CULTURE OF INCOMPETENCE: Florida Sheriff Refuses to Resign, Accuses Critics of ‘Grandstanding.’

Who’s grandstanding? You make the call:

FLASHBACK: Who Goes to Prison Due to Gun Control?

According to the U.S. Sentencing Commission, for Fiscal Year 2011, 49.6% of those sentenced to federal incarceration with a primary offense of firearms violations were black, 20.6% were Hispanic, and only 27.5% were white.

This is how gun laws actually work—those caught violating them go to prison. For the mere act of owning an illegal weapon—not necessarily for using it, not for threatening anyone with it, not for being irresponsible with it—people who have harmed no one are locked up in prison for years at a time. As with the rest of the criminal justice system, particularly the war on drugs, these laws disproportionately harm the poor and minorities. That is the inescapable reality of gun control.

Democrats should be made to talk about this.

STATUS-6: What Russia Is Saying About Its 100-Megaton Nuclear Torpedo.

This “megaton-class nuclear weapon”, as described by one Russian source, is delivered by an unmanned undersea vehicle (UUV) and has the potential to exterminate a significant portion of the U.S. population in a single doomsday blow if deployed against the East Coast of the United States. This source explains: the Status-6 UUV is “designed to defeat important enemy economic facilities in the region of the coast and to inflict guaranteed unacceptable damage to the country’s territory by creating zones of extensive radioactive contamination unsuitable for carrying out military, economic and other activities in these zones for a long time.” For good measure, it is additionally explained that the weapon can also be used to destroy naval bases or aircraft carrier battle groups. This edition of Bear Cave takes makes a brief examination of what Russian commentators are actually saying about Status-6.

First, however, it should be said that TNI has carried several articles that provide a good analysis of this new weapons system, including in particular, a fine exploratory piece by Dave Majumdar. He quotes CSBA undersea warfare expert Bryan Clark explaining that the system is far from an ideal weapon and may face real technical hurdles since a one-hundred megaton weapon could be exceedingly heavy and thus “difficult to control.” Monterey nuclear weapons expert Jeffrey Lewis is quoted reassuringly as saying: “I think we could build defenses against it … It should be easier than intercepting a missile, for sure.”

Maybe it’s time to beef up the old SOSUS lines.

PERFECT TIMING: Jeff Bezos reveals construction of a massive clock inside a Texas mountain that will chime every day for 10,000 years as a ‘symbol for long-term thinking.’

COLIN POWELL: ‘Pretty Shocking’ That So Many American Youths Lack Smarts, Fitness for Military. “They can’t get through the basic exam that we give them. Now, c’mon, it’s not that hard of a test, but even high school kids who graduated high school can’t get through this exam.”

DOUBLING DOWN ON STUPID: Pelosi: GOP Tax Bill Is ‘Unpatriotic.’

It used to be dissent that was patriotic. Now patriotism is happily accepting whatever crumbs Washington allows you to keep out of your own paycheck.

JUST MORE CRUMBS: Manufacturers to American Workers: We’re Hiring.

At the end of 2017, the National Association of Manufacturers surveyed its membership and the results were recording-breaking. Almost 95 percent of respondents felt positive about the outlook of their businesses — an all-time high in the survey’s 20-year history.

Manufacturing is in the spotlight, with elected leaders and the American people cheering for us. Demonstrating where manufacturers sit in today’s America, three of the guests of honor for President Trump’s State of the Union address were manufacturers — Steve Staub, Sandy Keplinger and Corey Adams from Staub Manufacturing Solutions in Dayton, Ohio.

Manufacturers’ newfound confidence didn’t happen by accident. Major developments in Washington, D.C., dramatically improved the business climate in the United States, most notably regulatory relief and, at the end of the year, historic tax reform.

I had been assured, starting in early 2009, that “business climate” was a myth.

HMM: Massive Overnight Twitter Purge Outrages Conservatives. “Users locked out of accounts, lose thousands of followers.”

Plus: “Gab TV broadcast the reports they are getting by the thousands of people locked out. Twitter seems to be labeling Trump supporters ‘Russian bots’ and banning them until they provide confidential information most people don’t want Twitter to have.”

My account seems unaffected, but I’m good about blocking bots just as soon as they start following me. So I suspect Twitter really is purging fake accounts — but so far they seem to be letting leftwing bots slide.

HMM: Reps Question DHS’s Decision to Deny Asylum to 100 Iranian Christians, Other Religious Minorities.

PUNCHING BACK TWICE AS HARD, HADRIAN’S WALL EDITION: Roman boxing gloves unearthed by Vindolanda dig.

Experts at Vindolanda, near Hexham, in Northumberland, believe they are “probably the only known surviving examples from the Roman period”.

Dr Andrew Birley, Vindolanda Trust director of excavations, described the leather bands as an “astonishing” find.

The gloves were discovered last summer along with a hoard of writing tablets, swords, shoes and bath clogs.

Made of leather, they were designed to fit snugly over the knuckles and have the appearance of a protective guard.

Dr Birley said: “I have seen representations of Roman boxing gloves depicted on bronze statues, paintings and sculptures, but to have the privilege of finding two real leather examples is exceptionally special.

This is an impressive find, but not as impressive as the last line from the story: “It is understood they would have been used for sparring sessions as they do not have metal inserts used in ancient boxing bouts.”

Ouch.

CHRISTIAN TOTO: Five Woke Movies Deemed Not Woke Enough by SJWs.

There’s just no pleasing some people. And what Hollywood doesn’t get (well, what Hollywood doesn’t want to get) is that they’d make better movies if they’d stop trying to please those people.

CHRIS QUEEN: Meet the Olympic Athletes Who Probably Don’t Belong There.

BLUE WAVE? Trump rebound has Democrats fretting over midterms.

This one comes from Politico:

House Democrats are heading into the throes of the election haunted by many of the same problems that dogged them in 2016: a Trump-dominated news cycle, a message that’s struggling to break through and sharp divisions within the party about how to fix it.

Now many Democrats say they’re watching nervously as polls start to trend in Republicans’ favor — and worry they’re witnessing the beginning of a slow-motion train wreck that they have no idea how to stop.

There are still widespread disagreements within the diverse 193-member caucus about what campaign message Democrats should rally around in the final months before the midterms and even who should be the party’s chief messenger.

I’m usually loathe to give advice, but if anyone in the Democratic caucus is reading this, please take my suggestion of running against tax cuts and in in favor of radical identity politics.

LIZ SHELD’S MORNING BRIEF: Kill the NRA, Mueller Gets Another One and Much, Much More. “Speaking of RUSSIAN troll farms, according to The New York Post, the RUSSIANS ‘hired two actors in an abortive bid to fake a sex tape of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton’.”

Rule 34 always applies, even in presidential politics.

MORE THAN CRUMBS: Heckler confronts Pelosi over her wealth: ‘How much are you worth, Nancy?’

CHANGE: Dems fume as Trump pushes low-cost, ObamaCare alternative health plans.

The proposed regulations would allow insurers to sell individual consumers “short-term” policies that can last up to 12 months, have fewer benefits, and come with lower premiums.

The plans also would come with a disclaimer that they don’t meet the Affordable Care Act’s consumer protection requirements, such as guaranteed coverage. Insurers could also charge consumers more if an individual’s medical history discloses health problems.

But at a time of rising premiums, Trump administration officials touted the option as a boost for those who need coverage but don’t qualify for the Affordable Care Act’s subsidies and would otherwise face paying the full premium cost.

“We need to be opening up more affordable alternatives,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told reporters. “It’s one step in the direction of providing Americans with alternatives that are both more affordable and more suited to individual and family circumstances.”

Good.

MARY CHASTAIN: Refugee Haven Canada Ready to Send More North Korean Asylum Seekers Back Home.. “But reformed jihadists are okay!”

After “reformed jihadists” is not quite the proper place to insert a “Heh.”

BUT TRUMP’S A WARMONGER OR SOMETHING: U.S. says ready to talk Mideast peace; Abbas calls for conference.

BABY STEPS: Saudi women to start own busines without male permission.

The policy change, announced by the Saudi government on Thursday, also marks a major step away from the strict guardianship system that has ruled the country for decades.

“Women can now launch their own businesses and benefit from (governmental) e-services without having to prove consent from a guardian,” the ministry of commerce and investment said on its website.

Under Saudi Arabia’s guardianship system, women are required to present proof of permission from a male “guardian” — normally the husband, father or brother — to do any government paperwork, travel or enrol in classes.

Long dependent on crude production for economic revenue, Saudi Arabia is pushing to expand the country’s private sector, including an expansion of female employment under a reform plan for a post-oil era.

All these baby steps are adding up — faster than I’d thought possible, and without (yet?) any major backlash.

THIS IS CNN: Trump’s Twitter Venting Against FBI Is Just What Russia Wants.

YOUR DAILY TREACHER: Comrade Michael Moore Attended Glorious Russia-Backed Anti-Trump Rally.

HOWARD DEAN: Devin Nunes ‘Belongs in Jail.’

THE PERILS OF TAX REFORM: Plexus Announces Revised Capital Allocation Plan and Employee Bonus.

• Plexus’ Board of Directors has approved a new share repurchase authorization, commencing upon completion of the 2016 Share Repurchase Plan, in the amount of $200 million. Shares would be purchased through the open market, on a relatively consistent basis, with the intent to complete the repurchases in fiscal 2019.

• In order to reward employees for their contributions towards Plexus’ success, Plexus will provide existing, full-time, non-executive employees a one-time cash bonus. This bonus will be provided in the fiscal second quarter to nearly 16,000 employees, totaling approximately $13 million.

Let me have just a little bit of peril.

I HAD BEEN ASSURED THIS WOULD NEVER HAPPEN: Marines Quietly Lower Combat Training Requirements To Help Female Officers.

USEFUL IDIOT OR FELLOW TRAVELER? Michael Moore Plays Into Russia’s Plans, Urging Kids to ‘Revolt!’ and ‘Shut Down These Schools.’