Upright: “If you want to ‘drain the swamp,’ you have to start with the institutions themselves, not with the people. The problem isn’t having the worst people running the government; it’s having the worst forms of government drawing the worst people.” —Ben Shapiro

For the record: “When homicidal warriors for Allah are maiming and murdering non-Muslims according to the plain directives of the Quran — and spelling out their celebration of Islam-inspired violence word (ALLAHU) for word (AKBAR) — it is crazy and delusional to say their actions cannot be understood. Stop the whitewash. Stop the insanity. Jihad denial is suicidal.” —Michelle Malkin

Observations: “The overdose crisis is largely driven by the fact that once addicted to legal opioids, people seek out illegal ones — heroin, for example — to fend off the agony of withdrawal once they can’t get, or afford, any more pills. Last year, 64,000 Americans died from overdoses. Some 58,000 Americans died in the Vietnam War.” —Jonah Goldberg

Braying Jenny: “We’ve had our fill of scares this year. Having President Trump and Republicans in control of Washington is far scarier than any ghoul or goblin.” —Nancy Pelosi

Race bait: “[NFL owners] have kind of a plantation mentality. The players are objectified in some sense.” —Jesse Jackson

And last… “I’d urge [Trump] to declare this coming Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017, a day of remembrance and order that flags be flown at half-staff on all federal buildings. Why? It will be the anniversary of what must have been a most traumatic day for mainstream media people and the political pundits they interviewed. I am not a psychologist; however, I did take several courses in psychology and sociology as an undergraduate. Thus, I have enough training to analyze the continuing trauma resulting from last year’s presidential election.” —Walter Williams