DIANE FEINSTEIN TRIES TO EMBARASSES GORSUCH, EMBARASSES SELF INSTEAD:

Polite, soft-spoken, in command of the facts — a wise white dude, you might say.

THE PRICE OF BEING THE MINORITY PARTY: Dems Still Smarting Over Garland Snub on Gorsuch’s First Hearing Day.

During the opening day of Gorsuch’s confirmation hearing, Democrats consistently noted the GOP’s refusal to provide Garland due consideration. While several expressed their intent to keep an open mind regarding the Gorsuch nomination, several cast a shadow over his prospects because of the handling of Garland, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., nominated by then-President Obama to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia.

The Scalia seat has been vacant for more than 13 months as a result of the Garland snub. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the former committee chairman, said the “unprecedented obstruction” by Republicans of the Garland nomination “is one of the greatest stains on the 200-year history of this committee.”

“This was an extraordinary blockade and one backed by then-candidate Donald Trump,” Leahy said. “Committee Republicans met behind closed doors and declared that they would surrender the independence of this committee to do the majority leader’s bidding, and they ignored the Constitution in the process.”

If Senate Democrats need a reminder about what it means to be the minority, perhaps employing the Reid Option would do the trick.

UPDATE: Commenter Jukin writes, “If the donks are pissed at the republicans using the ‘Biden Rule’ they will absolutely livid when the republicans use the ‘Reid Rule.’

“Leftists hate, more than usual, when we use their tactics against them.”

Punch back twice as hard, the wise man once said.

HMM:

Club for Growth is one of those conservative groups which helps conservatives pass conservative legislation, so take that as you will.

LE PEN IS NOT MIGHTIER AFTER ALL: Macron on Top After First Presidential Debate of French Race.

Emmanuel Macron, a 39-year-old running for office for the first time, parried attacks from both ends of the political spectrum as he navigated questions on the economy, terrorism and immigration.

Voters are still getting to know Macron who’s been in the public eye for less than three years, so the stakes were high in front of a television audience of almost 10 million. Two snap polls judged the rookie candidate, who has the backing of no established party, the most convincing and markets rose as he stopped the National Front’s Marine Le Pen from landing a knock-out punch.

“Macron managed quite well,” said Bruno Cautres, a political scientist at SciencesPo in Paris. “The challenge for him was to show that he wasn’t just the new and inexperienced one, to show he has the depth and the skills.”

The euro strengthened against most of its major peers after the debate.

Then again, this is a bad time to be making predictions about politics.

HOMELAND SECURITY? US bans larger electronic devices on some flights from Middle East.

US authorities have secretly required airlines from eight nations to forbid passengers from carrying any electronic or electrical device larger than a cellphone.

The new edict was distributed in an email described as “confidential” from the US transportation safety administration (TSA) on Monday.

The requirement forbids passengers from bringing laptops, iPads, Kindles and even cameras larger than mobile phones into the cabin. All such devices must be checked.

Saudi Arabia’s Saudia Airlines and Royal Jordanian airlines are among the affected countries; the full list had not been revealed to the affected airlines themselves until a press briefing by the US department of Homeland Security on Monday evening.

The ban is techincally related to ten airports in eight countries:

Queen Alia in Jordan
Cairo International in Egypt
Ataturk International in Turkey
King Abudlaziz and King Khalid in Saudi Arabia
Kuwait International in Kuwait, Mohammaed V in Morocco
Doha International in Qatar
Dubai international and Abu Dhabi international in the United Arab Emirates.

Royal Jordanian airline tweeted the new rule yesterday, but the English was broken (and the tweet since deleted) so that didn’t seem like a trustworthy source for a new DHS rule. And DHS would neither confirm nor deny, per this Guardian report. Nevertheless, “Compliance has been swift” and an official announcement is expected later today.

JUST IN TIME FOR TODAY’S HEARING: 5 Things to Know About the Neil Gorsuch Hearing.

North Korea Blows Up US Aircraft Carrier, Bomber In New Propaganda Video.

The 2 minute clip has emerged just days after Kim threatened to reduce the US “to ashes” as tensions with North Korea continue to increase, which in turn followed a warning by Tillerson that the US is preparing for a “first strike” against the irrational dictator, while US special forces conduct drills in South Korea to “eliminate” the country’s ruler.

It comes after a statement earlier this month warned Donald Trump of nuclear destruction if America fires “even a single bullet” towards Pyongyang. In it the country warned that “the Korean People’s Army will reduce the bases of aggression and provocation to ashes with its invincible Hwasong rockets tipped with nuclear warheads and reliably defend the security of the country and its people’s happiness in case the US and the South Korean puppet forces fire even a single bullet at the territory of the DPRK.”

The menacing talk came as South Korea warned over the weekend that its northern neighbor’s latest rocket-engine test showed “meaningful” progress. As reported on Sunday, the KCNA news agency said the engine would help the country achieve world-class satellite-launch capability – indicating a new type of rocket engine for an intercontinental ballistic missile.

The video isn’t very convincing, but North Korea’s growing launch capability is getting there.

NO SHE WON’T: Donna Brazile will “forever regret” doing thing she still insists she didn’t do.

Jazz Shaw:

I had assumed, perhaps incorrectly, that former interim DNC chair Donna Brazile no longer had a career in American politics. How could she? After the revelations which came out of the leak of John Podesta’s emails one might easily presume that she would be so radioactive nobody would come within a country mile of her. This was clearly an errant conclusion since the party kept her on straight through the election of her successor last month and she is still making the rounds on the interview circuit to this day. This past week she published an editorial in Time Magazine which finally seemed to amount to a confession of what she did to rig the Democratic primaries against Bernie Sanders. (Emphasis added)

In October, a subsequent release of emails revealed that among the many things I did in my role as a Democratic operative and DNC Vice Chair before assuming the interim DNC Chair position was to share potential town hall topics with the Clinton campaign. I had been working behind the scenes to add more town hall events and debates to the primary calendar, and I helped ensure those events included diverse moderators and addressed topics vital to minority communities. My job was to make all our Democratic candidates look good, and I worked closely with both campaigns to make that happen. But sending those emails was a mistake I will forever regret.

Saying that you “forever regret” something isn’t quite the same as an apology, but at least it’s a start. So now we can all let the healing begin and simply move on, right? Not so fast. In a follow-up interview, Brazile reversed course and yet again flatly denied any wrongdoing.

A just and decent Fourth Estate would have hounded a lying cheat like Brazile out of print and off the airwaves months ago.

WINNING: China Sees a Manufacturing Future —- in America.

Glen Lin is struggling to keep his shoe company competitive on the world’s factory floor in southern China. Wages are shooting up 15% each year. Taxes are high. Shipping is exorbitant, and slow.

So, as fast as he can he’s automating production, while planning an escape to his largest market—the U.S.

The vice general manager of Dongguan Winwin Industrial, a Taiwan-owned company, is scouting for a location in America to move his newest machinery that turns out high-quality sneakers and casual shoes. Most likely, he’ll end up near one of his main customers: Skechers, based in California, Crocs in Colorado, or Nike in Portland, Ore.

In global manufacturing, fortunes are starting to shift in America’s favor.

Come for the skilled workers and business-friendly climate, stay for the low shipping rates and fast cars.

BUT DOES IT SELF-IDENTIFY AS HUMAN? New Zealand Grants a River the Same Legal Rights as a Human Being.

CHANGE: Military Cooperation Between Russia, China Hits Three-Decade High.

REPEAL-ISH AND REPLACE-ISH: GOP leaders unveil changes to healthcare bill.

The changes include two measures that conservative Republican Study Committee members won at the White House on Friday: allowing states to require Medicaid recipients to work and allowing states to choose a Medicaid block grant over the cap system in the current bill.

The revisions also include a change targeted at New York state that is expected to bring on board several wavering Empire State Republicans. That change would cut off federal Medicaid reimbursement for county contributions to Medicaid.
…
It is in doubt whether this range of changes will be enough to win the 216 votes needed for the bill to pass on Thursday. Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), the chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, said Monday night that given his understanding of the changes, not enough was altered to bring him and his colleagues on board.

More from Axios:

Here’s what Meadows told Axios early Monday evening:

After investing hours and hours and hours of trying to find common ground between our moderate members and conservative members, and believing, because of the White House’s engagement in the process, that we could find common ground; I’ve now reached a conclusion that our leadership is going to put forth a bill that does not address any of the concerns in a meaningful way and will dare us to vote against it.

Why this matters: If the White House loses most of the Freedom Caucus members they can’t pass this bill. Meadows was only speaking for himself tonight, but his is a voice to move votes. The caucus will meet tonight, and whether to collectively oppose the bill or not will certainly be discussed.

What a trainwreck.

PRIORITIES: Obama’s IRS gave ‘Satan Club’ creator fast tax-exempt status.

Documents obtained by a government watchdog show that the originator of the “After School Satan Club” received speedy tax-exempt status while conservative groups were stuck in bureaucratic red tape under the Obama administration.

Treasury Department files obtained by Judicial Watch last week show Reason Alliance in Somerville, Mass., was given nonprofit status within 10 days of its application in October 2014. The group operates the Satanic Temple out of Washington state and planned an “After School Satan Club” initiative in 2016.

It’s fair to say that by 2014, Obama’s IRS didn’t give a damn about the optics of anything.

SNOWFLAKE OUTRAGE: Wonder Woman Has No Armpit Hair.

JEFF SANDERS: Six Immortal Lessons My Depression-Era Parents Taught Me.

WAPO HEADLINE: The World Happiness Report is out and the U.S. has fallen. Sad!

That should probably read: “The World Happiness Report is out and, let me be perfectly clear, the U.S. has fallen.”

WE MAY NEVER KNOW:

PROBLEM SOLVED: Meals on Wheels Sees Donation Surge Following Trump Proposed Cuts.

TOLERANCE: Trans Conference Celebrates Getting People Fired For Not Calling Men Women.

And:

I was fascinated to learn that there is a pecking order within transgender culture known as “privileged trans.” The first tier of a privileged transgender is someone wealthy enough to be able to afford the full gauntlet of surgeries to appear as a man or woman. Unprivileged transgenders must settle with cross-dressing and shaving. However, the highest level of privilege is someone who is both wealthy and already has certain physical attributes of the preferred sex, such as feminine facial features, a low voice, or broad shoulders.

The penultimate goal of transition is when a person is in “stealth,” which means one is always recognized by strangers as one’s intended gender. When you’re in stealth, you no longer have to worry about “being read,” in which a stranger tries to figure out whether you’re a boy or a girl.

They showed a video in which a construction worker ogled a transgender woman, with the transgender woman’s inner monologue being “Hey, maybe things are changing for the better.” I found it odd that something that is considered a micro-aggression in the feminist world is the zenith of compliments in the transgender world.

So much anxiety over status, so little concern with the equality the movement claims to strive towards.

CHANGE: Once Banned in China, Warhol’s Iconic ‘Mao’ Portrait Is Going Up for Auction in Hong Kong.

One of the most well-known images of the 20th century, Warhol’s 1973 Mao was sold for $9.4 million in London in 2014. The current owner, who has not been identified, has now put the silk-screen print up for sale with Sotheby’s in Hong Kong, the BBC reports. The auction is expected on April 2 and the sale could fetch up to $15 million.

Warhol’s iconic depictions of the Communist leader were excluded from the Beijing and Shanghai legs of a 26-month Asian tour that marked the 25th anniversary of the artist’s death in 2012. The series of portraits, in Warhol’s classic pop art style, were rejected due to “political sensitivity.”

Eight-figure speculative art auctions and a dictatorship of the proletariat — 21st Century China in a nutshell.

P. DAVID HORNIK: Israel, American Jews Far Apart on Trump.

KURT SCHLICHTER: Who Is Going To Save The Democrat Party? Chelsea!

Please, please, please make her the face of your party.

Let’s be clear – Chelsea is not an embodiment of malignant evil, as is her harpy mother. I am aware of acts of great kindness she has personally performed; she does not appear to be a morally bankrupt monster like her parents. Nor do I blame her for supporting her mother or Bill. But Chelsea is a doctrinaire limo liberal who is utterly clueless about her privilege – she is one of the rare cases where the use of that term is neither teeth-gratingly stupid or a lie designed to seize unearned moral authority. And she buys into the moral vacuum that is progressivism’s received wisdom – from going all-in on the global warming scam to seeing all the SJW –isms and –phobias behind every opponents’ views to embracing the Planned Parenthood baby-killing racket. She should be left to live her life in peace without harassment, but so should we – which means Chelsea must never hold anything like a position of power.

I dunno, Kurt. My impression is that Chelsea shares Bill’s aversion to making an honest living and Hillary’s disdain for the deplorables.

But in either case, do, yes, please make her the face of the Democrats.

CRIME OF THE CENTURY: Tom Brady’s stolen Super Bowl jerseys found in possession of international media member.

THOMAS W. SMITH: Confessions of a Climate Change ‘Denier’

There are two things necessary for a mass movement to succeed: true believers and a well-defined enemy. The enemy of the climate change mass movement is fossil fuels and the Industrial Age, with the “deniers” being the enablers of planetary destruction.

In the past, the term “denier” has been associated with that extreme group who denies the existence of the horrible, tragic historical fact, the Holocaust. Many climate change true believers want the public to put anyone who questions or disagrees with climate change projections in the same category as the Holocaust deniers. But one is a fact, the other a contested projection. Nevertheless, they have been quite successful.

Here is one of the definitions of “denier” found on the Internet: “a person who denies something, especially someone who refuses to admit the truth of a concept or proposition that is supported by the majority of the scientific or historical evidence: a prominent denier of global warming.”

Here is Hoffer’s warning on the role of the true believer: “where mass movements can either persuade or coerce, it usually chooses the latter.”

Skepticism isn’t denial; it’s science — but coercion isn’t.

INFIGHTING: Julie Borowski Shoots Down Tomi Lahren: Pro-Life Libertarians Aren’t Hypocrites.