"Democrats are once again teeing up a showdown over 'voting rights' and the Senate filibuster. After the Build Back Better package stalled under its own weight, Senate Democrats pivoted and promised to pass a sweeping partisan rewrite of the nation's voting rules 'as early as the first week' in January.

"What will the Senate vote on? It is hard to say. Ironically enough, the progressive leaders who have anointed themselves the defenders of democracy haven't shared their specific plans with the public.

"But whether the Senate vote is on H.R. 1, H.R. 4, the 'Freedom to Vote Act,' or something new, it will amount to the same thing: yet another attempt to remake elections, weaken voting safeguards, and skew the machinery of democracy in favor of one party over the other. That's a recipe for chaos that threatens to sap public confidence in elections. ...

"But progressives face a steep hurdle to their ambitious plans to stack voting laws in their own favor: Most people support the policies that have been enacted in Georgia, Texas, and other states. These new laws have expanded early-voting opportunities, streamlined absentee-ballot procedures, improved protections for mail-in voting, and brought greater transparency and accountability to election administration.

"And despite a year of persistent attacks, policies such as voter ID have grown in popularity, especially among minority voters. Today, 65 percent of Americans want to strengthen election safeguards, and more than three in four black and Hispanic voters think everyone should have to show a photo ID to vote."

Read the entire article here.

"The late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg once observed that 'it's hard not to have a big year at the Supreme Court.' However, there are some years that are bigger than others. That's what 2022 is likely to be.

"The court has accepted a series of transformative cases with few available exit ramps. It recently added to that list.

"In other words, it is likely to issue historic rulings on abortion, gun rights and an assortment of other issues.

"The fact that the Supreme Court is going to hand down such decisions in a major election year is also noteworthy. The court tends to be more conservative in the selection of cases before major elections, but 2022 will put the court at ground zero in one of the most heated elections in history."

Read the entire article here.

"Within weeks, scientists at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research expect to announce that they have developed a vaccine that is effective against COVID-19 and all its variants, even Omicron, as well as from previous SARS-origin viruses that have killed millions of people worldwide.

"The achievement is the result of almost two years of work on the virus. The Army lab received its first DNA sequencing of the COVID-19 virus in early 2020. Very early on, Walter Reed's infectious diseases branch decided to focus on making a vaccine that would work against not just the existing strain but all of its potential variants as well.

"Walter Reed's Spike Ferritin Nanoparticle COVID-19 vaccine, or SpFN, completed animal trials earlier this year with positive results. Phase 1 of human trials, which tested the vaccine against Omicron and the other variants, wrapped up this month, again with positive results that are undergoing final review, Dr. Kayvon Modjarrad, director of Walter Reed's infectious diseases branch, said in an exclusive interview with Defense One. The new vaccine will still need to undergo phase 2 and phase 3 trials.

"Unlike existing vaccines, Walter Reed's SpFN uses a soccer ball-shaped protein with 24 faces for its vaccine, which allows scientists to attach the spikes of multiple coronavirus strains on different faces of the protein."

"The surprise Sunday was not Sen. Joe Manchin's announcement on 'Fox News Sunday' that he won't support President Joe Biden's Build Back Better (BBB) bill, but the White House reaction to his declaration. ...

"It appears the White House thought Manchin didn't really mean what he said about BBB. Perhaps they thought he was angling for special provisions benefiting his state before joining virtually all other congressional Democrats in the spending orgy. Or the White House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., thought they could pressure Manchin to fall into line like they'd done to so many House Democrats who'd harbored doubts about BBB. Turns out, Manchin meant what he's been saying.

"But what's with the aggressive slap-down delivered Sunday by White House press secretary Jen Psaki? She essentially called Manchin a liar and a traitor to his party. Who told her to do this? The president? Chief of staff Ron Klain? The White House congressional lobbyists? The likely answer is all of them.

"Therein lies the rub for the deeply personal attack on Manchin. It was a terrible mistake. Did they think questioning Manchin's integrity would make him more eager to engage with the White House in the future? Cause him to turn into a mindless, compliant blob who supported every administration initiative that Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and the House Progressive Caucus dreamed up? ...

"The White House will pay many prices, large and small, for attacking the senator on Sunday."

Read the entire article here.

"For five and a half months, I have worked as diligently as possible meeting with President Biden, Majority Leader Schumer, Speaker Pelosi and my colleagues on every end of the political spectrum to determine the best path forward despite my serious reservations. I have made my concerns clear through public statements, op-eds and private conversations. My concerns have only increased as the pandemic surges on, inflation rises and geopolitical uncertainty increases around the world.

"I have always said, 'If I can't go back home and explain it, I can't vote for it.' Despite my best efforts, I cannot explain the sweeping Build Back Better Act in West Virginia and I cannot vote to move forward on this mammoth piece of legislation.

"My Democratic colleagues in Washington are determined to dramatically reshape our society in a way that leaves our country even more vulnerable to the threats we face. I cannot take that risk with a staggering debt of more than $29 trillion and inflation taxes that are real and harmful to every hard-working American at the gasoline pumps, grocery stores and utility bills with no end in sight.

"The American people deserve transparency on the true cost of the Build Back Better Act. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office determined the cost is upwards of $4.5 trillion which is more than double what the bill's ardent supporters have claimed. They continue to camouflage the real cost of the intent behind this bill.

"As the Omicron variant spreads throughout communities across the country, we are seeing COVID-19 cases rise at rates we have not seen since the height of this pandemic. We are also facing increasing geopolitical uncertainty as tensions rise with both Russia and China. Our ability to quickly and effectively respond to these pending threats would be drastically hindered by our rising debt.

"If enacted, the bill will also risk the reliability of our electric grid and increase our dependence on foreign supply chains. The energy transition my colleagues seek is already well underway in the United States of America. In the last two years, as Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and with bipartisan support, we have invested billions of dollars into clean energy technologies so we can continue to lead the world in reducing emissions through innovation. But to do so at a rate that is faster than technology or the markets allow will have catastrophic consequences for the American people like we have seen in both Texas and California in the last two years.

"I will never forget the warning from then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, that he delivered during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing during my first year in the Senate. He testified that the greatest threat facing our nation was our national debt and since that time our debt has doubled.

"I will continue working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to address the needs of all Americans and do so in a way that does not risk our nation's independence, security and way of life."

Read Senator Manchin's statement on his website here.

"Earlier this month when she announced her candidacy for governor of Georgia, Stacey Abrams said, 'Idid not challenge the outcome of the election, unlike some recent folks did.' That sound you hear is the world's largest record scratch. Despite these desperate attempts to rewrite history, Stacey Abrams is the pioneer of election disinformation.

After losing the 2018 Georgia gubernatorial election, Abrams was unwilling to concede to Gov.-elect Brian Kemp. The next year she said , 'We had this little election back in 2018 and despite the final tally and the inauguration and the situation we find ourselves in, I do have one very affirmative statement to make: we won.' She went even further on several occasions claiming that she had won and that she was proud she hadn't conceded.

She is changing her tune now because she knows her past statements are not only campaign fodder for her opponents, but reveals to Georgians her role in our state's mistrust of elections."

Read the entire article here.

"'The difference between genius and idiocy is that genius has its limits.'

"'The definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing and expecting a different result.'

"Albert Einstein never said either of these things, even though both are attributed to him all over the internet. But both phrases are appropriately applied to the numerous influential yet misguided voices that championed the bogus cause of net neutrality in 2017. ...

"Unfortunately, however, President Joe Biden is putting the band back together. He is nominating FCC officials who would turn back the clock and regulate the internet as if it were some old-timey 1930s phone company whose employees direct your calls through a switchboard. There is no rational grounding for such a policy, which is sure to retard internet investment the moment it takes effect. Biden probably has no idea what a bad idea this is for his failing administration. Someone who loves him needs to explain to him why this is such a gigantic mistake."

Read the entire article here.

"New Hampshire is the freest state in the U.S. compared to the rest of the country, while New York is the least free, according to the CATO Institute's latest 'Freedom in the 50 States' report.

"The nonprofit think tank's report provides an in-debth look into personal and economic freedoms on a state-by-state basis. It ranks all 50 states according to how their public policies affect individual freedoms economically, socially and personally, ranging from taxation to debt, from eminent domain laws to occupational licensing, and from drug policy to educational choice.

"'Measuring freedom is important because freedom is valuable to people,' the report states, as 'a means to their flourishing ... and an end in itself. At the very least, it is valuable to those whose choices are restricted by public policy.' ...

"The overall freedom ranking assesses state policies related to fiscal, regulatory and personal categories within which are multiple criteria. According to its metrics, New Hampshire is overall the freest state in America.

"Rounding out the 10 freest states are Florida, Nevada, Tennessee, South Dakota, Indiana, Michigan, Georgia, Arizona and Idaho.

"New York leads in most categories in the 313-page report as one of the least free states. It's the least free state overall, followed by Hawaii, California, New Jersey, Oregon, Maryland, Delaware, Vermont, New Mexico and Rhode Island."

Read the entire article here.

"The Democrats' Build Back Better Act pending in the U.S. Senate includes a proposal to allocate $80 billion to the Internal Revenue Service to hire nearly 87,000 additional agents -- a plan opposed by a majority of voters recently polled.

"The BBBA proposal also comes after numerous reports show years of examples of agency problems costing taxpayer money.

"According to a new HarrisX poll, 58% of likely voters said they think increased enforcement would impact middle class taxpayers the most; 23% said it would only impact the wealthy.

"Their inclination appears to be accurate, according to the House version of the bill. Half of the expected 1.2 million new audits would target households earning less than $75,000.

"The majority of the proposed funding -- $44.9 billion -- would go toward IRS enforcement compared to $1.93 billion to help taxpayers with services like pre-filing assistance and education, filing and account services, and taxpayer advocacy."

Link to the entire article here.

"As former Sen. Bob Dole is laid to rest on Friday, let us not lay to rest important lessons we should draw from his life and leadership. ...

"Although he wasn't much for marketing labels, Dole was the original compassionate conservative, a term later credited to George W. Bush. Grievously injured in World War II, Dole was in a full-body cast, spent three years on his back in recovery, and was forever hampered by disability. No doubt this helped him see the needs of others, and most of his signature legislative accomplishments reflect that care and concern -- from the Americans With Disabilities Act to food and nutrition assistance, veterans benefits, and saving Social Security. Dole believed there was a role for the government for those with special needs.

"Much has been said about his now rare bipartisanship, which is also true. Most of his major legislative accomplishments were made with rivals from the other party -- Sens. Ted Kennedy, George McGovern, Tom Daschle, and others. Sadly, it's difficult to imagine that sort of bipartisanship today, and that alone is an important Dole legacy. ...

"Dole was from America's 'greatest generation,' cut from a different cloth. But there is no reason his lessons of pragmatic conservatism -- making government work for the needy, seeking bipartisanship, and respecting institution and governance -- couldn't come to the fore again. That would be the best way to honor Sen. Dole."

Read the entire article here.