"Tackiness and tyranny go hand in hand."

~ Paul Krugman

#Trump #WhiteHouse #EastWing #ballroom #oligarchy #EconomicElites #tyranny
/2

paulkrugman.substack.com/p/tru…

Trump’s Gilded Ballroom and the Fall of the American Republic

^{Paul Krugman}

"There’s a rot so brazen in American public life now that corruption no longer even pretends to wear a disguise. The Trump regime has turned the seat of government into a banquet hall of self-dealing, a spectacle of arrogance in marble and gold leaf. President Trump’s latest monarchical indulgence—" (continued in /4)

~ Mark Mansour

#Trump #WhiteHouse #EastWing #ballroom #oligarchy #EconomicElites
/3

mmansour.substack.com/p/brazen…

Brazen Corruption, In Plain Sight

the grift and outright theft have no end

^{Mark Mansour (America’s Fractured Politics)}

(continued from /3)

"the demolition of the White House’s historic exterior walls to construct a $250 million 'presidential ballroom'—is not simply wasteful, it is a statement of contempt for democracy itself.

When a leader begins to physically reshape the people’s house into his own palace, he is no longer governing a republic; he is staging a coronation."

#Trump #WhiteHouse #EastWing #ballroom #oligarchy #EconomicElites
/4

"What was not disclosed until leaked was the destruction of an exterior wall of the executive mansion, an outrageous desecration of our history."

#Trump #WhiteHouse #EastWing #ballroom #oligarchy #EconomicElites
/5

"Trump can tear down any federal structure he wants in Washington D.C. or anywhere else in the country because the Supreme Court said his official actions as president are not to be challenged under law."

~ Lucian K. Truscott

#Trump #WhiteHouse #EastWing #ballroom #oligarchy #EconomicElites #SupremeCourt #corruption #immunity
/6

luciantruscott.substack.com/p/…

A pretend king commits real vandalism on the White House

Two Americans, Judith A.

^{Lucian K. Truscott IV (Lucian Truscott Newsletter)}

"The real story here is that Trump has been operating as king or dictator for going on a year. There’s no accountability for anything. No limits, no penalties. So the demands keep spiraling."

~ Josh Marshall

#Trump #WhiteHouse #EastWing #ballroom #oligarchy #EconomicElites #SupremeCourt #corruption #immunity
/7

talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/t…

Trump Moves Into Full Twilight Zone ‘Anthony’ Phase

Yesterday, for me, was a mixed visual and reported tableaux. There were the visuals: Donald Trump literally bulldozing about a third of the White House complex.

^{Josh Marshall (TPM - Talking Points Memo)}

"I was struck by Trump’s comment that he was told, “‘Sir, this is the White House. You’re the president of the United States. You can do anything you want.’” It harkens back to another famous Trump observation: 'When you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab ‘em by the pussy.'”

~ Jill Filipovic

#Trump #WhiteHouse #EastWing #ballroom #oligarchy #EconomicElites #SupremeCourt #immunity
/8

jill.substack.com/p/when-youre…

When You're a Star, They Let You Do It

Tearing down the East Wing. Defecating on America. The metaphors are getting way too literal.

^{Jill Filipovic}

"This kind of entitlement is what has characterized Trump’s entire adult life. It’s what is characterizing his presidency."

#Trump #WhiteHouse #EastWing #ballroom #oligarchy #EconomicElites #SupremeCourt #immunity
/9

"As sickening as the sight was — heavy equipment ripping away at the historic property as high-powered hoses doused the dusty debris — Trump’s $250-million vanity project is small stuff compared to a policy of killing noncombatant civilian citizens of nations with which we are not at war (Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador)."

~ Jackie Calmes

#Trump #WhiteHouse #EastWing #ballroom #oligarchy #EconomicElites #Venezuela #Ecuador #Colombia
/10

latimes.com/opinion/story/2025…

Column: Trump is in his Louis XIV era, and it's not a good look

The president with delusions of empire is building a new Versailles and using the military as his own personal hit squad.

^{Jackie Calmes (Los Angeles Times)}

"Yet together the actions reflect the spectrum of consequences of Trump’s utter sense of impunity as president, from the relatively symbolic to the murderous."

#Trump #WhiteHouse #EastWing #ballroom #oligarchy #EconomicElites #Venezuela #Ecuador #Colombia
/11

"Karoline Leavitt, the Nazi who perpetuates Donald’s propaganda, told us today that the ballroom is Donald Trump’s main priority as President of the United States. ...

The ballroom is Donald’s main priority."

~ Mary Trump

#Trump #WhiteHouse #EastWing #ballroom #oligarchy #EconomicElites #economy #shutdown #farmers #USAID #food #groceries #prices
/12

marytrump.org/p/the-daily-wrap…

The Daily Wrap Up

23 October, 2025

^{The Good in Us by Mary L. Trump}

"Yet, American farmers are going bankrupt; civil servants are waiting in bread lines to get food for their families; essential workers are into their fourth week of not getting paid and these include people in the military and air traffic controllers. Government agencies are being dismantled to the point where there’s no money for special education."

#Trump #WhiteHouse #EastWing #ballroom #oligarchy #EconomicElites #economy #shutdown #farmers #USAID #food #groceries #prices
/13

"Children in other countries that used to get aid from America are dying or have died from starvation and preventable diseases. And Donald Trump’s number one priority is building a ballroom which in his delusional state will be a testament to his greatness."

#Trump #WhiteHouse #EastWing #ballroom #oligarchy #EconomicElites #economy #shutdown #farmers #USAID #food #groceries #prices
/14

As Steven Beschloss looks at Trump's razing of the east wing of the White House to the ground and how this obscenity is being financed, he reminds us of the key role that German business elites played in bringing Hitler to power and propping him up.

Things did not end well for those leaders when Hitler and his regime imploded.

#Trump #WhiteHouse #EastWing #ballroom #oligarchy #EconomicElites
/15

americaamerica.news/p/gold-gre…

Gold, Greed and Cowardice

Trump's corporate and billionaire supporters are emboldening him as he pursues his path of destruction. History proves the future does not bode well for them.

^{Steven Beschloss (America, America)}

"And paying for it? Apple and Amazon. Google and Meta. Microsoft, Palantir, Coinbase, Ripple, Tether—the Winklevoss twins too. The empire’s benefactors, writing checks to history’s undoing.

The same oligarchs who destroyed American democracy through algorithmic manipulation are now literally purchasing its architecture."

~ Mike Brock

#Trump #WhiteHouse #EastWing #ballroom #oligarchy #EconomicElites
/16

notesfromthecircus.com/p/buyin…

Buying the Ruins

On Demolishing Democracy and Etching Your Name in the Rubble

^{Mike Brock (Notes From The Circus)}

"They’re not just funding authoritarianism—they’re renovating it. Etching their names into it. Building monuments to their own power on the bones of institutions designed for public service."

#Trump #WhiteHouse #EastWing #ballroom #oligarchy #EconomicElites
/17

"It’s amazing that the same demographic who foamed at the mouth when the Green M&M changed her shoes are totally fine with an entire wing of the White House being destroyed."

~ Lyz Lenz

#Trump #WhiteHouse #EastWing #ballroom #oligarchy #EconomicElites
/18

patreon.com/posts/dingus-of-we…

"The Trump White House has rolled out a new version of a page on its official website about the history of the building to tout the president’s controversial ballroom project — while gratuitously trolling the last three Democratic presidents."

~ David Kurtz

#Trump #WhiteHouse #EastWing #ballroom #oligarchy #EconomicElites
/19

morningmemo.talkingpointsmemo.…

Under Fire for East Wing Demo, White House Grossly Trolls Last 3 Dem Presidents

INSIDE: Letitia James ... Adam Schiff ... Jack Smith

^{David Kurtz (Morning Memo)}

"Based on internet archives, the longstanding webpage appears to have been updated yesterday, amid growing criticism of the demolition of the building’s East Wing. The updated version of the page calls it the 'East Wing Expansion.'

The webpage includes a 'Major Events Timeline' that purports to be a history of the White House itself."

#Trump #WhiteHouse #EastWing #ballroom #oligarchy #EconomicElites
/20

It begins normally enough with the building’s design and construction, its reconstruction after the War of 1812, and other historical highlights until … those come to a screeching halt in 1998:

From out of nowhere, the Monica Lewinsky scandal is slotted in as a key moment in the history of the White House. …

From there, it only gets worse. Much worse."

#Trump #WhiteHouse #EastWing #ballroom #oligarchy #EconomicElites
/21

"As so often is the case with right-wing trolling, it’s highly self-conscious, intended to get a rise from foes and knowing chuckles from allies. It isn’t some peel-back-the-curtain glimpse into the inner workings of the MAGA mind. It’s just an expression of its core asshole-ism."

#Trump #WhiteHouse #EastWing #ballroom #oligarchy #EconomicElites
/22

"Donald Trump has announced an immediate end to 'all trade negotiations' with Canada over a television advertisement opposing US tariffs that quoted the former US president Ronald Reagan."

~ Nicola Slawson

Trade negotiations my eye. The headlines just get loonier each day because the man himself is clearly getting loonier and loonier.

#Trump #Canada #tariffs #TradeWar #economy
/2

theguardian.com/us-news/2025/o…

First Thing: Trump backs down on sending federal troops to San Francisco

Protesters flood streets in show of resistance. Plus, our architecture critic on Trump’s bulletproof ballroom bling

^{Nicola Slawson (The Guardian)}

"$500 billion dollars of annual trade is being paused because of a $75,000 commercial?"

~ Spencer Hakimian quoted by Greg Dworkin

#Trump #Canada #tariffs #TradeWar #economy
/3

dailykos.com/stories/2025/10/2…

Abbreviated Pundit Roundup: The worst of the worst get pardoned (or do the pardoning)

David Mastio /Kansas City Star: Trump-inspired violence from January 6 rioters makes a return � Trump Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has called out Democrats for fueling violence against ...

^{Daily Kos}

The Reagan speech from which the Canadian ad that has enraged Trump is taken is at the link below.

#Trump #Canada #tariffs #TradeWar #economy
/4

youtube.com/watch?v=5t5QK03KXP…

"At the heart of this tantrum is a simple truth. Donald Trump doesn’t understand how trade, diplomacy, or leadership work. Reagan, for all his flaws, at least grasped that blanket tariffs and trade wars hurt American workers. Trump’s self-serving nationalism, dressed up as patriotism, has done the opposite."

~ Ben Meiselas

#Trump #Canada #tariffs #TradeWar #economy
/5

meidasplus.com/p/canada-stands…

Canada Stands Firm as Trump Throws Latest Tantrum

After falsely accusing Canada of using “fake” Ronald Reagan quotes in an ad, Trump halts all trade talks. Canada doesn't seem too worried.

^{Ben Meiselas (Meidas+)}

"BREAKING: Doug Ford won’t pull the Reagan ad that made Trump furious.

Instead, he told the Globe and Mail, he’s airing it during tonight’s World Series."

~ Aaron Parnas

#Trump #Canada #tariffs #TradeWar #economy
/6

threads.com/@aaronparnas/post/…

Aaron Parnas (@aaronparnas) on Threads

BREAKING: Doug Ford won’t pull the Reagan ad that made Trump furious. Instead, he told the Globe and Mail, he’s airing it during tonight’s World Series.

^Threads

Der hier ??

swr.de/kultur/filme-und-serien…

20 Minuten bis zum Weltuntergang: Kathryn Bigelows „A House of Dynamite“

„A House of Dynamite“ von Kathryn Bigelow ist ein Politthriller über den Wahnsinn eines möglichen Atomkriegs. Selten hat ein Film 120 Minuten lang so gut seine Spannung gehalten.

^SWR

Danke, wollte ich mir auch demnächst anschauen.

Erinnert an Threads aus den 80ern (UK).
youtu.be/3RfxYH9lChU
(Wobei dort die staatl. Organisation nur eine Nebenrolle spielt, Beispiel bei 45:25.)

Wir standen noch nie so nah vor einem Atomkrieg als jetzt.

Wer hierzu etwas Erfrischendes (mit Witz und positiven Wendungen) sehen will, unbedingt Wargames aus 1983 (USA) schauen. Mit Matthew Broderick und Ally Sheedy.

(Fand ich noch besser als Dr. Strangelove vom legendären Stanley Kubrick.)

Manche (oder doch eher viel) Dudes, ey🤦‍♂️

P.S. wenn Du mal wissen willst, wo man in Berlin guten Kuchen bekommt, frag gerne mich. Ich bin ab und zu (1) in der Stadt ich, ich kenne da ein paar Läden.

(1) so alle zwei Jahre.