Insight

“It is an ancient truth that freedom cannot be legislated into existence, so it is no less obvious that freedom cannot be censored into existence. And any who act as if freedom’s defenses are found in suppression and suspicion and fear confess a doctrine that is alien to America.” —Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969)

For the Record

“Harry and Meghan sure do an awful lot of TV shows, interviews and books for two people who claim they want to be left alone and just treated like normal people.” —Clay Travis

“A border visit without policy changes is just a photo op.” —former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

Dezinformatsiya

“[Kevin] McCarthy’s protracted fight over the speaker’s gavel with members of his own party was a continuation of that [January 6] insurrection.” —MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart

Demagogues

“Unequivocally, McCarthy sold his soul to the far-right in his quest to become the leader of the legislative branch.” —Democrat political consultant Douglas E. Schoen

“The speaker’s chaos … not only endangered our country’s national security, but it also showed that the keys have been handed over to extremists.” —Democrat House Whip Katherine Clark

“All the talk about process and amendments and germaneness, that is cover for what [Republicans are] really trying to do, which is dismantle the equities of our economy.” —Katherine Clark

“McCarthy just agreed to a deal with far right insurrectionists that would hold the entire US and global economy hostage to extreme cuts to everything from housing to education, healthcare, Social Security and Medicare. Hard to overstate how dangerous this is.” —Congresswoman Ilhan Omar

“It is shameful, but not surprising, that [House Republicans’] first order of business in this Congress is to protect corporate America and ultra-wealthy individuals who are illegally avoiding taxes.” —former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Village Idiot

“The people who tried to overthrow our Government are being given positions of power by a feckless Speaker. We can’t let the inmates run the asylum. It’s time for the Justice Department to bring Justice.” —filmmaker Rob Reiner

Race Bait

“While Black men are severely underrepresented in positions of power across football organizations, such as coaching and management, they are overrepresented on the gridiron. Non-white players account for 70 percent of the NFL; nearly half of all Division I college football players are Black. Further, through a process called racial stacking, coaches racially segregate athletes by playing position. These demographic discrepancies place Black athletes at a higher risk during play.” —Duke University professor Tracie Canada

And Last…

“We don’t need 87,000 new IRS agents to monitor your money transactions. We need 87,000 new Border Patrol Agents to secure our borders.” —former Congresswoman Mayra Flores