The Patriot Post® · Monday Short Cuts

Upright: “It seems indisputable that the lockdowns have slowed the spread of the disease, but at an enormous economic cost. We are going to have to show some flexibility and be willing to adopt a patchwork approach to opening up around the country. We can’t be beholden to public officials and commentators who, to paraphrase H.L. Mencken, have the haunting fear that someone, somewhere may be rollerblading.” —Rich Lowry

For the record: “If Liberia was able to safely hold an in-person election amidst an Ebola outbreak, there is no reason we cannot do so here in the United States in the wake of this pandemic.” —Ken Blackwell

Village idiot: “China did a lot of things right at the beginning. Like any country where a virus first shows up, they can look back and see where they missed some things.” —Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, whose company “has had a presence in China for more than 20 years.”

Friendly fire: “New information has emerged supporting #TaraReade’s account of being sexually assaulted by #JoeBiden. … Credible rape accusations are disqualifying or we have NO moral standards.” —former Hillary Clinton adviser Peter Daou

A blind squirrel finds a nut: “I accepted the credibility of the complaint in the article. I didn’t want to challenge the person that made the complaint and wrote the article. I thought it was very credible and certainly within the person’s rights to write that article, of course. That was highly justified.” —Chris Matthews

Never let a crisis go to waste: “The governors are impatient. … They should be impatient. Their impatience will help us get an even bigger number.” —Nancy Pelosi on the next bailout for states

Observations: “Bailing out the Illinois state pension system is the worst idea from a week in which we were discussing the health benefits of mainlining Lysol.” —Kevin Williamson

Braying jenny: “There were Americans coming back or green-card holders coming back, but there were tens of thousands. So, if you’re going to shut the door because you have an evaluation of an epidemic, then shut the door.” —Nancy Pelosi’s unconstitutional tirade against Trump’s China travel ban (Moreover, as Rep. Dan Crenshaw reminds us, “Pelosi promoted [the] ‘No Ban Act’ legislation that same day — which would limit presidential power to restrict travel.”)

Dezinformatsiya: “If there is a good thing about this economic crisis, it has been the clean air and views we haven’t seen for a long time.” —NBC’s Chuck Todd

And last… “We don’t have a choice. We have to move forward and get people back to some sense of normalcy.” —Dan Crenshaw