The Patriot Post® · Tuesday Short Cuts

Insight: “Fascism should rightly be called Corporatism, as it is a merger of state and corporate power.” —Italian dictator Benito Mussolini (1883-1945)

For the record: “The pope’s alliance with radical environmentalists is unsettling, to say the least. The green movement has a satanic track record when it comes to promoting human life and dignity. These are the people whose radical ‘Earth first’ theology gave us the barbaric one-child policy in China and such population-control measures as forced abortions and mass sterilizations in India and Africa. It would be helpful for the pope to distance Christians from pagan values. God gave man dominion over this planet, and the pope is right to caution that we have a moral obligation to be good custodians for future generations. But the primacy of every single human life must come before saving polar bears and trees. Free-market capitalism promotes environmental improvement.” —Stephen Moore

Upright: “Half of U.S. Muslims believe that Sharia law trumps the Constitution, and they would prefer to be governed by Sharia law. That is inconsistent with the Constitution. I wish Dr. [Ben] Carson had told host Chuck Todd, ‘Instead of trying to create a controversy with that question, what you should be asking is whether it is conceivable that any Muslim nation would elect a Christian as president.’ If the liberal media is looking for intolerance, it should look at the Muslim world. Six of the top 10 worst violators of human rights are Islamic nations.” —Gary Bauer

Confessions: “Democrats are ready to sit down and negotiate with Republicans right now. But it should be over legitimate issues like how much do we invest in education, job training, and infrastructure — not unrelated ideological issues like Planned Parenthood.” —Barack Obama, seemingly admitting that funding PP is entirely ideological

Pro-abortion, not pro-choice: “I think that the kind of late-term abortions that take place are because of medical necessity. And, therefore, I would hate to see the government interfering with that decision. I think that, again, this gets back to whether you respect a woman’s right to choose or not.” —Hillary Clinton, who declined to cite any abortion restrictions she might support

Forward! “I’m not going to let [Republicans] tear up [ObamaCare], kick 16 million people off their health coverage and force the country to start the health care debate all over again. Not on my watch. I want to build on the progress we’ve made.” —Hillary Clinton

And last… “New city population rankings puts Houston above Chicago. Chicago angrily disputes the rankings, pointing out the survey only counts those who are living.” —Fred Thompson