A look back at the people and events that made news the past week. Week-ends is a regular weekly feature of This Just In…
HEROES OF THE WEEK
The American spirit
Denny Kellington
J.J. Watt
VILLAINS OF THE WEEK
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
“At almost every NFL game, a few Christian athletes will kneel in the end zone and pray before or after the game. But Monday night, dozens of athletes from both teams joined hands in one of the largest prayer circles I have ever seen. They were asking God to save the life of [Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin] who was grievously injured. I believe there is a message here for America. As a nation, we are grievously injured, too. America is also in critical condition. The heart of our nation has always been the rich heritage of Judeo-Christian teaching. But now that heart is being ripped out of our chest by militant secularists. I hope and pray that Damar Hamlin survives his close call. And I hope Americans get on our knees in prayer so that we turn back to God before it’s too late.”
Gary Bauer
“Yeah, look, I think we have to remember that although it is a game that we play, this is a career path that has been chosen, sometimes in situations when the time you’re a child it’s your dream, it’s your hope.
“You go to college and you study something, but you’re getting there to get your degree in football, because you want to be a professional athlete. And they’ve dedicated their lives to this, and we understand the risks and consequences, especially now today more than ever.
“And — but we take very seriously how dangerous it is. It’s not many places at work that you go to, Don and Poppy, where before you go out there to perform or execute your job for the day that you all huddle around, get down on a knee and say the Lord’s Prayer. That is commonplace in the NFL.
“We understand that you cannot take any play for granted. That every play, you’re putting your life at risk.
“And this is just, reminding us how precious life is. So poppy, hug that son a little tighter tonight. Right? When you get home. And we all just remember that, how dangerous this sport is, and we should be grateful for the players who go out there and perform for us.”
Coy Wire played football at Stanford, going on to play six seasons with the Buffalo Bills (2002-2007) and then three years for the Atlanta Falcons. He now works at CNN, and responded to whether playing football is worth it.
“Right now, in the House, the GOP is a nominal or technical majority party with a large faction which has no interest in acting like a majority. They may well be happier being in the minority.”
Jim Geraghty
“This is a president who has been working since day one to work on border security.”
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre
“It’s not like people are sitting around a table somewhere in Central America saying: ‘I got a great idea. Let’s sell everything we have. Let’s give it to a coyote, a smuggler. They’ll take us on a harrowing journey for a thousand miles to get to the United States. Then we’re gonna illegally cross the border.’”
Joe Biden
“Not only does this administration’s nonexistent border enforcement cost Americans more than $150 billion a year, it allows illegal drugs like fentanyl to pour into our country. 60% of all fake prescription pills last year contained fentanyl — a 50% increase in just one year. Two-thirds of all overdose deaths (more than 100,000 last year) were fentanyl-related, and fentanyl overdoses are now the leading cause of death in Americans aged 18-49.”
Laura Hollis
“Deaths from cold, even if many people don’t realize it, are far more numerous than deaths from heat. … There is a reason why far more people prefer to live in warmer places than colder ones. Doubtless climate change will affect these patterns to some extent. As the planet warms, heat deaths are likely to increase. But that cloud has a significant silver lining: Deaths from cold — a much greater threat to human life — will decrease. There is a temptation in many quarters these days to treat climate change as a morality tale of good against evil. But the evidence doesn’t fit such a simplistic pattern. If global warming continues as expected, weather during the summer months will become hotter and more humid, while winter weather will gradually grow less frigid and dry. On balance, and even considering other effects of climate change, that suggests fatalities from temperature extremes will fall.”
Jeff Jacoby
“Every time you hear some left-wing blowhard tell you or conservatives that they’re on the ‘right side of history,’ you have history’s permission to tell them they’re full of crap.”
Rick Moran
OUTRAGE OF THE WEEK
Man in ‘drag’ acts out a self-induced abortion on stage in front of children
MOST UNDER-REPORTED STORY OF THE WEEK
The co$t of hating Trump
MOST OVER-HYPED STORY OF THE WEEK
Voting for House Speaker
MOST UNUSUAL STORY OF THE WEEK
Snowy owl in California
ICYMI, last week’s review of 2023
This Just In... From Franklin, WI 