MICHAEL WALSH: Obama Bureaucrats Disconsolate Over Regulation Repeal.

I can’t seem to find my sad face.

QUESTION ASKED: Did Trump and Abe just launch a new chapter in U.S.-Japan relations?

Trump’s meeting with Abe struck a different chord. After their Washington meeting last week, the two leaders issued a joint statement to reaffirm their “unshakeable alliance.” Trump also displayed his affection for Abe during a joint news conference, stating, “I shook hands, but I grabbed him and hugged him because that’s the way we feel. We have a very, very good bond — very, very good chemistry.” And responding to North Korea’s missile test early Sunday, Trump stood by Abe and declared that the United States was behind “our great ally, 100 percent.”

Abe, a calm and collected politician, has been intentional and strategic in his outreach to the new U.S. president. Shortly after the November election, Abe met with the president-elect at Trump Towers to “build trust” and seek clarification on the future of the U.S.-Japan alliance.

During his campaign, Trump called Japan a currency manipulator and accused Japan of free-riding on the U.S. security regime in Asia. And the decision to abandon the Trans-Pacific Partnership came as a blow to Abe, in particular. The trade pact would have linked the United States with Japan and 10 other nations, and Abe had invested significant political capital to move the agreement forward.

Despite these hurdles, the Trump-Abe relationship seems to be on sound footing.

Trump’s election posturing on Japan seems to have been just that — posturing. The same may be proving true of his pre-swearing-in statements which nearly threatened the NATO alliance.

That aside, Trump and Abe seem to be not so much launching “a new chapter in U.S.-Japan relations,” but instead returning to the postwar norm after an eight-year interregnum.

CRANK UP THE A.C.? L.A.’s mayor wants to lower the city’s temperature. These scientists are figuring out how to do it

TO BORK OR NOT TO BORK: The Old Fight That Shows Democrats Why, and How, to Stop Gorsuch.

Julian Zelizer:

Today Judge Neil Gorsuch’s supporters are warning that the Democrats should not “Bork” President Trump’s nominee. Given Gorsuch’s stellar professional record, his competence does not seem to be in question. At least from the leaked remarks about his meeting with Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal, he appears to have a healthy unease with President Trump’s aggressive statements about the judiciary.

But there are many reasons for Democrats to consider using their power to filibuster his nomination. After Republicans refused to confirm former President Obama’s nominee Merrick Garland—leaving many Democrats to feel like this is a “stolen seat”—the president could have sent a consensus nominee.

After having lost the popular election by large numbers and now stimulating fears that he won’t respect our system of checks and balances, this was the moment to demonstrate that he understands the tensions he’s helped create. Rather than a pick intended to please the right, he could have selected someone who Democrats could have felt good about supporting even if it came from this administration.

Anyone arguing that the “popular election” means anything or that there’s some requirement that the President has a responsibility to make opposition party members “feel good,” might want to refrain from writing about constitutional issues.

RICK MORAN: The Huge Economic Issue that Washington Isn’t Talking About.

THE TRUMP TAX CUT: How Much, How Soon, How Certain.

Grover Norquist rates the abolition of the death tax and the Alternative Minimum Tax as “very likely,” along with lowering the top rate and consolidating the middle rates to 25% and 12%. But without an increase in the personal deduction — not mentioned here — much of the middle class wouldn’t see any relief at all.

BAD LUCK: No word when evacuation order for 188,000 will be lifted as Oroville threat remains.

Sondrakistan has the photo essay on how bad planning and worse maintenance caused this crisis.

UPDATE: Sondra’s site has been Instalanched, but hopefully it will be back up soonish. I promise the photos are worth the wait.

JUSTICE? Bowe Bergdahl lawyers likely to cite Trump in his defense.

Defense attorneys argue Mr. Trump violated Bergdahl’s due process rights by repeatedly calling him a “traitor” and making other harsh statements about the soldier. The defense motion, filed shortly after Mr. Trump was sworn in as president, cites more than 40 instances of Mr. Trump’s criticism at public appearances and media interviews through August 2016.

Bergdahl’s attorneys argue that potential jurors may feel obligated to agree with the new president and would have a hard time ignoring what he said.

Although Mr. Trump repeatedly said Bergdahl should face stiff punishment, even suggesting he be thrown out of a plane, prosecutors contend any reasonable observer would understand Mr. Trump’s comments amounted to campaign rhetoric and should not be taken literally.

They argue Mr. Trump’s use of the term “traitor” was not meant in the legal sense, but in a conversational way.

Bergdahl, who is from Idaho, has said he walked off his post to cause alarm and draw attention to what he saw as problems with his unit.

The worst problem with Bergdahl’s unit was Bergdahl.

BOO-HOO: ‘Civil Servants’ Upset by Arrival of Trump.

It’s Michael Walsh, so just read the whole thing.

PAUL SPERRY: How Obama is scheming to sabotage Trump’s presidency.

In what’s shaping up to be a highly unusual post-presidency, Obama isn’t just staying behind in Washington. He’s working behind the scenes to set up what will effectively be a shadow government to not only protect his threatened legacy, but to sabotage the incoming administration and its popular “America First” agenda.

He’s doing it through a network of leftist nonprofits led by Organizing for Action. Normally you’d expect an organization set up to support a politician and his agenda to close up shop after that candidate leaves office, but not Obama’s OFA. Rather, it’s gearing up for battle, with a growing war chest and more than 250 offices across the country.

Since Donald Trump’s election, this little-known but well-funded protesting arm has beefed up staff and ramped up recruitment of young liberal activists, declaring on its website, “We’re not backing down.” Determined to salvage Obama’s legacy,” it’s drawing battle lines on immigration, ObamaCare, race relations and climate change.

Obama is intimately involved in OFA operations and even tweets from the group’s account. In fact, he gave marching orders to OFA foot soldiers following Trump’s upset victory.

If they actually had the American public on their side, the “Progressive” Left wouldn’t have lost the House, the Senate, and now the White House.

IT’S COME TO THIS: J.K. Rowling Mocks Piers Morgan for Refusing to Compare Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler.

When everybody is Hitler, nobody is.

WE HAD BEEN WARNED TO ATTEMPT NO LANDINGS THERE: NASA hopes to drill into Jupiter’s moon Europa.

According to Tech Times, the lander would analyze Europa’s chemical composition to identify whether microbial life or the building blocks of life are present on the frozen moon.

Many scientists point to Europa as one of the most likely places in the solar system for being able to sustain life. Europa seems to sport a salty ocean beneath its crust, and evidence collected so far points to a strong likelihood that the subsurface water would be able to support life.

Furthermore, Europa seems capable of producing hydrogen and oxygen, further indicating that the moon may be hospitable to living organisms.

A new proposal for a mission to Europa suggests launching a probe by 2030. The lander would be able to drill into Europa’s crust far above its possible life-friendly subsurface ocean.

Sooner, please.

STUDY: 72 Convicted Terrorists Who Live in U.S. Came from Countries Covered by Vetting Order.

RETAIL BLUES: Sears, Kmart Join Other Retailers in Dropping Trump-Branded Merchandise.

Just in case you needed another reminder that Sears has forgotten who its customers are.

HEALTH: Mediterranean Diet Linked to Lower Levels of ADHD in Children.

CHRISTIAN TOTO: 5 Lousy Movies That Killed Their Franchises.

Not on the list? Either of the Alien vs Predator movies should have been enough to kill both franchises, but sadly, no.

THE NEW DODGE DEMON: It Will Probably Be the Fastest Muscle Car Ever at Over 900hp.

The Demon will weigh about 215 pounds less than a Hellcat, reported Motor Authority. A Hellcat weighs in at about 4,448 pounds. To cut the weight, Dodge has reportedly removed the passenger front seat and rear bench seat.

Dodge has also introduced the Demon Crate, a special equipment pack that turns the car from a regular street ride into to an all-out drag-strip demolisher. Dodge claims the crate will boast 18 parts that set the car up for the drag strip, including performance parts, track tools, spare wheels and something it calls the “Demon Track Pack System.”

But, some new fuel to the fire on what the Demon will be just got tossed on the fire.

In the below Instagram post by Ryan Nagode on Tuesday evening, a designer at Fiat/Chrysler (the photo is taken from HQ; a Dodge spokeswoman confirmed Nagode’s employment), an image appears to show the Demon’s refreshed infotainment system. On the performance page, there is a dyno graph showing a peak horsepower of about 900. The graph goes up to 1,000 horsepower. If true, the Demon will have significantly more power than the already ludicrous Hellcat.

Wow.

CHUTZPAH: California Asks For $100B Despite Refusal To Enforce Immigration Laws.

California officials may not be happy with President Trump’s immigration orders, but they are eager to get a piece of the $1 trillion infrastructure plan that he has promised.

State officials proposed a list of infrastructure projects on Wednesday that would require $100 billion in federal funds. Some of the projects include improving roads, bridges, levees, ports and public transportation according to the Los Angeles Times.

Although California Democrats have been critical of President Trump’s immigration policies, state officials have praised his massive infrastructure proposal. Trump promised to repair roads and bridges across the country in his inaugural address and California Gov. Jerry Brown responded last month in his State of the State address: “And I say, ‘Amen to that, man. Amen to that, brother.’”

Now that’s a high-speed gravy train.

HISTORY COMES ALIVE — WITH YEAST! How beer brewed 5,000 years ago in China tastes today.

Stanford University students have recreated a Chinese beer using a recipe that dates back 5,000 years.

The beer “looked like porridge and tasted sweeter and fruitier than the clear, bitter beers of today”, said Li Liu, a professor in Chinese archaeology, was quoted by the university as saying.

Last spring, Liu and her team of researchers were carrying out excavation work at the Mijiaya site in Shaanxi province and found two pits containing remnants of pottery used to make beer, including funnels, pots and amphorae. The pits dated to between 3400BC and 2900BC, in the late Yangshao era.

They found a yellowish residue on the remains of the items, including traces of yam, lily root and barley.

The finding suggests that the Mijiaya site was home to China’s earliest brewery.

I’d be interested in trying it.

IT DOESN’T TAKE AN ENGLISH VILLAGE: Universal Free Childcare an Abject Failure in U.K.

21ST CENTURY LUST: Intel has a chip with 24 cores that costs $8,898.

Adjusted for inflation, it costs a little less than my first new car — but goes much, much faster.

FAILURE TO LAUNCH: Nearly Half Of Early-20s Millennials Still Get A Monthly Housing Allowance From Mom And Dad.

I didn’t know anyone in my early 20s getting any kind of allowance, and almost all of us had the low-paying jobs typical of young people still in school or just starting out. Was my circle of friends the exception even back then, or are Millennials unusually dependent?

MICHAEL LEDEEN: Iran’s Bluster Is Just Fear of Trump — and Revolution.

LIVING HISTORY: Dog tags make final journey home to WWII veteran.

A gathering of friends, family and Mighty Eighth Airmen made way as the guest of honor slowly approached the front of the stage. Raymond Odom, a 93-year-old World War II veteran, sat patiently in a large chair as he waited for the unveiling of a memento he lost while serving in the U.S. Army Air Forces in England more than 70 years ago.

The dog tags of the former 388th Bomb Group member were discovered in May 2016 during a metal detection hunt around the once designated property of RAF Knettishall. The tags made their journey across the pond over to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana to be presented properly to the WWII and former “Mighty Eighth” veteran.

Maj. Gen. Thomas Bussiere, 8th Air Force commander, unveiled the dog tags at Arbor Rose Assisted Living Facility in Farmerville, La., Feb. 2. Odom and his wife of more than 60 years have resided at the facility for the past three-and-a-half years.

“I can’t tell you how proud we are that we are here today to present Raymond’s dog tags,” Bussiere said. “It’s a small token of appreciation for his service. We in the Eighth Air Force stand on the shoulders of giants that served before us in WWII, and I can’t tell you how much our young Airmen today appreciate what you did for our nation.”

Read the whole thing, Kleenex in hand.

MICHAEL WALSH: More U.S. Troops for Afghanistan? Say It Isn’t So.