The Patriot Post® · Thursday Short Cuts

Insight: “I want the people of America to be able to work less for the government and more for themselves. I want them to have the rewards of their own industry. This is the chief meaning of freedom. Until we can reestablish a condition under which the earnings of the people can be kept by the people, we are bound to suffer a very severe and distinct curtailment of our liberty.” —Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933)

Observations: “If President Donald Trump sends out a series of bizarre and morally reprehensible tweets accusing Joe Scarborough of murdering a congressional intern — and if you point out that this is both bizarre and morally reprehensible — then you will be labeled insufficiently loyal to the cause. It’s not about truth; it’s not about decency; it’s about signaling your commitment. In the real world, commitment without decency is a sin. Online, commitment without decency is a virtue. Which is why if you spend too much time on Twitter, you probably ought to be committed.” —Ben Shapiro

For the record: “I don’t really care what you think about Joe Scarborough, but no American deserves to have the President of the United States targeting him with accusations of murder. No American deserves the President of the United States tweeting out salacious and unproven accusations suggesting murder and conspiracy. The deceased’s family does not deserve it. Her widower husband does not deserve it. That President Trump does not seem to understand that should bother every one of us.” —Erick Erickson

Tone deaf: “Let’s put politics aside for a single moment. It’s not, red and blue. It’s red, white and blue. We need to act like the United States of America.” —Andrew Cuomo (“This is rich coming from one of the most partisan, nasty governors in our entire country.” —Caleb Hull)

Non compos mentis: “[Delaware] declared our independence [from Pennsylvania] on December the 7th by the way. It’s not just D-Day.” —Joe Biden (“The state of Delaware was established on June 15, 1776, when it declared its independence from Britain and Pennsylvania. The Allied World War II D-Day invasion of Nazi Germany controlled-Normandy, France, was on June 6, 1944. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, was on Dec. 7, 1941.” —Naomi Lim)

And last… “The biggest casualty from the COVID-19 pandemic has nothing to do with the disease. It’s the power we’ve given to politicians and bureaucrats. The question is how we recover our freedoms.” —Walter Williams