The Patriot Post® · Friday Short Cuts

Insight: “There is no subjugation so perfect as that which keeps the appearance of freedom for in that way one captures volition itself.” —Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)

Upright: “Leave it to President Obama to force local parents to have to abide by the moral decisions of one man — him. How such a sensitive matter could not be a local issue I have no idea. But, there you go. If you’re a parent and you don’t want your sixth grade middle school girl to see an eighth grade boy naked, well, screw you. I’d say it’s time to get that private school voucher bill moving again…” —Keith Koffler

Observations: “Trump should want to bring the party together. He makes sounds that he doesn’t need to, but he does and must know it or he wouldn’t have met with GOP leaders in the first place. A party fracturing all around him will only spread unease, increase tension, and intensify sourness.” —Peggy Noonan

Braying Jackass: “I’ve always shown myself willing to compromise — principled compromises that would still advance the interests of the American people. What we’ve seen within the Republican Party has been a refusal even to engage on a whole range of issues like climate change, for example, that are vitally important. The issue here has never been both sides stuck in a corner, unwilling to meet in the middle.” —Barack Obama on how he’s oh-so practical

Race bait: “[W]e must acknowledge that our national security agencies have not yet drawn fully on the strengths of our great nation. Minorities still make up less than 20 percent of our senior diplomats. Less than 15 percent of senior military officers and senior intelligence officials. Too often, our national security workforce has been what former Florida Senator Bob Graham called ‘white, male, and Yale.’ In the halls of power, in the faces of our national security leaders, America is still not fully reflected.” —Susan Rice

Late-night humor: “Joe Biden said he is ‘confident’ that Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic nominee. Then he said, ‘Of course, I also bet against the Mighty Ducks in all three movies, so what do I know?’” —Jimmy Fallon