IT WAS AND HE WILL: If FBI was routinely cutting corners on FISA warrants, Comey will look even worse. And warrants aren’t the worst of it, I’ll wager.

YOU CAN TAKE THE GIRL OUT OF EAST GERMANY, BUT YOU CAN’T TAKE THE EAST GERMANY OUT OF THE GIRL: Top German Spies Unload on Merkel’s Kowtowing to Putin.

Angela Merkel, who has been chancellor for 14 years, is no different from Germany’s political class, which seeks to stay in Putin’s good graces at seemingly any cost. Berlin’s preachy pontifications about democracy, decency, and human rights are customarily aimed at NATO allies, seldom at Moscow. . . .

This bombshell from the spooks exploded the pleasant myth, popular in certain circles, that Merkel is the “leader of the free world” now that the United States has abdicated that role with Donald Trump in the White House. The unpalatable truth is that current U.S. policies towards the Kremlin – to be distinguished from Trump’s tweets and rants – are tougher than they were under Obama, and much harsher than they have ever been in Berlin under Merkel.

This is obvious to anyone who isn’t an idiot.

ANALYSIS: TRUE. “In Reality, They’re Not After Me. They’re After You. I’m Just in the Way.”

A TACTIC THAT DRAGS ON TOO LONG BECOMES A DRAG: Dem Debate Ratings Debacle: Rerun Exhaustion, Or Impeachment Burnout?

UPGRADING THE WEISEL: Germany’s remarkable little Weisel armored vehicle gets another life extension — and will serve at least until 2030.

The vehicle was designed in the 1970s.

Wiesel is smaller and lighter than armored American hummers. Moreover, Wiesel is very small with a height of 1.9 meters (six feet) and 3.55 meters (11.4 feet) in length. The small size makes it easier to conceal itself behind terrain obstacles. This is extremely important considering the fact that its armor provides protection only against rifle (7.62mm) fire and shell fragments. Furthermore, Wiesel is famous for its excellent cross-country capabilities provided by special tracks and an 87 HP five-cylinder Volkswagen turbodiesel engine. Wiesel 1 top speed is about 70 kilometers an hour on roads but it can keep up with infantry in rough terrain. This is what made it so useful in Somalia, the Balkans and Afghanistan. Irregular troops found the 20mm autocannon armed Wiesel demoralizing and often fatal because the 20mm cannon was accurate and fatal when fired from two kilometers away. Another advantage was that Wiesel would often show up in remote areas where the enemy did not expect to see armored vehicles. Wiesel was air transportable using CH-47 or CH-53 helicopters. Both can accommodate two Wiesels one internally and one via sling load under a helicopter. In this way, they could be sent to assist special operations troops in remote areas.

This is an informative post in StrategyPage’s How to Make War section.

#MAKEIMPEACHMENTGREATAGAIN: Don’t Look Now, But a Pro-Trump Guy Just Stole Lefty Impeachment Slogan & Made ‘It Great Again.’

How dare Trump supporters act like Bill Clinton supporters in 1998!

21st CENTURY PROBLEMS: China flight systems jammed by pig farm’s African swine fever defences.

A Chinese pig farm’s attempt to ward off drones – said to be spreading African swine fever – jammed the navigation systems of a number of planes flying overhead.
The farm, in northeastern China, was ordered last month to turn in an unauthorised anti-drone device installed to prevent criminal gangs dropping items infected with the disease, according to online news portal Thepaper.cn. . . .

Chinese state media reported last week that gangs were exploiting the African swine fever crisis by deliberately spreading the disease by using drones to drop infected items on to pig farms. The farmers are then forced to sell meat cheaply to the gangs, who then sell it on as healthy stock, according to China Comment magazine, which is affiliated to state news agency Xinhua.

Sheesh.

TRANSPORTS IN THE FOG, PACIFIC AND ATLANTIC: Amid C-130s, airmen in the 374th Maintenance Group conduct a Foreign Object Debris walk on the foggy flightline at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Dec. 18, 2019. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, 911th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron flying crew chiefs inspect the engine of a C-17 Globemaster III after landing at Naval Air Station Rota, Spain. The 911th Airlift is converting from the C-130 Hercules to the C-17 Globemaster III. Photo taken Dec. 15, 2019.

WHY IS GAVIN NEWSOM’S CALIFORNIA SUCH A CESSPIT OF MISOGYNY? California’s War on Gig Work Falls Hardest on Women.

DISPATCHES FROM THE WINE CAVE LEFT: Warren’s souvenir bottle pops up in Buttigieg wine cave debate.

On a Saturday evening in June 2018, with temperatures in the 70s and the Red Sox playing at Fenway Park, supporters of Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren gathered at the City Winery Boston for a fundraiser.

They were treated to songs by the Grammy-winning artist Melissa Etheridge and heard remarks from Warren, who was months away from announcing her campaign for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. For the top donors, those who could contribute or raise $5,400 per couple or $2,700 a person, there was a VIP photo reception and premium seating.

For them and others who gave at least $1,000, there was also a gift: a souvenir wine bottle.

In Thursday night’s Democratic presidential debate in Los Angeles, Warren lit into rival Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, for attending a fundraiser at a “wine cave” in California’s Napa Valley where he dined and sipped under a chandelier with Swarovski crystals and where the most expensive wine costs about $350 a bottle — and about $900 for an extra-large version.

Related: Nancy Pelosi’s vineyard makes her fourth-richest Californian in Congress.

HE’S NOT WRONG. Trump Aide Stephen Miller: ‘Deep vein of anti-Semitism running through Democratic Party.’

CONFUSED? Here’s What Comes Next In The Impeachment Of President Trump.

SHOCKER: Study Finds Only 1.3% of Overdose Victims Had Opioid Prescription.

AT AMAZON, Gerber Shard Keychain Tool – Silver.

OPEN THREAD: You know what to do.

THE DEEP STATE RESISTANCE TERRORIZED INNOCENT AMERICANS, INCLUDING ME.

A LOT OF THAT GOING AROUND: How Bad Luck Foiled Efforts to Get Starliner Back on Course toward Space Station.

PRUITT-IGOE: THE NEXT GENERATION: Dorm Housing, Communal TVs, Underground Tunnels Envisioned For L.A.’s ‘All-Inclusive’ $3 Billion, 300-Acre City For The Homeless.

As they say whenever a “new” attempt at a socialist project is tried, don’t worry, I’m sure it will work, this time.

DISPATCHES FROM THE EDUCATION APOCALYPSE: College Republicans “Swatted” At Minnesota College Over False Gun Report.

NICE: Boris Johnson serves Christmas lunch to British troops during a visit to a Nato mission in Estonia.

THE THIRD SEASON OF STAR TREK: Into the Black Hole. My review of the edition of screenwriter/television historian Marc Cushman’s look at the original series’ disastrous third season is now online.

Earlier:

● A Trilogy of Books Tackles the Tumultuous History of the Original Star Trek.

● The Second Season of Star Trek: At the Apogee of the Orbit.

(Bumped.)

DON SURBER: The rest of the Christianity Today story.