Megan McArdle

[[File:Megan McArdle by David Shankbone.jpg|thumb|right|164px|Megan McArdle, being tall.]]{{Pundits}}{{cquote|This is all technically true, and collectively nonsense.|||Megan McArdle, defining [[cognitive dissonance]] for us.<ref>[http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2009/07/matt-taibbi-gets-his-sarah-palin-on/21084/ "Matt Taibbi Gets His Sarah Palin On"], ''The Atlantic'', July 10, 2009</ref>}}
{{cquote|I apologize in advance, because I am going to talk about a book that I have not yet read.|||Yes, legitimate news organizations deem this publishable.<ref>[http://thebaffler.com/blog/2014/04/what_pikettys_conservative_critics_get_wrong What Piketty’s Conservative Critics Get Wrong] (We expect a ''little bit'' more than "I didn't read it.")</ref>}}
'''Megan McArdle''' (also known as '''McMegan''') is a self described [[libertarian]]<ref>Her libertarianism included support for the [[Iraq War]] and criticizing libertarian favorite [[Ron Paul]], much in common with fellow [[Libertarianism#Fake_libertarians|fake libertarian]] [[Neal Boortz]].</ref> "econoblogger" who is now a columnist for ''[[The Washington Post]]''. She is best known for her dismal [[argument]]ation style and being of above-average height.<ref>6'2" (188 cm), [https://web.archive.org/web/20190325130147if_/http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/2009/07/how-tall-will-megan-mcardle-peter-sudermans-theoretical-offspring-be/#.XJjRRNj7TIU in case you were wondering.]</ref>

==Background==
McArdle started writing in 2001 under the ''nom de plume'' [[Atlas Shrugged|Jane Galt]]. She gained a reputation for her [[Objectivist]] 
reason and rationality
 [[bullshit|claptrap]]. For example, in 2003 she made waves for her novel idea to curb violence during the [[anti-war]] protests:

{{cquote|[[Sadism|I can't be mad at these little dweebs. I'm too busy laughing. And I think some in New York are going to laugh even harder when they try to unleash some civil disobedience, Lenin style, and some New Yorker who understands the horrors of war all too well picks up a two-by-four and teaches them how very effective violence can be when it's applied in a firm, pre-emptive manner]].<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20120112103401/http://www.janegalt.net/blog/archives/003959.html "Bring it On"], Asymmetrical Information, February 13, 2003. (Incidentally, McArdle's defense for this was to claim that she didn't know how big a 2x4 was.)</ref>}}

That same year, she wrote a number of posts attacking [[Iraq War]] critics. Showing a true gift for prescience, she predicted that the war would cost well under a trillion dollars over the long run; casualties would be no more than a few hundred per side; that the war would bolster the economy and make [[oil]] prices drop; and that there would be no impact on the credibility of the United States government.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20120314140221/http://www.janegalt.net/blog/archives/004056.html "How much is the war going to cost?"] Asymmetrical Information, March 26, 2003</ref> See [[Thomas Friedman]].

With such insights, it came as a surprise when she started writing for ''[[The Economist]]'' in 2003; some might say that it's a bit odd that a magazine would make an "Economics Correspondent" out of someone who has no background in [[economics]], but what those critics fail to take into account is that McArdle is very tall.<ref>This ''[[non sequitur]]'' is brought to you by [http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2008/12/tall-people-are-richer-because-they-are-smarter/4512/ ...come on!]</ref> 

===At ''The Atlantic''===
In 2007, McArdle managed to land a spot on the website of ''The Atlantic Monthly''. ''The Atlantic'' has a long history in American [[politics]], having published "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," original works by [[Mark Twain]] and [[Martin Luther King]], Jr.'s "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." McArdle — clearly realizing the gravity of her new position — changed to a more sedate writing style, focusing on more serious topics like:

*The status of her [[car]]<ref>[http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2009/01/car-success/4548/ "Car Success!"] ''The Atlantic'', January 11 2009</ref>
*The risks of using a Kindle in the bathtub<ref>[http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2008/12/taking-a-bath-on-the-kindle/4451/ "Taking a bath on the Kindle"], ''The Atlantic'', December 10, 2008</ref>
*Her being tall<ref>[http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2007/11/they-might-be-giants/2234/ "They might be giants"], ''The Atlantic'', November 13, 2007 </ref>
*Her having a cold<ref>[http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2008/08/apologies/3954/ Apologies], ''The Atlantic'', August 11, 2008. (Note the date. During the [[banking crisis|bank collapses]], the "econoblogger" — who works largely from home — made only a few posts a week on account of her "hideous lung infection.")</ref>
*The trials of being a [[vegetarian]] (for a year)<ref>[http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2007/10/defending-vegetarian-honor/2054/ "Defending Vegetarian honor"], ''The Atlantic'', October 4, 2007. (Also, she still ate meat during her "vegetarian" phase.)</ref>
*And, of course, this:

{{cquote|Early this morning, the [[Apple]] folks appeared with water for the needy liners...I imagine this is what it feels like to be a refugee — you sleep outside, and then smiling people in uniform hand you supplies whether you ask for them or not.<ref>[http://meganmcardle.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/07/iphone_relief.php "iPhone Relief"], ''The Atlantic'', July 11, 2008</ref>}}

This is not to say that she never tackled actual economics issues; however, when discussing economics, her knowledge ''really'' shone through... well, as in [[Schlafly statistics|inventing statistics]] to support her theses.<ref>[http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/tapped_archive?month=09&year=2009&base_name=the_atlantics_mcardle_problem The Atlantic's McArdle Problem], ''The American Prospect'', September 2, 2009</ref> She left the magazine in 2012.

==Issues==
===Iraq===
As her history suggests, McArdle was a [[Chickenhawk|supporter of the Iraq War]] during both the run-up and the occupation. Since 2007, her remarks on the war have been scarce and mostly focused on casualty estimates. She has written a multi-part criticism of the Iraqi Body Count<ref>[http://firemeganmcardle.blogspot.com/2008/03/everybody-has-to-die-of-something.html Everybody has to die of something]</ref> and attempted to refute the 2007 Lancet study using a bizarre "macaroni and cheese" analogy.<ref>[http://scienceblogs.com/deltoid/2007/03/the_macaroni_and_cheese_argume.php The macaroni and cheese argument against the Lancet study], ScienceBlogs, March 10, 2007</ref>

In 2008, McArdle finally broke down and wrote some very mild ''mea culpa'' posts. However, she was never able to fully admit any error, even having the audacity to claim that we should listen to the pro-war crowd in the future because they learned from their mistakes.<ref>[http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2008/03/are-you-talking-to-me/3096/ "Are you talking to me?"] ''The Atlantic'', March 26, 2008. (As an added bonus, this post contains ''yet another'' reference to McArdle's height.)</ref>

===School shootings===
McArdle thinks that during a [[school shooting]] like the [[Sandy Hook massacre]], "the correct thing to do is for everyone to instantly run at the guy with the gun." Supposedly, this would ''reduce'' the body count, when really it would just increase the chances of one person getting close enough to attempt to disarm the shooter while said person's friends were killed.<ref>[http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2012/12/newsweek-wins-worst-newtown-reaction-award.html McArdle Wins Worst Newtown Reaction Award]</ref>

==Trumpism==
{{main|Trumpism}}
In 2025, McArdle continued to promote the spurious "[[Trump Derangement Syndrome]], advising readers not to overreact to what has been called elsewhere as Trump's second [[coup]] attempt for [[Donald Trump|Trump]] and [[Elon Musk|Musk]]'s contempt for the [[rule of law]].<ref>[https://archive.ph/NAMY1 A new version of ‘Trump derangement syndrome’] by Megan McArdle (February 10, 2025) ''The Washington Post'' (archived from 10 Feb 2025 17:57:50 UTC).</ref><ref>[https://snyder.substack.com/p/of-course-its-a-coup Of course it’s a coup: Miss the obvious, lose your republic] by Timothy Snyder (Feb 05, 2025) ''Thinking About…'' (Substack).</ref>

==See also==
*[[Wingnut welfare]]

==External links==
*[https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/megan-mcardle/ Her current blog]
*[http://firemeganmcardle.blogspot.com/ Fire Megan McArdle]
*Dean Baker [[pwn]]s McMegan on [http://bloggingheads.tv/diavlogs/17796 Blogging Heads.]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

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Categories: Bloggers, Chickenhawks, Internet kooks, Journalists, Libertarians, Living people, Objectivism, Political pundits, Right-wing activists, Shysters