The Patriot Post® · Wednesday Short Cuts

Insight

“Those dealing in the actual manufacture of mind are dealing in a very explosive material. The material is not merely the clay of which man is master, but the truths or semblances of truth which have a certain mastery over man. The material is explosive because it must be taken seriously. The men writing books really are throwing bombs.” —G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936)

Upright

“Now more than ever, we need to embrace the family as the central unit of our society. Restoration of the family is at the core of restoring the American Dream for everyone.” —former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

“[Biden] doesn’t have the legal authority to cancel student loan debt and it’s deeply unfair. What about all those kids who went to college and worked during college and didn’t take out loans? Or they paid their loans back? Or the vast majority of Americans who don’t have a college degree?” —Senator Tom Cotton

“Joe Biden, you’re the president. You asked for this job. You campaigned for this job. You assured us, over and over again, that you had the right kind of experience and judgment to do this job. You are now in the job that you’ve been trying to get since 1987. Stop whining about how difficult the job is.” —Jim Geraghty

A Trip Down Memory Lane

“We were at our conference lunch today and someone said, ‘You know, oil is going to go to $4 a gallon.’ And Senator Boxer, who’s sitting next to me, said, ‘It’s already $4 a gallon in my hometown in California.’ Well, it is well over $3 a gallon in most of our constituencies, and we’re paying that money, in my view, because we lack an energy policy.” —Senator Joe Biden, 2006

The BIG Lies

“At the time I took office about 16 months ago, the economy had stalled and COVID was out of control. Today, thanks to the economic plan and the vaccination plan that my Administration put into action, America has achieved the most robust recovery in modern history.” —Joe Biden

“My plans have produced the strongest, fastest, most widespread economic recovery America has ever experienced.” —Joe Biden

“I don’t think it’s correct to say [tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve] hasn’t made any difference at all. This is an action that helped to stabilize global oil prices.” —Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg

“The reality is that there isn’t very much more to be done.” —Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo regarding gas prices

“With respect to energy, the administration has done everything that they can.” —Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen

“During the pandemic, I think that oil producers didn’t anticipate the strength of the recovery, and the fact that oil prices would recover. They certainly do have incentives now to increase oil production.” —Janet Yellen, whose administration has done nothing but disincentivize oil and gas exploration

Keen Sense of the Obvious

“We currently face macroeconomic challenges, including unacceptable levels of inflation.” —Janet Yellen

“As Chair [Jerome] Powell indicated himself, both of us probably could have used a better term than transitory.” —Janet Yellen

Tone-Deaf

“On the issue of gas prices … I got [an electric vehicle] and drove it from Michigan to here this last weekend and went by every single gas station and it didn’t matter how high it was. And so I’m looking forward to the opportunity for us to move to vehicles that aren’t going to be dependent on the whims of the oil companies and the international markets.” —Senator Debbie Stabenow

Spin Doctor

“The latest data shows that COVID deaths are down 90% since [Biden] took office — in part due to our vaccine and booster efforts, and our world-leading deployment of Paxlovid.” —White House Chief of Staff Ronald Klain (“You didn’t develop the vaccines. So there’s that.” —Ben Shapiro)

Swampthink

“The Electoral College is an undemocratic relic of the early Constitution, just like the state legislature selection of U.S. senators, which is something we got rid of in 1913 with the 17th Amendment.” —Congressman Jamie Raskin

Letting the Cat Out of the Bag

“On the Left, they’re willing to say, ‘You know what, we may want the whole [gun control] loaf, but we will take a slice of bread.’” —actor Matthew McConaughey

Dezinformatsiya

“In America, and only in America, you are literally rolling the dice every time you leave your house, or drop off your kids at school, and you just have to pray that today is not your day, or their day, to meet that angry alienated American man with an AR-15. … Republicans want you to just get used to feeling this way — unsafe, everywhere, all the time.” —MSNBC’s Joy Reid

Non Compos Mentis Award

“‘Pride’ is about inclusion, so you don’t love them or you don’t welcome them if you’re not willing to wear the [LGBTQ+] patch.” —ESPN’s Sarah Spain

Belly Laughs of the Week

“It’s harder to get the news through Fox than it is to get it in Russia through Russian television.” —Congressman Steve Cohen

“I think the border’s pretty great right now.” —Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke

And Last…

“‘Can I drive your car?’ No you’re 5. ‘Can I have a beer?’ No you’re 5. ‘Can I have a cigarette?’ No you’re 5. ‘Can I take hormones and change my gender?’ Of course! You know what’s best.” —Kevin Sorbo