Saturday News: EU Leads on Climate Crisis…Time for the U.S. to Step Up; SCOTUS Rejects Treasonous Lawsuit; Republicans Who Signed on “deserve scorn and ostracism”; “The GOP is the ‘2 + 2 = 5’ party”; “Cline, Griffith, and Wittman Have Become Enemies of Democracy”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, December 12.

• EU leaders agree to deeper cuts to greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 (“The plan confirms Europe’s status as a global leader on climate change.” We need to get as close to zero as possible FAST.)
• EU leaders agree to reduce emissions after all-night talks (“European Union leaders reached a hard-fought deal Friday to cut the bloc’s net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by the end of the decade compared with 1990 levels, avoiding a hugely embarrassing deadlock ahead of a U.N. climate meeting this weekend.”)
• The New Green Energy Giants Challenging Exxon and BP (“Three utilities that invested early in wind and solar power now rival major oil companies in market value. Can they continue to dominate as the world’s shift to renewable energy accelerates?”)
• Electric Utilities Are Slow to Address the Climate Crisis, Reports Indicate
• Can Onshore Wind Keep Pace With Europe’s Surging Solar Markets?
• For Biden’s Economic Team, an Early Focus on Climate (“In announcing key economic advisers in the White House and the cabinet, the president-elect has emphasized action to boost clean energy and reduce emissions”)
• Kerry faces big job on climate, US credibility
• Trump Is Finishing Russia’s Smear Campaign Against America
• F.D.A. Clears Pfizer Vaccine, and Millions of Doses Will Be Shipped Right Away
• US enters brutal stretch of pandemic, even with approaching vaccines
• FDA Authorizes Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 Vaccine for U.S. Use
• The Next Six Months Will Be Vaccine Purgatory (“The period after a vaccine is approved will be strange and confusing, as certain groups of people get vaccinated but others have to wait.”)
• Biden Says Nation Needs Leadership Now to Fight Virus
• FDA chief reportedly urged by White House to approve Pfizer vaccine or quit (If true, that’s absolutely unacceptable.)
• Congress ‘close’ to massive government funding deal (“Though a deal Friday is unlikely, Shelby said negotiators “could” get an agreement over the weekend — a breakthrough that would pave the way for votes in the House as soon as early next week.”)
• It’s up to McConnell to save a pandemic aid bill
• Trump under fire for hosting Christmas parties as Covid deaths mount (“String of White House events with little social distancing flout guidelines while 3,000 Americans a day are dying” Appalling as always.)
• Senate passes defense bill, setting up Trump veto fight
• Trump Rants About Getting ‘Screwed’ By Supreme Court In Twitter Meltdown (Insane person.)
• You Don’t Need to Seat the 126 Republicans
• Trump’s GOP Gives Up on Greatness and Tries to Tear America Apart (“This travesty of a lawsuit from Texas that the Supreme Court just rejected was a garish display of bloody irresponsibility—and it won’t be the last one.”)
• The Supreme Court Slapped Down the Seditious Puppet Show Out of Texas
• Democrats, and Even Some Republicans, Cheer as Justices Spurn Trump (“While a top legal expert exhaled that ‘Our institutions held,’ the Texas Republican Party chairman suggested secession.”)
• The Republicans Who Embraced Nihilism (“The Supreme Court thwarts the latest Trumpist attack on American democracy.”)
• Pro-Trump groups to march and pray to protest president’s election loss (Yuck.)
• Trump’s effort to overthrow democracy dead ends at Supreme Court but the damage is lasting
• The Supreme Court sends a message to President Trump: Stop (“Trump again tried to drag the justices through the legal muck. They slapped the case down.”)
• Supreme Court Rejects Texas Suit Seeking to Subvert Election
• Supreme Court dismisses bid led by Texas attorney general to overturn the presidential election results, blocking Trump’s legal path to a reversal of his loss
• Pelosi Statement on Supreme Court Rejecting GOP Election Sabotage Lawsuit
• Nearly two-thirds of House Republicans join baseless effort to overturn election
• Don Lemon Sends Scathing 5-Word Message To GOP Backers Of Trump’s Doomed Overturn Bid (“Hang your heads in shame.” Sure, but they won’t.)
• Republicans record their names on a list of shame (“Here are the pols who deserve scorn and ostracism.”)
• These Republicans may not be capable of shame, but you should know who they are
• Major veterans groups call for VA secretary’s ouster following damning report
• Rep. Dan Crenshaw accused of discrediting Navy vet’s sex assault outcry
• Republicans were once the anti-radicals. They’re now battering American democracy. (“A party focused on protecting its country is now moving to destroy it.”)
• Sidney Powell’s secret witness ‘Spyder’ is an IT consultant. He told The Post he never worked in military intelligence.
• Republicans want more than a coup: Trump’s loyalty test exposes their hatred for democracy (“More than half of House Republicans and 17 GOP attorneys general have outed themselves as traitors”)
• Trump Pursues Appointing Special Counsel to Probe Election, Hunter Biden
• Email to Hunter Biden raises fresh questions about his tax dealings
• Hatred of liberals is all that’s left of conservatism
• Talk of secession and civil war increasing on the far right (“Rush Limbaugh gave treason a boost — then tried to walk it back”)
• Chris Murphy’s surprise floor speech raises tough questions for Democrats
• A Pro-Trump Voting “Expert” Was Questioned About His Data. It Did Not Go Well for Him. (“Matt Braynard was grilled by a Georgia legislator, and his claim of illegal voting was undercut.”)
• AP source: Cuomo among contenders for attorney general pick
• Facebook Kowtowed to Conservatives and Got Nothing in Return
• ‘Seditious Abuse’ of the Courts Sounds Right
• Right-wing media work to scandalize report about Rep. Eric Swalwell and China
• We apologize for endorsing U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz, who wants to overturn the election
• Trump administration puts second man to death in two days (“Alfred Bourgeois’s IQ put him in the intellectually disabled category, which should have barred execution, lawyers say” Trump is good at one thing…killing people.)
• Fox News Poll: Most Republicans say President Trump was robbed (Completely delusional.)
• Mike Lee Really Just Used American Apartheid-Speak
• Zodiac ‘340 Cipher’ cracked by code experts 51 years after it was sent to the S.F. Chronicle
• Oracle is moving its headquarters from Silicon Valley to Austin, Texas
• Chris Murphy’s surprise floor speech raises tough questions for Democrats (“All this raises broader questions: If large swaths of the Republican Party are morphing into a much more cancerous anti-democratic force, one that in some basic sense just isn’t functioning as an actor in a democracy, how should Democrats adapt, and communicate to the public about this? How can they compete in the information wars, given the massive media machine the GOP has at its disposal?”)
• Ayanna Pressley and Abigail Spanberger on the Rift in the Democratic Party
• Too many Americans believe utter rubbish (“The GOP is the ‘2 + 2 = 5’ party.”)
• Sen. Mark Warner Statement on Passage of FY21 Defense Bill
• Virginians React to SCOTUS Decision Tossing Out Insane, UnAmerican, Seditionist Lawsuit
• Schapiro: Politics in Virginia’s parallel universe (Pretty good column for a change, other than the howler that Ben Cline is supposedly “a strict constitutionalist,” which he *absolutely is NOT* – that is just flat-out false. Also, the headline is silly; in fact, this crap is not unique to Virginia in any way/shape/form, but happened all over the country with Republicans.)
• Cline, Griffith, and Wittman Have Become Enemies of Democracy (Exactly.)
• Friday (12/11) Virginia Data on COVID-19: Hospitalizations, 10-Day (+34,375) New Cases Hit Record Highs
• Cook Political Report: 2021 VA Governor’s Race Starts “in the Likely Democrat column,” with McAuliffe “the clear favorite to win the primary and the general election”
• Video: Amanda Chase Reverses Course, Says She Will (Reluctantly) “Fully Seek the Republican Nomination” for Governor in a Convention
• Audio: Former Del. David Ramadan (R) Says Republicans Chose Convention Partly Because That Would Allow Them to Disqualify Amanda Chase From Running
• Virginia says it will stop cutting off unemployment benefits without investigations
• If Pfizer’s vaccine gets the green light, here’s what would happen next in Virginia
• Wanda Sykes Featured in New Clean Virginia Video Calling for Energy Reform in Virginia
• Northam seeks $25M for ‘historic justice’ initiatives
• Governor’s New Curfew Can’t Be Enforced, Police and Health Officials Say
• State Lawmakers Face Unique Challenge With Doling Out Education Funding Next Year
• Trump Administration Rams Through Final Forest Service Analysis of Controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline
• Forest Service report supports pipeline’s route through the Jefferson National Forest (“A final decision is expected early next year for a portion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline in Giles and Montgomery counties.” Screw that.)
• Fairfax County begins process of finding new names for Lee Highway, other sites that honor Confederate leaders (“The county will launch a public dialogue on renaming 157 streets, parks and recreation centers.” Good that they’re *finally* doing this systematically.)
• Fairfax Co. Public Schools plans to respond to uptick in failing grades with new grading policies
• VCU expects a financial loss of at least $75 million during spring semester
• Warm today and Sunday, ahead of stormy and wintry weather next week