Friday News: “Almost a Spy”; Trump “Off the Rails”; “Just How Corrupt Is Bill Barr?”; Voters Warm to Impeachment; “Cuccinelli Speaks to Anti-Immigrant Hate Group”; Former VA Gov. Gerald Baliles in Palliative Care

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, September 27.

• Trump’s misbehavior fits a global trend
• Donald Trump and Boris Johnson: A Tale of Two Crises
• Effort to shield call with Ukrainian leader was part of broader secrecy effort (“While President Trump approved the release of the rough transcript to combat the whistleblower’s allegations, he has once again charged that people with access to his calls are conspiring against him.”)
• Trump’s Ukraine Scandal Grows Into Bigger Threat Than Mueller
• In Ukraine Phone Call, Alarmed Aides Saw Trouble
• White House Knew of Whistle-Blower’s Allegations Soon After Trump’s Call With Ukraine Leader
• Trump at private breakfast: ‘Who gave the whistleblower the information? Because that’s close to a spy’ (Trump is a clear and present danger.)
• ‘Almost a spy:’ Trump’s remarks about whistleblower at U.N. event
• Trump’s Attack on Whistle-Blower in Private Meeting Was Caught on Video
• Just How Corrupt Is Bill Barr? (Extremely corrupt.)
• Effort to shield Trump’s call with Ukrainian leader was part of broader secrecy effort
• The Whistle-Blower Is Not a Traitor, Mr. President (“Trump’s appalling suggestion shows yet again that he is his own worst enemy.” And America’s worst enemy.)
• Whistleblower, working in stealth, almost single-handedly set impeachment in motion
• A Nonsense QAnon Conspiracy Theory Ended Up In Donald Trump’s Call To the Ukrainian President — And The Impeachment Investigation
• Four days that pitched America into an impeachment nightmare
• Whistleblower and Democratic freshmen are rare profiles in courage
• Top Takeaways From The Trump-Ukraine Whistleblower Complaint
• “It’s Management Bedlam”: Madness at Fox News as Trump Faces Impeachment (“A Trump identity crisis at Fox as Hannity frets, Lachlan Murdoch prepares for a post-Trump future, Paul Ryan whispers in Rupert’s ear, and Shep Smith and Tucker Carlson trade blows.”)
• Trump Ponders Violent Retribution as the White House Projects Impeachment Calm (Trump is a menace.)
• Del. Mark Levine Analyzes the Whistleblower Complaint: “Clear quid pro quo…Clear involvement of Mike Pence,” Critical “Barr be quickly impeached and convicted as well” (“Impeach Donald Trump. Remove this stain from the Oval Office.”)
• Is That the Sound of Trump’s Spell Over Republicans Breaking? (I’ll believe it when I see it. And even then, I’m not sure I’ll believe it.)
• Rudy Giuliani: ‘You Should Be Happy for Your Country That I Uncovered This’ (“President Trump’s personal attorney unleashes in a new phone call with The Atlantic while Trump allies turn on him.”)
• Why Republicans Aren’t Turning on Trump (“The Framers underestimated the extent to which a demagogue might convince his supporters that the president and the people are one and the same.”)
• GOP Divided Over How Enthusiastically to Cover for Trump on Ukraine (“Devin Nunes came here to chew bubblegum and abet corruption. And he’s all out of bubblegum”)
• Trump and His Right-Wing Allies Are Losing Their Minds Over the Whistleblower Complaint
• Trump’s Intelligence Chief Offers a Timely Reminder: Trump Is a Liar (“Joseph Maguire undercuts Trump’s smear of the Ukraine scandal whistleblower.”)
• The Director of National Intelligence Was Between the Jaws of a Nutcracker (“Joseph Maguire never had a chance, and the Trump administration* made sure of it. You buy a ticket to Bedlam, you get the whole tour.”)
• ‘Total panic’ as ‘shell-shocked’ White House struggles to find impeachment footing (“While many in the Trump White House are battle-tested from the Mueller investigation, this is starting to feel different, aides and advisers said.”)
• Path toward impeachment takes shape with primary focus on Ukraine revelations (“House Intelligence Committee will work through recess on whistleblower complaint as Ukraine becomes focus for impeachment.”)
• Giuliani Sits at the Center of the Ukraine Controversy (“Ukrainian officials saw him as a direct conduit to Trump; former New York mayor featured in whistleblower complaint”)
• Everyone In Washington Is Reading the Whistleblower Complaint — Except Senate Republicans
• The President* May Have Poisoned the Republican Brand All the Way Down to the Taproot (“Even state legislators in Texas are running for the hills.”)
• Turns Out That Impeachment Might Not Scare Voters After All (“Two new polls suggest that American voters are warming to the idea of impeaching President Trump. According to a Morning Consult poll conducted from September 24 to 26, 43 percent of the public now backs impeachment proceedings. That figure has increased seven points from an earlier Morning Consult poll, carried out from September 20 to 22. Meanwhile, an NPR–PBS NewsHour–Marist poll, conducted the day before the whistle-blower report became public, finds that voters are roughly split on the subject; 49 percent support impeachment, and 46 percent do not.”)
• Poll: Nearly Half Of Americans Support Impeachment Inquiry
• Damn the torpedoes. Full speed ahead on impeachment.
• The process of impeachment is now inevitable
• The whistleblower adds to the case that Trump offered Ukraine’s president a quid pro quo
• Americans have already seen enough for three articles of impeachment
• The Wall Street Journal stands behind ‘eight times’ scoop on Trump and Ukrainian president
• Why The Times Published Details of the Whistle-Blower’s Identity (Top-rated comment, with almost 2,500 “recommends”: “The info the Times has posted sounds like enough for some very political people who were regularly present in the WH to narrow down the whistleblower to a very small number of candidates. That’s unacceptable and I’m very disappointed by the decision.”)
• New York Times faces backlash after revealing details about whistleblower (“National security experts and advocates for whistleblower protection condemn publication of identifying information”)
• Democrats appeal for more witnesses to come forward about Trump-Ukraine matter
• When Impeachment Meets a Broken Congress (“The most essential branch of the U.S. government is collapsing before our eyes—right as it faces a historic showdown.”)
• Phil Scott Is First G.O.P. Governor to Back Impeachment Inquiry (“Mr. Scott, a moderate from Vermont who has broken with President Trump in the past, said he hoped the House would go ‘wherever the facts lead.'”)
• Impeaching Trump Is Good for the Economy (“It will slow down the administration’s war on competence.”)
• How the Climate Kids Are Short-Circuiting Right-Wing Media (“Young people like Greta Thunberg are participating in the culture wars while also managing to float above the fray.”)
• Robert Redford: Don’t let Trump pollute our lakes and streams
• Trump sets cap for refugee admission at an all-time low (“Of the 350,000 expected to seek asylum, only 18,000 will be admitted over the next fiscal year” Just remember, there’s tons of other appalling shit going on, other than the Ukraine scandal.)
• Trump Official Ken Cuccinelli Speaks to Anti-Immigrant Hate Group
• Why did Park Police officers kill Bijan Ghaisar?
• Gerald Baliles, Va. governor from 1986-90, enters palliative care program for cancer
• Editorial: Baliles was a visionary governor (“The family of Gerald Baliles has circulated the news that the 79-year-old former governor has ‘enrolled in a palliative care program’ after several years of battling kidney cancer.”)
• Same-sex unions make up 4 percent of Virginia marriages
• A closer look at a cascade of clean energy announcements in Virginia (“Nothing in this part of the order has any immediate legal effect; it just kicks off a planning process with a deadline of July 1, 2020. Achieving some of the goals will require new legislation, which would have to wait for the 2021 legislative session.”)
• The Trump impeachment question has nationalized Virginia’s legislative races (I’m thinking this election could be like 2007, when Virginia Dems were angry at the Bush Administration over the Iraq War, etc, and when Dems picked up four seats each in the Virginia House of Delegates and State Senate.)
• Cross-Potomac unity: Virginia and Maryland Democrats team up on PAC
• WFXR’s Capitol reporter talks with Bynum-Coleman, running against House Speaker Cox
• Republican leaders accuse Northam of breaking deal on Medicaid work rules
• Sen. Scott Surovell Calls Press Conference to Discuss John Gray’s Disparaging Online Behavior (“The tone of these tweets is really despicable…against so many people who live here, it’s just unacceptable…These are the kind of views we don’t want to see in Prince William County.”)
• FWIW Virginia: 2019 By the Numbers; “The Cash Dash”; Amanda Pohl (D) vs. Amanda Chase (R)
• Photos: Delegates and Future Delegates Sheila Bynum-Coleman, Dawn Adams, Lashrecse Aird, Lindsey Dougherty, Mike Asip, Rodney Willett, Larry Barnett, Schuyler VanValkenburg
• Amanda Pohl wants to make healthcare more affordable in Virginia
• Democrat Kenny Boddye Calls on John Gray to Withdraw and Calls on Ruth Anderson to Condemn Gray
• Prince William Republican faces calls to withdraw from race over deleted tweets (“Democrats increased attacks against John Gray over tweets they say make him unfit to be county board chairman.” By the way, it’s absurd for Gray to “apologize” for beliefs he’s held his entire adult life. Has he changed those beliefs? He still seems to be 100% a “MAGA deplorable,” so…nope.)
• Metro board adopts revised ethics policy in wake of Evans scandal
• Editorial: Virginia’s ugly past rears its head again (“Attorney General Mark Herring was right to order that couples seeking marriage licenses need not disclose their race. Now legislators should strike that law from the books.”)
• Fairfax County’s Democratic prosecutor will endorse an independent — not a Democrat — to replace him
• Gang violence seeped into Portsmouth neighborhoods. Here’s how police are fighting back.
• Up to 3,000 Henrico students would be affected under initial options for redistricting
• Three boys accused of assaulting girl, cutting her dreadlocks at private Virginia school (“Fairfax police are investigating after the 12-year-old girl said the boys called her names and cut several of her dreadlocks.” WTF?)
• State superintendent hears about Fredericksburg school’s improvements, needs
• Video: At Fairfax County School Board Debate, Republican Candidate Refers to “Silly Things Like ADD”
• Their Northern Virginia neighbor apparently saved his swastika cookies for special guests
• Enrollment is still falling at community colleges in Hampton Roads
• The Nationals have been so good it’s hard to figure out who to use in the NL wild-card game
• Our summer-like spree of heat and dryness generally continues (“Any cool down is moderate. Heat continues to rule into next week.” This is f’ed up.)