‘President’ Joe Manchin emerges . . . A West Virginia Democrat has emerged as a powerhouse centrist who is not afraid to push back on his own party against a $2 trillion spending bill, among other things. We’re talking about Sen. Joe Manchin, of course — deemed a commonsense lawmaker by the press and possibly even a “maverick” — a word often used in past years to describe John McCain, the late Arizona senator and longtime Republican leader. Earlier this year, CNN referred to Mr. Manchin as “the new John McCain.” But it’s gone a little farther than that. “Joe Manchin, the Democrats’ other ‘president,’ had an eventful 2021, Sen. Joe Manchin was practically an administration unto himself,” The Washington Post advised this week. “For the Democratic agenda, all roads go through West Virginia,” the Post noted, referring to the senator as “President Manchin.” Washington Times

 

 

 

GOP blows off Trump’s bid to oust McConnell . . . Former President Donald Trump has hit a wall in his efforts to oust Mitch McConnell as GOP leader. Despite months of attacks, the Trump-led campaign to depose the Senate minority leader has resulted in firm pledges from just two Republican candidates and no senators, and it has failed to turn up a formidable challenger to run against McConnell. Inside the Capitol, conservative senators shrug at the question, revealing a lack of appetite even among the GOP’s anti-establishment wing and continued strong support for McConnell as leader. Politico

 

 

Outrageous.

 

US accuses China of developing ‘brain control weaponry’ . . . The US has put China’s Academy of Military Medical Sciences and 11 affiliated biotechnology research institutes on an export blacklist for allegedly helping the Chinese military to develop “brain-control” weapons. The US commerce department on Thursday put the research institutes on the “entity list”, which bars US companies from exporting technology that originated in America to the Chinese institutions. “China is choosing to use these technologies to pursue control over its people and its repression of members of ethnic and religious minority groups,” said Gina Raimondo, US commerce secretary. A senior US official said China was using emerging biotechnologies to try to develop future military applications that included “gene editing, human performance enhancement [and] brain machine interfaces”. Financial Times

 

 

 

 

More Than 60,000 Interpreters, Visa Applicants Remain in Afghanistan . . . More than 60,000 Afghan interpreters and others who have applied for visas to seek shelter in the U.S. after working alongside American forces still remain in Afghanistan, a State Department official said Thursday. About 33,000 Afghans, including principal applicants and their families, have already cleared the more-onerous vetting requirements and could be eligible for immediate evacuation. This is the first time that the State Department has provided a number on those left behind since the Afghanistan government collapsed this summer.
A total of 62,000 Afghans are believed to have been left behind, the official said. Wall Street Journal

 

Outmanned and outgunned: Ukraine’s military faces long odds in clash with Russia . . . The Ukrainian military is vastly outmanned and outgunned by its neighbor and rival Russia. The nearly 100,000 Russian troops now stationed along the nations’ restive border represent less than 10% of the active-duty military personnel Moscow could bring to bear in a full-scale invasion. The Ukrainian military has about 255,000 forces in its own right. Russia‘s roughly 4-1 manpower edge would only grow if each nation called up all of its reserves for all-out war. Despite hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. military aid and multiple deliveries of Javelin anti-tank missiles capable of inflicting serious damage on Russian armored columns, Ukraine is still at a massive disadvantage in military weapons, vehicles and hardware. The number of Russian guns, tanks, planes, helicopters and artillery dramatically dwarf those of Ukraine. The figures are no surprise given Russia‘s military history and the amount of firepower left over from its historic Cold War-era buildup. Although Russia is no longer the power it was during the Soviet era, it maintains one of the highest military budgets in the world — about $42 billion annually compared with Ukraine‘s $9.6 billion, according to data compiled by the Global Firepower Index. Washington Times

 

Americans rush for vaccine boosters ahead of Omicron wave . . . Residents of America’s biggest cities are struggling to book vaccine appointments because of the rising wave of the Omicron coronavirus variant and a rush in demand for booster shots before Christmas. Walgreens, one of the country’s biggest pharmacy chains by number of pharmacists, says it is observing record levels of demand, while those looking to book appointments in some localities are having to wait as long as two weeks. The jostle for vaccine appointments, especially in big cities, has drawn comparisons with a year ago when the Trump administration initially struggled to funnel doses to those who needed them when cases were surging in the run-up to Christmas. Financial Times

 

Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine Not ‘Preferred’ Due to Link to Severe Condition: CDC Advisers . . . A panel of advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) unanimously voted on Thursday to recommend the agency tell the public that the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines are preferred to the jab from Johnson & Johnson (J&J). “mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are preferred over the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19 for all ≥ 18 years of age,” the recommendation states.
Pfizer and Moderna are both based on messenger RNA, or mRNA, technology. Janssen is a subsidiary of J&J. The panel voted after hearing presentations on a serious combination of blood clotting and low blood platelet levels that has been seen at higher than background rates in people who have gotten the J&J vaccine.  Epoch Times

 

 

 

 

US bill threatens ‘double taxation for American expats in UK’ . . . UK-based Americans face cash flow headaches and possible double taxation due to a expatriate tax change proposed by the Biden administration. Tax experts warned that the plan could eliminate the ability to offset tax paid in the UK against US liabilities on the same income. Measures being considered by the US Senate plan to abolish a carry back provision used when American expats have paid more tax abroad than they owe in the US.
If UK tax is paid in the calendar year immediately following when the income is reported in the US, current rules allow for a backwards adjustment. Financial Times

 

How George Soros funded progressive ‘legal arsonist’ DAs behind US crime surge . . . For the last several years, billionaire philanthropist George Soros has been quietly financing a revolution in criminal justice reform, doling out tens of millions of dollars to progressive candidates in district attorney races throughout the country amid movements to abolish bail and defund the police. Working with an activist attorney, Soros, 91, mainly funnels cash through a complicated web of federal and state political action committees as well as non-profits from coast to coast, public records show. Last year, the Foundation to Promote Open Society, a nonprofit in Soros’ orbit, gave $3 million to the Community Resource Hub for Safety and Accountability, according to a recent report. The group provides resources to “local advocates and organizations working to address the harm of policing in the US.” New York Post

 

WashPost charges Trump with profiteering off presidency without mentioning Obamas, Clintons . . .  Leave it to the liberal media to omit pertinent information that interferes with their storyline. According to the Washington Post, Donald Trump invented the art of making money off the presidency: Since Trump returned from his New Jersey club to Palm Beach, Fla., this fall, Mar-a-Lago has become a hotbed for Republican fundraisers, with candidates jockeying to line the former president’s pockets in hopes of winning his endorsement, get a photo with him or simply give donors a chance to be in his presence. The surge in business at his private club spotlights the unparalleled way in which Trump has personally profited from his presidency and his popularity in the GOP — a revenue stream that began during his time in the White House and has only strengthened since he left office. Rather than hosting fellow Republicans, Trump is charging them for the privilege of using his venues. White House Dossier

 

 

Hillary Clinton Reportedly Considering Losing Again In 2024 . . . The beltway was buzzing this week as rumors spread that Hillary Clinton was seriously considering another humiliating loss in the 2024 presidential election. As a former First Lady, Senator, Secretary of State, and person who absolutely had nothing to do with the death of Vince Foster, Mrs. Clinton is still considered one of the leading lights among top Democrats, with approval ratings above even the sitting senile President and embarrassingly unqualified Vice President whom everybody hates. Public opinion polls show that vast majorities of people would choose Hillary Clinton as the person they would most want to see the Presidency dangled in front of, only to have it yanked away in the most painful and humiliating way possible. Hillary’s name will continue to be mentioned because she carries an aura of inevitability. Crushing, devastating, hilarious inevitability.” Babylon Bee