Ben Sasse’s bunch of mean tweets: Here’s the backstory. Back in January, Sen. Ben Sasse was essentially Trolling Donald Trump. Tweeting questions and just generally giving him a mini civics lesson. Stuff like that. To say that the Trump kids were not happy about would be an understatement. They tweeted all kinds of horribleness Sasse’s way.  Now, thanks to Independent Journal we get Sasse reading us the tweets and it really is funny. He has good delivery. I’ll put up the YouTube vid here, but you can also get it here:

Hoping for a three way race after South Carolina? Keep hoping.  Dr. Ben Carson isn’t concerned about polls or even what position he’s in after Saturday’s primary.  Carson tells the Post and Courier he’s got enough money to keep going and plenty of support:

“We have a lot people saying, ‘Don’t you dare drop out,’ ” he said. “So I’m not getting out. I’m going on to Nevada, there’s no question about that.”

Likewise, Gov. John Kasich has no intention of getting out anytime soon. He’s spent several days in SC since the NH debate but already has his eyes set on other states says WKOW.  In fact, he may not even be in SC to watch the results come in Saturday night. He’ll be in Boston, MA for a fundraiser Saturday and also a town hall event in Worcester.

Town hall part deux!  There will probably be a separate open thread later today for tonight’s town hall so this is just a reminder, get the dvr gassed up and greased, have plenty of snacks on hand, and since the Donald will be on this one for this one, you might want to send the kids elsewhere in case he starts using bad-speak.  It will be the same as last night’s CNN event- 8pm ET,  Anderson Cooper hosting with Jeb Bush, John Kasich and Donald Trump getting in the hot seat.

• Quickhits: Even Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid expects Republicans to “cave”,  so a hearing and vote can be held on a Supreme Court nominee.
•  No more peeking in the neighbor’s house illegally.  Tomorrow (2/19) is the deadline to get that drone registered with the FAA.
• Great news for MRE lovers. Now there’s one with pizza! Word is the pizza tastes a day old, or “the kind you’d find in a school cafeteria.” Plus..it lasts 3 years.

Today is National Drink Wine Day. Moderate drinkers have lower risks of certain diseases and it’s suppose to reduce bad cholesterol.

Trumpism of the day: At the MSNBC town hall Wed Donald Trump was asked who was at fault in the Israel-Palestine conflict? “I don’t want to get into it for a different reason, Joe, because if I do win, there has to be a certain amount of surprise, unpredictability,” he said. “Our country has no unpredictability.”

(Uh, huh. Some would say your entry into the race caught a lot of people off guard.)

That’s the Water Cooler for today. Comment on the good stuff. Skip over the bad stuff. And leave some new stuff. It’s all good because the water cooler is always Open Thread.

*all emphasis mine