Insight: “It was not the tycoons of big business, it was not the working classes, it was the intellectuals who reversed the trend toward political freedom and revived the doctrines of the absolute State, of totalitarian government rule, of the government’s right to control the lives of the citizens in any manner it pleases. This time, it was not in the name of the ‘divine right of kings,’ but in the name of the divine right of the masses. The basic principle was the same: the right to enforce at the point of a gun the moral doctrines of whoever happens to seize control of the machinery of government.” —Ayn Rand (1905-1982)

Upright: “The controversy over the nomination of Betsy DeVos as secretary of education has been, if nothing else, clarifying. We now know that working to give poor kids more educational opportunities is considered a disqualifying offense for the Left.” —Rich Lowry

For the record: “No matter how troubled [Bradley] Manning is (and he’s certainly troubled), he breached faith with his brothers in arms. Armies depend on bonds of trust, and he knowingly and intentionally placed lives in danger by indiscriminately placing our nation’s secrets in the public domain. He risked American lives. He risked allied lives. It’s not that long ago that actions like Manning’s would merit execution, and he should be grateful that he merely received a 35-year sentence. Instead … the Obama administration treat[s] him more like a messed-up kid than a soldier who betrayed his nation.” —Iraq veteran David French

Hyper hypocrisy: “There’s no question that the outcome of this election was affected by Russian interference with the campaign.” —former DNC Chief Debbie Wasserman Schultz, whose hacked email revealed she worked to undermine Bernie Sanders’ campaign — so she knows a thing or two about interference

Belly laugh of the week: “I don’t like tweeting. I have other things I could be doing.” —Donald Trump

Self-advice: “There have been visible signs of disrespect for [Obama]. And I’ve always said if you don’t respect the man, respect the position.” —John Lewis, January 2016

And last… “Democrats have to come to grips with the fact that they stopped speaking for most Americans over the past eight years, and started lecturing at Americans instead.” —Ed Morrissey