Insight: “There are some ideas so absurd that only an intellectual could believe them.” —George Orwell (1903-1950)

“If Leftists hate being accused of supporting pedophilia so much, maybe they should stop defending and supporting child rapists?” —Steven Crowder

Friendly fire I: “The reality is that this [reconciliation] bill is only going to make the problem worse. Our government is already too powerful. It is already too bloated. And what this bill is going to do is make inflation worse. It’s going to increase the national debt. It’s going to make things harder for small businesses. And, ultimately, it’s going to make people more dependent on a government that already is encroaching too much in … almost every part of our lives. So, I think it’s more important to actually start to look at how do we actually solve the real problems here rather than the direction they’re taking, which is, ‘Hey, let’s just throw more money at it’ and think that government is going to be the answer to everything when we know for a fact that it’s not.” —Tulsi Gabbard

Friendly fire II: “It’s actually a positive sign that [Americans are] rejecting the kind of divisiveness [and] racialization of everything in this country, the fomenting of anger and hatred that, unfortunately, we’re seeing coming from so many of my fellow Democrats. … I think the Virginia governor’s election was a positive indication of voters taking a stand and letting their voices be heard through the ballot box.” —Tulsi Gabbard

Friendly fire III: “I’ve considered Joe Biden a friend for many years. And I’ve been disheartened to see the direction that he’s taken in this administration that is undermining the fundamental principles of our country [and] that is actually tearing our country apart rather than working to bring us together to find our way forward and have respectful dialogue, even as we may have disagreements or differences on different issues.” —Tulsi Gabbard

“The sort of inflation we are currently experiencing is different from notable examples in the past. Then the inflation was almost entirely generated by the central bank, which merely had to correct itself. The Federal Reserve should taper its asset purchases, but it cannot do much to solve today’s problems. Given the historic level of federal debt, the Fed doesn’t have much room to raise rates without significantly increasing government interest costs. Furthermore, altering the money supply or raising interest rates will not cause the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to work more efficiently. It will not create more trucks and truck drivers. It will not make it easier to produce and transport energy. Plenty of the underlying problems that have been exposed by the pandemic recovery predated Biden’s presidency. But his party’s ideology prevents him from being part of the solution. Democrats see the current situation and want more government and more spending.” —National Review

Grand delusions I: “Senator [Joe] Manchin’s concerns make the strongest possible case for Build Back Better. … I think if your concern is the cost of living … the Build Back Better bill is the best answer we have to bring those costs down.” —White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain

Grand delusions II: “Along with other plans that I’m advancing, this [infrastructure] bill is going to reduce the cost of goods to consumers, businesses, and get people back to work, helping us build an economy … where everybody’s better off.” —Joe Biden

Grand delusions III: “My administration has a plan to finish the job of getting us back to normal from the pandemic, and having a stronger economy than we’ve ever had before.” —Joe Biden

Facepalm: “How many times have you driven your kids to the parking lot of McDonald’s and sat there going off the McDonald’s internet so you could hear?” —Joe Biden

Read the room, Joe: “Did you ever think you’d be paying this much for a gallon of gas?” —Joe Biden

Oof: “I’ve adopted the attitude of the great negro at the time — pitcher in the Negro league who went on to become a great pitcher in the pros, in the [sic] Major League Baseball after Jackie Robinson. His name is Satchel Paige.” —Joe Biden

Clown world: “Joe Biden is rebuilding this nation.” —The Lincoln Project, November 2021 | “Biden is clinically insane. That’s the only conclusion I can reach.” —Lincoln Project cofounder Rick Wilson, October 2012

No sugarcoating it: “It was a red wave.” —dethroned New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney

Nope: “Colin Kaepernick … was blacklisted by the NFL for passively expressing his frustration with systemic racism — a brave act meant to help his community and save lives — while multi-millionaire [Aaron] Rodgers will continue to play, despite lying to the fans and his teammates and putting innocent lives in danger.” —former NBA star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Non compos mentis: “Can white voters who back a Black candidate still hold racist beliefs and views? … Supporting a Black candidate hardly precludes voters from harboring racist beliefs and motivations. Republicans are increasingly more likely than Democrats to hold prejudiced views of minorities, so Black Republicans like [Winsome] Sears often draw especially strong support from white Americans with otherwise anti-Black views simply because they draw most of their support from Republican voters.” —Stanford University professor Hakeem Jefferson and University of California, Irvine professor Michael Tesler

Who needs due process anyway? “Lock up Kyle Rittenhouse and throw away the key.” —House Democratic Caucus chairman Hakeem Jeffries (“If this isn’t proof that the Democrat Party has largely departed from American principles of neutrally applied justice and the right of self-defense, then I don’t know what is.” —Congressman Dan Crenshaw)

Fake news: “Kyle Rittenhouse testified in his murder trial yesterday, breaking down in tears as he told the jury he murdered two men at a Black Lives Matter protest last year in self-defense.” —CBS Mornings

Non sequitur: “What I know is the law, and I what I know is what white people are willing to do to defend white supremacy. … What we have is a judge who from my perspective has prejudged the trial in favor of Rittenhouse.” —The Nation justice correspondent Elie Mystal (“White guy shooting three other white guys = WHITE SUPREMACY.” —Jim Treacher)

Race bait: “The truth is that too many white Americans probably see themselves in [Kyle] Rittenhouse — afraid of anyone, whether white or of color, who wants to live in a more equitable country — even if some don’t want to say so out loud. … Rittenhouse’s story is a microcosm of what America is facing, a perilous journey toward becoming something the world has never known: a fully functioning multiracial, multiethnic democracy emerging from the blood of slaves, the genocide of Native Americans and the notion that all men are created equal. … If he is freed, the status quo of America’s flawed criminal justice system, in which white offenders are less likely to be convicted, can remain just a little bit longer, the inevitable merely delayed, if not denied. If he’s imprisoned, those sympathetic to his plight have even more reason to use him as an example of how their way of life could be threatened if they don’t fight, and hard. His supporters have basically guaranteed those outcomes.” —Davidson College professor Issac Bailey

Village idiot I: “Kyle Rittenhouse shot and killed Anthony Huber, 26, and Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and injured Gaige Grosskreutz, now 27. Think about how much their loved ones have cried, real anguish and grief, not crocodile tears.” —CNN’s Ana Navarro

Village idiot II: “What tears????? I didn’t see one. Man knock it off! That boy ate some lemon heads before walking into court.” —NBA star LeBron James

And last… “Can we at least agree Rittenhouse had more business being there than the people committing arson?” —Frank J. Fleming