The Patriot Post® · Friday Short Cuts

Insight: “Bodies grown fat through sloth are weak, and not only labour, but even movement and their very weight cause them to break down. Unimpaired prosperity cannot withstand a single blow; but he who has struggled constantly with his ills becomes hardened through suffering; and yields to no misfortune; nay, even if he falls, he still fights upon his knees.” —Lucius Annaeus Seneca (4 BC-AD 65)

For the record: “The media’s focus on the current pandemic risks missing the bigger picture of the challenge that’s presented by the Chinese Communist Party. China’s been ruled by a brutal, authoritarian regime, a communist regime since 1949. For several decades, we thought the regime would become more like us — through trade, scientific exchanges, diplomatic outreach, letting them in the World Trade Organization as a developing nation. That didn’t happen. We greatly underestimated the degree to which Beijing is ideologically and politically hostile to free nations.” —Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

Food for thought: “The Big Apple is dying. Its streets are empty. The bars and jazz clubs, restaurants and coffeehouses sit barren. Beloved haunts, storied rooms, perfect-slice joints are shuttered, many for good. The sweat equity of countless small-business owners is evaporating. Instead of getting people back to work providing for their families, our mayor talks about a fantasyland New Deal for the post-coronavirus era. Open the city. All of it. Right now. Broadway shows, beaches, Yankees games, the schools, the top of the freakin’ Empire State building. Everything. New Yorkers have already learned to socially distance. Businesses can adjust. The elderly and infirm can continue to be isolated.” —New York Post columnist David Marcus

Upright: “Mail-in ballots are a very dangerous thing. They’re subject to massive fraud.” —Donald Trump

Non compos mentis: “Voting is under assault. It is both from a systemic … nationwide campaign of voter suppression and from the coronavirus. The fear of getting sick threatens some not to go to the polls. People should not have to choose between voting and preserving their good health and that of their families. Because no matter what you do when you go out, you bring it home. Again, no one should be forced to vote for their health or vote.” —Nancy Pelosi

And last… “The media have made a bigger deal about Trump taking hydroxychloroquine than they did about Obama using cocaine!” —Gary Bauer