The Patriot Post® · Wednesday Short Cuts

Insight: “Education is the best provision for old age.” —Aristotle (384-322 BC)

For the record: “Nationally, [in 2015] 17 percent of black students scored proficient in reading, and 7 percent scored proficient in math. … The nation’s high-school graduation rate rose again in the 2014-15 school year, reaching a record high as more than 83 percent of students earned a diploma on time. Educators see this as some kind of achievement and congratulate themselves. The tragedy is that high-school graduation has little relevance to achievement.” —Walter Williams

Upright: “It’s hard to remember a more powerful moment in an address to Congress. When President Trump paid tribute to Carryn Owens, Navy SEAL William ‘Ryan’ Owens’ widow, America saw the face of sacrifice. … Because Carryn Owens had the courage to attend such a public gathering so soon after her great loss, we saw how raw and so very real it is to give to your nation the people most precious to you. That sacrifice is why we owe our Gold Star families the deepest respect, why they’re revered in military ranks, and why — just for a moment — a nation can unite to give honor to whom honor is most certainly due.” —David French

Praise from the Left: “[Trump] became president of the United States in that moment. Period. … That was one of the most extraordinary moments you have ever seen in American politics. … That thing you just saw him do — if he finds a way to do that over and over again, he’s going to be there for eight years.” —Van Jones

And last… “Unity is a tall order, not least because of the president’s own combative nature, but also because of the poisoned well of partisan politics and a newly militant media. But however fruitless, presidents are still supposed to try to bind the nation together. Trump tried on Tuesday, and perhaps began to succeed, or at least started to oblige more of his opponents to accept that he really is the president. He certainly behaved as the president.” —Washington Examiner