The Patriot Post® · Friday Short Cuts

Insight: “How did our national government grow from a servant with sharply limited powers into a master with virtually unlimited power? In part, we were swindled. … But let us be honest with ourselves. Broken promises are not the major causes of our trouble. Kept promises are. … We have taken the bait, preferring to put off to another day the recapture of freedom and the restoration of our constitutional system.” —Barry Goldwater (1909-1998)

For the record: “Four people were stabbed during a terrible attack [Wednesday] at a California university. … [A]ll we were told throughout the news cycle was that the attacker was a resident of California and a student at the university. Was there some politically correct reason that prevented us from having the information we usually get immediately after such violence? You bet! [Thursday], authorities identified the attacker: Faisal Mohammad, 18 years old. As usual, the authorities are mystified about his motive, and the FBI has been called in to help. I guess it didn’t occur to any of the reporters or police that a stabbing attack by a Muslim might have been inspired by the ongoing stabbing attacks by Palestinians in Israel.” —Gary Bauer

Observations: “The greatest irony of this campaign is that Clinton and Bernie Sanders are the ones making the case that the economy is stagnant, inequality growing and the middle class falling increasingly behind. That’s a devastating indictment of Democratic governance, exactly the case Republicans should have been making all year. Instead, they’ve wasted months trading schoolboy taunts and ad hominems.” —Charles Krauthammer

Next time, try not badmouthing the Constitution: “When Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe and his fellow Democrats study what went wrong for them in Tuesday’s crucial legislative elections, one possible mistake stands out: Their aggressive advocacy of gun control in a pivotal Senate race in the Richmond area may have backfired by producing a pro-Republican backlash.” —Washington Post’s Robert McCartney

Demo-gogues: “If you’re living in a society that devalues your culture, or perpetuates stereotypes, you may be devaluing yourself. So, we have to preserve those bonds and break stereotypes. I believe that includes our sports teams, because we all need to do more to make sure … our young people feel supported and respected.” —Barack Obama

And last… “If you can’t handle the name Redskins how seriously do you think Putin or China are going to take you?” —Stephen Miller