FRIDAY short TAKES.

We could fill Cold Spring Shops solely with elaborations on "One of the most frustrating aspects of the attitude of people who see more government as the solution to every problem we have today is that they aren’t willing to do the hard work of cleaning up the mess the government made in the first place before calling for more government actions."  I would get as bored with writing only on that theme as you, dear reader would get reading only about that theme.

Politics divides.  "Support for democracy is not in decline because voters are being brainwashed by enemy propaganda on TikTok. Support for democracy is declining because democracy is simply not working the way we were told it would."  The continuation is instructive:  "Perhaps the creation of societies so stratified that the ruling class can barely comprehend the concerns of ordinary voters was not such a foolproof recipe for democracy after all."

Is crisis-mongering the handmaiden of governmental overreach?  "Maybe you could stop the endless Cycles of Crisis where one Outrage is only displaced by the next Cause for Alarm and then that is replaced by the next Moral Panic."

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

1.  To get a good job, get a good ... oh, wait.  "More Than Half of Recent 4-Year College Grads Underemployed."

2.  How good is that education, really?  "If hatred comes from ignorance, why were America’s best universities full of this very specific ignorance? And why were so many people trying to justify it, explain it away, or even deny it?"

3.  Properly viewed, higher education is work.  " People do not always understand that studying a subject—inquiry—is distinct from promoting an agenda—advocacy."

4.  Speaking of cleaning up messes:  "Biden’s entire political career has been predicated on blaming others for the problems he and his party have created."  The awfulness accumulates.  "It was a week of bad news for the president. Fortunately for him, he probably won’t remember."

5.  Democrat lawfare.  "Attorney General James went after Trump because he is Trump."  Is that constitutional?  "Ms. James and Judge Engeron have essentially turned a vaguely worded New York State law into a modern day Bill of Attainder targeted at Donald Trump both for political gain and because they despise his political views and desperately want to call his truthfulness into question as he runs for President of the United States inn 2024."

6.  Enabling dysfunction?  "We have become a society that indulges poor behaviour and forever comes up with exogenous excuses for vile deeds instead of holding individuals accountable for their actions."

7.  Speaking of dysfunction.  "Both Arab nations have publicly denounced Israel’s Gaza campaign, in large measure because they don’t want an influx of Palestinians that could destabilize their regimes."  Chicago Democrats, take note?

8.  Give emergence a chance?  "The world is filled with problems we do not know how to solve, and it’s unwise to try to keep up with all of them and foolish to try to solve all of them. ... It is OK to ignore politics."

9.  End the presidential cult?  "Are we that dissatisfied with our chief executives? Then maybe we need a better answer."

10.  Rediscover bourgeois norms?  "Since Wednesday evening, I have read a hundred pieces about firearms — albeit not one featuring a single constructive suggestion — and read nothing whatsoever about parenting, juvenile delinquency, criminal-justice reform, or anything else."

11.  All have won, and all must lose?  "The difference between excellent and decent is compressed."

12.  Authenticity, pernicious?  "For wanting Black students to have the utmost agency and to flourish in today’s society, I, a Black man, was shunned by whites and Blacks alike."

13.  The fruits of downplaying excellence and affirming authenticity!  "We’re Living Under A Tyranny Of Mediocre Morons."

14.  Politics.  "Netanyahu wants to protect his people and ensure the viability of the State of Israel, while Biden wants to carry Michigan."

15.  The political classes win, the taxpayers lose?  "It's always concerning when any federal legislation gets solid bipartisan support."

16.  Mister, we could use a man like Ronald Reagan again.  "The US Navy is not large enough."

17.  Speaking of missing Ronald Reagan.  "Whoever took Biden’s decisions for him, the impression has been one of weakness and ideological rigidity in the style of President Carter."

18.  The rules-based international order?  “Kamala Harris empty, Scholz mushy, Zelenskyy tired.”

19.  The dirty little secret of Europe's bullet trains and tax-funded health.  "Even after Russia invaded Ukraine, many NATO members remain less allies than dependencies sheltering under the U.S. military umbrella."

20.  Craig Newmark on the Tragic Vision.  "One reason I'm a conservative: our worldview is better so we're surprised less often."

21.  To secure these Rights:  "We are supposed to be the checks and the balances, not just the check writers for unbalanced federal overreach."  Government IS the problem.  "representative government is supposed to be a discovery process. You elect people to represent you."

22.  Robert Bork could not be reached for comment.  "Biden is single-handedly responsible for our poisoned judicial politics ever since."

23.  Squirrel!  "Gaza is being used as a soapbox for moral preening by politicians desperate to deflect attention from their own uselessness."