Yellow Journalism

“I don’t like that this is a fact of life. But if you are a psycho and you want to make headlines, you realize that our schools are soft targets. And we have got to bolster security at our schools.” —JD Vance

“JD Vance says school shooting are a ‘fact of life,’ calls for better security.” —Associated Press

Praetorian Guard

“Because of the extremism of the Republican Party, because of how extreme Donald Trump is, it’s hard to hold both candidates accountable equally, because one is committed to democracy and is functioning as a normal candidate from a normal American party, and the other is not. And it’s important to hold all candidates accountable. It’s just that when you do that, it does sometimes sound a little silly because, given the breadth of what the vice president is offering the American people, there is no comparison with Donald Trump.” —New York Times editorial board member Mara Gay 

For the Record

“For some nine years, the media and the left have successfully fed the country a succession of rank deceptions and conspiracies. They did so because they proclaimed Trump too dangerous to be president and therefore any means they employed to stop him were to be justified. And they are doing so yet a third time in 2024. As they continue, they have all but destroyed democracy, ruined the reputation of the media, alienated the public — and embarrassed their country before the world.” —Victor Davis Hanson

Demagogue

“Together, let’s ban assault weapons. My dad was a hunter. I don’t know a whole hell of a lot of deer wearing Kevlar vests. I’m serious about this. High-capacity magazines — once again, what do we need them for in terms of domestic use?” —Joe Biden

Upright

“Parents can play an important role in preventing tragic shootings … by knowing when to take their children’s guns away. They should do their own ‘gun control’ before the government tries to use mass shootings as an excuse to take all our guns away.” —Michael Reagan

Useful Idiot

“We can’t allow what’s happened in Gaza to happen. … I think those folks who are speaking out loudly in Michigan are speaking out for all the right reasons.” —Tim Walz

Delusions of Grandeur

“Nearly four years that we’ve been president and vice president, we’ve had one of the most extraordinary periods of progress in American history.” —Joe Biden

Political Futures

“My theory is Democrats and Democrat-leaning independents were so happy to see Joe Biden off the ticket that they would have fallen in line behind anyone. Harris was savvy — and well-placed — to lock up the nomination before rivals entered the ring. … The energy is psychic: relief and excitement that Democrats have a chance to keep Trump from returning to the White House. The surprise, unbidden possibility of victory endowed Harris with a mystique. She’s made the most of it, but the effect may be starting to fade.” —Matthew Continetti

Insight

“Language does not merely describe reality — it constructs or creates it. Power structures mask themselves behind the language of rationality and truth.” —theologian Tim Keller (1950-2023)

And Last…

“Every two-bit authoritarian in history has justified censoring its citizens as a way of protecting them from the menace of disinformation.” —David Harsanyi