Insight

“The rub is that the pursuit of happiness, as an end in itself, tends automatically, and widely, to be replaced by the pursuit of pleasure with a consequent general softening of the fibers of will, intelligence, spirit.” —Whittaker Chambers (1901-1961)

For the Record

“We are watching the effects of the West’s Green Suicide Pact in real time: Russia blackmailing all of Europe, California power shortages (again), injection of hundreds of billions of dollars into not-ready-for-primetime technology in an inflationary cycle. Unserious leadership.” —Ben Shapiro

Belly Laughs of the Week

“Joe, it is now America’s good fortune to have you as president. You have guided us through some perilous times. You’ve built on and gone beyond the work we all did together to expand healthcare, to fight climate change, to advance social justice, and to promote economic fairness. Thanks to your decency and thanks to your strength — maybe, most of all, thanks to your faith in our democracy and the American people — the country is better off than when you took office, and we should all be deeply grateful for that.” —Barack “Don’t Underestimate Joe’s Ability to F*ck Things Up” Obama

“President Trump spent all his time, it seems, just being nasty and negative and calling people names, but making promises and never getting anything concrete done. Democrats are actually delivering with real results. Senate Democrats have shown that with the right people in office, government can work to promote, not hinder, the well-being and security of the American people.” —Senate Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer

Demagogues

“For the past two years, I have repeatedly stated that with a simple flick of a pen President Biden could lower costs for millions of Americans by canceling their student debt. … To President Biden I say: ‘Thank you. Thank you for listening to our calls.’” —Chuck Schumer

“The Republican-stacked Supreme Court overturning Roe opened the door to more right-wing attacks on women — including our right to contraception. No one should be denied access to birth control.” —House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Village Idiot

“If you don’t want a Civil War, vote for Democrats in November. If you do want Civil War, vote Republican.” —"comedian" Kathy Griffin

Yellow Journalism

“Too hot for school? Climate change turning classrooms into a public health issue.” —Good Morning America

World’s Smallest Violin

“Sometimes little girls will say, ‘Oh, I want you to be president,’ or things like that. … My experience here has given me a front-row seat to how deeply and unconsciously, as well as consciously, so many people in this country hate women. And they hate women of color. People ask me questions about the future. And realistically, I can’t even tell you if I’m going to be alive in September. And that weighs very heavily on me. And it’s not just the right wing. Misogyny transcends political ideology: left, right, center. This grip of patriarchy affects all of us, not just women; men, as I mentioned before, but also, ideologically, there’s an extraordinary lack of self-awareness in so many places. And so those are two very conflicting things. I admit to sometimes believing that I live in a country that would never let that happen.” —Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

And Last…

“It is astonishing to watch Dems and their allies in media corporations posture as opponents of ‘fascism’ — while their main goal is to unite state and corporate power to censor their critics and degrade the internet into an increasingly repressive weapon of information control.” —Glenn Greenwald