STUDY SHOWS IMPOTENCE OF FAKE NEWS: Yes, there is such a thing as “Fake News,” as anybody knows who even occasionally watches cable news channels or reads newspapers like The New York Times and Washington Post. But what about Fake News that was planted by non-media sources?

Turns out, according to a new study reported by Science Advances, that prolific social media posters are smarter than generally thought:

“If anything, those who share the most content in general were less likely to share articles from fake news–spreading domains to their friends. Thus, it is not the case that what explains fake news sharing is simply that some respondents ‘will share anything.’ These data are consistent with the hypothesis that people who share many links are more familiar with what they are seeing and are able to distinguish fake news from real news.”

So where does that leave all that Fake News the Russians planted and thus swung the 2016 presidential election to Donald Trump? Go here for the study.

MORE THAN 200K SIGN PETITION CALLING FOR TLAIB IMPEACHMENT: In case the name sounds unfamiliar, it’s Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), she of the “we’re going to impeach the m—–f—–” infamy. The petition on Change.org has only been up a week but already has nearly 210,000 signatures. There are questions about Change.org, too.

UPDATE (FROM GLENN): You can’t “impeach” a member of the House or Senate, though you can remove them with a 2/3 vote of their house. I doubt that will happen, but that’s not really the point of petitions like this, is it?

HERE’S WHY PEOPLE, JOBS ARE FLEEING BLUE STATES TO LIVE IN RED ONES: Yes, it just makes common sense that people who can leave states with high taxes, onerous regulations and high unemployment.

But Antonio Chaves, writing in American Thinker, provides an absolutely devastating presentation of the data showing the sources and depths of distress for middle and lower-middle class people living in places like California and Maryland.

It’s a data-intensive read, but well worth it. And Chaves offers some interesting thoughts on how red-state leaders should respond to the droves of former blue-staters crossing into the jurisdictions.

UPDATE (FROM GLENN:) My Welcome Wagon idea is more urgently needed than ever.

OH THE MANY WAYS DEMOCRATS SCHEME TO LIMIT POLITICAL SPEECH: Just for starters, the Institute for Free Speech’s David Keating says he and colleagues say the official name of House Democrats first official bill should be changed from “For The People Act” to “For The Politicians Act.” It gets worse from there.

SO YOU THINK THE MULTIVERSE THEORY EXPLAINS IT ALL: Neil deGrasse Tyson has other more immediate problems with which to deal, but there are also some significant questions to be asked about a widely held explanation for the existence of us all that he often pushes. (And if you wonder what this has to do with politics, Pelosi, freedom, federalism, Trump, etc. etc., just remember what Dostoevsky said when everything would be permitted.)

LIBS WOULDN’T DO FACEBOOK ADS DESIGNED TO REDUCE RIGHT TURNOUT IN 2018, WOULD THEY? Of course they wouldn’t, we all know that. This Peter Hasson fellow at the Daily Caller News Foundation is probably just making it all up. Wait, what is this “American Engagement Technologies” stuff?

NASTY SENATE FIGHT ON ANTI-ISRAEL BDS MOVEMENT: A vote is scheduled for 5:30 PM today in the Senate in Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s first test of 2019. He wants the Senate to vote on a package of proposals, including one that protects state and local officials who boycott the Israel boycotters of the BDS Movement.

But Senate Democrats want to vote first on re-opening the government. One need not agree with them on that point to recognize it’s a legitimate strategy. But they ran into a totally unexpected obstacle, thanks Bernie Sanders and that angry Muslim woman who wants to impeach President Trump. Details here. Updates to come later this evening.

WHY WON’T NANCY PELOSI ANSWER THESE THREE QUESTIONS? You know, those pesky journalists like Peter Hasson can be real pains-in-the-tush. What would happen if every time Pelosi has a presser she is asked these three questions?

OBAMA-ERA OPERATIVES BEHIND FALSE-FLAG CAMPAIGN AGAINST ROY MOORE: Slowly but surely facts are emerging about the extent to which Obama-era activists in and out of government disingenuously campaigned against Republicans.

The Daily Caller News’ Foundation’s Chris White details how two such activists were involved in the creation of a web page designed to make it appear that Alabama Senate Republican candidate Roy Moore favored prohibition. Moore lost the 2017 special election to Democrat Doug Jones, who has since called for an investigation of activities.

AND THEN THERE’S THE MOST SUCCESSFUL COVER-UP EVER: Former Deputy Under-Secretary of Defense Jed Babbin lays out a highly persuasive case for the view the Department of Justice and FBI under President Barack Obama and continuing to the present have pulled off the most successful cover-up of a host of serious crimes in American history. All for the twin purposes of protecting former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and preventing Donald Trump from occupying the Oval Office.

NEW SPECIAL REPORT ON HUAWEI, CHINA’S POLICE-STATE TROJAN HORSE: The Dec. 1, 2018, arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Canada has sparked huge interest in the Chinese tech giant’s world-wide activities.

Editors at The Epoch Times, which is uniquely well-sourced in China,  recently assigned a crack team of journalists to dig into Huawei, get beyond its official facades and expose the ugly facts about the firm’s role as one of Beijing’s most effective espionage tools. You will want to, as Glenn says, keep scrolling in this special report. And go here for daily updates on Huawei developments.

And Stephen Green’s Dec. 13, 2018, post is well worth revisiting as well.

CAN SOMEONE PLEASE CHECK THE SNOWFALL IN HELL? It must be snowing; otherwise how to explain that a senior NBC reporter resigned because, according to Wayne Dupree, the network is “not informing the American people of the ‘the failures of the generals and national security leaders,’ essentially becoming ‘a defender of the government against Trump’ and a ‘cheerleader for open and subtle threat-mongering.’”

WHICH SIDE KNOWS ITS OPPOSITION’S VIEWS BETTER, LEFT OR RIGHT: The answer  to that question and many more comparing Left and Right, courtesy of Capital Research Center’s Dr. Steven J. Allen.

WILL PELOSI LEGISLATE OR INVESTIGATE? WHY NOT BOTH? She picked the perfect guy to be House General Counsel, no matter which direction she chooses. LINK FIXED.

THESE FIVE HOUSE DEMS WILL LIKELY BE TRUMP’S BIGGEST HEADACHES: Tomorrow, they become chairmen of five House committees with virtually endless opportunities to cause genuine problems for the president.

But check out their biggest donor groups. There, we find some surprises and several big hints about which of the five incoming House powers Trump should most worry about. Everybody has heard of “Mad Maxine” Waters.

But can you name Richard Neal’s home state? No cheating! My analysis is here, on The Epoch Times where I hope you will be seeing my byline early and often, as they say in Chicago.

58 GREAT NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS, NOT ONE OF WHICH INCLUDES THE WORD ‘DIET:’ You can thank Margot Cleveland of The Federalist for this gem of a New Year’s Day post.

My favorite is #40 — “Help an elderly neighbor. Bring back his trash cans, offer to mow her lawn, invite him on a walk to chat.” I know from experience how meaningful this can be for an elderly shut-in.

FIVE MOST INSANE CAMPUS FREE SPEECH CONTROVERSIES OF 2018: Speaking as an alum of Oklahoma State University (72), I am shocked and saddened that the heartland university that touts itself as “America’s Brightest Orange” is on this list. 

Speaking of suppression of expression, would you go to jail for your most basic beliefs as this Chinese pastor has? Beijing is targeting Muslims, too. Campus authorities in the U.S. on that top five list would undoubtedly be horrified and offended by the suggestion their actions have anything in common with China’s anti-religion crusade.

WHY NO, JESUS AND MITHRAS WEREN’T BOTH BORN OF VIRGINS: If you think this issue is an irrelevant pre-modern scrap, think again because it deals with an important sector of the Left’s deconstruction of the West.

THESE PROTESTORS WANT TO ‘KEEP ON TRUCKIN’ IN 2019: The creator of that familiar 1960s slogan would likely be spinning in his grave (if he were in it, which he’s not!) as Tesla owners find themselves unable to re-charge, thanks to “ICEing” protests.

MAYBE MEXICO WILL BUILD A WALL BEFORE TRUMP: Now here’s an interesting idea from Monica Showalter, writing at The American Thinker: “Mexico can erect a border fence on its southern border, same as President Trump is trying to do on the U.S. southern border, to keep unauthorized migrants out. Given that it’s a far shorter border, it wouldn’t take much to get up.” More here.

HERE’S HOW THEY DECIDE WHO CAN SAY WHAT ON FACEBOOK: Blatant censorship of unpopular political speech is rampant on the world’s largest social media platform. In fact, it appears to be in Silicon Valley’s DNA. If you doubt that, read this. Then share it. Until they stop you.

LAME-DUCK GOPERS LIMP HOME, LAME-DUCK DEMS KNEECAP GOPERS: Required reading at The Last Refuge comparing the out-going GOP House majority in 2018 with the out-going Democrat majority in 2010:

“While 63 Democrat seats were lost in the November 2010 election (and six Democrat Senate seats), those exiting Marxists, despite just having suffered the worst defeat in almost 100 years, audaciously –and unapologetically– voted in the December 2010 lame-duck session, to fully fund President Obama’s next two years in office.

“This was done by Speaker Nancy Pelosi specifically to block the incoming GOP wave from upending the priorities of the Obama administration in 2011.  That was called the ‘Porkulous’ spending bill; and the Democrat-Marxists didn’t give a snit about how it looked.

“Now, did Speaker Paul Ryan or Senate Leader Mitch McConnell do anything as bold to fund and secure the budgetary priorities of President Donald Trump in this lame-duck?”

Lesson (Just one among many): A One-and-a-Half Party system isn’t a Two-Party system. Go here for the rest.

BRE PAYTON OF THE FEDERALIST HAS PASSED AWAY: I never met her in person but I loved her work on The Federalist. Morgan Murtaugh has the sad, sad news.

REMEMBER OAKLAND MAYOR LIBBY SCHAAF? She’s the California official who took it upon herself to warn illegal immigrants in her city that federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials were about to launch a raid.

Schaaf has no regrets about compromising a raid that still managed to arrest 232 illegals, 180 of which were found to have criminal records. Townhall’s Cortney O’Brien reminds us that Schaaf said she was willing to go to jail when former Attorney General Jeff Sessions warned of the possibility.

BIG CHALLENGES FOR CHRISTIANS IN PEW’S LATEST ‘NONES’ SURVEY RESULTS: Fully a fourth of all Americans now identify themselves as having none when asked their religious affiliation. The percentages are even higher among recent college graduates.

But rather than despair, NBC Dateline cold-case detective J. Warner Wallace – himself an articulate Christian apologist – sees great opportunities for believers in Pew Research Center’s latest results from its survey of a representative sample of 1,300 Nones, especially when combined with a key question that wasn’t asked in 2018 but was in previous years.