It Takes An Idiot

Trump the Clown

A large structure is currently being built on the South Lawn of the White House for Donald Trump’s "UFC Freedom 250". In a few weeks, mixed martial arts fighters will enter a cage and fight until they injure their opponents so badly that they can no longer continue to fight. Who in their right mind thinks that such a spectacle brings any honor to our nation’s history, the White House or the presidency?

White House Ballroom, Who Is Stupid?

Trump and his administration think the American people are really stupid.  Or at least dumber than they are.

When asked if they consulted anyone for permission and guidance before destroying the East Wing of the White House, their answer was they were told you don't need permission to tear something down.  You only need permission for "construction — vertical build".  So by that rationalization Trump wouldn't need permission to tear down the entire White House?  He'd just need permission to construct a new White House?  You mean the new gold plated "Donald Trump Executive Mansion"?

The "vertical build" is not some technical jargon, it is word shit to keep the paving of the Rose Garden and the erection of the new White House flag poles out of the discussion.

Trump claims that he and some of his friends will pay for the new ballroom (originally estimated to cost $200 to $250 million).  He may extort money from his "friends", but I don't believe he will put any of his own money into the venture.  Trump also just filed for a $230 million payment for the suffering he took because of his two indictments for the January 6 riots and the national security documents he stole and hid at Mar-a-Lago.  Indictments that he would have probably been convicted on if he hadn't won the 2024 election.  He filed the suits knowing that he and his surrogates have the sole legal authority to authorize the payment to him (you can't make this stuff up).  Does the $230 million sound close to any current project Trump might like to fund?  If it is not needed for the ballroom, he can take a tax deduction and give it to his presidential library to cover the expenses of flying around in his Qatari jet until it is needed to go in the library. 

When asked about what the new ballroom would be called, Trump said something like he hadn't really thought about it, but probably  "The White House Ballroom".  BS!  The whole purpose of  the new ballroom is to get his name on it.

Trump claims the country needs the new ballroom so Presidents don't have to erect big tents on the South Lawn every time for the large, lavish dinners required for a foreign leader's state visit.

I did some checking.  I could only find about a dozen such events in the last 10 years.  I also checked about roughly how many venues there are in DC that could house 800 people.  The estimate was about 30 to 60 locations.  Even many more if you include the areas surrounding DC. 

I can understand there might be some security issues using some building not on the White House grounds, but they hold national political conventions in public buildings.  And there are some government buildings that are already big enough.

How much more would it cost to build a dedicated national ballroom at a different location?  The ballroom could then more easily be used for other large governmental events.  It might also make it easier to implement another of Trump's goals for the new building.

My instinct is, as Deep Throat said, "Follow the money".  I've got to believe Trump has got some plan to monetize the new ballroom.  Imagine how much magettes would pay to be able to say, I had my wedding, wedding reception, birthday party, bar/bat mitzva, funeral, etc. in "The Donald J. Trump White House Golden Ballroom". Cha-ching!

Would You Accept Tickets To White House UFC Fight?

What idiot decided it is a good idea to hold a UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) at the White House?

Oh yeah, our idiot king.  Oops, I meant our idiot president, but why?  And are there no adults in the White House that can tell Trump this is a bad idea?  Are there no Senators or Representatives who love and respect our country and our White House enough to speak up and try to stop this?  So far it looks like they are all expecting ring side seats.

I've heard the fighters are going to walk out of the Oval Office on their way to the ring.  What The Hell!

I think that Trump is a very sick man and I am worried about the damage he is doing to our country.  

If you were offered a seat at this UFC fight, would you say "Yes" or "No" or "Hell No!".

If you said "Hell No", please call and/or write your Senators and Representative to tell them they need to speak up and help save our country.  We really need Republicans and MAGA to stand up and say "Enough is enough".  The app "5 Calls" will help you with understanding issues and contacting politicians.

There is another nation wide protest on October 18th.  Please attend a protest and let MAGA know Trump is hurting the country much more than he is helping it.  We don't need or want a king.  I've got to believe much of MAGA knows this and it is not what they signed up for.  The country needs their help now.

One more thing, I read the purse for the fight is $100 million.  Where is all the money to stage this event coming from?  There better not be even one cent from the U.S. government.  How much is the U.S. going to receive for use of the White House and the grounds?  Who is going to pay for any damage done to the White House or the grounds?  How much money will go to Trump or his family or his friends?  Again, the "not one cent" rule should apply (lot's of luck with that).  

Who is going to pay for the damage done to the reputation of the United States of America, once known as a super power and the leader of the free world?  I hope that will be Trump and Republicans in November, 2026.

It's All About The Glitz

Trump's Idea Of A Perfect Air Force One

In May, Qatar gifted a 747 jet to the United States.  It is unclear whether it is the property of the United States or the Air Force, but will undoubtedly end up as the property of Donald Trump, (aka Commander of Grift).  It is also unclear how much the upgrades will cost, how long they will take and exactly where the money will come from.

Newsweek reported that an official with information about the contract to modify the Qatar plane to be an Air Force One, referred to the jet as "executive airlift" and not "presidential transport,". This suggests requirements may differ.  It was also suggested this may mean fewer security, communications or defensive systems.

If this "new" Air Force One is not up to the standards of a real Air Force One, it will probably not be used overseas.  So we will pay somewhere between 400 million to a billion dollars for a plane that will be more ostentatious, but not as capable or safe.  But that is the Trump style.

Image from  ChatGPT.

It's All About The Insecurity Equipment

Does Trump really believe that accepting the gift of a lavish 747 jet is good for the country or is it just good for Trump's ego?

The Qatari plane was built to haul a king around in ostentatious luxury.  The replacement Air Force One planes currently in production are being designed to haul a president around comfortably with extreme security measures to keep the  president safe and elaborate communications equipment that would allow him to perform presidential duties from anywhere in the world.  Granted the  replacement planes are over budget and delayed, but that just proves that refitting the Qatari plane will not be easy, cheap or fast.

For example, Air Force One has the ability to be refueled in flight by military tankers.  I doubt that the Qatari plane has this capability.

The Qatari 747 does have some features not found on the current and replacement Air Force One planes: insecurity equipment. 

This is all about Trump's ego.  That says a lot since Trump has the use of Air Force One just to shuffle him between his golf outings.

So let's suppose he gets permission and money to modify the free Qatari bribe plane (there is no such thing as a free lunch or a free luxury jet).  It will take at least a couple of years for the upgrade to be completed.  So we put millions of dollars into the plane and he uses it as Air Force One for a year or a year and a half.  Trump says the plane will then go to his library. Not a chance.  He'll fly in it (probably at tax payer expense) until he drops.

Most of the security equipment that had to be added to the plane will have to removed so it can't fall into an adversaries hands.  Who pays for that?

Even worse, what if it is not complete when his term expires?  Do tax payers have to pay to finish the project so he can fly it around?

There are actually two Air Force One planes.  Their use is rotated so there is always a backup ready when needed.  Pity the poor fool who has to tell Trump he has to use the old dumpy Air Force One for a flight.  The old Air Force Ones will probably be reserved for Melania or the kids.  

Or maybe Don Jr. will want to continue to use the Qatari plane when he is elected in 2028.

I've go to stop.  This is all making me nauseous.

 

 

 

Monuments To Stupidity

The shoulders of highways in my area are becoming littered with shrines to people killed in traffic accidents. Aren't many of these monuments to stupidity? Either the stupidity of the person killed or a victim of the stupidity of another driver?

I have sympathy for the person killed through no fault of their own, such as a passenger in a car hit by a drunk driver, but I'm not in favor of a roadside shrine for them. And what about the person whose bad behaviour caused the crash and died? Does their stupidity and/or bad driving deserve a monument?

Maybe we should have a way to indicate if the person memorialized was a victim or a perpetrator. Maybe a white flag for a victim and a red flag for a perpetrator. Or maybe shrines to victims can have candles or lights and perpetrators can't. If you caused your own death and maybe the death of someone else, you can't advertise at night.

Some of these monuments can be large and garish. If you have an accident because you were distracted by a garish monument for a previous accident victim, are you a victim or just stupid? I wonder if you can sue.

Should monument construction guidelines be driven by an apportioning of blame, like insurance claims? Maybe the victim should take a 25% share of the blame for their own death because they were talking on their cell phone and didn't notice the on-coming car swerving into their lane. The blame flags can have red and white panels sized proportionally to the persons share of blame for their death.

And why do we call these "accidents" when so many are the result of lack of skills or bad judgement? Too many people want to be the fastest driver on the road rather than the safest.

What is the protocol and etiquette of monument building? On a dangerous corner where many accident's have occurred, do earlier victims have squatters rights and later victims have their monuments erected nearby with arrows to show the actual location of denouement?

When an accident takes the life of both the perpetrator and victims, do victims receive a preference for the location of their shrine based on the percentage of blame they were assigned? Come to think of it, is it really appropriate for the family of a perpetrator to erect a memorial if other people were killed or injured?

Is it ever appropriate for a victim's family to trash a perpetrator's memorial? Possibly as way to find closure (a much overused concept these days).

A corner of an intersection I traverse on my daily commute has two crosses (presumably to accident victims/perpetrators, but I guess they could just be advertisements for the local churches). This corner was farm land that is being converted to a strip mall. I've been wondering what they are going to do with these monuments. Leave them alone? Tear them down? Rebuild them in an architectural style to match the mall? If monument builders are smart they'll get easements before they build anything elaborate.

At what point should memorials be taken down? I suppose these monuments are meant to honor the deceased. In that case, shouldn't you take care of them in perpetuity like tombstones? If you put them up to honor the deceased, what are you saying when you take them down? Are you saying you don't care any more? If you just let the monument decay from the elements, what does that say?

I first saw this monument trend 30 years ago when I lived in the southwest. Now it is a national movement. What is next, monuments in emergency rooms, hospital rooms and nursing homes? You can't have people tripping over monuments in the emergency rooms. How about using those walnut plaques with spaces to add names at later dates - like the ones used for employee of the month. These wouldn't take up much space and people could take comfort in knowing the place of their loved one's demise has been documented. Can you imagine buying a house and finding a brass marker in the living room noting the location of the passing of Uncle Stewart in 1985 after an overly rich Thanksgiving dinner?

As you can tell I think these roadside memorials are ridiculous. I understand the grief that motivates people to build them, but grief is an emotion that we all deal with at some point. Put up a garish headstone in the cemetery, keep pictures on the wall, but let's not clutter the shoulders of our highways. Show a little sympathy for the people who have to mow the roadside weeds.