FRIDAY SHORT TAKES.

Biden off the ticket, Harris selected, not elected.  Buckle in.

The Second American Revolution will remain bloodless if the Left allows it to be.

Unfortunately, they have a well established record of instigating the opposite.

Here’s a small sample of what they mean when they talk about “saving democracy.”👇 pic.twitter.com/5dctmxOlDM

— Heritage Foundation (@Heritage) July 3, 2024

Who knew party primaries could backfire so?  "This existential threat to democracy consists in the fact that today there's too damn much democracy in our political system."  We are witnessing history.  "Biden Endorses Kamala to Ride the Bomb Down Instead of Him."  Won't you please come to Chicago?  "Democratic politics felt like a game rigged by insiders to favor a candidate of their choice, and to isolate that candidate from the risk associated with campaigning."  Hubert Humphrey nods.

Four years ago, Democrats also rigged the game.  "Biden and Harris came into office with some cards to play but decided to govern from the far left instead of from the center. Biden’s support has predictably collapsed."  Yes, the normies noticed.  "Biden had deceitfully promised to conduct a healing campaign and a unifying presidency. But once in the White House, his extreme agendas proved the most divisive and far-left in nearly a century."  Democrats are out of touch with voters.

Let the reckoning begin.  "'Fundamentally transforming' this country has not improved it but instead drained it of its identity, independence, cohesiveness, and perpetual optimism."  We'll see how long the Kamala cult lasts among the giddy late adolescents.  Let wiser heads prevail.  "Yes, their problem isn’t that Joe is unfit. Their problem is that too many people noticed."  The Donks will pretend the valley girl is competent.  "The same party that lied about Joe Biden without compunction or remorse now wants you to credit everything it is going to tell us about the marvelous, heretofore unappreciated qualities of Kamala Harris."  And enough people might be fooled that she'll be sworn in.  "Why would Americans vote for this clown car party/team, whoever ultimately ends up as their nominee? They've already proved they don't care about Americans."  I want Democrats out of national office for a generation, but will be happy with continued gridlock.  "Our reserves of contempt are insufficient to do justice to the production they have brought us."  Conservatives told the truth about Biden.

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

1.  Fragility by design.  "All the intelligence has been moved into the system and away from the workers, which is fine as long as the system works."  How has the past half-century worked out for you?

2.  We bet on emergence.  "Americans exist between the present and the future, which is why they do things like invent digital technology and the iPhone and send men to the moon and Mars."

3.  Emergence is hard.  "Every act of major technological innovation is 'an act of rebellion against conventional wisdom and vested interests,' and conventional wisdom and vested interest have a way of fighting back."

4.  Free trade!  "It promotes freedom, reduces government control, promotes innovation, reduces prices, relieves international tensions, lessens overseas poverty, reduces pressure for immigration, and boosts worldwide living conditions."

5.  Many people chose to leave town.  "Milwaukee is a very blue city and today’s Republican Party is a very red party, and the fraught and fractured dynamic between the host city and the GOP here in the state of Wisconsin is indeed a factor."

6.  In the absence of testable implications, is anyone surprised?  "Historically, psychology has been an easy instrument for political abuse. And where current research is in shambles, past insights into manipulation and dominance are frighteningly on point."

7.  You'd think this would be self-evident.  "If criticism is the moral equivalent of incitement, we have no free speech."

8.  Only a few novelty Trabis?  "No tariffs were required to keep out cheaply made cars from Eastern Europe following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end to the Cold War."

9.  No consensus on the pork barrel?  "Biden hasn't had any big legislative wins like those since the GOP retook the House and the White House hasn't even tried."  Those wins?  "A trifecta of the inflation-inducing American Rescue Plan Act, the Inflation Reduction Act that did not reduce inflation, and the Infrastructure and Jobs Act which resulted in little infrastructure or jobs."

10.  We'll have a better idea in a century.  "Leaving aside the question of where exactly Biden should rank on the list of worst presidents, we probably should leave some room for the likes of James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, and (for libertarians especially) Woodrow Wilson."

11.  We have much to look forward to.  "While Harris rapidly clinched the support of the Democratic establishment and congressional progressives, some have voiced concerns about her corporate ties and record as a U.S. senator and California's attorney general."

12.  Meet the new ditz, same as the old coot.  "The policies that she aims to pursue would, of course, further deplete federal coffers and run the risk of driving up inflation further, as money printer simply cannot go brrr in perpetuity."

13.  Embrace the power of "all."  "Like most leftist catchphrases, 'DEI' — which stands for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion — is basically a lie."

14.  To break out of the grim strategy outcome, payback is essential.  "We must play by the New Rules, even when it is ugly and unpleasant."  No grace until grace is again the norm.

15.  Speaking of payback:  "If you want credit for considering Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion when you hire, you should have a better response than 'How dare you say this was a DEI pick!?' when people believe you and repeat it back to you."

16.  Ronald Reagan's nine scariest words?  "Our government has grown too big, too unaccountable and too stupid to be of service to many of us."  Turf them out?  "The administrative state is overbearing and disturbingly unaccountable, but it is a far cry from a military occupation of American cities or totalitarian enslavement of the population."

17.  Don't get cocky.  "Looking like a five-run lead."  Yes, earlier the day Donald Trump got shot, the Milwaukee Brewers chased a Washington starting pitcher, putting up five runs in the first inning.  The Nationals made some pitching changes and ultimately took the lead with the Brewer closer pitching.

18.  Shouldn't that teaching begin in kindergarten?  "We can teach our students, from day one through graduation, to think harder about the experiences of others, and to take some of the moralizing out of their encounters with people who think differently. The real-world effects might give us more thoughtful graduates and fewer reactionaries."

19.  We've just lived through something extraordinary.

20.  Don't bet against emergence.  "When we create seemingly perfect situations, we destroy the human element that brings human excitement to life."

21.  Please get a better metaphor.  "NYC to Boston in 100 minutes: a high-speed train proposal picks up steam."