Elect Clowns, Get Circus

trump's desecration of the White House - the People's House, not his - continues with this mockery (via Nicholas Kerr at ABC News):

Construction on the Ultimate Fighting Championship Octagon is underway on the White House South Lawn ahead of President Donald Trump’s planned fights this summer to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States.

The event, dubbed "UFC Freedom Fights 250," will take place on June 14 -- coinciding with the president’s birthday and Flag Day -- and feature a lightweight title matchup between undisputed champion Ilia Topuria and interim title holder Justin Gaethje alongside four other fights.

How the actual fuck can you tie in a cage match fight system to the anniversary of the United States' "birthday" that was the Declaration of Independence???

photo by Mark Schiefelbein (AP Photo)

Look at how much of an eyesore that stage is going to be, dwarfing the White House itself.

In all the years that the White House has stood - since the later days of the John Adams' administration - there has never been a spectacle like this staged on the property: It's not like there's a long history of boxing fights (Teddy Roosevelt himself was an avid boxer until he got blinded: then he switched to judo) or music concerts being performed there (most concerts are better staged on the Mall just down the way).

trump is doing this because he's enamored of - and probably has money in - the UFC organization, showing up at various fights over the years the way celebrities would at boxing championship nights. It also ties into the whole "alpha male" machismo identity - the open misogyny, the willingness to delve into toxic behaviors - that trump and his lackeys crave.

trump may really believe that this event would somehow promote the "American Way" of manhood, fighting, and success: ignoring how few people - about 3.3 million per average viewership for UFC fights, compared to 125 million who watched Super Bowl LX - may actually tune in. If he's expecting a large in-person turnout - they're talking about 75,000 to 100,000 people showing up - I doubt the locals in DC are going to show up at a trump-sponsored event, and uncertain about how many will travel all that way to be there (only 5,000 or so showed up for trump's riot on January 6th, and barely half of that actually raided the Capitol).

This shouldn't be how America should be celebrating it's 250th year of existence.

This is going to be a grotesque display of violence that only the sadists like trump enjoy.

Don't tune in. Don't watch this circus of stupidity. Look away. 

Find better ways to honor America, like protesting at ICE facilities or getting out the vote in Red states to flip them Blue.

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.