Hello and welcome to The Midge, the e-bulletin that takes a bite out of politics in Scotland and elsewhere. 

Camley’s cartoon

The Herald:

Camley wonders if Finance Secretary Derek Mackay is entirely merry about his new tax-raising powers. 

Front pages

The Herald:

The Scottish Government’s budget leads the way. 

In The Herald, political editor Tom Gordon says the SNP stands accused by business leaders of setting a “dangerous precedent” by making Scotland the highest taxed part of the UK. 

The National's headline is "£240m for local services". 

It’s the “Bah humbug budget” says the Mail, which mocks Finance Secretary up as an Ebenezer Scrooge. 

“SNP’s tax blow for Scots families” is the splash in the Express; the Telegraph goes for “SNP’s tax squeeze on middle Scotland”; and the Scotsman, “It’s official - Scotland to be the highest taxed part of UK”.

The Times leads on US intelligence officials’ claims that the US election was hacked “on Putin’s command”. 

The Herald: Exclusive: In the Evening Times, Catriona Stewart reports on a tinsel ban at Glasgow Children’s Hospital due to fire fears. 

The Guardian says Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is to be “relaunched” as a left-wing populist in the New Year to capitalise on the current anti-elite mood. 

The FT reports that James Murdoch, Sky chairman and chief executive of Fox, is confident Fox’s £11.7bn bid for the broadcaster would pass “regulatory muster”. 

FFS: Five in five seconds

What’s the story? The last chance to stop Donald Trump becoming US president approaches.

Meaning? The electoral college votes formally on Monday to elect the president. With Hillary Clinton having won the popular vote by more than two million, some of the 538 electoral college members, who are meant to vote according to how their state voted, have come under extraordinary pressure from anti-Trump campaigners to deny The Donald the White House. One college member in Wisconsin told AP he had received 48,324 emails. And yes, celebrities have become involved. 

How? A group called Unite for America, which includes Martin Sheen (who played President Jed Bartlet in the West Wing) and Debra Messing (Grace in TV’s Will and Grace) has made a video (above) urging college voters to “change the course of history” and vote for anyone other than Trump. 

How could it be done? The winner needs 270 votes. Donald Trump has 306. So if 37 switch, he would not be president. 

Do they have a chance? No. Even by the standards of 2016, we are talking feline in hell. It has never happened before, and even if it did the matter would go to the House of Representatives, which is Republican-dominated. 

Afore Ye Go

The president-elect’s tweet against Vanity Fair just happens to coincide with a review of the restaurant in Trump Tower headlined: “Trump Grill could be the worst restaurant in America”. The reviewer, Tina Nguyen, found the place vulgar and called the food “slop”. She wrote: “Renowned butcher Pat LaFrieda once dared me to eat an eyeball that he himself popped out of the skull of a roasted pig. That eyeball tasted better than the Trump Grill’s Gold Label Burger.”

The Herald:

"I frequently disagree profoundly with headlines, even in The Guardian, the Telegraph, the Mail, and so on, does it mean I won't buy them, or read them? Of course not.”

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he would continue buying the Morning Star despite the outrage sparked by a front page declaring besieged and ruined Aleppo was being “liberated” - the same phrase used by President Assad. Ian Forsyth/Getty Images.

Transport secretary Chris Grayling got into a spot of bother yesterday opening his car door.

From The Mirror's Kevin Maguire

The Herald:

The house where Hitler was born is to be transformed into a base for a charity for disabled people, the Austrian government announced yesterday. Provincial governor Josef Puehringer said destroying the property in Braunau am Inn, a town on Austria's border with Germany, would have fuelled accusations of "tearing down a piece of burdensome history”. AP Photo / Kerstin Joensson.

The Herald:

"I think we will go to war - possibly within a generation, possibly two.”

Singer Bob Geldof spreads Christmas cheer while addressing students in Dublin. The pro-EU campaigner also said the EU was “constipated” and needs a laxative to “clear it out”. Artur Widak/PA Wire.

The Herald:

“I'm glad he has now taken that hat off, I sincerely hope he won't put it on again, preferably at any time but certainly not in the Chamber.”

Speaker John Bercow to Tory MP Peter Bone who donned this headgear to draw attention to the work of local charity in his Northamptonshire consitutency called Crazy Hats. PA Wire

A blast from the past from the Communication Workers Union, ahead of the pre-Christmas postal strike.

Thanks for reading. The Midge is now flying off, returning on January 3. Happy New Year when it comes. Twitter: @alisonmrowat