FRIDAY short TAKES.

Ann Coulter's perfect petri dish.  "The chaos in Southern California could have been designed in a lab to exploit Democratic weak spots, combining the issues of illegal immigration, crime, and public disorder."  It's funny in a way.  "Riots and criminal disorder erode faith in government and, accordingly, 'the party of government.'"  Democrats have a soft spot for rioters.  The violence preceded the mobilization.

Well, NBC. "Fox News paints L.A. as war zone while protests remain largely peaceful."

The weekly round-up of mostly pithy elaborations on traditional Cold Spring Shops themes follows.

1.  That requires careful thinking.  "Before you try to use leverage against an opponent, you should first consider whether your acts are received by him as pressure or as a gift."

2.  So it always is with ward-heeler politicians.  "Maxine Waters got to live in a fancy house while her constituents suffered."

3.  Bottom story of the day.  "The Democrats just spent about $20 million to find out that men don’t like being disliked. This shocked the Dems and no one else."

4.  Donkey trail to Hell.  "The intention is good, but the effect? Too often, it sounds like scolding."

5.  That's not our capability!  "Pentagon Fueled Area 51 Conspiracy."

6.  Trust emergence.  "Democracy is a daily exercise."

7.  Smart and weird.  "Geniuses are not only intelligent, but are also usually low in the personality trait of conscientiousness (they don’t care about following rules, half-ass their homework assignments when they even bother to turn them in, and cram at the last minute for the exam yet walk away with the top mark in the class anyhow due to sheer brilliance), low in agreeableness (they don’t care if you like them, and often go out of their way to annoy authority figures), and high in openness (fascinated by new ideas to the degree of being actively drawn to the esoteric, unconventional, and forbidden)."

8.  Congress intended it that way.  "Macroeconomics treats the economy as if it were a simple process that can be centrally managed."

9.  Getting there can be productive.  "Rail and bus passengers do not have to deal with the countless queues in which air passengers anxiously wait, and are not restricted in their ability to use the restroom or recline their seat."

10.  Ned Ludd?  "It’s not clear that the Waymos were torched because they represented an available target, or whether they represent automation of jobs frequently occupied by illegal immigrants."

11.  Overdesigned bureaucratic crop circles.  "How do you spot retired NASCAR drivers on the road?  They’re the ones stuck in a roundabout for two hours, waiting for someone to wave the checkered flag."