The Patriot Post® · Thursday Short Cuts

Insight: “Liberty … was a two-headed boon. There was first, the liberty of the people as a whole to determine the forms of their own government, to levy their own taxes, and to make their own laws…. There was second, the liberty of the individual man to live his own life, within the limits of decency and decorum, as he pleased — freedom from the despotism of the majority.” —H. L. Mencken (1880-1956)

Observations: “There was a time when we honored those who created the prosperity and the freedom that we enjoy. Today we honor the complainers and sue the creators. Perhaps that is inevitable in an era when we no longer count our blessings, but instead count all our unfulfilled wishes.” —Thomas Sowell

The bottom line: “We live in a society in which no one wants to have to suffer any adversity or deal with the consequences of their decisions and actions. Consequently, fear, under the guise of safety, has become a self-enslaving idol to many.” —Darrell B. Harrison

For the record: “[Wokeness] divides us into people of different races and it says that these racial differences are irreconcilable. … It sees no reconciliation, no coming together unless the people that they describe as eternal victims, black people, people of color, women, transgender people, unless they unite to destroy and dismantle our existing institutions. It’s a very nihilistic, zero-sum game. It’s the worst philosophy I’ve ever come across.” —Ayaan Hirsi Ali

A trip down memory lane: “There’s a disrespect for women that this administration chronically exemplifies … To secondguess how a woman should’ve acted after a sexual attack is sexist and disgusting. I mean, it’s just insensitive. You don’t understand the pain.” —serial sexual harasser Governor Andrew Cuomo on Brett Kavanaugh

Letting the cat out of the bag: “We know today that many of the face cloth coverings that people wear are not very effective in reducing any of the virus movement in or out.” —Biden’s former COVID adviser Dr. Michael Osterholm

Grand delusions: “Both voting and access to abortion are basic. They’re about the functioning of our democracy and about the protection of personal autonomy. … The right-wing extremists know that if they can keep people from voting, they’ve got a better chance to impose their views about abortion on an unwilling nation.” —Senator Elizabeth Warren

Race hustling: “We can’t get complacent. Having public opinion on our side is not enough, because the racist cowards that would fire teachers and ban certain books [that] are accurately describing the history of racism and bigotry in this country are already showing up at school board meetings, and they’re loud. So we have to be louder. We have to rise up together and show up to those same meetings, demanding that our children get a full and accurate history curriculum.” —Al Sharpton

Race bait: “The slaveholder … wanted the freedom to enslave. There’s no difference between that and the individual saying, ‘I should have the freedom to infect people. I should have the freedom to kill and exploit and harass and terrorize.’” —Ibram X. Kendi

Non compos mentis: “My top criticism, honestly, of the 1619 Project is that it is way too pro-American, in my opinion. I don’t think that there can be redemption until there is no America.” —podcaster Sam Goldman

And last… “The most incredible part about Leftism is that when its consequences become clear, Leftists immediately blame the thing they oppose. So, for example, when developers stop building as much thanks to endless eviction moratoria, Leftists will blame capitalism.” —Ben Shapiro