The Desecration of America Under trump

Update: Thank you once again to Batocchio for including this article at Crooks & Liars' Mike's Blog Round-Up. I apologize for the mess, I need to vacuum the place.

With all the madness happening over the past few weeks no make that a month actually it's the whole damn year - from the Republican government shutdown for all the worst reasons, the escalation of bombing fishing boats on the shores of South America, the growing hostility of ICE thugs towards not only legal immigrants now also children and protestors - the one bit really standing out in my current outrage is the wanton (arguably illegal) destruction donald trump is inflicting on the nation's most visible symbol of power The White House (via AP and NPR):

The White House on Monday started tearing down part of the East Wing, the traditional base of operations for the first lady, to build President Trump's $250 million ballroom despite lacking approval for construction from the federal agency that oversees such projects.

Dramatic photos of the demolition work showed construction equipment tearing into the East Wing façade and windows and other building parts in tatters on the ground. Some reporters watched from a park near the Treasury Department, which is next to the East Wing...

The White House has moved ahead with the massive construction project despite not yet having sign-off from the National Capital Planning Commission, which approves construction work and major renovations to government buildings in the Washington area...

It was unclear whether the White House had submitted the ballroom plans for the agency's review and approval. The White House did not respond to a request for comment and the commission's offices are closed because of the government shutdown...

trump's doing this now so that there's no interference from Congress - even from a handful of Republicans who would question the wasteful spending - from indulging in one of his worst vices: his overwhelming need to shove his vulgar tastes in everyone's faces.

Trump insists that presidents have desired such a ballroom for 150 years and that he's adding the massive 90,000-square-foot, glass-walled space because the East Room, which is the largest room in the White House with an approximately 200-person capacity, is too small. He also has said he does not like the idea of hosting kings, queens, presidents and prime ministers in pavilions on the South Lawn.

Given trump's personal obsessions with gaudy oversized architecture, I'm pretty sure he's the only occupant of the White House who'd ever considered getting a massive arena-sized ballroom to indulge his fantasies of having the biggest and brightest things to show off. Adding to the illegality of tearing down the East Wing is how trump plans to pay for all this: through direct contributions of the wealthy elite. A massive public quid pro quo with the billionaires trump wants sucking up to him.

There are other reasons why trump is doing this aside from his love of hideous décor. At the top of that list is trump's personal belief that he's not going anywhere. trump keeps pushing the false idea he can "run" again for the presidency in 2028 in spite of the 22nd Amendment saying "uh uh TWO TERMS IS THE LIMIT." Considering how he's looking to use the Insurrection Act - or some self-declaration of war without congressional approval - to declare a national emergency and suspend every election to usher in his dictatorship, trump wants to turn what's supposed to be a temporary residency for a temporary leader into a garish memorial of his (supposed) eternal rule.

This is trump's way of saying "the White House is MINE now, no one can take it away from me," and he's treating it much like his other properties. trump would love to turn the whole building into Mar-A-Lago North.

In the meantime, this photo is a perfect representation of what trump and his Far Right lackeys are doing to the whole nation:

from the Washington Post

It is going to take generations to undo this destruction.