The Patriot Post® · Wednesday Short Cuts

Upright: “Woke-ism, multiculturalism, all the -isms — they’re not who America is. They distort our glorious founding and what this country is all about. Our enemies stoke these divisions because they know they make us weaker.” —outgoing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

For the record: “The left fears dissent. And they do so for good reason. Leftism is essentially a giant balloon filled with nothing but hot air. Therefore, no matter how big the balloon — the Democratic Party, The New York Times, Yale University — all it takes is a mere pin to burst it. Leftism is venerated by intellectuals. But there is little intellectual substance to leftism. It is a combination of doctrine and emotion. The proof? Those with intellectual depth do not stifle dissent; they welcome it.” —Dennis Prager

On the mark: “The last time the Senate convened, we had just reclaimed the Capitol from violent criminals who tried to stop Congress from doing our duty. The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president and other powerful people. … We stood together and said an angry mob would not get veto power over the rule of law in our nation.” —Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell

What could possibly go wrong? “Other countries have domestic spy agencies to fight extremists at home. Does America need one, too?” —The Daily Beast

That’s racist! “It’s really important to understand Israel is a racist state in that they would deny Palestinians like my grandmother access to a vaccine; that they don’t believe that she’s an equal human being that deserves to live.” —Rep. Rashida Tlaib

Braying jackass: “There’s one other element that I have been talking about for a long time that gives me great grief as a Catholic. I think that Donald Trump is president because of the issue of a woman’s right to choose. … Many of these people are very good people; that’s just their point of view. But they were willing to sell the whole democracy down the river for that one issue.” —House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Alpha jackass: “I did see a similar dynamic in the evolution of al-Qaida in Iraq, where a whole generation of angry Arab youth with very poor prospects followed a powerful leader who promised to take them back in time to a better place, and he led them to embrace an ideology that justified their violence. This is now happening in America.” —Gen. Stanley McChrystal, comparing conservatives to al-Qaida terrorists

And last… “For a side that is anti-gun and anti-wall, they sure bring in a lot of guns and walls for the inauguration.” —Kevin Sorbo