The Patriot Post® · Wednesday Short Cuts

Insight: “If newsmen do not tell the truth as they see it because it might make waves, or if their bosses decide something should or should not be broadcast because of Washington or Main Street consequences, we have dishonored ourselves and we have lost the First Amendment by default.” —former CBS News President Richard Salant (1914-1993)

Upright: “Allowing biological males to compete in all female sports deprives women of the opportunity to participate fully and fairly in sports and is fundamentally unfair to female athletes.” —then-Attorney General William Barr in March 2020

Good question: “If America is systemically racist, why have millions of blacks from Africa and the Caribbean come to this country over the past 50 years? Why would they and many millions more want to move from all-black societies to a white-dominated, racist one? This is a question every black and white leftist should be asked. After all, no Jews moved to Germany in the 1930s. And why didn’t any? After all, many Jews were suffering terrible persecution and poverty in Russia and in Eastern Europe. Why didn’t any of them move to Germany after 1933? We all know the answer: Because Germany was systemically antisemitic.” —Dennis Prager

Observations: “WANTED: Trained security professionals to deal with elevated levels of crime and mayhem at risk to their own life and limb, while getting called racist oppressors and potentially thrown under the bus by elected officials. This has become the de facto employment notice for police around the country, and, unsurprisingly, cops and prospective cops don’t find it particularly enticing. Why would they? … We aren’t going to keep or recruit good cops unless the job description, which has become so off-putting, is again worthy of the indispensability of the work.” —Rich Lowry

Re: The Left: “With the creation of June 19th (‘Juneteenth’) as a federal holiday, Democrats have one more claim to be the party of civil rights and equal opportunity for African Americans, though most Republicans also voted for the holiday. That claim has been promoted for decades by a compliant media, academia and high-profile politicians, but the facts say otherwise. … While Democrats are now claiming another victory for themselves, they might want to consider establishing an additional special occasion. Given their party’s deplorable civil rights record, it could be called a day of atonement.” —Cal Thomas

Grand delusions: “Democrats in Congress unanimously came together to protect the sacred right to vote. In supporting the For the People Act and defending the rights of voters, they stood united for democracy. They stood against the ongoing assault of voter suppression that represents a Jim Crow era in the 21st Century. Unfortunately, a Democratic stand to protect our democracy met a solid Republican wall of opposition. … It was the suppression of a bill to end voter suppression — another attack on voting rights that is sadly not unprecedented.” —Joe Biden

Letting the cat out of the bag: “If we deliver [the For the People Act], we maintain power in 2022. If we don’t … then we risk losing power."—Congressman Jamaal Bowman

Demagogue: "We can’t wait until the next election [for HR 1] because if we have the same kinds of shenanigans that brought about January 6, if we have that for a couple more election cycles, we’re going to have real problems in terms of our democracy long term.” —Barack Obama regarding the Democrats’ bulk-mail ballot fraud strategy

Is the fix in? “Asked if it’s possible the intelligence community will never have ‘high confidence’ or a smoking gun on the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, [Director of National Intelligence Avril] Haines responded, ‘Yes, absolutely.’” —Yahoo News’s Daniel Klaidman

Non sequitur: “Are you asking me if the president supports a woman’s right to choose? He does.” —White House Press Secretary Jen Paski when asked, “Does the president believe that a 15-week-old unborn baby is a human being?”

The BIG Lie: “Republicans love to create outrage over things that aren’t actually happening. People should be asking them, what elementary, middle and high school is teaching Critical Race Theory and why they are spinning false narratives.” —Congresswoman Ilhan Omar

Dezinformatsiya: “Critical race theory is yet another tool in the racial, tribal boogeyman’s toolbox to drive and inflame tribalism which Republicans think helps them in elections. This is Trump 2.0. It is a continuation of this. Critical race theory is an arcane ideal. Why is it front and center right now? The same reason Mitch McConnell attacked Stacey Abrams when she came out for the voting bill. It is racial. It is tribalism. We’ve seen it grow under Trump. This is part and parcel of it. They think this helps ignite their base. This is not grassroots.” —MSNBC’s Cornell Belcher

Non compos mentis: “Ensuring our ranks reflect and are inclusive of the American people is essential to the morale, cohesion, and readiness of the military. Nellis Air Force Base is committed to providing and championing an environment that is characterized by equal opportunity, diversity and inclusion.” —Nellis command statement on the importance of drag queen performances

Race bait: “The American flag has been hijacked as code for a specific belief. God bless those believers, they can have it. Like the Confederate, it is tattered, dated, divisive, and incorrect. It no longer represents democracy and freedom. It no longer represents ALL of us. It’s not fair to be forced to honor it. It’s time for a new flag.” —singer Macy Gray

And last… “A gay NFL player is making more headlines than a [Democrat] member of the senate and his wife belonging to an all white country club that the senator defends as ‘a long tradition.’” —Erick Erickson