Insight: “Do you wish to be free? Then above all things, love God, love your neighbor, love one another, love the common weal; then you will have true liberty.” —Girolamo Savonarola (1452-1498)

For the record: “This is the crux of the matter: Bannon thinks he created Trump, and Trump thinks he created Bannon. They had a fundamental disagreement about who was using whom, and in any such conflict, the president of the United States is going to win. … Trump’s base is Trump’s. No one ever voted for Steve Bannon, and now he is on the wrong side of the president in whose name he has presumed to speak.” —Rich Lowry

Change: “Such respect for the people of Iran as they try to take back their corrupt government. You will see great support from the United States at the appropriate time!” —Donald Trump

Braying Jackass: “We are almost through a calendar year of the Trump presidency. President Trump can no longer be given the benefit of the doubt that comes with learning one of the toughest jobs in the world. And my Republican colleagues should no longer be given a pass by the American people if they fail to speak out — or take action — against this behavior. Their silence … is complicity in the degradation of the presidency and the power of this country.” —Chuck Schumer

The BIG Lie: “It’s bitter cold in parts of the US, but climate scientist Dr. Michael Mann explains that’s exactly what we should expect from the climate crisis.” —Al Gore


And last… “With government, politicians need the votes of poor people every few years — something that’s abstract and people don’t place much value on. Capitalists, on the other hand, are competing for their dollars every single day. A dollar is something like a vote with a direct consequence. And poor people collectively with their dollars have even more influence than collectively with their votes.” —Frank Fleming