A year ago today https://t.co/bZzn8lxY8U
— John Rentoul (@JohnRentoul) December 19, 2020
Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed an effective lockdown on more than 16 million people in England and reversed plans to ease curbs over Christmas, saying Britain was dealing with a new and more infectious coronavirus strain https://t.co/Ystgy8u5nU pic.twitter.com/HvRTaG0JOH
— Reuters (@Reuters) December 19, 2020
I don't like Boris Johnson, but even I think that's a bit harsh. pic.twitter.com/HfgmgBLXn6
— Otto English (@Otto_English) December 20, 2020
Christmas is NOT bloody well cancelled.
— John O’Brennan (@JohnOBrennan2) December 19, 2020
It will just take a different form (for some).
These headlines are both highly predictable and deeply irresponsible. pic.twitter.com/n5NrebGI3O
1/ I know this is tough. But this new virus strain is spreading much faster, and so we must act quickly to stop it taking hold. That means even tighter restrictions through January to prevent the serious situation currently faced by places like London & save lives.
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) December 19, 2020
Six hours after the Prime Minister announced an extreme lockdown for much of SE England & exemptions are only to be lifted on Christmas Day in all of GB, there still has been no statement from the NI Executive. Various sources close to the Exec don't expect a decision tonight.
— Sam McBride (@SJAMcBride) December 19, 2020
Executive office statement finally drops at 11.25pm… nothing changing yet but ministers urging “vigilance”. Some executive ministers calling for a meeting tomorrow but not clear if this will happen pic.twitter.com/oRZG5Ox1gL
— Jayne McCormack (@BBCJayneMcC) December 19, 2020
The main question for the Executive will be around travel into Northern Ireland next week. Thousands booked on planes and boats on the understanding a five day Christmas break was allowed. Big decision. Quick answers needed.
— Ken Reid (@bigkenreid) December 19, 2020
Meanwhile…
Government still calling for EU to ‘substantially’ change its position #Brexit 👇👇 https://t.co/N2MLXVWNrn
— Katya Adler (@BBCkatyaadler) December 19, 2020
Utterly predictable sabre-rattling by No10 to throw red meat to his quarter-witted backbenchers (h/t @MarinaHyde ) to keep them onside after Tier 4 announcements.
— Seb Dance (@SebDance) December 19, 2020
Ireland's Coveney says Brexit breakthrough difficult in next 24 hours https://t.co/upSiNHr1oP pic.twitter.com/RBxl7lnSOb
— Reuters (@Reuters) December 19, 2020
For the time being at least, the UK is not poor enough to qualify for the EU's Everything But Arms initiative. Therefore a no deal Brexit would leave the UK on less favourable trading terms with the EU than Afghanistan has.https://t.co/97vVie6stw
— Black Fen (@blackestfen) December 19, 2020
***
THE CHAOS THAT IS TRUMPWORLD WRESTLES WITH THE 25TH AMENDMENT
"Trump’s failure to protect America has not yet received the attention it deserves," writes @GrahamDavidA: https://t.co/lQbJAs8JYT
— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) December 19, 2020
President Trump downplayed the cyber-espionage campaign which has so far affected more than a half dozen U.S. federal agencies, and questioned whether Russia was to blame as alleged by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo https://t.co/ToPbbBWNHw pic.twitter.com/sj6Wfgbqqk
— Reuters (@Reuters) December 19, 2020
HERE'S A REVEAL: White House officials had drafted a statement to be released Friday accusing Russia of carrying out the cyber hacks, but they were blocked from doing so, a sr administration official tells @jdawsey1. Here's our story. https://t.co/BQHzaBqym9
— Ellen Nakashima (@nakashimae) December 19, 2020
Are you kidding? His own Secretary of State, a full loyalist, already admitted it was Russia! When I said in 2017 that Trump had more Russian connections than Aeroflot, this is what I was worried about. pic.twitter.com/achpQ6LK89
— Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) December 19, 2020
Maybe he's not a Russian asset, but his actions are awfully hard to distinguish from a Russian asset's https://t.co/g8fHshPB2i
— Joshua Benton (@jbenton) December 19, 2020
1) Putin puts bounties on US troops.
— Daniel Goldman (@danielsgoldman) December 19, 2020
2) Putin poisons his oppo leader.
3) Putin directs massive cyber attack against US.
Trump? Silent on all.
There is no rational explanation. I don’t believe in coincidences.
I was a skeptic but seems clear that Trump is compromised. https://t.co/Eyw9MFoIK2
This. There’s a lot of legitimate concern coming from top administration officials over what could happen during the last month of Trump’s presidency.
— Angry Staffer 🌻 (@Angry_Staffer) December 19, 2020
It’s hard to feel sorry for them, but when even the sycophants get nervous, we should pay attention. https://t.co/fNGY0XNYAt
Why it matters: These officials tell me that Trump is spending too much time with people they consider crackpots or conspiracy theorists and flirting with blatant abuses of power. https://t.co/RJaF0mKYTY
— Greg Jaffe (@GregJaffe) December 19, 2020
And also to discuss the felon's idea of declaring martial law and ordering the military to "re-run" a free and fair presidential election. https://t.co/nTMXjuXXNl
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) December 19, 2020
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 19, 2020
Sidney Powell sounds like a good person to investigate the Israeli guy’s claim that aliens have already made contact.
— John Cassidy (@JohnCassidy) December 19, 2020
"If President Trump tunes into Fox News this weekend, he may see something unexpected: a point-by-point fact-check to wild election fraud claims made by some of his favorite hosts on the network," @oliverdarcy writeshttps://t.co/h8aZqnOHsu
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) December 19, 2020
This is how you hit these fuckers.
— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) December 19, 2020
(Yes, FUCKERS)
Lou Dobbs Airs Segment Refuting Election Fraud Claims — Including His Own — In Wake Of Legal Threat https://t.co/UJD1lckUM8 via @Yahoo
Congress Stuck, Again, In Quest To Pass COVID Relief https://t.co/enVTS3iKCg
— Jeffrey Levin 🇺🇦 (@jilevin) December 19, 2020
Congress barrels toward veto clash with Trump over mammoth defense bill https://t.co/MXbwMac62B pic.twitter.com/zsPClNawiF
— The Hill (@thehill) December 19, 2020
"The American death toll will rightly be cited as the main indictment of the U.S. government’s handling of the pandemic. But what has happened in schools is an astonishing public-policy failure of its own," @xtophercook writes: https://t.co/I8CumXukEe
— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) December 19, 2020
"There were achievements in the Trump years, and even if they hardly begin to compare to Jimmy Carter’s, they are still worth noting as this presidency comes to an end," @davidfrum writes: https://t.co/j4cbdSg5cd
— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) December 19, 2020
NEVER FORGET…
— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) December 20, 2020
Donald Trump came within ***43,000 votes*** of being re-elected even though Biden won the popular vote by 7 MLLION VOTES.
Just three states decided the election and the margins of victory were razor thin.
Wisconsin – 20,608
Arizona – 10,357
Georgia — 11,799
The Overnight Note 