The Patriot Post® · Wednesday Short Cuts

Insight: “To silence criticism is to silence freedom.” —Sidney Hook (1902-1989)

Braying Jackass: “Obviously by ‘Death to America,’ we don’t mean death to the American people. The American nation is just like the rest of the nations. It … means death to U.S. policies and its arrogance.” —Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (Oh, so not death death, then. No problem. Whew!)

Alpha Jackass: “No, I do not think the Koch brothers want to make life better for ordinary people.” —Bernie Sanders

Dezinformatsia: “Issues of identity are so important. It’s so frustrating to me when people forget to talk to the student, the individual, about their own identity and how they identify, and keep them as part of the process instead of making sort of the, you know, ‘We can’t do this, we have to protect other people.’ What about this person’s identity? It’s so important. … Why is safety an issue? … We need education.” —CNN’s Michaela Pereira on why gender disorientated children should be allowed to share bathrooms and locker rooms with the opposite sex

Village Idiots: “November 4 should be a day of mourning. [Today] marks the thirty-fifth anniversary of one of the great tragedies in American history, a moment of indelible shame, a choice that harmed so many in this country and around the world: the defeat of President Jimmy Carter at the hands of right-wing former California Governor Ronald Reagan. … Reagan’s election nearly destroyed this country.” —Washington Monthly’s D.R. Tucker

Demo-gogues: “You know, political season’s always a little bit of the silly season. I do think that what’s different this time is that, particularly in the Republican Party, you have, I think, the most disgruntled or suspicious-of-Washington portion of the electorate that is driving the process.” —Barack Obama

And last… “Under President Obama, Democrats have lost 900+ state legislature seats, 12 governors, 69 House seats, 13 Senate seats. That’s some legacy.” —Rory Cooper