The destruction of the White House East Wing is a minor aside compared to the assault on our democracy by this administration.
But the disturbing visual of an entire wing of our sacred national home being reduced to rubble has captured the public imagination. Nothing done by the administration so effectively illustrates the perilous path down which we careen each day.
The so-called renovations are happening during the second-longest government shutdown ever. As millions of federal employees go without pay, this dissolute administration constructs an unnecessary monument to avarice — the priorities of those given power.
Carved in the gilded (and still intact) state dining room mantle is a prayer from John Adams that reads in part: “May none but Honest and Wise Men ever rule under This Roof.”
May the American people realize the irreparable harm of their error and elect those who will return us to a democracy to which honesty and wisdom are not mere anachronisms. Then, we must pick up the pieces that are left — literally and figuratively.
Charles Horowitz, Weston
Still the people’s house
The image that came to mind when I saw those horrific images of the demolition was Dr. Seuss’ story, “Yertle the Turtle.”
That arrogant, abusive ruler pitilessly used his subjects as literal stepping stones, so he could be ruler of all he surveyed. Yertle the Turtle’s overreaching hubris ultimately humbled him. The White House is and always will be the people’s house, no matter how badly Trump desecrates it.
Merri Rosenberg, Ardsley, N.Y.
A gilded, gaudy mess
Not satisfied with attacking Congress on Jan. 6, or turning the White House into a gilded, gaudy mess, Trump has literally demolished part of the White House.
He claims his oversized ballroom will be built with private donations. Here’s how: He will instruct the Justice Department to pay him $230 million for his imaginary harm when they used a search warrant to recover those classified files he stole and refused to return.
He’ll take that money, donate it to build his monstrosity and claim it’s not taxpayer money but his. He’ll then take a big tax deduction. In the meantime (on AI), he fantasizes of being a king in his airplane, dumping feces on the people. How totally pathetic.
Frederick Mitchel, Fort Lauderdale
(Editor’s note: The Trump administration has released a list of donors covering the ballroom’s $300 million construction cost. The corporate donors are: Altria, Amazon, Apple, Booz Allen Hamilton, Caterpillar, Coinbase, Comcast Google, Hard Rock International, HP, Lockheed Martin, Meta, Micron Technology, Microsoft, NextEra Energy, Palantir Technologies, Reynolds American, Ripple, T-Mobile, Tether America and Union Pacific Railroad.)
The tackiness of Trump
Now comes the biggest insult: the demolition of the people’s house.
With bulldozers, they came, no votes or permits issued, just a photoshopped picture of a garish, Trump-style, tacky-looking ballroom, leaving us with a feeling of being bruised and beaten.
The entire East Wing was swept away. It looked like a war zone, and purposely shoved right in our faces. History, gone!
It’s scary to watch. His retribution goes much further than just those who disagree with him.
Linda Gefen, Boca Raton
The NBA and gambling
The gambling scandal in the NBA, and gambling elsewhere, is a modern example of the old parable of killing the goose that laid the golden egg.
This has to be the stupidest thing the so-called mafia ever did. The odds are always with the house. Bettors know that.
But the game has to be played by the rules. People are not going to bet on sports if they think the game might be rigged. Have you ever noticed that there’s no sports book on wrestling?
Bill Longmuir, Margate
A matter of love and hate
MAGA supporters, by stating let’s Make America Great Again, indicate they hate what America is now and they want to change it.
Democrats, on the other hand, love what America is and want to keep it that way, according to the rule of law and the Constitution.
Carl Schneider, Delray Beach
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