Tuesday News: “Saudi Excuse for Murder”; “Donald and the Deadly Deniers”; RIP Paul Allen; “Prince William voter rolls top 282,000 — up nearly 50,000 from 2014”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, October 16.

• Paul G. Allen, Microsoft’s Co-Founder, Is Dead at 65 (A fascinating, consequential life; RIP. Also, this is superb: “Allen gave more than $2 billion towards the advancement of science, technology, education, wildlife conservation, the arts, and community services in his lifetime.^[12] The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation was established to administer a portion of Allen’s philanthropic contributions. Since its formation, the foundation has given more than $494 million to over 1,500 nonprofits”)
• Donald and the Deadly Deniers (“Climate policy is the ultimate example of Trumpian corruption.”)
• Trump subverts our democracy with his lies (“His utter disregard for truth is a dereliction of his duty as president.” Dave Brat and Corey Stewart are just like Trump, by the way…pathological liars.)
• Prince Jared finds himself in the wrong fairytale
• The Trump era is full of cruelty without consequence (“The evidence leads from the villages of Myanmar to a consulate in Istanbul.”)
• The GOP’s ‘angry mob’ rhetoric is a dangerous assault against democratic norms (The Virginia GOP has used this dangerous, appalling rhetoric, even attacking Leslie Cockburn as “hat[ing] America.” This entire party needs to be rejected utterly.)
• Trump denies offering $1 million for Warren DNA test, even though he did
• It’s Brexit crunch time for Britain. Can Theresa May survive it? (“We are at that of stage in the process where it comes harder and harder to paper over the cracks”)
• Battle For The Senate: 10 Races That Will Determine Control
• Mattis says he thought ‘nothing at all’ about Trump saying he may leave administration
• Trump tells Mattis he is 100 percent behind him after ‘Democrat’ jab
• We must demand accountability for Saudi Arabia’s behavior
• Saudis preparing to admit Jamal Khashoggi died during interrogation, sources say (We need to sanction Saudi Arabia not just for this case, but for human rights violations more broadly, including war crimes in Yemen. Better yet, how about we switch ASAP off of oil and onto inexhaustible, domestic clean energy so we can tell the Saudis where to shove their oil rigs?)
• Jamal Khashoggi’s Apple Watch Almost Certainly Didn’t Record His Death
• As America’s Élite Abandons a Reckless Saudi Prince, Will Trump Join Them?
• Pompeo meets Saudi king over Khashoggi case, Turks to search consul’s residence
• I’m Not Sure We’re Ready for the Chaos That Will Follow the Midterms (“Prepare for recount hell and the delegitimizing of the Blue Wave.”)
• The Genuine Lunacy Is Spreading from the House to the Senate (“In Tennessee, it is better-than-even money that Marsha Blackburn will end up representing the state in the United States Senate. As a member of the House of Representatives, Ms. Blackburn distinguished herself by trying to sign onto the Birther train while wearing the equivalent of a Groucho Marx mask.”)
• The Price of Rage (“There is a rising tide of anger in America. But those who have earned their fury are often the ones who are punished for it.”)
• Young Voters Might Actually Show Up At The Polls This Year (“At least, more of them than usual might.”)
• Democrats to Obama: Where Are You?(“It’s make or break time for the Democratic Party—and even Obama alumni are wondering why he’s not more involved.”)
• As more newspapers fail, news ‘deserts’ expand in US: study
• NYPD Looks to Charge 9 Proud Boys With Assault for Manhattan Fight
• Elizabeth Warren Had to Engage With This Nonsense. That’s What Our Politics Have Become. (“There was no better way to handle it.”)
• Why So Many Native Americans Are Upset That Elizabeth Warren Tried Proving Her Ancestry With DNA
• Warren Had No Choice but to Indulge in That DNA Test
• Elizabeth Warren’s Native American Ancestry Was Never Really the Point
• SNL’s Hypocrisy Knows No Bounds (“The variety show’s Trump and Kanye bits ring false given the show’s history. And creator Lorne Michaels’ donation to Sen. Susan Collins’ re-election bid raises more questions.”)
• Senator Kaine speaks on working across the aisle with Republicans
• Griffith, Flaccavento debate health care, gun laws, more at Bluefield College (“Rarely did the two candidates agree on issues, but they did have similar views on the natural gas pipelines cutting through Virginia, including the Mountain Valley Pipeline that is coming through the 9th District. They both said they have various concerns with the pipelines and want reform to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the lead agency overseeing the project.”)
• Live Video, Live Blog: Abigail Spanberger (D) vs. Dave Brat (Far-Right R) Debate
• Dave Brat Gets Sliced and Served at VA-07 Debate
• Rep. Brat and Democrat Spanberger tangle in first — and probably only — debate (“They are competing in Virginia’s 7th District, a traditionally Republican region in play in the Trump era.” I hate corporate media headlines, by the way…always treat everything as a battle, fight, “both sides” “tangled” or “sparred” or whatever. So pathetic.)
• Brat and Spanberger argue taxes, health care and immigration in what may be only debate (Ugh, this is really bad…leads off with the Brat/right-wing false framing that progressive policies are NOT in the “center” of American politics, which they absolutely are if you look at poll after poll.)
• Virginia Campaign Finance Numbers Through 9/30 Coming In; Some VERY Impressive Numbers by Democrats!
• Scott Taylor leads Elaine Luria in poll of 2nd District’s likely voters
• Editorial: Does Cockburn really hate America? Does Trump? (Bad headline, hate the “both sides”/false equivalence idiocy, but I do like the fact that the Roanoke Times editorial board manages to clearly state that the VA GOP charge about Leslie Cockburn supposedly hating America “merits some attention, though, because it’s not simply ridiculous, it’s dangerous.”)
• Opponents seek a stop to ‘reckless’ construction of Mountain Valley Pipeline
• Young voters are driving what could be higher-than-normal participation in this year’s election
• Some state employees can now shop for cheaper medical procedures — when will the rest of us be able to?
• There’s a lot to like in Northam’s energy plan, but missed opportunities abound
• FEMA will reimburse Virginia for much of the $60 million it spent in preparation for Hurricane Florence
• Editorial: Virginia should be careful when culling regulations (Don’t take away protections for people, the environment, etc. In fact, as the pipelines debacle shows us, we need stronger environmental regulations, much more strongly enforced as well.)
• Democrat Ann Wheeler Announces for Neo-Confederate Corey Stewart’s Current Job (Prince William County Board Chair)
• On last day to register, Prince William voter rolls top 282,000 — up nearly 50,000 from 2014 (Wow!)
• Northam’s critique of Beach business practices puts city on blast
• Richmond School Board approves free speech resolution as teachers call for more protections
• De Ferranti Goes on the Offensive Over Vihstadt’s Handling of Arlington’s Office Vacancy Rate (“It’s been at 20 percent for four years…We need to bring it down and make it our priority to bring it down… and we need new vision to bring down that vacancy rate.”)
• Sweet deal: Rocky Mount bakery to add 75 jobs in expansion
• Partly sunny and cooler, dry until Friday night