The Patriot Post® · Friday Short Cuts

Insight: “The process of completely freeing oneself emotionally from being a Communist is a thing no outsider can understand. The group thinking and group planning and the group life of the Party had been a part of me for so long that it was desperately difficult for me to be a person again. … But I had begun the process of ‘unbecoming’ a Communist. It was a long and painful process, much like that of a polio victim who has to learn to walk all over again. I had to learn to think. I had to learn to love. I had to drain the hate and frenzy from my system. I had to dislodge the self and the pride that had made me arrogant, made me feel that I knew all the answers. I had to learn that I knew nothing. There were many stumbling blocks in this process.” —Dr. Bella Dodd (1904-1969)

Re: The Left: “The number of kids who identify as LGBT, especially trans and bisexual, has absolutely skyrocketed. If you think this is a natural or organic development, you’re deluded. The media, Hollywood, and the school system actively recruit children into the LGBT ranks.” —Matt Walsh

Observations: “When people are mentally and spiritually sound and are comfortable in life with a good job, fair pay and a great home, violence will inevitably go down without infringing on the rights of other American citizens.” —Armstrong Williams

Food for thought: “Joe Biden wouldn’t trust his health care to someone with zero experience, so why is he asking America to? … [Xavier Becerra], who’s never had a lick of training in medicine, science, pharma, or the health care world, is applying for a job to oversee … the biggest budget of any U.S. agency as a complete novice. And Biden said Donald Trump’s COVID plan was bad?” —Tony Perkins

For the record I: “If you’re doing a search on a LinkedIn for someone who’d be a perfect match to be in Health and Human Services, [Xavier Becerra] wouldn’t even show up — because he has no healthcare background or experience… Becerra is not a healthcare professional. Traditionally in this role, [there] would be someone who’s been in healthcare administration or a physician or a scientist. We’re in the middle of a pandemic. And you would think the group that’s going to oversee the pandemic response and all that’s got to happen would be somebody with a science or healthcare background. But instead, President Biden has selected an attorney. That seems to be his only criteria. And his only main qualification on this is he has been [a] very outspoken [supporter] of abortion — and not just the existence of abortion, but the [radical promotion] of it.” —Senator James Lankford

For the record II: “Congress passed [the Religious Freedom Restoration Act] in the early ‘90s in response to a 1990 Supreme Court decision that gutted the First Amendment’s protections for the free exercise of religion. Essentially, it restored religious freedom by requiring courts to interpret the law in a way that guaranteed protection for religion. But since then, the courts have treated religious freedom as a statutory right (under RFRA), and not a constitutional one. Provisions in the Equality Act explicitly say that RFRA doesn’t apply, which would let special rights for LGBT interest groups trump religious freedom. RFRA passed almost unanimously; in fact, its sponsor in the House was then Rep. Chuck Schumer [emphases added]. But now, because of the rise of the militant LGBTQ minority in America, the Democrats can’t stand it.” —Tony Perkins

The bottom line: “The Equality Act would threaten the existence of women’s prisons, public-school girls’ locker rooms, and women’s and girls’ sports teams. It would limit freedom of speech, freedom of association, accurate data collection, and scientific inquiry… The Equality Act isn’t about protecting people from discrimination; it’s about compelling adherence to gender ideology.” —Inez Stepman

Upright I: “‘How is this good for Americans?’ This is the question that should be asked of Biden and his mouthpieces every time they appear in public. If we had a national media that truly cared about our country or its citizens, they’d be asking it. Instead, we get softball questions and pablum stories about Valentine’s Day hearts on the White House lawn, and Joe and Jill Biden’s love for the ages. I am happy for anyone that has found lifelong love, including the president of the United States. But it’s hardly relevant to why he’s in the position. There’s no better example of this absurdity than Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin’s editorial this week. She expresses her profound joy that the nation now has a real ‘mourner-in-chief’ again. Excuse me? We didn’t elect a professional mourner, and most of us don’t want one. But at this rate, we’ll all soon be mourning the death of the republic.” —Laura Hollis

Upright II: “That’s the thing about so many government programs. They never have to fix a problem, only demonstrate good intentions so politicians can save their careers. … If not properly cooked, pork can be infected with trichinosis, a disease caused by a small parasitic worm. That seems a good analogy when it comes to the ‘parasitic’ congressional worms infecting our economy with nonstop spending of money we don’t have and borrowing that can’t continue without causing serious economic harm. Nations of the past have not been able to survive massive debt. What makes us think we can?” —Cal Thomas

Ouch: “Never before has the leader of the free world been so cognitively compromised.” —Australian Sky News host Cory Bernardi

Who’s gonna tell ‘em? “No president has entered the White House with as clear a focus on Alzheimer’s disease as Joe Biden. The commitment and attention on Alzheimer’s at the highest levels of our elected leadership is long overdue.” —Maria Shriver and George Vradenburg in a Time op-ed

Braying jenny: “COVID is the best thing that ever happened to [Joe Biden].” —White House senior adviser Anita Dunn

Hot air: “[Failing to address climate change is] marching forward to what is almost tantamount to a mutual suicide pact. We bury our heads in the sand at our own peril.” —John Kerry

And last… “Sadly, it is now easier for an illegal alien to walk into America than it is for a New Yorker to walk into a restaurant or for your child to walk into a school.” —Gary Bauer