Liberty, License, Gratitude, by Robert Royal
July 5, 2021Msgr. Charles Pope: A 4th of July Meditation on the Paradox that Freedom Can Only Exist Within Limits
July 6, 2021
People aren’t dumb. They’ve looked around, and they see that telling the wrong joke — or even simply laughing at one — is a quick way to destroy your life.
By Christopher Bedford, The Federalist, July 6, 2021
Conan O’Brien did his final late night show last week, after 28 years on air. He’s stepping away at the right time. Whether you liked his comedic style or not, he really was trying to make people laugh.
When was the last time you watched “The Late Show” in order to laugh? That’s a trick question — nobody who watches Stephen Colbert is laughing. Laughter is entirely beside the point; Colbert’s show is political catechism in nightly hour-long installments.
One of Colbert’s masterworks in June was a song “parody” titled “500 Vials,” which didn’t even have a joke — it was just telling everyone to get the vaccine. It may be the least funny video ever created, and after the female-empowerment version of “Ghostbusters,” that can’t be said lightly (but remember: Anyone who didn’t laugh is sexist). …