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OPEN THREAD: What you’ve been waiting for all day.

BRYAN PRESTON: Elon Musk Is GTT.

Combining just some of his companies — rockets and spaceflight, electric cars, tunneling — draws the eyes from the plains of Texas to the sands of Mars where Musk’s true ambitions may lie.

Musk says he’s looking to put a human there within this decade. I would not bet against him. And I would not bet against him succeeding because he has moved his operations to the big red state known for the big, bright star on its flag.

As for Texas, GTT will have consequences. The state welcomes its new residents as friends, but do many of the new residents know and understand the policy set that has driven them from one state, most likely declining and blue, to the Lone Star State?

Someone should definitely do something about that.

GOP governors better get cracking on Glenn’s Welcome Wagon kits ASAP, if they want to keep their states in the red column. Otherwise, as a — [cough] — longtime resident of Texas myself, I’m all in favor of this proposal by America’s Newspaper of Record: Texas Passes Law Banning Californians From Voting After They Move There.

SPACE: SpaceX wins big share of $9.2B RDOF broadband subsidy. Well, Starlink looks pretty good — certainly superior to Hughes, the only other satellite provider in the competition.

AN ANALYSIS FROM JOHN HINDERAKER: Texas Throws a Hail Mary. “The Texas motion and supporting brief are well-drafted and make a plausible case–importantly, one that, if accepted, does not require extensive fact-finding into alleged voter fraud. Reduced to its essentials, the motion alleges 1) that under the Constitution’s Electors Clause, state legislatures have plenary authority over appointment of each state’s electors; 2) that in each of the defendant states, non-legislative actors (e.g., the Secretary of State) unconstitutionally changed the rules governing this year’s election without legislative approval or ratification; 3) that these changes favored some voters over others, in violation of the Equal Protection Clause; and 4) in each state, the number of ballots that were counted pursuant to unconstitutional changes in election procedures exceeds the margin of Joe Biden’s alleged victory.”

UPDATE: From the comments: “I wonder if the left, and the court realize this is a hail mary to prevent a civil war, not to keep trump in office. 30% of democrats and 80+% of republicans think the election was stolen. That is a loss of legitimacy of the nation’s governments from the state level through the federal.”

They are children playing with nitroglycerin, so no, they won’t realize that. At least, not in time, I’m afraid.

TRUMP RUSSIAGATE ACCUSER REP. ERIC SWALWELL INFILTRATED* BY CHINESE SPY.

A woman suspected of being a Chinese intelligence operative allegedly targeted several local and national politicians in the first half of the last decade, including Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA.), according to a report from Axios.

The woman, Fang Fang or Christine Fang, reportedly specifically attempted to curry influence with Bay Area politicians from 2011 to 2015, including participating in fundraising for Swalwell’s 2014 reelection campaign, according to the publication.

And Fang apparently gets around. Stephen Miller tweets, “Here is a [Peter J. Hasson in the Daily Caller] story from 2018 on the Chinese spy working for Diane Feinstein. Check the picture pulled from the [California State University East Bay]  in the story. She look familiar at all?”

* And possibly vice-versa. As Jerry Dunleavy of the Washington Examiner tweets, “You’d think Swalwell could just say ‘of course I didn’t have sex with the Chinese Communist Party spy’ but so far he has not done so.”

UPDATE: Link was incorrect previously; it’s working now.

WELL, GOOD: Cigarette, chewing tobacco use consistently dropping among teens, study finds. Though as teens’ physical habits grow healthier, their mental health seems worse.

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THE LONELY LIVES OF JUDGES: Michael Flynn Case Officially Dropped, Judge Emmet Sullivan Releases Whiney, Politicized 43 Page Opinion.

THAT’S WHY THEY CALL THEM TESTS: SpaceX aborts test flight of Starship Mars rocket. “The company had planned to launch the test vehicle about 5:40 p.m. EST, but the engines shut down one second before the planned liftoff. The company has posted road closures for a potential new test flight attempt Wednesday.”

COURTS: Breaking: SCOTUS denies injunction in Pennsylvania election case, 9-0.

DISPATCHES FROM THE KAKISTOCRACY:

● California’s Expanded COVID Unemployment System Corrupted By $2 Billion in Fraud, Report Finds.

● California Gov. Newsom once again declines to show evidence newly closed businesses contribute to virus spread.

● After 8 years of “gun buyback program,” California shocked to see gun violence still rising.

● San Diego schools compelling teachers to attend ‘white privilege’ training, beginning with ‘land acknowledgment.’

SETH BARRETT TILLMAN: American History and Today’s Two Americas.

GOYA’S EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH CONTINUES TO PAY DIVIDENDS: AOC’s $58 ‘Tax the Rich’ Sweatshirt Perfectly Demonstrates How Her Ideas Hurt the Poor.

CHARLES LIPSON:  Calling people who want to reopen the schools racist and sexist is a terrible way for the teachers’ union to debate important policy questions.

BREAKING: Supreme Court Denies Pennsylvania GOP Challenge to Election Results.

IS THE U.S. CHINA’S BITCH? Well, adding to the “China owns us” news, The Daily Caller is reporting that:

“A Chinese academic with links to the communist party, Di Dongsheng, asserted that Beijing will re-establish its power through that group of ‘old friends’ under the Biden Administration.”

Let me show you my shocked face!

LAZY HOUSE! Nancy Pelosi Creates Tiny 101-Day Working Schedule for Next Congress.

I DID NOT SEE THAT ONE COMING: Matthew McConaughey Steps Up as a Voice of Reason.

EVERYTHING YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT SCHEDULE F: What is Schedule F? The Lid describes the new classification for senior career federal employees defined by a recent executive order from President Donald Trump. The order makes it easier to fire such employees.

Civil service reform is one of those boring but absolutely essential issues that conservatives too often ignore when thinking of how to restrain Leviathan. Trump is late to the game in creating Schedule F, but at least he, finally, took action against rogue bureaucrats.

NEWS YOU CAN USE: Why Movie Car Chases Always Crash Through Fruit Stands. I find this analysis a bit . . . ripe.

THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE: Report: Alleged Chinese spy got so close to Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell that federal investigators had to step in to alert him.

As Caleb Hull tweets, “The Swalwell news basically just confirms that everything the Democrats were going after Trump for, they were actually just doing themselves.”

MORE LAWSUITS: Former GOP candidates sue Massachusetts seeking to throw out millions of mail-in, early ballots. Group seeks recount, re-do of November 3 election.

Earlier: Explosive: Texas Asks Supreme Court to Block ‘Unlawful Election Results’ in Swing States.

NOT BUYING IT: Michigan AG says her son was “devastated” after a store employee said “Merry Christmas” to him. Really, lady?