The Patriot Post® · Thursday Short Cuts

Upright: “The U.S. Constitution represents our ‘rules of the game.’ Supreme Court justices should be seen as umpires or referees, whose job is to enforce neutral rules. I’ll give a somewhat trivial example of neutral rules from my youth; let’s call it Mom’s Rule. On occasion, my sister and I would have lunch in my mother’s absence. She’d ask either me or my younger sister to divide a last piece of cake or pie. More often than not, an argument would ensue about the fairness of the cut. Those arguments ended when mom came up with a rule: Whoever cuts the cake lets the other take the first piece. As if by magic or divine intervention, fairness emerged, and arguments ended. No matter who did the cutting, there was an even division. That’s the kind of rule we need for our society — the kind whereby you’d be OK even if your worst enemy were in charge.” —Walter Williams

For the record: “The intelligence community’s assessment has not changed. My view has not changed, which is that Russia attempted to interfere with the last election and that it continues to engage in malign influence operations to this day. … To me, it’s a threat we need to take very seriously and respond to with fierce determination and focus.” —FBI Director Christopher Wray

Braying Jackass: “We’ve had presidents who were too willing to make deals with dictators (Nixon), seemed weak vis-a-vis dictators (Carter), or relegated America to leading from behind, which benefitted dictators (Obama). Have we ever before had a president who was, to put it simply, pro-dictator?” —Bill Kristol

Non Compos Mentis: “It is a serious & complex issue when ‘controversial’ rightwing speakers force universities to pay exorbitant amounts of money for security to protect them while they are on campus.” —author Joyce Carol Oates, who’s apparently unfazed by the fact that violent leftists are the reason for such security needs

And last… “The only question regarding Russia that should matter to U.S. policymakers is this: Using constitutional means, how do we advance the freedom, prosperity, and security of the American people in our dealings with Russia? But today, many liberals in Washington, DC, are asking: How can we use U.S. relations with Russia as a political weapon against President Trump?” —Terence Jeffrey