My granddaughter lives within walking distance of the White House, and Monday we all took a break from cooing over her to stroll our little lozenge of concentrated cuteness over to eyeball the place for the first time since the East Wing was torn off.
You can't see anything. Which itself is odd, because typically this administration is too arrogant and dumb to be ashamed of the bad it's doing. In truth, the careful concealment was more worrisome than any glimpse of ripped up architecture. Because it is a reminder that, as awful as what we know of the current administration certainly is, imagine what is going on out of sight. Not just the self-dealing, the corrupt practices — those are also pretty plain, though there must be more and worse that will someday be revealed.
Beyond that, think about those windowless ICE detention facilities. We see how ICE behaves in public, with upstanding members of the public whose only crime is exercising their Constitutional rights. What is going on in darkness, with zero oversight nor accountability? When the facts come out — and they always do — it'll make the recent tempest over abrupt removal of part of the people's house seem silly. It isn't a matter of speculation, but a certainty. Anyone wondering whether the faceless thugs operating outside the law are behaving themselves in private is an idiot.
It was very sad to see the White House. Usually I thrill to consider the greatness that once resided here. Now it's hard to think beyond the evil therein, the excrescence occupying it, tearing it apart, and our country too.
At least we can still speak out. Free speech hasn't been cast as obstruction of justice, yet, though ICE is halfway there, hassling Americans for taking videos in a Sam's Club parking lot. There were protestors in LaFayette Park. They seemed to be having fun, and I thought I'd amplify their messages in my own small way.
It was very sad to see the White House. Usually I thrill to consider the greatness that once resided here. Now it's hard to think beyond the evil therein, the excrescence occupying it, tearing it apart, and our country too.
At least we can still speak out. Free speech hasn't been cast as obstruction of justice, yet, though ICE is halfway there, hassling Americans for taking videos in a Sam's Club parking lot. There were protestors in LaFayette Park. They seemed to be having fun, and I thought I'd amplify their messages in my own small way.
Gd sounds darling.
ReplyDelete"The greatness it once occupied" Top five???????????
ReplyDeleteAbraham Lincoln, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Teddy Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy. Do you really not see it? Then maybe you are in the wrong place.
DeleteAlthough that is an awkward phrase, so I've recast it — thanks for drawing that to my attention. Though your question does remind me of the time Louis Armstrong was supposedly asked to explain jazz, and responded, apocryphally, "If you have to ask, you'll never know."
DeleteMy all-time faves: Lincoln, TR, FDR, Truman, Ford, Obama, Biden.
DeleteWhy Ford? I liked him. He was good, decent, honest, and nice.
We could use some of those things right now. Even one of them.
The plans for the ballroom remind me of something Lynda Resnick (co-founder of Wonderful Foods) said about her gilded residence- "It's not home, but it's much." I think Donald Trump has, alongside horrible missteps, accomplished fantastic things. Even Bernie Sanders has said that some things he's done were vitally important. But we can all agree that a fan of understated elegance he is not.
ReplyDelete"I think Donald Trump has, alongside horrible missteps, accomplished fantastic things."
DeleteList five, be specific, and any mal- or misfeasance on his part is a DQ.
"Donald Trump has .... accomplished fantastic things."
DeleteI'm having my morning cup of tea - reading this, I just spit a mouthful of tea on the dining table. Say what!? He has done no such "things" and Hitler made the trains run on time.
At the risk of channelling whatever buzzing hive of thought is going on in EE's ganglion clump, I'd imagine he's thinking of sealing the borders, ignoring the devastating effect on our economy, not to forget the crushing effect on people who were drawn to this country under the misimpression that it was an open society that rewarded hard work, and perhaps the kneecapping of the federal government so it no longer helps people who actually need help.
Delete"fantastic" as in fantasy-like, or removed from reality?
DeleteNo longer minting pennies is pretty good.
DeleteI've come to learn that if someones says a person has done "great things" but does not list anything, they most likely have either no idea what is actually going on or have consumed way too much of "the kool aid."
DeleteMy greatest frustration with America, her people, and the politics is the inability to both understand the complexity and accept that a nuanced approach needs to be taken. I know I am not good at this either, but republicans, the right, or what ever exists center and right are incapable of supplying anything outside of a tag line for anything. I would challenge any republican to explain the "Big Beautiful Bill" and what it does. As proven by MTG and Mike "i don't know about that" Johnson, it's clear most have no idea what it does, why it does it, or is capable of explaining the nuances of it. granted, even if they could, 99% of republican supporters wouldn't be able to follow or care... hence the problem.
Maybe I'm mistaken, but I seem to recall Mr. Eisenberg's occasional comments in the past being worthwhile. Thus, this one is depressing, indeed.
DeletePerhaps he's referring to the recent cease-fire in Israel. Probably because the corrupt autocrats in the Middle East appreciate America electing a fatuous boob who is also a corrupt wannabe autocrat, he's made a bit of headway there. We'll see how that works out in the long run.
As far as I can tell, the main "fantastic things" he's accomplished, and I'll go with Merriam-Webster definition 1c here ("so extreme as to challenge belief") is having no qualifications other than being a world-class charlatan, yet getting elected by a misguided assemblage of American voters twice.
Like our host, I also used to enjoy reading about the history of the presidency and the men who'd served. Even in the orange felon's first term, that was all ruined for me. To think that he will now always be included among the great and not-so-great who I used to read about was and is sickening.
With regard to the White House, of course the unilateral choice to tear down the East Wing, after lying about how he wouldn't touch it, is awful. But Pete Buttigieg made a salient point. He said: "How in the world could you be focused on building a new ballroom — literally gilded ballroom — for fancy parties for your rich friends, at the exact moment when working Americans, actually disproportionately working Americans, who voted for you, are getting screwed by your healthcare policy, and you don’t seem to be interested in helping them."
Terry: Yeh, not minting pennies is right up there with good healthcare for all, housing, nutrition, environmental protections, infrastructure, education...
DeleteOne thing that I give Trump credit for is to realize that we're generous and concerned about many different countries in the world give them aid and protection and then they give us the finger they talk about what a horrible place we are and what horrible people we are and he's cut them off.
DeleteWe also let people from war-torn and politically violent regions come here with a temporary status and then somehow it never ends and if it does they don't leave we're helping people we're generous we're concerned and kind and we get spit on
Somehow someway the immigration situation has to be rained in they've been talking about it for decades we have to remember that the last time there was an amnesty the only reason that a bunch of politicians voted for it was because it included a guarantee that this would never happen again so that's not the solution amnesty.
Securing our borders is not an unreasonable thing to do it's not horrible to determine who gets to come here we're still going to let a lot of people in. They don't just get to decide to come they have to follow the rules what problem is it do we have with this.
Hundreds of thousands of people have self deported because of the policies of the Trump administration there's clarity in what they're saying you can't come here without getting in line you can't stay here just because you're already here and we want you to go back to where you came from if you're not here legally why do we as Democrats disagree with this it was out of hand.
Does it really have a negative effect on our economy we've been deporting people by the hundreds of thousands for decades
FANTASTIC
DeleteMerriam-Webster:
So extreme as to challenge belief: unbelievable.
Conceived, made, or carried out without adherence to truth or reality.
Synonyms:
Bizarre, crazy, grotesque, wild, absurd, ridiculous.
Unreal, insane, strange, foolish, dubious, nonsensical.
Preposterous, incredible, incredulous, unlikely, impossible.
Thesaurus:
Unthinkable, unimaginable, implausible, untenable.
Inconceivable, questionable, unconvincing, silly.
Hopeless, suspicious, disputable, fishy, ludicrous.
Shaky, far-fetched, flimsy, dodgy, comical, laughable.
That about covers the adjective. And the asshat.
For some very strange reason, this has given me hope.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Neil.
“little lozenge of concentrated cuteness”… I love it, as I’m now holding my own such 4-month-old darling granddaughter as she naps.
ReplyDeleteAnd “the careful concealment was more worrisome … Because it is a reminder that, as awful as what we know of the current administration certainly is, imagine what is going on out of sight.” This is it in a nutshell.
Thank you. We will continue to do something until we can no longer do anything!
The last time we were in DC, the first thing we did after checking in at the hotel was walk over to The White House. That was right after Obama took office. An exciting, hopeful time in history. Now, I don't care if I ever see the place again.
ReplyDeleteI've never been a big fan of the White House.
ReplyDeleteWhile it is a symbol conveying the power of the people. It's been inhabited by many I might say a majority of administrations that were far from exemplary and did not always carry out the will of the people.
From the beginning it was home to men that owned enslaved people. Men who's wives and daughters could not vote.
Men who enacted policies of genocide and theft of land
Who enriched themselves and conquered nations and people around the world
Who engaged in brutal tactics of warfare that killed and injured millions of civilians in Europe and Asia.
Who propped up regimes that brutalized their own people.
A woman has yet to live there as president and it's sad to think we live amongst people who prefer a rude orange turd to a an experienced qualified female.
The actions of those who've lived in the white house is a more accurate reflection of who we are overall than we liberals and progressives .
Is Trump one of the 5 worst? Maybe.
Is Kennedy one of the best?
I don't know.
I liked Kennedy I don't like trump.
What good things has he done? I don't know but I'm sure it benefits him his friends and corporate America and the investor class of which many of us are members
It's a shame you feel that way, Phil. I see it as the home to the people who invented freedom. The world's an awful place ruled by tyrants. America came up with something different — for themselves, fellow white land owners, to be sure. But the virus got out and infected the world. I feel sorry for anyone blind to that.
DeleteYes of course our model of representative government spread to many places across the globe .
DeleteI'm not blind but I see all the things
It would be a shame if it were to come to an end here. A tragedy really..
I just don't think that's what's going to happen. I certainly don't fret on it every goddamn day.
In the words of Warren zevon enjoy every sandwich along with your Frosty mug of root beer .
The 'careful concealment' is something that keeps me up at night. I have a wild imagination yet my worst fears can't come close to the horrors concocted by this administration. Decent folks remain stuck in perpetual shock.
ReplyDeleteThe architectural plans (if they can be called that) of the new WH construction do not make sense from a square footage perspective or from a cost per square foot basis, either. The public is being lied to, and no answers are being provided.
Over at the Broadview ICE facility, democratic leaders have been repeatedly turned away from inspecting the site. First they were told they needed to make an appointment in advance, so they scheduled a meeting, showed up at the appointed time, only to be told the appointment would need to be rescheduled later in October. Now the excuse is.... no tours can be accommodated because of the government shutdown.