Vignettes and Vino: Dinner Table Stories from the Trump White House with Recipes and Cocktail Pairings By Brian and Teresa Morgenstern (Post Hill Press, 160 pages, $30) Washington, D.C.: the mere mention of it can make a conservative shudder. I myself have been asked more than a few times by friends from the hinterland whose voices ooze suspicion: “What’s it like there? Do you like it?” The latter question cannot help but feel like a character probe, seeking to know if I am “one of those people” — you know, the sort that schmoozes, politicks, and lines his pockets with the hard-earned dollars of his countrymen. For the record, no I am not, and no I don’t, although, if any of you red-blooded Americans wish to send me a check to help me restock my liquor cabinet and buy more fishing tackle, I won’t stop you. These feelings about D.C. are understandable, and not unwarranted. American skepticism about big cities is older than the Founding. The metropolis is a place of vice, a den of godless elites, money grabbers, and outright swindlers who chortle derisively at the rest of the country while fleecing and corrupting it. And when that city happens to be the seat of government, well, the suspicions run higher still. Indeed, I often wonder why I live in the Federal City. Taxes are high, and yet I get lousy public schools, high crime rates, corrupt local government, and open-air drug dealing. Driving in the city is increasingly tedious, thanks to the government’s replacement of traffic lanes with outdoor seating areas and bike and scooter paths. When slogging through traffic, the sole entertainment is watching the minority property maintenance crews trimming the lawns and edges of the million-dollar homes displaying yard signs declaring, “In this house, we believe: Black lives matter…,” et cetera. Subscribers, click here to read the full magazine. Not a subscriber? Click here to become a Patriot member today and receive access to The American Spectator in print and online!...
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