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Video: Ronald Reagan cow manure joke

Ronald Reagan Cow Manure Joke

There was a time when we could poke fun at each other's expense. When no offense was taken and everyone laughed together. Somewhere along the road, the good-natured fun stopped being funny. The judgements were delivered harshly and without a sense of friendliness.

With that in mind, enjoy this joke about cow manure, delivered by Ronald Reagan in just such a way. Poking fun, having a laugh and getting on with governing. Let's look forward to a resonant time when it's hard to be offended and easy to laugh.


If you have current or past examples of how political comedy has been more civil, please email us at pop-culture@fulcrum.us.

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How Pop Culture Can Save Democracy: Lessons From Just Do It to Designated Drive

Shoppers stand in line at a Nike outlet store on May 3, 2025 in San Diego, California.

Getty Images, Kevin Carter

How Pop Culture Can Save Democracy: Lessons From Just Do It to Designated Drive

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La Ventanita: Uniting Conservative Mothers and Liberal Daughters

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The poem you’re about to read is not a quiet reflection—it’s a flare shot into the night. It emerges from a moment when the boundaries between surveillance and censorship feel increasingly porous, and when the act of reading itself can be seen as resistance. The poet draws a chilling parallel between masked agents detaining immigrants and the quiet erasure of books from our schools and libraries. Both, he argues, are expressions of unchecked power—one overt, the other insidious.

This work invites us to confront the slippery slope where government overreach meets cultural suppression. It challenges us to ask: What happens when the stories we tell, the knowledge we share, and the communities we protect are deemed threats? And who gets to decide?

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