Insight: “When you accept money in payment for your effort, you do so only on the conviction that you will exchange it for the product of the effort of others. It is not the moochers or the looters who give value to money. Not an ocean of tears nor all the guns in the world can transform those pieces of paper in your wallet into the bread you will need to survive tomorrow. Those pieces of paper which should have been gold, are a token of honor — your claim upon the energy of the men who produce.” —Ayn Rand (1905-1982)

Doubling down: “I’m not going to apologize for making those comments… Maybe he doesn’t say things that are objectionable, but what he does concerns me more than what he might say. Scott Walker should apologize to the African-American community for his policies.” —Rep. Gwen Moore, who refuses to walk back her remark accusing Walker of “tightening the noose, literally, around African-Americans”

Alpha Jackass: “It’s hard for me to express how much I love Harry Reid, but it’s easier to do it in a room of people who love Harry Reid. Harry and I drove over here together and we were doing a little reminiscing, and then figuring out how we’re going to deal with the crazies in terms of managing some problems.” —Barack Obama at a fundraiser in Nevada (Deputy Press Secretary Eric Shultz later said, “[Obama] may have been a little flip in his language, but we have seen Republicans do wildly irresponsible things in the past.”)

Non Compos Mentis: “There are certain religious aspects that are extremely difficult to address because [using fetal tissue for research is] a very emotional issue. One has to respect people’s faith and opinions even if one may not share them. But they could slow down scientific progress. There is so much human suffering that could be solved by research.” —Harvard Medical School professor Dr. Ulrich von Andrian on the controversy over Planned Parenthood’s harvesting aborted babies

And last… “A poll shows that if a dead body was found in the trunk of Hillary’s car, 7% of Democrats would then consider her ‘somewhat untrustworthy.’” —Twitter satirist @weknowwhatsbest