The Patriot Post® · Friday Short Cuts

Insight: “It is a general popular error to suppose the loudest complainers for the public to be the most anxious for its welfare.” —Edmund Burke (1729-1797)

For the record: “China, the world’s largest emitter of carbon dioxide, recently ‘pledged’ that it would aim to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. The Beijing regime has also claimed that China’s greenhouse-gas emissions will peak ‘around’ 2030. Perhaps it is unkind to mention that by the middle of last year, China was approving new coal plants at the fastest rate since 2015. It might be no less charitable to observe that, if the oil price falls as a result of reductions in Western demand driven by climate-change regulation, China, the world’s largest importer of crude oil, will have no complaints. Candidate Biden promised that combating climate change would be central to his administration’s policies. The decision to rejoin the Paris agreement is yet another sign that those policies will owe more to ideological orthodoxy than to intelligence.” —National Review

Upright: “Certainly, there are times when it is appropriate to disagree with one another and it is healthy to engage in debate, whether it be on solutions to health care or how to fix the immigration system. These are examples of times when debate should be welcome and encouraged. There are also times when, regardless of political philosophy, a behavior is so inherently un-American and uncivilized that it should be condemned regardless of whether the political philosophy of those behaving in such a way aligns with yours. For the good of the American public, and, more importantly, for the future of this nation, politicians from both sides of the aisle should be able to vehemently agree that rioting, looting and inciting violence for the sake of ANY political cause is absolutely unacceptable. If our leaders cannot unite behind something so obvious, I worry about the future of this country.” —Armstrong Williams

Braying jenny: “The president of the United States committed an act of incitement of insurrection. I don’t think it’s very unifying to say, ‘Oh, let’s just forget it and move on.’” —Nancy Pelosi

And last… “The prospect of a human tide coming to America now becomes very real. And the promise of U.S. citizenship for the 11 million undocumented already here can only serve as an additional enhancement for even more to come. … The left claims Donald Trump is responsible for the January 6 rioting at the U.S. Capitol because he ‘incited’ the crowd to insurrection with his rhetoric about a ‘stolen’ election. Why, then, can’t Biden’s language about easing the path to America and gaining citizenship equally be a cause and effect? Throughout history, uncontrolled immigration without assimilation has contributed to the collapse of other superpowers. The United States does not enjoy special protection from a similar fate.” —Cal Thomas