THEY’RE FROM THE GOVERNMENT AND THEY’RE HERE TO HELP: US senators on encryption back doors: “We will impose our will” on Apple and Facebook.

A decades-old debate: Government officials have long argued that encryption makes criminal investigations too hard. Companies, they say, should build in special access that law enforcement could use with a court’s permission. Technologists say creating these back doors would weaken digital security for everyone.

But the heat is on: “My advice to you is to get on with it,” Senator Lindsey Graham told the Silicon Valley giants at today’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. “Because this time next year, if we haven’t found a way that you can live with, we will impose our will on you.” Apple and Facebook representatives at the hearing came under fire from senators in both parties, while Manhattan district attorney Cy Vance, one of the biggest advocates of back doors, was treated as a star witness.

Sod off, all of you.

YOU’RE GONNA NEED A BIGGER LIST: These Reporters All Lied About the Steele Dossier, Carter Page and FISA Warrants.

UM, THANKS? AOC Compares Mothers to Dogs in Paid Family Leave Hearing.

WASHINGTON BLADE: SHOCKER: Senate confirms Trump nominee as highest-ranking out gay judge.

This is only shocking to people so bigoted that they believe Republicans must be bigots.

HMM: Former DOJ official: Durham’s reaction to IG report means ‘he’s got the goods on somebody.’

Durham’s inquiry has had a broader scope than Horowitz’s, including a focus on foreign actors as well as the CIA, while Horowitz’s concentrated on the Department of Justice and FBI.

Prior said that, unlike Horowitz, Durham is not limited in scope to the existing DOJ or FBI officials. He said the striking statement by Durham Monday means “he’s got the goods on somebody.”

“Durham can subpoena former employees, former DOJ members; Durham can go and look at what the CIA was doing, what the [National Security Council] was doing, what foreign countries were doing. Durham’s scope is so much bigger,” Prior said.

Well, go get ’em.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEF: Our Intellectual Betters Are Actually Dumber and Worse. “The leftists in the media and Washington who fancy themselves our intellectual superiors are, for the most part, a collection of uninspired dullards floating around in a world that’s a toxic mix of lowered expectations and financial connections.”

He’s too kind.

A MOVE 18 YEARS IN THE MAKING: Nearly 175 Saudi military aviation students grounded in U.S. after base shooting.

STRANGE NEW RESPECT: Michelle Obama Talks Bond with George W. Bush After Controversy Over Him Sitting with Ellen: ‘Our Values Are the Same.’

She might not be wrong.

OH, GROW UP: Lisa Page sues FBI and DOJ, citing ‘cost of therapy’ after Trump mocked her salacious text messages.

“My boss got mad at me for sexting with a married man on a company phone while we were also plotting against him, and now I’m emotionally disturbed,” doesn’t seem like a very solid basis for a lawsuit.

This was a saner country when people who did that kind of thing were mocked out of public life, rather than treated as victims and celebrities.

JANUARY 20, 2025? The First Democrat To Call For Impeachment Vows To Keep Trying Until Trump Is Removed From Office.

THEY’RE ON THE SAME SIDE OF SELLING FAKE HATE TO REAL HATERS: The Media Again Buries the Truth About the SPLC.

MATT YGLESIAS: “At Vox I think the implied audience is a graduate of or student at a selective colleges (which also describes the staff and our social peers), and if you assigned me the job of serving a less-educated audience is probably need to think about how to change things up.”

OK then.

I’M OUT OF ORDER? YOU’RE OUT OF ORDER! Kentucky Family Court Judge Accused of Threesomes in Chambers, Drinking, and Debauchery.

GIVING BACK: Gary Sinise Takes 1,000+ Gold Star Kids to Disney World.

And for my VIP members at PJMedia: Tom Brokaw Blames Social Media for Breaking Trust with Journalists.

If you’ve been thinking about becoming a member, the promo code VODKAPUNDIT is still good for a nice little discount.

RIP: Pete Frates, A Driving Force Behind The Viral Ice Bucket Challenge, Dies At 34.

LIFE FINDS A WAY: After Bone Marrow Transplant, Man’s Semen Contains Only Donor’s DNA. “His strange situation could affect the future of forensic science.”

UNEXPECTED HEADLINES: Dentist who rode hoverboard while pulling tooth faces patient in court.

RAYMOND IBRAHIM: Move Over Baby Jesus: The ‘Baby Muhammad’ Jihad Comes to America.

Demography is the future.

THE DEEP SEVENS ARE UP TO SOMETHING: What’s creating thousands of craters off the California coast?

MARS NEEDS WOMEN: Short-sighted Mars colonists could find sex with Earth-based humans lethal.

BY WHAT VALUE OF “COOL,” EXACTLY? How the Cool Kids of the Left Turned on Elizabeth Warren.

IT’S LIKE A VAMPIRE THAT WON’T STAY DEAD: Dems Resurrect Russia Collusion in Announcing Articles of Impeachment.

HE ISN’T WRONG: Trump on IG Report: ‘This Was an Attempted Overthrow… We Caught ‘em Red-Handed.’ “And a lot of people were in on it and they got caught. They got caught red-handed. And I look forward to the Durham report, which is coming out in the not-too-distant future. He’s got his own information, which is this information plus, plus, plus. It’s an incredible thing that happened and we’re lucky we caught them.”

Also: AG Bill Barr Just Issued a Translation of the DOJ IG Report & It’s a Red-Hot Rebuke of ‘Intrusive’ Spying on Trump.

And this from Michael Goodwin: IG report proves whole investigation was as corrupt as Comey. “Taken together, the findings and statements from the Justice Department are potentially more important even than when Mueller reported he found no evidence Trump colluded with Russia. In effect, we now can say for certain that the search for collusion itself was corrupted from the start and that the numerous examples of misconduct were not honest mistakes.”

Read the whole thing(s).

MODERATE HOUSE DEM: I’m Struggling To See How The Evidence Here Justifies Impeachment.

HIT ‘EM WHERE IT HURTS: US – China Trade War: Chinese Exports To US Fall 23% Amid Tensions Between Washington, Beijing.

Related: Chinese official says Beijing wants US trade deal ASAP.

Make ’em sweat.