the president’s crackdown on civil liberties as un-American”)
• ‘To Terrorize Americans Into Quiescence’: Reagan Judge Excoriates Trump (“Court finds that the Trump administration’s targeting of pro-Palestine activists for deportation violated the First Amendment”)
• Judge Rules Trump Unlawfully Targeted Noncitizens Over Pro-Palestinian Speech (“In a blistering opinion, a federal judge in Boston said the Trump administration used the threat of deportations to systematically intimidate certain campus demonstrators into silence.”)
• In a Brutal Ruling Against Trump, a U.S. Judge Asked the Question That Will Determine America’s Fate (“Over 161 pages, William Young wrote what all of us are thinking—and then some.”)
• White House withdraws Trump’s controversial nominee to lead BLS after ousting predecessor over jobs data (Again, the media hides behind anodyne adjectives like “controversial” instead of telling readers/viewers that the person, in this case, is a far-right-extremist and total nutjob.)
• White House Pulls Pick to Lead Labor Data Agency (“E.J. Antoni, a conservative economist, had faced bipartisan criticism as President Trump’s nominee to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics.”)
• Trump and His Minions Are Eyeing “Wholesale Destruction” of Environmental Science (“And they may seek to use a government shutdown as the pretext.” These people are intensely evil.)
• ‘Unprecedented in history’: global academic freedom group warns of dismantling in US
• The Most Terrifying Day for the Survival of America Yet: Fascism Is Here (“Trump is pressing the pedal to the metal on his previously slow-moving coup.”)
• Trump attempts a major step toward dictatorship (“He’s going for it. Who will stop him?”)
• Trump declares war on America (“It’s the enemy from within and we have to handle it before it gets out of control.”)
• Trump’s MAGA-fied military prepares for “war from within”
• Hundreds of Generals Try to Keep a Straight Face
• The Commander in Chief Is Not Okay (“Trump put on a disturbing show for America’s generals and admirals.”)
• Trump and Hegseth’s backward-facing message to the generals (“A preoccupation with ‘woke’ culture and ‘enemies’ won’t prepare the military for the high-tech demands of 21st-century war.”)
• Bulging Biceps Don’t Win Modern Wars (“Hegseth’s speech was vile. It was also stupid.”)
• Trump’s Speech to Generals Is Greeted by the Sound of Silence | The Strategy Session
• ‘Disbelief’: Pentagon reporter can’t find one military official who liked Hegseth’s speech
• Veterans react to Hegseth’s ‘insulting’ address to generals and admirals (“Defense secretary’s speech touching on physical fitness and doctrine of lethality was seen as ‘egotistical’ and ‘dangerous’” Completely deranged.)
• The Supreme Court’s newest decision could make it impossible to end the shutdown (“How do you negotiate with a man who can break his promises at any time?”)
• Trump mandates all federal agencies send email blaming Dems for potential gov’t shutdown
• Government headed to a shutdown after last-ditch vote fails in Senate
• The Situation: What a Shutdown Has to Accomplish (“It’s not just about Medicaid funding.”)
• The Clock Is Ticking on a Lose-Lose Government Shutdown
• Tracker: how each US senator voted on the Republican plan to avert shutdown
• Federal employees are told to brace for a shutdown — and blame Democrats (That’s illegal – or at minimum a massive violation
• Trump’s Grand Plan for a Government Shutdown (“The Trump administration might use a shutdown to finish the job that DOGE started.”)
• Trump Posts New AI Video in Unhinged Truth Social Rampage (This headline, which is excellent, is in the Daily Beast – NOT in the WaPo, NY Times, etc.)
• The Mainstream Media Is Catastrophically Failing To Meet The Moment
• Charlie Kirk, Ezra Klein, and the Cost of Civility-Theater Liberalism (Ezra Klein epitomizes so much that’s wrong with the “mainstream media” – and also with people who think Ezra Klein is some sort of great thinker or whatever. WTF?)
• Google is blocking AI searches for Trump and dementia (“AI Mode uncharacteristically pulls up a list of 10 web links instead of a written explanation.”)
• Trump cancels food research funding popular with Republicans (“Budget chief Russ Vought proposed cutting $72 million for universities after promising lawmakers the funding would remain untouched.”)
• Mike Johnson Caught Trashing Trump’s Vulgar AI Video
• Republicans refuse to swear in newly elected Democrat, delaying success of Epstein petition
• Voters Elected Her to Congress. Mike Johnson Is Making Her Wait. (“‘At this point, I can’t hire staff. We don’t have an office. I can’t get around without being escorted,’ Arizona’s incoming House Democrat, Adelita Grijalva, said Tuesday.”)
• Trump Claims White House Is Nearing a Deal With Harvard (Anytime you see words like “Trump claims,” be VERY skeptical, because almost every word out of Trump’s mouth is a lie. Kinda like with Youngkin and other MAGA lying liars.)
• ADL deletes Glossary of Extremism under pressure from conservatives over Charlie Kirk entry (“The organization stands by a separate resource that describes Kirk’s Turning Point USA’s ties to ‘extremists’”)
• The Real Stakes, and Real Story, of Peter Thiel’s Antichrist Obsession (“Thirty years ago, a peace-loving Austrian theologian spoke to Peter Thiel about the apocalyptic theories of Nazi jurist Carl Schmitt. They’ve been a road map for the billionaire ever since.”)
• WaPo’s Ad Chief Wavers (“Johanna Mayer-Jones, the executive tasked with helming The Post’s ad business, has been weighing her future at the paper—raising the prospect of another high-profile departure at a precarious moment.” Other than a paycheck – which obviously people need! – why would anyone stay at the Bezos Post at this point?)
• Virginia U.S. Sens. Kaine, Warner seek to keep Discovery space shuttle in the commonwealth
• Video: Sen. Mark Warner Reminds Everyone That, “as President Trump repeatedly said when he wasn’t president, it’s incumbent upon the president to work this out – it’s his responsibility” (Trump in 2011: “If there is a shutdown, I think it would be a tremendously negative mark on the President of the United States”)
• Video: Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA01) Caught Holding Ritzy DC Fundraiser as Government Shutdown Looms (Caught red handed, Wittman then lied, claimed “we’re in session today…we’re working…[to] prevent a shutdown”)
• Russ Vought’s directive to fire federal workers during a shutdown is illegal (“Vought’s memo is political intimidation, not valid administrative guidance, says Rep. James Walkinshaw.”)
• Video Clearly Shows That When Abigail Spanberger Said “Let Your Rage Fuel You,” She Was Urging Activists to Channel Their Anger Into Phone Banking, Door Knocking and Voting (As usual, Republicans are fear mongering, psychologically “projecting” and just flat-out L-Y-I-N-G)
• On the campaign trail in 2025: Harsh rhetoric and muscle-bound men (“Spanberger travels with security, even in bright blue neighborhoods” As well she should!)
• Video: Winsome Earle-Sears Refuses to Ask Trump to Stop Firing Virginians When Directly Asked Three Times in Interview (Every time Earle-Sears leaves the right-wing echo chamber, a hot mess ensues…)
• Earle-Sears dodged questions on support for Trump
• Fact check | Does Winsome Earle-Sears know the difference between UVA, Virginia Tech?
• National Right to Life Committee endorses slate of Republican candidates in Virginia (“The oldest anti-abortion group in the US endorsed Winsome Earle-Sears for governor, John Reid for lieutenant governor, and Jason Miyares for attorney general.”)
• 2025 GOP VA Lt. Gov. Nominee John Reid Argues with Wife of Federal Worker Over Trump’s Layoffs (Reid Doubles Down on the GOP’s Response to Fired Workers: Update Your Resume)
• John Reid’s pitch for civility follows years as a ‘combative conservative’
• Jay Jones was convicted of reckless driving after speeding at 116 mph
• Partisan Propaganda Papers Lack Legal Disclosures (“Metric Media funding largely comes from a handful of political action committees and nonprofits funded by conservative megadonors, Columbia Journalism Review reports.”)
• Have you received one of these “newspapers?” (These are overwhemlmingly right wing. Because of course they are…)
• Overall spending down, other takeaways from historic governor’s race (“Campaign financial facts ahead of November gubernatorial contest”)
• Education Dept. asks Fairfax school district for details on abortion claims (“Fairfax County is facing a federal inquiry into allegations that a school social worker assisted students seek abortion care without notifying their guardians.”)
• Richmond Mayor Danny Avula says he will seek second term in 2028
• Grand jury to hear case against man accused of setting Virginia city councilman on fire over affair
• The next governor will face an unusual challenge: Rebuild the economy of Northern Virginia
• The 20 | MAGA House seats that Virginia Democrats could flip in the 2025 cycle
• Southwest Virginia was already a health care desert. Trump’s law may make it worse. (“Cuts to the Medicaid program made by President Donald Trump and the GOP-led Congress are expected to leave rural communities with even fewer health care providers and facilities.” And yet 60%-70% of people there keep voting for Republicans…ugh.)
• How a federal shutdown could impact Hampton Roads (“A long-term lapse in appropriations could cause major damage to the region’s economy. Federal entities employ residents by the tens of thousands in Hampton Roads.”)
• Albemarle County | School allowing MAGA activist to speak on gender ideology (“The presentation will be made by Victoria Cobb, the president of the Richmond-based Family Foundation of Virginia, which uses its platform to fight the ‘false ideology of transgenderism in our schools and workplace,’ opposes making ‘sexual behavior’ – its antiquated term for sexual orientation – a ‘protected class, of course is aligned with the those who view reproductive freedom as being entirely about “unlimited abortion,’ and somehow doesn’t see any inconsistency with any of this and its push for ‘religious freedom.'”)
• Charges certified against man accused of setting Danville council member on fire
• Lawmaker in key Virginia county says Charlie Kirk promoted ‘political violence,’ offers compassion for wife (“‘A death, even a horrible death, does not automatically erase the harm a person did in his life,’ Phyllis Randall said”)
• Meet Roanoke’s newest landscapers: Goats who happily chomp down on kudzu, poison ivy and other invasive plants (“The city’s pilot ‘goatscaping’ project consists of over 20 goats and sheep who are eating their way through the brush at a park in the Wasena neighborhood.”)
• CWG Live updates: October starts with a delightful stretch through the weekend