HERE COMES $2 TRILLION WORTH OF PAIN: Hans Bader at Liberty Unyielding explains why the national response to the vastly more lethal Spanish Flu of 1918 was superior to the current lockdowns and multi-Trillion-dollar relief packages.

Or, to put it another way, when government says the solution to a problem is A, you know it’s almost invariably actually the precise opposite of A.

THE PURE EVIL OF SEX TRAFFICKING CHILDREN: It should be impossible for anybody to read this blunt and detailed column by John and Nisha Whitehead of the Rutherford Institute without being saddened and angered. Especially when you realize how widespread this evil has become, not just in America but around the world.

CANCEL CULTURE CENSORS THE EPOCH TIMES, AGAIN: Youtube has demonetized The Epoch Times’ channel. Censorship, once started, has a way of consuming everything even remotely threatening to the censors.

BIDEN’S IMMIGRATION POLICY IS ‘RELEASE, PROTECT, REWARD:’ That’s the view of former Acting U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Mark Morgan, who tells The Epoch Times’ Charlotte Culbertson:

“That’s release, protect, reward. That’s an open border. You might as well put billboards in the Central American countries saying ‘Come to the United States, our borders are open.’ There’s an interview of a migrant himself who said, ‘Biden has given us 100 days to get to the U.S. border.'”

KING SOLOMON-ERA ROYAL PURPLE CLOTH FOUND: In Southern Israel, carbon-dated to around 1,000 BC, which puts it in the time of King Solomon.

TANDEN’S OMB APPOINTMENT CAUSING FRICTION WITH BERNIE BROS: When then-President-elect Joe Biden announced last November his intention to nominate Center for American Progress (CAP) chief Neera Tanden, the Democratic-Socialist wing of the party was angered. Capital Research Center’s Shane Devine explains why.

MARK ZUCKERBERG WANTS TO GET INSIDE YOUR BRAIN: No, really, he does and Facebook’s researchers are making progress on the mind-control front. This ain’t sci-fi, this is all-too-real-world, friends.

DDT IS BACK: Just not as the insecticide banned by the U.S. in 1972. This time, DDT stands for “Defending Democracy Together.” According to Hayden Ludwig, writing for The Federalist, DDT is the creation of former-conservative-turned-Democrat Bill Kristol, and the group spent millions of dollars in dark money against Donald Trump and for Joe Biden in the 2020 campaign.

Ludwig makes clear that DDT is not some fly-by-night screeching backbencher that’s here today and gone tomorrow:

“DDT was the biggest outside political spender in the 2020 election, according to OpenSecrets, dropping a stunning $15.6 million in independent expenditures savaging Trump and aiding Democratic nominee Joe Biden. DDT beat out heavyweights such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Realtors Association, which typically dominate outside spending lists.”

The group also has a front, the Republican Accountability Project, that is devoted to, surprise!, ridding the GOP of every last little bit of Trumpism. But Ludwig says don’t bother trying to find out who is funding this agit-prop operation:

“We may never know the complete truth about who funds DDT, which is strange for a group that has aligned themselves so completely with a political ideology that demonizes ‘dark money’ on the right.” Indeed, Mr. Ludwig.

BIDEN IS UNLEASHING THE REGULATORY HOUNDS FROM HELL: If you doubt that, just read this.

BILLY GRAHAM IS SPINNING IN HIS GRAVE: A piece published by Christianity Today and written by Anglican priest Tish Harrison Warren claims the January 6 U.S. Capitol riot “was in large part brought to us by the white, evangelical church.” Sooner or later, it always comes down to race with these people.

One can only imagine what Graham, who founded CT in the 1950s to be the formidable voice of conservative biblical Christianity, would say were he alive to read such nonsense as appears in his magazine today. It’s no coincidence that the same mentality that produces analyses like Warren’s is also pushing for the ouster of Franklin Graham as the chief of the Graham Crusade and Samaritan’s Purse.

No need to imagine what I have to say about Warren’s ravings, however, as my VIP column on it can be found in the Culture section of PJ Media. If you haven’t yet opened your VIP account, this particular column would be a good reason to do so, and you will find many, many more reasons in the days ahead to be glad you did, thanks to PJM’s masterful stable of writers. Just be sure to use the TAPSCOTT coupon code for a nice discount.

WOKE POLITICS ARE DISASTROUS FOR MINORITIES: This one by the esteemed Joel Kotkin is on the must-read list for today.

DEMS WANT BIDEN TO BE EL JEFE: Issues & Insights always wondered how Trump could be the tyrant and dictator Democrats repeatedly accused him of being even as he did everything he could to reduce the size and power of the federal Leviathan.

Now along comes Joe Biden signing Executive Orders left and right that greatly augment Leviathan. So who is the real authoritarian here?

HEY, DID YOU NOTICE: How the Blue State Covid lockdowns are killing jobs and spirits, but not the virus? Issues & Insights noticed.

THINK THE NATIONAL DEBT IS BAD? JUST WAIT: Hans Bader at Liberty Unyielding sees soaring deficits and debt as far as the eye can see and beyond. Plus inflation. And recession. Maybe worse. Other than that, Mr. President, what’s in your plans for us?

THOSE 70K KEYSTONE JOBS BIDEN KILLED WERE JUST THE START: The Lid’s Jeff Dunetz says a new study from the American Petroleum Institute (API) expects millions to be lost.

HE HAS TO WORK BOTH SIDES OF HIS MOUTH: So no wonder Dr. Anthony Fauci is the highest-paid federal employee. Open The Books strikes again.

WATERGATE? RUSSIAGATE? NOW PAGERGATE? Austin, Texas, is likely not the only jurisdiction in America in which taxpayers are still paying for pagers that are almost never used. If you aren’t following the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF), you should be, even if you don’t live in the Lone Star State. It may be liberty’s last safehouse.

NOW CHINA SAYS CHRISTIANS ARE SPREADING COVID: Don’t miss my latest PJ Media Culture column, this one on how China is a——, I mean, imitating Nero.

REP. LAUREN BOEBERT EXPLAINS WHY SHE CARRIES IN D.C.: She’s only five-feet tall, but I wouldn’t mess with her. She’s Video #2 on Thom McKee’s Daily Gouge for today. A little further down, check out Thom’s response to NR’s David French.

ANIMATED POLITICALLY INCORRECT GUIDE TO AMERICAN HISTORY: It’s a jointly produced product from the Capitol Research Center (CRC) and Dangerous Documentaries, and it’s first episode of the first season (10 episodes, each 10-12 minutes long) debuts this week.

While we’re here, don’t miss CRC’s recent vidumentary on George Soros funding radically lefties seeking local prosecutorial offices. Soros has had a lot of success in this particular effort and is in part responsible for the spiraling crime rates in those jurisdictions, including Philadelphia and Chicago.

‘IT’S GOT A GREAT BEAT AND YOU CAN DANCE TO IT:’ Wonder if that’s what they’d said on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand of “Graves Into Gardens” by Elevation Worship. Christian music sure isn’t what it used to be. I miss the old hymns, but there is a boatload of raw talent doing Gospel music these days.

HOW MANY MORE THOUSANDS OF JOBS WILL JOE KILL? The Lid’s Jeff Dunetz surveys the unemployment wreckage for His Fraudulency’s first day on the job in the Oval Office.

OREGON PREFERENCES PEOPLE OF COLOR FOR COVID VACCINES: I don’t know, I’m just an Okie but isn’t that a violation of the equal protection clause? Hans Bader, who isn’t an Okie but is a Harvard Law guy, says it is.

CHINA PUSHING HARD TO CLOSE MILITARY DRONE GAP WITH U.S.: The Epoch Times’ Eva Fu has an exclusive report, based on a leaked file. Beijing’s military build-up is on all fronts.

TRUMP’S FOUR YEARS REALLY WERE FULL OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Issues & Insights takes a look back and compiles an impressive look at Trump’s record. How long before “Miss Me Yet? photos of Trump proliferate?