Insight

“The tendency of taxation is to create a class of persons who do not labor, to take from those who do labor the produce of that labor, and to give it to those who do not labor.” —William Cobbett (1763-1835)

Observations

“In 2015, YouGov found that 25 percent of those polled believed polyamory to be ‘morally acceptable.’ A 2020 YouGov poll found that ‘one-third (32 percent) of U.S. adults say that their ideal relationship is non-monogamous to some degree.’ According to what definition of morality? The two-parent, male-female home has been the bedrock of societies. Some traditions have lasted because they work. When social mores are individually rejected, school shootings, street violence, and anti-American ideology can be the result. Ancient Rome and other licentious societies collapsed from within because of their indifference to moral restraints. What makes Americans think we can avoid a similar fate?” —Cal Thomas

“In the U.S., government spending since COVID has risen by $6 trillion to $7 trillion — above the normal already obese $5 trillion-a-year budget. Across the planet, government ‘stimulus’ spending in 2020 and 2021 is estimated at — are you sitting down? — $21 trillion. Trillions more have been borrowed and spent and paid for with money printing this year. Government spending in many countries, including the U.S., exceeded 50% of the entire national gross domestic product. In other words, we fought a war against COVID, and socialism won. … The virus that threatens the world today in almost every nation is runaway government spending and debt. It is the match that has lit the forest fire of runaway inflation. It doesn’t matter how much Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell raises interest rates (which he must do to tame inflation). The stagflation of high inflation and slow growth won’t end until politicians start taking a chainsaw to their out-of-control budgets.” —Stephen Moore

Friendly Fire

“A lot of these consultants think if all we do is run abortion spots that will win for us. I don’t think so. It’s a good issue. But if you just sit there and they’re pummeling you on crime and pummeling you on the cost of living, you’ve got to be more aggressive than just yelling abortion every other word.” —Democrat strategist James Carville

Braying Jennies

“We get criticized, frankly, sometimes for being woke. I’m not sure what woke means. … But first of all I would say, if woke means, you know, we are not focused on war fighting, we are not focused on readiness, that doesn’t reflect what I see at installations all around the country or overseas when I go and visit. But I think, you know, we do have a wide range of soldiers in our Army, and we’ve got to make them all feel included. And that’s why a lot of our diversity, equity, and inclusion programs are important.” —Army Secretary Christine Wormuth

“We are watching Republicans not just destroying democracy in the dark, breaking into election officers [sic] and plugging stuff in, we’re watching them do it from rally stages. Debate stages. That’s where they’re doing it. … Do you think it requires, you know, a democracy commission? Should President Obama ask Chris Christie and Ben Ginsberg to sort of man a democracy hotline the way, you know, people used to man other crises — I mean, what should we do?” —MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace

“When you see our kids, and I truly believe that they are our children, they are the children of our country, of our communities, I mean, our future is really bright if we prioritize them and therefore prioritize the climate crisis.” —Vice President Kamala Harris

Non Compos Mentis Award

“America is facing a diaper crisis, and the anti-abortion movement is making it worse.” —Yahoo Finance editor Sandra Salathe

Demagogue

“Every single Democrat voted for the Inflation Reduction Act. Every single Republican voted against it.” —President Joe Biden (“Good on Biden for tweeting that every single Republican voted against The Inflation Reduction Act. In these divided times it’s nice to see him praising Republicans for their intelligence.” —Jimmy Failla)

“I don’t think there will be a recession. If it is, it’ll be a very slight recession — that is, we’ll move down slightly.” —Joe Biden

“You may not like what I got done, but the vast majority of the American people do like what I got done.” —Joe Biden

And Last…

“Kamala [Harris] accuses Republicans of ‘dereliction of duty’ on the border that she hasn’t even visited as the actual BORDER CZAR. This is like OJ calling you a bad husband.” —Jimmy Failla