Insight: “Growth is slow but collapse is rapid.” —Lucius Annaeus Seneca (4 B.C.-A.D. 65)

“As chair of the South African Medical Association and a GP of 33 years’ standing, I have seen a lot over my medical career. But nothing has prepared me for the extraordinary global reaction that met my announcement this week that I had seen a young man in my surgery who had a case of Covid that turned out to be the Omicron variant. … Quite simply, I have been stunned at the response — and especially from Britain. And let me be clear: nothing I have seen about this new variant warrants the extreme action the UK government has taken in response to it.” —Dr. Angelique Coetzee

“We’re about two variants away from our vaccine cards looking like a CVS receipt.” —Natalie Johnson

Grand delusions: “Stronger COVID measures produce STRONGER ECONOMIC outcomes. That’s why jobs, growth, and economic activity are UP this year, significantly over last year.” —Ronald Klain (“This might be the stupidest thing a White House chief of staff has ever said.” —Congressman Dan Crenshaw)

Lack of self-awareness: “[COVID-19 has] become a political issue, which is a sad, sad commentary. … Now as we move into the winter and face the challenges of this new variant, this is a moment we can put the divisiveness behind us, I hope.” —Joe Biden

Yeah, you rubes: “What we can do as the federal government is make those vaccines free, make the boosters free, make them available. … But we need the American people to do more.” —White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki

Theater of the absurd: “I think a root cause [of crime] in a lot of communities is the pandemic, yes.” —White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki

What could possibly go wrong? “For all my concerns about #Facebook, I believe that Fox News has had the most negative impact on our democracy. It’s state-sponsored propaganda.” —Federal Communications Commission (FCC) nominee Gigi Sohn, October 2020

The BIG Lie: “We expect [Build Back Better] will lead to a GDP increase over the long term without increasing the national debt or deficit by a dollar. In fact, the offsets in these bills mean they actually reduce annual deficits over time.” —Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen

Non compos mentis: “Unlike Trump, I don’t shock our allies.” —Joe Biden (“Has he already forgotten about Afghanistan?” —RNC Research)

Racism alert: “Skip the Black Friday sales and buy exclusively from Black-owned businesses. … White-supremacist-capitalism uses policing to protect profits and steal Black life.” —Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation

Doh! A trip down memory lane: “The racist, homophobic attack on Jussie Smollett is far-right America’s endgame.” —GQ Magazine, February 2019

Grassy knoll I: “The trigger wasn’t pulled. I didn’t pull the trigger. … I would never point a gun at anyone and pull the trigger.” —actor Alec Baldwin

Grassy knoll II: “Someone is responsible for what happened, and I can’t say who that is, but I know it’s not me.” —actor Alec Baldwin

Braying jenny I: “Kevin McCarthy is so desperate to be speaker that he is working with his Ku Klux Klan caucus to look aside & allow violent targeting of [women of color] members of Congress. This cannot be ignored.” —Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Braying jenny II: “Reminder that Brett Kavanaugh still remains credibly accused of sexual assault on multiple accounts w/ corroborated details & this year the FBI admitted it never fully investigated. Yet the court is letting him decide on whether to legalize forced birth in the US. No recusal.” —AOC (“Kavanaugh is not credibly accused by anyone and there are no ‘corroborated details.’ This is a horrible lie, not just misinformation.” —Ashe Short)

Braying jenny III: “Out of 9 justices, 3 were appointed by a man who tried to overthrow the US government (& elected via minority). Those 3 will decide whether the US will legalize forcing people to give birth against their will. Legitimacy requires consent of the governed. They are dismantling it.” —AOC (The point of the justices not being elected but appointed is so that they can make decisions based on the Constitution alone.)

Just the opposite, actually: “The Court is threatening to trample over the Constitution, destroy Roe v. Wade, and take away a woman’s freedom to make the most fundamental decision that she can make for herself and her family.” —House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Wait — isn’t that transphobic? “Do any of you men have any eggs or the possibility of carrying a fetus? How dare you talk about what a fetus wants! You have no idea.” —"The View’s" Whoopi Goldberg

And last… “[Planned Parenthood’s] blood-soaked industry should be outlawed, its employees should be prosecuted, its buildings should be emptied and demolished, and the government should salt the ground on which those buildings stood.” —Michael Knowles