BACK FROM THE DEAD? House Freedom Caucus signals support for healthcare bill with changes.

THE HILL: Bannon ready for White House ‘gunfight’

SO I’M QUOTED IN THE WASHINGTON POST, in this pro-Nuclear Option column by Bob Dole and Trent Lott. But although I popularized the term “Reid Option,” it actually originated — as my original blog post made clear — with a caller to Chris Plante’s radio show.

UPDATE: Actually, though I don’t think I noticed at the time, InstaPundit commenter Amphipolis mentioned it December 8.

THE PRACTICAL SUBURBAN VEHICLE THAT EVERYONE NEEDS: 2018 Mercedes-AMG GLC63.

MICHAEL LEDEEN: The Real War in ‘Syria’ and the Strategy for Long-Term Victory.

Read the whole thing.

BEGUN, THE TROLL WARS HAVE: Quincy Center jeweler wins suit over Yelp review.

Adam Jacobs, an employee of Toodie’s Fine Jewelry, has to pay Stephen Blumberg, the owner of Stephen Leigh Jewelers, $34,500 for the emotional distress a jury decided that Jacobs caused by knowingly posting the false information.

Posted in August 2013, the multi-paragraph review detailed a supposed visit to Stephen Leigh Jewelers. The reviewer said he entered the shop looking to buy a 1.5-carat diamond engagement ring and had a generally bad experience. As a result, the reviewer said he would advise someone interested in buying jewelry or a watch to “go elsewhere.”

Blumberg’s lawsuit stated that the interaction never happened.

Reached by phone Tuesday, Blumberg said he figured out that “Adam J.” was Jacobs by phoning other businesses that “Adam J.” had reviewed on Yelp, which is a site featuring user ratings of stores, restaurants and other establishments.

“I did do research for several months,” Blumberg said. “I knew after two or three that I was right on the target.”

Freedom of speech doesn’t extend to fraud.

SPEAKING WITH THE PRESIDENT ON BOARD TRUMP FORCE ONE FOR THE CHINA SUMMIT:

“I think what happened in Syria is a disgrace to humanity, and he’s there, and I guess he’s running things, so I guess something should happen.”

“What Assad did is terrible. What happened in Syria is truly one of the egregious crimes and it shouldn’t have happened. And it shouldn’t be allow to happen,” he said, responding “I don’t want to say what I’m going to be doing with respect to Syria” when asked what steps are next.

More from Bridget Johnson at the link.

MOUTH, MEET MONEY: Investors Are Building Their Own Green-Power Lines.

Near Rawlins, in rural Wyoming, crews are prepping land near the state line with Colorado so they can build a 3,000-megawatt wind farm, which could be the largest ever constructed in the U.S. Key to moving all that renewable power to market: Mr. Anschutz’s proposed 730-mile transmission line—a giant extension cord of sorts that will deliver the electricity to a point near Las Vegas. From there, the power can easily flow into southern California’s grid.

Mr. Anschutz isn’t the only wealthy investor pumping money into power-line projects in an effort to bring green energy to big cities. The Ziff family, whose fortune harks back to the glory days of magazine publishing, also is partly funding a green-power project between Oklahoma and Tennessee. Altogether, these and other merchant-transmission projects could cost upward of $17 billion, plus at least another $20 billion in wind, solar and hydro projects to fill these lines.

If billionaires want to spend their money so that Red States can sell power to NIMBY-infused Blue States, I’m OK with that.

GOVERNMENT IS JUST ANOTHER WORD FOR THE THINGS WE CHOOSE TO DO TOGETHER: Relatives of the Men Who Endured the Syphilis Study Speak Out. “It has been 45 years since the nation learned that more than 600 African-American men from rural Alabama were experimented on without their consent, and left untreated in a notorious federally funded syphilis study.”

JOBS, JOBS, JOBS: Amazon Looks to Hire 30,000 Part-Time Employees.

TAXING INEQUALITY: Reader Kristo Miettinnen emails: “Someone with a megaphone larger than mine should proclaim the need to tax the superfluously wealthy with targeted excise taxes that go after class-difference-perpetuating expenditures. I would inaugurate the program with a 10% excise tax on all tuition payments in excess of $10,000 per student per year, regardless of the grade level (so kindergarten through grad school, or is that kindergarten back to kindergarten?). Once the general principle is accepted the possibilities are endless.”

Well, inequality is the single biggest threat to our civilization, except maybe for climate change, so I think we need to do whatever it takes.

RIP, MISTER WARMTH: Don Rickles Reported Dead at 90.

In addition to being the original insult comic, Rickles was a very good actor in films such as Kelly’s Heroes (where Rickles and Donald Sutherland’s wildly anachronistic psychedelic Oddball character made for a great comedic pairing), and Martin Scorsese’s Casino. Speaking of which, Rickles may have been the only comic in orbit of the Rat Pack that Sinatra allowed to make Mafia jokes.

UPDATE: Riffing like a maniac at President Reagan’s second anniversary:

WE HAVE SOMETHING SIMILAR GOING ON IN TENNESSEE: Arizona’s Governor to Licensing Boards: What Is It That You Do? More than two dozen licensing boards have until June to give him an answer.

SWIMMING IN THE FAST LANE. “And suddenly I was 18 years old again — on a pool deck, in a skintight Speedo, with a heat sheet in my hand.”

QUESTION ASKED AND ANSWERED: Can Presidents Take Credit for the Stock Market?

—Headline, the Atlantic, today.

Not if he’s Republican, no, of course not. But if he has a (D) after his name, then all bad economic news is reported by the DNC-MSM as happening “unexpectedly.”

CHANGE: Russia says Syrian support ‘not unconditional’ as Trump reportedly weighs military action.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said support for Syria wasn’t unwavering, and Russia is calling for a full investigation into the Tuesday attack on Khan Sheikhoun that’s killed more than 80 people — including 30 children.

President Trump — who a day earlier said the attack “crossed a lot of lines” for him — has told members of Congress he’s considering taking military action against Syria, according to CNN.

Turkish officials also on Thursday said autopsies of victims taken in by the country show traces of sarin gas — a banned chemical weapon suspected to be used in the attack.

I can’t recall ever seeing even this little daylight shine between Moscow and Damascus.

I’VE SEEN THIS MOVIE. RUN AWAY! Medieval Villagers Warded Off ‘Zombies’ By Mutilating Human Remains, Study Finds.

EXPLAINED: The Democrats’ structural advantage in passing major legislation.

BLOOMBERG: Senate Republicans Force Historic Rule Change to Advance Gorsuch.

Nobody “forced” anything. The Senate voted on it in full compliance with the precedent established by former Democrat Majority Leader Harry Reid, that it takes only 51 votes to change a rule.

WELL, THIS GETS AROUND MY BOYCOTT OF ESPN, BUT NOT MY BOYCOTT OF THE NFL: Amazon Stiff-Arms Twitter, Will Stream NFL Games. “According to the Wall Street Journal, Amazon has reportedly paid the NFL $50 million for a one-year agreement to stream Thursday Night Football. That’s five times more than one Twitter paid. But there’s a (ahem) catch. In order to tune in to the games, you’ll need to be an Amazon Prime member. If you’re not on Amazon Prime, the $99 yearly service includes free two-day shipping and lots of other perks, including access to TV shows, movies and music.”

Hey, a 30-day trial is free.

VIDEO: Chris Matthews Again Calls the Trump Family Husseins.

SKYNET SMILES: Amazon’s Robot War Is Spreading.

WHOSE PHONE IS IT, ANYWAY? Australia slams Apple for telling customers ‘you’re repairing it wrong’

An error message that bricks iPhones when it detects that a repair is made by an independent repair shop. We saw the problem flare up in the U.S. last year. The simplest explanation is that the device would recognize if it had been tampered with and then cease to function.

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Apple tried to say this was a security procedure designed to stop people undermining device security, but it later relaxed its so-called security check and people stopped complaining about it.

That should have been the end of the story, but the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is taking Apple to the courts, as it claims the company has “routinely” refused to repair devices that had previously been repaired by an independent repair specialist.

“Right to Repair” is an idea whose time has come.

JUST DISBAND IT AND START FRESH: Secret Service agent on Pence’s detail suspended after meeting with prostitute.

TODAY’S THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE LILLELID MURDERS. The Insta-wife’s documentary on the killings, Six, has gotten nearly 4.5 million views on YouTube.