A PROPER RESPONSE TO A MADE-UP CONTROVERSY:

Lefties, always trying to silence a strong woman.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, INFIDEL! Three People Stabbed at Manchester Train Station in Apparent Act of Terrorism.

FIVE MOST INSANE CAMPUS FREE SPEECH CONTROVERSIES OF 2018: Speaking as an alum of Oklahoma State University (72), I am shocked and saddened that the heartland university that touts itself as “America’s Brightest Orange” is on this list. 

Speaking of suppression of expression, would you go to jail for your most basic beliefs as this Chinese pastor has? Beijing is targeting Muslims, too. Campus authorities in the U.S. on that top five list would undoubtedly be horrified and offended by the suggestion their actions have anything in common with China’s anti-religion crusade.

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OPEN THREAD: Say goodbye to 2018 in this, the final InstaPundit open thread of the year!

THE DNC-MSM MORPHED INTO YASSER ARAFAT SO SLOWLY, I NEVER EVEN NOTICED: How Should We Read the American Press? In Arabic, Lee Smith writes at Tablet:

Other former U.S. intelligence officials who have joined the anti-Salman campaign, include ex-CIA director John Brennan, who suggested the United States freeze arms sales to Riyadh, ex-deputy CIA director John McLaughlin, and former CIA official Ned Price. All three are MSNBC analysts, along with other former agency officers. One upside of the Khashoggi operation is that it has helped illuminate another part of the map of the new U.S. media—MSNBC appears to be a destination of choice for CIA leaks.

Blurring the lines between journalists/analysts and officials/operatives is not simply a matter of convenient nomenclature. It’s part of a conscious strategy to legitimize the nature and structure of information operations by obscuring their political character. How dare Trump strip John Brennan’s security clearance! He’s infringing on the former CIA director’s free speech rights—as a journalist.

Branding political operatives and intelligence officials as “press” is also intended to shield these newly minted “analysts” from possible prosecution. Evidence of their crimes and abuses may be found in the steady stream of classified intelligence illegally leaked to a complicit press corps for the purpose of marketing the Russia collusion narrative. By relabeling government officials as “journalists,” the media is protecting both its clandestine confederates and itself.

An analysis of Russiagate coverage also seems to suggest that the Federal Bureau of Investigation tends to favor The New York Times as a delivery mechanism while the Department of Justice prefers The Washington Post. Last month, the Times published a story sourced to memos written by FBI officials, including former deputy director Andrew McCabe, portraying Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein as a conspirator plotting to bring down Trump. According to the account, Rosenstein told FBI officials that he’d wear a wire to record the president and gather evidence to remove him from office. When it was time for Rosenstein and allies at the DOJ to do damage control, their story went to the Post, published hours after the Times piece, explaining that Rosenstein was being sarcastic about spying on Trump, those FBI guys can’t take a joke!

Read the whole thing. Just think of the media as Democratic Party operatives with bylines, and it all makes sense.™

Flashback: “Lee Smith was fired very shortly after simply offering an article about Fusion GPS to the Weekly Standard. He merely offered it to them. And then the Weekly Standard suddenly decided things aren’t working out between themselves and Smith.”

(Classical allusion in headline.)

LIFE IN THE 21ST CENTURY: Australian Autonomous Train Is Being Called The “World’s Largest Robot.”

NEO HAS NEWS YOU CAN USE: Translating Trumpian Tweets.

THOSE WHO CAN’T DO, TEACH. THOSE WHO CAN’T TEACH BECOME UNION LEADERS: Poor Randi Weingarten. She declared the United Federation of Teachers’ endorsement of Hillary Clinton without a union vote (“Shut up” she explained) and is now performing electoral cunnilingus on Elizabeth Warren. Except her skills in writing clearly leave something to be desired:

Heh. Mrs. Krababble would be proud.

NEW CIVILITY WATCH: Student Deluged With Doxxing and Death Threats After Pro-Gun Graduation Photos.

“It was scary at first…” Spencer told PJ Media. “Thankfully, I had my gun, which gave me some sense of security.”

While Spencer’s been rattled, she says the harassment she faced only proved her point: that self-defense is crucial. She now uses her vast social media following to help spread that message to other young women.

Read the whole thing.

THE POWER LINE YEAR IN PICTURES: HIGHLIGHTS EDITION.

BARRIERS TO ENTRY: Study: Students’ Entering Credentials And Law School Performance Account For Only 20%-50% Of Decline In California Bar Exam Pass Rates.

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WAPO TRUMPETS—“MSNBC IS SURGING”: That wouldn’t be surprising in our increasingly polarized time.   I’d be a little surprised if there weren’t at least a “surgelette.” But Exhibit 1 for the surge is this: During the week of Dec. 17, MSNBC beat Fox News for the first time in 17 years. The problem is that Sean Hannity was on vacation that week, and MSNBC beat Fox News only during the five-day work week. If all seven days of the week are considered, Fox News bested MSNBC. Consequently, I’m not sure this is quite as newsworthy as WAPO’s “media critic” thinks it is. His excitement may be another case of “Perceptions of Newsworthiness Are Contaminated by Political Usefulness Bias.”

HOW APPS ON ANDROID SHARE DATA WITH FACEBOOK — EVEN IF YOU DON’T HAVE A FACEBOOK ACCOUNT.

As Glenn wrote last month in USA Today, President Trump Should Channel Teddy Roosevelt And Bust Some Trusts.

ROGER SIMON: Bye-bye, 2018 —The Year of Living Hatefully.

(Bumped.)

THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING, THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING: Diabolical! Is this who’s really ‘behind the campaign to tear apart the Women’s March?’

I’m so old, I can remember when leftists thought that only reactionaries believed there were Russians under every bed. Although reactionary does sum up the racism and anti-Semitism of the Women’s March quite nicely.

SPACE LAW: A space startup was just hit with a $900,000 fine for illegally launching four tiny satellites.

CHANGE: Brazil’s Bolsonaro follows through on gun, ‘anti-Marxist’ vows.

ARMED MAN ARRESTED BEFORE ALLEGEDLY HEADING TO TEXAS CHURCH TO ‘FULFILL PROPHECY.’

The felony conviction and the domestic violence assault would bar Albert from legally purchasing or possessing a firearm.

His other criminal records include an arrest for allegedly resisting arrest in 2016 and 2017 and a DUI in 2009.

In a court filing, Albert stated he is associated with Messianic Judaism (a religious movement that combines Judaism and Christianity) and the First Church of Cannabis. He said the latter is a “private and secretive one” stating that the members seek to “separate ourselves from recreational cannabis users who continue to pervert the usage of our sacrament,” the San Antonio Express-News reported.

In addition to the Seguin Police Department, Texas Rangers, the FBI, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives are investigating the incident.

Read the whole thing.

THE STILLBORN MID-ENGINED DODGE VIPER. I don’t blame them for not building it; the Viper was an amazing car, and attention-getting enough in a traditional configuration.

I WAS TOLD THAT THERE WOULD BE NO MATH: Muzzle-Energy Math: Comparing Shotgun Gauges for Home Defense. No numbers here on the double-barrel six-gauge I use.

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QUESTIONS THAT NOBODY IS ASKING: Is Veganism a “Cultural Appropriation?”