The Big, Dumb, Gluttonous Fun of America’s Semiquincentennial

Was it possible to have a genuinely good, patriotic time this Semiquincentennial summer? I was determined to find out. A decade ago, Congress set up a bipartisan commission, America250, and asked it to “plan, encourage, develop, and coordinate the commemoration of the history of the United States leading up to the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.” But the group became riven by infighting and lawsuits. When Donald Trump began his second term as President, he formed his own task force, Freedom 250, which siphoned off much of America250’s allocated funding. Donors seeking to contribute to the…