The Patriot Post® · Tuesday Short Cuts

Upright: “Despite the woolly reasoning of the Ninth Circuit, there was never any question of the president’s legal authority to issue his original travel ban. The problems were political — and, to that extent, self-inflicted. This new travel ban has been crafted with more care, and its implementation suggests a welcome preference for deliberateness over haste. Hopefully, strengthened vetting procedures will result that will enable the United States to accept asylum-seekers without compromising our vital national-security interests. And, hopefully, the White House has learned its lesson: that if something is worth doing, it’s worth doing right — the first time.” —National Review

“Hard-hitting” journalism: “[T]his latest assertion that Obama ordered illegal surveillance of Trump Tower during the 2016 election — tweeted without evidence — could get the president into some legal hot water. Although the law provides a great deal of leeway for political speech, that protection is not all encompassing. And because of the way Trump has leveled unsubstantiated accusations at Obama, he may have libeled his predecessor.” —NBC News

Friendly fire: “I do think, with all due respect in the world for the press, that the press could have done a better job [highlighting Russia’s alleged meddling in the election]. … I think the press were accomplices in the undermining of our election by the Russians.” —Nancy Pelosi

Repulsive: “I was raised in a liberal Christian tradition, and I come to work because of that background, not in spite of it. The Jesus that I was taught about would be holding the hands of women inside the clinic; he wouldn’t be screaming at them.” —Texas abortionist Amy Hagstrom Miller

And last… “Same crew that told me DeVos’ appointment would shut down public schools is shutting down public schools Wednesday [to protest Trump]. For the children. Noted.” —Mary Katharine Ham