Eastern Threat: The 30 NATO defense pact countries issued a warning yesterday that that China increasingly poses a global security problem, shifting the focus of an organization founded to defend Europe and North America.

   “The democratic values that undergird our alliance are under increasing pressure, both internally and externally,” President Joe Biden told reporters after the summit. “Russia and China are both seeking to drive a wedge in our trans-Atlantic solidarity.”

  China has the second-largest military budget after the United States and the world’s largest navy. The Chinese are bulking up their nuclear arsenal and building more ships.

  NATO secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg said, “China is not our adversary, but the balance of power is shifting.’’ And he said, “China is coming closer to us. We see them in cyberspace, we see China in Africa, but we also see China investing heavily in our own critical infrastructure.” Stoltenberg said, “We need to respond together as an alliance.”

  China responded with a statement saying its defense policy is “defensive in nature,” as if anyone would invade China, and urged NATO to “devote more of its energy to promoting dialogue”.

The Digital Threat: Following revelations that the Trump administration seized the digital records of reporters, members of Congress, and even the White House lawyer, Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department will tighten its rules for doing that kind of thing.

  That announcement came as John Demers, the Trump administration official who leads the Justice Department’s national security division overseeing leak investigations, told his staff he’s resigning.

Viral News: Long after they have recovered, many people are experiencing odd after-effects of Covid-19, including an aversion to some odors and certain kinds of food. Former patients report being repulsed by coffee, onions, garlic, meat, and more.

  Some are dealing with more serious secondary health problems, including pain, in nerves and muscles; breathing difficulties; high cholesterol; malaise and fatigue; and high blood pressure, The NY Times reports.

  And in just one other side-effect of the pandemic, the Girl Scouts say they are left with 15 million unsold boxes of cookies.

 On the vaccination front, Vermont has become the first state to at least partially vaccinate 80 percent of its residents 12 or older and Gov. Phil Scott announced that he’s lifting all remaining state pandemic restrictions.

  California is lifting restrictions. And in New York last night Steven Colbert hosted “The Late Show” in front of a live audience for the first time in 400 days.

  Other states, particularly in the South, are lagging behind. The divide, like so many others, is based in politics.

  A recent poll by CBS News  reveals that 77% of people who identify themselves politically as Democrats are fully or partially vaccinated, but only about 52% of those who identify as Republican have taken the shot. Among those who identify as independent, about 57% are fully or partially vaccinated.

Obsession: A hour before William Barr announced his resignation as Attorney General last year, President Trump was already pressuring Barr’s replacement to take up claims of election fraud, The NY Times reports.

  Trump had an assistant email Jeffrey Rosen with documents purporting to show evidence of election fraud in northern Michigan. It was the same claims that a federal judge had thrown out as baseless a week earlier. 

  Two weeks later Rosen was sent an email asking him to file a complaint with the Supreme Court arguing that state officials had used the pandemic to weaken election security and ease the way for widespread vote fraud.

  The Times reports that, “The emails, turned over by the Justice Department to investigators on the House Oversight Committee and obtained by The New York Times, show how Mr. Trump pressured Mr. Rosen to put the power of the Justice Department behind lawsuits that had already failed to try to prove his false claims that extensive voter fraud had affected the election results.”

The Spin Rack: Having blocked President Obama’s Supreme Court nomination, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he would block any appointment by President Biden if Republicans win control of the Senate in 2022. — A man in Decatur, Georgia shot and killed a grocery clerk who asked him to wear a mask in the store. Both the shooter and a reserve deputy sheriff were then wounded in an exchange of fire. — Accused Capitol rioter Richard Barnett, who put his feet up on Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s desk, did an interview with Russian state television in which he complained about jail conditions and said he’s a big proponent of the First Amendment, a concept that might require some explaining to the people at Russian television.

Congressional Star: Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, currently reigning as the stupidest member of Congress, admitted yesterday that having to wear a mask and get vaccinated for Covid safety is not comparable to being Jewish forced to wear a yellow star during the Holocaust.

  Greene’s public contrition came after she visited the Holocaust Museum in Washington. “It happened,” she said, “and, you know, over 6 million Jewish people were murdered.”

  Back in May she tweeted,  “Vaccinated employees get a vaccination logo just like the Nazi’s forced Jewish people to wear a gold star.”

  She was educated in Georgia.

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