The Patriot Post® · Wednesday Short Cuts

Insight: “How should it happen that the individual should be without rights, but the combination of individuals should possess unlimited rights?” —Auberon Herbert (1838-1906)

Upright: “As a dogma, Critical Race Theory is contrary to 2 Corinthians 5:16a: ‘Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh.’ CRT promotes the divisive idea that human beings regard one another ‘according to the flesh’ (melanin) rather than the imago Dei (Gen. 1:27).” —Darrell B. Harrison

Politics is downstream of culture: “It should come as no surprise when young people raised by helicopter parents are hoodwinked by the false promises of socialism — promises such as free college tuition, free health care and student debt forgiveness. Is it any wonder young people who have never been required to work refuse to get jobs, even though most employers have ‘Help Wanted’ signs in their windows, are paying well above minimum wage and are offering hiring bonuses? Their parents conditioned them to expect to receive everything they might want without having to work for it. Pandering politicians in the Democratic Party reinforce this unhealthy perspective by promising to pick up where the parents left off. Young people who don’t learn personal responsibility and accountability in the home are sitting ducks for the false promises of socialist ideologues. Unprepared, thoroughly indoctrinated young people who choose socialism over capitalism are just doing what their parents taught them to do.” —Oliver North and David Goetsch

For the record I: “The conventional wisdom justifying Biden’s new FDR-sized ambitions is that the country is in crisis, and he has to meet the proverbial moment, which can only be done with 13-digit spending bills. The truth is, though, that there is no crisis, and there is no moment. There’s only an excuse, an occasion, and a procedure. The excuse is the supposed downtrodden state of the country such that only $6 trillion can save it from rack and ruin. The occasion is very slender Democratic majorities in Congress that are willing to contemplate levels of spending that, not too long ago, only the likes of Bernie Sanders and AOC openly agitated for. The procedure is reconciliation, the process that allows fiscal measures to pass the Senate with just 51 votes rather than the usual 60.” —Rich Lowry

For the record II: “In his speech to the joint session of Congress last week, Biden correctly stated we are in a competition with China, then declared the way to prevail is to spend on every single one of his domestic priorities, as if Beijing’s threat to Taiwan can be deterred by spending another $80 billion on Amtrak and $174 billion on electric cars and charging stations. No, none of this makes any sense. The real justification for the Biden spending spree is that Democrats, who have marched steadily to the left, are in a mood to do as much to transform the country as possible while their tenuous unified control of Washington lasts.” —Rich Lowry

Straight talk: “People will wear a mask everywhere for a whole year because they’re afraid of a disease but won’t lay off the fast food and lose a few pounds. The latter will do much more to preserve your health. But sure, you’re ‘health conscious’ with that mask and all that extra body fat.” —Matt Walsh

D'oh! “Anybody making less than $400,000 a year will not pay a single penny in taxes.” —Joe Biden, who probably meant to say “will not pay a single penny more in taxes.”

The BIG Lie: “After coming into office, our administration immediately jumped into action to address the influx of migrants at the border, something that began during and was exacerbated by the Trump administration.” —White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki

Non compos mentis: “There is not a rational actor on the Republican side now. … I really, really believe that the Republican Party, as currently constituted and run, is no longer a viable, productive part of the constitutional democratic republic.” —Jon Meacham (“This is the same Meacham that promoted WE ARE ALL SOCIALISTS NOW on the cover of Newsweek in 2009. That wasn’t true then, and it’s not true now.” —Tim Graham)

And last… “Are there individuals who are racist? Of course, but that doesn’t make the nation racist any more than having criminals among us makes us a criminal nation.” —Cal Thomas