CONGRESS NEEDS A BIGGER STAFF: R Street Institute’s Kevin Kosar (I wonder if he’s related to Bernie?) points to the hard data showing the dramatic decline in congressional staff from 1981 to 2015. This won’t help my popularity here on Instapundit, but, having worked on the Hill and covered the federal government for a long time, I also see lack of sufficient staff as one of the key factors in the declining influence of Congress. It’s not the only one, but it’s an important one.

UPDATE AFTER 61 COMMENTS: Man, this room is even tougher than I thought!

GOOD AND HARD: AB5 Backfire. Barely a month old, California’s poorly designed “gig-work” law is already having unintended consequences.

HERE’S THE BROOKLYN BASEBALL MYTH THAT MADE BERNIE A COMMIE: Well, not entirely, but over at The Federalist Jonathan Tobin makes a persuasive case that Bernie Sanders bought the myth that capitalist greed prompted Brooklyn Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley to move the team to Los Angeles, breaking Flatbush hearts forever. That myth in turn was one of the factors that put young Bernie on the road to becoming the old crank he is today.

CREEPY: How the outbreak is testing China’s vaunted surveillance technology.

In recent years, aided by some of the world’s largest information technology companies and the rapid development of cutting-edge technology such as big data analysis and artificial intelligence, the Chinese government has built up one of the most advanced mass surveillance networks on Earth to monitor the daily activities of the country’s 1.4 billion citizens.

The network includes nationwide video surveillance systems such as Skynet, which uses more cameras than any other country.

Almost everything a citizen does nowadays, whether it is making a payment with a mobile phone in a grocery store, taking a high-speed train ride, paying a visit to hospital, sharing a photo on social media or simply walking on the pavement, leaves a trace in databases operated or supervised by the government.

At the beginning of the outbreak, the Chinese government thought these technologies could quickly help it track down suspected carriers of the disease; but the authorities soon realised that the fight against the epidemic, to quote President Xi Jinping, was a “people’s war”.

People find a way, if you’ll allow me to paraphrase Dr. Ian Malcolm.

WE MUST DISMISS THE PEOPLE AND ELECT ANOTHER: Berthold Brecht’s famous line is usually used satirically. In Cambridge, England, the green extremist group Extinction Rebellion actually means it. They are threatening to “bring the city to a halt” unless authorities accede to their three demands: the University of Cambridge must divest from fossil fuels (here’s what happened when they made that demand in Oxford), the city and county councils come up with a plan to replace the transportation system, and the city of Cambridge holds a “citizens’ assembly” on climate justice. Here’s what they say about the citizens’ assembly:

To meet this demand, the City Council must:

Establish a Citizens’ Assembly on Climate Justice.
Ensure that marginalised groups are well represented in the Assembly. This must include those without citizenship status in the UK.
Ensure that the expert panel includes: Climate scientists, Health professionals, Experts on decolonisation and climate justice, People who have lived on the front lines of the climate crisis
Exclude from the panel those who directly profit from the exploitation of workers, the Global South, or natural resources.
Ensure that the Citizens’ Assembly has significant decision-making powers and a binding mandate.
Act urgently on the decisions of the Citizens’ Assembly.

To me, this sounds less like an assembly, and more like a Committee of Public Safety. I expect they’ll erect the guillotines on The Backs.

UPDATE (FROM GLENN): Proper response: “Sod off, Swampy!”

“PROTESTERS THREATENED AND INTIMIDATED JEWISH STUDENTS:” WATCH: Berkeley protesters disrupt vote to condemn anti-Semitic display. Sounds like the sort of civil rights violation the Department of Justice or the Department of Education should investigate.

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KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEF: New Hampshire Berns Down. “One thing is certain: Elizabeth Warren will soon be flipping through Hillary Clinton’s Book of Blame for excuses to explain away her myriad weaknesses as a candidate. Sexism will of course be Number 1 on the list, sure to be followed by ‘Something, something Trump,’ and the inherent patriarchal oppression spread through Tom and Jerry cartoons.”

THE GREAT RECKONING BEGINS: Fix the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, and Punish the Crooks Who Abused It.

A sample:

In the past, the public expected responsible reporters to scrutinize government operations. In the FISC saga, contemporary mainstream media served as a PR tool for crooked cops and spies. So-called elite press outfits like The New York Times and The Washington Post unquestioningly touted intelligence leaks that have proven to be false.

Though mainstream media outlets take scant notice, angry calls to disband the court have not faded. The decibels will increase when federal prosecutor John Durham’s investigation into the origins of the Russia collusion hoax becomes headline news.

And there’s so much more.

ISSUES & INSIGHTS: The Facts About Trump That Are Deadly For Democrats.

Related: Obama Promised A ‘Middle Class’ Economy, Trump Delivered It.

AND BUTTIGIEG AND KLOBUCHAR LOST TO HIM: Bernie Sanders a limp leader after barely squeaking by in New Hampshire. Will South Carolina bring clarity, or more confusion?

COME AND SEE THE VIOLENCE INHERENT IN THE LEFTISM: Humboldt CA Republican Headquarters Vandalized Early Saturday Morning. “This is the sixth time this has happened to us in the last two years,” John Schutt Humboldt County Republican Party chairman said.

DOUBLE FARVEL: The USN’s Blue Angels perform the Double Farvel maneuver while practicing at El Centro, California. This is an amazing aerial stunt.

IT’S A CUSHY LIFE IN CAPITAL CITY: Loaded swamp: $100,001-plus salaries the norm in DC for first time.

CHANGE: Illegal immigration at border down for the eighth straight month.

THANKS, JOE! Joe Biden’s Campaign Was a Disaster For Liberalism and the Democratic Party.

Jonathan Chait sounds particularly bitter this morning, which is a nice shot of schadenfreude in my coffee.

WHEN YOU’RE A GREEN NEW DEAL-PROMOTING DEMOCRAT WHO’S LOST VAN JONES: CNN’s Van Jones on Joe Biden’s South Carolina Strategy: It’s ‘Going to Blow Up in His Face.’

THIS SEEMS RIGHT: Coronavirus outbreak will speed up US-China ‘decoupling’ more than the trade war, Milken Institute analyst says.

WHEN YOU FAKE IT, BUT DON’T MAKE IT: Warren Campaign Obituary: She tried to fake it, but America didn’t buy it.

CORONAVIRUS UPDATE: Coronavirus outbreak ‘just beginning’ outside China, says expert.

Coronavirus death toll tops 1,100 as China reports more than 90 new deaths.

Novel coronavirus continues to spread on cruise ship quarantined at sea in Japan;
At least 174 people on board the ship have now tested positive for the disease.

Coronavirus outbreak infections ease in China but death toll keeps climbing.

Coronavirus Casts A Pall Over Cruise Industry At Height Of Booking Season.

Coronavirus: Cruise ship turned away from five countries allowed to dock in Cambodia.

These US tech companies are exposed to China’s coronavirus outbreak.

New virus has infected more than 45,100 people globally.

Coronavirus quarantine ends for 195 people who flew from Wuhan to California.

Dow futures jump 100 points as equity traders shake off coronavirus fears.

ANALYSIS: TRUE. CNN Correspondent: Warren Is Struggling to Stay Relevant.

TYLER O’NEIL: New Hampshire Dems Go Socialist, Reject ‘Math.’ Is Bloomberg on the Upswing?

Related: (VIP) Might the Soviets wind up winning the Cold War after all?

MINNESOTA CONSIDERS MAKING A “QUALITY EDUCATION” A CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT: Yeah, right, that’ll do it. Turning education over to the courts always works so well, doesn’t it?

QUESTION ASKED AND ANSWERED: Is Trump’s Classical-Architecture Policy Authoritarian?, asks Theodore Dalrymple.

Not at all when you consider that the alternative defines authoritarian, even to those of us who appreciate a lot of modern architecture:

Related thoughts from James Lileks.