Shot/Chaser

“How much earlier could we have caught this guy if resources hadn’t been diverted?” —Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) on the J6 pipe bomber arrest

“We did not discover any new information. … [We] reexamined every piece of evidence, sifted through all the data — something that the prior administration refused and failed to do.” —FBI Director Kash Patel explaining how the Trump FBI found the J6 pipe bomber

Braying Jennies

“I think what happened is that, you know, when you have these, kind of, new programs that are designed to help people, you’re oftentimes relying on third parties to be able to facilitate, and I just think that a lot of the COVID programs … were set up so quickly that a lot of the guardrails did not get created.” —Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) on Somali fraud

“Somali Minnesotans are a part of the fabric of our beautiful state. Somali Minnesotans are teachers, nurses, neighbors — our friends. Trump’s vile hate has no home here.” —Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan

“We are in every industry, and Minnesota would not be able to survive nor thrive without the Somali community here.” —Minnesota State Senator Zayna Mohamed

Race Bait

“I have inherited a white supremacist system.” —Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson

Friendly Fire

“He’s not going to be governor forever, and … he probably should not be our next president either. Just saying.” —actress Halle Berry on Gavin Newsom

A Trip Down Memory Lane

“Let’s go after the drug lords where they live with an international strike force. There must be no safe haven for these narco-terrorists, and they must know it.” —Joe Biden circa 1989

Head-Scratcher

“It is not surprising that the WashPost, which originated the Russia collusion hoax, the Kavanaugh hoax, and the first Trump impeachment hoax, would run another false info op. It IS a bit surprising that the NYT isn’t going along with it in their normal manner.” —Mollie Hemingway on WaPo’s claim that War Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a second strike to kill narco-traffickers who survived the first strike

Political Futures

“Populism of either the Left or the Right is the mood of the country. And most voters don’t discern the difference between the two. They want someone who will fight for them, the little guy. … The traditional message of the Republican establishment worked in the Reagan years, and it worked other times. But it doesn’t work now. The wealth gap is far greater now than it was in the Reagan years. … Too often, Republican candidates speak like accountants.” —Gary Bauer

Insight

“I know in my heart that man is good, that what is right will always eventually triumph, and that there is purpose and worth to each and every life.” —Ronald Reagan (1911-2004)