I FEEL INFRINGED EVERY TIME I’M LUCKY ENOUGH TO FIND 9MM AT SOME OUTRAGEOUS PRICE: In the Democrats’ New Crime-Ridden America, You Can Buy Guns But You Can’t Find Ammo.

PRIVACY: Signal’s smartass ad exposes Facebook’s creepy data collection.

The resulting adverts can be eerily intimate and potentially harmful. Just last week, researchers found that Facebook had allowed advertisers to target teenage children interested in smoking, gambling, and extreme weight loss.

Signal’s plan was to use Facebook’s own tools to highlight these practices.

“The ad would simply display some of the information collected about the viewer which the advertising platform uses,” Signal said in a blog post. “Facebook was not into that idea.”

According to Signal, Facebook promptly disabled the ad account. Facebook denied that the account has been shut down and dismissed the ads as a publicity stunt. But Signal has maintained the claim.

The company also shared examples of what Facebook ads would look like if they were open about the targeting.

While it isn’t true that Facebook can access your phone’s mic, the company’s data-Hoovering is so complete that the ads you see will make you swear that they did.

Anyway, much more at the link.

VICTORIA TAFT, ON FIRE: 8 Righteous Reasons Why Derek Chauvin Deserves a New Trial –– and That Juror’s Shirt Is Only One of Them.

DUMB: Basecamp FOLDS on Non-Woke Workplace Policy, Suspends Exec After Employee Cries. “Days after banning politics from the workplace to keep employees focused on their mission rather than distracted by wokeness, software firm Basecamp appears to have reversed course, suspending its chief strategist after he said he does not believe the company is white supremacist and after employees reportedly cried and screamed.”

The only thing my kids (when they were much younger) ever got for throwing a temper tantrum was a brief spanking — these so-called grownup crybullies deserved far worse.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEF: The Democrats Want Your Ammo and Your Freedom. “I really wish I were being over the top about this but I read and stuff. This asterisked occupier administration continually exhibits a disdain for all of the freedom parts of the Constitution. They like the part where they can tax you to death but they hate almost everything else.”

JERRY STRATTON: Two weeks, and the madness of experts.

Last month we passed one year since the beginning of “two weeks to flatten the curve”. The curve was flattened. Hospitals were readied. Yet the two weeks never ended—in some cases, those ready hospitals had to shut down or fire employees while people outside were dying from lack of care. The experts decided that the process was the goal, and that our health—COVID-related and not—was secondary to the shutdowns and new regulatory powers.

At its heart, conservatism, like science, is a belief in the fallibility of experts. That the wisdom of millions of individuals acting in their own self-interest exceeds the wisdom and probity of experts trying to discern someone else’s best interests.

The left requires Jefferson’s magical angels of genius, who both know the best interests of others and who will not pretend that their own desires are the best interests of others.

Read the whole thing.

PJ MEDIA VIP ROUNDUP: Don’t forget that VODKAPUNDIT promo code if you’ve been thinking of joining us.

Matt Margolis: How Biased for Biden is PolitiFact? The Media Research Center Has the Receipts. (Hacks pretending to out hacks are the worst hacks.)

Bryan Preston: An Intriguing New Find Begs the Question: Will the Oak Island ‘Money Pit’ Mystery Ever Be Solved? “The mystery question still remains: What actually happened on Oak Island, and who did it? The show hasn’t answered that. It has found evidence that the Templar Knights or someone carrying a little lead cross identified with them and their regional base in France was there; evidence that the British military was there; evidence that the French military was there and built what appear to be some defensive fortifications; evidence that some of island’s stranger features are man-made as many treasure hunters have suspected; evidence that someone created a swamp for some reason several hundred years ago.” (After that, things get weird.)

Yours Truly: The Burgeoning Bureausclerosis. “If the law is an ass, as Charles Dickens noted almost two centuries ago, then the bureaucracy is an ass***.”

MORE LIKE THIS, PLEASE: Trump Allies Launch the Election Integrity Alliance to ‘Combat Election Fraud.’

INTRODUCING: Day Drinking With KDJ: Jenna Ellis Cocktail Edition.

Standup comedian Kevin Downey Jr has joined PJ’s stable of writers with a new, regular feature: Day Drinking with KDJ.

UPDATE: Here’s the MAGA-Rita Edition.

That was fast.

JENNER WOULD BE A HUGE IMPROVEMENT OVER NEWSOM, BUT YOU COULDN’T GET ME BACK TO CALIFORNIA UNDER THREAT OF MEDIEVAL TORTURE DEVICES: I May Move Back to California Just to Vote for Caitlyn Jenner.

GOOD LORD: Honeywell Admits Sending F-35, F-22 Part Drawings To China.

TO BE FAIR, IT’S WHAT BIDEN HIRED HER TO DO: Watch Jen Psaki Lie About the Border.

IT’S GOOD TO BE THE NOMENKLATURA: Dem Megadonors, Officials Financially Tied to Electric Bus Company Boosted by Biden.

CRISIS BY DESIGN: Biden’s Open Border Is Fueling the ‘Deadliest Drug Epidemic in U.S. History.’

VODKAPUNDIT PRESENTS YOUR DAILY INSANITY WRAP: Coke Drops Woke Faster Than They Dropped New Coke.

Insanity Wrap needs to know: What does it mean when one of America’s wokest corporations starts learning the steps to the Backpedal Tango?

Answer: It means we might just be winning, baby.

Before we get to the sordid details, a quick preview of today’s Wrap.

• New photos show that Biden’s masks are all for show
• Top Dems beating a fast retreat from “America is racist”
• If a Beta talks in a falling network, does he make a sound?

Bonus Sanity: Have a Pepsi… and a smile.

And so much more at the link, you’d have to be crazy to miss it.

TAKE OFF AND NUKE THE FBI FROM ORBIT. IT’S THE ONLY WAY TO BE SURE: FBI’s Failed Ron Johnson Set-Up A Case Study In How Agencies Use Corrupt Reporters To Peddle Lies, Hurt Their American Enemies.

HEH: Houston Chronicle Media-Splains Cinco de Mayo to Texans; Tejanos Ratio It Hard in Comments.

COME SEE THE RACISM INHERENT IN THE LEFTISM: Texas Dem Party Leader Calls Tim Scott Racial Slur, Then Resigns. Texas Dems Won’t Accept His Resignation.

UGH: Psychological Games in Family Court: Missouri Parents Speak Out About Being Falsely Diagnosed with Mental Disorders.

THAT’S DIFFERENT BECAUSE HE’S SO MUCH BETTER, SMARTER, AND MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOU ARE: DCCC Chair Spent Big on Travel as He Urged Constituents to ‘Stay Home’ and ‘Stop Spreading the Virus.’ “Maloney—who leads the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee—halted his campaign’s in-person signature-collecting push in March 2020. Days later, he urged constituents to ‘stay home’ and ‘stop spreading this virus.’ Over the next nine months, however, he spent nearly $29,000 on ‘ground transportation’ and “automobile expenses,’ financial disclosures show. The disbursements included nearly $20,000 in lease and insurance payments, more than $3,600 in collision repairs, nearly $2,200 in gas, more than $2,100 in rental car fees, and nearly $500 for a satellite radio subscription.”

Collision repairs? I bet there might be a juicy story in that for some enterprising reporter.

WELL, BYE: Liz Cheney’s Days in GOP House Leadership Are Numbered.

BUT THE NARRATIVE! Combined China and Russian Defense Spending Exceeds U.S. Defense Budget.

Here’s a myth often repeated: “The United States defense budget is larger than the next 10 countries combined.” You hear it all the time from progressives, led by the Senate Budget Committee Chairman, in their arguments to cut funding for our military. It’s time to remove this false talking point from our vernacular. Here’s the truth: our defense budget is almost certainly smaller than the combined Chinese and Russian military budgets after you adjust for basic economic realities.

Let’s be clear. Because the Chinese and Russians manipulate their defense budgets, measuring their actual spending is very difficult. Both Beijing and Moscow lie about just about everything—the coronavirus, genocide, poisoning political opponents—so it should be no surprise they intentionally hide significant parts of their defense spending. For instance, the Chinese don’t report any research and development spending in their defense budget, and significant portions of their space program and basing costs are omitted.

This once I wish the narrative were true.

BUT IS ANYONE STILL LISTENING? Groundhog Day: Dr. Doom Spits Out More Bad News. “As someone who has handled public communications in science, you have to be clear and you have to be consistent. When data changes the facts, you have to clearly communicate that repeatedly. I’d grade Fauci an F. He was against masks, for masks, admitted he lied about masks, and then said we should wear multiple masks. He should be telling Biden to knock it off with the masks since he’s vaccinated, and he should try to offer Americans some hope.”

Hope is anathema to the Biden Administration.

FREEDOM IS NEVER MORE THAN ONE GENERATION PANDEMIC AWAY FROM EXTINCTION: Freedom Becomes a Long-Haul COVID Victim. “Emergency measures to deal with the crisis are likely to linger long after COVID-19 is gone.”

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEF: Caitlyn Is Easily the Greatest Jenner Since Bruce. “I want to emphasize that the California Republican party doesn’t get many opportunities to accomplish anything at the state level because it’s incompetent and can’t create them for itself. The California GOP’s usual m.o. is to find a sacrificial lamb to run in two or three gubernatorial elections in a row. They’re living the high life over there if a Republican becomes Insurance Commissioner.”