The Patriot Post® · Thursday Short Cuts

Insight: “Here, I think, lies our real dilemma. Probably we cannot, certainly we shall not, retrace our steps. We are tamed animals (some with kind, some with cruel, masters) and should probably starve if we got out of our cage. That is one horn of the dilemma. But in an increasingly planned society, how much of what I value can survive? That is the other horn.” —C. S. Lewis (1898-1963)

Upright: “If you criticize a huge government program that hands out checks with virtually no strings attached, opponents say you must hate the poor. On the contrary: If you care about your fellow man, you know that turning him into a passive welfare recipient robs him of his dignity and often dooms his children to a soul-deadening cycle of poverty. Making sure that welfare is a true hand-up and not a hand-out is, in fact, the true compassionate stance. The problem is that many conservatives fail to frame the issues this way.” —Ed Feulner

Dezinformatsia: “In fact, [the Republican] party now might even reject Nixon and Reagan.” —Larry King

Village idiots: “I have seen pictures from [the Planned Parenthood videos] and obviously find them disturbing. Planned Parenthood is answering questions and will continue to answer questions. … [T]his raises not questions about Planned Parenthood so much as it raises questions about the whole process, that is, not just involving Planned Parenthood, but many institutions in our country. And if there’s going to be any kind of congressional inquiry, it should look at everything and not just one [organization].” —Hillary Clinton

Non compose mentis: “I think they have a policy of opposition to us and of great enmity, but I have no specific knowledge of a plan by Iran to actually destroy us.” —John Kerry

And last… “John Kerry said Iran won’t use any of their $150 billion in newly-unfrozen assets to fund terrorists, because ‘they’re not allowed to do that.’ Great. It’s foreign policy by ‘gun-free zone’ sign.” —Fred Thompson