Beltway Insider: Biden, Trump, Stimulus, China, COVID Surge, Vaccine, Cannabis, Eliot Page, December 7, 1941

President Elect Biden continues to gear up his transition, despite President Trump's baseless legal challenges which daily engrave his expected 2024 campaign platform in the minds of the voters as he projects illegitimacy on the democratic win.

The President's job approval rating, according to the website fivethirtyeight.com, for the period ending December 6, 2020, decreased by .04 percentage points to 43.6% of those polled who approve of his effectiveness as President and those who disapprove of his effectiveness increased by .01% percentage points to 52.8%. A slight 3% of the population polled have no opinion. Ratings are calculated weekly.


Beltway Insider: Biden Transition, Trump Pardons, Iran, COVID Surge, Dinkins, Black Friday


Biden Enters Stimulus Stalemate

President-elect Joe Biden has taken an active role in the ongoing Coronavirus stimulus stalemate between the House and Senate urging the two sides to come together to approve what he has said "will only be the beginning."

Biden has also released part of his war plans to fight against the dark expected winter as the coronavirus maintains its death grip on the United States.

"President-elect Joe Biden told CNN's Jake Tapper on Thursday that he will ask Americans to wear masks for the first 100 days after he takes office, in a sign of how Biden's approach to the virus will be dramatically different from President Donald Trump's response. "Just 100 days to mask, not forever. One hundred days. And I think we'll see a significant reduction," Biden said for the first time in the interview with Tapper," CNN reported.

China Biggest Security Threat to U.S.

As Biden has begun to receive the President's Daily Brief, he has also become privy to assertions of the outgoing administration Director of National Intelligence, John Ratcliffe's belief that China is the biggest security threat to the United States.

"The intelligence is clear: Beijing intends to dominate the U.S. and the rest of the planet economically, militarily and technologically," Ratcliffe wrote in an op-ed published Thursday in The Wall Street Journal. "Many of China's major public initiatives and prominent companies offer only a layer of camouflage to the activities of the Chinese Communist Party," The APNews.com reported.

For naturalized Chinese Americans, with family in the mainland, the camouflage masks itself in the Gamification reward system the Chinese government have introduced into society in order to create a unified society which by the rules of simple gaming create a point reward system for citizens who maintain the laws of the state. They are rewarded by receiving easier travel visa, loans, and other state-controlled enticements.

Chinese nationals are targeted by the homeland for a myriad of reasons and for those with family in the homeland, their life becomes easier for simple actions. The rational, of course, it for the Chinese national it is akin to sending money home to help a family member. The domestic action results in an easing of restrictions abroad.


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Tagged as economic espionage by the outgoing administration, APNews.com reported, "I call its approach of economic espionage 'rob, replicate and replace,'" Ratcliffe said. "China robs U.S. companies of their intellectual property, replicates the technology and then replaces the U.S. firms in the global marketplace."

Rare Earth Elements which are used throughout the manufacture of all tech products, all alternative energy products, defense and essentially any device that has a monitor or screen element from handheld to laptop to flat screen television and everything else, the exportation of which China has continued to monopolize by keeping a knee on the neck of the world by keeping prices low, is integral to the technological domination strategy.

The United States once the dominant leader in the Rare Earth Elements battle, with the biggest deposit at Mountain Pass, had been driven out of business by the deep undercuts of the Chinese and secondly which may continue to cause disruption the extreme pollutants released when mining which have been compared to a Three Mile Island type catastrophic damage on the surrounding environment including contaminating land and water supply, which results in the land becoming uninhabitable and the water supply undrinkable.

"Once the world's largest producer of rare earths—a group of 17 minerals crucial in the manufacturing of many high-tech products—it was forced to shut in 2002 in part because it was squeezed out by China's low prices. In 2015, its owner went bankrupt. A new owner acquired the mine, and slowly restarted operations. Now that company, MP Materials, is about to go public on the New York Stock Exchange. Its stated mission: restore the full rare earth supply chain to the US and eliminate dependence on China, which currently dominates the global rare earth industry," reported qz.com.

China also acknowledges the grave conditions produced by mining these rare and pricy elements but sees the risks as a necessary evil.

Coronavirus Totals

The infection rates of the coronavirus have alarmingly increased around the world. The weekly account confirms that a second wave is building with European nations enforcing shutdowns for, at minimum, one month. The importance of maintaining personal protective practices is imperative to controlling the spread.

For the week ending December 06, 2020, coronavirus cases increased globally by 4,000,600 confirmed cases, brings the total of confirmed cases worldwide to 66,558,000, with 1,528,300 deaths, an increase of 72,100 over the week.

Infections rates in the United States are also on the rise. For the week ending December 06, 2020, the total confirmed cases rose to 14,651,600 with new confirmed cases rising by more than one million this week alone with an average by 181,185 cases per day. The coronavirus has claimed 281,200 total deaths, a weekly increase of 14,900 deaths. (Data from The New York Times).

Coronavirus Vaccine Concerns

Operation Warp Speed, which may become the single remaining benchmark of the Trump Administration, has moved faster than any vaccine in history of vaccine development, with at least nine global pharmaceutical companies, Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca/Oxford, Novavax, Johnson & Johnson, Sinovac Biotech, Gamaleya, CanSino Biologics, Sinopharm, all reporting success in third stage trials.

Pfizer and Moderna have both applied to the Food and Drug Administration (F.D.A.) for emergency use authorization.

"More than 70 coronavirus vaccines are being developed around the world, including 11 that, like Pfizer's and Moderna's vaccines, are in large-scale trials to gauge effectiveness. One of those is made by AstraZeneca, which announced positive but puzzling preliminary results on Nov. 23: Its vaccine was 90 percent effective in people who received a half dose and then a full one, but 62 percent effective in those who received two full doses. Researchers are waiting for more data," The New York Times reported.

Currently Pfizer/BioNTech is the only vaccine approved. It plans to produce 50M does in the remainder of 2020 and 1.3billion doses in 2021. Pfizer's trial size of approximately 44K individual has been proven 95% effective in fighting the virus.


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Reports from the Pfizer Clinical trials state of the test group both a placebo and an actual dosage of the vaccine were administered.

"In total, 170 people fell ill with covid-19. Eight of them were in the vaccine group; 162 had received the placebo. So, 5 per cent of cases were in the vaccine group, which is where the 95 per cent figure comes from. The active ingredient is messenger RNA that carries instructions for making the virus's spike protein, which it uses to gain entry to cells. The mRNA is synthetic, not extracted from actual viruses. It is delivered in a tiny sphere of inert fatty material called a lipid nanoparticle," reported NewScientist.com.

The Pfizer vaccine essentially create a synthetic (fabricated) protein, which the bodies cells read as a threat. In order to fight off the perceived viral threat the build an army to combat the synthetic strain which has entered the body through the vaccine.

The synthetic protein does not contain any of the virus, unlike a flu shot which usually contains a flu strain and produces unpleasant symptoms or MMR vaccine which contain a live, although weakened strain of the measles, mumps, and rubella virus, the synthetic strain in the vaccine is built to fake out the bodies immune system into producing antibodies to fight it. This result will fight off the actual Coronavirus should the vaccinated individual become exposed.

The Pfizer vaccine requires two doses. Immunity is only reached after the second dosage. In trials the second dose ranged from 20 days to six weeks. There is no definitive data to support a single timeline. The only definitive data is that the second dose must be administered to attain immunity.

Even as the vaccine does not contain an actual strain of the Coronavirus, side effects were reported. No COVID-19 deaths have been reported, as a side effect, from any of the clinical staged trials after the vaccine had been administered.

"In the trial, the vaccine was generally well-tolerated, and an independent data monitoring committee reported no serious safety concerns. The worst side effects were fatigue and headaches after the second dose. About 4 per cent of people reported fatigue and 2 per cent a headache. Other side effects were pain at the injection site and muscle pain. These are "common reactions you would have with vaccination", says Özlem Türeci, chief medical officer at BioNTech. Older adults reported fewer and milder side effects, " NewScientist.com reported.

The distribution of the Pfizer vaccine which should roll out in the month of December, although the projected 50M doses has decreased by half due to internal production and "standard" issues.

"F.D.A. scientists will examine the information, and the application is likely to undergo a final review on Dec. 17 by a panel of expert advisers to the agency, Mr. Bancel said, adding that he expected the advisers to make a decision within 24 to 72 hours. The F.D.A. usually follows the recommendations of its advisory panels," The New York Times reported.

U.S. distribution has also been a much-discussed issue with a priority ranking to be determined by the F.D.A. with frontline workers expected to be the first in line for vaccination. The remainder of the population, including those necessary for the continuance of government have yet to be placed into a category.

Although to attest to the safety of the vaccine and calm the fears of the population former Presidents Obama, Clinton, Bush and Carter have all agreed to take the vaccine on live television.


COVID-19: Should We Line up for a 90% Effective Vaccine


House Decriminalizes Cannabis

In pressing business, the House of Representatives voted to decriminalize cannabis at the federal level voting 228-164 to pass the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act on Friday.

"The MORE Act also creates pathways for ownership opportunities in the emerging industry, allows veterans to obtain medical cannabis recommendations from Veteran Affairs doctors, and establishes funding sources to reinvest in communities disproportionately affected by the war on drugs, NBCnews.com reported.

Eliot Page

The actor formerly known as Ellen Page has announced this week that he is transgender and wishes to be known as Eliot Page. His pronouns are he/they. While performing as a female the actor had been nominated for an Academy Award for his portrayal of a pregnant teen in the film Juno.

As our nation continues to struggle with bias, discrimination and intolerance, the actor explained in a statement the evolution of his choices, previously announcing same sex preference, and marrying girlfriend, Emma Portner.

The statement, in part, reads: "Hi friends, I want to share with you that I am trans, my pronouns are he/they and my name is Elliot. I feel lucky to be writing this. To be here. To have arrived at this place in my life. I feel overwhelming gratitude for the incredible people who have supported me along this journey. I can't begin to express how remarkable it feels to finally love who I am enough to pursue my authentic self. I've been endlessly inspired by so many in the trans community. Thank you for your courage, your generosity and ceaselessly working to make this world a more inclusive and compassionate place. I will offer whatever support I can and continue to strive for a more loving and equal society.”

Happiness is critical for all human beings and acceptance of oneself and one's choices are the vital on the journey.

Page courageously made his announcement on social media and received immediate strong support across the entertainment community and the world. Congratulations on living life on your terms, being your authentic self, your life your way.

Pearl Harbor Attack

On December 7, 1941, seventy-nine years ago, the U.S. Naval base at Peral Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii, was ambushed in a brazen early morning attack killing thousands of soldiers and civilians and damaging or destroying 19 U.S. Navy ship including eight battleships.

U.S.S. Arizona Memorial Wall of Remembrance

The attack began at 7:55am on a Sunday morning, became a rallying cry for all as each, young and old, brave and timid, took it upon themselves to defend the fleet against the bold, shocking, act of war.

"Dorie Miller, a steward on the USS West Virginia, distinguished himself by courageous conduct and devotion to duty during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He first assisted his mortally wounded captain and then manned a machine gun, which he was not accustomed to operating, successfully destroying two Japanese aircraft. He was the first African American awarded the Navy Cross, the service's highest award, for his actions during the attack," reported Census.gov.

"Over 400,000 gave their lives in the global conflict that began, for our Nation, on that fateful Sunday morning. Today, we memorialize all those lost on December 7, 1941, declare once again that our Nation will never forget these valiant heroes, and resolve as firmly as ever that their memory and spirit will survive for as long as our Nation endures," President Trump wrote in a proclamation.

The battleship, U.S.S. Arizona was sunk with many of its crew still on board. An honor guard continues, to this day, to watch over the entombed soldiers who lie enshrined in their watery grave. The ship continues to leak oil.

U.S.S. Arizona Memorial, Pearl Harbor, Oahu

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in addressing the Congress and the nation, on December 8, 1941 called the attack "A day that will live in infamy."

For more information on President Donald Trump www.whitehouse.gov.

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