The Patriot Post® · Thursday Short Cuts

Insight: “We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason if we remember that we are not descended from fearful men, not from men who feared to write, to speak, to associate and to defend causes which were, for the moment, unpopular.” —Edward R. Murrow (1908-1965)

The bottom line: “I … could not help but note that this was another chapter in a phenomenon that has taken complete control of the national discourse: outrage culture. It seems like every not-so-carefully-worded public misstep must be punished to the fullest extent, replete with soapbox lectures and demands for apologies. Anyone who doesn’t show the expected level of outrage will be labeled a coward or an apologist for bad behavior. I get the feeling that regular, hard-working, generally unoffended Americans sigh with exhaustion — daily.” —Dan Crenshaw on his “Saturday Night Live” adventure

For the record: “I think what [Democrats are] doing is testing what they can get away with. … This is about stress-testing the integrity of our election system.” —Rep. Matt Gaetz

Braying Jackass: “If Stacey Abrams doesn’t win in Georgia, they stole it.” —Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)

Her too: “For the first time in more than 15 years, Bill Clinton was being asked directly about what transpired. If you want to know what power looks like, watch a man safely, even smugly, do interviews for decades, without ever worrying whether he will be asked the questions he doesn’t want to answer.” —Monica Lewinsky

Alpha Jackass: “I just get so upset with that jerk—f in the White House. … Down with this motherf—er!” —actor Robert De Niro

And last… “Unlike Brett Kavanaugh, who Avenatti tried to ruin, @MichaelAvenatti will get the due process he is [entitled to]. But sadly, the irony will be lost on him.” —Greg Gutfeld