CATS: ALL IS PROCEEDING ACCORDING TO PLAN. Humans have been bonding with cats for thousands of years.

A MUST-SEE FIREWALL FROM BILL WHITTLE: Weaponized Trust. “We’re being lied to…a lot. And we know it. I met a mentalist performer who opens the doors of the mind to understanding how psychological manipulation works. This is how we can defuse the weaponized trust that powers the political and cultural elites.”

21st CENTURY BUFF: The B-52H will be re-designated the B-52J or possibly B-52K when it gets a new radar and new engines.

RIP: Tributes paid as last surviving Dambuster Johnny Johnson dies, aged 101.

THE CRITICAL DRINKER: Andor — The Best Show At The Worst Time (Video).

MORE LIKE THIS, PLEASE: Texas Legislative Committee Subpoenas BlackRock Over ESG Investing.

TO BE FAIR, SHE’S ALWAYS SWUNG BOTH WAYS: Senator Sinema Leaves the Democratic Party, Registers as an Independent.

HOLIDAY DEAL: TurboTax Deluxe 2022 Tax Software. #CommissionEarned

BIDEN GAVE AWAY OUR LEVERAGE WITH THE SAUDIS, AND ANGERED THEM WITH THAT “PARIAH STATE” RHETORIC, TOO: Saudi Arabia signs Huawei deal, deepening China ties on Xi visit.

HANS BADER:  “Crime Plunges in El Salvador as Criminals Are Sent to Prison.”  Salvadoran president vowed to cut crime by sending criminals to prison.  And it worked.  What a concept ….

I’M OLD ENOUGH TO REMEMBER WHEN TRUMP WAS RIDICULED FOR SAYING TIKTOK WAS A THREAT: Four States Now Ban CCP-Tied TikTok on State Devices.

STAY WARM: Amazon Basics Weighted Blanket. #CommissionEarned

THAT’S A SIGN IN APPLE’S FAVOR: The FBI isn’t happy with Apple’s expansion of end-to-end encryption for iCloud.

L.A. STORY: After His Incredible Debut With the LA Rams, It’s Clear Baker Mayfield Is Ready for His Close-Up.

ANOTHER 30% AGREE BUT ARE AFRAID TO SAY SO: 63% of U.S. college students felt ‘intimidated’ against sharing opinion in class: survey.

I QUESTION THE TIMING: FBI Bigwig Quietly Steps Down Just Before New Congress Probes Begin.

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Watch: Companies ditch four-year degree requirement.

COULDN’T HAPPEN TO A MORE DESERVING BUNCH: Turns out the Biden years have not been good for The Swamp’s hometown newspaper, as the Washington Post has lost 20 percent of its subscribers since Joe was sworn-in. At 20 percent per year, “Four More Years” could be a death sentence for a once-proud journalism outfit.

COMMIES LIE: China’s Economic and Financial Data Does Not Add Up.

The IMF’s surveillance cycle for China is wrapping up, and at least judging from the press release, China’s balance of payments was not a focus of the conversation.

That is unfortunate.

I, of course, believe that the balance of payments is always central to understanding how any economy is interacting with the rest of the world economy, particularly for an economy whose visible trade surplus now approaches $1 trillion (a percent of world GDP).

But even setting that general point aside, there are a growing set of questions about China’s external data that are of fundamental importance to both China’s economy and the world economy.

Put simply, China’s external numbers just aren’t lining up. And they don’t really add up either. Often, the reported balance of payments is slightly at odds with the underlying source data.

Four discrepancies stand out.

It’s a technical article without any real answers — but lots of interesting questions.

GOVERNMENT CHILD ABUSE: CPS: Mom Can’t Let Her 3 Kids—Ages 6, 8, and 9—Play Outside by Themselves. “Pearisburg, Virginia, social services says kids must be watched—at all times—until they turn 13.”

There are few people less qualified to opine on parenting practices than social services bureaucrats.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Brittney Griner Should Have Been Left to Rot in Russia. “Brittney Griner is a cliché America-hating lefty who was stupid enough to pack drugs for a trip to a hostile foreign nation. If ever anyone needed a harsh lesson about why America is better, it’s this idiot. She should have had to serve out her labor camp penalty in Russia until she was ready to wake up and sing the Star Spangled Banner every day.”

HOLIDAY DEAL: GEREFEREN Telescope for Astronomy Beginners. #CommissionEarned

ALL EYES ON MANCHIN: Sen. Kyrsten Sinema leaves Democratic Party and registers as an independent. She will continue to caucus with the Democrats, but that could change.

OH: Dems’ Star Witness In SCOTUS Hearing Deemed ‘Not Credible’ By SCOTUS. “The Rev. Robert Schenck will testify during the House Judiciary Committee Hearing on Thursday regarding his allegations that Supreme Court Justice Alito leaked court opinions in 2014 despite the Supreme Court in 1996 deeming Schenck ‘not entirely credible.'”

I’ll have to check with Glenn on this one, but I’m pretty sure that “not entirely credible” is SCOTUS speak for “full of it.”

CALL THEM “JUSTICE DENIERS:” House Democrats ripped for attacking Supreme Court and GOP justices.