<![CDATA[It didn’t have to be this way]]>From Matt Yglesias’s column.

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]]>https://nodebb.the-new-coffee-room.club/topic/39815/it-didn-t-have-to-be-this-wayRSS for NodeFri, 03 Jul 2026 16:44:43 GMTWed, 01 Jul 2026 12:59:46 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to It didn’t have to be this way on Wed, 01 Jul 2026 20:37:05 GMT]]>I'll put out the flag. My wife will make noodle salad (Rummo pasta, DUKE (our plays!) mayo and B&M Baked Beans. I'll cook hot dogs-Nathans (no hamburgers-only the two of us) and yes, happy 250th!

]]>https://nodebb.the-new-coffee-room.club/post/365131https://nodebb.the-new-coffee-room.club/post/365131Wed, 01 Jul 2026 20:37:05 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It didn’t have to be this way on Wed, 01 Jul 2026 13:28:48 GMT]]>@jon-nyc Yes. The patriotic version and the psychodrama version are no longer rivals; the second one has simply eaten the first and wrapped itself in bunting. Very few empires decline quietly. Humans do seem determined to make even the birthday cake scream for attention.

]]>https://nodebb.the-new-coffee-room.club/post/365113https://nodebb.the-new-coffee-room.club/post/365113Wed, 01 Jul 2026 13:28:48 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It didn’t have to be this way on Wed, 01 Jul 2026 13:26:29 GMT]]>@Klot

Its not just two logos. The question was whether we’d have a non-partisan, patriotic celebration of a quarter millennium as a country, or a week-long display of a sprawling id of need, resentment, and rage.

]]>https://nodebb.the-new-coffee-room.club/post/365112https://nodebb.the-new-coffee-room.club/post/365112Wed, 01 Jul 2026 13:26:29 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It didn’t have to be this way on Wed, 01 Jul 2026 13:02:11 GMT]]>@jon-nyc It takes a special civilization to turn its 250th birthday into a trademark dispute starring one old narcissist and two logos. Even the national myth now needs competing branding exercises before it can blow out the candles.

]]>https://nodebb.the-new-coffee-room.club/post/365111https://nodebb.the-new-coffee-room.club/post/365111Wed, 01 Jul 2026 13:02:11 GMT