The Patriot Post® · Friday Short Cuts

Insight: “The attempt to silence a man is the greatest honor you can bestow on him. It means that you recognize his superiority to yourself.” —Joseph Sobran (1946-2010)

Observations: “[Donald Trump is] going to do what everybody else in the party generally does, which is to say enforcement first, and then we kick the can down the road. We’re not even going to talk about legalization. That is a definite softening of what he had said — the mass deportation — and I think that was largely overlooked because of the style and … the bombast [of his speech].” —Charles Krauthammer

For the record: “[ObamaCare] has not expanded choice but destroyed it, robbing Americans of their ability to gain insurance in a rational market and further eroding the buying power of the middle class. On every level, Obamacare has proven an abject failure.” —Ed Morrissey

Braying Jackass: “When Donald Trump kind of goes after these phantom sanctuary cities and talks about how bad they are, basically what he’s going after is police chiefs. And I trust police chiefs in terms of knowing what should be done to keep their communities safer and police departments and mayors a lot more than I trust Donald Trump.” —Tim Kaine, as if sanctuary cities don’t exist

Inquiring minds want to know… “[I]t is each citizen’s responsibility to be as prepared as possible for emergencies. Whether in the form of natural disasters like hurricanes and earthquakes, or unspeakable acts of evil like terrorism, danger can arise at unexpected times and places. Fortunately, there are many things that individuals, families, and communities can do to improve their readiness. I encourage all Americans to take proactive steps to prepare for any situation that may occur.” —Barack Obama (Do guns and ammunition make the list?)

And last… “Mrs. Clinton’s campaign tweeted [Wednesday] night: ‘Trump just failed his first foreign test. Diplomacy isn’t as easy as it looks. -H’ … That may well be true, but which candidate is more appealing, the one who makes it look easy, or the one who complains about how hard it is?” —James Taranto