Insight: “We have plenty of freedom in this country but not a great deal of independence.” —John W. Raper (1870-1950)

Observations: “Amid rising ethnic tensions, hordes of migrants and massive debt, Europeans can keep or junk the mess of the European Union and the inflexible euro as they please, without much worry that they will revert back to their bloody past.” —Victor Davis Hanson

Good question: “By the way, when did calling someone a Muslim, whether falsely or not, become a slur? After all, isn’t Islam a ‘great religion of peace’ that’s been ‘hijacked by a minority of extremists’? If so, how does calling someone a Muslim become the moral equivalent of hate speech?” —Larry Elder

The BIG Lie: “I have been blamed for nearly everything. [The birther/Muslim claim] was a new one to me, but you know, I’ll just keep going and talking about what I want to do to get income rising and making college affordable and making all of the positive changes that we have to be worried about.” —Hillary Clinton, denying that her campaign started rumors of Obama’s Muslim faith

Belly laugh of the week: “I would encourage you to take the president at his word.” —Josh Earnest on Obama’s comments about standing with the pope on religious liberty (That must be why Francis met with the Little Sisters of the Poor, who are suing over ObamaCare’s infringement of religious liberty.)

Alpha Jackass: “What we have learned from Scott Walker throughout all of these months is that you can do a helluva lot with an ego. The guy’s a freaking loser. I feel vindicated. I knew all along that attacking workers, attacking unions, and taking things away from hard working families is not a pathway to the future.” —Ed Schultz

And last… “During a speech at an Iowa school, President Obama declared that students ‘shouldn’t silence’ guest speakers who are ‘too conservative.’ Yes. That’s what the IRS is for.” —Fred Thompson