On Thursday night's Daily Show, Jon Stewart took Kansas to the tool shed. The latest moves rightward by Gov. Sam Brownback (R) and the GOP-led state legislature include removing the required eight hours of training for a concealed-carry gun permit and seriously restricting what people on welfare can spend their government assistance on — guns and ammunition are still OK, but not movies, swimming at pools, cruise ships (?), nail salons, or any of life's other enjoyments.
After tying those two new pieces of legislation together, Stewart decided to see how Kansas — which gets $1.29 back from the federal government for every buck it sends to Washington — would like a taste of its own micro-managing medicine, laying out a series of strange but punitive things Kansas wouldn't be allowed to spend its federal subsidies on. "Kansas, these rules may feel petty and unnecessary and, quite frankly, insulting, but maybe they'll motivate you to escape your culture of federal dependency," he trolled. "Until then, let's see how you like being treated like the welfare queens you are." —Peter Weber
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
September 3 editorial cartoonsCartoons Wednesday’s political cartoons include news from the war front in Ukraine, RFK Jr. riding the Grim Reaper, and a Donald Trump cabinet meeting
-
Why high-street coffee chains may have had their dayIn the Spotlight Rising costs of coffee, energy and payroll, plus growing appetite for luxury drinks like matcha, has caused boom in independent and speciality coffee shops
-
GPS jamming: a new danger to civil aircraftThe Explainer Use of the 'invisible threat' is on the rise
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
A long weekend in ZürichThe Week Recommends The vibrant Swiss city is far more than just a banking hub
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
