* “(It) would end the race-to-the-bottom in corporate taxation, and ensure fairness for the middle class and working people in the U.S. and around the world.”—Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, in advocating for a global minimum corporate tax rate of at least 15 percent to deter multinational companies from avoiding taxes by stashing profits in low-rate countries. Her advocacy came at a meeting of Group of Seven finance ministers in London.
* “Unlike Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-leaning opponents, Trump-wary Republicans still prioritize retention of power over the health of the democracy.”–Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post.
* “I worry that far beyond the battle lines of defense, economic or trade policy, that the battle to stop the divorce of America from its founding values is much more important.”–Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a commencement address at Regent University.
* “Populism is often immune to reason and contemptuous of debate. … Anyone with a web browser can find the ‘facts’ the mob needs.”–Jonah Goldberg, The Dispatch.
* “If you’re a one-term president, you usually go quietly into the night. (Trump) sees himself as leading the revolution, and he’s doing it from the back of a golf cart.”–Presidential historian Douglas Brinkley.
* “The Biden Administration’s unemployment benefits are so massive that … they’re incentivizing would-be workers to stay home instead of looking for jobs.”–Sen. Marco Rubio.
* “If Republicans will filibuster and block a thorough investigation into a shocking, violent, unprecedented attack on our democracy, why would they hesitate to obstruct everything else the Democrats might propose, no matter how worthy or necessary?”–Eugene Robinson, Washington Post.
* “Mitch McConnell and his fellow Republican senators have proved that they will not confirm any justice appointed by a Democratic president. Every day that (Associate Justice Stephen) Breyer stays is a day the Republicans get another spin on the random wheel of death, looking to get just one more vote to block his successor.”–Elie Mystal, The Nation.
* “Where black history is concerned, America specializes in not knowing.”–Leonard Pitts, Miami Herald.
* “(Vice President Kamala Harris) is very aware that her being in this position is a threat to many people. They’re terrified of seeing a woman of color in this kind of position of authority and responsibility. … (But) she’s used to this, and part of what will make her successful is her ability to ignore the noise.”–Valerie Jarrett, former senior adviser to President Barack Obama.
* “The death penalty doesn’t deter murder. … It isn’t applied evenly. … Taxpayers often spend far more money trying to kill people than keeping them alive. … But the single best argument against the death penalty is that judges and juries sometimes get it wrong.”–Scott Maxwell, Orlando Sentinel.
* “An interesting question to ask oneself: Which are the books that you truly love? Try it. The answer will tell you a lot about who you presently are.”–Author and essayist Salman Rushdie.
* “The critical issue is not simply the increase in the supply of guns but in the nature of the weaponry that’s being used in violent crime, and that has really changed.”–University of Missouri criminologist Richard Rosenfeld, on police reports showing seizures of more powerful automatic or semi-automatic-style guns with larger magazines.
* “While goods-producers grew at a steady pace, it is service providers that accounted for the lion’s share of the gain.”–Nela Richardson, chief economist for ADP Research Institute, on U.S. businesses adding 978,000 jobs in May, the most in nearly a year.
* “Friendliest city in the nation.”–Mayor Jane Castor, referring to Tampa.