The Patriot Post® · Wednesday Short Cuts

Insight: “There are basically two types of people. People who accomplish things, and people who claim to have accomplished things. The first group is less crowded.” —Mark Twain

Spot on: “It’s frustrating to watch [the rise of the Islamic State]. I go back to the work we did in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 and we got [Iraq] to a place that was really good. Violence was low, the economy was growing, politics looked like it was heading in the right direction. … If we had stayed a little more engaged, I think maybe it might have been prevented. I’ve always believed the United States played the role of honest broker between all the groups and when we pulled ourselves out we lost that role. … I think it would have been good for us to stay.” —retiring Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno

The BIG Lie: “We’re pursuing a new kind of leadership — a smarter, broader vision of American strength, one that relies not only on our outstanding military, but on all elements of our national power. And that starts with the recognition that our strength in the world depends on our economic strength here at home.” —Barack Obama, who has done more to undermine both our military and economy than any other president

Iran deal not winning all Democrats: “How’s the verification going to work? How can we be assured that Iran sticks to what they’ve agreed to? How are the sanctions going to snap back into place if they don’t?” —Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)

Repent, for the end is near: “We conclude that continued high emissions will make multi-meter sea level rise practically unavoidable and likely to occur this century. Social disruption and economic consequences of such large sea level rise could be devastating. It is not difficult to imagine that conflicts arising from forced migrations and economic collapse might make the planet ungovernable, threatening the fabric of civilization.” —former NASA climate alarmist James Hansen

“Robot in NY passes ‘self-awareness’ test. You know what’s next: Obama’s teleprompter and auto-pen will demand the right to marry.” —Fred Thompson