TexasTowelie
TexasTowelie's JournalThe Coming Nightmare for Virginia Republicans
by HeartCooksBrain, cross posted from Daily KosThe returns are in, and let’s recap. We’ve just won the Virginia governorship, lieutenant governorship, and attorney general’s race again. And we did it by a wide margin of 8.9 percentage points, our best gubernatorial showing since the blowout win of 1985. That’s something to celebrate. For all the concern trolling about how Democrats were too focused on urban areas, not focused enough on on urban voters, too aggressive, not aggressive enough, nationalizing the race too much, not nationalizing the race enough, and a variety of other preemptive autopsies, we beat the best Virginia Republicans had to offer. By a lot.
And in the House of Delegates, we flipped what looks to be 15-16 seats. That’s also a big deal. Even in good years, Democrats have never been able to pick off more than a few seats. So our performance this year was great. Some people may be disappointed about not flipping the chamber, but 17 seats was always the furthest of stretch goals for many reasons, not the least of which was that Virginia Democrats always considered it a two-cycle project anyway. That fact that it almost came true is astounding.
But let’s not talk about tonight. Let’s talk about the next three years. Because they won’t be pretty for Virginia Republicans. Now sure, outside of a few states where the remaining “yellow dog” strength is in the process of drying up, Republicans everywhere will not have an easy time under the Trump administration. It’s just the cyclic nature of politics. But even by those standards, Virginia Republicans have some hardships ahead, perhaps the worst of any in the country. To see why, let’s take a walk through the next three years.
2018
Let me begin by saying Tim Kaine is fairly popular, and Clinton fairly comfortably won Virginia in 2016, so even in a better environment, it wouldn’t be easy to dislodge him. Under Trump, that task is fairly daunting. But Corey Stewart? Seriously? He is the embodiment of everything that has cost Republicans Virginia in recent years, and then some. Republicans would be better off not putting anyone on the ballot and hoping Democratic turnout suffers. But blowing their small chance at knocking off Tim Kaine isn’t nearly the extent of 2018. Republicans also have to play defense in the US House.
Read more: https://bluevirginia.us/2017/11/the-coming-nightmare-for-virginia-republicans
'Crying Nazi': Judge dismisses two charges against Cantwell
Two of three felony charges were thrown out in a more than six-hour-long preliminary hearing November 9 for “Crying Nazi” Chris Cantwell, the New Hampshire man accused of pepper spraying multiple people at the violent August 11 tiki-torch march across the University of Virginia.
Hundreds of white supremacists were in town that weekend for homegrown whites-righter Jason Kessler’s Unite the Right rally, which left three people dead and many injured in its aftermath.
In Cantwell’s case, an Albemarle General District Court judge is allowing one count of illegal use of tear gas to go before the grand jury, after he said Commonwealth’s Attorney Robert Tracci was unable to prove that the two victims who brought the charges against Cantwell were actually sprayed by the shock jock, who continues to broadcast his show, the Radical Agenda, from the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail.
His supporters, known for their fashy haircuts and white polos and khakis, coordinated new outfits this time. About a dozen of them lined the courtroom’s benches wearing black, some dressed head-to-toe in the color.
Read more: http://www.c-ville.com/crying-nazi-judge-dismisses-two-charges-cantwell/
Monday vote count will set process in motion to decide control of the Virginia House of Delegates
The electoral tidal wave that helped Democrats flip at least 15 seats in the Virginia House of Delegates will begin to crest on Monday, as local registrars and electoral boards count provisional ballots to determine final vote counts in at least three districts that will determine which party controls the chamber in January.
The count of provisional ballots could affect the outcome in the 94th District, in which Del. David Yancey, R-Newport News, is holding onto a 13-vote lead over Democrat Shelly Simonds. Libertarian Michael Bartley got 675 votes.
The 94th is one of three House races crucial to the GOP maintaining a 51-49 edge, all that’s left of what was a 32-seat majority before voting ended on Tuesday.
Democrats made a filing in court Thursday in Newport News to seek from the city’s electoral board a list of rejected absentee ballots and the reasons they were rejected. A hearing before a judge Thursday will be continued Monday, according to the party.
Read more: http://www.roanoke.com/news/politics/monday-vote-count-will-set-process-in-motion-to-decide/article_0b655368-3d1e-5ccf-b924-9bef1dee174a.html
Lawsuit seeks new recourse on for-profit college fraud
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two women who claim they were defrauded by a for-profit college have sued the Education Department and a private loan servicer in a case their attorneys say could provide a new legal remedy for tens of thousands of students frustrated with the department's inaction on claims seeking loan forgiveness.
The lawsuit, filed Sunday in federal court in New York, comes as the department begins work this week rewriting Obama administration rules designed to boost protections for students defrauded by their schools.
Tina Carr and Yvette Colon had attended Sanford-Brown Institute, a for-profit college in New York, and are seeking to have their student loans erased. Their lawsuit cites federal and state law that prohibits fraud as well as the contract they signed with their school. Previous lawsuits invoked the department's own regulations in their search for loan relief.
Attorneys for the two students say the new approach is necessary because Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has stalled consideration of tens of thousands of similar claims from borrowers.
Read more: http://www.roanoke.com/news/politics/wire/lawsuit-seeks-new-recourse-on-for-profit-college-fraud/article_a9cffed9-3430-51a1-967f-d811f3dc3cf7.html
Parents of former Richmonder file $10.35 million lawsuit over his boating death in Lancaster, allege
Parents of former Richmonder file $10.35 million lawsuit over his boating death in Lancaster, allege cover-up attemptFamily members filed a lawsuit Wednesday seeking $10.35 million in connection with the death of their son, a former Richmond resident who authorities said was killed in a Lancaster County boating accident.
The parents of Graham McCormick, who was 31 when he died in August, filed the lawsuit Wednesday in Richmond Circuit Court.
The first defendant named in the lawsuit is 31-year-old John Randolph Hooper, a Richmond man known as Rand Hooper who is facing a misdemeanor charge in Lancaster of failing to promptly report the Aug. 11 boating accident in Carter Creek.
Hooper’s parents, Gary Lee Hooper and Lucy W. Hooper, are also named as defendants in the civil lawsuit brought by McCormick’s parents, J. Burke McCormick and Sallie T. Graham, in their role as administrators of his estate.
Read more: http://www.richmond.com/news/local/crime/parents-of-former-richmonder-file-million-lawsuit-over-his-boating/article_a949e72f-9433-5dbf-85dd-17f5a2345ede.html
After Democratic wave, Richmond council members hopeful citys fortunes could change on school ...
After Democratic wave, Richmond council members hopeful city’s fortunes could change on school fundingMembers of the Richmond City Council are optimistic that the wave of Democratic victories on Election Day could renew debate during the upcoming legislative session of how the state funds public education.
Budget spats over funding for Richmond Public Schools in recent years have put the RPS administration and School Board at odds with the mayor and the council. But city leaders across the board have long griped that the state is shorting Richmond, and other urban school divisions, with a funding formula they have characterized as flawed and inequitable, in part, because it does not take into account the demographics of local school divisions and, particularly, how many of its students are living in poverty.
Democrats won big in Tuesday’s House of Delegates races, erasing Republicans’ 32-seat advantage in the chamber. Republicans cling to a slim majority with a handful of recounts pending, but whether they retain control or Democrats seize it, council members say they expect the gains will result in a serious appraisal of the way the state allocates money to local school divisions.
“School funding, I think, is certainly going to be looked at very seriously,” said Council President Chris Hilbert. “Certainly, they’re more poised to look at this issue through the lens of fairness and doing the right thing relative to the older jurisdictions in the commonwealth, with the majority of people who live in poverty.”
Read more: http://www.richmond.com/news/local/city-of-richmond/after-democratic-wave-richmond-council-members-hopeful-city-s-fortunes/article_32b9301e-cbfb-539f-b539-37941d2060f0.html
Sen. Kaine says he'll run "scared" in 2018 re-election bid despite Democratic victories this week
NORFOLK -- U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine said Friday that he doesn’t assume the Democrats’ strong victories in Tuesday’s state elections make it easier to win a second term in 2018.
“I’ve never run a race where I ran it like I think I’m really good,’’ Kaine told The Virginian-Pilot’s editorial board. “I run a race like I’m really scared. That’s what I’m going to do.”
That’s not to say, Kaine added, that he doesn’t expect to be elected to another six-year term. He does anticipate a rough-and-tumble contest – particularly if the Republican nominee is Corey Stewart, chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors.
Stewart, one-time chairman of President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in Virginia, has vowed to run “the most vicious and ruthless campaign” to unseat Kaine.
Read more: https://pilotonline.com/news/government/politics/virginia/sen-kaine-says-he-ll-run-scared-in-re-election/article_0c0564f0-2761-57e1-b51d-8dc66f8cab48.html
Ex-CEO of Liberty Tax likely had sex in his office and dated employees, report says
VIRGINIA BEACH -- How is it that the founder and head of a company could be fired by a board he controlled?
It happened to John T. Hewitt, the former CEO of Liberty Tax, earlier this year. At the time, Hewitt and company officials gave no details as to why Hewitt was ousted by his own board.
The Virginian-Pilot has learned that Hewitt was fired after the Liberty Tax board received the findings of an extensive internal review conducted by a high-powered law firm.
The review was initiated to look into claims that Liberty employees heard Hewitt having sex in his office. During the review, the scope was expanded to include other allegations: that Hewitt gave preferential treatment to employees and franchisees he was believed to be involved with romantically, and that he placed his personal interests above the company’s.
Read more: https://pilotonline.com/business/consumer/ex-ceo-of-liberty-tax-likely-had-sex-in-his/article_90141e98-cf88-56a8-afcd-e1170fef68c6.html
The Air Force may pump $5b into Cheyenne for a new generation of nuclear weapons
The United States military is expected to spend between $4 billion and $5 billion over the next 10 to 20 years in Cheyenne to modernize F.E. Warren Air Force Base’s intercontinental ballistic missiles system. That kind of money would be significant anywhere, but especially in Cheyenne, it could more quadruple the typical amount of construction spending in the city.
It’s good news to locals. Dale Steenbergen, president of the Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce described it as “huge dollars.”
But the local economic benefit comes as just one small piece of a project meant to overhaul the country’s nuclear weapons system at a time of rising tensions between the United States and Russia and an increasingly bellicose North Korea, which has nuclear warheads of its own. While Wyoming’s Congressional delegation and some policy makers view it as an overdue step to keep America safe, others see it as a risky gambit that could push the world closer to nuclear war.
While the Cheyenne dollars will be spent on relatively non-technical upgrades like concrete pours for new missile silos and buildings to house improved communications systems for the ICBM system, they’re part of a roughly $140 billion effort to replace aging Minuteman Missiles.
Read more: http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/federal/the-air-force-may-pump-b-into-cheyenne-for-a/article%E2%80%94010b416d-ec31-52ac-a6cb-fffd71d2bdf0.html
La Vernia ISD superintendent resigns in wake of sex assault scandal in district
The superintendent of La Vernia ISD, Dr. Jose Moreno, has resigned following a Thursday night school board meeting.
Cynthia Buerkle, the president of the La Vernia ISD Board of Trustees, confirmed Moreno's resignation in an email Friday morning.
A joint statement from the school board and Moreno says the former superintendent will "serve the district in a different capacity" and "other interests."
"In light of the foregoing on behalf of the entire district, the Board of Trustees expresses its sincere appreciation to Dr. Moreno for his efforts and leadership while serving as Superintendent of this great school district and its wonderful students, parents and administrators."
Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/crime/article/La-Vernia-ISD-Superintendent-resigns-following-12347362.php
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Gender: MaleHometown: South Texas. most of my life I lived in Austin and Dallas
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