Virginia News Headlines: Monday Morning

by: lowkell

Mon Feb 11, 2013 at 06:49:12 AM EST

*Pope Benedict XVI reportedly resigning this month ("The 265th Pontiff, Benedict would be the first leader of the Church to step down voluntarily in almost six centuries.")
*Original Sin: Why the GOP is and will continue to be the party of white people ("We are left with the profound historical irony that the party of Lincoln-of the Gettysburg Address, with its reiteration of the Declaration's assertion of equality and its vision of a 'new birth of freedom'-has found sustenance in Lincoln's principal intellectual and moral antagonist. It has become the party of Calhoun.")
*Obama's State of the Union: Aggressive ("Emboldened by electoral victory and convinced the GOP is unwilling to cut deals, Obama plans to use his big prime-time address Tuesday night to issue another broad challenge at a Republican Party he regards as vulnerable and divided, Democrats close to Obama say." I sure hope so!)
*Krugman: The Ignorance Caucus ("...while Democrats, being human, often read evidence selectively and choose to believe things that make them comfortable, there really isn't anything equivalent to Republicans' active hostility to collecting evidence in the first place.)
*Drones as job-killers?
*Bill shields disaster plans from public disclosure
*A bipartisan fight against illegal guns ("Virginia Beach Republican U.S. Rep. Scott Rigell, along with Republican and Democratic colleagues, has crafted a piece of gun-control legislation with bipartisan appeal.")
*Editorial: Too much time for tomfoolery ("State lawmakers should spend less time reading Glenn Beck novels and more time killing dumb bills.")
*Editorial: Safer schools, better mental health ("The governor and lawmakers should pay special attention to mental health when looking to improve the safety of Virginia's schoolchildren.")
*Ken Cuccinelli hits Terry McAuliffe on business move ("Cuccinelli's campaign is charging that McAuliffe has changed his story about what happened.")
*Sen. Warner takes in lion dance for Chinese New Year
*Tim Kaine throws big Bon Jovi fundraiser
*David Alpert: His vision for Greater Greater Washington and the District (Gotta love the focus in this article on rude commenters, as if the Post itself doesn't have some of the nastiest, most vicious, racist, bigoted commenters around - and they let just about everything go in their desperate/frantic quest for eyeballs. #FAIL)
*Habeeb's media week and the lawmaker he exposed (So...the guy's a right-wing extremist AND a nasty SOB whose colleagues don't like or trust. Nice combo.)
*New Beltway Express Lanes losing money
*Terps bottled up by streaking Cavs
*D.C. area forecast: Mild, showery start to week but it trends colder, small snow chances