SPOILER: IT WON’T WORK. N.Y. Gov. Hochul Now Bribing Counties to Enforce Her Mask Mandate.

GROOVY: Psychedelics: The newest tool in nuclear negotiations?

The plan was simple: Give the psychedelic drug MDMA (popularly known as Ecstasy) to Soviet scientists and military personnel set to negotiate with US President Ronald Reagan in 1985, thereby injecting empathy and cross-cultural understanding into the nuclear peace process.

So, that’s just what Rick Doblin and Carol Rosin say they did—and they still believe introducing psychedelics into nuclear negotiations can produce positive results.

I’m dubious this happened, to say the least.

IT’S DIFFERENT NOW BECAUSE ORANGE MAN BAD: Chicago Mayor Lightfoot Begs Biden for Help After Turning Down Trump Offer for Assistance.

HR 6225: Firearms Dealers Once Again In The Crosshairs Of The Anti-Gun Crowd. “None of this falderal would keep guns out of the hands of people who aren’t supposed to have them. But it would place more restrictions on FFL holders to the point of attempting to choke off their legal commerce and restrict ordinary gun owners from their 2nd amendment rights.”

HER STORY AFTER BEING DISAPPEARED FOR A WHILE: Chinese Tennis Star Now Says She Wasn’t Sexually Assaulted by Government Official.

THE WAR ON PRIVATE TRANSPORTATION: Biden Administration Imposes New Fuel Efficiency Regulations, Aiming For ‘Zero-Emissions Future.’ “The new EPA regulations require all new cars and light-duty vehicles to achieve an average fuel efficiency standard of 40 miles per gallon. This is a slight increase from the 38 miles per gallon standard the EPA suggested in its original proposal and an increase of 8 miles per gallon from the rule imposed by former President Trump’s EPA in 2020.”

JUST SAY NO: The Mark of the Beast? Implanted Microchips Storing Vaccine Status Are Already a Reality.

RAV ARORA: The Record-Breaking Homicide Wave in Philadelphia. “Though progressive politicians dismiss growing crime concerns as right-wing ‘hysteria,’ the homicide toll is nearly impossible to exaggerate. More people have died by homicide in Philadelphia in 2021 than in 2014 (248) and 2015 (280) combined. Moreover, the racial inequality in homicide victimization is striking: though black Americans comprise only 41.5% of Philadelphia’s population, they account for 85% of the city’s homicide victims.”

That right there is your systemic racism, courtesy of “progressive” Democrats like Philly DA Larry Krasner.

VODKAPUNDIT PRESENTS YOUR WEEKLY INSANITY WRAP: Everybody’s Got Omicron Fever! “There are two kinds of omicron victims: People who have caught omicron but won’t die from it, and people who are deathly afraid of it.”

Plus:

• Caught on video: When Teachers Attack (In the Lamest Way Possible)
• How to turn an imaginative child into a hate-crime hoaxter
• Everybody is getting coal for Christmas

So much more at the link, you’d have to be crazy to miss it.

PUSHING GRANDPA OFF THE CLIFF: Democrats Prepare To Dump Joe Biden Now That He’s Served His Purpose.

The truth is that establishment Democrats wanted Joe, and they selected him, despite his age and numerous warning signs regarding his mental acuity. He was the blank canvas on which anything could be written, and he could be sold as a “moderate.”

As Bernie Sanders surged in the polls in early 2020 with 45 delegates after the first three primaries and Joe languished in a distant third place with 15, the party took control. Rep. Jim Clyburn stepped in and delivered an influential endorsement in South Carolina that pushed African-American support to Biden’s campaign, propelling him to victory. Stories immediately appeared claiming Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar, and Pete Buttigieg had “no realistic path to the nomination.”

Despite trailing early in fundraising behind the well-organized Sanders fundraising machine, the Democrat establishment pivoted to push donations to Biden. As the NYT admitted in an article at the time, “The elite world of billionaires and multimillionaires has remained a critical cog in the Biden money machine.” Bernie’s small-dollar donors were no match for the large bundles of corporate and PAC cash.

With a lot of help from a sycophantic media, Biden was elected president of the United States, without serious inquiry regarding his physical and mental abilities. Now, suddenly, it’s time to plan Joe’s exit before the new Oval Office carpet has fully settled in place?

Biden might not be all he used to be (and he never was much) but he knows how Washington works — and I can’t imagine him going without a fight.

Corn, popped.

BRANDON SPEAKS: The Real Brandon Speaks: ‘I’m No Longer Going to Be Silent About Why Millions of Americans Are Chanting My Name.’ “I understand that millions of people are struggling right now and are frustrated. Struggling to get by and struggling to build a solid life for themselves and their families, and wondering why their government only seems to make it worse. People have a right to frustration—even anger.”

WHITE HOUSE FIRES AT MANCHIN, HITS OWN FOOT: Manchin Fires Back At The White House After Gloves-Off Statement Criticizes His Opposition To BBB.

In an interview with West Virginia’s Hoppy Kercheval, Manchin said that while he “figured they would come back strong,” they knew that Manchin could not support the bill they were backing.

“You know me, always willing to work and listen and try. I just got to the wit’s end and they know the real reason” things fell apart, Manchin said, referring to the White House.

“[The staff] put some things out that were absolutely inexcusable,” Manchin added. “They know what it is and that’s it.”

Stand fast, Senator.

CHUTZPAH: Ilhan Omar Rejects Manchin’s ‘Complete Bulls**t,’ Says She Knows What’s Best for the People of West Virginia.

PETER SCHIFF: The Era of Low Inflation Is the Only Thing That’s Transitory. “You need tight monetary policy to deal with inflation. And even if the Fed becomes less loose, nobody is looking at tight money — especially the Fed.”

Killing off inflation requires the kind of political will displayed by Ronald Reagan and Paul Volcker in 1981-82 — the willingness to risk personal political disaster for the good of the country.

That kind of concern for the commonweal is nowhere to be found in this administration.

STACEY LENNOX: Chuck Schumer’s Tough-Guy Act Could Backfire Spectacularly in 2022 and Beyond. “Unfortunately for Schumer, polls show voters are not nearly as upset that the reconciliation bill is stalled as Democrats and their allies in the corporate media are. On Dec. 17, Rasmussen Reports noted that 77% of likely voters were following the news about the BBB Act at least somewhat closely. Only 38% support the legislation, while 45% are opposed. Among Democrats, support declined to 62%, and a mere 34% of independents want the spending bill passed.”

LEVIATHAN: Watchdog warns Biden can install $2 trillion Build Back Better through regulations.

Biden appears poised to expand federal regulations greatly, especially if he loses control of the House and Senate, leaving him only with executive orders to impose his liberal agenda. Former President Barack Obama called that ruling with a “pen and a phone” when he lost support on Capitol Hill.

“Despite all the talk we have from Biden and many Democrats about protecting democracy, progressives see themselves as experts, and progressivism itself is rooted in the rule of experts,” Crews said.

“It looks like Biden’s not getting his Build Back Better Act at the moment, but take it from me. They’ll be using the occasion to say, ‘Well, hell, we can do this just using the infrastructure legislation and other precedence and act without Congress,’ bringing back the infamous pen and phone,” he said.

Read the whole thing.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEF: Democrat Psychopaths to America—Merry Christmas! You’re All Gonna Die! “To the surprise of no one normal, the mask/vax Covid panic porn Nazis are using the OMG Omicron variant as a way to ratchet up the public health emotional terrorism they’ve been perfecting for almost two years now.”

HMM: Hillary Clinton Emails Surface.

Broadly discussing China’s biological weapons program, Clinton’s cable noted:

“The U.S. believes AG members would be interested in any information you can share related to China and North Korea, specifically information related to:

• China’s Institutes of Biological Products (locations in Beijing and Wuhan), to include overhead imagery analysis, if possible.

• Your perceptions of the CBW proliferation activities by Chinese entities.

• Your perceptions of Chinese government efforts to enforce its export control rules.”

Of course, Clinton kept these concerns to herself once the coronavirus pandemic hit, even referring to allegations that it leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology — the very lab she expressed concerns about — as racist.

She even went so far as to blame the allegations for attacks on Asian-Americans, without any evidence supporting her claim.

Whether it was because she didn’t want to let Trump be correct, or because she wanted to hide the fact that she was concerned — but did nothing — about the lab leak, it is clear Clinton was lying.

Our elites either virtually ignored China’s bio programs or actively aided them.

Meanwhile, they called Trump a racist for trying to box China in.

PJ MEDIA VIP ROUNDUP: Don’t forget that VODKAPUNDIT promo code if you’ve been thinking of joining us.

Kevin Downey Jr: Nine Christmas Cocktails to Trigger the Libs. “I created these drinks with what I have in my bar. I should warn you, my apartment, the Atomic Bunker, has 18 “pandemic” months’ worth of clown juice lying around. I might have things you don’t. Also, I might have developed a drinking problem penchant.”

AJ Kaufman: Joe Manchin NEVER Planned to Support BBB: Here’s Why. “Now that Sen. Joe Manchin has finally crushed Pres. Joe Biden’s profligate spending package, it’s time for Democrats to stop bullying and perhaps try to understand why Manchin rightly was never going to vote for their radical ‘Build Back Better’ legislation.”

Yours Truly: RUN AWAY! Teachers Union Trying to Rewrite COVID School Closure History. “NYT’s Goldberg provided air cover for Weingarten’s claims as parents around the nation have had it up to here with closures and half days. When Goldberg was called out, Weingarten’s big-union machinery geared up into action on Monday to push the false narrative even harder.”

Also: Give the Gift of Truth This Christmas. “When you purchase VIP subscriptions for friends and loved ones, you’ll not only be directly supporting our mission, but they’ll get access to members-only articles, an ad-free experience, and exclusive members-only podcasts. VIP Gold members get all that, plus access to the VIP content on all of the sites in the Townhall Media family—Townhall, RedState, Twitchy, Hot Air, Bearing Arms, and, of course, PJ Media. In addition, VIP Gold members have the opportunity to participate in exclusive VIP live chats with our contributors.”

WELL-PAID MAKE-WORK FOR THE OTHERWISE UNEMPLOYABLE: California ‘Deputy Superintendent of Equity’ Resigns After Illegal Hiring Revealed. “If you’re like me and don’t live in woke world, you probably didn’t even know there was such a position as a deputy superintendent of equity; nor is it likely you know what such a creature does. Don’t worry, no one really knows what he does.”

A VERY PUBLIC EDUCATION: Holocaust Re-Enactment for Third-Graders Is the Latest School Outrage.

THE POWER OF THE STATE COMPELS YOU: Fauci Orchestrated ‘Quick and Devastating’ Takedown of Anti-Lockdown Experts.

THERE WASN’T ONE, AND THERE WON’T BE ONE: Washington Post, Leftist Generals Stoke Hysteria About a 2024 ‘Insurrection.’

BECAUSE IT’S HIGHLY INFECTIOUS (AND GENERALLY NOT VERY SERIOUS), ALLOWING POPULATIONS TO ESTABLISH HERD IMMUNITY IN SHORT ORDER. NEXT QUESTION? South Africa’s Omicron Wave Looks Like It’s Already Peaking. Why?

ZERO IS THE NUMBER THE PRESS WOULD LIKE YOU TO REMEMBER: Allegedly, There Are Only a Few Americans Left in Afghanistan.