I THINK IT ALL FALLS UNDER THE UMBRELLA EXPLANATION OF INSANITY: Ten Reasons Left-Wingers Cut Trump Voters from Their Lives.

KEEPING NANCY PELOSI AROUND SHOULD HELP THIS: Rural Democrats: Party Ignored Us, Suffered the Consequences.

It’s Ned Ray McWherter all over again.

THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE TO BE SECURE IN THEIR PERSONS, HOUSES, PAPERS AND EFFECTS… New US computer search law takes effect Thursday.

“By sitting here and doing nothing, the Senate has given consent to this expansion of government hacking and surveillance.”

Those were the words Wednesday of Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) as he failed to convince fellow senators to even hold a floor vote that could block changes to what is known as Rule 41 from taking effect Thursday.

Wyden was referencing an amended Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure, which originated from an unelected advisory committee and was signed by the Supreme Court in April. By rule, it becomes effective December 1. The measure clarifies the law allowing judges to sign warrants that let authorities hack into computers outside a judge’s jurisdiction. The rule also gives federal judges the authority to issue a warrant to search multiple computers—even without knowing who is the targeted computer owner. Previously, some judges had practiced this, while others did not.

Wyden, a handful of fellow lawmakers, and civil rights groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation oppose Rule 41. They say that under the measure, a warrant would not have to say with any particularity whose computer the authorities are searching. Wyden said Congress should vote on whether to allow this instead of the measure taking effect without any congressional approval.

More:

In a recent Medium post, Wyden said: “For law enforcement to conduct a remote electronic search, they generally need to plant malware in—i.e. hack—a device. These rule changes will allow the government to search millions of computers with the warrant of a single judge. To me, that’s clearly a policy change that’s outside the scope of an ‘administrative change,’ and it is something that Congress should consider.”

The success of constitutional separation of powers was predicated on each branch being jealous of its powers and prerogatives. The Founders don’t seem to have imagined a Congress happy to give theirs away to the Executive.

ACCOUNTABILITY: Female student punished for false accusation of sexual assault.

When someone is punished for a false accusation, it generally involves no more than a slap on the wrist. Now Lindenwood University, the St. Charles, Mo., police and a local judge have instigated an all-too-rare instance of punishment for an accuser who lied.

In March 2014, Lindenwood student Joanna Newberry claimed she had been assaulted in the basement bathroom of Butler Library. She told police that a man was hiding in one of the stalls, grabbed her from behind and attempted to undress her.

Newberry said she kicked the man, who then fled.

Lindenwood sent a campus-wide alert to its 12,000 students warning that police were investigating a sexual assault at the school. Newberry was interviewed by police five days later and admitted she had made up the whole thing. . . .

Much of this is good news. Newberry was dismissed from Lindenwood and put on probation. She received some punishment for her lie. She also hadn’t accused anyone specific, so an argument could be made that no one was personally hurt by her actions.

More broadly, though, false accusations harm those students – and others – who make legitimate accusations of sexual assault and other crimes. Liars like Newberry make honest victims less likely to be believed.

Other schools could learn from Lindenwood’s example, to ensure that false accusations are unacceptable.

Too often today, while the topic of sexual assault is discussed at length in the media and at college and universities, the discussion focuses around “listening and believing.” This creates an atmosphere on campus where false accusations can flourish, as students see no consequences for lying, even about felonies.

Yes.

CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE: Hey, that Foreign Emoluments Clause issue may not be such a big deal for Trump after all.

POLLING: Trump promised to repeal Obamacare, but it turns out Americans like most of it, a poll finds.

Actually, what the poll shows is that Americans like many of ObamaCare’s provisions, such as the ban on preexisting conditions. What they don’t like, such as skyrocketing premiums and losing their doctors, are the things which make the provisions possible.

Which is like saying you want all the health benefits of broccoli, but are only willing to eat the cheese sauce.

INEZ FELTSCHER STEPMAN: States have simple message for incoming administration on education: Get out of our way.

Forty-three states (plus the District of Columbia), including California, allow choice within the public system through the authorization of charter schools. Twenty-seven states and the District have enacted at least one form of private educational choice, whether that choice comes through vouchers, tax-credit scholarships or education savings accounts. Education savings accounts, enacted in five states so far, hold particular promise, providing a truly individualized education for every child.

By contrast, the federal education record looks bleak. Since the first major federal incursion into education under President Lyndon Johnson in 1965, interventions designed to help struggling students have shown little academic progress, wasted taxpayer dollars and state man-hours, and crippled real reform. Federal per-pupil expenditures have tripled in the ensuing decades, but promised results — better academic performance, narrower achievement gaps — have remained elusive.

Meanwhile, the average federal bureaucrat working for the Department of Education makes a six-figure salary.

Well, that’s the important part.

MY USA TODAY COLUMN: Campus Censorship: Some folks on the right may feel that turnabout is fair play, but that’s dangerous.

UNEXPECTEDLY! Thanks To ‘Fight For $15’ Minimum Wage, McDonald’s Unveils Job-Replacing Self-Service Kiosks Nationwide.

BUBBLE? As Auto Lending Rises, So Do Delinquencies.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York noted increasing distress among auto borrowers with shaky credit, as subprime delinquencies rose in the third quarter.

In the third quarter, 2 percent of subprime auto loan balances became at least 90 days delinquent, up from 1.6 percent in the third quarter of 2014.

In the depths of the recession, in the second quarter of 2009, that rate peaked at 2.4 percent.

“The increased level of distress associated with subprime loan delinquencies is of significant concern,” researchers for the New York Fed wrote in a blog post on Wednesday.

What really got GM and Chrysler in trouble the last time around was subprime lending combined with unprecedented channel-stuffing of months and months worth of unsold vehicles. I haven’t seen any reports of that this time around, so probably the worst that could happen is an ordinary automaking recession, rather than another wave of bankruptcies.

POLITICO: Why Marine Le Pen won’t win.

I wouldn’t be so sure.

THIS COULD BE EXPENSIVE: Brooklyn Law School Sues Property Professor For Refusing To Vacate Rental Apartment After School’s Sale Of Building To Developer.

WHAT A WAY TO HAVE YOUR FACE RUBBED IN REALITY: I interviewed the Ohio State attacker on the first day of school. It felt important. Now it’s chilling.

UPDATE (FROM GLENN): You can read the key bits here without hitting the WaPo paywall.

IT’S NEEDED. WESTERN HONOR, NOT THE KIND THAT MAKES YOU KILL YOUR DAUGHTERS: Resurrecting Honor.

DO THEY WANT A CIVIL WAR? BECAUSE THIS IS HOW THEY GET A CIVIL WAR: Michael Banerian, an elector from Michigan, is receiving death threats from people urging him to cast his vote for Hillary Clinton. (Video)

YEAH, CREATING MORE: Magazine behind UVA rape hoax begs Obama to do something about fake news.

MAKING AMERICA GREAT SINCE 11/09/16: Trump bump: Confidence in economy highest in 8 years, up 17 points.

SURE, NASA IS DEVOTED TO THE PEACEFUL EXPLORATION OF SPACE, BUT WHAT ABOUT RUSSIA AND CHINA: The US could be gearing up for potential space wars.

IMPLEMENT THE REYNOLD’S TAX ON EX-GOVERNMENT-STAFFERS! How Trump can drain the federal swamp

FROM THE FOUNDING ONWARD: Sorry, it’s the Democrats who racialized US politics.

THE ARISTOS ARE SHOCKED: Gitmo prisoner reveals that Saudi ‘terrorist rehab’ center is a scam.

ACCIDENT VICTIM SPEAKS OUT against roadside memorials.

TRUMP PROTESTERS TAKE TRUMP BAIT: “Protesters burned the United States flag outside of Trump International Hotel in New York City Tuesday, following President-elect Donald Trump’s suggestion that flag burners be jailed or lose their citizenship.”

AUTOMAKERS WITH THE HIGHEST CUSTOMER SATISFACTION.

CYBORG, INK: This Amputee Tattoo Artist Turned His Arm into a Prosthetic Rig.