THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE ASSESSES THE COMPLEX THREAT ENVIRONMENT:

Coats identified five “functional” types of threats to the U.S.: Cyber spying, propaganda and attacks directed by nation states, non-state actors and criminal groups; WMD and WMD delivery systems; Terrorism; Technological threats from space and in space; Transnational crime.

My latest Creators Syndicate column.

DISPATCHES FROM THE FRONTIERS OF ISLAMIST SCIENCE: West sent lizards as nuclear spies, claims Iran defense official.

It is believed that the lizards were Jewish.

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JOHN HINDERAKER: Why Susan Rice Wrote An Email To Herself. “Susan Rice is far from the brightest bulb on the tree, but she was well aware that by concealing facts ostensibly relating to national security from her counterpart in the new administration–General Michael Flynn–she was, at a minimum, violating longstanding civic norms. If she actually lied to Flynn, she could have been accused of much worse. So Rice wanted to be able to retrieve her email, if she found herself in a sticky situation, and tell the world that she hid relevant facts about Russia from the new administration on Barack Obama’s orders.”

Plus: “What were the secrets that Obama wanted to keep from the new administration? We can easily surmise that the fact that the Steele memo was paid for by the Democratic Party; that the FBI had to some degree collaborated with Steele; that the Clinton campaign had fed some of the fake news in the dossier to Steele; and that Comey’s FBI had used Steele’s fabrications as the basis for FISA warrants to spy on the Trump campaign were among the facts that Obama and his minions didn’t want Michael Flynn and Donald Trump to know. Susan Rice, we can infer, was told to keep these secrets, and if anyone ever asked why she had failed to disclose them to Michael Flynn and others on Trump’s team, or even lied to those people, she would have the defense that President Obama ordered her to do it. There may be more to it than this. The redacted paragraph likely contains more information about what it was that Rice wasn’t supposed to tell the Trump team. One of these days, we will learn what was blacked out.”

LIZ SHELD’S MORNING BRIEF: Spooks Testify about RUSSIA, Schiff’s Memo and Much, Much More. “Last Friday, the President returned the Democrats’ FISA abuse memo response with a list of objections and edits from the DOJ and FBI before the memo can be made public. The Democrats specifically included objectionable material in their response memo so they could claim that the President was censoring their idiot document. This was all predicted. It’s Wednesday, and these lazy, overpaid congressmen have still not gotten their act together to make the changes so their memo can be released. And yet, they shriek how important it is they get their memo out.”

PROGRESS: More nations on track to meet NATO’s 2% spending goal.

Stoltenberg said 15 of the 29 NATO allies are projected to pay their goal as determined at NATO’s 2014 summit in Wales and urged last year by President Donald Trump. All members have increased their spending, he said.

Stoltenberg told reporters defense ministers aren examining NATO’s Command Structure, cooperation with the European Union and the NATO’s role in projecting stability and fighting terrorism.

“Fair burden-sharing is also crucial for our shared security,” Stoltenberg said. “After years of decline, since 2014 we have seen three years of increasing defense spending across European allies and Canada.”

In 2014, the United States, Greece and Britain were the only three allies spending 2 percent or more on defense.

“This year, we expect eight allies to meet the target,” Stoltenberg said. “And by 2024, we expect at least 15 allies will spend 2 percent of GDP or more on defense. This is substantial progress and a good start.”

The additional countries since 2014 are Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Romania and Lithuania.

That’s nice. But it would be nicer if Germany would get serious about rebuilding its shattered military, and if Turkey hadn’t purged its officer corps and stopped behaving like a NATO ally.

NOW OUT: My latest from Encounter Books: The Judiciary’s Class War, in which I explore the consequences of having one branch of government reserved for people who are wealthy and have post-graduate degrees, and offer some solutions.

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WHY ARE SMUG LEFTY INSTITUTIONS SUCH CESSPITS OF HYPOCRISY AND SEXUAL ABUSE? Finger-Pointing Oxfam Now Embroiled in Sex Scandal.

JUDGES: Trump’s Judicial Nomination Train Keeps Rolling. “Whatever else the Trump Administration is (or is not) doing, it continues to announce excellent judicial nominees for federal appellate courts – while showing it’s capable of working with Democratic Senators.”

JOE PAPPALARDO: 4 Mega Projects That Could Save Humanity.

PETER HASSON: Democrats’ Farrakhan Problem Just Became A Campaign Issue.

Four different Democrats have either attended a private event with Farrakhan — a notorious anti-Semite who describes Jews as “Satanic” — or publicly expressed support for the hate group leader.

In the scandal’s most recent development, three Democratic congressmen were revealed to have attended a private dinner with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Farrakhan.

Minnesota Rep. and Democratic National Committee vice-chair Keith Ellison, New York Rep. Gregory Meeks and Indiana Rep. Andre Carson all reportedly attended the dinner, the details of which only became public last week.

In 2015, two years after the dinner with Rouhani, Carson and Ellison visited Farrakhan in a Washington hotel room, Farrakhan said in a 2016 video posted on his Facebook page. Farrakhan blamed Jews in the media for forcing Ellison to distance himself from the hate group leader.

The Daily Caller reached out to spokespeople for both Carson and Ellison to ask if they would deny Farrakhan’s account of their 2015. Neither provided an answer.

This comes on top of yesterday’s report that “4 Ohio Dem. Governor Candidates Speak at Event Hosted By Hamas-Linked Muslim Group.”

If Democrats playing footsie with black nationalists, anti-Semites, and the damn President of Iran isn’t a campaign issue, then what’s the point of campaigning?

BLUE WAVE? GOP NOW LEADS BY 1 POINT ON GENERIC CONGRESSIONAL BALLOT: “Republicans have erased the Democratic advantage on the generic congressional ballot in a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll that, for the first time since April, also shows President Donald Trump’s approval rating equaling the percentage of voters who disapprove of his job performance.”

INTEL OFFICIALS: U.S. Shouldn’t Fall for North Korea’s Olympic Charm Offensive.

In a rare open-door hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Defense Intelligence Agency Director Robert Ashley cautioned that Kim’s “strategic calculus has not changed and we should not be mislead by the events that are taking place around the Olympics.”

The dictatorial regime has received a bevy of positive media coverage in recent days following an appearance at the games by Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong. Several news reports published over the weekend hailed her visit to South Korea as a “diplomatic win” over U.S. Vice President Mike Pence as the regime released statements calling for reconciliation with South Korea.

Intelligence officials said the United States needs to view North Korea’s participation in the event for what it is: a propaganda campaign by the isolated nation to use the Olympics as a platform to present a reformed image.

“The American people should all remember that Kim Yo Jong is the head of [North Korea’s] Propaganda and Agitation Department,” CIA Director Mike Pomeo testified. “There is no indication there’s any strategic change in the outlook for Kim Jong Un and his desire to retain his nuclear capacity to threaten the United States.”

The propaganda effort was aimed at the postmodern Walter Durantys of the Mainstream Media, which for Communists is a giant target consisting of nothing but center ring.

THEY’D NEVER DO THAT TO A MUSLIM: ‘The View’ star Joy Behar mocks Mike Pence’s Christian faith: ‘That’s called mental illness.’

COMPETITIVE ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: Trump’s Infrastructure Plan: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

BLUE WAVE? Internal Dem polling shows Trump’s standing on the rise.

According to internal polling by the super PAC, President Trump’s approval rating climbed to 44 percent in the first week of February, compared to 53 percent who disapprove. That mirrors Trump’s improving position in public polls.

In November, the same survey found his approval rating at 40 percent, with 54 percent disapproving.

The group’s survey also showed the Democratic Party’s generic ballot advantage had shrunk, with 46 percent preferring Democrats to 42 percent for Republicans.

The memo says that a broad range of metrics show the political climate is still favorable for Democrats. But it also makes an unambiguous diagnosis for Trump’s recent rise: Democrats this year have stopped focusing on economic and health care issues, topics that demonstrably hurt his approval during his first year in office.

They can’t seem to help but rise to the culture war bait, which is how they get more Trump.

Also, I’d remind you that anything much under a five percent advantage for Congressional Democrats on the generic ballot typically means a win for Republicans. But I’d rather remind you: Great poll, kid — don’t get cocky.

THE HILL: Kurtz sees media forfeiting credibility in war with Trump.

Fox News media analyst Howard Kurtz says in an interview with The Hill that the news business “is forfeiting some of its credibility by appearing so one-sided” regarding its coverage of President Trump.

“The media barely focus on Trump’s role in the economy, but are largely consumed by palace intrigue, hot-button issues, Russia, Twitter rants and his attacks on journalists — since we find ourselves endlessly fascinating,” said Kurtz, who recently released the book “Media Madness: Donald Trump, The Press and the War Over the Truth.”

“No matter what you think of this president’s policies and his style, 5 percent positive coverage is an appalling figure that should prompt some soul-searching.”

Pew Research found that only 5 percent of media coverage of Trump last year was “positive.” In contrast, former President Obama received more than eight times the positive coverage during his first year in office.

Kurtz said this shift is one reason he wrote his book.

“We’re not the ‘opposition party,’ as Steve Bannon says,” he said, referring to the former White House strategist, “but sometimes it sure looks that way.”

Why yes, it does.

SALENA ZITO: Democrats’ Biggest Liability Wears 4-Inch Heels.

When House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi made history last week for the longest speech delivered on the House floor, she deserved praise for two things: her stamina in the eight-hour talkfest and her ability to do it in 4-inch spike heels.

But politically, she likely did little more than create another attack ad for Republicans to run against Democratic candidates around the country.

Pelosi’s speech, mostly stories about “Dreamers” — the people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children by their parents and are caught in a political firestorm between both parties — was red meat for the Democratic base. But perorations on behalf of immigrants who are in the country illegally are unlikely to excite the independents, and swing Republicans and centrist Democrats whose votes will determine control of Congress.

Similarly tone-deaf were her warnings last year that the Republican tax-cut bill is the apocalypse. “It is the end of the world,” Pelosi told reporters after the bill passed. “This is Armageddon.”

And calling the $1,000 bonuses that more than 3 million American workers have received over the past few weeks as a result of the bill “crumbs” was also not helpful.

Pelosi has never enjoyed the common touch, as they say, but for the last year or so she’s been more tin-eared than ever.

BUILDING THE WRONG WALL: The IRS Is Coming for Your Passports. “Beginning this month, the Internal Revenue Service will begin denying passports to some American citizens with unpaid taxes and, in some cases, revoking the passports of Americans with tax delinquencies. The government will in effect place those with unpaid taxes under arrest, effectively denying them their right to travel. To be clear: We are not talking about Americans who have been convicted of tax evasion or tax fraud, or who are awaiting a criminal trial on charges related to tax matters. These Americans have not been charged with a crime, must less convicted of one. They simply have unpaid taxes amounting to $50,000 or more. . . . What’s worse is that there is no appeal, no procedural remedy in the law, no redress for those who have been wrongly targeted — and we know the IRS has a history of wrongly targeting Americans its agents perceive as political enemies.”

INVESTOR’S BUSINESS DAILY: The Trump, Clinton Scandals Are Claiming A Lot Of Bodies — At FBI And Justice.

THOM NICKELS: Men, Misandry, and Suicide Rates. “Men and boys feeling devalued seems to be having a deadly effect.”

JUST WAIT TILL WE CRY HAVOC AND UNLEASH THE MONKEYS OF WAR:  Iran accuses West of using lizards for nuclear spying.

IN CASE YOU’RE NOT PAYING ATTENTION, THE SHOES, THEY CONTINUE TO DROP:  Why Susan Rice Wrote an Email To Herself.