Christmas cancelled: Boris as Scrooge: https://www.politico.eu/article/christmas-canceled-boris-johnson-orders-londoners-to-stay-at-home/ . The lack of adherence to simple disciplines like mask wearing and social distancing suggests the easy fatigue that may undo Western civilization. WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-k-faces-fresh-lockdown-to-curb-new-covid-19-strain-11608402790 .
I am increasingly disappointed in the British inability or unwillingness to provide concrete data on the new strain. There is conflicting reporting on whether the new strain is or is not more infectious. What does “23 differences” mean here? That is a lot of change in one round of mutation.
COVID surges anew in Latin America: https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-covid-19-surge-sweeps-across-latin-america-11608386401 .
WSJ: Vaccine production subcontracted: https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-19-vaccine-makers-tap-contractors-to-produce-billions-of-doses-11608373800 . The obvious risk is quality control.
WSJ: COVID hammers small business: https://www.wsj.com/articles/for-small-firms-covid-19-cuts-deeper-its-getting-worse-every-day-11608354002 .
WSJ: Compromise reached, relief package may come to vote Sunday: https://www.wsj.com/articles/mcconnell-calls-on-congress-to-finish-virus-relief-deal-saturday-11608395967 . The Fed lending hang-up has been overcome. The outcome of the Georgia Senate races becomes even more critical to the Biden presidency, at least until 2022.
Rebuilding DOJ: The attorney general pick: https://news.yahoo.com/rebuilding-trust-in-the-justice-department-starts-but-doesnt-end-with-bidens-choice-of-attorney-general-225230085.html . As you know, I am appalled by Bill Barr. This article provides a good catalog of his offenses. The question of who can lead DOJ out of this mess is a tough question. The promotion of Sally Yates to the finalist group here has merit. DOJ does take positions that may be out of step with the Supreme Court’s prior rulings. Yates may be in a better position to do that than either Garland or Jones.
WSJ: Defense officials push splitting NSA from Cyber Command: https://www.wsj.com/articles/mcconnell-calls-on-congress-to-finish-virus-relief-deal-saturday-11608395967 . There are good arguments for the split. The decision should be left to Biden. As the prior article makes clear, Biden already faces enormous tasks in rebuilding the executive agencies. And we haven’t mentioned the State Department, the EPA, and a host of others.
“Fair and balanced” eats its own hat: https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/19/business/fox-smartmatic-news-package/index.html . And the media is yet another mess Biden needs to tackle head-on. A re-look at the abandoned “equal time” rule is in order.
Trump’s babbling is getting worse, if that’s possible: https://news.yahoo.com/after-days-of-silence-trump-says-russian-cyberattack-may-have-been-china-174556724.html . As best anyone can tell, this is fact-free nonsense. Trump’s little mind tries to create another conspiracy theory to take into his post-election fantasy world/media presence.
Sidney’s 15 seconds of fame needs to come to an end: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/fired-attorney-sidney-powell-back-advising-trump-chart/story?id=74823842 . 32 days to go …
Keyontae Johnson is feeling better: https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/after-long-layoff-no-1-gonzaga-reminds-everybody-its-still-nations-best-team-in-easy-win-over-no-3-iowa/ . Unfortunately, there is no detailed medical update of his situation. They may be awaiting test results.
Will bowls cancel as more teams decline to go?: https://www.yahoo.com/now/2020-bowl-tracker-stanford-becomes-the-latest-school-to-decline-a-bowl-invitation-214725223.html . Bowl games are often money-losers for teams even without this year’s challenges. There is no clarity (as far as I’ve been able to find) on how the money might be adjusted this year.
Not just any 11-year-old golfer has his first eagle: https://www.golfdigest.com/story/charlie-tiger-woods-pnc-championship-eagle . And on national TV …