I think you are afraid to call out the ways Trump is exactly like Hitler. I returned from a trip to Berlin recently where it was made crystal clear by tour guides that the SS was a para-military "off the books" outfit intended to locate and detain undesirables in extra-judicial locations with no warrants or due process. Shooting was OK. They recruited older teens and young 20-somethings because they could be more easily indoctrinated than adults. Blueprint for ICE. Remember Bovino's trench coat/jackboots outfits?
Some of the third reich buildings in Berlin were ballroom-like in their grandiosity, etc., with the former Luftwaffe HQ now Germany's taxing agency HQ.
I believe it. When he was in the bunker he hated it, saying it was small, cramped, and ugly. I suspect the "new" bunker is the same square footage as the proposed ballroom. Also wouldn't surprise me if a lot of the "donations" will actually be spent on gilding the bunker. So to speak.
I think there has already been a bunker or at least secure refuge with communications etc under the East Wing - and that would be maintained under the new ballroom.
A beautiful and, as always, an eloquent explanation of what drives Trump and other historical dictators... Ozymandias on the Potomac...
The intended message of the original Shelly poem is that all imagined greatness is fatally diminished by the passage of time. There is, since that wasn't the point of the poem, no mention of the tens of thousands of slaves that were worked to death--and the surrounding nations that were plundered--to create a monument to one man's insane vanity.
I think Pharaohs and Emperors and Dictators and similar architecturally diseased CEO's have a "monumental" fear of death. They are consumed by their profound "littleness" and brevity of their lives. "It's not fair!" is their life's motto and their entire existence is dedicated to making everybody pay for not recognizing that they are actually supreme beings.
Why does Trump need to see his bloated image hanging from government buildings and his name attached to everything in golden letters? He knows in his child-heart that he is a mere mortal creature--the same as a pig or an ant or a worm--and this knowledge drives him nuts...
Anyway--thanks for another wonderful piece--It's astounding to me that you can so routinely turn out such polished work--and I'm very grateful you do...Just reading this, and other pieces you write gives me a kind of courage...
And he isn't through turning the White House into what looks like a gaudy bordello. His budget requests millions for additional renovations. Next, a memorial arch to himself, interrupting one of the most meaningful views in DC. I hope these monstrosities can be leveled after he leaves town.
One thing, Shanley, and it is important to note. The ballroom is being built over an "extensive military complex," trump's own words, with large bomb shelters. Also, while I appreciate your restraint, trump is getting more like Hitler every day. For God's sake, he threatened to obliterate Iran. Who does that?!!!
a subtle and powerful (and of course scary) analysis!
I think you are afraid to call out the ways Trump is exactly like Hitler. I returned from a trip to Berlin recently where it was made crystal clear by tour guides that the SS was a para-military "off the books" outfit intended to locate and detain undesirables in extra-judicial locations with no warrants or due process. Shooting was OK. They recruited older teens and young 20-somethings because they could be more easily indoctrinated than adults. Blueprint for ICE. Remember Bovino's trench coat/jackboots outfits?
Some of the third reich buildings in Berlin were ballroom-like in their grandiosity, etc., with the former Luftwaffe HQ now Germany's taxing agency HQ.
I read somewhere that a huge bunker is being built under the ballroom. Is this true or not??
I believe it. When he was in the bunker he hated it, saying it was small, cramped, and ugly. I suspect the "new" bunker is the same square footage as the proposed ballroom. Also wouldn't surprise me if a lot of the "donations" will actually be spent on gilding the bunker. So to speak.
I think there has already been a bunker or at least secure refuge with communications etc under the East Wing - and that would be maintained under the new ballroom.
A beautiful and, as always, an eloquent explanation of what drives Trump and other historical dictators... Ozymandias on the Potomac...
The intended message of the original Shelly poem is that all imagined greatness is fatally diminished by the passage of time. There is, since that wasn't the point of the poem, no mention of the tens of thousands of slaves that were worked to death--and the surrounding nations that were plundered--to create a monument to one man's insane vanity.
I think Pharaohs and Emperors and Dictators and similar architecturally diseased CEO's have a "monumental" fear of death. They are consumed by their profound "littleness" and brevity of their lives. "It's not fair!" is their life's motto and their entire existence is dedicated to making everybody pay for not recognizing that they are actually supreme beings.
Why does Trump need to see his bloated image hanging from government buildings and his name attached to everything in golden letters? He knows in his child-heart that he is a mere mortal creature--the same as a pig or an ant or a worm--and this knowledge drives him nuts...
Anyway--thanks for another wonderful piece--It's astounding to me that you can so routinely turn out such polished work--and I'm very grateful you do...Just reading this, and other pieces you write gives me a kind of courage...
And he isn't through turning the White House into what looks like a gaudy bordello. His budget requests millions for additional renovations. Next, a memorial arch to himself, interrupting one of the most meaningful views in DC. I hope these monstrosities can be leveled after he leaves town.
I think the whole ballroom is Trump’s bunker. The chances of WW111 are getting closer and he will need a new home.
Masterful tightropery. Serious savvy and sardonic. 🙇♂️
One thing, Shanley, and it is important to note. The ballroom is being built over an "extensive military complex," trump's own words, with large bomb shelters. Also, while I appreciate your restraint, trump is getting more like Hitler every day. For God's sake, he threatened to obliterate Iran. Who does that?!!!