ASHE SCHOW: Emails Reveal Media Outlet Ran With Non-Story Designed To Hurt NRA. That Outlet Is Now Repeating Its Mistakes.

Way back in March of 2018, McClatchy ran a story with the headline “NRA lawyer said to have had concerns about group’s ties to Russia.” The premise of the story was that Cleta Mitchell allegedly told someone, at some point, that she had concerns about the National Rifle Association’s potential involvement in helping Russia steal the election for President Donald Trump in 2016.

The original article, published March 15, 2018, claimed “two sources familiar with the matter” had said this, but the sources were anonymous and not listed as anyone from the NRA or in Mitchell’s current circles. In the fourth paragraph, McClatchy quotes Mitchell saying the entire story was a “complete fabrication.” The article goes on to continue claiming Mitchell said this and what the consequences for the NRA might be if it was actually tied to Russia and if Trump actually colluded with the country to steal the election from Hillary Clinton. The article mentioned Mitchell was on a list of people House Democrats wanted to talk to regarding alleged Russian collusion.

The whole story appeared to be a Fusion GPS smear. Fusion GPS is an opposition research firm associated with the Russia-collusion theory. The McClatchy story follows a basic pattern that indicates involvement from Fusion GPS,

Full details at the link, but first I have to ask: Is it a mistake if it’s done on purpose?

LESS CRIME? Brazil Has an Idea to Fix Rampant Gun Violence: More Guns.

COMMUNISM WITH A HUMAN FACE: The People China ‘Disappeared’ in 2018. “From a movie star to university students, no one is immune.”

STRIKE BACK: USS Cole Plotter Targeted in U.S. Airstrike in Yemen. “U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed Friday that Jamel al-Badawi, an al Qaeda veteran who has long been wanted for his role in the Oct. 12, 2000 USS Cole bombing, was targeted in a recent airstrike. The ‘precision strike’ was carried out on Jan. 1 in the Marib governorate of Yemen.”

SHE WOULDN’T HATE THE JEWS SO MUCH IF IT WEREN’T FOR THOSE DAMN JEWS: Anti-Semitic Doctor: I’m Sorry, But Israel Made Me Do It.

MAKE WAY FOR THE BETO MALE: Vermont newspaper editorial board: ‘We beg’ Bernie Sanders not to run in 2020.

JUJITSU: Trump on Unpaid Shutdown Workers: ‘We Have a Bigger Subject That We’re Doing’ with Border. “Asked what the safety net is for federal workers, Trump responded that ‘the safety net it is going to be having a strong border because we’re going to be safe’.”

Trump keeps shifting the subject back to the wall, because the American people want it — and the Democrats know it.

TEACH WOMEN NOT TO… DO THAT: He Thought His Wine Had Gone Bad. It Was Much More Sinister. “Long Island man Matthew Burke thought a bottle of wine had gone bad when he took a sip and spat it out, prosecutors say. But the next day, his 4-year-old son told a babysitter: ‘Mommy put something in Daddy’s drink’. Prosecutors say his estranged wife, Renee Burke, broke into his apartment on at least three occasions and put antifreeze in bottles of wine and soda.”

BREAKING: The Supreme Court says Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is missing arguments for the first time in more than 25 years as she recuperates from cancer surgery last month.

LIZ SHELD’S MORNING BRIEF: Trump Wants a Steel Barrier and Much, Much More. “Suspects arrested in murder of 7-year-old girl and it’s…. not who you’d think. This story got a lot of attention, much more than the children that are regularly shot in Chicago. But that was because race-hustlers like Shaun King, aka Talcum X, thought it was a white person who shot and killed little Jazmine Barnes.”

SHOT: ‘It could go either way’: China and the United States ready for trade war talks in Beijing.

US-based Politico reported that US officials were expected to look closely at whether China had carried through on earlier promises. In late 2018, Chinese officials gave the United States proposals to address its government subsidies, market access barriers and intellectual property theft. Those documents, and a more recent US response, are expected to be the focus of this week’s talks.

“If Gerrish hears that the Chinese are really serious about doing some hard things, putting meat on the bones of vague commitments and willing to work with the US on verification and enforcement mechanisms, then I think you’ll see negotiations move forward at an accelerated clip,” a US industry official told Politico.

If not, “it’s going to be more difficult”, the official said.

Inside the US delegation for China trade war talks: Washington’s big guns will be absent

Observers said both sides needed to tackle the problems because the tariffs had taken a bite out of the economy, sending US stocks tumbling and adding to downward risks in China.

The stock market isn’t the “real” economy, which judging by last week’s jobs report, the business and consumers who do the actual hiring and spending are feeling much more confident than Wall Street is.

Which leads us to the…

CHASER: Apple’s stark warning may be ominous news for China.

“China’s economy is definitely slowing quite a bit across a bunch of sectors, and this slowing momentum is likely to continue for another couple of months at least,” said Arthur Kroeber, the founder of Gavekal Dragonomics, a research firm in Beijing. “And consumer confidence is definitely down, which is probably part of what’s behind the Apple numbers.”

Months after Starbucks announced a massive China expansion this year, it said that China sales would increase just 1 percent, far below those in the United States. Jaguar Land Rover briefly shut a factory in Britain after September sales in China dropped by a half. LVMH, the luxury giant that owns Louis Vuitton and has often been used as a barometer for consumer spending in China, said the Chinese were spending “a little bit less.”

Although Chinese officials report that GDP have been growing at more than 6 per cent a year for a few years, “it looks truly like some sixth grader got out their ruler and drew a straight line with a slight downward slant,” said Christopher Balding, an expert on the Chinese economy at Fulbright University in Vietnam. “It’s totally unrealistic.”

Car sales have been shrinking for the first time since 1990, when most of the country was peddling bicycles. A key manufacturing survey at the end of the year showed Chinese factory activity actually contracting. And revenue from consumption tax was down 72 per cent in November from a year ago, Balding said.

It won’t be easy going, but I suspect Trump will get most of what he wants out of Beijing, given the real weakness in the Chinese economy, and the brittleness of authoritarian regimes that stop delivering the economic goods.

THE MOST RECKLESS FOREIGN POLICY NAIF EVER: Bolton Says U.S. Withdrawal From Syria Is Conditional. “National-security adviser said the withdrawal is pending assurances that Turkey will protect America’s Kurdish allies.”

For all the establishment panic, Trump’s withdrawal seems anything but rushed or ill-considered.

LIZ! Is Elizabeth Warren The Democrats’ 2020 Version of Jeb Bush?

Despite advice from liberal outlets like the Boston Globe to sit out 2020 and let the crop of Democratic newcomers have a shot at challenging Trump, the DNA fiasco has not deterred Warren. Warren foolishly passed on entering the 2016 race when she might have had a better chance to beat Hillary Clinton than did Sen. Bernie Sanders, whose insurgent movement benefitted from the fact that most serious Democratic politicians wanted no part of fighting the former first family’s formidable political machine. Warren knows this is her last chance at the big prize.

In early polls of Democratic voters, Warren has trailed former Vice President Joe Biden and Sanders, with all three placing ahead of the flock of newcomers filling a field that might number as many as 25 entrants. But Warren believes her two septuagenarian rivals (she’s only 69) can’t adjust to the changing political environment and is eager to establish herself as the closest thing to a frontrunner in a race that clearly lacks one.

That is why she thought announcing her intention to set up an exploratory committee — which will allow her to raise money and hire staff — on New Year’s Eve would help set her back on a path to success and discourage her opponents.

But while she can appeal to women and her party’s left-wing base with her tough rhetoric about Trump and Wall Street, the notion that Warren should be considered an early favorite for 2020 is not only far-fetched, it’s a snare she should avoid if at all possible. Far from being the sort of candidate who uniquely matches the spirit currently animating Democratic voters, Warren is instead a paradigm of entitlement and bad timing. In other words, she is the moral equivalent of Jeb Bush.

Please clap.

RUSSIA: U.S. Stealth Technology (Think F-22, F-35, or B-2 Bomber) is “Paper Fiction.”

Recently, in response to a column I wrote, Russian media denounced stealth technology as useless—asserting that aircraft such as the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor or F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) would easily fall prey to advanced Russian-built air defenses. The column clearly struck a nerve with Russia’s air defense experts. Indeed, former chief of staff of Russia’s air defense forces, Col. Gen. Igor Maltsev, told Gazeta.ru that stealth technology was “paper fiction.”

Nonetheless, the Russians continue to spend billions of dollars developing stealth technology for the PAK-FA, PAK-DA and the Kh-101 and Kh-102 cruise missiles—the later of which is crucial for securing Moscow’s strategic nuclear deterrence. But if stealth technology were ‘paper fiction’ — why would Moscow pour billions down the drain for no good reason?

Stealth’s no good — it’s too effective.

WOW: Former Venezuela Supreme Court judge flees to U.S., denounces Maduro.

“I’ve decided to leave Venezuela to disavow the government of Nicolas Maduro,” Zerpa said in an interview with EVTV, which is broadcast over cable and the internet.

“I believe (Maduro) does not deserve a second chance because the election he supposedly won was not free and competitive.”

The Supreme Court confirmed in a statement that he had fled, referring to him as a former magistrate and adding it opened an investigation of him in November over accusations of sexual harassment by women in his office. The court’s leadership recommended that he be dismissed over the allegations, it said, without providing details.

Zerpa was for years a crucial ally of Maduro on the Supreme Court, which has backed the ruling Socialist Party in every major legal dispute since Maduro’s 2013 election.

He wrote a 2016 ruling that provided the legal justification for Maduro’s government to strip congress of most of its powers after the Socialist Party lost control of the body to the opposition in a landslide election.

It’s a sure sign that a socialist state is on its last legs when even committed socialists like Zerpa feel the need to flee.

COCAINE MITCH IS GOING TO HAVE A LONG TWO YEARS: Liberal Pipe Dreams About Remaking the Constitution Pick Up Steam in New Congress.

DR. HELEN: Women’s Magazines Dying? Good Riddance!

YOU’RE GONNA NEED A BIGGER BLOG: The 20 Most Annoying Liberals of 2018.

GREAT MOMENTS IN TOTAL LACK OF SELF-AWARENESS: New Muslim Congresswoman Vows to ‘Impeach the Motherf**ker!’ “Bullies don’t win.”

HMM: Jim Webb emerges as candidate for Defense secretary.

He wasn’t much of a Democratic presidential candidate, but I thought his post-WWII novel, The Emperor’s General, was quite good and filled with interesting insights.

POSTMODERN YAMAMOTO: Sinking US aircraft carriers will resolve tension in South China Sea, says Chinese admiral.

SARAH HOYT’S SHOCKED FACE COULD NOT BE REACHED FOR COMMENT: Pelosi’s “Commonsense” Gun Bill Is Not Sensible.

Cocaine Mitch is going to have a long two years, to coin an Instaphrase™.

DON’T QUESTION IT; MOCK IT. Elizabeth Warren Compares Scrutiny Of Her ‘Native American Ancestry’ To ‘Birtherism.’

SHERIFF CLARKE: Teachers Unions Using Urban Youth as ‘Pawns,’ ‘It’s Criminal.’