ABOUT TIME: USS Gerald R. Ford’s EMALS cleared for all aircraft.

The US Navy’s (USN) newest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R Ford, has been cleared as operationally safe for launching and recovering all naval aircraft types using its Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) and Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG).

The aircraft carrier, known also as CVN 78, completed at-sea compatibility testing with EMALS and AAG, demonstrating launch and recovery with the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, Northrop Grumman C-2A Greyhound, Boeing EA-18G Growler, and McDonnell Douglas T-45 Goshawk on 31 January.

Modifications will have to be made before the Ford can handle F-35C launches and recoveries.

KRUISER: The ‘Bloomberg News’ Conflict of Interest Grows Like a Cancer With Boss’s Rise in the Polls.

DECOUPLING: Europe braces for coronavirus-induced drug shortages.

While Europe is one of the world’s top manufacturers of drugs, the raw ingredients often come from China or India. This dependence on Asia was already a source of alarm at the EU’s highest political levels, with shortages and impurities prompting calls for action in both Brussels and national capitals.

Now the coronavirus, which is shutting down factories in China and preventing authorities from making sure plants are up to snuff, is on track to exacerbate existing shortages.

“We have seen there might be a possibility [of the] risk of shortages of supplies due to the coronavirus,” said German Health Minister Jens Spahn at an emergency meeting with his EU counterparts in Brussels Thursday. “We know many active ingredients are made in China, particularly in Hubei province.”

Hugh Hewitt tweeted: “So, there’s great risk in relying on PRC manufacturing, great risk in regulatory complexity and inflexibility, and great risk in prioritizing lowest cost in health care. In short, EU countries are in a bad place re drug supply.”

AB5: An Open Letter to CA Government Democrats – WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?

Congratulations, California Democrats! You’ve successfully scared the holy bejeezus out of all California companies. Now, let’s talk.

In Marvel Universe terms, you’re Tony Stark. You tried to do something to protect everyone, but you created Ultron. Now, it’s time for a Vision.

It’s been 6 weeks since AB5 was signed and put into effect. We’ve now had 6 weeks to see some actual results. So, as a CPA with clients in the Independent Contractor world, and as a lifelong Democrat whose Assemblyperson and Governor actually voted for this shitshow that is AB5, I need to ask: What were you thinking?

H.L. Mencken smiles.

A BILL WHITTLE PODCAST: The Cold War: What We Saw | The Thing Begins – Episode 3.

ANALYSIS: TRUE. Political Pundits Have No Idea What They’re Talking About.

Warren’s collapse reveals the sorry state of today’s political media. From the perspective of voters who watch cable news and take seriously the so-called analysis and punditry they hear from so-called political experts in the media, Warren’s downfall is a shocking development. But it’s only the latest of many examples of said “experts” having absolutely no idea what they’re talking about and showing why no one should take them seriously.

Warren’s campaign, oddly enough, made this very point in a memo it sent to supporters (and the New York Times) ahead of the New Hampshire primary—in which Warren finished a distant fourth and failed to win any delegates. “People who are predicting what will happen a week from now are the same people who a year ago predicted that Beto O’Rourke was a frontrunner for the nomination,” wrote campaign manager Roger Lau.

Lau makes a legitimate point, but it applies to his own candidate as well. Warren, who made history as the “first woman of color” employed by Harvard Law School, was once widely touted by political pundits as the candidate to beat.

Not that their analysis was based on anything other than conventional wisdom. For most of 2019, betting markets viewed Warren as the second most likely candidate to win the nomination, behind former vice president Joe Biden. After New Hampshire, betting markets rank Biden fourth, at 9.2 percent. Warren is sixth, at 2.2 percent, behind Hillary Clinton.

To be fair, being behind Hillary Clinton is a lot safer than having her behind you.

WHEN DID HE EVER? Trump Doesn’t Mince Words After Obama Takes Credit for Booming Economy.

DEATH BY SOCIALISM: Sanders Takes Huge Lead Over Rivals. “The Bernie Bros look poised to take over the Democratic Party in nearly the exact same way Delta House took over the Faber College homecoming parade: With rampant chaos and destruction.”

WELL, YES: Xi’s early involvement in virus outbreak raises questions.

The disclosure of his speech indicates top leaders knew about the outbreak’s potential severity at least two weeks before such dangers were made known to the public. It was not until late January that officials said the virus can spread between humans and public alarm began to rise.

Zhang Lifan, a commentator in Beijing, said it’s not clear why the speech was published now. One message could be that local authorities should take responsibility for failing to take effective measures after Xi gave instructions in early January. Alternatively, it may mean that Xi, as the top leader, is willing to take responsibility because he was aware of the situation, Zhang said.

Trust in the government’s approach to outbreaks remains fractured after the SARS epidemic of 2002 and 2003, which was covered up for months.

Authorities in Hubei and Wuhan faced public fury over their initial handling of the epidemic. In apparent response, the Communist Party’s top officials in Hubei and Wuhan were dismissed and replaced last week.

Hubei announced Sunday that all vehicle traffic will be banned across the province, expanding on an existing ban in Wuhan, in another step to try to stop the spread of the virus. Exceptions will be made for vehicles involved in epidemic prevention and transporting daily necessities.

Weird, but Tom Friedman had assured me that China’s authoritarian regime allowed them to get things done.

TOM NICHOLS: Sanders was ridiculously naive about the Soviet Union. The Trump ads write themselves.

Oh, please. Sanders wasn’t (and isn’t) naive, Tom: He’s a committed socialist on the road to True Communism.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEF: Idiot King Obama Tries to Take Credit for Trump’s Economy. “Obama’s tweet on Monday was extraordinarily arrogant, even for a guy whose entire career has been based on undeserved smugness. The only thing out of character was the fact that it may have been the first self-congratulatory picture that he’s ever shared on social media that didn’t have his face in it.”

Hey, Barack — you didn’t build that.

NONE DARE CALL IT RATIONING: Bloomberg Said U.S. Should Deny Treatment To Old People With Chronic Disease.

I OBJECT TO THERE ONLY BEING 750ML OF BOOZE IN A 750ML BOTTLE, BUT WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO? Pelosi Objects to CNN Anchor’s Claim That Trump Was Acquitted in Impeachment Trial

FALLOUT: Apple Scraps Q2 Revenue Guidance; Says Coronavirus Will Hit iPhone Supplies, China Demand.

As an operations guy, maybe now Tim Cook sees the need for decoupling.

SHOT: Why boosting turnout in November may be tougher than Democrats hope.

CHASER: Trump drives massive turnout in primaries despite token opposition.

Winning begets more winning.

Still not tired of it though.

EVERYTHING, IF YOU DON’T CARE ABOUT AMERICA OR AMERICANS: What Exactly Is Wrong with a President Putting America First?

THAT’S DIFFERENT BECAUSE SHUT UP: ‘Obama Personally Asked the FBI to Investigate Someone on Behalf of George Soros,’ Says Alan Dershowitz.

Elsewhere at PJMedia, I have a little something for our VIP members: Blue on Blue: Bernie Bros vs. Mini Mike. “Bloomberg isn’t just buying up airtime; he’s buying up all the talent at pay-rates the other campaigns can’t match. It’s one thing to find a rival candidate’s people going door-to-door in your neighborhood. It’s another thing to find that there aren’t any people left for you to hire to do the same thing.”

That VODKAPUNDIT discount code is still good for a nice little discount if you’ve been thinking of joining.

DOWNSIZING: GM plans to pull out of Australia, New Zealand and Thailand.

CORN, POPPED: It’s Looking More and More Like Nevada Will Be Another Democratic Clusterfark.

NEITHER THE ONION NOR THE BABYLON BEE: Russians posing as Greta Thunberg dupe Sanders in prank call: You’re a sleeper KGB agent!

YOU’RE GONNA NEED A BIGGER BLOG: Democratic Presidential Clown Car Update for February 17, 2020. “Bloomberg channels Barney, Yang, Bennet and Patrick are Out, enjoy the Buttigieg Platitude Generator, Bernie bros break out the blacklist for Bloomberg hires, and Mayor Pete has a fake Nigerian problem.”

BRITAIN: How can the governing classes be so naive about the threats we face?

Britain once pursued its national interest with such cynical single-mindedness that European diplomats came to call us “perfidious Albion”. Yet these days, on the international stage, we are hopelessly naive. This weekend we learned that Huawei – the Chinese telecommunications company that will help to build our 5G network – secretly funded a Cambridge University study into the global governance of communications and technology. Cambridge denied that Huawei had the right to veto its findings, but the Chinese had no need to do so: predictably, the authors praised their paymasters.

“Elite capture”, as intelligence agencies call it, is part of China’s strategy to undermine its rivals, kill questions about its actions, and use the openness of liberal democracies against them. And universities are an important part of the game. Chinese students now provide one fifth of university tuition fee income, and take one in 10 places at Russell Group universities. Dependence on Chinese revenues is such that vice chancellors worry that the coronavirus could bring about a funding crisis.

It is doubtful this is all they worry about, given their reliance on Chinese cash. Universities are supposed to be seats of free thinking and independent research. But the Chinese state is open about its willingness to use its financial muscle to shut down criticism and dissent.

There’s nothing elite about “elites” who sell out their own countrymen.

BREAKING: Big Second Amendment Victory in… Virginia?

Yes, in Virginia.

Elsewhere at PJMedia, Paula Bolyard has some encouraging figures for our VIP members: More Bad News for Dems: Trump Is Outraising Them in Ohio’s Biggest Democrat Strongholds.

That VODKAPUNDIT discount code is still good for a nice little discount if you’ve been thinking of joining.

YOU CAN’T CON AN HONEST MEDIA: Hilarious Video Montage of Media Slobbering Love Affair with Convicted Creepy Porn Lawyer Michael Avenatti.

EVERGREEN: Biden: ‘Last time we ran’ African American votes were ‘basically taken for granted.’