Winging It

This week’s Big Distraction from Releasing the Epstein Files is brought to you by the Destruction of the East Wing of the White House. (Sponsored by Meta, Google, and many, many more.)

It appears that the “designated excuse” that was issued to supporters is that “other presidents have also made updates to the White House, especially Obama, (who they breathlessly can’t wait to point out that he installed a basketball court, as if it were a watermelon garden.)

Every argument I’ve seen supporting this demolition has been rife with lies. They equate one renovation with another, like tearing down an entire wing with putting some lines on a basketball court, or spending “millions” to "replace a few pipes," when in reality, an entire rewiring was needed and authorized, for safety reasons.

Yes, other presidents have made alterations. I’ve seen the list. You can knock off about half of them (pre-Roosevelt) because they go all the way back to George Washington. The White House wasn’t exactly a historical landmark yet; it was just the place they had just built for the president to live.

And yes, Roosevelt made major renovations. But he also obtained the necessary approvals.

As have other presidents who followed. A law was passed in 1961 that established the approvals needed. At this point, the White House is a historical landmark/museum, so there is a process in place to go through before altering it. All preceding renovations have followed the established process. There are at least five different reviews required, including environmental impact, preservation of important relics/materials, and Congressional approval.

TFG has done none of that. He lied about his intentions and sent in the bulldozers. At first, the East Wing wasn’t going to be touched. That changed to they might take a little off the end, but do no major harm. And by now, we can see that that was 100% bullshit, because the East Wing is gone. Just, gone.

I also understand that this wing was built when asbestos was the standard in fireproofing. Tearing it down might well unleash a torrent of cancer and serious breathing problems, because there has been no mitigation of airborne particles at all. The whole building should have been netted off before destruction, but TFG doesn’t believe in environmental safety (just as long as it’s someone else who’s suffering for it.)

One angle I haven’t seen yet is the fact that the First Lady’s staff operated out of the East Wing. I know the current First Lady wants nothing to do with the role, but this action affects every subsequent First Lady and their staff. They will literally have no office from which to work. Granted, that may suit future MAGA administrations just fine, as they prefer the little wives to stay busy creating and tending to more babies rather than to worry their pretty little heads about doing any work from an office.

His apologists try to bring up the fact that it’s being paid for by the private sector. That does not relieve my suspicions at all. That just means that the Grift House is open for business. If you’ve seen the list of “donors,” you can see that just about everyone has had or will have business before the administration. “You want your project approved by my government, you have to pay.”

They might as well call it the Olde Quid Pro Quo Room.

Now, when all this started to bubble up, my first thought was, “Why would he care so much about a mere ballroom? The White House has been hosting fancy dinners for foreign dignitaries for decades. Why not just put up a couple of giant portraits of the would-be king, himself, slap some gold shit around the edges, and call it a day?”

No, there had to be more. Since he was having it all rebuilt from scratch, I figured there would have to be some secret “special rooms,” something he’d need to be off the books. Something like a protective bunker, something built with today’s best tech, where he could hide out indefinitely, all the while being able to surveil his domain and keep track of what’s being shown on TV. Maybe even have a studio in there from where he could get himself onto Fox and Friends. He could install a special safe to hold the Epstein files that only he could access. And, of course, his own McDonald's.

Then over the weekend, posts began to appear on social media describing that very thing. What I didn’t know was that the East Wing was already home to the existing emergency bunker, from which he hid out during various riots and uprisings.

Now it all made sense. He knows he’s about to screw with the next elections (if not postpone them indefinitely) and that it would be too unpopular, even with Republicans. He’d need a place to ride out the storm, but in the style with which he is accustomed. (“Bring in some more gold shit! And let’s set up that hotline to McDonald's!”) He’ll also need it to be impenetrable, so that neither angry mobs nor his own disgruntled troops could easily drag him out of it.

I hope the next non-MAGA president, whenever that will come to pass, will make it his mission on Day One to knock that fucking thing down and build something proper. Something fun and useful. Something everyone can get behind. Like… the People’s Taco Bar! Step right up and have a taco. Unlimited toppings, too! Whether a tourist, local resident, or homeless veteran, free tacos for everyone. Maybe some soft-serve for dessert, too.

At least, it will serve a worthy purpose rather than appease a spoiled child’s ego.

No Jokers Either

Like 6,999,998 other Americans, my wife and I went to a No Kings rally last Saturday. Ours was just a small one, a few blocks from our house. As an exercise in good karma, it was on the corner of “Liberty Rd” and “Washington St.” I counted around 70 attendees, and like all other accounts I’ve read, ours crossed demographics and generations. Needless to say, it was 100% peaceful.

This was early on, about a half hour before peak attendance.

This was my first “protest” of any kind. Sweetpea has been to several, usually involving her teacher’s union. She kept asking me about what signs to make. I wasn’t even going to take one. I expected we’d be standing around a parking lot, listening to rah-rah speeches. But she’d already gone out and gotten supplies.

“As soon as you’re up tomorrow, we’re making signs.”

Well, I lucked out; she had the signs done, based on online suggestions, before I was even out of bed. And it’s just as well, because they looked great. My writing resembles half-assed hieroglyphics more than any recognizable human language. I agreed to use the simple “No Kings” logo, with the X’ed-out crown.

When we got to the rally, I realized I should have listened to Sweetpea all along. The functional purpose of this gathering was to line the busy 4-lane road and get passing drivers to honk or otherwise provide supporting gestures. I’d have looked like a dodo standing out there with my hands in my pockets.

So, you were right, baby. You were right.

Not having any clothes designed for this or any other protest, I wore a Roberto Clemente T-shirt.

Director’s DVD commentary: Non-sports fans, Roberto was a Black Puerto Rican who played right field for the Pittsburgh Pirates from the mid-50s to the early 70s, and was one of the best to ever play. In 1972, he was killed in a plane crash trying to personally deliver earthquake relief supplies to families in Nicaragua, because he heard that previous shipments were being commandeered by the Nicaraguan regime.

I figured that would provide visual evidence of my support for Latin Americans, and at minimum, be a conversation starter because Roberto almost singlehandedly crucified the Baltimore Orioles in the 1971 World Series. And wouldn’t you know, that was the first thing anyone said to us upon our arrival… “Hey, Roberto!”

Baltimore’s traffic did not disappoint. We were honked at for the full hour and a quarter we were out there, with lots more signaling in solidarity. Sweetpea said she saw one old white guy flip the finger, but I saw nothing but support.

It was nice that they had chairs there, for anyone to use if their knees started to bark after all the standing. They also had water and snacks. It's a good thing this wasn't a voting line in Georgia, or we really would have been doing something illegal.

There was a PA system playing music —power-to-the-people kinds of songs —and the organizer gave a few short words of encouragement. There was no commotion or any sort of violence, although I bet the people living in the nearby houses got irritated at the honking after a while.

And try as I may, I couldn’t find any kiosks where I could get my Antifa paycheck from George Soros. All I can conclude about that is that every Republican claiming the protesters are paid actors is full of shit.

The fact is, I, and many more like me, would have paid admission to such an event if the money was going toward fighting these fascists.

And given the lengths they’re going to characterize these protests, even before they happened, as somehow terror-related or anti-American, just shows how scared they are of the will of the people. They can’t make any claims that hold up to scrutiny, so there’s nothing left for them to do but make stuff up that sounds scary to the uninformed. (In other words, your average Fox “News” broadcast.)

I was thrilled to read the news coverage later, which confirmed the total lack of violence or arrests, other than those of assorted MAGA types there to stir up trouble. Although I really had to search through Sunday’s Baltimore Sun to find their coverage, buried deep in the second news section, primarily covering what Republicans had to say about it. Unsurprisingly, they didn’t question those characterizations, as is the custom of Sinclair news outlets.

Character Witnesses

It’s about time we got someone with some strategic chops to run things on the progressive side. Last week, a leader emerged; someone with creativity and style to go with the Xs and Os of political maneuvering. Of course, I mean:

Congrats to Mr. Todd, who, if the above statement is true, is responsible for bringing the sublime to the ridiculous. Someone needs to get this guy on the DNC’s payroll at once and put him to work. This guy understands that if there’s one thing an authoritarian hates, this administration in particular, it's ridicule. Getting laughed at really chafes their undercarriages, hence their repeated attacks on comedians.

The sign on the right says: “Frogs Together Strong.” Brilliant.

It’s the perfect foil. The fascist regime is trying to set the stage for a larger takeover of Blue cities, claiming the crime is out of control and creating a hotbed of insurrection (the magic word), which requires federal help to tamp down. (And purely coincidentally, perhaps indefinitely postponing the next elections.)

However, the prevailing images of this “insurrection” are those of people marching around in giant inflatable costumes, which are impossible to take seriously or as a threat to anything.

So if Fox "News" and the conservative-media bubble can run a continuous loop of Portland fires from years ago, or uprisings in Colombia, and pass them off as current events, then we should plaster the media with images like this:

It’s the least we can do, considering we’re long past the onset of a fascist takeover of the government. There is a paramilitary force roaming targeted cities, heavily armed, disguised, answerable to seemingly no one, abducting people off the streets without due process, based on nothing but their skin color, accent, occupation, car decals, or decorative flags. We’re knee deep into the “Show me ze papers” phase of this 1930s documentary.

And now, people who dare to object are officially considered terrorist enemies of the state and subject to arrest as well. The First Amendment is dead and buried, thanks to the Commandant-in-Chief and his diminutive Attack Weasel, Steven Miller. The lights may be out upstairs at Trump Towers, but Miller is wide awake and running things, clearing the path for domination by the white male businessman.

So now, when the administration inevitably tries to activate the Insurrection Act, even with a biased SCOTUS, there will be a large hill to climb to claim that a bunch of puffy Barneys are a threat to the nation worthy of suspension of our voting and civil rights. I’m not saying it won’t work, but the whole affair will look ridiculous. They might as well wrap it up in a giant bow that says, CHARADE.

You know and I know that the upcoming “No Kings” Day protests are going to be a big deal. I think this administration knows that it’s their best opportunity to cast the protesters as violent guns for hire. So how does he make this case against a group that will be determined not to give him what he wants?

False flag operation. I guarantee that there will be a couple of real mercenaries sent there to stir things up while under cover as suburban protesters. They won’t let an opportunity like this go to waste, with so many opponents gathered together. It will only take one incel with a Molotov cocktail to trigger the SS to come in to knock heads and round people up.

Bondi. Pam Bondi.

I want to add one short note about the disastrous Congressional testimony given by AG Pam Bondi. During her session, she evaded questions with a maniacal dedication, mixing in personal insults aimed at her questioners, delivered for the benefit of her boss.

I don’t aim to give her any breaks; her deposition was an insult to the rule of law. But if you think about it, she literally had no other choice.

If she answered those questions truthfully, her boss would not only fire her, but command her replacement to gin up some charges against her.

If she lied, that would be the same crime on which she’s chasing targeted Democrats: lying to Congress. Granted, on this day, no one would pursue charges. But then, when she eventually does cross TFG (everyone does, at some point), she’ll be sure to get the same treatment. So as a result, we witnessed that performance piece, engineered to eat up time, retain her status and power, and entertain an audience of one.

The country deserves better.

Well, at least the part of the country that didn't vote this clown show into office.

Arranging the Chess Pieces

Last week's forced gathering of all the military generals was one of the scariest events I could have imagined. And I'm just glad it wasn't worse.

I was afraid Whiskey Pete and the Would-be King were going to demand an oath of allegiance. Fortunately, it stopped just short of that. However, what did happen was quite severe, especially for the Republic. There may not have been an oath, but they made it clear that the military would be expected to do whatever His Highness told them to do, Constitution be damned. It was not met with enthusiasm.

In fact, you could hear a pin drop in between all those stony faces. TFG learned right away that this wasn’t going to be like one of his staged pep rallies. His only ego-boost would have to be internal, by forcing all the generals to sit there and listen to him.

I can only imagine how this part went over:

I bet they were all thinking, “Great, now, every time one of our guys gets shot down or captured, he can expect to be tortured to death in retaliation. That’ll be great for morale.”

But as we know, TFG doesn’t care about POWs. As he said, he only” likes the ones who don’t get captured.”

Whiskey Pete also decreed that there be no facial hair in the military. (Technical term: beardos.”) Don’t think for a second that’s about efficiency or uniformity. This is completely about ridding the services of people of color and non-Christians. The reason the beard regulations were loosened in the first place is that Black men have beard hairs that are often barbed, which can create rashes when they grow back into the skin. Also, this eliminates the appearance of Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims who follow their religions’ beard requirements. And by heightening the physical minimum standards, they can drive out most of the women, thus leaving a military primarily made up of white Christian men. They want an army of undereducated white men who will gladly follow orders to storm US cities, round up whomever they decide are criminals that week, and shoot anyone who dares get in the way.

You can see the timing of current events lining up for the creation of an authoritarian state.

They have now defined terrorists as anyone who resists the current hijacking of the government. Despite a complete lack of evidence, they are pushing a narrative that liberal violence is out of hand. And it totally is, as long as you count proven MAGA-driven violence as liberal, which is now standard procedure. The above article even mentions the shooting of several detainees outside an ICE location and calls it an attack on ICE. Only in the MAGA world is a shooting in which the people who get shot are responsible for the shooting. So naturally, it was some liberal Antifa who blew up that judge’s home in South Carolina, after she made a ruling against the Administration. Just our liberal way of saying “good job,” I guess.

On the other side of the government, we have one of the MAGA Six softening us up for the complete disregard of precedent.

That’s just his way of saying same sex marriage is next, along with creating a presidency of more than two terms, eliminating the right to birth control, and privacy of any nature.

The way they are entrenching their position, there’s no way they'll give up the power without a physical fight. You don’t dig in this far and upset so many apple carts only to walk away peacefully after merely losing a vote. These guys are strapped in it until it’s wrestled away from them, regardless of trivialities, like the will of The People.