Insight

“Any alleged ‘right’ of one man, which necessitates the violation of the rights of another, is not and cannot be a right.” —Ayn Rand (1905-1982)

Upright

“Ultimately, if we are going to win the battle to protect religious freedom in an increasingly secular society, we will need more than positive law.” —Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito

For the Record

“The first thing to remember about the reconciliation bill Sens. Joe Manchin and Chuck Schumer agreed to Wednesday is that, despite its utterly preposterous name, it has absolutely zero to do with inflation. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 is crammed with the very same spending, corporate welfare, price fixing and tax hikes that were part of Build Back Better — long-desired progressive wish-list agenda items. Pumping hundreds of billions into the economy will do nothing to alleviate inflation. … The Inflation Reduction Act is to inflation what the Affordable Care Act — which doubled premium costs — was to health care insurance.” —David Harsanyi

“Biden inherited a recovery and created a recession.” —GOP Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel

Editorial Exegesis

“Senate Republicans are furious that Democrats Joe Manchin and Chuck Schumer announced a partisan tax and spending deal late Wednesday — only hours after the GOP had provided the votes for a giant semiconductor subsidy bill. The Republicans got played, all right, but the fault is their own. Mr. Manchin is a Democratic politician who loves spending and has no particular problem with higher taxes. He’s also a deal-maker to his bones. Republicans thought that by supporting giant infrastructure and computer-chip bills, the West Virginian might stop a partisan spending bill. GOP Senators now look like tourists who paid $300 from LaGuardia for a taxi to their Manhattan hotel.” —The Wall Street Journal

A Trip Down Memory Lane

“You know, a recession is … two quarters of negative growth in a row.” —House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, July 2008

The BIG Lie

“When you look at the economy … [Biden] was able to turn it back on when he walked in. Businesses were shut down. Schools were shut down.” —White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre

Braying Jenny

“Republicans in Congress are waging a dark crusade of punishment and control. They don’t believe in birth control, but they do want to control the lives of women.” —House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Race Bait

“Canceling $10,000 in student debt when the average white borrower is $12,000 in debt, while Black women hold on average over $52,000 isn’t just unacceptable, it’s structural racism.” —former Ohio State Senator Nina Turner

A Blind Squirrel Finds a Nut

“I think around the planning and the practical aspects of what happened on January 6th. I don’t see that there’s criminality there, at least in what’s been offered. My question is, are we really learning enough about what matters or is this starting to play like a ‘gotcha’ game? Like the impeachment. Again, not that the issues that were involved in impeachment don’t matter, but you knew you were never gonna have the outcome.” —ex-CNN Democrat talkinghead Chris Cuomo