If it were up to me we’d demolish the ballroom and leave it there, just a rotting pile of rubble lying on the White House lawn. Let it sit there as a reminder of all the damage our nation caused, even to ourselves, and how it can never be undone.
Well, there are two things at play here. First is that the White House isn’t technically classified as a historic building. It’s a functioning government building with high security needs, so it doesn’t have the same strict protections placed on it that Historic Buildings have.
Second is that Trump bypassed the protections that are placed on it by simply lying about what’s taking place and moving too fast for anyone to stop him. This is also how Trump’s dad destroyed Coney Island’s Steeplechase Park before anyone could object.
You know, I’m glad he’s doing it. It’s a great metaphor, not just for the damage he’s doing to the country, but also how it will have enduring, irreversible consequences. The East Wing won’t just go back to normal when he’s gone. We’ve permanently lost something, and even if we stop that stupid fucking ballroom from taking it’s place, we will have to build something new there.
Precedent is important, but it’s superseded by whether or not the plaintiff has taken Thomas on vacation recently.
I’m only vaguely aware of them because one of their songs was used as the House theme, and I still thought the article was describing an upcoming cyber attack on Spotify.
Boy, this band’s name sure made this headline confusing.
Strong leadership can shape public perception, so if that’s true, it’s just a further indictment of his inability to lead. I have to assume that Schumer thought Trump wouldn’t be able to get enough House Republicans behind his bill, and had no plan for how the Senate would respond if he did. It’s the only possible explanation for why he would let every House Democrat take the position that the shutdown would be preferable to the bill, then make them all look like idiots a few days later. I don’t think there’s any strategy happening here.
I know that was Schumer’s excuse last time, but I’m not sure that really adds up. The federal courts can still fund themselves for a few weeks after a shutdown. Also, the lower courts are slowing Trump down, but the Supreme Court is consistently ruling in his favor. If anything, he should want the courts to be running as quickly as possible so he can keep appealing and getting the Supreme Court to overturn all the restrictions the lower courts are placing on him.
Plus, while ICE is being designated an essential agency and ICE agents are expected to fulfill their full duties during a shutdown, they do it without pay (and get back-pay when the shutdown ends). That’s not a big deal for a week, but if you stretch a shutdown out for a month, that starts to hurt. I’d like to see how loyal Trump’s dogs are when they’re not getting fed.
Fuck it, let her. She had to drop out of the 2020 primary before voting started because she was on track to lose every single state, and she clearly hasn’t become more electable since then. All she could possibly do is siphon some votes and donor money off Newsom or Buttigieg. If that’s what she wants to do, I fully support that.