Day 24:The federal government is still closed and there are no negotiations to re-open it.

 President Trump tweeted, “The damage done to our Country from a badly broken Border – Drugs, Crime and so much that is bad – is far greater than a Shutdown, which the Dems can easily fix as soon as they come back to Washington!” The Democrats are unmoved.

  This is the political fight of the century. Will America be a walled-in country afraid of the outside world or a welcoming, forgiving, and sympathetic haven?  

  Peter Baker writes in an analysis in The NY Timesthat the shutdown is just a preview. What is to come is all out political war. He says, “With Democrats now in charge of the House, the special counsel believed to be wrapping up his investigation, news media outlets competing for scoops and the first articles of impeachment already filed, Mr. Trump faces the prospect of an all-out political war for survival that may make the still-unresolved partial government shutdown pale by comparison.”

  The President is still holding out the possibility of declaring a national emergency to build his wall. Peter Bauer writes for The Atlantic that such a declaration would hit a wall of lawsuits. He says the law allows the President to declare an emergency, but not to invent one under the emergency powers act. He says, “It is, in fact, inconceivable that in 1976, when Congress enacted the statute, it was providing carte blanche to the president to ignore the separation of powers and spend freely anytime Congress somehow failed to take the procedural measures to stop him.”

The Turkey Threat:Still looking for enemies among allies, President Trump yesterday said he would severely punish Turkey if they attack America’s Kurdish allies after the US withdrawal from Syria. “Will devastate Turkey economically if they hit Kurds. Create 20 mile safe zone,” the President tweeted.

 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan doesn’t take threats easily. He’s a dictator who looks upon the Kurds as a terrorist force and he’s planning to attack them.

   A spokesman for Erdogan said, “Turkey expects the US to honor our strategic partnership and doesn’t want it to be shadowed by terrorist propaganda.”

Teachable Moment: Twenty-five thousand Los Angeles teachers are going out on strike today. It’s their first walkout in 30 years. The district says schools will still be open for their half million students, although what they’ll be doing is a little hazy.

  The teachers want more money, but as usual they say they are striking for the benefit of the children. It’s a tactic, but not entirely cynical. In some cases there are 50 kids in a class. The teachers say Los Angeles just doesn’t put enough money into its schools.

  “Although the circumstances in different states vary, the common theme across the country is a lack of investment in public education and the threat from the aggressive privatization and charterization movement,” said Alex Caputo-Pearl, president of United Teachers Los Angeles.

Heavy Weather:At least nine people have died, including am Illinois state trooper responding to an accident, in a winter storm that has stretched from the Midwest to the DC metropolitan area. The worst was in Missouri, where four people died and 57 have been reported injured in 878 vehicle crashes.

From the Uprights:The New England Patriots demolished the San Diego Chargers 41-28 to advance to the AFC championship. The Patriots scored 28 unanswered points before the half.

  New England struggled in the last quarter of the regular season, but proved that the dynasty led by quarterback Tom Brady isn’t dead yet. Brady said after the game, “I know everyone thinks we suck and can’t win any games. So we’ll see.”

  The Patriots will travel to Kansas City next weekend to play the top-seeded, high-scoring Chiefs for a bench in the Super Bowl.

  Also over the weekend, the Los Angeles Rams beat Dallas, and New Orleans topped last year’s Super Bowl winner Philadelphia to set up the NFC championship match.

The Scandal Sheets:President Trump is having a great time torturing Amazon founder Jeff Bezos about his affair with a married former tabloid television anchor. The owner of The Washington Post was outed by Trump’s favorite paper, The National Enquirer.

  Just as much fun is the steamy affair betweenSarma Melngailis, the restaurateur known as the “Vegan Bernie Madoff,” and Jeffrey Lichtman, the defense lawyer now fronting for the notorious Mexican drug lord El Chapo. The two struck up a romance when Lichtman was defending Melngailis from charges that she bilked $2 million from her own business.

  The NY Postsays it has been given hundreds of X-rated texts between the two. Melngailis is an avowed vegan and a proponent of raw food. She’s been nicknamed “kinky beets.”

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