The Patriot Post® · Thursday Short Cuts

Insight: “Ever since the beginning of modern science, the best minds have recognized that ‘the range of acknowledged ignorance will grow with the advance of science.’ Unfortunately, the popular effect of this scientific advance has been a belief, seemingly shared by many scientists, that the range of our ignorance is steadily diminishing and that we can therefore aim at more comprehensive and deliberate control of all human activities. It is for this reason that those intoxicated by the advance of knowledge so often become the enemies of freedom.” —Friedrich August von Hayek (1899-1992)

“On Monday, lame-duck New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced, ‘Omicron is here, and it looks very transmissible.’ So, de Blasio, ignoring scientific evidence that current COVID-19 vaccines will not stop the variant from spreading, decreed all private sector workers in businesses of all sizes must be vaccinated by Dec. 27. … A mayor who professes to defend bodily autonomy is doing the opposite, forcing everyone to take the shots, regardless of personal qualms. This is the same de Blasio who warned at a recent Brooklyn pro-abortion rights rally that ‘You cannot have your government attempt to take away your right to control your body. It cannot happen in America.’ Well, it can, as long as you’re something other than a childbearing female.” —Betsy McCaughey

“I think one of the biggest risks to civilization is the low birthrate and the rapidly declining birthrate. And yet, so many people, including smart people, think that there are too many people in the world and think that the population is growing out of control. It’s completely the opposite. Please look at the numbers — if people don’t have more children, civilization is going to crumble, mark my words.” —Elon Musk

Friendly fire: “My office is not allowed to use ‘Latinx’ in official communications. When Latino politicos use the term it is largely to appease white rich progressives who think that is the term we use. It is a vicious circle of confirmation bias.” —Democrat Congressman Ruben Gallego

Braying jenny: “Screw … all who are all about hiding behind religious exemptions because they don’t want anybody to tell them what to do. … [They] deserve whatever comes their way, including losing jobs, getting sick, and perhaps dying from this virus. … I don’t know why the GOP doesn’t just take those guns they profess to love so much and just start shooting all of their constituents who think this way. It would be quicker and ultimately safer than putting me and my friends and family at risk.” —National Education Association (NEA) board member Mollie Paige Mumau

Swamp Doctor: “I understand, and we all understand, how people do not like to be told what to do. They wanna make their own choice and their own free will. I get that and I respect that. But these are unusual times, and you can’t think only of yourself and your own personal opinion. … I would prefer, and we all would prefer, that people would be voluntarily getting vaccinated, but if they’re not gonna do that, sometimes you’ve gotta do things that are unpopular, but that clearly supersede individual choices.” —Anthony Fauci

Follow the Science™: “[COVID is] becoming this crazy superbug inside of the people that aren’t vaccinated, and now it’s affecting us.” —"The View’s" Sunny Hostin

Dezinformatsiya: “Saule Omarova withdrew her nomination to head the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a key role overseeing U.S. banks, after facing personal attacks about being born in the former Soviet Union.” —NPR

Non compos mentis: “In an abolitionist society, this [Jussie Smollett] trial would not be taking place, and our communities would not have to fight and suffer to prove our worth. Instead, we find ourselves, once again, being forced to put our lives and our value in the hands of judges and juries operating in a system that is designed to oppress us, while continuing to face a corrupt and violent police department, which has proven time and again to have no respect for our lives. In our commitment to abolition, we can never believe police, especially the Chicago Police Department (CPD) over Jussie Smollett, a Black man who has been courageously present, visible, and vocal in the struggle for Black freedom. … Police lie and Chicago police lie especially.” —BLM Los Angeles cofounder Melina Abdullah

And last… “One of the reasons people don’t bother to stop and think is that symbolism lets them feel good about themselves. They can go through life leaving havoc in their wake, while enjoying a warm glow of self-approval.” —Thomas Sowell