The Patriot Post® · Monday Short Cuts

The Gipper: “The Founding Fathers knew a government can’t control the economy without controlling people. And they knew when a government sets out to do that, it must use force and coercion to achieve its purpose.”

Upright: “What stands out the most with [Neil Gorsuch’s] confirmation is how transparent the administration has been with this process since day one. President Trump is the first president to release a list of potential Supreme Court candidates, with the help of conservative legal experts, and let the American people decide if those candidates deserved to serve on the Court. … [T]his process has established a new precedent of transparency for future administrations.” —Jim DeMint

“The opposition to [Gorsuch] is more about the man that nominated him and the party he represents than the nominee himself. It’s part of a much larger story — another extreme escalation in the Left’s never-ending drive to politicize the courts and the confirmation process. It’s a fight they have waged for decades with a singular aim — securing raw power no matter the cost to the country or the institution. It underlies why this should not be allowed to succeed or continue.” —Mitch McConnell

Busted: “The reality is that there were continued chemical-weapons attacks by Syria — and that U.S. and international officials had good evidence that Syria had not been completely forthcoming in its declaration and possibly retained sarin and VX nerve agent. Yet [Susan] Rice said: ‘We were able to get the Syrian government to voluntarily and verifiably give up its chemical weapons stockpile.’ She did not explain that Syria’s declaration was believed to be incomplete and thus was not fully verified — and that the Syrian government still attacked citizens with chemical weapons not covered by the 2013 agreement.” —Washington Post Fact Checker awarding Rice Four Pinocchios

Late-night humor: “Quarterback Colin Kaepernick has done a complete 180. He now says he WILL stand for the national anthem. He’s now sitting for the games, but he’s standing for the anthem.” —Jimmy Fallon