BRUTALITY BEGINS AT HOME: NFL Player Who Kneeled To Protest Police Brutality Arrested for Domestic Violence.

I’VE BEEN LISTENING TO HIM FOR YEARS AND I THINK HE’S FABULOUS: Bill Murray praises GOP tax reform: ‘It’s a fantastic thing’ for business.

BOTTOM STORY OF THE DAY WEEK YEAR: Having three airports in Washington is great. Until you go to the wrong one.

BRUCE BAWER: The Not-So-Precious Truth About the ‘Precious’ NHS.

AMELIA HAMILTON: What Marrying a Pirate Ghost Teaches Us About Modern Relationships.

In 2014, a North Irish woman named Amanda felt the ghost of Jack Teague, an 18th-century pirate appear and, as they spent more together, she developed “strong loving feelings.” Before long, they began a romance. I know, what a cliche, right? They dated for several years and then he proposed. “One day he said to me ‘We can actually be together you know’ but I had never heard of an intimate relationship between a spirit and a human before.” Same. She says sex is pretty much the same as it is with a physically present person, too. In fact, that’s why they tied the knot. “I told him I wasn’t really cool with having casual sex with a spirit and I wanted us to make a proper commitment to each other.” So, she sailed into international waters with a registrar, a shaman priest, and a medium so that they could be legally married. Now, the two are co-writing a book about spiritual relationships so that more people can share their bliss. Amanda says “He is my soulmate. I am so happy, it is the perfect kind of relationship for me. There are a lot of people out there who don’t know about spiritual relationships, but it could be right for them – I want to get the message out there.”

We are in a place in history where we are to act as though this is fine, rather than a cry for help and a clear sign that this woman requires some kind of intervention. Whatever a person says makes them happy, right? Mrs. Teague is a divorced mother of five. Have these kids ever seen a healthy relationship modeled by anyone? Like many, maybe they have not. One has to wonder if she was longing for a connection but found that being married to a spirit is far less of a risk that meeting a living, breathing man. The answer to that is “yes,” by the way. Obviously “yes.”

“Yes,” but — these are Heinlein’s Crazy Years.

BAD IDEA: South Korea agrees to pick up North Korea’s bill for sending cheerleading squad, orchestra to the Olympics.

Just stop inviting tyrannical regimes to participate in the Olympics.

PAUL BOLYARD: A few thoughts on Mitt Romney running for Senate from his perch in Utah.

If you want Trump’s agenda to succeed (and that’s what it’s all about, right?) the GOP is going to need that Republican vote from Utah. We simply cannot afford another debacle like we saw in Alabama. Mitt is still wildly popular in Utah, and he’ll have the money and skillz to beat whatever upstart Roy Moore type the Bannonites throw at him. And then he’ll beat whatever sacrificial scrub the Democrats send to the plate.

A protracted mini-war along the way doesn’t help our side and will just give the Democrat-Media Complex more ammo to use against us in future wars. Think long and hard before you put that lighter to your hair.

Read the whole thing.

STUDY: Acetaminophen May Disrupt Male Sex Hormones, Placing Unborn Babies at Risk.

Given the way acetaminophen and alcohol (don’t) mix, I haven’t kept a bottle of Tylenol anywhere in the house for years.

BLUE WAVE? Democrat Margaret Good Flips Seat in Florida, the 36th Democratic Flip Since Trump’s Inauguration.

If you’re trying to square that with today’s news that the GOP leads the generic congressional ballot by +1, it helps to have a drink first.

The only sure thing right now is uncertainty.

LATE-STAGE SOCIALISM: At age 6, she weighs just over 13 pounds, as hunger plagues Venezuela.

Maria del Carmen is 6 years old and weighs 6 kilograms — just over 13 pounds. In her home, eating is no longer routine. Her family is hungry, and it shows.

The last time the girl was put on a scale was in December. Her relatives say she weighed 10 kilos in November but then dropped to six and suffers from severe malnutrition.

Her mother abandoned her in her grandmother’s house alongside her four siblings — two other girls who are 8 and 5, and two boys who are 4 and 2.

Katiuska Chourio, the mother’s aunt, said that the mother had taken her five children away but Maria del Carmen got sick and was taken to the Chiquinquira Hospital. She was hospitalized for a month in a ward for malnutrition cases and contracted meningitis while there.

“After that she brought the five children, left them here and she went to live in Colombia with another man,” said Chourio.

Heartbreaking. And given that reporter Sheyla Urdaneta chose not to make any mention of Venezuela’s socialist government, a complete mystery.

HEADLESS BODY IN TOP CONDITION: 186-Year-Old Skeleton of Philosopher Jeremy Bentham Checked For Bugs, Travels Headless to New York.

RUTH BADER GINSBURG: Enshrine in Constitution That Men and Women are ‘Equal in Dignity and in Rights.’

Anyone who believes that “dignity” can be legally enforced has no clue what they’re talking about.

JERRY HENDRIX: Don’t Retire Our Stealth Bombers.

In a surprising move, the Air Force’s Bomber Vector roadmap also includes a plan to retire all 20 of the service’s nuclear-capable, stealthy, B-2 Spirit bombers. These iconic, black flying wings have served as the backbone of the nation’s long-range penetrating strike force for the past quarter-century. The Air Force is arguing that, given the upfront costs of acquiring the new B-21 bombers, it can no longer afford to maintain the older B-2 aircraft.

Even the most cursory analysis of the global security environment highlights long-range penetrating strike as the critical emerging mission requirement, especially in light of the expansion of anti-access area-denial capabilities, which include advanced surface-to-air defensive missile capabilities. This analysis suggests that the Air Force will need more bomber capacity than can be supplied by its 100 new B-21 bombers.

In fact, multiple reports from various analysts reveal that the Air Force will need a minimum of 160 penetrating, long-range strike bombers if the nation decides to execute a sustained campaign against a rival great power. Against this strategic context, any proposal by Air Force leadership to retire a key component of the nation’s nuclear strategic triad and diminish our overall capacity to penetrate modern anti-air defenses can only be viewed as a blatant attempt to coerce Congress into raising its overall budgetary top line.

We slowed down (under Bush) and then capped (under Obama) production of F-22s at a mere 187 airframes, under the (false) assumption that air superiority battles were a thing of the past. Are we going to make the same mistake with our bomber fleet?

ASHE SCHOW: After Settlement With Fraternity, The Rolling Stone Rape Hoax Saga Is Officially Over.

I HAD BEEN ASSURED HE WOULD STUMBLE INTO A MAJOR WAR: Trump Is Showing Significant Leadership on Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.

DEBRA HEINE: Susan Rice Email Suggests Comey ‘Seriously Misled’ Senate Regarding Meeting With Obama.

BUT HER PEOPLE! Elizabeth Warren Absent From Tribal Nations Policy Summit.

NETFLIX AND CHILL AND DON’T TREAD ON US: Libertarian Date Night: Eight Romantic Films.

Great picks, nothing to quibble with.

Although I would add About Time. There’s nothing overtly libertarian or conservative about it, but it does make some lovely observations about living an unencumbered life.

DISPATCHES FROM THE FRONTIERS OF ISLAMIST SCIENCE: West sent lizards as nuclear spies, claims Iran defense official.

It is believed that the lizards were Jewish.

LIZ SHELD’S MORNING BRIEF: Spooks Testify about RUSSIA, Schiff’s Memo and Much, Much More. “Last Friday, the President returned the Democrats’ FISA abuse memo response with a list of objections and edits from the DOJ and FBI before the memo can be made public. The Democrats specifically included objectionable material in their response memo so they could claim that the President was censoring their idiot document. This was all predicted. It’s Wednesday, and these lazy, overpaid congressmen have still not gotten their act together to make the changes so their memo can be released. And yet, they shriek how important it is they get their memo out.”

PROGRESS: More nations on track to meet NATO’s 2% spending goal.

Stoltenberg said 15 of the 29 NATO allies are projected to pay their goal as determined at NATO’s 2014 summit in Wales and urged last year by President Donald Trump. All members have increased their spending, he said.

Stoltenberg told reporters defense ministers aren examining NATO’s Command Structure, cooperation with the European Union and the NATO’s role in projecting stability and fighting terrorism.

“Fair burden-sharing is also crucial for our shared security,” Stoltenberg said. “After years of decline, since 2014 we have seen three years of increasing defense spending across European allies and Canada.”

In 2014, the United States, Greece and Britain were the only three allies spending 2 percent or more on defense.

“This year, we expect eight allies to meet the target,” Stoltenberg said. “And by 2024, we expect at least 15 allies will spend 2 percent of GDP or more on defense. This is substantial progress and a good start.”

The additional countries since 2014 are Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Romania and Lithuania.

That’s nice. But it would be nicer if Germany would get serious about rebuilding its shattered military, and if Turkey hadn’t purged its officer corps and stopped behaving like a NATO ally.

PETER HASSON: Democrats’ Farrakhan Problem Just Became A Campaign Issue.

Four different Democrats have either attended a private event with Farrakhan — a notorious anti-Semite who describes Jews as “Satanic” — or publicly expressed support for the hate group leader.

In the scandal’s most recent development, three Democratic congressmen were revealed to have attended a private dinner with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Farrakhan.

Minnesota Rep. and Democratic National Committee vice-chair Keith Ellison, New York Rep. Gregory Meeks and Indiana Rep. Andre Carson all reportedly attended the dinner, the details of which only became public last week.

In 2015, two years after the dinner with Rouhani, Carson and Ellison visited Farrakhan in a Washington hotel room, Farrakhan said in a 2016 video posted on his Facebook page. Farrakhan blamed Jews in the media for forcing Ellison to distance himself from the hate group leader.

The Daily Caller reached out to spokespeople for both Carson and Ellison to ask if they would deny Farrakhan’s account of their 2015. Neither provided an answer.

This comes on top of yesterday’s report that “4 Ohio Dem. Governor Candidates Speak at Event Hosted By Hamas-Linked Muslim Group.”

If Democrats playing footsie with black nationalists, anti-Semites, and the damn President of Iran isn’t a campaign issue, then what’s the point of campaigning?

INTEL OFFICIALS: U.S. Shouldn’t Fall for North Korea’s Olympic Charm Offensive.

In a rare open-door hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Defense Intelligence Agency Director Robert Ashley cautioned that Kim’s “strategic calculus has not changed and we should not be mislead by the events that are taking place around the Olympics.”

The dictatorial regime has received a bevy of positive media coverage in recent days following an appearance at the games by Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong. Several news reports published over the weekend hailed her visit to South Korea as a “diplomatic win” over U.S. Vice President Mike Pence as the regime released statements calling for reconciliation with South Korea.

Intelligence officials said the United States needs to view North Korea’s participation in the event for what it is: a propaganda campaign by the isolated nation to use the Olympics as a platform to present a reformed image.

“The American people should all remember that Kim Yo Jong is the head of [North Korea’s] Propaganda and Agitation Department,” CIA Director Mike Pomeo testified. “There is no indication there’s any strategic change in the outlook for Kim Jong Un and his desire to retain his nuclear capacity to threaten the United States.”

The propaganda effort was aimed at the postmodern Walter Durantys of the Mainstream Media, which for Communists is a giant target consisting of nothing but center ring.

COMPETITIVE ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: Trump’s Infrastructure Plan: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

BLUE WAVE? Internal Dem polling shows Trump’s standing on the rise.

According to internal polling by the super PAC, President Trump’s approval rating climbed to 44 percent in the first week of February, compared to 53 percent who disapprove. That mirrors Trump’s improving position in public polls.

In November, the same survey found his approval rating at 40 percent, with 54 percent disapproving.

The group’s survey also showed the Democratic Party’s generic ballot advantage had shrunk, with 46 percent preferring Democrats to 42 percent for Republicans.

The memo says that a broad range of metrics show the political climate is still favorable for Democrats. But it also makes an unambiguous diagnosis for Trump’s recent rise: Democrats this year have stopped focusing on economic and health care issues, topics that demonstrably hurt his approval during his first year in office.

They can’t seem to help but rise to the culture war bait, which is how they get more Trump.

Also, I’d remind you that anything much under a five percent advantage for Congressional Democrats on the generic ballot typically means a win for Republicans. But I’d rather remind you: Great poll, kid — don’t get cocky.