The Patriot Post® · Friday Short Cuts

Insight: “The only proper purpose of a government is to protect man’s rights, which means: to protect him from physical violence. A proper government is only a policeman, acting as an agent of man’s self-defense, and, as such, may only resort to force only against those who start the use of force.” —Ayn Rand (1905-1982)

For the record: “Policies should never entice students into greater debt, nor should they put taxpayer dollars at greater risk. There are too many politicians today who support policy that does both. We’ve heard shrill calls to cancel, to forgive, to make it all free. Any innocuous label out there can’t obfuscate what it really is: wrong. The campaign for free college is a matter of total government control. Make no mistake: It is a socialist takeover of higher education.” —Education Secretary Betsy DeVos

Upright: “Lin Wood and Sidney Powell are totally destructive. Every Georgia conservative who cares about America MUST vote in the runoff. Their ‘don’t vote’ strategy will cripple America.” —Newt Gingrich

Dezinformatsiya: “On Monday, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem buried her grandmother, who was among 13 to die over a two-week period at a top-rated nursing home swept by COVID-19. … The number makes clear the lunacy of Noem’s downplaying of the pandemic and her continued refusal to impose a statewide mask mandate.” —The Daily Beast’s Michael Daly, who admits, “The 98-year-old grandmother, Aldys Arnold, is said by Noem’s office to have tested negative for the virus.”

Non compos mentis: “I have two words for MAGA Nation: Don’t Die. Your love of and loyalty to Trump isn’t worth your life. With 73 million of you refusing to wear a mask and to social distance, there’ll be no way to eradicate this disease. And a lot of you are going to die. … Why are you doing NOTHING to stop this slaughter? What will it take for you and I to join, arm in arm, to kill Covid-19? … Look at it this way — if millions of you die off, that’s a lot less Republican voters — and that means we win every election from here on out!” —Michael Moore

Village idiot: “Humanity is waging war on nature. This is suicidal. Nature always strikes back — and it is already doing so with growing force and fury.” —UN Secretary General Antonio Gutteres

And last… “If you can loot businesses, burn down buildings, [and] engage in protest, you can also go to a Christmas party.” —White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany