Quotes and Links

A week in review

Rachel Maddow used examples from Anthony Fauci’s new book and the fact that Republicans are still trying to “persecute” him despite his heroic role in navigating deadly pandemics to illustrate the authoritarian bent of the Republican Party in the Trump era, Tuesday, June 18, 2024.

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• “A bogus ideology that hardly anyone really believes in, but everyone has to parrot unless they want to be labeled dissidents—sorry, I mean deplorables? Check. A population that no longer regards patriotism, religion, having children, or community involvement as important? Check. How about a massive disaster that lays bare the utter incompetence and mendacity that pervades every level of government? For Chernobyl, read Covid. And, while I make no claims to legal expertise, I think I recognize Soviet justice when I see—in a New York courtroom—the legal system being abused in the hope not just of imprisoning but also of discrediting the leader of the political opposition.” — Niall Ferguson, on how America now resembles the Soviet Union.

• “2 men arrested in strangulation of 12-year-old Houston girl whose body was found in a creek” — An AP headline that conveniently fails to mention that both suspects are illegal aliens recently caught and released at the border.

• “We got all of this chocolate running the city — and you tryna figure out why they hatin’ on me?!” — New York City Mayor Eric Adams

• “Guys there might be 46-48 states in play.” — CNN’s Scott Jennings, in response to Joy Behar and Rachel Maddow warning that Donald Trump will “cancel The View” if re-elected.

• “I sometimes joke that I feel like Cassandra in Greek mythology. She was blessed by being able to see the future, but cursed to never be believed. And that’s how I felt in 2016.” — Hillary Clinton, speaking at a Biden fundraiser hosted by Terry McAuliffe in McLean, Virginia. She was referring to her warnings about Donald Trump.

• “I care about the climate and these actions make me want to buy a fleet of Hummers.” — Matt Taibbi, on Stonehenge being sprayed with paint by Just Stop Oil activists.

• “The NY Post is printing lies about President Biden. No other media outlets should amplify its disinformation.” — Barbra Streisand, seemingly unaware that the phenomenon of telling people not to share something only to have it spectacularly backfire is literally named after her.

• “Happy Father’s Day to all, including the radical left degenerates that are rapidly bringing the United States of America into third world nation status.” — Donald Trump

• “But I think the reason why this conversation about language has risen now is because there is a part of the Republican Party that would like to rule as a minority and they need an excuse for why that’s okay. And so they have begun to say, ‘We’re not a democracy, we’re a republic.’ And it’s not 100 percent clear what that means, but I think they mean, ‘We want Donald Trump to be able to do whatever he wants.” — The Atlantic’s Anne Applebaum, during an interview on CNN.

• “I believe strongly in the importance of the press, the legitimate press, that is, which is integral to our democracy.” — Anthony Fauci, in his new book.

• “This is not a natural hot weather stretch for us here in the state of New York, especially upstate. But we are going to be seeing temperatures at levels we have not seen in our lifetimes.” — New York Governor Kathy Hochul, on the forecast predicting temperatures in the low 90s.

• “I mean, I think it’s journalistic malpractice to do a live interview with President Trump on television.” — ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos

• “It already feels like the bar that is set for Biden to clear is so much substantially higher than the one Trump has to clear which is literally: Is he alive? Is he standing? Are the words coming out?” — MSNBC’s Alex Wagner, regarding the Trump/Biden debate on June 27th.

• “I want to now direct these comments to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and to every member in both chambers of Congress. We are 1800 miles away here in Hartford County. We are 1800 miles away from the southern border, and American citizens are not safe because of failed immigration policies. This is the second time in just two years that an innocent Hartford County woman has lost her life to a criminal in our country illegally.” — Hartford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler, regarding Rachel Morin, a mother of five who was raped and killed by an illegal alien from El Salvador.

• “Donald Trump, potential future oldest president, turns 78” — Washington Post headline

• “Dr. Anthony Fauci is in the bullseye of the Trump movement to this day, as they seek to return to power. He’s in the bullseye of the Trump movement even after leaving the government, and it is not because of covid, and it is not because of the controversial and difficult decisions of this most recent epidemic threat that he helped the country face down. He has faced down plenty of those in his 54 years at NIH. What he’s facing now is a political movement that cannot abide public health expertise at all, because it cannot abide expertise at all.” — Rachel Maddow

• “We recognize that many trans men and non-binary people may have mixed feelings about or feel distanced from words like ‘cervix.’ You may prefer other words, such as ‘front hole.’ We recognize the limitations of the words we’ve used while also acknowledging the need for simplicity.” — A statement from the Canadian Cancer Society

• “You can always tell who was actually poor and who’s just an Ivy League shitlib LARPing because the latter romanticizes aspects of poverty that real poor people desperately want to escape. When they think ‘noisy neighborhood,’ their mind conjures up some abuela playing tropipop out her breezy open window while she makes empanadas as a table of Chinese men laugh and play Mahjong on the street — literal Hollywood movie shit. In reality, the noise of poverty is the woman next door screaming while she’s getting beaten up by her drunk boyfriend, a schizo man shouting obscenities outside of your apartment window, and the blaring siren of ambulances coming to collect yet another overdose.” — Reduxx writer Anna Slatz, regarding a recent article in The Atlantic that claims “If gentrification has a sound, it’s silence.” I lived in downtown Los Angeles for five years; I second what Slatz says.

• “Statistically speaking, border patrol agents are more likely to be arrested for a crime than an undocumented immigrant.” — Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, Policy Director at the American Immigration Council, a progressive non-profit.

• “If you’re white, you’re bright, you’re right and as a result, the shine comes your way in the eyes of a lot of people in America.” — ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, on why WNBA phenom Caitlin Clark is so famous.

• “Joe isn’t one of the most effective presidents of our lives in spite of his age, but because of it.” — Jill Biden, at a campaign stop in Wisconsin this week.

• “Trump’s superpower was heightening the contradictions on trade, immigration, and foreign policy. His mere rhetoric accelerated Dem policy to the point way past rationality and forced people to take a side.” — Breaking Points co-host Saagar Enjeti, regarding a CBS News poll showing that 62% of registered voters (including a majority of Hispanics) favor “a new national program to deport all undocumented immigrants currently living in the U.S. illegally.”

• Wired: “Inside the Biggest FBI Sting Operation in History”

• Another Wired piece about how “The West Coast’s Fanciest Stolen Bikes Are Getting Trafficked by One Mastermind in Jalisco, Mexico.”

• “The Hostages Next Door: Inside a Notable Gaza Family’s Dark Secret,” from The Wall Street Journal.

• A Texas Monthly story about Gary Johnson, the most sought-after professional killer in Houston who was working for the cops.

• Esquire: “Inside the Twisted, Worldwide Hunt for a $7 Million Stolen Car”

• “The Rise and Fall of the Ultimate Doomsday Prepper,” from The Intercept.

• A Vanity Fair story on the centuries-old underworld of caverns, squatters, and unmarked doors that lies deep below the streets of New York City.