Insight: “True liberty cannot exist apart from the full rights of property, for property is the only crystallized form of free faculties.” —Auberon Herbert (1838-1906)

Upright: “Despite the talk of a ‘forever war,’ US troops in Afghanistan are not embroiled in warfare. The last American combat death occurred well over a year ago. Only about 3,500 US military personnel are deployed to Afghanistan, and they are involved primarily in training and logistics. Removing those forces will gain America very little. But it will immeasurably benefit the Taliban, who will exult, with reason, at having driven out the Americans.” —Jeff Jacoby

Re: The Left: “The catastrophe now unfolding at our border is a direct result of progressive policies and pronouncements emanating from Democrats in Washington. But Democrats can end this disaster just as quickly as they caused it. All they have to do is reinstate commonsense border enforcement and stop treating U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol as a concierge service for illegal aliens.” —Mike Pence

Political futures: “Given that the last presidential election was hotly contested, that Democratic congressional majorities are minuscule and that the Supreme Court is unsympathetic, the left seeks to change the rules to stay in power rather than adjust its unpopular policies. … Adam Smith said of successful nations that they have a lot of ‘ruin’ in them. He meant that a dissolute, leisured and ahistorical generation has to waste a lot of its generous inherited wealth before it runs out. We are learning how much will soon be left of what our ancestors bequeathed. And the rest of the world is watching — some with glee, others with horror.” —Victor Davis Hanson

Observations: “The United States has always frustrated the global ambitions of Marxists. A country founded as a democratic republic, having neither royalty nor nobility, and based upon economic principles of entrepreneurial capitalism has never been fertile soil for the class-based revolution of which the Marxists dream. But today’s collectivists believe they have found America’s Achilles’ heel, the key to the success that has eluded them for so long. They are fomenting hostility and drumming up fervor based not upon class but upon race.” —Laura Hollis

For the record: “Are there racists in America? Of course. There are racists in every nation, and there always will be. Racism is a sin. It must be condemned and resisted at every opportunity. But we are the least racist major nation in the world, and certainly the least racist multicultural nation in the world. To its great credit, America has elected a black president and a black vice president. We have a black Supreme Court justice. Many of our major cities have black mayors and police chiefs. Show me the black prime minister of Canada, the black prime minister of Great Britain, the black prime minister of France or the black chancellor of Germany.” —Gary Bauer

Editorial exegesis: “It would be nice to think all of this would prompt reflection among those who have exploited [George] Floyd’s killing for political purposes. But it probably won’t. Even after the verdict, commentators who applauded the jury gave last year’s riots in American cities the credit for inspiring it. Not the facts. Not the law. But lawless protests. If a large faction of Americans really believe that only mayhem in the streets can guarantee justice in America, then this verdict will mean little and we are in for far more unrest ahead.” —The Wall Street Journal

Race bait: “George Floyd would still be alive if he looked like me.” —California Governor Gavin Newsom, who apparently has also been passing counterfeit $20s

And last… “I’d love to see [Rashida Tlaib] resign. I’d throw her a goodbye party. Let her go. … When you talk about abolishing police, incarceration, you talk about safe cities — what do you think the residents in Detroit want?” —Detroit Police Chief James Craig