Insight

“Liberty is the soul’s right to breathe and, when it cannot take a long breath, laws are girdled too tight.” —Rev. Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887)

Upright

“The crux of the matter is that the Biden administration dismantled or downgraded every policy that had established control over the Southern border under his predecessor and is directly responsible for the record number of illegal immigrants flooding into the country. If the influx wasn’t so large, there’d be fewer migrants to sign up for the bus trips north and east to blue cities sponsored by Texas and Arizona. Everyone should agree that it’d be much better if Biden reversed field and sought to control the border. Texas and Arizona would no longer be getting inundated, and therefore would have less incentive to send the migrants further inland. If that were the case, places like Washington, D.C., and New York City wouldn’t be receiving thousands of new migrants and wouldn’t have to declare emergencies and request the National Guard to help cope. If the border states are treating migrants as ‘pawns,’ give them fewer pieces on the board. If they are engaged in unworthy ‘stunts,’ remove the incentive to make theatrical gestures in the first place. Reduce the temperature by controlling the problem at the source. The truth of the matter is that prior to Texas and Arizona undertaking their programs — and DeSantis adding his attention-grabbing flights to Martha’s Vineyard — illegal immigrants were already getting moved around the country, with the assent of the Department of Homeland Security. The federal government gives migrants permission to travel within the country, and then private organizations get them on buses to go to their preferred destinations. Does anyone think this is how our immigration system should work?” —Rich Lowry

“The problem is that this debate is not about the real problem. Everyone is talking about how to accommodate illegal border crossers once they are in the country, and not about how to prevent people from crossing illegally into the United States. … Arguing over how best to accommodate illegal crossers, rather than arguing over how best to return the vast majority of them back across the border, increases the incentive for those considering unlawful entry into the United States.” —Byron York

For the Record

“America is apparently the only nation on earth where you can enter by violating our laws and then a week later sue the government whose laws you violated.” —Senator Marco Rubio

“OCTOBER 21, 2021: Biden said he hasn’t visited the border because he hasn’t ‘had a whole hell of a lot of time.’ Since then, Biden has spent 141 days on vacation. … Biden has spent 40% of his presidency — 242 days — on vacation. He has never visited the southern border.” —Republican National Committee

Braying Jennies

“It’s appalling that far-right politicians seem to have decided that fall before an election is their regularly scheduled time to commit crimes against humanity on refugees. Don’t normalize this. Lying to & trafficking people for TV and clicks isn’t politics as usual. It’s abuse.” —Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

“There are quite a few countries that are really struggling because young people — under the burdens of capitalism and … a society that’s increasingly concentrating wealth among the rich — we’re not having kids.” —Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

“I want you all to know that among progressives, it has become clear that you cannot claim to hold progressive values yet back Israel’s apartheid government. And we will continue to push back and not accept this idea that you are ‘progressive except for Philistine’ any longer."—Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib

The BIG Lie

"Any time [Biden] talks about the economy, he mentions how he understands how hard it is for … American families who are sitting around their kitchen table and trying to figure out how they’re going to pay their bills every month. That is why we have done the work that we have.” —White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre

Friendly Fire

“I am worried about the situation we’re in. Historically, you’ve never seen the Fed be able to bring inflation down from this type of level without causing a recession.” —former Obama economic advisor Jason Furman

Non Compos Mentis Award

“If you’re the president of the United States, you can declassify just by saying ‘it’s declassified’ — even by thinking about it, because you’re sending it to Mar-a-Lago or wherever you’re sending it and there doesn’t have to be a process and there can be a process, but there doesn’t have to be.” —Donald Trump