Thursday News: Pope Francis Talks Climate Change, Inequality; Right Wing Talks Ignorance, Bigotry

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, September 24. Also, check out Pope Francis' address to Congress starting at 10 am today; I'm very much looking forward to hearing his thoughts on economic inequality, climate change, immigration, and other things that make right wingnuts' heads explode but that are crucial to all of us. *In D.C., pope weighs in on climate, poverty, immigration to start U.S. tour *Pope Francis poses a threat to the current economic order ("The pope addresses Congress Thursday, and conservatives are fearing the worst. Their belief systems can tolerate a lot - laissez-faire economics, xenophobia - but Pope Francis's emphasis on the Roman Catholic Church's historic antipathy to capitalism has them in a dither.") *This Fox News GOP Primary Is Already So Much Worse Than The Last One ("Welcome to the Republican Party's bigotry primary, sponsored by Fox News.") *Papa! Pope stirs excitement in DC, calls for climate action (By the way, climate change isn't "controversial," other than among fossil fuel companies, their paid lackies, and some useful idiots out there. Among climate scientists there's 99% agreement.) *Editorial: Government shutdown? Not again *At least 220 die in deadliest haj stampede since 2006 *This is why they have such hate: Coulter, Trump, Carson and the real history behind right-wing intolerance ("Ann Coulter's tweet -- and the GOP race -- sheds frightening light on the deep archetypes of American conservatism") *10 Excuses the GOP's Catholic Candidates Use to Ignore the Pope's Teachings *Ben Carson: The World Was Created in Six Days. Literally. (How can this guy have studies science, gone through medical school, etc?!?) *Jim Webb defends commitment to presidential race ("The former Virginia senator was also the only declared candidate to miss a candidate forum held last weekend in New Hampshire, which holds the nation's first Democratic primary. And he was the only candidate to not attend a Democratic National Committee event in late August in Minneapolis." LOL, that's our Jim!) *Tim Kaine column: Creative Investment in transportation could ease I-95 congestion *GOP candidate Bush to make visit to Bristol museum ("Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush will visit the Birthplace of Country Music Museum on Thursday as part of a private fundraiser for the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus.") *Opinion: Virginia Supreme Court's recent ruling a troubling victory for secrecy (Yep.) *Virginia's contempt for transparency ("VIRGINIA'S SUPREME Court has just handed a ringing victory, and a misguided one, to champions of secrecy in government. In doing so the court has misread the clear intent of state law and signaled its contempt for the public's legitimate interest in obtaining information about the workings of state agencies." Agreed, this ruling is totally wrong.) *Court picks professor to help redraw Virginia's congressional district lines ("Judge Albert Diaz of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in a court filing Wednesday that a judicial panel has selected Bernard Grofman, an economics and political science professor at the University of California, Irvine.") *Editorial: Martese Johnson report - Nothing to see here ("The State Police conclude that the agents acted in accordance with policy. This is what law enforcement agencies often say, apparently thinking it amounts to exoneration. It doesn't. It simply invites questions about whether bad policy needs changing.") *Richmonders head to D.C. for Pope's first U.S. visit *Portsmouth officials' abuse of public trust *Tidal flooding hits Hampton Roads, will continue into next week *Alexandria mayoral candidates might not debate ("'I will not be debating any write-in candidate, and the Alexandria Democratic Committee agrees with me,' Silberberg said in a phone interview." I disagree; just go ahead and debate, and let the stronger candidate win.) *D.C. area forecast: Last day of sun for a while; Weekend brings clouds, chance of rain

It's Long Past Time for the Virginia Retirement System to Divest from Fossil Fuels

According to the VRS' FY 2013 financial report, for instance, among the "top 10 exposures" for the $58.4 billion in asset held at the time were ExxonMobil ($197,341,753) and Chevron ($141,115,279). I can't tell from their reports what other fossil fuel companies are included in the VRS portfolio, but supposedly 8.45% of the VRS' public equity holdings are in the energy sector.Clearly, the VRS should ditch ExxonMobil, particularly in light of the explosive InsideClimate News series on Exxon's decision to engage in a deliberate, well-funded campaign of climate science denial, even after theirown research "Confirmed Fossil Fuels' Role in Global Warming Decades Ago." Meanwhile, the Jesuit Divestment Network this week urged Pope Francis to divest the Vatican from fossil fuel investments; and we learned this week that "Massachusetts' public pension fund lost more than half a billion dollars due to fossil fuel investments during the fiscal year that ended in June, according to new data analysis released Monday from Trillium Group." On that latter story, note that Massachusetts got the worst of all worlds on that one -- investing in toxic fossil fuels that are poisoning the planet while losing money in the process. The question is, how much longer will Virginia do the same? P.S. For a list of VRS participating employers, see page 224 of this report. A few that jumped out at me because they are ostensibly progressive jurisdictions and/or are going to be under water due to fossil-fuel-induced global warming within a few decades include: City of Alexandria, Arlington County Schools, Fairfax County Schools, Charlottesville Public Schools; City of Virginia Beach; City of Norfolk; etc.

Are Republicans Responsible for VMI Student's Death?

by Dan Sullivan They certainly have done nothing to deliver health care to rural Virginia. Cadet Hoang collapsed during training on Monday, treated at the scene, transported to the school's infirmary, then transferred to the local Carillion Stonewall Jackson Hospital. The question begged: what if millions had been invested in local healthcare infrastructure? Tragedies like this occur. It is not that the young cadet collapsed during training from what well may have been a congenital condition; it is that the standard of care available in rural Virginia is subpar. At least Lexington has a hospital of sorts. Much of rural Virginia has no immediate facility. There is demand; it is just not operationalized in the marketplace. But this situation draws attention to the fact that even those who have health insurance suffer from the failure to expand Medicaid. You can have the best insurance in the world but if there is no facility in reach, it does not matter. What would have been different if $2.5 billion dollars had provided the incentive to expand service across the state? Every step in the decision making process during crisis is guided by the conditions extant. What would the response during Hoang's emergency have been if those responding weren't faced with the fact that the closest urgent care facility wasn't an hour away from Lexington in Waynesboro and that the goal for being seen by a physician after triage at the local hospital emergency room in Lexington was something more impressive than 40 minutes; yes, that is from the hospital's website. The young man might have been taken directly to a facility actually staffed and equipped for immediate emergency intervention rather than to the school infirmary. We will never know. What we do know is that the options for everyone living in Lexington and the rest of rural Virginia would be different and significantly better with the infusion of millions of those billions of dollars locally. But Republicans are dead set against allowing the marketplace to function. And Lexington is far from being as isolated as many localities. Thousands of Virginians are suffering and dying unnecessarily as a direct result of Republican intransigence.

Video: President Obama Welcomes Pope Francis to the White House

Love the heavy emphasis on combatting climate change and caring for our "common home." Expecting that climate science deniers and fossil fuel executives' heads are exploding all over the U.S. :)

Wednesday News: Trump's Sexism (and Other Bigotry) vs. Fiorina's Pathological Lying; What a Choice!

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, September 23. Also, check out the upcoming "Values Voters Summit", sponsored by extremist groups like the Family Research Council, the American Family Association, American Values, etc., and which will feature speakers including: Scott Walker, Ted Cruz, Rick Santorum, Bobby Jindal, Mike Huckabee, Lindsey Graham, Ben Carson, Louie Gohmert (the stupidest man in Congress?), far-right-wing/hate-radio host (and Barbara Comstock BFFF) Mark Levin, nutjob Glenn Beck, etc, etc. What a party! *Pope embarks on historic U.S. visit; tens of thousands expected to greet him in D.C. *Fossil Fuel Divestment Movement Has Grown to $2.6 Trillion in Assets (Time for Virginia and the Federal Employee Retirement System to join in by ditching planet-killing, poor-economics fossil fuel investments.) *Hillary Clinton's opposition to the Keystone XL is a huge victory for climate activists (Great, now time for a lot more victories before it's too late.) *John Boehner must rein in the GOP caucus ("... the speaker must guarantee continued government funding, even if it means passing a bill with support of Democrats. No doubt that might trigger an internal rebellion and put his speakership at risk. A leader would take the chance.") *Shrill rhetoric in the GOP primary race could come back to haunt the party (It's not just the "rhetoric," it's the crazy, hateful, counterproductive, extreme garbage they're proposing.) *Weighing Trump's sexism against Fiorina's dishonesty ("Fiorina's dishonesty is flagrant and unapologetic. Called on her misstatements, Fiorina doesn't cede ground, she attacks critics." Yep, she is a pathological liar.) *Carly Fiorina, the CNN-created flavor of the week (So true on the media-created point. CNN is a disgrace, very close to as bad as Fox.) *Conservatives pushing for a government shutdown fight are running a con game *Kaine: Pope's visit is a reminder of America's Hispanic roots *Hillary Clinton: I Oppose the Keystone XL Pipeline *Democrats block 20-week abortion ban *Fiorina's Days as the GOP's Star Are Numbered (The longer the spotlight is on her, the more her questionable record will come to haunt her." And her constant lies.) *With Walker out, Jerry Kilgore backs Bush (Whatever.) *Schapiro: So many choices in GOP; so little action in Va. ("Virginia - reliably red for president for 40 years, but deeply blue for president since 2008 - could still figure prominently in 2016, but the preliminaries are proving a sleeper.") *State Police report: ABC agents did not violate orders on force in Martese Johnson's arrest *Session urges DEQ to turn to renewable energy ("Environmentalists and anti-pipeline activists urged state regulators Tuesday to turn to solar, off-shore wind and energy-efficient construction as they consider how best to meet the new carbon emission limits announced under the federal Clean Power Plan.") *Va. GOP: McCollum may have violated state election law ("McCollum campaign manager Molly Ritner in an email said Republicans were trying to take the focus off Sen. Frank Wagner's record of accepting gifts and trips from lobbyists.") *The only way McCollum can shake the stink of scandal is to clear the air (What a mess...ugh.) *Editorial: A strange reticence on redistricting ("It makes no sense - none at all - to say the voters should be kept in the dark about proposals regarding voting rights. Let the public see the plans.") *Libertarian state Senate candidate apologizes for threatening campaign manager's ex-wife (Uh huh.) *Appeals court upholds dismissal of felony counts against Morrissey *Morrissey still on the ballot in the 16th Senate District ("Until he submits a formal written notification to the Department of Elections, the Democrat-turned-independent is considered a candidate, said elections Commissioner Edgardo Cortés.") *Democratic Party lawyers try to block map access in Virginia's 3rd District case ("The Democratic legal team nearing victory in its effort to redraw Virginia's 3rd Congressional District wants the federal courts to block the state from sharing proposed maps on a legislative website.") *Portsmouth council votes to pay off $250K debt to the state *York County Chamber of Commerce to host forum for election candidates *Spotsylvania man kills self on I-95 after slaying, abduction in Caroline ("Todd Tomlinson Houck, 36, the son of former state Sen. Edd Houck, was pronounced dead at the scene, state police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said.") *D.C. area forecast: Fabulous start to fall, risk of rain this weekend

It's In Our Hands Now: The Journey for Justice Continues With Each of Us

by Kathy in Blacksburg

Last night (Monday) I watched NAACP national President, Cornell William Brooks, speak on PBS's "After Charleston." I watched his summary of what the NAACP-ledJourney for Justice accomplished. Indeed, something extraordinary happened this August and into mid September. And the so-called MSM has written or presented little about it. But what Cornell William Brooks, Middle Passage and a group of dedicated marchers did was extraordinary. Starting in Selma and ending in our nation's capitol, the NAACP's Journey for Justice walked to advance equality of justice for all. Led by Brooks what was a rather small band of brothers and sisters marched through state after state in staggering heat, day after day, almost a thousand miles. They walked for voting rights, equal justice before the law, and greater economic fairness. They walked for equality in education and health care. And they walked toward a place where one day Martin Luther King Jr's dream of the beloved community exists at long last. It is long past time we built it. For Middle Passage, a 68-year-old Colorado man with physical disabilities, #JusticeSummer was an act of selflessness and love. His name originated in the era of the slave trade. I began watching the Journey as it left Selma. Every day Middle Passage bore the US flag at the front of the line. Pictures tumbled onto my FB and Twitter feeds. Our friend, Andrew McFadden Ketchum,who first posted photos and video of the march and ultimately joined it for 10-plus days, became our eyes and ears. And soon I watched for photos of the march each day, especially at day's end.

Video: Hillary Clinton Announces Opposition to Keystone Tar Sands Pipeline

Good to see Hillary Clinton put this in the context of climate change, although certainly tar sands development - which Keystone XL encourages by making its economics marginally better/less bad - is extremely destructive environmentally in other ways as well. Also, great work by climate activists like the great Bill McKibben; as David Roberts writes, this is a "huge victory" for all of us who fought this monstrosity. Of course, the battle won't be won until we've converted 100% to a clean energy economy, and in short order. That means no new natural gas pipelines or fracking projects either by Dominion Power or anyone else, by the way. P.S. Late today McKibben tweeted: "So far today 1)$2.6 trillion divested 2)@LeoDiCaprio joins in the effort 3)@HillaryClinton opposes #kxl Pope should visit more often"

Video: Pope Francis Arrives in U.S., Greeted by President Obama

I am very much looking forward to hearing what Pope Francis has to say, particularly on issues of environmental protection,  economic fairness and social justice. I also agree with Sen. Kaine (see video in the comments section) that everyone should really listen to what Pope Francis has to say. I certainly plan to do that.

Video: Gov. McAuliffe and Secretary of the Commonwealth Stoney on Restoring Voting Rights

A very important subject, one that Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Secretary of the Commmonwealth Levar Stoney have been doing excellent work on. Thank you.

People Care FAR Less About the 2015 VA Gen. Assembly Elections than the 2016 Presidential Race

There's no definitive way to measure that, of course, but I think there's a good proxy: look at the number of comments in the Washington Post for articles dealing with: a) the Virginia 2015 General Assembly elections, which I'd remind everyone are just 42 days away; and b) the 2016 presidential elections, which are significantly further away.  For instance: *With Virginia Senate up for grabs, a mad dash for cash in key contestswas posted Monday at 4:15 pm, now has a grand total of 1 (one) comment; Scott Walker, an early contender, makes surprise exit from 2016 race was posted at 7:35 pm Monday, now has 552 comments. That's a more than 500:1 ratio in comments on the 2016 presidential story vs. the Virginia 2015 State Senate story. Hmmm. *Defending one of rural Virginia's last bits of blue - article about the crucial Virginia State Senate race for the seat held by John Edwards (D) in the Roanoke area - posted on Sunday, has 14 comments; Ben Carson says he would not support a Muslim for president, also posted Sunday, has 470 comments. That's a 34:1 margin in favor of the Carson story over the Edwards story. I checked the RTD, by the way, but for whatever reason that paper's articles hardly get any comments. I also checked a couple leading conservative Virginia blogs. On Bearing Drift, Brian Schoeneman's post yesterday about Ben Carson, ENOUGH WITH THE RELIGIOUS BIGOTRY ALREADY, has an astounding 207 comments; in stark contrast, Shaun Kenney's post - also yesterday - on a key Virginia State Senate race, VA PILOT: MCCOLLUM'S "STUPID" MISTAKE CONTINUES TO SHOCK OBSERVERS, has just 1 comment. At The Bull Elephant, a post on Saturday entitled (ironically, given the results I'm finding here?))Why Local Politics Matter, has 3 comments; while a Friday post about 2016, Pale Faced Liberals Speak With Forked Tongue, has 27 comments. I've also consistently noted more interest in/comments on posts here at Blue Virginia  - let alone at leading national progressive blog Daily Kos - about 2016 presidential politics than about the Virginia 2015 elections this November. Sensing a pattern? By the way, I'm also hearing this same thing in conversations with Virginia House and Senate political operatives and candidates, many of whom are struggling to get attention and funds for their races, while most people focus - to the extent they follow politics at all - on 2016 national stuff. So here's the utterly crazy thing: your vote, activism, monetary contributions, commentary on websites, you name it, matter proprortionately WAYYYYY more for local/state races than for the 2016 presidential contest. Not even close. Also, again, the Virginia elections - which will determine, among other things, control of the State Senate for Gov. McAuliffe's final two years in office and beyond - this year are in just a few weeks, while the first 2016 presidential contest isn't until the Iowa caucuses on February 1, 2016.  Yet most people I talk to or see commenting on websites are overwhelmingly focused in the opposite direction. Of course, we are the same species that pays much more attention to many other things that are far less important (e.g., celebrity gossip, shark attacks, football, whatever) than things that are far more important (e.g., climate change, economic inequality, the refugee crisis in Europe). So sure, it's human nature not to put the appropriate amount of attention and effort onto certain things relative to other things, but still, as someone who believes strongly in the slogan, "think globally, act LOCALLY," I've got to admit I find it frustrating.