“How can you do that if you don't believe in God?” “I believe in God. I never said I didn't believe in God.” “You don't sound like a Hasid, though,” I told him. “What do I sound like?” “Like a—an apikoros.”

Put more baldly, the reason why Republicans and British Conservatives started giving each other copies of Atlas Shrugged in the 80s was that Rand seemed to grant intellectual heft to the prevailing ethos of the time.

Your wit burlesque may one step higher climb, And in his sphere may judge all doggrel rhyme: All proves, and moves, and loves, and honours too; All that appears high sense, and scarce is low.

Ashley’s idols are Drew Barrymore (who returned the admiration by giving them cameos in the new Charlie’s Angels), Oprah, and “Martha, because of, like, everything she’s created within her brand.” The Olsens’ ingenuity in platforming their Full House huggableness into a Martha Stewart–caliber brand consciousness has become the model and matrix for the rest of the entertainment industry.