Thursday News: Far-Right House Republicans Move to Impeach Rod Rosenstein; Cohen Turns on Trump; “The more Trump lies, the more he is empowered to lie”; Virginia GOP In “Disarray”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, July 26.

• House Conservatives File Impeachment Articles Against Rod Rosenstein (Disgraceful as usual. Also note that these are the most batshit-crazy members of Congress, people like Louie Gohmert for instance…)
• Trump’s ‘pay with cash’ offer on Cohen tape could spell fresh peril for president (“Longtime fixer is thought to have uniquely sensitive information – and has produced a stark change in the president’s strategy”)
• 2 new polls give Democrats a double-digit lead in the 2018 generic ballot (“A pair of surveys from top pollsters give Democrats a 12-point advantage in the 2018 election’s generic ballot.”)
• Pompeo refuses to give senators any details on Trump meetings with Kim and Putin (“The secretary of state did not manage to reassure Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Russia or North Korea.”)
• Five Takeaways and One Surprise from Mike Pompeo’s Congressional Testimony (“Five Takeaways and One Surprise from Mike Pompeo’s Congressional Testimony…Rand Paul has taken a hard turn into the pro-Russia camp…Pompeo’s combativeness serves him poorly.”)
• Trump, E.U. strike deal to avert escalation of trade tensions
• Once a ‘punching bag,’ Cohen takes a swing at Trump (“The actions of the president’s longtime attorney Michael Cohen appear to be driven more by his outrage over President Trump’s indifference and feelings of betrayal than by a legal strategy to help his case.”)
• House conservatives introduce resolution calling for impeachment of Rod Rosenstein, who oversees special counsel probe on Russia (Ah, good ol’ Jim Jordan, the guy who stood by and did nothing for years as wrestlers were sexually molested.)
• Maria Butina: ties emerge between NRA, alleged spy and Russian billionaire (“Senior NRA figures met with the wife of Konstantin Nikolaev, who allegedly gave financial support to Butina”)
• CNN reporter barred from White House event, drawing protests from journalists (Reporters should all walk out.)
• Once again, ‘fake news’ decried by Trump turns out to be true (Almost always the case. Basically, if Trump says it’s “fake news” or “many people are saying” or whatever, it’s almost guaranteed he’s lying.)
• Did Israel Just Stop Trying to Be a Democracy? (“It cannot be both a Jewish state and a liberal one.”)
• Farm groups go on anti-tariff blitz after Trump offers trade aid
• Heartbreak for the Trump Hotel (“A judge rules the emoluments case against the president can proceed—and suggests why his D.C. business violates the Constitution.”)
• Destroying North America’s Natural Wonders to Own the Libs (“The ‘conservative’ party moves to gut the Endangered Species Act.”)
• Trump lies. And lies. And lies. (“Can the truth keep up with the relentless supply of falsehoods?” They key is realizing that nearly everything Trump says is a lie or a distortion, and then take it from there.)
• The evidence doesn’t prove collusion. But it sure suggests it. (“More evidence, and more damning evidence, of coordination with Russia comes out every day.”)
• We Should Probably Talk About Brett Kavanaugh’s Role in Bush-Era Torture (“Before we give him a lifetime seat on the Supreme Court.”)
• Trump tariffs tear Republicans apart (“Senate Republicans want to rein him in, but the House GOP isn’t going there.”)
• Lake Is Detected on Mars, Raising Potential for Alien Life
• Trump Tax Cut Is Pushing the Federal Deficit to $1 Trillion (Where’s the “Tea Party” now? Oh yeah, there’s a white guy in the White House, not our country’s first African-American president. Hmmm.)
• Soccer ball Putin gave Trump contains transmitter chip — but for Adidas: report
• Lou Dobbs celebrates White House banning CNN reporter: “It’s about time there were consequences for disrespectful behavior” (Dobbs is horrible.)
• The ‘Democratic Extremism’ Narrative Is a Handy Way to Distract Attention From Republican Extremism (“Both sides” corporate media fails yet again. Actually, worse than “fails,” they are actively malevolent.)
• U.S. races to meet deadline to reunite immigrant families (“Even as the U.S. government scrambles to meet a Thursday deadline for reuniting hundreds of immigrant children with their parents, it has acknowledged that hundreds more families separated by border officials will not be brought back together immediately.”)
• Facebook Controversies Hit Company Where It Hurts Most: Growth (“Shares plunge after CFO warns of revenue growth slowdown”)
• Carmakers Surge After Trump Agrees to Put Car Tariffs on Hold
• Blow: What Doesn’t Kill Him Makes Him Stronger (“The more Trump lies, the more he is empowered to lie.”)
• The Really Bad News for Donald Trump on the Michael Cohen Tape
• DeVos Proposes to Curtail Debt Relief for Defrauded Students (Cruella DeVos)
• Jeff Sessions Has Been Targeting Asylum-Seekers Fleeing Domestic Violence. It’s Been “Devastating.” (Evil.)
• Thanks to Trump, Pesticide Companies Are Now Free to Kill All the Endangered Species They Want (“It’s like kicking them when they’re down.” Also evil. Basically, this is the corrupt and evil administration from hell.)
• Stewart Nomination Throws Republican Party of Virginia Into Disarray (“The Republican Party of Virginia is in a state of transition. Several of its local leaders have resigned, and the party is currently looking for a new chairman.”)
• Stewart off the mark in repeated attacks on Kaine’s support for military (“Mostly false” for pathological liar Corey Stewart.)
• CNN commentator Ken Cuccinelli shares fake Maxine Waters quote with a fake CNN chyron (It’s both astounding and appalling that this far-right extremist was ever Virginia’s Attorney General, also the Virginia Republican Party’s nominee for GOVERNOR, for god’s sake!)
• Medicaid expansion is no abstract benefit for individuals in Norfolk, elsewhere
• Benefits of a clean Chesapeake Bay (“So we wonder, who is Rep. Goodlatte trying to protect by this amendment? Is he prioritizing Pennsylvanians over the good and faithful citizens of Old Dominion? And what version of the Chesapeake Bay does he seeing being ideal — one with sediment that chokes life and clouds the water or one that promotes a healthy ecosystem?” BADlatte is Satan.)
• Virginia governor assails school system’s plan to arm teachers (“Ralph Northam says the state attorney general is reviewing Lee County’s decision.”)
• Gov. Ralph Northam ranked 30th most popular governor in the U.S. (“Northam was given a 47-percent approval rating with 26 percent saying they disapproved.”)
• Pipeline opponents say Va. water regulatory process is broken(Gee, ya think? That’s been obvious for a couple years now. It’s also been obvious for YEARS now that DEQ is a “captured” regulatory agency.)
• Congressional candidate’s federal fraud trial continues (“Brown, 58, of Hampton, faces charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud and theft of government property. Wednesday was the second day of the prosecution’s case.”)
• Hampton VA rally blasts Trump union policies
• More than 200 chickens seized from home in Virginia Beach; 2 charged with animal fighting (Horrible excuses for “human beings.”)
• Editorial: City Council’s vote to rezone school property is a smart decision
• Solo drivers, take note: Va. aims to target HOV enforcement on I-66
• Editorial: How the New River / Roanoke Valley / Lynchburg region is leading the state
• Arlington citizenship fund has too much cash; county says donors should give elsewhere (Nice job by County Board Chair Katie Cristol!)
• Mainly dry today, but storm risk returns late Friday and beyond