Insight: “If one understands that Socialism is not a ‘share the wealth’ program but is in reality a method to consolidate and control the wealth, then the seeming paradox of super rich men promoting Socialism becomes no paradox at all. Instead it becomes logical, even the perfect tool of power-seeking megalomaniacs. Communism, or more accurately Socialism, is not a movement of the down-trodden masses but of the economic elite.” —Gary Allen (1936-1986)

Observations: “[Rush] Limbaugh prevailed over his critics, not just because he was a once-in-a-lifetime talent, but because he was right about his favorite subject: America. There can be no conservatism confined to the intellectual or corporate set — you needed to trust the people, as Ronald Reagan understood. Limbaugh legitimized this impulse by treating the views of high ranked politicians and his everyday callers with the same level of respect.” —Ben Domenech

Upright I: “The frequency with which the left acts as if the science on any given issue is ‘settled’ — indeed, the very notion of ‘settled science’ — is anti-science, no matter how confident proponents of any specific scientific theory may be. It was less than a year ago, after all, that the World Health Organization’s Dr. Mike Ryan pronounced: ‘There is no specific evidence to suggest that the wearing of masks by the mass population has any potential benefit.’ It turns out that ‘science’ was not particularly ‘settled.’ And within just a few months, after the WHO changed its mind on the efficacy of mask-wearing, Facebook outright removed a prominent mask-skeptical group on its platform for spreading COVID-19 ‘misinformation.’” —Josh Hammer

Upright II: “Even if the notion of ‘settled science’ were somehow not oxymoronic (which it is), it would be unjust to structure a public policy agenda and political regime solely based upon the whims of science. Scientists naturally view the world and advocate policy recommendations through the prism of their chosen discipline. So, medical doctors, such as the much-ballyhooed Dr. Anthony Fauci, naturally view the world through the prism of medicine. Economists naturally view the world through the prism of economics. The task falls to politicians alone to deploy prudence, discernment and careful judgment in balancing competing inputs and best channeling the pursuit of justice, human flourishing and the common good.” —Josh Hammer

Upright III: “With apologies to Neil deGrasse Tyson, no one should want to live in a world in which science rules the roost. Such a life would be desiccated, miserable and meaningless. Science exists to assist in our understanding of the natural universe, but it has no answers whatsoever to life’s most existentially pressing questions — the existence of God, the best way to lead a virtuous life and so forth. Lowercase ‘s’ science is good; uppercase ‘S’ Science is bad. And it would benefit our political leaders to grasp the all-important difference.” —Josh Hammer

For the record: “The oddest part about the effort to stifle debate over COVID-19’s origin is even the experts agree we still don’t know the answer. … Efforts to suppress the lab leak theory are unpersuasive on their face. The fact is that SARS escaped from a Beijing lab twice in 2004. The virus that causes COVID-19 is SARS-CoV-2. If SARS 1.0 leaked from a Chinese lab twice, why is it a conspiracy theory to question whether SARS 2.0 could have also escaped from a Chinese lab? Nobody has answered this persuasively.” —Neil Patel

Braying jackass: “In Texas you have an example of what happens when a state is governed by those who do not believe in government to begin with. … The inability to ensure that there’s excess capacity for emergencies like these to power our homes and businesses, these are all decisions that they made.” —Beto O'Rourke

Non sequitur: “Hey, Texas! Keep voting for officials who don’t believe in climate change and supported privatization of the power grid! Maybe in 4 years you can vote for Trump again. He believes in the latter but not the former. Perfect.” —Stephen King

Village idiot: “I feel for the people suffering thru this weather, but #God doesn’t seem to like #TedCruz or #JohnCornyn. These two also never recognized that #Joe won. If this isn’t payback, I don’t know what is.” —Bette Midler

That’s racist: “Black Lives Matter, very explicitly is talking about the dismantling of a Zionist project, dismantling of a settler-colonialist project, and very explicitly embracing BDS [Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions] on those grounds.” —professor Marc Lamont Hill

And last… “Here’s an interesting fact: Even Barack Obama’s ancestors owned slaves. If reparations are approved, does Obama pay reparations or does he get reparations? I’m trying to imagine what that conversation looks like in the Oval Office between President Biden and his former boss: ‘Barack, I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is that reparations passed. The bad news is that you owe them.’” —Gary Bauer