Government May Be Closed, But McDonald's Is Open: Reason Roundup
Trump's fast-food feast at the White House earned jeers, then backlash to the jeers. But who cares? This is comedy gold.
Burgers and a side of memes. It's a classic conundrum: You've invited the championship-winning college football team over for dinner, but your kitchen staff has all been furloughed because of your temper tantrum about a giant wall. What to do? Why, order some good old-fashioned American Food, obviously.
When asked by reporters, President Donald Trump wouldn't pick a favorite from the (cold!) fast-food smorgasbord he served Clemson University football players yesterday evening. Instead, he refused to differentiate between the McDonald's, Wendy's, and other burgers and fries served, repeatedly referring to it as simply "American food" and saying that he loved it all.
Trump was quickly condemned by some as "tacky" and "cheap," and then those folks were condemned by others for being snobs, and so on. (I'm not sure what cycle of the backlash we're currently in.) But with all due respect, who cares? This is comedy gold.
FREE MARKETS
News you can use! Read Reason Associate Editor Mike Riggs' feature from the February print issue:
I wrote a big thing about CBD, which is either a miracle cure or a marketing scam, depending on what kind of CBD you buy, who you buy it from: https://t.co/bBaXAUqExp
— Mike Riggs (@MikeRiggs) January 14, 2019
FREE MINDS
Kamala Harris and the return of the "Bernie Bros." As Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) gets ready to announce her presidential run, her fans have started rehashing rhetoric from the 2016 presidential election every time they see any criticism of her. Critiques of Harris are dismissed as simple sexism or racism, and often attributed to the nefarious Bernie Bros, who have allegedly regrouped and set their sights on Harris this time.
The anti-Kamala Harris campaign by the Sanders-oriented predominantly white "progressive" left has started. We all knew it was coming.
— Tom Watson (@tomwatson) January 14, 2019
Many a think piece back in 2016 characterized Bernie Bros as left-leaning white dudes who marginalized the concerns of women and people of color and dismissed women like Hillary Clinton (and now Harris) to signal socialist purity. But in practice, then and now, anyone can be dismissed by Democrats as a Bernie Bro if they criticize Clinton or Harris. And then as now, another common way to dismiss concerns about Harris has been to downplay them as petty, unserious, or representing an excessive concern with ideological purity. It's going to be a long year…
QUICK HITS
- Cato Institute Vice President Gene Healy pleads with folks to have some perspective:
Congress should rein in the president's #EmergencyPowers before a *competent* authoritarian comes along, I argue @CatoInstitute:https://t.co/dvBCl54J5a
— Gene Healy (@GeneHealy) January 11, 2019
- The trial of a theater director in Russia has celebrities there paying attention to crackdowns on freedom of expression.
- Los Angeles teachers are on strike.
- Make it stop, please: