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LIZ SHELD’S MORNING BRIEF: It Ain’t Easy Being Green and Much, Much More. “Explains AOC: ‘I think one way that the right does try to mischaracterize what we’re doing as though it’s like some kind of massive government takeover,’ Ocasio-Cortez said on MSNBC’s ‘MTP Daily.’ ‘Obviously it’s not that because what we’re trying to do is release the investments from the federal government to mobilize those resources across the country’.”

I hope that clears things up for you.

FASTER, PLEASE: Tenn. Rep Martin Daniel Introduces Bill To Effectively End Federal Asset Forfeiture Program in TN. “Rep. Frank Niceley (R-Strawberry Plains) introduced a companion in the Senate (SB362) on the same day. The legislation would require the district attorney general to review the underlying circumstances of a seizure to determine if probable cause exists to justify forfeiture. If probable cause cannot be established, the district attorney would be required to file a motion to dismiss the application for forfeiture warrant.” Two of my favorite state legislators, for obvious reasons.

SETH BARRETT TILLMAN: On John Dingell Jr. and Our Democracy.

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE, LEGAL EDUCATION EDITION: Valparaiso Law School To Close In May 2020.

UNDER THE BUS: Kamala Harris: Fairfax accuser’s account has ‘credibility,’ should be investigated.

ANALYSIS: TRUE.

MICHAEL BARONE: Trump’s State of the Union was surprisingly reflective and disciplined.

“ This year,” President Trump stated in the seventh paragraph of his widely viewed and positively rated State of the Union address, “America will recognize two important anniversaries that show us the majesty of America’s mission and the power of American pride.”

“On D-Day, June 6, 1944, 15,000 young American men jumped from the sky and 60,000 more stormed in from the sea,” he said. And then in July 1969, “brave young pilots flew a quarter of a million miles through space to plant the American flag on the face of the moon.”

None of the commentators I’ve seen have questioned why Trump chose to spotlight these events. He is not usually given to historical references; even his trademark slogan is vague about just when American was great. Celebrating others’ past achievements has not been his thing. But beginning the speech by celebrating these two American triumphs provided a shrewd framing with the potential to elevate his image. . . .

The larger point made at the beginning, underlined by the appearance of three D-Day veterans and astronaut Buzz Aldrin, is a refutation, without specific mention, of an argument that underlies so much of the upscale loathing of Trump and his politics.

That is the idea—call it the cosmopolitan argument—that nationalism is always bad, a primitive and unsophisticated bias in favor of the home team, a short step (if that) from Nazism. The argument is attractive to many because it makes them feel more sophisticated than the rubes who always praise America.

But the argument is weak if you know more history. “I ask you to join with me in prayer,” Franklin Roosevelt said in his radio fireside chat on the evening of D-Day, “Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our Nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity.”

Yes, it’s nationalism, and it’s a prayer. Roosevelt mentioned allies only at the end and in passing. Trump underscored Roosevelt’s assertion that American nationalism is for the good by introducing (and leading the singing of Happy Birthday) for 81-year-old Holocaust survivor Judah Samet, recalling how, when their train “suddenly screeched to a halt, a soldier appeared. Judah’s family braced for the worst. Then his father cried out with joy, ‘It’s the Americans!”

Today, Trump argued, American nationalism continues to be benign, whether it’s trying to stop Iran’s genocidal nuclear ambitions by withdrawing from the Obama nuclear deal or it’s seeking to oust the disastrous Nicolas Maduro dictatorship in Venezuela.

This State of the Union can also be seen as a refutation of the identity politics conceit that white cisgendered males are inevitably the villains of history, ever-ready to oppress women and people of color, and that virtue inheres only in their intended victims.

That just doesn’t compute when you watch Trump’s salute of SWAT officer Timothy Matson, who “raced into gunfire and was shot seven times” and brought down the hateful murderer at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh.

There was less emphasis than many predicted on divisive issues — the border “barrier,” as Trump has taken to calling it, and abortion. On these, Democrats are at risk of getting out on flimsy limbs.

The reflection and discipline are less surprising if you’ve been paying close attention.

Related: Laurence Jarvik: Conductor In Chief.

BUT THE “BIG LIE” CAN WORK: Starving Venezuelans’ Warnings To The US: “Socialism Is A Big Lie!”

OF COURSE SHE DOES: DEMOCRATS ALWAYS NEED SOMEONE TO DEMONIZE. Stacey Abrams Wants A Divided America.

THE ISLAND FORMERLY KNOWN AS “SCHLEPROCK”:  The Tiny Island with its own Personal Cloud.

UPDATE: F-15X Will Come In Two Variants, And No, It Won’t Cost $100M Per Copy.

The December report from Bloomberg said there would be $1.2B set aside in the 2020 defense budget proposal to procure a dozen F-15X aircraft. This led many to believe the price of each F-15X would be $100M. This is more than the unit cost of an F-35A, which is slated to hit $80M apiece in the not so distant future.

According to sources close to the discussions, this is flat out incorrect. The money being set aside in 2020, possibly around $1.1B, will include an initial order for F-15Xs—likely eight aircraft—with the rest of the money being spent on non-recurring costs, including setting up and managing the program and to pay for a relatively tiny amount of development work needed to bring the aircraft’s systems and software in line with the USAF’s exact specifications.

The big question then is how much will these jets cost? Our sources familiar with the discussions say they will cost “less than an F-35 is ever forecast to cost, best case,” let alone what it is priced at now. This indicates that Boeing is going to cut the USAF one hell of a deal on these jets, which will help keep the F-15 production line open and Boeing’s historic St. Louis plant building fighters well into the latter half of the next decade. This assessment is based on the Office of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation’s (CAPE) numbers, not just some blue sky pitch from Boeing.

Good to know.

Plus:

Maybe what’s more important, is that the F-15X is being designed specifically to slot directly into the USAF’s deeply established F-15 infrastructure, even down to seamless pilot conversion. Our sources say it will only take one or two flights per F-15C pilot to convert to the F-15X for the air superiority mission, saving millions on retraining aircrews, not to mention ground crews, that are already intimately familiar with the Eagle.

It looks like the F-15X could help the Air Force fulfill its planned increase in fighter squadrons, affordably, and without the logistical strain of bringing in F-35s more quickly.

REMEMBER, ONLY TRAINED LAW ENFORCEMENT PROFESSIONALS CAN BE TRUSTED WITH GUNS: Boston cop on leave after service weapon allegedly stolen by strippers.

CULTURE OF CORRUPTION: Dem Rep Meeks Pushed $60K in Campaign Cash to Company Owned by Aide’s Wife; Gregory Meeks spent another $20K on Benz, Lexus bills.

OH: Rep. Adam Schiff Had Secret Meeting Fusion GPS’ Glenn Simpson. “The meeting occurred this past July at a Security conference held in Aspen Colorado. Solomon found pictures of the two together at the event. He didn’t publish the photos but he confronted the offices of the two using the images as proof of the meeting. Per Solomon, the pictures show ‘Schiff meeting at the event with Fusion GPS Founder Glenn Simpson, one of the key and most controversial figures in the Russia collusion scandal. Both men insisted to me through spokesmen that they met only briefly last July”.”

Much more at the link.

WELCOME TO BLUE AMERICA, LAND OF AMERICA’S FUTURE: L.A. City Hall, overrun with rats, might remove all carpets amid typhus fears.

MICHAEL WALSH: Bury My Heart at Wounded Pride. “Time for Fauxcahontas to pack up the wigwam and slink away in disgrace.”