Insight: “Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocrities. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence.” —Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

Political futures: “For all of the GOP’s deriding of Democrats over the years for being ‘tax-and-spenders,’ the sad reality is Republicans are on their way to earning the same label. We might only be six months into the return of Republican rule, but it’s already looking as if this second go-round of Republican control in Washington this century could end up being as disastrous — if not more — than the first one. But as the saying goes, fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. I don’t intend to be fooled twice, and I hope I’m not alone.” —Veronique de Rugy

Non Compos Mentis: “One can’t be sure if withdrawing the white man’s vote could be considered a ‘wrong.’ Furthermore, the point here that has to be made is that banning white men from voting temporarily will help them understand systemic injustice and help them become better, more empathetic allies to the social justice cause.” —Affinity Magazine’s Malia Rolt

Non sequitur: “The pool of potential recruits who meet military standards has been contracting for some time. … Rather than trying to strengthen the recruiting pool, Trump has just made it worse by summarily banning transgender individuals from military service. … Although it may be uncomfortable serving alongside transgender soldiers for some troops, one has to wonder if they would prefer to be in a combat situation relying on a fellow soldier who is overweight, drug addled, slow-witted, or oppositional?” —Pennsylvania State University’s Mark Feinberg

A never-ending nightmare: “Obviously we bear the burden of having lost the Electoral College, so I lose sleep about that every night.” —Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta

And last… “We had an election on November 8, but for many of our colleagues, the election remains undecided. They don’t accept the verdict of the American people, the Electoral College, that President Trump won the election. Hillary Clinton lost.” —Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn