# Freedom 250 - The Great American State Fair **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 29, 2026, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470 "2026-05-29T03:08:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/21 "2026-05-29T15:05:54Z")
I don’t see any monster trucks in the lineup. What kinda weak ass “state fair” doesn’t have monster trucks!!! BOOO!!! ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/22 "2026-05-29T15:12:56Z")
> [@](#): > > **wguy123:** I don’t see any monster trucks in the lineup. What kinda weak ass “state fair” doesn’t have monster trucks!!! BOOO!!! Fuck yeah, this liberal would actually consider going to a local event if it had monster trucks! 'Murica! ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/23 "2026-05-29T15:17:32Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > Fuck yeah, this liberal would actually consider going to a local event if it had monster trucks! Which would make this whole clusterfuck feel even _more_ like _Idiocracy_. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/24 "2026-05-29T15:17:56Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > This time, you’ll get $250 bills with his face on it. One hopes [it](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_two-hundred-fifty_dollar_bill) won’t get past the proposal stage so MAGA will have to settle for [gaudy $2 bills.](https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-73d9gqh/images/stencil/1280x1280/products/1283/2451/101440_lg-NEW__45839.1774983336.png?c=2) ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/25 "2026-05-29T15:19:42Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > The bicentennial committee spent a lot of time arguing about ,and designing the logo, and detailing exactly what it was to be. They never got around o putting together a Bicentennial Fair, like the CEntennial Fair in 1876 that celebrated our first 100 years. I understand the Procrastination Club is arguing about it still. > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > When we celebrated the Bicentennial, we had just gotten rid of our corrupt president. After the 1972 election I was dismayed Richard I-am-not-a-crook Nixon was going to be in charge of the country during the celebration. Then events intervened. Looks like this time around we haven’t time. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/26 "2026-05-29T15:25:57Z")
_The Mad Hate Book_ “Don’t ye hate… being the only kid in school whose father is a loyalist?” ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/27 "2026-05-29T15:41:32Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > And don’t forget the Bicentennial Freedom Train, which was a traveling museum of sorts. I remember the family going to this on the stop at the St Louis riverfront when I was a teen. I remember that. We went to it when the train came through Connecticut. And Queen Elizabeth II made a _brief_ visit to New Haven in July 1976. We stood on a sidewalk to catch a glimpse of her in her car. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/28 "2026-05-29T16:02:52Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > The “Bicentennial Minutes” on TV were cool. These were little one minute “commercials” that pointed out some historical detail that happened on that date 200 years previously, and gave you not only a mini-history lesson but also gave you a sense of how long it took for things to happen. I remember the Bicentennial Minutes, but I was surprised to learn, from the Wikipedia article about them, that they started on July 4, 1974, two full years before the 200th anniversary. That really does impress you with how long the process of Independence took. I will be celebrating the 250th anniversary by playing John Hancock in a production of the musical _1776_. We don’t actually perform until August, but it’s the thought that counts. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/29 "2026-05-29T16:34:40Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > I understand the Procrastination Club is arguing about it still. We are going to do start arguing about it next week, or the week after, soonish. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/30 "2026-05-29T17:13:15Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > I will be celebrating the 250th anniversary by playing John Hancock in a production of the musical _1776_. We don’t actually perform until August, but it’s the thought that counts. I was i a production of **1776** is 1975, anticipating things by a year. I played Congressional secretary Charles Thomson. I had more lines than anyone else. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/31 "2026-05-29T17:44:58Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > This time, you’ll get $250 bills with his face on it. The way things are going, a trumper\* will be what you get in change back from the payment for your hamberder and diet coke on the midway. \*that’s what we called a $250 bill, back in Shelbyville, when I wore an onion on my belt ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/32 "2026-05-29T17:45:54Z")
Gimme four Trumpers for a Cleveland, you’d say. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/33 "2026-05-29T17:47:19Z")
You were there, too! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/34 "2026-05-29T17:49:29Z")
Eh, we can just hold our real 250th celebration 13 years from now, when the nation actually turns 250. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/35 "2026-05-29T17:52:14Z")
My thinking is that we save the celebrating until the end of the Trump regime and the (presumable) return to normalcy and democracy. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/36 "2026-05-29T18:01:39Z")
Yup. If trump and his minions are still in office, there is NOTHING to celebrate. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/37 "2026-05-29T18:11:33Z")
They should invite Ted Nugent to perform [Jailbait](https://genius.com/Ted-nugent-jailbait-live-lyrics). It would be the perfect topping for this shit sundae. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/38 "2026-05-29T19:08:05Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > The Tall Ships going to various harbors was a nice spectacle. They’re doing it again this year. As it happens, some of the ship’s will be anchored right outside our window (literally) here on the North Shore of Boston. > **[Sail250 – America’s 250 Maritime Celebrations](https://www.sail250.org/)** ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/39 "2026-05-29T19:21:32Z")
One of the most amazing things I’ve found about Trump over the years is how he can take what might actually be a good idea and completely ruin it every time. A massive state fair style event could have been great. Model it on the Big E where every state gets a building to show itself off plus other fair stuff. I can believe that the White House actually could use a formal ballroom. A triumphal arch that fits in with the rest of the architecture (so like the 50 feet that had originally been suggested) in the area could have been pretty neat. And then there’s the fact that I’ve never seen him wearing a suit that fits properly. And while I got tired years ago of everyone’s “clever” nicknames and insults for his appearance, he could easily pay someone to actually do a decent job instead of whatever it is he does. I guess I can understand how he can’t manage to see himself. I still can’t get how the die hard supporters don’t see that bundle of narcissism and failure and get turned off by the man himself even if they support his actions. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/40 "2026-05-29T19:24:02Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > And while I got tired years ago of everyone’s “clever” nicknames and insults for his appearance How 'bout King Merdes? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470.md?page=3)