The Patriot Post® · Friday Short Cuts

Insight: “If there is a bedrock principle of the First Amendment, it is that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable.” —Justice William J. Brennan (1906-1997)

Food for thought: “Based on Fiona Hill’s testimony, I wonder how many anti-fracking groups are getting money under the table from Moscow.” —Erick Erickson

For the record: “[Democrats] got caught trying to obtain nude photos of President Trump from Russian pranksters pretending to be Ukrainians. … That is the Democrats’ pitiful legacy in recent years: they got caught.” —Rep. Devin Nunes

Lack of self-awareness: “The Republicans are in denial about the facts.” —House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Depends on the whistleblower’s political ideology: “An attack on the whistleblower is an attack on the integrity of our system.” —Nancy Pelosi

Braying jackass: “The question now going forward for those Congress people who support [Trump] is: Are you a Republican? Or are you an American? And I guess we’re going to find out pretty soon.” —Jimmy Kimmel

The BIG Lie: “What the scientists are telling us, if we don’t get our act together within the next eight or nine years, we’re talking about cities all over the world — major cities — going underwater. We’re talking about increased drought. Talking about increased extreme weather disturbances.” —Sen. Bernie Sanders

Braying jenny: “I think for — particularly for voters of color — there is no conversation of interest to talk about uniting, to be blunt, with the party that has given up not just its moral standing but its soul to … the person who is president of the United States right now.” —MSNBC’s Joy Reid

And last… “Taylor Swift threw a public temper tantrum because a record label wouldn’t let her play her own songs. Wait til she finds out the Democrats she supports aren’t going to let her spend her own money.” —Candace Owens