by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, December 7 — 75 years after the “a date which will live in infamy” (the attack on Pearl Harbor).
- Obama Warns the Country About How Much Power He’s About to Hand Trump
- The Real Subject of Obama’s Final National Security Speech Was the Man He Wouldn’t Name (“The president returns to old themes to send a message to Donald Trump.”)
- Lobbying by Bob Dole Led to Trump’s Call With Taiwan (“The former senator turned lobbyist helped establish the high-level contacts that led to the call between President-elect Donald J. Trump and Taiwan’s leader. Mr. Dole’s firm received $140,000 from May to October for the work on behalf of Taiwan, according to disclosure documents.” Can we say “corrupt?”))
- Corporate America unnerved by Trump’s unpredictable style (What do Republicans always like to complain about? Yep, policy uncertainty. Well, guess what — now they’re going to get it in spades with President Donald Trump. Congratulations, guys — not!)
- GOP still splintered over Obamacare after Pence meeting (More policy uncertainty, thanks to Republicans.)
- Trump: Cancel Boeing’s Air Force One contract
- Did Donald Trump tank Boeing’s stock because he was mad about a news article? (Trump is utterly unfit to be president, the guy’s mentally unstable.)
- Trump’s tweet shaming startles corporate America (“The president-elect is quickly putting the bully in the bully pulpit.”)
- Trump adviser’s son removed from transition team after spreading conspiracy theory (That’s fine, except: a) he never should have been there in the first place; b) his father is just as bad in terms of spreading b.s. conspiracy theories and in general being nuts; and c) Trump himself also spreads crazy conspiracy theories and also is pretty much nuts.)
- Pizzagate: From rumor, to hashtag, to gunfire in D.C. (This was in part fueled by people like the Flynns, who spread this insane conspiracy theory on social media. It should go without saying that neither is fit to serve in government.)
- Trump has made a safe zone for fact-free discourse, and ‘pizzagate’ proves it
- Police arrest an armed man without incident, while an unarmed man got shot. Did skin color make a difference? (“Whiteness can mitigate crime, whereas blackness is used to define the criminal.” No question. Also, note that if this person had been Muslim, the incident would almost certainly have been labeled “terrorism,” but it’s a white guy from North Carolina, so…it’s not. These massive double standards should make every American’s blood boil.)
- Repealing Obamacare without replacing it would be a disaster (“The law must be fixed in a way that satisfies both parties.” Exactly, the American people clearly want the law FIXED. What about that don’t Republicans understand???)
- Thank you, Trump voters, for this wonderful joke (“Now we sit and watch as he drops one piece of china after another, spits in the soup and gobbles up the chocolates.”)
- Trump’s one consistent policy: Chaos (“The only predictable thing about the president-elect is his unpredictability.” And no, that is NOT a good thing.)
- The electoral college should be unfaithful (“The Founding Fathers didn’t fully trust democracy, fearing mob rule, and so created a republic.” Agreed; Trump is completely unfit to be President, the Electoral College needs to the job Alexander Hamilton et al. intended it to do.)
- Trump flunks his first foreign policy test (“Will the president-elect learn from his slapdash, self-destructive Asian maneuvers?”)
- Stop smearing Keith Ellison (“Despite attacks calling him anti-Israel, Ellison’s views are consistent with those of most Jewish Americans.”)
- Justice Fails: Cop Who Shot Black Man in the Back Goes Free (For once, I agree 100% with a columnist at conservative blog Bearing Drift – “That this was murder is not even a question…The mistrial yesterday shows that we still have a long way to go in order to gain accountability and hold accountable those sworn to protect.” Bottom line: that cop murdered an African-American man who was unarmed and running away; the cop needs to be in jail for a loooong time.)
- Trump’s team of faux populists and real crony capitalists (“Progressives should offer Americans true solutions to contrast policies ginned up by the president-elect’s out-of-touch Cabinet picks.” How about a Progressive “Contract with America?”)
- Trump turns his back on Reagan: Our new president represents a confused backlash against capitalism(“Donald Trump’s ‘economic nationalism’ is a bewildering blend of crony capitalism, libertarianism and global revolt” Yep, among its other faults, Trumpism is completely incoherent.)
- Paul Ryan’s repeal promise: Nobody will be “worse off” during Obamacare transition (Hahahahahahaha. Gotta love Lyin’ Ryan.)
- Tim Kaine pushes to protect the ACA while Republican lawmakers work to repeal
- TV News Takes The Bait On Trump’s Climate Remarks, Ignoring Ample Warning Signs (I’ve said this a million times, but it’s still true: “TV news” is an oxymoron.)
- Warner applauds legislation in upgrade DNA testing and forensic tech
- Editorial: Pearl Harbor changed the world, but we can change it, too
- Deeds still seeks massive overhaul of mental health system
- Mental health reforms queued up for 2017 Assembly
- Thousands of Virginians may be eligible for student loan forgiveness. And they might not even know it.(“Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring said his office is notifying some 5,300 people who attended a chain of defunct for-profit colleges of their eligibility for federal student loan forgiveness.”)
- Rep. Randy Forbes visits Trump Tower where interviews for Trump administration are taking place
- Virginia won’t be the launch site for Orbital’s next space station mission
- McClellan won’t face GOP opposition in special election for state Senate seat (Congratulations to soon-to-be State Senator Jennifer McClellan!)
- Loudoun supervisors plan to limit residential development around Dulles Airport
- DRPT asks for more time to study high-speed rail through Ashland and Hanover
- Fairfax supervisors approve civilian board to review police-abuse cases (“County joins D.C., N.Y., other major cities that have taken steps to improve accountability.”)
- Senator requests state study on marijuana laws
- Who’s a racist? Wes Bellamy and Jason Kessler speak out at City Council (This Kessler guy certainly sounds like one.)
- Forecast: Temperatures warm to the 50s before taking a dive again
********************************************************