The Patriot Post® · Friday Short Cuts

For the record: “Barack Obama mastered the art of Facebook data collection and ad targeting. The Left only decided it was bad because Donald Trump did it and won. The media also has a major ax to grind against Facebook because many of them relied on Facebook to grow their traffic. With Facebook’s algorithm change, traffic is down at most major media websites. They blame Facebook and are using this story to score points against the company.” —Erick Erickson

Let’s hope not: “It really was the students that began the end of the Vietnam War. It was the students who made all the news, and that noise started, and then the movement wouldn’t stop. I think, maybe, this noise that those students in Florida are making … will do something of the same nature.” —Bill Murray

He’s not wrong: “It’s a funny thing. We’re able to accomplish more in the minority than we were when we had the presidency or even were in the majority.” —Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer gloating about the $1.3 trillion spending bill

Revisionist history: “Some Trump defenders noted that President Barack Obama also called Mr. Putin when he was elected president in 2012. But the circumstances are very different. In the intervening years, Mr. Putin has become an increasingly authoritarian leader who has crushed most of his political opposition and engineered a deeply lopsided re-election this week.” —New York Times editorial (Mr. Putin has not become “increasingly authoritarian”; it’s just that people are finally paying attention.)

Belly laugh of the week, considering the source: “[Fox News] is really state-run TV. It is a pure propaganda machine and I think does incredible disservice to this country.” —CNN President Jeff Zucker

And last… “What’s the point of voting for Republicans if they’re going to waste our hard-earned money just as much as the Democrats do? Washington is a cesspool.” —Allie Stuckey