The Patriot Post® · Monday Short Cuts

The Gipper: “We must always ask: Is government working to liberate and empower the individual? Is it creating incentives for people to produce, save, invest and profit from legitimate risks and honest toil? Or does it seek to compel, command and coerce people into submission and dependence?”

Upright: “People speak of gridlock in Washington, but how can it be otherwise when one side is convinced that our existential enemy is Islam and the other side believes that Smith & Wesson is entirely to blame for the terrorist acts in Paris, Brussels, San Bernardino, Orlando and Istanbul?” —Burt Prelutsky

All together now: It’s not a gun problem! “We must take a hard look at the ease with which wrongdoers can get their hands on deadly weapons.” —Loretta Lynch

Demo-gogues: “We can’t just ignore [guns] and pretend that’s somehow political or the president is pushing his policy agenda. It is a contributing factor. Not the sole factor, but a contributing factor to the broader tensions that arise between police and the communities that they serve. And so we have to talk about that.” —Barack Obama

Alpha Jackass: “When we look at this Congress, we can do nothing but conclude that they are co-conspirators in the devaluation of the lives of men and women of color.” —Rep. Cedric Richmond

The BIG lie: “I have said I regret using a personal email. We turned over every document in my possession when the State Department requested it; and we turned over every device that we had.” —Hillary Clinton (Of course, she left out an important detail: “The FBI … discovered several thousand work-related emails that were not in the group of 30,000 that were returned by Secretary Clinton to State in 2014.” —FBI Director James Comey)

And last… “A majority of Americans think [Hillary Clinton] should be criminally prosecuted — and she’s leading. Way to go, America.” —Jonah Goldberg