The Gipper: “We are for aiding our allies by sharing our material blessings with nations which share our fundamental beliefs, but we are against doling out money government to government, creating bureaucracy, if not socialism, all over the world.” —Ronald Reagan

Upright: “A Hong Kong under siege has further meaning in the eyes of the world. It continues to be what it has been for decades, a living reminder that people anywhere can do anything if they have economic freedom. Hong Kong is a shining, unassailable testament to the power of unfettered capitalism.” —Issues & Insights’s Thomas McArdle

Broken clock: “BDS [Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions] is a bulls—t purity test by people who want to appear woke but actually slept through history class. It’s predicated on this notion — I think it’s very shallow thinking — that the Jews in Israel are mostly white and the Palestinians are browner, so they must be innocent and correct, and the Jews must be wrong. As if the occupation came right out of the blue, that this completely peaceful people found themselves occupied. Forget about the intifadas and the suicide bombings and the rockets and how many wars.” —HBO’s Bill Maher

Dumb and dumber: “We live in a country where we have cities that are banning plastic straws, but we can’t ban assault weapons? I mean, that just doesn’t make sense to me. Look, I think banning plastic straws will save the environment. I also believe that banning assault weapons will save the lives of many people.” —Rep. Cedric Richmond

Village idiots: “Instead of being the world leader technologically in addressing climate change, the United States has become a pariah. My colleagues on other continents are very concerned about the United States’s lack of initiative.” —Bill “The Science Lie” Nye

And last… “In Hong Kong, antifascists wave American flags, demand freedom and actually fight fascists. In Portland, ‘antifascists’ burn American flags, demand violence in the name of socialism. Portland is a sad showing of where we are today. All around.” —Dan Crenshaw