The Omicron Wave: In a speech intended to amp up the American response to the Covid pandemic, President Biden attacked the people refusing to get vaccinated and those who are feeding them misinformation.

  Biden blistered the “dangerous misinformation on cable TV and social media,” and the companies and personalities “making money by peddling lies and allowing misinformation that can kill their own customers and their own supporters.”

  He called it a “patriotic duty” to get vaccinated.

  With hospitals in some states overrun by Covid patients, Biden said the federal government will immediately send emergency medical teams to Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, Arizona, New Hampshire, and Vermont. 

  Biden’s primary purpose was to keep America alert without being alarmed about the surge of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. “We should all be concerned about Omicron, but not panicked,” he said.

  With instant tests hard to get, the president announced that the federal government will make available half a billion free Covid tests to keep Americans on top of the pandemic, although the tests will not be available until next month.

  As the Omicron variant takes over as the dominant strain of the coronavirus, an unvaccinated man in his 50s from the Houston-area is believed to be Omicron’s first recorded fatality. The man had a prior infection with the coronavirus and had underlying health conditions that made him vulnerable.

  In New York, Broadway ticket sales dropped 25 percent week to week. The city’s incoming mayor has postponed what was to be an indoor inauguration. Eric Adams said, “I don’t need an inauguration. All I need is a mattress and a floor to execute being the mayor of the City of New York.”

Slow Growth: The pandemic has slowed population growth and lowered life expectancy by the biggest margins since World War II, federal officials said yesterday.

  The country’s population grew by 0.1 percent from July 2020 to July 2021, or by 392,665 people, the Census Bureau said. That’s the first time the country’s population grew by fewer than 1 million since 1937. The average expected life span fell to 77, down 1.8 years from 2019, as Covid-19 became the third-leading cause of death. 

Almost Heaven: Although West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin has always protected the coal mining industry against efforts to fight global warming, the United Mineworkers yesterday called on him to reverse his blockade of President Biden’s $2.2 trillion Build back Better bill. The reason: Some of the bill’s provisions offer better help for workers who will be dislocated by a national transition away from carbon-based fuels, a change that will occur with or without Biden’s bill.

  Manchin has also blocked extension of the child tax credit. He has privately told some people that he fears many people will use the money they save for drugs. As Manchin likes to remind us, he’s from West Virginia.

  Seeing his opportunities, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell invited Manchin to come over to the other side where “I think he’d be more comfortable.”

Insurrection: Representative Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, who worked with Donald Trump trying to overturn the 2020 election results, refused to meet with the January 6^th investigating committee, calling the panel illegitimate.

  Perry is the incoming chairman of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus. He wrote on Twitter, “I decline this entity’s request and will continue to fight the failures of the radical Left who desperately seek distraction from their abject failures of crushing inflation, a humiliating surrender in Afghanistan, and the horrendous crisis they created at our border.” 

The Spin Rack: At least 23 Democratic members of Congress announced they are retiring at the end of 2022. This Congress has a slim margin of 221 Democrats and 213 Republicans. — About 1,400 striking Kellogg workers have ratified a new contract, ending a strike against the cereal company that began in early October. — California has sued Walmart accusing the company of improperly disposing of hazardous waste including lithium batteries, pesticides, and cleaning supplies at a rate of “more than one million items each year” at landfills not equipped to handle the stuff. — Procter & Gamble recalled 32 of its dry shampoo and conditioner products after detecting benzene, a known cancer-causing chemical. — Japan hanged three death row inmates, the country’s first executions since 2019. They usually don’t even tell the condemned until hours before their death. — President Biden has a new German Shepard puppy named Commander. The Bidens had one Shepard that died and another that had to be given away after biting people. 

Divided Assets: A British court has ordered Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum to pay his ex-wife Princess Haya bint al-Hussein $728 million in one of the largest divorce settlements in the history of the UK.

  The money will be designated for Princess Haya’s security costs for the rest of her life, as well as costs for the couple’s two children. She won’t be needing a child tax credit on her income taxes.

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