Timothy Sandefur does some fascinating research about a purported McCarthy-era magazine ad. The truth is out there, but it turns out — horrors — to be sort of nuanced.
Jason Kuznicki
Jason Kuznicki is a research fellow at the Cato Institute and contributor of Cato Unbound. He's on twitter as JasonKuznicki. His interests include political theory and history.
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on Open Mic for the week of 3/24/25Heh, I see what you're doing; it's funnier to play Chait saying this straight.
on Signal Controversy Over Houthi Strikes DeepensOh no heheh. on Signal Controversy Over Houthi Strikes DeepensI mean I lay the blame for HRC's loss on HRC first and foremost but the GOP did string it out throug…
on Signal Controversy Over Houthi Strikes DeepensPresidents have been appointing idiots to important cabinet positions for a very long time. That's n…
on Signal Controversy Over Houthi Strikes DeepensYes, they're in the same barrel. But it will blow over until they constantly lie about it and/or con…
on Signal Controversy Over Houthi Strikes DeepensThe ability for it to be spun as a set of side-by-side tally marks is the problem. Because it's sooo…
on Signal Controversy Over Houthi Strikes DeepensI think looking at this as a set of side by side tally marks fails to capture what's really going on…
on Signal Controversy Over Houthi Strikes DeepensThese aren't very bright guys and things got out of hand remains evergreen on Signal Controversy Over Houthi Strikes DeepensThoughts are cheap. If they said something like "I said publicly *link* that Lloyd Austin should hav…
on Signal Controversy Over Houthi Strikes DeepensHah I was going to post that this morning but then got distracted by work.
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on Bowling — Balling Up the Score on Signal Controversy Over Houthi Strikes Deepens on Signal Controversy Over Houthi Strikes Deepens on Bowling — Balling Up the Score on Bowling — Balling Up the Score on Signal Controversy Over Houthi Strikes Deepens
on Signal Controversy Over Houthi Strikes Deepens
on Bowling — Balling Up the Score
on Open Mic for the week of 3/24/25 on Signal Controversy Over Houthi Strikes Deepens
on Open Mic for the week of 3/24/25
on Signal Controversy Over Houthi Strikes Deepens on Open Mic for the week of 3/24/25 on Open Mic for the week of 3/24/25 on Open Mic for the week of 3/24/25
I’m a bit surprised to hear that people believe that ad is real. I’ve always just assumed it was a joke. It looks like something out of the old National Lampoon.Report
Such people overemphasize the importance of Joseph McCarthy, and breeze past the real incidents of Soviet espionage and propaganda that occurred during that period; they portray communist propagandists as martyrs, and American leaders as insidious or as the bumbling offspring of the John Birchers and the Keystone Kops.
And worst of all, they argue purely by creating strawmen!Report
Think of it as supporting American agriculture.Report
If Joe McCarthy had not been real, we would have had to invent him.Report
We can still make fun of old cigarette ads, though, right?Report
Oh hell yeah. And old racist soap ads, and sexist ads for damn near everything, and a really disturbing suicidal pig among others. Make fun of those all you want — and nobody better take those away from us!Report
Of course, the Sega ad can’t possibly be real. No way on that one. It just can’t be.Report
The Bathroom Bolshie was a fixture of the era.Report
If Sandefur is correct about the Mad Magazine origins (which sounds very plausible to me), it would give a whole new meaning to to the term “Mad Men”.Report
I hate nuance.Report