Originally published at: What’s Going on With Trump’s Big Fascistic Arch Near the National Mall? - TPM – Talking Points Memo
[Essay] Arc de Triomphe Trump Memorial Day heralds the unofficial start of summer, and this summer will also be the zenith of the Trump administration’s Christian nationalist Freedom 250 events celebrating the country’s semiquincentennial. So it seems like a good moment to check in on Trump’s plans to build a giant triumphal arch near the…
Horrible start to weekend here off to take vixen beloved cat to emergency vet for euthanesia
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“If you hurt Americans, I will find you, pardon you, and give you millions in taxpayer money.
But only if you pledge fealty to me to do it again on my behalf.”
FIFY
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I’m so sorry.
I know that many of us here on these TPM comment threads know what you are going through, and it sucks.
About five years ago, I had to do the same for my beloved Jimi. It was so hard and so sad, especially since Jimi was only a year old. In some ways, it was harder than my 16 year old Napoleon the year before. My niece, who works at UPenn’s Veterinarian Hospital told me the following –
Just know that Jimi was very well loved and at the end of the day that’s all you can do for these creatures that come into our lives and spread some joy. While his life wasn’t as long because sometimes life is not fair, he sure was happy with you and Grandma. It’s okay to be sad but I always try and remember the good or goofy times too.
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Anything “Trumpy” is tacky, and corrupt, self-glorifying, and stupid (on stilts?).
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@brian512 posted this on the FRI MM. Our Dem leaders and coalition big mouths should be forced to watch this with their eyes pinned open.
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Saturday’s Heather & Paul & Heather:
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The Federal Commission of Fine Arts, I would like to know who these people are.
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A new edition of Trump’s book “Trump, the art of the steal”
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Damn, that’s tacky and cheap sounding. He never understood the concept of implied power that former Presidents have had as leader of the most powerful military and economic force (until lately) in the world.
No need to bluster and strut like this. The fact that a President would always defend Americans should just be assumed. But no, he has to act like the 12-year old bully in a schoolyard. It’s pathetic.
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I posted this yesterday but feel it should get more play.
It covers a lot of ground. → The best bit though is that all the no-info vibe voters will be voting Dem in 2026/2028. Almost a slam-dunk Dem win/rout.
But here’s the catch, and it’s a big one. Those very same fundamentals that will create positive conditions for Democratic wins in 2026 and 2028 will also start working against them the moment they take power. Anti-incumbency in the post-pandemic era has been unusually durable — voters across the developed world have been throwing out whoever is in charge, regardless of ideology, for five straight years now. If Democrats win the House in 2026 and the White House in 2028 on the back of Trump’s economic mismanagement, they will inherit the same trap that swallowed Harris: a public that is structurally pissed off about the cost of living and willing to punish whoever happens to be in charge when the next election rolls around.
This is obviously a huge problem for Democrats since creation and problem solving takes more than 2 or 4 years whereas Republican smash-and-grab is quick and easy. Good governance is time consuming and unfortunately requires commitment from the public.
Two points off this for me: (1) if we are going to win: Let’s go Buttigieg! He is the most gifted and mature (male) politician out there and if the financial crisis of 2008 elected a Black man, I am suddenly confident the Incoming Crash can elect a gay one.
(2) We need Day One plans for 2029 (knock, knock, knock) and it can’t just be the to-be-expected frustrating Congressional cat-herding that will happen no matter what. (We need that too!) I pushed this idea hard a week ago and got an underwhelming response so I’m only going to say it once here and then hopefully be productive outside. (and never raise it again)
A new 2029 Dem President immediately needs to attack Trump’s pardons. There is a suggestion by SCOTUS that those pardons are unreviewable, solely in the President’s prerogative. Let’s test that immediately - the noise from the attempt will be just as important as the outcomes and that is the point. Politically, one person gets to make the most politically favorable choice of terrain and time, challenging different aspects. Day in, day out - a new anecdote of Republican corruption. So, day one President2029 signs an Executive Order saying corrupt pardons are invalid. Then on a steady, relentless timetable we get new actions - an XO declaring the corrupt pardon for miscreant X is invalid paired with action designed to implement “Justice” whether an arrest warrant, new criminal indictment, or action designed to revive restitution fees or other penalties. The fact patterns will all be different (but politically ugly) and in different jurisdictions so all should darken SCOTUS’s day multiple times until it lands in their lap.
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This document has been ripped up one side and down the other. I’m fed up with the constant drumbeat of commentary on what’s wrong with the Democrats and the Democratic Party. That’s not how you win elections nor is it how the Republicans won twice with a deeply flawed candidate. They pounded their chest, lied, cheated and used hard core racism and misogyny to win. The big error on the Democratic side was that Biden didn’t step down after an extraordinarily successful first term.
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““Power, money, persuasion, supplication, persecution—these can lift at a colossal humbug—push it a little—weaken it a little, century by century; but only laughter can blow it to rags and atoms at a blast. Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand.””
Mark Twain in "The Mysterious Stranger" (unfinished)
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Trump and Israel maybe planning to kill more children this weekend.
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OH ffs. The app, launched in March, promises users “unfiltered” access to the administration’s priorities and includes a feed of presidential social media posts, policy announcements, and even a button that lets users send a pre-written text reading “Greatest President Ever!” to Trump.
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