The Patriot Post® · Tuesday Short Cuts

Insight: “No one understood better than Stalin that the true object of propaganda is neither to convince nor even to persuade, but to produce a uniform pattern of public utterance in which the first trace of unorthodox thought immediately reveals itself as a jarring dissonance.” —Alan Bullock (1914-2004)

Observations: “By arrogating to itself excessive authority to second-guess legislative efforts to regulate abortion, the Supreme Court has again taken up the role that Justice Byron White warned against in 1976: ‘the country’s ex officio medical board with powers to disapprove medical and operative practices and standards throughout the United States.’ … It is now unmistakably clear that the modus operandi of the Court’s liberal majority is to first side with relatively unrestricted abortion and only then find a legal rationale for doing so. ‘Undue burden’ is now little more than an all-purpose excuse for striking down laws the majority, for ideological reasons, doesn’t like.” —National Review

Upright: “As the Court applies whatever standard it likes to any given case, nothing but empty words separates our constitutional decisions from judicial fiat.” —Justice Clarence Thomas

Alpha Jackass: “Celebrate the [Supreme Court’s pro-abortion] ruling! Go knock someone up in Texas!” —The Daily Show tweet

Belly laugh of the week: “Just look at her history. She’s been on the receiving end of one right-wing attack after another for 25 years. But she has never backed down. … Hillary has brains, she has guts, she has thick skin and steady hands, but most of all, she has a good heart. And that’s what America needs! And that’s why I’m with her.” —Sen. (soon to be VP nominee?) Elizabeth Warren

The BIG lie: “Well, Hillary Clinton has actually been the most transparent secretary of state in our history.” —Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook (Yep, just look at the emails! Oh, wait…)

“A lot of people tell pollsters they don’t trust me. Now, I don’t like hearing that. … You can’t just talk someone into trusting you. You’ve got to earn it. So, yes, I could say that  the reason I sometimes sound careful with my words is not that I’m hiding something, it’s just that I’m careful with my words.” —Hillary Clinton

Late-night humor: “Obama is apparently interested in owning an NBA team after he leaves office. You’ll know it’s Obama’s team when they travel too much and never pass anything.” —Jimmy Fallon