The Patriot Post® · Thursday Short Cuts

Insight: “The tendency of taxation is to create a class of persons who do not labor, to take from those who do labor the produce of that labor, and to give it to those who do not labor.” —English journalist William Cobbett (1763-1835)

For the record: “We’ve got a president who won’t even say the words radical Islamic terrorism. He has declared war on trans fats and a truce with Iran. Think about that. He’s more worried about Twinkies than he is about the ayatollahs having a nuclear weapon.” —Bobby Jindal

Upright: “The good news for GOP voters, and the country, is that the marathon debate — two hours is enough, thanks — showed again how much better this year’s field is compared with those in 2008 and 2012. There were several potential Presidents on stage, and the serious vetting is only now getting underway.” —The Wall Street Journal

Demo-gogues: “There’s nothing particularly patriotic or American about talking down America, especially when we stand as one of the few sources of economic strength in the world. Despite the perennial doom and gloom that I guess is inevitably part of a presidential campaign, America is winning right now. America is great right now. We can do even better.” —Barack Obama

Dezinformatsia: “I thought it was interesting how they all agreed on certain things. It is a hawk party to be begin with. It is an anti-Mexican immigration party. Call it illegal or whatever you want to call it, they don’t like Mexican immigrants. It doesn’t like Planned Parenthood. These are strong, clear strokes of ideology.” —Chris Matthews

Moral equivalence: “I am far, far from being a perfect human being, but I am motivated by a vision which exists in all of the great religions — in Christianity, in Judaism, in Islam and Buddhism, and other religions. And that vision is so beautifully and clearly stated in Matthew 7:12, and it states, ‘So in everything, do to others what you would have them to do to you, for this sums up the law and the prophets.’” —Bernie Sanders (Islam, for one, has no such virtue.)

Late-night humor: “According to political analysts, Hillary Clinton is now trying to make herself seem more relatable to the average person. So today, she spent the day criticizing Hillary Clinton.” —Conan O'Brien