The Patriot Post® · Thursday Short Cuts

Insight: “To the size of the state there is a limit, as there is to plants, animals and implements, for none of these retain their facility when they are too large.” —Aristotle (384-322 BC)

For the record I: “LeBron James for years has been a Chinese apologist. He obviously was very upset that anybody had anything to say about the Chinese takeover of Hong Kong. LeBron had no statements on that but he does have statements every other day how living as a black American means you’re an existential threat thanks to American white supremacy.” —Ben Shapiro

For the record II: “LeBron is unwilling to say anything about China. … If LeBron ever spoke out and said something simple like, ‘I’m in favor of human rights around the world,’ China would pull his movie as well as his product and his ability to make money off of Chinese corporations.” —Clay Travis

Editorial exegesis: “George Floyd died because Derek Chauvin was a bad cop. We are, of course, mindful that police have a very tough job, dealing with uncooperative and often dangerous suspects, many with drug-abuse and health problems — such as the ones Floyd had, which likely contributed to his death. But the police power to use necessary force, which must necessarily be superior force, never justifies excessive force. That is the message of this emphatic verdict.” —National Review

Friendly fire I: “In a recent Gallup survey, Democrats did much worse than Republicans in getting the right answer to the fundamental question: What are the chances that someone who gets COVID will need to be hospitalized? The answer is between one and five percent — 41 percent of Democrats thought it was over 50 percent. Another 28 percent put the chances at 20 to 49 [percent]. So if the right-wing media bubble has to own things like climate change denial, shouldn’t liberal media have to answer for ‘How did your audience end up believing such a bunch of crap about COVID?’” —Bill Maher

Friendly fire II: “Apparently the [Florida] governor is also a voracious consumer of the scientific literature, and maybe that’s why he protected his most vulnerable population — the elderly — way better than did the governor of New York.” —Bill Maher

The BIG Lie: “[Voting reform] is a full-fledged assault on voting rights, unlike anything we’ve seen since the era of Jim Crow.” —Senator Raphael Warnock

Demagogue: “We are delivering real, real relief, and the American people are now able to breathe easier and sleep better.” —Kamala Harris

Grand delusions: “[The 2018 gubernatorial election] was stolen from the voters of Georgia. We do not know what they would have done because not every eligible Georgian was permitted to participate fully in the election.” —Stacey Abrams

Non compos mentis: “The trampling of indigenous rights is a cause of climate change. The trampling of racial justice is a cause of climate change.” —AOC

Race bait I: “While [Tuesday’s] verdict may have been a necessary step on the road to progress, it was far from a sufficient one. We cannot rest. We will need to follow through with the concrete reforms that will reduce and ultimately eliminate racial bias in our criminal justice system.” —Barack and Michelle Obama

Race bait II: “Ohio police fatally shoot Black teenage girl just before Chauvin verdict.” —The Washington Post

Race bait III: “A Black teenage girl named Ma'Khia Bryant was killed because a police officer immediately decided to shoot her multiple times in order to break up a knife fight. Demand accountability. Fight for justice. #BlackLivesMatter.” —Valerie Jarrett (“So Valerie Jarrett is upset because a white police officer saved a black woman’s life.” —Todd Starnes)

Race bait IV: “The killing of 16-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant by the Columbus police is tragic. She was a child. … We know that police violence disproportionately impacts black and Latino people.” —Press Secretary Jen Psaki

And last… “White House is repeating the lie that Ma'Khia Bryant was shot by police because she was black. Reality: She was shot because she had a knife and was in the act of attempting to kill another girl. Unbelievable.” —Katie Pavlich