In other news, a growing list of countries are closing their borders to Britain following the outbreak of a new strain of the coronavirus that is more infectious. The United States is one of the only holdouts at the moment and Britain is looking at the possibility of food shortages.
“If nothing changes, we will start to see gaps over the coming days on lettuce, some salad leaves, cauliflowers, broccoli and citrus fruit – all of which are imported from the continent at this time of year,” Sainsbury’s said.
France’s FNTR national road haulage federation said: “No driver wants to deliver to the UK now, so the UK is going to see its freight supply dry up.”
A no-deal Brexit is still coming in 10 days.
Meanwhile, Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny tricked one of the Federal Security Service (FSB) agents who was part of the team sent to kill him into confessing and revealing their plans by impersonating one his superiors. The agent revealed that Navalny was not poisoned through his drink at a bar, but rather by poisoning his underwear at the hotel where the bar was located. Really.
Finally, VanityFair reports that Trump's daughter Ivanka, who has no credentials to speak of much less scientific credentials, took part in screening the CDC's coronavirus guidelines all year.
According to Kyle McGowan, a former chief of staff at the CDC, and his deputy, Amanda Campbell, the White House insisted on reviewing, and often editing, the agency’s COVID-19 guidance documents, “the most prominent public expression of its latest research and scientific consensus on the spread of the virus.” The guidance was not just vetted by the administration’s coronavirus task force but “an endless loop of political appointees across Washington.” The White House, McGowan says, was obsessed with the economic implications of the public health crisis. For example, the White House’s budget director took issue with the agency’s specific spacing guidelines for restaurants. “It is not the CDC’s role to determine the economic viability of a guidance document,” McGowan told the Times. That battle ultimately led to the agency simply offering a vague recommendation of “social distancing,” which could, really, mean anything, instead of strongly suggesting restaurants ensure six feet between patrons.
And then there were the times the CDC’s scientists were screened by a former purveyor of shoes and purses, Ivanka Trump, in addition to the White House’s undersecretary for lies, Kellyanne Conway.
Programming note... I was planning to be here tomorrow, but last night I realized I'm running out of time to do things before Christmas. I still need to wrap presents, clean, and nail down my menu among other things. This is my first Christmas since coming out as transgender and even though I'm cooking for a party of just two, it's still important to me because it's my first time.
This is going to be my last post for 2020 and I will be back here on Monday, January 4th for a fresh year that will begin with the end of Trump. Thank you for reading and supporting me. I hope you all have a great holiday and I'll see you soon. You can follow me on Twitter here.