HMM: Bloomberg pulls out win in tiny Dixville Notch, NH.

AWFUL: Nine Members Of Hong Kong Family Feared Infected After ‘Hotpot.’

JUST IN TIME FOR NEW HAMPSHIRE: Biden 2020: A Pre-Post Mortem. “Perhaps nothing during this primary season will give me greater pleasure than to write Joe Biden’s political obituary, and I might not have to wait long to do it, if recent caucus results, poll numbers, debate performances, and fundraising troubles are anything to go by. My, that’s an awful lot to go by, isn’t it?”

And for our PJMedia/Townhall VIP members: Coronavirus, Xi Jinping, and the Mandate of Heaven.

Xi has kept a low profile during the outbreak, perhaps wanting not to be seen as the symbol of Beijing’s troubles in dealing with it. But in a country where nearly one-third of the people are under some kind of quarantine, a leader has to… well, get out and lead if he’s going to be considered worthy of the title. Perhaps that why Xi just made what’s been a “rare appearance” in recent weeks, today at a Beijing medical center. His face covered in a mask (we’ll get to that momentarily), Xi had his temperature taken and urged “more decisive measures” to combat the virus.

According to Western suckups like Thomas Friedman, Xi’s ability to decisively move his authoritarian government is a big bonus for Getting Stuff Done. When the CCP says “Jump,” the country shouts “How high?” That is, that’s how it looks if you’re a comfy Westerner suffering from a common mental condition known as Authoritarian Envy. The truth of the matter is that the CCP is so thoroughly corrupt that Xi’s decisive measures aren’t measuring up — and some of the most “decisive” are mostly just for show. Business Insider reported today that “China is sending trucks to spray bleach on entire cities as the country struggles to contain the Wuhan coronavirus,” but it’s actually a PR stunt to make people feel like decisive action is being taken. The story notes that “health experts say these public displays of germ-busting are probably not doing much to help stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, and that the disinfection should instead target specific spots, like emergency rooms, and communal surfaces in hospitals.”

Probably, but the people can’t see that happening on a mass scale. Some of Xi’s most decisive actions look less like the effective handling of a deadly outbreak, and more like hurried construction of Potemkin villages.

The whole thing is just for members, and if you’ve been thinking of joining please use that VODKAPUNDIT promo code for a nice little discount.

REPORT: The White House Has Identified and Will Cut Ties With ‘Anonymous’ Resistance Official.

YOU’RE GONNA NEED A BIGGER BLOG: Democratic Presidential Clown Car Update for February 10, 2020. “Iowa screws everything up, the Bernie juggernaut gathers momentum, there was another debate, and Biden calls a voter a ‘lying dog-faced pony soldier’.”

THIS SHOULDN’T NEED TO BE SAID, BUT IT NEEDS TO BE SAID: Being Fired by Trump Does Not Make You a Holocaust Victim.

‘MURICA: A Colorado city has set off the world’s largest firework. It weighed more than a ton.

BIDEN IS A PUNCHLINE: Mayor Pete Punches Back: Biden Reducing Small-Town Americans ‘to a Punchline.’

It isn’t a funny joke, but he’s still the punchline.

SPOILER: NO, THEY DON’T. Underdog Democrats Michael Bennet and Deval Patrick Say They’ve Got a Chance in Flinty New Hampshire

THE SOCIALIST STATE WITHERS AWAY SO THAT THE PEOPLE MIGHT ENJOY A LITTLE CAPITALISM: To survive, Venezuela’s leader gives up decades of control over oil.

Will Sanders denounce his buddy Maduro?

THE CHINA SYNDROME: Where did they go? Millions left Wuhan before the city was put under quarantine.

MATT MARGOLIS: Impeaching Trump Probably Destroyed Biden’s Presidential Campaign.

BLUE CITY BLUES: Trump Angrily Denounces ‘Weak Leadership’ In Two Assassination Attempts on NY City Police.

HE HASN’T CHANGED: Sanders Dismisses Question About His Support For a Maximum Wage. “Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) on Sunday refused to discuss his support for a ‘maximum wage’ during his early days in Vermont politics, calling the unearthing of such radical proposals not ‘productive’.”

“Productive” depends on what it is you’re trying to accomplish, whether that’s to further an agenda or obfuscate it.

HMM: Powerful Cyber Attack Takes Down 25% Of Iranian Internet.

The NetBlocks internet observatory, which maps internet freedom in real-time, confirmed that there was extensive Iranian telecommunications network disruption on the morning of February 8. The internet observatory, an accurate and impartial monitor of internet availability, uses a combination of measurement and classification techniques to detect disruptions and critical infrastructure cyber-attacks in real-time. In a NetBlocks tweet, the national internet connectivity drop to 75% was said to be due to Iranian authorities activating the “Digital Fortress” cyber-defense mechanism, also known as DZHAFA.

In a NetBlocks report, the DEZHFA activation is said to have been implemented in order to “repel a cyber-attack on the country’s infrastructure.” With both fixed-line and mobile network providers impacted, it was seven hours before normal internet connectivity was resumed. A spokesperson for Iran’s Telecommunication Infrastructure Company, affiliated to the ministry of ICT and Iran’s sole provider of telecommunications infrastructure, Sadjad Bonabi, tweeted that a “distributed denial of service attack” (DDoS) had been “normalized” with the “intervention of the Dzhafa Shield.”

Us? The Israelis? A private actor?

OH: Grassley, Johnson Blast Democrat Senators For Leaking Oversight Material About The Bidens.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEF: Joe Biden Is a Cry for Help. “Remember, Biden was supposed to be the safe, sane option for the Democrats in this election.”

Ouch.

BYRON YORK: Centrist voters cut Biden out of the picture.

“You think Biden is losing support by the hour?” I asked an experienced New Hampshire politico as he arrived to check out the Pete Buttigieg rally here in the southeastern part of the state Sunday afternoon.

“By the minute,” he said.

Nearly one-third of voters here remain undecided just hours before Tuesday’s primary. That certainly appeared to be true of many in the Buttigieg crowd. But being undecided does not mean a voter is open to any candidate. And that looks like more bad news for Biden.

In this way: By and large, the people who attended the Buttigieg rally saw themselves on the centrist side of the Democratic electorate. Of course, they would vote for any Democrat over President Trump, but in Tuesday’s primary, they tend to stay away from the two leading candidates farthest to the left, Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.

The conventional wisdom says that would leave them with three choices among the candidates with a plausible chance to do well: Biden, Buttigieg, and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar. The problem for Biden is that many of the centrists seem to have already squeezed him out of the picture.

“I don’t like Bernie and I don’t like Elizabeth Warren,” said Ann Cudlip of Brentwood. “They’re too far Left for me. I need center, and I need somebody who can defeat Trump. That’s my thing.”

“Who does that leave you with?”

“Amy and Pete,” she said, explaining that she now gives Buttigieg the edge because of his performance in the Iowa caucuses.

Buttigieg is no moderate.

NOSEDIVE OR BELLY FLOP? Sanders leads polls ahead of New Hampshire primary, while Buttigieg climbs and Biden nosedives. “A CBS News/YouGov poll released Sunday found the race even tighter, with Sanders the choice of 29% of likely voters in New Hampshire’s Democratic primary and Buttigieg favored by 25%. That poll found Warren (19%) in third ahead of Biden (12%) and Klobuchar (10%).”

IT’S THE INSANE WING VERSUS THE CORRUPT WING: James Carville Is Right, But Not In The Way He Thinks.

TOUCHY: Chinese diplomat pushes back against coronavirus ‘rumors’ from GOP senator. “It’s very harmful, it’s very dangerous to stir up suspicion, rumors and spread them among the people. For one thing, this will create panic. Another thing is that it will fan up racial discrimination, xenophobia, all these things that will really harm our joint efforts to combat the virus.”

The silly racism charge makes me think he’s hiding something.

BUSTED! Mike Pompeo Says He Has List of American Governors Compromised by Communist China.

EVEN ON A FRIDAY NIGHT? EVEN ON A FRIDAY NIGHT: Drunkblogging the New Hampshire Democratic Debate.

This is dedication, folks.

BECAUSE OF COURSE THEY DID: CNBC Deceptively Edits Nancy Pelosi in Her Complaint About Deceptive Edits.

FOR PJMEDIA/TOWNHALL VIP MEMBERS: The State of the Race: Handicapping the Surviving Dems. “Something’s got to change because whatever Biden has been doing it isn’t working. Team Biden was so rattled by his weak showing in Iowa (and sinking poll numbers in New Hampshire), that he abandoned New Hampshire and spent Thursday ‘gathered with his top advisers at his home in Wilmington, Del., seeking a reset and perhaps a last-ditch effort to save his candidacy.’ I’ve said all along that if Biden’s South Carolina firewall holds, then he’s probably the 50% favorite to win the nomination. The thinking in the Biden Campaign seems to have been, ‘Where else are black voters in South Carolina going to go? Cranky old Bernie? The gay guy?’ Well, no — but black voters might not go to the polls at all on February 29 if Joe doesn’t provide some inspiration. The next three days could prove his last chance to do so.”

Membership is cheap, and it’s cheaper still with that lovely VODKAPUNDIT promo code.

OR YOU COULD JUST TAKE A BREAK FROM THE HEAVY NEWS: Florida Man Friday: When Herpes Monkeys Attack! “Florida troopers find narcotics in Florida Man’s bag labeled ‘Bag Full of Drugs’.”