WHOSE STATE DEPARTMENT IS IT, ANYWAY? State Dept. Still Sitting on a Motherlode of Clinton Emails.

CHANGE: Japanese defense minister sounds alarm on North Korea.

The minister, Itsunori Odonera, said this rising threat means his country, along with South Korea and the United States, have to collectively take what he called “different responses.”

He did not elaborate.

The comments were made at the outset of a meeting with US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and South Korea’s defense minister, Song Young-moo, at a meeting in the Philippines.

Get Taiwan in on these collective security talks.

DAVID HARSANYI: 10 Times CNN Told Us An Apple Was A Banana.

We’re talking about CNN host Chris Cuomo, who, in addition to his hopeless bias, regularly offers factually impaired assertions on every media platform available to him. During the presidential race, Cuomo argued that while it was “illegal” for citizens to look at WikiLeaks emails, the media was afforded special protection with illegally obtained documents. “It’s different for the media,” Cuomo explained, “So everything you learn about this, you’re learning from us.”

You might also remember that after an anti-Islamist was shot in Texas a few years ago, Cuomo, who has a law degree, did a bit of victim-blaming by arguing that “Hate speech is excluded from protection” under the First Amendment. Instead of admitting that his aversion to speech critical of Islam had led him to say something untrue, Cuomo attempted to walk it back by offering examples that had absolutely nothing to do with his initial comment.

We’re talking about Sally Kohn and her cohosts, who raise their hands in the air in a nod to the “hands up, don’t shoot” slogan. Political commentators are free to engage in political theater, of course, but if we call out Sean Hannity or Rachel Maddow when they perpetuate political myths, why not CNN, which fashions itself somewhere in the middle of Fox and MSNBC? CNN didn’t instruct its talent to stick to facts, it pushed the video out on its social media channels. Yet nothing in the Michael Brown case, not the ballistic or the DNA evidence or the witness statements, backs up the contention that Brown was shot with his hands up. Apples are not bananas no matter how many times you scream.

Read the whole thing.

If you’re unfamiliar with the apple/banana reference, here you go.

And a reminder: An apple is a banana, if the Party requires it to be.

SO FAR, SO GOOD: Donald Trump: King of Deregulation?

It seemed a characteristic bit of Trumpian magniloquence—he’s not only a boffo deregulator, he’s the best ever! Still, it was a remarkable claim. Trump has overseen more deregulation than George W. Bush or Ronald “government is the problem” Reagan?

But, measured by at least one significant standard, Trump’s claim is true. Patrick McLaughlin of the Mercatus Center, a free-market-oriented think tank at George Mason University, applies innovative research techniques to the study of regulation and the economy. He recently analyzed the output of regulatory restrictions promulgated in the last several presidencies, going back to Jimmy Carter. McLaughlin found that there have been periods in some presidencies when regulatory output slowed or declined—in several years of the Reagan presidency, for instance, and in 1996, when “reinventing government” was part of Bill Clinton’s election pitch. But over the full terms of each recent president, including Reagan, regulation increased, according to McLaughlin. So far the increase in regulatory restrictions under Trump has been near to zero.

“So in that sense, the president may be right,” the economist reports. “There may not be a net increase in regulations so far under him, and since there was a net increase in every four-year term for every preceding president, going back to the ’70s, then I think that could be a safe statement.”

How about a moratorium on new regulations until we get a serious net decrease?

LIGHTEN UP, FRANCIS: School Cancels Halloween Parade Because It’s Not ‘Inclusive’ Enough.

You’d think that letting kids pretend to be anybody they want to would appeal to these people.

THIS WILL END WELL: The Men Taking Classes to Unlearn Toxic Masculinity.

EARLIER: ‘Victimhood narrative’ taught in schools fuels anxiety in young women, academic claims.

Everyone must be taught to fear each other and themselves for inclusivity or something.

HMM: Prominent anti-Putin whistleblower Bill Browder says he has been barred from entering the US.

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT BEFORE STICKING A BOMB IN YOUR BVDs: Underwear Bomber Says Prison Rules ‘Severely Restrict’ His Practice of Islam.

PATRICK POOLE: Senators Develop Selective Amnesia About US Troop Presence in Niger After Combat Deaths.

It’s different when Obama deploys them, because shut up.

THERE’S A LOT GOING ON IN THERE THAT WE STILL DON’T UNDERSTAND: Alzheimer’s Patients Have Altered Gut Bacteria.

ASKING THE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS: Drinking tea or coffee can reduce the risk of premature death – but which is best for you?

I can’t say which is best for me, but it’s clear that my coffee drinking is best for those around me.

TYLER O’NEIL HAS MORE on the Mueller-Podesta-Clinton-Uranium-Kremlin investigation.

WHERE DOES IT END? Several women accuse tech pundit Robert Scoble of sexual assault, harassment.

“I know that apologies are not enough and that they don’t erase the wrongs of the past or the present,” he continued. “The only thing I can do to really make a difference now is to prove, through my future behavior, and my willingness to listen, learn and change, that I want to become part of the solution going forward.”

The revelations come months after many top Silicon Valley luminaries, including Chris Sacca of Lowercase Capital and Dave McClure of 500 Startups, among others, were named as abusers by The New York Times. As is the case in many industries that have been dominated by men for decades, inappropriate behavior and sexual harassment often goes underreported and unpunished.

Scoble’s apology did not name any specific actions or victims. The Californian, who did not immediately respond to Ars’ request for comment on Saturday evening, began his Silicon Valley career as a blogger nearly two decades ago.

Is the sense of entitlement just as bad in Silicon Valley as it is in New York and Hollywood?

JAMES STAVRIDIS: Here’s How to Pull Turkey Back From the Brink.

SINGLE PAYER, SINGLE DECIDER: UK Catholic Doctors struggle “to combine professional work with personal conviction” on abortion.

BLUFF AND BLUSTER: No Signs Harvey Weinstein Is Taking on the NRA Despite Statement After Sexual Assault Scandal.

The nation’s leading gun-control groups told the Washington Free Beacon on Friday that Harvey Weinstein has not given any money to them despite his promise to channel his anger at himself for sexually abusing numerous women into a fight against the National Rifle Association (NRA).

“We can confirm that he is not an active donor and has not communicated or reached out to us,” James Tyll, a spokesperson for the Brady Campaign and Center to Prevent Gun Violence, told the Free Beacon.

Everytown for Gun Safety went a step further saying Weinsten never donated to it, and it would not accept his money if he tried to now. “No, we have not received any contributions from Harvey Weinstein,” Kate Folmer, a spokesperson for the group, told the Free Beacon. “And while we do not usually answer hypothetical questions, no we wouldn’t accept them.”

Weinstein’s threat was probably little more than a way to test the waters, to see if he could buy his way back into the entertainment industry’s good graces.

WELL, GOOD: Trump Says ‘No Change’ to 401(k) Plans Under Forthcoming Tax Proposal.

“There will be NO change to your 401(k),” the president wrote on Twitter. “This has always been a great and popular middle class tax break that works, and it stays!”

Mr. Trump’s comments point to a challenge Republicans face as they race to write and pass a tax plan: They have ambitious targets for rate cuts and a self-imposed $1.5 trillion limit on the size of the tax cut over the decade.

Those guidelines press them to look for large tax breaks they can limit or repeal and to seek budgetary maneuvers that shift the timing of tax revenue into the period measured by congressional scorekeepers. The proposal to cap 401(k) contributions at as little as $2,400 a year and push additional savings into so-called Roth-style accounts where posttax dollars go in and money comes out tax-free in retirement was a combination of both. Much of the revenue it generated would have come from accelerating tax collections from the future into the near term.

Today’s revenue schemes don’t matter in the long term, because Washington will never collect enough in revenue to pay for the entitlement explosion. We can fiddle around the tax margins all we like, but until Congress tackles our spending addiction, it won’t amount to much.

YOU HAD ONE JOB: Venezuela’s deteriorating oil quality riles major refiners.

Venezuela’s state-run oil firm, PDVSA, is increasingly delivering poor quality crude oil to major refiners in the United States, India and China, causing repeated complaints, canceled orders and demands for discounts, according to internal PDVSA documents and interviews with a dozen oil executives, workers, traders and inspectors.

The disputes involve cargoes soiled with high levels of water, salt or metals that can cause problems for refineries, according to the sources and internal PDVSA trade documents seen by Reuters.

The quality issues stem from shortages of chemicals and equipment to properly treat and store the oil, resulting in shutdowns and slowdowns at PDVSA production facilities, along with hurried transporting to avoid late deliveries, the sources said.

Wreckers and hoarders to blame, I’m sure.

(Hat tip, longtime Instapundit reader Arkuy the Great.)

BLACK SUNDAY: Several NFL Stadiums Half Full or Worse.

HAIR TRIGGER: US Preparing to Put Nuclear Bombers Back on 24-Hour Alert

BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. — The U.S. Air Force is preparing to put nuclear-armed bombers back on 24-hour ready alert, a status not seen since the Cold War ended in 1991.

That means the long-dormant concrete pads at the ends of this base’s 11,000-foot runway — dubbed the “Christmas tree” for their angular markings — could once again find several B-52s parked on them, laden with nuclear weapons and set to take off at a moment’s notice.

“This is yet one more step in ensuring that we’re prepared,” Gen. David Goldfein, Air Force chief of staff, said in an interview during his six-day tour of Barksdale and other U.S. Air Force bases that support the nuclear mission. “I look at it more as not planning for any specific event, but more for the reality of the global situation we find ourselves in and how we ensure we’re prepared going forward.”

Goldfein and other senior defense officials stressed that the alert order had not been given, but that preparations were under way in anticipation that it might come.

If Moscow wants to behave as though it’s still 1983, they shouldn’t be surprised when we react accordingly.

CULTURE OF CORRUPTION: Mueller Now Investigating Democratic Lobbyist Tony Podesta.

The probe of Podesta and his Democratic-leaning lobbying firm grew out of Mueller’s inquiry into the finances of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, according to the sources. As special counsel, Mueller has been tasked with investigating possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Manafort had organized a public relations campaign for a non-profit called the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine (ECMU). Podesta’s company was one of many firms that worked on the campaign, which promoted Ukraine’s image in the West.

The sources said the investigation into Podesta and his company began as more of a fact-finding mission about the ECMU and Manafort’s role in the campaign, but has now morphed into a criminal inquiry into whether the firm violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act, known as FARA.

Tony Podesta is brother to Clinton hand John Podesta, whose email was reportedly phished by Russian hackers last year.

EXPANSIVE IDEOLOGY: China’s Xi Jinping Promises Aggressive Communism: ‘A Military Is Built to Fight.’

Washington’s finances are in terrible shape for a crisis — any kind of crisis, whether it’s financial, economic, or military.

WHAT COULD GO WRONG? Venezuela is blowing debt payments ahead of a huge, make-or-break bill.

The nation’s state-owned oil giant, Petroleos de Venezuela, SA, has two major bond payments totaling about $2 billion coming due in the next two weeks. While the market expects the company, better known as PDVSA, to avoid default, the missed payments have rattled investors and raised fresh questions about how long embattled President Nicolas Maduro’s regime might last.

“You’re cutting close to the edge of not enough money in the checking account to pay the bills,” said Ray Zucaro, chief investment officer at RVX Asset Management, an asset manager specializing in emerging and frontier markets.

Last week, Venezuela missed five coupon payments totaling nearly $350 million tied to the debt of PDVSA, the government and the utility Electricidad de Caracas. That stoked a minor sell-off in a number of outstanding bonds.

This news comes after a report two weeks ago that inflation in Venezuela is expected to hit 2,300% next year. If Caracas runs the printing presses even faster to make these bond payments, inflation will go even higher. But if they don’t make the payments, Venezuela’s foreign trade trade takes a big hit.

Which is a serious problem, because under Chavez and Maduro, Venezuela’s only reliable domestic products are zeros and misery.

HAVE YOU NO DECENCY? Democrat attacks ‘very private’ wedding of Pence’s Marine son.

An extremely private and intimate wedding ceremony at an Indiana state park Saturday for Vice President Mike Pence’s son has come under attack by a state Democrat who on Facebook identified the venue and wrongly warned that the whole area would be shut down.

The post from Sue Wanzer, a Democratic activist and local school board member, drew many angry responses like this: “Pence ruins everything!”

Her October 18 post read, “Heads up: If you’re planning a trip to Nashville (Ind.) this weekend, you should probably scrap that. Pence’s kid is getting married in Brown County State Park. It’s going to be an utter mess and a lot of areas (like the state park) will be shut down in large portions. This is unpublished, but reports from state park staff and things like flight restrictions over Nashville seem to confirm.”

Actually, the park has said that the park will remain open except for the wedding area. “The fact that the vice president will be here will not impact our regular visitors,” property manager Doug Baird told the Bloomington, Ind., Herald-Times.

No decency — and no facts, either.

LIZ SHELD’S MORNING BRIEF: More Frederica Wilson, Hollywood Perverts, Jimmah Carter and Much, Much More.