The Patriot Post® · Thursday Short Cuts

Insight: “Our schools are, in a sense, factories, in which the raw products [children] are to be shaped and fashioned into products to meet the various demands of life. The specifications for manufacturing come from the demands of twentieth-century civilization, and it is the business of the school to build its pupils according to the specifications laid down.” —Ellwood P. Cubberley (1868-1941)

Upright: “In the end, capital punishment is a matter of justice and just deserts. It is justice for the dead and his or her relatives and it is just deserts for the murderer. On several occasions I have offered people opposed to the death penalty a deal. I will oppose capital punishment for the guilty, if they will oppose ‘capital punishment’ for the innocent unborn. I am still waiting to hear from them.” —Cal Thomas

From the “D'oh!” Files: “We were very pleased with the assurances we received from [Assad] that he was ready to resume the peace process.” —Nancy Pelosi 10 years ago this month when she snuck into Syria and met with Bashar al-Assad

Fair question: “In case you are keeping track at home, NATO is in, Russia is out, the Ex-Im Bank is in, labeling China a currency manipulator is out, and Janet Yellen is TBD. I’m happy with most of these changes, but has there ever been a president who is so blatantly and thoroughly up for grabs?” —Rich Lowry

For the record: “The reason that the Russians are in [Syria] is not an affection for Assad … but because, as a result of their involvement, they now have a naval base in the warm water Mediterranean, they have an active, very powerful airbase in Syria. They have a presence in the Middle East. They are the power. They have displaced the United States. And their entire foreign policy under Putin is to restore the glory and the territory and the influence of old Soviet Union, one piece at a time. And it does that by taking away from the United States. It’s a zero sum game.” —Charles Krauthammer

And last… “The most dangerous syllogism in Washington: We should do something. This is something. Therefore we should do this.” —Dan McLaughlin