The Patriot Post® · Wednesday Short Cuts

Insight: “The evils of tyranny are rarely seen but by him who resists it.” —John Hay (1838-1905)

Upright: “Earmarks are useful to presidents or congressional leaders seeking to boost legislation that cannot succeed on its own merits, and they can help vulnerable incumbents win reelection by showing off their ability to bring home the occasional slab of bacon. But neither of those outcomes is in the public interest. A bill that can’t pass on its own merits shouldn’t pass. An incumbent who has lost the support of voters shouldn’t be reelected. Public funds are supposed to be spent on public purposes, not on wink-and-nod deals intended to benefit ‘well-connected businesses, campaign donors, and others who could afford a high-priced lobbyist,” to quote Senator Marco Rubio.’“ —Jeff Jacoby

Re: The Left: "Is there anti-Asian racism in America? Of course. Ethnic bigotry is a tragic part of the human condition. There is no country in which members of different races live that is bereft of ethnic or racial bigotry. Therefore, the only question decent, wise or honest people ask is: How much? And the answer in America is: very, very little. But the left lacks decency, wisdom and honesty. Therefore, it offers continuous reporting about anti-Asian racism, most of which so wildly exaggerates the issue as to constitute a lie.” —Dennis Prager

For the record: “According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics from September 2019, blacks have committed the greatest percentage of violent crimes against Asian Americans. But the mendacious media do not report that.” —Dennis Prager

Political futures: “Over the weekend, Fox News visited a migrant camp on the Mexican side of the border. It had to go to Mexico because the Biden administration is preventing the media from taking pictures at our border detention facilities. Think about that for a moment. There’s more freedom of the press on the Mexican side of the border than the American side! But what Fox News found in Tijuana is deeply troubling. There are 1,000 migrants in just one of the camps. The flag flying over that camp is not the Mexican flag or even the American flag. No, it’s a huge Biden 2020 flag, and many migrants are wearing clothing with Biden’s campaign logo. … Never forget what the main point is from the progressive point of view: Open borders is just another Democrat voter registration drive. Maybe not next year, but down the road Democrats will guarantee that today’s illegal immigrants become tomorrow’s Democrat voters.” —Gary Bauer

Sad but true: “The media had planned to spend the rest of the week talking about the Boulder shooting but will now have to find something else to talk about since the shooter is a Syrian immigrant…” —Matt Walsh

Exactly: “If the shooter is a white supremacist, the event is an indictment of all white people and America. If the shooter is an Islamist, it is a completely individual act that has nothing to do with ideology.” —David Harsanyi

Observations: “Gun control assumes that government and government bodies won’t use force against their own citizens. It assumes they are trustworthy. And they are anything but.” —Sydney Watson

The bottom line: “Every state is a border state until we secure the southern border.” —Senator Marsha Blackburn

The BIG Lie: “There is a problem at the border, but it is not remotely a ‘crisis.’ It’s an administrative challenge that could be solved easily with more resources and clear policy — not even ranking with, say, the importance of securing loose nuclear material, much less the ongoing global pandemic, or the truly civilization-threatening crisis of climate change. The mainstream media is in effect collaborating with Republicans to stoke unreasoning xenophobic panic. … The most honest criticism of Biden’s immigration record is that he has not reversed Trump’s appalling, illegal practices fast enough.” —The Week’s Ryan Cooper

Grand delusions: “The Biden administration has [the border] under control.” —House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Race bait: “The battle against D.C. statehood is rooted in anti-Black racism.” —Kyla Sommers in The Washington Post (Actually, as Jeff Jacoby explains, “Article I, Section 8 provides explicitly for a national capital that would not be part of a state nor treated as a state, but rather a unique enclave under the exclusive authority of Congress — a neutral ‘district’ in which representatives of all the states could meet on an equal footing to conduct the nation’s business.”)

And last… “Best argument for DC statehood: The other 50 states could secede from it.” —Jon Gabriel