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Friday News: “Biden defends democracy in Europe while Trump undermines it at home”; “US sets new record with $71B in clean energy investment”; “WaPo CEO: Ask Me Anything Except About Phone Hack Cover-Up”; “Youngkin’s autocratic decision moves Virginia backwards on the transition to EV’s”

By
lowkell
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10

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, June 7.

Video: Sen. Mark Warner Talks GOP Opposing Women’s Right to Contraception; Tyler’s Law/Fentanyl; Envigo Beagles; Biden’s Border Executive Actions; Threats to Our Elections; etc.

By
lowkell
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10

In this week’s media availability, Sen. Mark Warner commented on a variety of topics. See below for video and highlights, including:

  • “I have felt for a long time and believe very strongly that women in America and women in Virginia ought to have the freedom to decide how and when to start a family. Unfortunately, those freedoms around, particularly reproductive health, have been dramatically cut back. We saw the Dobbs decision, which overturned the right to an abortion that had been ensconced as law for 50 years in this country. A dramatic cut back on women’s rights. And yesterday, we had an opportunity to guarantee for women all across America the right to contraception. So, again, a woman can decide when to start a family. Unfortunately, many of my Republican colleagues who say we’ve got no intent in undermining contraception would not put their vote for the legislation we put forward yesterday. We didn’t get 60 votes. Two of my Republican colleagues, Senator Collins and Senator Murkowski, joined all of the Democrats in this effort. But I hope folks, as they go to the polls this year, will remember, don’t look at politicians what they say about women’s health care rights. Look at what they’ve done. Unfortunately, we saw in Virginia a right to contraception law vetoed as well…My message to women and men who are part of families everywhere is you got to vote, You know, and anybody that says, I don’t want to go after your ability to get  contraception, I don’t want to go after, you know, IVF kind of fertilization techniques, I won’t kind of defer on questions on a woman has a right to an abortion. Talk is cheap. What is makes a difference is where you vote and how you vote. And as we saw yesterday, even though virtually every Republican senator said they believe that contraception was not under assault, they wouldn’t back what is a very straightforward law…As we’ve seen in state after state, where a woman’s right to choose has been on the ballot, when women, men who want to respect women’s health care rights get out, they turn out in remarkable numbers. And again, I think that’s the reason why the Democrats in Virginia took back the General Assembly.”
  • “Tyler’s law is named after Tyler Shamash, who unfortunately did not get tested in a hospital and died because there was not that testing for fentanyl…We need to make sure that…this bill becomes law so that as folks present at a hospital in an emergency room, this becomes a standard active testing for fentanyl. And that’s not going to solve all of the problem around this issue.  We need to do more in terms of cutting back on the drug gangs from Mexico.  We need to put more pressure on China. But we sure have got to make sure that if a person presents at the emergency room, that it is standard procedure and protocol, that that individual gets tested for fentanyl…”
  • “You all may recall back in 2022, Tim Kaine and I and others, and found that there  was an animal facility in Cumberland, Virginia, owned by a company named Envigo, where 4000 beagles were being held in awful, awful conditions. They were they were being malnourished. They were kept then in cages that were not cleaned. There was about any kind of animal abuse possible. Through our actions, we were able to free those 4000 beagles.”
  • “First of all, you know, the border is a mess. We need to do more. And we had an opportunity to provide the strongest border security law in our country’s history. And it was bipartisan, negotiated by my good friend, very conservative senator from Oklahoma, James Lankford. The only reason we didn’t take that bill up and pass it was callous little political interference from Donald Trump who said, hey, I don’t want to really solve the border, I want to simply bash President Biden. And it was hugely disappointing that we didn’t pass that bill. I think President Biden’s actions, I think, again, he was waiting until after the Mexican elections took place this past weekend. But I think it was appropriate to shut down the border if if more people come across than can be handled so that we don’t have this policy of catch and release for people who are waiting to get their their hearing are released into the country or sometimes they don’t show up. I think it was a strong executive action. The challenge is it probably won’t stand up in court. So he will have taken this action, but without the force of law, the question will be whether it stands up to judicial review. We must fix the border. And the only way you can do that is by passing a strong bipartisan law.”
  • “I’m hugely concerned about disinformation. And the truth is, in some ways, we may be more vulnerable today than we were four years ago. And the reasons are one other nation states are potentially using this tool. I you know, we’ve thought about it in the past Russia, China, Iran. There have been public reports that even an ally like  Israel may be trying to influence our elections. And I’m waiting to get a briefing from the intelligence community on that. I also am concerned about the fact that, you know, let’s just face it, more Americans believe crazy conspiracy theories. So the bad guys don’t necessarily have to plant always a false story. They simply have to amplify things that are, you know, racing around the Internet on some of these extreme sites and bring more eyeballs to those stories because people are willing to to believe some of the crazy conspiracy theories. Third is there were six months because of a legal case where we didn’t even have voluntary communications between social media companies and law enforcement. That is restarted.  We lost a valuable six months. And then finally, we’ve got artificial intelligence tools that can create deepfakes where my face and my voice or your face and your voice can be created to say anything. And it’s not you. Even though to the observer, it will appear to be you and your voice. That is enormously, enormously challenging…We don’t need foreign countries interfering in our elections, and we sure as heck don’t need further undermining of trust by AI tools that could be enormously damaging to faith in our election.”

Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA02)’s Extreme GOP Raised Monthly Internet Costs for Over 45,000 VA-02 Households

By
Blue Virginia
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9

From the DCCC:

Jen Kiggans’ Extreme GOP Raised Monthly Internet Costs for Over 45,000 VA-02 Households

This weekend, full funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) officially expired – forcing 470,000 Virginia families to face stark price hikes on their monthly internet bills.

The ACP – a product of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – serves more than 45,000 households in Virginia’s 2nd District, lowering costs for monthly internet bills.

A recent survey conducted by the FCC found that more than two-thirds of beneficiaries to the ACP said they had inconsistent or no internet service prior to the program’s existence.

Meanwhile, a majority of House Republicans actively called for this program to sunset through their Republican Study Committee, whose budget calls for the end of the program.

While House Republicans like Jen Kiggans continue to cave to the demands of Donald Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene, House Democrats have introduced common sense legislation to replenish the fund to keep monthly bills low for millions of Americans who rely on access to affordable internet.

Kiggans has shamelessly tried to mislead VA-02 voters by half-heartedly signing onto the bill, months after its introduction and one day after being called out for not supporting the bill. Kiggans is still refusing to disavow her extreme party’s previous efforts to end the program.

DCCC Spokesperson Lauryn Fanguen:
“At every turn, Jen Kiggans caves to her Republican party bosses by enabling their extreme agenda, even if it means letting her party raise internet costs for Coastal Virginia families. Kiggans’ misguided ‘priorities’ will cost her in November.”

Oily Governor Youngkin’s Clean Car BS

By
kindler
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15

By Kindler

It should be awfully clear by now whom Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin represents – not the people of the Commonwealth, but the special interests that control the Republican party, chief among them the Big Oil, Gas and Coal fatcats who funnel millions of dollars to the GOP in order to maintain their dirty legacy.

Youngkin almost never goes against the diktat of the fossil fuel lobby and lately, that has meant working to violate laws enacted by the legislature and his predecessor, Governor Ralph Northam.  First, he proclaimed his plan to break the law that brought Virginia into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), contravening the 2020 Clean Energy and Community Flood Preparedness Act which brought with it millions of dollars in funds for disaster resistance and energy efficiency funding.

And now, he and Attorney General Jason Miyares are declaring their monarchical right to violate the Clean Car Standard enacted in 2021 – and, as befits a party with a convicted felon and pathological liar as its presidential standard-bearer, they are defending their law-breaking by spreading disinformation about electric vehicles and the Virginia law promoting them.

Youngkin and his Republican cronies love to make it sound like the supposedly communist state of California is being allowed to force its laws on the Commonwealth through a “misguided electric vehicle mandate imposed by unelected leaders nearly 3,000 miles away.”  But that’s baloney. First, as stated, he’s talking about a law passed by the Virginia General Assembly and signed by Virginia’s last governor.

Second, per federal law, each state gets to choose between two vehicle emission frameworks, either the baseline standard set by the US EPA or the alternative, more stringent approach promulgated by California.  Currently, 18 states representing a third of the country go with the latter option. So, this has nothing to do with “freedom” – it’s simply a matter of choosing the alternative promising to minimize the climate hell our children and grandchildren will have to endure.

(Speaking of climate hell, it got up to 121.8 degrees in New Delhi last week and is heading to that territory in the US Southwest as we speak – but Republicans want to make the climate situation much, much worse in order to squeeze a few more bucks out of their fossil fuel donors.  In this, Youngkin is, as always, following his leader, Trump, who has promised oil executives that he’ll enact all the policies they want if they give him $1 billion in donations.)

Youngkin also makes it sound like the Clean Car Standard is going to force everyone to buy an EV tomorrow. Once again, nope – the law focuses on establishing a steady transition under which manufacturers are required to increase EV sales from the current level of 9% to 22% by the end of next year, with all light duty vehicles required to reach zero emissions by 2035. As the rules are focused on manufacturers, it’s not like police will be stopping you on the highway if you’re driving a gas-powered car.

And also note that the definition of “zero emissions” here includes plug-in hybrids as well as fully electric vehicles. As a plug-in hybrid driver myself, I can attest to this convenient alternative allowing you to cover much of your local driving gas-free without ever having to worry about “range anxiety” for longer trips.

Per the Washington Post, “Youngkin also depicted his action on the clean-car requirements as a matter of national security, saying that Chinese companies dominate the supply chain for electric vehicles.” Well, this is mighty rich coming from the governor who killed Virginia’s chance to get a Ford EV battery plant built in Southside Virginia that would’ve provided 2500 American jobs.

If he really cares about reducing Chinese influence on such industries, he should become a cheerleader for Biden administration policies, e.g., those under the Inflation Reduction Act and CHIPS Act that are precisely focused on bringing more clean energy manufacturing businesses and jobs to the U.S.  And by the way, when Edmunds posted its list of top ten EV brands sold in the U.S., there was not a Chinese company among them.

In short, Youngkin and Miyares are just being oily in the service of Big Oil and playing their fiddles for fossil fuel dollars while the whole world burns.  It’s shameful and it only inspires me to work harder to replace these clowns with a full slate of Democrats to take over the state and bring us back to working to be a leader, not a laggard, in the clean energy transition.

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Thursday News: “In Normandy, Biden Will Link Fight for Ukraine With Allied Effort on D-Day”; “Senate GOP blocks bill to guarantee access to contraception”; WSJ Hit Piece on Biden Has “Familiar Stench” (of Murdoch, etc.); “Protesters clash with Marjorie Taylor Greene, McGuire at campaign rally in Albemarle”

By
lowkell
-
23

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, June 6.

VA07 GOP Frontrunner’s Ad Features Right-Wing Sheriff with Questionable Judgement and Views, Including Holding a Conspiracy-Theory/Islamophobic Seminar Entitled, “Understanding The Muslim Threat”

By
lowkell
-
6

Over in VA07, there are both Democratic and Republican primaries going on right now, with the winner of each vying for the seat currently held by Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D) this November.  To see a list of all the candidates, click here.

On the Republican side, given his fundraising lead as well as his numerous endorsements, it appears that the frontrunner is Derrick Anderson.  What do we know about Anderson? Mostly, that he has right-wing stances on the issues (e.g., he’s virulently anti-immigration); that he thinks the NY trial of Donald Trump – which found Trump guilty on ALL COUNTS – was “ridiculous“; that he thinks “investigations into the January 6th Insurrection are a ‘cover-up‘” (that belief alone should automatically disqualify Anderson from holding any public office – ever); that he’s vowed to “Stand with President Trump to Take on Far-Left Liberals and the Swamp“; etc. So yeah…if this guy were to win, god forbid, this November, it would represent a MASSIVE downgrade from Rep. Abigail Spanberger, and would be really bad in general.

So given the above information, you’re probably not surprised to know that Anderson recently put out an ad with Greene County Sheriff Steve Smith, promoting Smith as someone who could (supposedly) “keep our families safe.”  Yeah, sure…except that Smith has a *myriad* of “issues,” including: defending a school resource officer who handcuffed a 4 year old; overseeing deputies who were caught trying to solicit minors online; pushing “seminars” that promoted an Islamophobic extremist who doesn’t believe Muslims deserved 1st amendment rights; hiring a friend who, in 2002, had received three felony convictions for altering or forging vehicle titles in what prosecutors referred to as a resale “scheme” (Smith had testified in his friend’s 2002 trial that he had been transferred the title of two cars his friend had bought and Smith resold them for a higher price. Smith defended his friend and claimed he “wasn’t trying to scam anybody”); etc.

And yet this is the type of person is someone Derrick Anderson features in one of his ads? At the minimum, that’s revealing about where Anderson’s coming from and how he thinks. Combined with Anderson’s hard-right, pro-Trump views, VA07 voters shouldn’t even CONSIDER supporting him this November over whoever Democrats end up nominating…

Youngkin Seeks to Override Legislature on Clean Cars Law; Doubles Down on Undemocratic Pro-Polluter Agenda

By
Blue Virginia
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17

From the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN):

Youngkin Seeks to Override Legislature on Clean Cars Law

Virginia’s Governor doubles down on undemocratic pro-polluter agenda

RICHMOND, VA— Governor Glenn Youngkin announced today that his administration will refuse to implement Advanced Clean Car Standards, a regulation Virginia joined through legislation in 2021 to phase in zero-emission vehicles in line with major manufacturer’s timelines and climate deadlines to meet net-zero carbon emissions. This announcement runs contrary to a determination in 2022 by the Attorney General, Jason Miyares, that Virginia must adopt the updated regulations pursuant to the 2021 law, and that the legislature would need to amend the law to prevent adoption.

Today’s announcement is in line with Governor Youngkin’s repeated attempts to override state law in pursuit of a pro-pollution agenda. In recent years, he directed the Air Board to repeal the regulations tying Virginia to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a pollution reduction program that funds flood resilience and low-income energy-efficient housing.

Transportation is the largest source of carbon emissions in the Commonwealth, making Clean Car Standards one of the most significant steps that the legislature has taken to reduce air pollution and combat climate change. Widespread EV adoption would save Virginians nearly $30 billion in public health costs while saving thousands of lives, according to the American Lung Association.

The Clean Cars rules apply to manufacturers selling vehicles in Virginia, not to individual customers or automobile dealers. The rules only apply to new cars. According to 2022 polling, 76% of Virginians support requiring manufacturers to provide a minimum number of electric vehicles in Virginia.

“Yet again, Governor Youngkin seeks to undermine democracy to ensure corporate polluters can continue to cash in at the expense of Virginians’ health and our planet,” said Victoria Higgins, Virginia Director for Chesapeake Climate Action Network. “This Governor has repeatedly demonstrated a belief that he is above the law and is happy to pollute our air and water if it means he can score a couple political points with Big Oil and national donors. Emissions from cars are both our biggest contributors to climate change in Virginia and a public health crisis, consequences that are shouldered disproportionately by low-income families and people of color. Thankfully, Governor Youngkin’s days in power are dwindling. We are looking forward to a governor who will stand up for the environment and state law.”

Major manufacturers like General Motors, Volkswagen, Ford, and Volvo have pledged to shift towards production of EVs in line with the timeline established by the updated Advanced Clean Cars regulations.

#   #   #

Chesapeake Climate Action Network is the first grassroots organization dedicated exclusively to raising awareness about the impacts and solutions associated with global warming in the Chesapeake Bay region. Founded in 2002, CCAN has been at the center of the fight for clean energy and wise climate policy in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC.

Youngkin’s (and Miyares’) Relentless Assault on Cleantech (Including EVs), the Environment and the Rule of Law Continue.

By
lowkell
-
10

Utterly disgraceful as usual from right wingnuts Glenn Youngkin and Jason Miyares, neither of whom have the slightest respect for the rule of law, and both of whom are viciously anti-cleantech and anti-environment/pro-fossil-fuel-industry.

Video: Former Republican “Morning Joe” Scarborough Mocks Idea That Youngkin’s a “More Moderate Republican” After Youngkin Vetoed Bill Guaranteeing Women the Right to Contraception

By
lowkell
-
6

Former Republican “Morning Joe” Scarborough on Glenn Youngkin:

All Of The VA GOP Extremist US Senate Candidates Would Not Lift a Finger To Protect Birth Control Access 

By
Blue Virginia
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8

From DPVA:

All Of The GOP Extremist Senate Candidates Would Not Lift A Finger To Protect Birth Control Access 

Cao, Parkinson, Smith, Emord, And Garcia All Stand With Trump, Not Virginians, As He Attacks Birth Control 

Richmond, VA – Just two weeks after Donald Trump went on Pittsburgh’s KDKA and admitted he was open to allowing states to restrict access to birth control, the U.S. Senate is voting on the Right to Contraception Act to protect this fundamental freedom. Despite the clear threat Trump is to Virginians’ reproductive freedom, Republican Senate candidates have not said a single thing condemning Trump’s threat to restrict birth control access or how they would protect this fundamental freedom in the U.S. Senate. Their silence is deafening and is a political gift to Donald Trump’s extreme anti-choice agenda.

MAGA extremists Cao, Parkinson, Smith, and Emord are anti-choice and believe life begins at conception, which puts in vitro fertilization and birth control access on the MAGA chopping block.

Here’s why they haven’t said anything: 

  • Hung Cao endorsed Donald Trump for President in December. When asked on the Jiggy Jaguar Show if he would have Trump campaign with him, Cao said “absolutely” and affirmed that he was a “MAGA Republican” and in the “Trump America First camp.” Since receiving Trump’s endorsement, Cao has praised Trump on X numerous times, including a photo of the two with the caption “MAGA!”
  • On “Richmond’s Morning News with John Reid” Scott Parkinson said, “Well, listen, I’ve enthusiastically endorsed President Trump in his race, I hope to have his support as well. I would probably campaign shoulder to shoulder with him all throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.” Parkinson called Trump’s trial “politicization of our legal process.” After the verdict, Parkinson posted a photo of himself and Trump with the caption “Stand tall with Trump.”
  • At the Augusta County Regional Republican Christmas Party in December, Chuck Smith said, “I’m an American first, pro American, pro-life, pro children, pro values pro Trump, pro MAGA, and an anti-democratic, a card carrying, gun toting 100% unapologetic supporter of the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution.” In a string of posts about Trump’s guilty verdicts, Smith said the day was one where “we bow our heads in shame and disgrace.”
  • Jonathan Emord said, “we need a commander in chief like President Donald Trump” at the Appomattox Senate Candidate Forum in May. Emord also peddles the Big Lie, believing that Trump won in 2020. Emord is hoping to get Trump’s 34 convictions overturned by filing an amicus brief in New York.
  • Eddie Garcia thinks that “if President Trump is serious about winning Virginia, I’m going to be the one to deliver to him.” After Trump’s New York verdict Garcia posted, “Once again, @realDonaldTrump is the victim of political prosecution turned political persecution by the radical left.”

We know the Republican Senate candidates would vote against the Right to Contraception Act because they care more about pleasing Trump than protecting Virginians’ fundamental freedoms.  

“From being the architect to overturning Roe to now attacking birth control, Donald Trump has made it clear that he is the biggest threat to Virginia women’s health and safety in a generation,” said DPVA Chairwoman Susan Swecker. “As the U.S. Senate votes to protect the right to contraception, Virginians know the Republican Senate candidates will vote against them because they are pro-Trump, pro-MAGA, and will put Donald Trump’s anti-choice, anti-birth control, and anti-freedom agenda ahead of Virginians no matter what. Virginians deserve leaders who will stand up for abortion rights, their right to contraception, and their reproductive freedom, not MAGA extremist lapdogs like the GOP Senate candidates.” 

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