Insight: “Liberty is the hardest test that one can inflict on a people. To know how to be free is not given equally to all men and all nations.” —Paul Valéry (1871-1945)

For the record: “The irony is that those who believe that Trump is a budding despot are themselves violating important norms. The anti-Trumpists fantasize about ending his presidency, via impeachment or the 25th Amendment, before the voters get a chance to render their verdict again in 2020. Josef Stalin wouldn’t tolerate any of this agitation. Donald Trump rages against it, stirs it and enjoys it, one robustly free news cycle at a time.” —Rich Lowry

Crappy metaphoric grandstanding: “[The GOP short-term resolution] is like giving you a bowl of doggie doo, put a cherry on top and call it a chocolate sundae. This is nothing.” —Nancy Pelosi

Fear-mongering: “Shutting down the government is a very serious thing. People die. Accidents happen.” —Sen. Dianne Feinstein

Non Compos Mentis: “We have truly entered the age of insanity when the conservative argument in favor of risking nuclear war is, ‘don’t worry, it will only kill Democrats and minorities.’ Shame on you @DavidAFrench.” —Joy Reid, who later wrote, “Taking back my take on this take — the @rawstory writeup doesn’t reflect @DavidAFrench’s intent.” (It’s amazing the facts that come to light when you take the time to read the original content.)

And last… “Just because the president speaks in a manner alien to the DC press doesn’t mean his mental facilities are in trouble. The fact that a neophyte president doesn’t understand the intricacies of policy is troubling, but it doesn’t mean he’s intellectually incapable of doing his job. Just because Trump’s comments are often coarse or ugly doesn’t mean he’s cognitively impaired.” —David Harsanyi