THE RATCHET MOVES RIGHT FOR ONCE: Wisconsin Republicans Ready to Rein in Executive Branch Following Democrats’ Victories. “That means several of Evers’ campaign goals such as Act 10, the law that limits union powers and pushed Gov. Walker onto the national GOP stage, will be close to impossible to accomplish.”

BRUCE BAWER: The Most High-Profile Apostate Yet.

Now 25 years old, Zayn Malik was born and raised in a working-class household in Bradford, England, the son of a Pakistani Muslim father and an English mother who was an Islamic convert. When he was 17, he and four other singers who were competing on the British show The X Factor were teamed up into a boy band by Simon Cowell and another judge. The band, called One Direction, quickly became the biggest of international acts. What set Zayn apart was that he identified as a Muslim. Oh, and his sultry good looks. Harry Styles was boyishly handsome, but Zayn was sexy.

Depending on your point of view, this teen heartthrob was either good or bad PR for Islam.

Fascinating story.

WHAT COULD GO WRONG? With Hospitalization Losing Favor, Judges Order Outpatient Mental Health Treatment.

ALLIES: Erdogan vows to crush US allies in Syria.

“The Turks are concerned that the United States is digging in for the long haul in Syria to secure a region for the Kurds from where it can maintain its military foothold with a view to containing Iran,” reports Idiz. “Expectations were high that the planned meeting between [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan and [US] President Donald Trump in Paris over the weekend would help to iron out remaining issues. The differences over northern Syria, however, remain very much in place and may have become more intractable after [US Syria envoy James] Jeffrey effectively gave notice to Turkey that it will have to come to terms with the US-YPG/PYD alliance.” The PYD is the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to “crush the terror outfit,” referring to the US-backed YPG, east of the Euphrates in Syria, propelling Ankara further along on a collision course with Washington.

Note that doing so would aid Iran’s aims in what was once Syria.

NOT THE NAME OF A B-MOVIE: Then They Came for the White Women.

Clarice Feldman:

Since the left cannot — oh you know why — attack Black or Latino voters, they’ve aimed their bile at white women voters. To paraphrase Friedrich Gustav Emil Martin Niemöller: First they came for the White Men, and I did not speak out. Then they came for the White Women.
…
With the women should vote for a woman (Hillary) and white men are all rapists (Kavanaugh) tactics having failed, the left is now turning against white women as the enemy.

Among their new enemies? Nancy Pelosi.

Do read the whole thing.

LIZ SHELD’S MORNING BRIEF: Another Illegitimate GOP Election and Much, Much More. “Do you notice that whenever there are close elections possibly resulting in a recount, the narrative the media and its left wing puppet masters trumpet is that the winner, if a GOPer, is illegitimate? Are there any consequences for these people for undermining the faith in our election system?”

It’s only undermining our faith when a Republican muses about it. When a Democrat actually does it, that’s fine.

ANTISOCIAL MEDIA: With Facebook at ‘War,’ Zuckerberg Adopts More Aggressive Style.

Mr. Zuckerberg’s new approach is causing unprecedented turmoil atop Facebook, driving several key executives from the company, according to people familiar with the matter. At times, it has created tensions with his longtime chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg. The June meeting and strains with Ms. Sandberg haven’t been previously reported.

The 34-year-old CEO believes Facebook didn’t move quickly enough at key moments this year and increasingly is pressing senior executives to “make progress faster” on resolving problems such as slowing user growth and securing the platform, said people familiar with the matter. Mr. Zuckerberg also at times has expressed frustration at how the company managed the waves of criticism it faced this year.

On Friday, that tension was on display when, during a question-and-answer session with employees at Facebook’s headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif., he blasted a fresh round of critical news coverage as “bullshit,” according to the people familiar with the remarks.

One employee at the session asked if Facebook could deter leaks by publishing an internal report about how frequently offenders are found and fired. Mr. Zuckerberg said Facebook does fire leakers, but the root cause was “bad morale” perpetuated by attacks in the media.

It sounds like Zuckerberg is in denial.

NEWS YOU CAN USE? When to Shoot a Nuclear Bomb With Your Gun.

While at an air base almost certainly located in what was then West Germany, Agnew saw little evidence that nuclear weapons were under strict American control, as Congress expected.

At best there was what he later called a “token custodial arrangement” that he witnessed when he saw nuclear bombs hanging under West German aircraft with only the supervision of a young, lone American G.I. on the flight line.

“What are you going to do if these guys come running out and they’re going take off and no one has told you that it’s all right?” Agnew asked the soldier.

The soldier said he didn’t know what to do.

“What you ought to do is just shoot the bombs,” Agnew told him, counting on the high probability that bullets would disable the weapons. “Shoot those things and don’t worry about it.

A security plan that calls for shooting The Bomb—and crossing your fingers for luck might—sound like a scene straight out of Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove.

But Agnew’s recollections are just some of dozens about the often fragile nature of nuclear weapons safety and security in a documentary produced by the Sandia National Laboratories for internal use and recently made public under the Freedom of Information Act.

Much more at the link.

FAKE NEWS: Trump ‘Not Considering’ Extraditing Erdogan Foe Gulen in Bid to Ease Turkish Pressure on Saudi Arabia. “NBC News reported the Trump administration had explored whether it could extradite Gulen, as a way to persuade Tayyip Erdogan to ease pressure on Saudi Arabia over the killing of Jamal Khashoggi.”

VIDEO: Venezuela turns to urban ranching during crisis. “A socialist commune in Venezuela has irked its neighbors after turning a backyard in a wealthy neighborhood into an urban cattle pasture and slaughterhouse in order to sell below market-rate meat during a crippling economic recession.”

“Recession,” Reuters, really?

BLUE ON BLUE: Here Come the ‘Justice Democrats.’ “Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez is threatening to primary incumbent Democrats who don’t agree with her radical agenda.”

CHRIS QUEEN: The 10 Most Interesting One-Hit Wonders in Pop Music History.

A good blend of songs you love and love to hate.

ROGER KIMBALL: Just Brexit! The UK’s Future Is With the Anglosphere.

IT LOOMS LIKE A SHADOW OVER EVERYTHING WE’VE BUILT HERE: Can a Man Be Too Handsome?

BRAVELY TACKLING THE IMPORTANT ISSUES: DC Bans Churches From Handing Out Straws With Free Coffee.

READY MONEY: Most ATMs vulnerable to hackers.

TO ASK THE QUESTION IS TO ANSWER IT: Why Is Media Ignoring Two ‘Hezbollah in the U.S.’ Indictments?

IT’S COMPLICATED: To ease Turkish pressure on Saudis over killing, White House weighs expelling Erdogan foe.

FAILED STATE: ELN Now Present in Half of Venezuela. “Recent ELN attacks against the Venezuela military in the state of Amazonas and civilian miners in the state of Bolívar reflect the Colombian guerrilla group’s growing power and add to a series of events during 2018 that demonstrate its presence in at least half of the country.”

SHOCKER: Pentagon fails first-ever audit.

“We never thought we were going to pass an audit, everyone was betting against us that we wouldn’t even do the audit,” he added.

But Shanahan also made it clear the agency intended to take the audit seriously, saying he was concerned about the effect on future Pentagon funding if the agency was unable to resolve the issues identified.

“If I’m a taxpayer what I want to see is, ‘that’s great, you did the audit and you have all these findings – how long is it going to take for you to fix those?’ ” Shanahan said.

“And then show me next year that it takes less to audit and you have fewer findings. That’s what I’d want to see.”

This should have been done decades ago.

CHANGE: Key N.J. senator, once opposed to legalizing marijuana, is ‘leaning yes.’

Political insiders have said the “adult use” marijuana legislation has enough support in the 80-member Assembly to pass, but the reluctance of a handful of Democratic senators has stalled negotiations all year.

Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex and a prime sponsor of a companion bill to expand the state’s medicinal marijuana program, said he is likely to vote yes to legalizing weed for people 21 and older.

“In the end, the pros will outweigh the cons,” Vitale told NJ Advance Media.

I still prefer cocktails.

GOOD: Haley Announces Flip from Longstanding U.S. Abstention on Golan Heights Resolution to ‘No.’ “UN ambassador says ‘the resolution is plainly biased against Israel’ and ‘the atrocities the Syrian regime continues to commit prove its lack of fitness to govern anyone’.”

That should cause all the right heads to explode. Again.

VIDEO: Kamala Harris Grills ICE Nominee About Parallels Between ICE and KKK. “Are you aware that there’s a perception?”

CHANGE: Mattis, Polish leaders talk possibility of ‘Fort Trump.’

The details of Poland’s offer are still being worked out, Mattis said. He noted that officials are looking at what can best contribute to the NATO alliance’s unity and security, not just the U.S.-Poland bilateral relationship.

“We strongly appreciate the U.S. forces’ presence in Poland, strengthening deterrence and defense of Poland and the whole NATO alliance,” Blaszczak said after meeting with Mattis. “I hope it will transform in the coming years into an even more robust and long-term commitment.”

Trump showed interest in the idea of a permanent U.S. base in September, particularly because of Poland’s financial contribution to it.

It isn’t a bad idea.

SMART: Girl, 10, Stopped Her Potential Kidnapping by Asking for ‘Code Word.’

Arizona-based mom Brenda James and her daughter Maddison Raines opened up to Good Morning America Tuesday about the incident that transpired last week, when Maddison and a friend were walking near a park and a stranger approached the duo in a white SUV.

According to the little girl, the man shielded his face while telling Maddison that her brother had “been in a serious accident” and he had been instructed to come pick her up. Maddison immediately asked him what the family’s code word was.

When the stranger didn’t know the answer, he blanked and immediately drove away, prompting Maddison to run home immediately and tell her grandmother what had happened.

I’m surprised neither my wife or I thought to do this with our kids, but we’ll be talking to them about picking a code word at dinner tonight.