The Patriot Post® · Tuesday Short Cuts

Insight: “One evening, when I was yet in my nurse’s arms, I wanted to touch the tea urn, which was boiling merrily… My nurse would have taken me away from the urn, but my mother said ‘Let him touch it.’ So I touched it — and that was my first lesson in the meaning of liberty.” —John Ruskin (1819-1900)

Upright: “With special counsel Robert Mueller unveiling his first indictments and a plea deal in the Russia case, President Donald Trump should do what’s hardest for him — nothing. … Trump is at more peril from his own reaction than from any of the facts that have been uncovered by Mueller, congressional investigators or the press to this point. If he were to fire Mueller, he’d endanger his presidency — and perhaps over nothing.” —Rich Lowry

Case closed? “We know everything we need to know, we just have to make sure that members of Congress do their jobs and hold the president accountable.” —Hillary Clinton declaring the Russia investigation over now that it’s turned inconvenient for her

Delusions of grandeur: “I think I will maybe come as the president.” —Hillary Clinton on what she’ll dress up as for Halloween

Dumb and dumber: “The Economy Can’t Grow Without Birth Control.” —Bryce Covert in The New York Times

Village Idiots: “If you’re a white person who says they’re engaged in dismantling white supremacy but you’re forming a white family [and] reproducing white children that ‘you want the best for’ — how is that helping [and] not part of the problem?” —City University of New York professor Jessie Daniels

Braying Jackass: “I love a cheap shot.” —Jimmy Kimmel on his philosophy of comedy

And last… “The vestry of Christ Church, a 244-year-old Episcopal Church in Alexandria, Virginia, has voted to remove two large plaques honoring George Washington and Robert E. Lee. Both men worshiped at Christ Church. … Here’s my suggestion for Halloween: If you live in a liberal neighborhood, dress your kids up as Washington and Jefferson and watch your neighbors run and hide!” —Gary Bauer