Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, March 2. Happy #Windmageddon! LOL
- Trump defends new tariffs: ‘Trade wars are good and easy to win’ (As usual, Trump is 180-degrees wrong.)
- Dow drops more than 400 points after Trump announces tariffs
- U.S.-Russia relations get colder as Kremlin sees Trump as ‘lost cause,’ experts say (Yeah, most Americans see Trump as a lost cause as well.)
- China weighs whether to retaliate over Trump’s tariff hikes (Brilliant, start a trade war…ugh.)
- Exclusive: FBI counterintel investigating Ivanka Trump business deal
- The Real Risks of Trump’s Steel and Aluminum Tariffs (“A higher price for metals isn’t the main concern; it’s the chance that the global trade system will be undermined.”)
- Trump’s tariff war nudges Cohn toward White House exit (“The president’s top economic adviser lost a battle to prevent the imposition of steep tariffs pushed by protectionist advisers.”)
- Trump ignored ‘bright line’ on discussing Russia with Hicks (“‘The president has put her in a very precarious position,’ a senior administration official said.”)
- The Memo: Kushner said to be ‘digging in’ amid troubles
- Melania Trump got green card through program for people with ‘extraordinary ability’: report (Hahahahaha.)
- Trump official: Undocumented immigrants have no right to abortion (“ORR director Scott Lloyd once suggested ‘reversing’ a teenager’s abortion.” WTF?)
- Fox & Friends tells NRA spokesperson that she was real victim during event with Parkland survivors (“‘No one had it worse than you,’ host Brian Kilmeade told NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch.” Sociopathic.)
- Nunes doesn’t deny leaking private text messages to Fox News, but blames press for reporting it (Nunes is a disgrace.)
- Fox’s top shows really don’t want to talk about Jared Kushner
- Trump’s tariffs will hurt all Americans
- The Trump administration is in an unethical league of its own (“Why would Cabinet members act any differently when they are serving in the least ethical administration in our history?”)
- Never have we seen such chaos and corruption (“The Trump administration is an insult to banana republics.”)
- Republicans say they favor free markets. Yeah, right. (“The GOP loves picking winners and losers — and lately, its winners are donors and scam artists.”)
- Trump says he’s not afraid of the NRA. Prove it. (“If the president bucks the gun lobby’s influence within the GOP, it could be a wise political move.”)
- Trump’s ‘Smart’ Tariffs Don’t Make Economic Sense (“The president says they’ll protect American jobs and bolster national security. They’ll likely do neither.”)
- The White House Melts Down Over Steel (“For a few months this fall and winter, it seemed like the Trump administration was slowly finding its footing. February destroyed that illusion.”)
- Paul Ryan, Charlatan of the House (“He could do something about Devin Nunes, but he won’t.”)
- Jared Kushner Is Deep in It Now(“What happens next?”)
- Wall Street Journal rakes Trump over the coals for ‘biggest policy blunder of his presidency’
- Trump (Finally) Declares His Trade War (“The fact that Trump took such an impulsive action — in defiance of (most of) corporate America’s interests — provides Wall Street with a harrowing reminder that, on occasion, a reality-show demagogue really is the president of the United States, not just nominally but functionally. That does not portend well for NAFTA’s future, and should make us all nervous for the Korean Peninsula’s.”)
- President Trump May Be Secretly Undermining Jared and Ivanka, Too
- Trump tweets — and then deletes — bizarre attack on ‘Alex Baldwin’ and his ‘dieing’ career (Yes, people actually voted for this imbecile, and around 40% of Americans STILL support him. We live in an Idiocracy.)
- Trump’s Chaos Theory for the Oval Office Is Taking Its Toll
- White House preparing for McMaster exit as early as next month
- Early Voting Among Texas Democrats Is Off the Charts
- Why Democrats are suddenly competitive in deep-red Texas (“We’re definitely seeing unbridled enthusiasm among Democrats.”)
- N.R.A. Suggests Trump May Retreat From Gun Control
- Taxpayers, You’ve Been Scammed (“So the message to middle-class taxpayers is, if you think you were helped by the tax cut, think again. Donald Trump and his allies pretended to give you a gift, but they gave themselves and their wealthy patrons much bigger gifts — and they’re going to stick you with the bill. You’ve been scammed.”)
- The State Of Senate Democrats In Trumpland Is …
- Don’t Buy Putin’s Missile Hype (“If the Russians want to waste their money on fancy new nukes, let them.”)
- Americans haven’t been bamboozled by bonuses: The GOP tax law is a flop (“Except for an increase in stock buybacks, not much else positive will come of the GOP bill before November. Even anything, the news will only get worse for Republicans. In late February, Disney workers alleged that their announced $1,000 bonuses were being used as leverage in labor negotiations. With each passing day, the myriad problems hidden within the massive law become apparent.”)
- Trump Just Suggested Again That Drug Dealers Should Get the Death Penalty (Trump is a Duterte wannabe.)
- Former Trump campaign chief faces arraignment in Virginia
- Jared Kushner Flames Out (“Bad advice, shady deals and incompetence define the presidential son-in-law’s tenure at the White House.”)
- How America’s clean coal dream unravelled
- The retreat on the FBI building is a farce within a farce (Rep. Gerry Connolly: “Unfortunately, and with many questions left unanswered, the process led by the General Services Administration to procure a new FBI headquarters has collapsed. The public deserves answers that can only be reached through an immediate and comprehensive Inspector General investigation of this deeply flawed procurement.”)
- Sen. Mark Warner: Silicon Valley Could Do More to Stop Russian Interference in U.S. Elections
- Trump administration weighs in on Medicaid expansion in Virginia, stirring confusion (“President Trump’s budget chief weighed in on Virginia’s Medicaid expansion debate Thursday, expressing his disapproval for the potential move but also raising questions about whether the White House would reject state requests for expansion…OMB did not respond to multiple requests for comment about whether the administration would try to block states from expanding Medicaid under Obamacare. An OMB official told the Associated Press that the tweet speaks for itself.”)
- Senate panel dismisses bill with Medicaid work requirement, then puts it off to 2019 (“State budget officials and the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission concluded that the proposed work requirement would apply to about 6,200 people in the existing program, after eliminating from the calculation those who are already exempt under existing welfare-to-work requirements in other state programs.”)
- Atlantic Coast Pipeline granted ‘immediate access’ for tree-felling on 16 Virginia properties (Hello Gov. Northam? You’re cool with this?)
- Northam calls for assembly to adopt budget on time, with Medicaid coverage, investments in education
- Rep. Dave Brat’s Twitter account removes likes of controversial tweets after outcry
- There’s something states can do about gun violence: ‘Red-flag’ laws (Virginia Republicans are against even those! Throw them all out next November.)
- After Parkland, a tale of two Virginia politicians: Tim Kaine and Corey Stewart (“The Senate Democrat met with mothers seeking gun control. A Republican who wants to replace him visited a shooting range.” Corey Stewart thinks the answer is MORE guns; he actually buys this “good guy with a gun” drooling idiocy!)
- Va. Democrats slam Republicans over gun inaction; leaders say it’s too late to revisit (Of course it’s not too late; that’s an outright lie.)
- Wexton challenges Comstock over her links to a conservative women’s group
- ‘This ain’t business’: Controversial utility overhaul heads to governor’s desk (Northam should, but of course won’t, veto this bill.)
- Arlington loses golf course tax-bill dispute at General Assembly (This bill is bad in and of itself, but also sets a HORRIBLE precedent. It needs to be VETOED by Governor Northam!)
- Editorial: On transportation funding, Dunbar runs against George Washington (According to Dunbar, the Bible – and her complete misunderstanding of the Constitution – is all we need, pretty much.)
- War on Wittman (“Together Hanover, a Hanover County based group dedicated to progressive policies and candidates organized a rally to raise awareness against Congressman Rob Wittman’s perceived unavailability to local constituents”)
- Toscano pushing for gun control measures
- Arthur W. Moye Jr.: Expansion of port is crucial for region
- Hampton Roads bracing for damaging winds, flooding as Nor’easter impacts region
- CT: Charlottesville School Board calls for gun legislation, briefed on student walkout plans
- Virginia Supreme Court says no to Montgomery County court clerk’s removal
- Students at McLean High School in Fairfax County stage walkout over gun control
- High winds hit D.C. region, closing federal government and some area schools
- Potentially dangerous winds roar today and tonight; showers could end with snowflakes
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