Insight: “To be happy at home is the ultimate result of all ambition, the end to which every enterprise and labor tends, and of which every desire prompts the prosecution.” —Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)

Upright: “[N]othing in Washington happens by itself; no policy ever self-destructs; it takes the political equivalent of a pile of plastic explosives to make something happen. Unless, of course, Obamacare suddenly (and inexplicably) were applied to members of Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike, their staffs, and everyone else on a government payroll. Then, before you could say ‘Affordable Healthcare,’ Barack Obama’s signature legislation would vanish overnight. In short, forcing lawmakers to obey their own laws would do wonders to clarify minds and speed up lethargic congressional processes.” —Marvin J. Folkertsma

Non Compos Mentis: “I hope that [Republicans] would pull the bill. That’s really the only decent thing to do. Numbers are important. They see the numbers. They should know how that transfers into people’s lives.” —Nancy Pelosi who is suddenly concerned about a health care bill’s harmful effects

Contemplations of an alternative journalist: “Is it as striking to you in the briefing room as it is to television viewers that an alternative universe is being proposed, alternative definitions are being trotted out in real time?” —Brian Williams

Village Idiots: “Nazism is alive in the West.” —Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

And last… “Why would anyone be offended by someone saying that ‘Western civilization’ is preferable to the alternative? No one is forced to come here. So why would any newcomer be insulted if his prospective home expected him to adopt Western values? That’s what we do here. To be American is an ideal.” —David Harsanyi