The Patriot Post® · Wednesday Short Cuts

Upright: “Socialism is in vogue because no one is sure what it is. The classic definition of abolishing private property, a planned economy, and collective ownership of the means of production no longer applies. More people today believe that socialism means ‘equality’ than ‘government control.’ … The same Gallup poll that found 40 percent of the public has a positive view of socialism, however you define it, also discovered large majorities in favor of the free market leading the way on innovation, the distribution of wealth, the economy overall, and wages, and smaller majorities for free-market approaches to higher education and health care. Americans are very bad socialists.” —Matthew Continetti

For the record: “As the son of a Cuban immigrant whose Dad came to get a math degree & become a computer programmer, I’m troubled that Dems seem to believe Hispanic immigrants can’t qualify for skills-based legal immigration. Bringing in more scientists, engineers & doctors is good for US jobs.” —Ted Cruz

Inevitable: “Given the potential for abortion to become a tool of eugenic manipulation, the court will soon need to confront the constitutionality of laws like Indiana’s. So long as the Supreme Court forces a policy of unfettered elective abortion on the entire country, it ought to at least allow for states to protect babies from unjust discrimination. … Having created the constitutional right to an abortion, this court is dutybound to address its scope.” —Justice Clarence Thomas

Denying reality: “A woman who exercises her constitutionally protected right to terminate a pregnancy is not a ‘mother.’” —Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Belly laugh of the week: “Go ahead, investigate the investigators, if you must. When those investigations are over, you will find the work was done appropriately and focused only on discerning the truth of very serious allegations. There was no corruption. There was no treason. There was no attempted coup. Those are lies, and dumb lies at that.” —James Comey

And last… “A whole lot of journalists are lazy progressive hipsters who hang out around the same people who think the same things and are, as a result, easily manipulated and played. … An unfortunate number of journalists at most news organizations will gladly and repeatedly take pre-packaged stories from progressive interest groups and turn them into big stories.” —Erick Erickson