IT FAILS A LOT OF TESTS: Biden’s Build Back Better bill fails Manchin’s three-part test.

Manchin asks three questions about any proposed spending program: 1) Are proposed programs paid for? 2) Do they have bipartisan support? 3) And do they solve a specific problem facing his constituents?

Build Back Better clearly fails the first two parts of the test and probably fails the third as well.

As the Congressional Budget Office has confirmed, Build Back Better is in no way paid for, adding $791 billion to federal deficits in just five years. Over 10 years, the legislation only adds $367 billion to deficits, and the deficit reduction stems from the fact that the bill authorizes only a few years of new spending and then “pays” for it with 10 years of taxes. If the spending were extended to last as long as the taxes that “pay” for it, then the bill would add trillions to deficits.

Moving to the second test, Biden’s Build Back Better agenda didn’t receive a single bipartisan vote in the House, and no Republican senator has said they support the bill either. This legislation has zero bipartisan support.

On the last test, it is not exactly clear what problem the Build Back Better bill actually solves for West Virginians. Manchin has said the bill’s child tax credit expansion is anti-work and he wants the child care portion of the bill means-tested. He also clearly doesn’t believe the climate portions of the bill are good for his state’s economy.

Stand fast, Senator.

PEOPLE SEE IT’S BIDEN AND THE POLITICAL CLASS: I couldn’t have put it any better myself than this opening paragraph from Issues & Insights’ editorial on the results of their latest TIPP Survey regarding the supply chain and inflation crises:

“Americans are making their lists, checking them twice, and finding that Washington politicians have been naughty, not nice, when it comes to the U.S.’ growing inflation problem and its supply-chain chaos. Indeed, the November I&I/TIPP Poll shows Americans overwhelmingly blame our Potomac-based political class for the current problems.”

And while you’re there, don’t miss the I & I crew’s take on Fauci finally coming around to something Trump was saying in October 2020; namely, that Covid is going to be around for a long time:

“Covid isn’t ever going away. We can cower in the basement, dutifully comply with ridiculous mask requirements and intrusive vaccine mandates, and submit to pointless shutdowns. Or we can do what Trump advised way back when. Act like adults, use common sense, and learn to live with COVID.”

PAUL CARON: Dave Chappelle, Reinhold Niebuhr, And The Gospel.

WELL, THAT’LL BE A SWITCH: Fauci: ’I’m going to be saving lives and they’re going to be lying.’

All this lashing out all of a sudden suggests that Fauci is getting rattled. Which he should be, since he’s doing a terrible job. Then again, he did a terrible job on AIDS 40 years ago and that didn’t hurt him.

And it’s rich that he thinks criticism of his lousy performance is “bias against science.”

Science is what works. That’s not what Fauci has delivered.

SALENA ZITO: Nobody builds hospitals anymore. “Mr. Albertini, a fellow with the American College of Healthcare Executives, said he called the organization looking for anyone who had opened a hospital recently; they essentially said, ‘Good luck.'”

OUR INSTITUTIONS ARE CORRUPT AND INEPT AND PEOPLE HAVE NOTICED: Military, justice, FBI — half the country has lost faith in pillars of US civilization.

SOMETHING ODD ABOUT THIS: Matthew McConaughey says he’s not running for Governor of the Lone Star State “at this moment.” But he’s clearly not going away. Could he be, for example, thinking Ted Cruz may seek higher office come 2024, thus creating a Senate vacancy?

ON SUNDAY I DO A PROMO POST FOR (MOSTLY) INDIE AUTHORS:  Book Promo And Vignettes by Luke, Mary Catelli and ‘Nother Mike.

There’s also a vignette writing challenge.

EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY: San Francisco: Knife-Wielding Afghan Refugee Charges Police, Is Shot Dead.

GLENN GREENWALD: The Cynical and Dangerous Weaponization of the “White Supremacist” Label. “In dominant elite discourse, no evidence is needed to brand someone a ‘white supremacist.’ The belief that it will produce political or personal gain suffices.”

To be fair, that’s because our dominant elites are garbage.

IF YOU’VE EVER COMPARED YOUR FOOT AND YOUR DOG’S PAW: Then you were doing Homology, something that Darwin knew a lot about. But maybe not everything Darwin knew about Homology was accurate.

SO? SAVE FOR NEXT YEAR:  For Thanksgiving – Heirloom Dishes.

Are your arms broken, or did you forget where the bookmark bar is?

HAVE YOU GUYS EVER READ ABOUT SOVIET SCIENCE?  The Profound Junk Science of Climate.

If you had, this story would be familiar.

AGAIN, MORE ACCURATE WITH A PERIOD AFTER ADMINISTRATION:  Complete Madness In The Biden Administration: Energy Policy.

LORD, WHEN WE ASKED THAT YOU MAKE OUR ENEMIES RIDICULOUS:  That Wasn’t Thought Out: MSNBC Columnist Encourages People to Cut Their Cable to Hurt Fox News.

We didn’t expect You to overachieve!

BLINK. DO THEY THINK ZHOU BAI-DEN IS A SENTIENT LIFE FORM?  Israel Warns Biden on Iran.

BLUNT BUT ALSO NOT WRONG:  I’m going to be blunt.

MORE THAN ONE, ACTUALLY:  Is there a wholly unexpected benefit from the left’s COVID madness?

THIS HEADLINE MAKES PERFECT SENSE WITH A PERIOD AFTER BIDEN:  Media ignoring the utter weirdness of Biden’s Nantucket stay at a billionaire’s estate.

IS BEING???  Alan Dershowitz Warns the Justice System is Being Infected by Identity Politics and Critical Race Theory.

AND THERE’S MY SHOCKED FACE AGAIN!  Sentencing Of Jan. 6 “Shaman” Jacob Chansley Was Excessive.

SURE, BECAUSE WHAT GERMANY NEEDS IS A MORE POWERFUL GOVERNMENT:  Germany’s Next Government Vows “Climate Revolution,” Creates “Super” Ministry.

Particularly one that is “fighting” a strange menace they swear is real.

I’m shaking my head so hard my shocked face is going to fall off.

OH, MY, CRON!  Confused South African Medical Community Says Omicron Variant Only Has Mild Symptoms, “We Do Not Know Why So Much Hype”.

So, bog standard viral mutation? Behold my shocked face!

SO, JUST LIKE ITS AUTHORS?  Biden and Fauci’s Omicron travel ban ‘worse than useless,’ critics say.

There needs to be t-shirts with pictures of Biden, saying “I was scared of Covid-19, and all I got was this useless president.”

FACE COVERING IS FOR THE DEPLORABLES:  Biden seen flouting mask-wearing rule at Nantucket store.

Also Xi-Flu hasn’t crossed the species barrier into lizard people.