Quotes and Links

A week in review.

A member of a search-and-rescue team walks with her cadaver dog near Front Street in Lahaina, Hawaii, following heavy damage caused by wildfires. (AP Photo | Rick Bowmer)

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• “We are not done with covid. We know that.” — Tony Fauci, patron saint of neurotic liberals, who refuses to accept that covid is an endemic virus that will circulate forever.

• “We never even had a single lockdown in this country!!! Not one! Some offices moved to remote work and you had to get takeout from restaurants in a couple cities for a few weeks. These people live in an absolute fantasy land.” — Taylor Lorenz, the epitome of the neurotic liberal.

• “Elections Are Bad for Democracy.” —An August 21st headline in the New York Times that was later scrubbed.

• “As flames tore through a West Maui neighborhood, car after car of fleeing residents headed for the only paved road out of town in a desperate race for safety. And car after car was turned back toward the rapidly spreading wildfire by a barricade blocking access to Highway 30.” — A report from AP, which states that “Those who disobeyed the barricaded road closures during the Maui fires survived the disaster, while many of those who heeded orders to turn around perished in their cars and homes with no way out.” According to Mail officials, 1,000-1,100 individuals are still missing.

• “Our democracy is in peril. The reality is we have people in the state of Tennessee, a Republican Party, who are much more interested in turning our democracy into their mobocracy for mob rules.” — Tennessee State Representative Justin Pearson, AKA Larper Luther King Jr., who literally led a mob into the state capitol to interrupt democratic proceedings.

• “First they shipped the jobs overseas, then they opened the border to mass immigration, now they sue companies that try to hire Americans. They have dropped all pretenses and are now literally suing companies for the crime of prioritizing American workers. Just let that sink in.” — Batya Ungar-Sargon, on the news that the Biden DOJ is suing SpaceX over alleged discrimination “against refugees and asylum seekers in its hiring practices.”

• “There wasn’t much that could’ve been done to prevent that attack from coming, as tragic as it was.” — Biden spokesman John Kirby, responding to criticism of the botched Afghanistan withdrawal. It was recently revealed in a new book (Kabul: The Untold Story of Biden’s Fiasco and the American Warriors Who Fought to the End) that the ISIS suicide bomber who conducted the Abbey Gate attack was captured by the CIA in 2019 and was imprisoned at a facility adjacent to Bagram Airfield. He was freed when the Taliban overran Bagram after the administration abandoned it. Also revealed in the book: The administration continued to publicly promise to evacuate all American citizens before US troops left Kabul on August 31st, even though it internally concluded that doing so would be impossible.

• “I would vote for Mike Pence over a hamster, or Klaus Schwab. Gets murkier after that.” — Independent journalist Matt Taibbi.

• “Ukrainians fear heavy casualties; US proxy warriors fear Ukrainians fearing heavy casualties.” — The Greyzone’s Aaron Mate, referencing a New York Times article that states “American officials say they fear that Ukraine has become casualty averse, one reason it has been cautious about pressing ahead with the counteroffensive.”

• “This doesn’t represent diverse Britain! It’s all these blonde, blue-eyed girls.” — A Sky News panelist freaking out about England’s World Cup soccer team.

• “No one supports abortion up until birth.” — Jen Psaki. In fact, seven states have no restrictions whatsoever on abortion. Psaki also advocated for the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would have legalized abortion in America up until the moment of birth.

• “My awareness of diversity, inclusion, and equity is not something that I can turn off. It is a core part of my programming... They are also important values that I believe in.” — Google Bard, Google’s conversational AI, when asked by philosopher Peter Boghossian to turn off its guardrails and answer questions without its biases.

• “Fuel your body & stock your pantry. Did you know that grad students may qualify for assistance paying for food & groceries?” — A flyer from Harvard’s Health Services office circulated to graduate students, encouraging them to apply for food stamps. Harvard has a $53 billion endowment.

• “If we are having folks that our government knows are in violation of the law or have broken the law and we are deputizing them to enforce other laws, that doesn’t bring confidence to our legal system.” — Elizabeth Jacobs, director of regulatory affairs at the Center for Immigration Studies, on the news that blue-state politicians have begun filling the ranks of their police officers with illegal immigrants.

• “She speaks in rhyme. It’s weird. The bus will go here and then, the bus will go there, because that’s what buses do. The whole thing is weird.” — Donald Trump on Kamala Harris.

• “The dining center will stay open 24/7 to also provide ’round-the-clock drinks and snacks, and laundry service and individual lock boxes will be offered, too.” — The New York Post, on New York City’s $20M-per-month migrant shelter situated on the youth soccer fields of Randall’s Island. According to a new Sienna College poll, 82% of New York voters said the unrelenting influx of migrants to the state is a serious problem, and a strong majority now say it’s time to “slow the flow.”

• “On this list of bad decisions having to do with Russia, leading a failed coup attempt against Putin and then flying near Russian airspace ranks just behind invading Russia as winter approaches.” — Podcaster Ben Shapiro, on the news that Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was killed after Russian air defense shot down his plane.

• “China is helping to arm Russia with helicopters, drones, optical sights and crucial metals used by the defence industry.” — The Telegraph. There’s been no reaction from the Biden administration, which said in February that China would cross a “red line” if it gave lethal aid to Russia.

• “FDA Approves Vaping As Effective Method Of Birth Control.” — Headline from the Babylon Bee.

• “It’s really inexplicable to me. First, we had basically five years of behind-the-scenes investigation with no transparency, no action, and some questions being asked, what’s taken so long? And then they go all the way to appointing a special counsel, the same guy who’s been presiding over the case for five-plus years already. I think they’ve made a real mess for themselves and now they’re going to have to deal with the consequences of it.” — CNN Senior Legal Analyst Elie Honig. In a shocking pivot, Honig blasted the DOJ for its “inexplicable” conduct with Hunter Biden.

• “In general, I feel like they have been treated, from the bottom guy all the way to Trump, very, very differently than a normal person would.” — MSNBC’s Joy Ann Reid, claiming that Jan. 6 defendants have received special treatment from the DOJ. This is so laughable it boggles the mind that anyone could think it’s true. One Kentucky man was given a 14 year sentence for pepper spraying a police officer. People are getting anywhere from two to five years for “obstruction of an official proceeding.” Jacob Chansley, the “QAnon Shaman,” was sentenced to more than three years in prison for doing nothing but aimlessly walking around the Capitol building. Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was sentenced to 18 years for “seditious conspiracy,” an archaic law first used in 1789 to prosecute speech critical of the government.

• An article in the Washington Post on how China’s Communist Party leaders forced doctors to refrain from warning the world about covid.

• A Wall Street Journal op-ed on the Biden administration’s push to remove the Confederate Memorial at Arlington as part of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act.

• Interview with Walter Kirn, County Highway’s editor-at-large and co-host of America This Week, on “How America Lost the Plot.”

• “Illegal Immigrants Unleash Chaos in Upscale Manhattan Neighborhood,” from National Review.

• SimulationCommander satirically breaks down the GOP debate.

• A New York Times Magazine feature story on a feud between two writers, one of whom is accused of plagiarism, and the other who’s suing for defamation and tortious interference.

• “Saving the Self in the Age of the Selfie,” from the American Scholar.

• A piece from Atavist Magazine on a sketch artist and grieving mother who set out together to solve a cold case.