FIRST AMENDMENT BLUES: Legal Battles Over Drive-In Church Service Bans Continue Even After $500 Fines Dropped.

BE CAREFUL OUT THERE: Police warn of coronavirus scams as FBI says cybercrime up fourfold.

HOME AT LAST: Last 3 cruise ships with passengers to let them disembark Monday.

MORE LIKE THIS, PLEASE: Shake Shack returning $10 million government loan meant for small businesses.

HOW ABOUT NO? ‘Experts’ Float Trial Balloon: Hey, What if We Closed Grocery Stores While We’re at It?

ENJOY YOUR ICE CREAM, NAN: Nancy Pelosi Wants You to Sit Down, Shut Up, and Obey Government Coronoavirus Decrees.

THIS WOULD BE TRAGIC: Colorado’s craft beer industry is sobered as brewers predict mass closures if social distancing continues. “Breweries faced a tough road in 2020 before the coronavirus, now one forecast suggests 60% of breweries won’t make it to June.”

H. R. MCMASTER: How China Sees the World.

Leaving China, I was even more convinced than I had been before that a dramatic shift in U.S. policy was overdue. The Forbidden City was supposed to convey confidence in China’s national rejuvenation and its return to the world stage as the proud Middle Kingdom. But for me it exposed the fears as well as the ambitions that drive the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to extend China’s influence along its frontiers and beyond, and to regain the honor lost during the century of humiliation. The fears and ambitions are inseparable. They explain why the Chinese Communist Party is obsessed with control—both internally and externally.

The party’s leaders believe they have a narrow window of strategic opportunity to strengthen their rule and revise the international order in their favor—before China’s economy sours, before the population grows old, before other countries realize that the party is pursuing national rejuvenation at their expense, and before unanticipated events such as the coronavirus pandemic expose the vulnerabilities the party created in the race to surpass the United States and realize the China dream. The party has no intention of playing by the rules associated with international law, trade, or commerce. China’s overall strategy relies on co-option and coercion at home and abroad, as well as on concealing the nature of China’s true intentions. What makes this strategy potent and dangerous is the integrated nature of the party’s efforts across government, industry, academia, and the military.

And, on balance, the Chinese Communist Party’s goals run counter to American ideals and American interests.

Well then, we’d better get back to pursuing our own interests with vigor.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEF: Educators Are Nervous About Kids Being Away From Public School Indoctrination During Shutdown. “All of this time away from the public school indoctrination mills is making some modern educators nervous. Mustn’t let the wee ones get too much exposure to mom and dad now, after all.”

IT’S TIME TO REOPEN A LOT OF THINGS, ESPECIALLY THINGS NOT IN NEW YORK CITY: Time To Reopen Texas. “After weeks of people clamoring to reopen Texas’ closed economy, and after President Donald Trump unveiled his own guidelines for states to start reopening their economies, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has issued several directives to get the Texas economy up and running again.”

THe VodkaWife™ and I did takeout pho yesterday and ate in the parking lot with two of our best friends. It was a bit of a fuss but lots of fun. But there’s only so much longer the American people are going to put with having to jump through hoops just to enjoy a lunch out. That’s especially true now that we’re finding out that the virus is more prevalent than expected, less deadly than expected, and can largely be avoided through commonsense steps like social distancing.

LOVE IN THE TIME OF CORONAVIRUS: New York executive order makes marriages over FaceTime legal.

THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT? Anti-Trump celebrities now targeting Trump supporters.

The old saw “All news is good news” may apply in some circles, Albee adds, but it can backfire in our digital age. Having a movie star say something politically divisive can “get a film on your radar, but It can also really have a huge backlash,” he says. “People get turned off to it and don’t wanna go.”

For example, had actor Bradley Cooper came out with an anti-GOP rant while promoting his 2014 film “American Sniper,” which had massive heartland appeal, “it could have really hurt a movie like that,” he reasons.

Artists should “take a step back” when getting political and ask themselves if their “opinions fit” where a project is going, he adds.

Or, you know, just shut up instead of insulting the American public.

HE TURNS OUT TO BE RIGHT ABOUT A LOT OF STUFF: Trump’s Correct: Kerry Violated Logan Act (More Than Once).

PRIVACY: Big Brother in the Sky: New Jersey Police Use Chinese Drones to Enforce Social Distancing.

TAKE A BREAK FROM THE SERIOUS NEWS FOR A FEW MINUTES: Florida Man Friday: Burning Down the House.

MEANWHILE, AT THE PJMEDIA MOTHERSHIP: Friday VIP Gold Live Chat with VodkaPundit, Victoria Taft, and Matt Margolis.

WHO ARE YOU TRYING TO KID? WHO recommends limits on alcohol consumption during lockdowns.

UGH: Massachusetts Man Arrested for Trying to Blow Up ‘Jewish’ Nursing Home During Coronavirus Pandemic.

RISE UP: Americans Demand Return to Dead-End Jobs.

CHANGE: Georgia Democrat State Rep Endorses President Trump, Credits Work For Black Community.

HMM: Cracks in the Wall: CBS, PBS Finally Cover Joe Biden Sexual Assault Accuser.

GOOD: Majority of Positive Coronavirus Cases on U.S. Aircraft Carrier are Symptom-Free.

BUT ORANGE MAN BAD OR WHATEVER: Coronavirus Reveals China’s Horrific Racism Against Black People.

DECOUPLING, YOU’RE DOING IT WRONG: Federal government set to invest in Chinese firms called ‘enemies.’

SO? IT WILL STOP US FROM SUBSIDIZING THEIR FAILURES: Trump’s Funding Cut Won’t Fix the WHO’s Problems.