Insight

“The Shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep’s throat, for which the sheep thanks the shephard as a liberator, while the wolf denounces him for the same act as a destroyer of liberty. Plainly, the sheep and the wolf are not agreed upon a definition of liberty.” —Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

For the Record

“In the coming days, the administration will lift Title 42, a Trump-era measure that allowed the U.S. to turn back illegal border crossers on grounds of protecting the country against the coronavirus pandemic. … This week, the New York Times reported that ‘homeland security officials … described contingency plans for managing as many at 18,000 encounters a day at the border.’ … Whoa — 18,000 a day? That would be more than 3.2 million in the next six months. Even if the real number is half that, it would smash the record that has just been set. No wonder the emergency agencies of the U.S. government are involved. ‘There is no imaginable scenario for them to avoid another disaster,’ said Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies for the Center for Immigration Studies, which favors tighter immigration restrictions. … It will not be a natural disaster, not an earthquake or hurricane. It will be a man-made disaster, with the man, in this case, being Biden. And that, of course, will have political repercussions.” —Byron York

Re: The Rainbow Mafia

“I might be old-fashioned, but I don’t think large corporations, teachers unions, and political activists should be talking about sexuality with kindergartners — for any reason.” —Christopher F. Rufo

“Normal adults don’t tell kids to keep secrets from their parents. Normal adults have no inclination to talk to 5-9 year olds, who are not their children, about sex and gender switching. Perverts and predators do.” —Allie Beth Stuckey

“Disney makes more sense when you realize its primary target is adults with disposable income, not families.” —Emily Zanotti

Race Bait

“When reflecting on the incident between [Will] Smith and [Chris] Rock, some on social media have used words like ‘extreme,’ ‘excessive’ and ‘violent’ to describe Smith’s reaction. Some may say it was ‘just a joke’ but why are jokes always at the expense of Black women? America’s favorite public sport is berating Black women; it has become social currency. … The world has a nasty habit of always feeling the need to put Black women in their place — especially the Black women that society has deemed as the pinnacle of Black excellence. … By saying that Will Smith shouldn’t have reacted that way because of how he will be perceived by the largely white audience is the perpetuation of the white gaze. We must understand that respectability will not and has not saved Black people.” —Forbes senior contributor Janice Gassam Asare

“Perhaps what we should question as a result of this incident is why Blacks in Hollywood have routinely been expected to grin and bear embarrassment and degradation without expressing any discontent or risk being viewed as angry? … This is about a much larger systemic issue rooted in White supremacist culture designed to police the behavior of Blacks amongst the who’s who in Hollywood and beyond. Respectability politics suggest that equity and fair treatment require that Black people — both inside and outside of Hollywood — conduct ourselves in a manner deemed acceptable to Whites. Furthermore, expressing any emotion other than complacence, apathy, or agreeance directly violates those norms, disqualifying us from receiving the same equitable treatment that Whites enjoy as a birthright.” —Forbes contributor Maia Niguel Hoskin

“Most people agree the slap shouldn’t have happened. But there’s something that feels precious at best, and downright racist at worst, about white people’s reaction to the now-infamous smack. … It would seem that there’s a layer of hyper-violence that’s being projected on to Smith simply because he is a Black man who was defending his Black wife.” —The Guardian columnist Tayo Bero

Ecofascism Awards

“If you filled up your 15-gallon tank today, you’d be paying about 62 bucks to go 300 miles. If you plugged in an electric vehicle in your garage with your three-pronged plug, you’d be paying about 10 bucks. So 10 bucks versus 62 bucks — that’s 50 bucks you’re saving every time you fill up. That’s a huge savings for real people.” —Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm (EVs costing on average about $10,000 more isn’t a huge savings for real people.)

“We cannot allow the fossil fuel industry to use [pump prices] as an excuse to reverse everything we’re doing to save the planet.” —House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

And Last…

“Now that the NYT and WP have belatedly reported that the emails on Hunter’s laptop are (and always have been) legitimate, when will we see stories about ‘10% to the Big Guy’? … This story is not over. It’s just beginning.” —Ari Fleischer