The Patriot Post® · Friday Short Cuts

Insight: “I think this is a time … to do the obvious to declare a kind of armistice on the vitriol and the apocalyptic rhetoric and simply say, ‘We are a republic. We have a loyal opposition. Let’s be loyal, let’s be civil on both sides.’” —Charles Krauthammer (1950-2018)

Friendly fire: “Ignorance is bliss. And that is to say I’m a big advocate of people sitting down around the table and having sensible discussions, and if they were to have sensible discussions about these things, people would be more careful about anything that resembles mob action. And that is what has happened to Ulysses Grant. I know enough about history to know that Ulysses Grant was the best friend that former slaves had coming out of the Civil War. I know that what caused him great pause when he was about to get married — the young lady he wanted to marry, he had real problems that her family owned slaves. I know that he was made the gift of a slave that he set free, and I think that if people knew Ulysses Grant’s history, they would not tear down his statue. That’s why we have to be careful. You go through this, all the people who lived though this period of time did not advocate slavery. He never did. He was just the opposite. So it is a big mistake on the part of anybody to tear down his statue. And that applies to a lot of others.” —House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn

Belly laugh of the week: “Joe Biden saved the auto industry. He’s been a champion of American manufacturing and of standing up for American workers in the face of abuses by other countries for years.” —Biden campaign senior policy advisor Jake Sullivan

Too late… “We don’t want to be considered a bunch of thieves.” —House Spaker Nancy Pelosi on the latest House plan to buy constituent votes with the next generation’s debt

Alpha jackass: “Donald Trump is actively trying to kill our children.” —Rob Reiner

And last… “The history of the 20th century is full of examples of countries that set out to redistribute wealth and ended up redistributing poverty.” —Thomas Sowell