• Gammelfisch@lemmy.world
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    2 hours ago

    I hope the non-union contractors does not receive a single cent and files a lawsuit against the Orange Moron they voted for.

  • Phoenixz@lemmy.ca
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    12 hours ago

    From now on, I’ll refer to it as the white wing, I hope the name sticks

  • BlameTheAntifa@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    He also doesn’t have to murder Venezuelan fishers, shoot/kidnap/torture Americans and our guests, rob the poor and deprive them of medical care and food to pay his wealthy loyalists, or rape children.

    He does it because he wants to.

  • Num10ck@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    heres the secret reason in my theory: the east wing is where Trump gave a bj to Bill Clinton. ok who has the guest logs on when they were both present?

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      “Distracting headlines” as a canard gets a bit old. Everything is a distraction from everything else, because we have a heavily monopolized mass media and a shrinking pool of investigative journalists with any kind of budget.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decline_of_newspapers#United_States

      When you had twice as many newspapers and half as many people, the idea of “distracting headlines” was more a matter of consumer choice (you could read serious news at the New York Times or junk pop-media at the New York Post). Now media functions as a cartel, with papers all echoing one another on topics of the day. Or deliberately remaining silent on embarrassments the business community owners would rather not talk about.

      This isn’t a “Trump” problem, though. Its a problem of consolidation and privatization on a national scale.

      • NutWrench@lemmy.ml
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        7 hours ago

        This. Media consolidation has been going on for the last 40 years, with the numbers of owners going from around 40 in the 1980s to only 5 today. And if those 5 billionaires get together and decide something isn’t going to be talked about, then it’s NOT getting talked about.

        This is also why the so-called “mainstream news media” is all lies, sanewashing and WrestleMania rage bait. It’s why the news loves to say, “things suck” but NONE of them want to talk about WHY things suck. This is by design. It’s a distraction so the owners can keep the lower classes fighting with each other while they, the rich, run off with all the farking money.

      • billwashere@lemmy.world
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        8 hours ago

        “Distracting headlines” is basically the symptom of the populace having the attention span of a gnat with ADHD using meth as a cure. We don’t focus on anything long enough to generate enough traffic and therefore money for these media companies. So the media end up producing a constant barrage of shit and drivel while ignoring the stuff that likely matters.

        I don’t disagree this blame lies on the people producing the news but it’s also due to the consumers sliding into a character from Idiocracy.

        • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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          7 hours ago

          it’s also due to the consumers sliding into a character from Idiocracy.

          I’ve seen more intelligence from consumers in the modern landscape of bullshit and scams than the Reagan Era landscape we hold to such high esteem.

          • billwashere@lemmy.world
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            5 hours ago

            As someone who actually is old enough to remember the Reagan era, I’m not sure it deserves that much nostalgia.

            • ɔiƚoxɘup@infosec.pub
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              23 minutes ago

              I’m just hoping it was an /s-less sarcasm. I agree with the point through. Our attention span are shorter and the world always appears to be ending, but I think a lot of that is that along with all the lies and manipulation, we’re actually seeing more of ‘how the sausage is made’ than ever before.

              As disastrous as smartphones have been, it’s never been easier to collect and instantly share evidence.

              This, of course, is not to say that I think we’re not supremely screwed right now, and there’s still a lot happening in the shadows, but I feel there’s definitely an increase of visibility.

      • Tja@programming.dev
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        1 day ago

        Well, look at lemmy anytime someone posts a link that requires you to pay for the journalism. Pitchforks and torches. People don’t want to pay for quality journalism, do they get whatever billionaires want to feed them.

        • billwashere@lemmy.world
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          8 hours ago

          I never thought about it this way but it makes total sense. We get fed what rich people buy for us to consume… <cough… cough … fox news>

        • Credibly_Human@lemmy.world
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          8 hours ago

          Well, look at lemmy anytime someone posts a link that requires you to pay for the journalism. Pitchforks and torches.

          People don’t want to pay for something they don’t think is quality.

          It’s not like these companies would clean up their act if they got another viable revenue stream. We can see that because when companies do, they regularly just keep the extra cash.

          What you’d need is a boot strapped organization that actually had standards people cared about and didn’t bend. Its an impossibly hard situation, yes, but that does not make your snark prescient or clever. More than that, it doesnt at all back up your conclusion that people don’t want to pay for quality journalism. It just doesnt exist, because it gets bought out by billionaires.

        • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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          24 hours ago

          anytime someone posts a link that requires you to pay for the journalism

          People subscribing to random newspapers via links on Lemmy would not be a sustainable model for funding local journalism. And - historically - plenty of people did subscribe to local outlets. Plenty still do. Hell, go on Patreon or Substack and see how well the nascent podcast journalism marketplace is doing.

          What changed over the last 40 years was a wave of M&As targeting smaller papers to consolidate the news markets. Case in point, my own city of Houston had half a dozen different newspapers chugging along just fine for decades. But because they were small, they were also very cheap. Loose monetary policy in the 90s made buying up papers very cheap. So the Houston Chronicle went around town buying the smaller papers and shutting them down. Now its the only major newspaper of record remaining.

          “Well, people on Lemmy should have paid for more subscriptions to the Houston Post” is a fucking asinine statement, given that their stated reason for failure was cost of newsprint rising in the early 90s and they stopped existing before most of the people on this site were even born.

          • Tja@programming.dev
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            22 hours ago

            I don’t thing the likes of wsj, nyt or similar are “random newspapers”, and they still get hate for asking for money. Bezos finds that useful.

            • OBJECTION!@lemmy.ml
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              12 hours ago

              The NYT is what billionaires want to tell me, and if they expect me to pay for the privilege they’re out of their minds. Oughta be paying me to read that trash.

              If you were talking about actually independent sources providing other perspectives then you might have a point.

              • Tja@programming.dev
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                12 hours ago

                I’m talking about all sources, the average lemmy user doesn’t distinguish nuance, they complain about all paywalls. And billionaires take advantage of that and obviously buy the papers with the widest reach first, but with time they’ll reach everywhere.

                • Credibly_Human@lemmy.world
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                  8 hours ago

                  I’m talking about all sources

                  Yet the only ones you listed are the billionaire backed ones. Curious.

                  Almost as if your argument is in bad faith because you yourself don’t have any great examples of the sort of thing people would want to support that are also news outlets with reporters, and so you are forced to use bad examples.

                  Ill give you an example though, just like the other person pointed out, there are smaller sources popping up everywhere. Even youtube journalism such as HowTown are pockets of not yet corporate information sources that people are fine with supporting.

    • ArmchairAce1944@discuss.online
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      1 day ago

      Cracked has an article that points how Trump does know some things to a very high level. One of those things is how media attention works and also a complete and absolute lack of shame.

      Him admitting that he tore down part of the white house because he just didn’t like it and could have built around it is exactly those two things. He wanted to distract people and he legit does not give a damn.

  • pastermil@sh.itjust.works
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    2 days ago

    Great, let’s tear down a well-preserved historic building in pristine condition for no absolute reason at all!

    • Trainguyrom@reddthat.com
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      6 hours ago

      Honestly, the white house is a living structure. Its been constantly renovated as long as its stood in order to meet the changing needs of running a country. Its what happens with most old structures, additions get made, more damaged or outdated sections get replaced, and ultimately the structure changes over time.

      It also makes for some brilliant imagery of what Trump is doing to the country and he knows it. He’s both literally and figuratively tearing down and replacing the seat of power, in ways that will be technically difficult, expensive and time consuming to restore or replace. And like any structure that gets a poorly conceived modification, his changes to the country won’t be torn down and reverted to their earlier state, they’ll most likely be dressed up, the most egregious flaws will be reworked, and some of Trumps changes will remain for a long time without update. Ideally all of Trumps changes will be torn down and a completely new structure will replace them, but that’s ambitious, expensive and disruptive, plus if the wrong architect does so the entire structure can be far worse than it started.

    • InEnduringGrowStrong@sh.itjust.works
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      1 day ago

      Might as well go back to the 1812 method of renovating at this point.
      Probably less insulting to the concept of the USA than whatever the fuck this is.

      • AxExRx@lemmy.world
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        I think the next president should tear down and start from scratch. Eho nlknows what kind of bugs that traitor has let his foreign ‘pals’ put wherever.

      • pastermil@sh.itjust.works
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        1 day ago

        old growth forest: *exists*

        property developer: we got some undeveloped land here! let’s pave it up, might make money having a parking lot.

    • Madison420@lemmy.world
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      The east wing was built in like 1902. It’s historic but it’s not super duper old and was rebuilt in the 40s to hide a bunker under it.

          • PearOfJudes@lemmy.ml
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            ngl I don’t care about some old building but kind of want a society where thats the biggest problem

            • Madison420@lemmy.world
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              1 day ago

              I’m with you, the issue is doing it on a whim with no plan to the people’s property as he treats it like his own including his pathetic walk of fame.

      • Gumby@lemmy.world
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        1 day ago

        Honestly my biggest issue with this is that it seems to be a pretty clear sign (in addition to the other blatantly obvious signs like various public comments, selling Trump 2028 gear on his website, etc) that he has no intention of ever leaving the White House, term limits be damned. He’s just not the type of person to do major work like that if he’s expecting to move out and no longer be able to enjoy it himself in a few years.

  • Deadeyegai@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    Man… Seriously! Fuck this guy. I hope when the Epstein files finally get released he fucking burns

    • salacious_coaster@infosec.pub
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      2 days ago

      He led an insurrection on live TV, got away with it, and got reelected. Nothing is going to happen until the propaganda machine is torn down; or, more likely, the whole system just caves in on itself under the weight of its own greed and mismanagement.

      • becausechemistry@lemy.lol
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        2 days ago

        I’d say the evangelical base won’t appreciate sex with teens but… given their track record they’ll probably say well actually sex with teens is just a-ok with us now

        • Mirshe@lemmy.world
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          10 hours ago

          They’re already priming this pump with Megyn Kelly questioning “well if the kids had started puberty, was it really pedophilia”. There’s a shocking amount that are also being led either to “well what if the child consents” and the more common “children shouldn’t have any rights at all so it’s effectively a property crime”.

        • unphazed@lemmy.world
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          1 day ago

          They’re already influencing the idea with Megan Kelly. It’s amazing to me how they’ve moved the goalposts so far that the general populace are now becoming apologists for so many things they once vehemently condemned. I’m not talking politicians who are projecting. I’m talking regular folks that are allowing outside influence to convince them that abuse is ok. I was raised by bigots. I was taught inequality and mistrust as a child. Thankfully it was never outright hatred, but it could have easily gone there. But pedophilia, that was the vilest of vile, the atrocity that could not stand. Now those same family members would be of the group to most likely defend this, were they alive today.

        • gramie@lemmy.ca
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          2 days ago

          I’d have said the Evangelical base wouldn’t appreciate him having sex with porn stars either, but here we are

          • Flax@feddit.ukBanned from community
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            2 days ago

            Or the groping, adultery, several divorces and remarriage, platforming kenneth copeland or flip flopping between being pro and anti abortion. Or him preaching works-based salvation recently.

        • Enkrod@feddit.org
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          2 days ago

          They’ve started to distinguish between pedophiles and ephebophiles, just so they can continue to say that Trump isn’t a pedo.

    • Flax@feddit.ukBanned from community
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      LOL at this rate, the only time this guy will burn will be in hell

  • radix@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    I hope the next President makes two changes to the WH:

    1. Restore the previous incarnation of the East Wing, but with a plaque listing all the people and companies that supposedly paid for it, labeled “In remembrance of these individuals that bribed the President.”

    2. Leave the paved-over Rose Garden, and rename it to the Donald J. Trump Memorial Concrete Slab.

    • Steve@communick.news
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      2 days ago

      I’m with you on 1.
      But can’t on 2.
      Everything he did to the White House needs to be reversed.
      Then also to the rest of the country.

      • Carighan Maconar@piefed.world
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        2 days ago

        Plus eradicate his name from everything. Remove “Trump” from any building his family owns. Redact his names from donations and fundraisers, anonymize them. Basically remove him from history. Undo anything he did and make sure people cannot even know something was undone.

        • regedit@lemmy.zip
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          1 day ago

          Make his name synonymous with evil, just like Hitler. Make it so toxic no one names their kid Donald for a generation.

        • foodandart@lemmy.zip
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          2 days ago

          I want people to remember he was in the Epstein files… so leave that aspect of his legacy intact.

        • leftzero@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          2 days ago

          I’d keep “trump” (lower case, without any reference to where it came from) as a certain general use word, though.

          By the way, I’m writing this in the toilet, while dropping a massive stinking trump.

          • oftenawake@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            4 hours ago

            I instigated a transatlantic Cockney rhyming slang version. In Cockney the rhyme is usually the word that’s missing, so you just have to know what it means.

            For example:

            • “Apples” -> apples and pears = stairs
            • “Sky” -> sky rocket = pocket
            • “North” -> north and south = mouth

            Resulting in:

            • USA: “Taking a dump”
            • Dump -> Donald Trump (rhyme)
            • Britain: “Going for a shit”
            • Our family: “Going for a Donald”

            I’m also writing this while going for a Donald.

          • oftenawake@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            5 hours ago

            British person here. In Britain a trump is an extremely smelly fart:

            “Pfwoaaah that reeks! Who fackin trumped in ere?”

      • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        we could probably lift the slab and put it someplace. like his library, maybe. Or one of his golf courses.

        • Steve@communick.news
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          2 days ago

          THAT’S A GREAT IDEA!
          I’ll get it for my museum of all Rumps failures. It’s something I’ve been dreaming of. Exhibits covering all his horrendus and failed buisness. From casinos and condos to steaks and sneakers.

        • gdog05@lemmy.world
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          2 days ago

          We should save the slab, drill some holes in it, place it over his grave and call it the Pedo Trump Memorial Toilet

      • Deceptichum@quokk.au
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        2 days ago

        Followed by actually radically and fundamentally overhauling your entire nation so that it’s better than it was before Trump?

    • stoy@lemmy.zip
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      2 days ago

      You forget another huge thing.

      Rip out all the tacky gold fittings that Trump has added all over.

    • cley_faye@lemmy.world
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      Nah. The only place where trump would be acceptable is as a footnote in a history book. Get that filth out of the way.

      • Jumbie@lemmy.zip
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        1 day ago

        We do not deserve this kindness. We should always be reminded of our horrible mistake.

  • BenLeMan@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    So, quick question: what exactly does he need a ballroom for? It’s not like he’s any good at dancing, even though he is somewhat famous for his double-handed cock milker move. Exhibit A

    What’s more, he doesn’t have any balls, either. Certainly not the kind that would require a dedicated room. Exhibit B

    I really don’t get these brain farts of his. But hey, I’m not the one with syphilis-induced dementia here.

    God, I can’t wait until you guys finally muster the courage to oust this wannabe dictator and his clique.

    • Rothe@piefed.social
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      Because it is not so much a ball room as it is a throne room. He wants a giant hall where he can preside at a throne in the end, where people who wants to see him has to walk through the entire thing feeling humbled, just like his dictator pals does it.

    • smeenz@lemmy.nz
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      His entire life has been based around his perception of what people above him think of him. That’s why he plastered the oval office with garish gold leaf everywhere. He thinks it will impress people like putin and erdoğan and kim . Even more so because he’s showing that he has the power to spend lavishly on stuff the country doesn’t want or need because that’s what dictators do.

      That’s what this is for

      • AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        You missed another thing he loves doing. He smashed an historical building in the early '70s in NYC during the starting of his “real estate” career. He smashed an historical building while other people were offering to pay to have the historical artifacts properly recovered. His excuse at the time? “It would have been too expensive.” Meanwhile he knew it would have been free to him, it just would have taken 6-8 months later for him to break ground.

        He’s continued desecrating any historical site he can get his hands on, to this day.

        He gets off on destroying historical monuments.

        • Tower@lemmy.zip
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          18 hours ago

          Not even that long. According to “John Baron”, it was 2 weeks.

          Trump surprised New York’s art community on June 5, 1980 when a demolition crew jackhammered the sculptures off of the building. In addition, the intricate grillwork was removed. The destruction drew a public outcry. The Met received no advance notice.

          Trump initially avoided any comment about the Bonwit Teller artwork. But John Baron, a spokesperson with the Trump Organization, contacted the New York Daily News to discuss the situation. Baron informed the Daily News that “the merit of the stones was not great enough to justify the effort to save them.” Baron stated that the removal process could have set back Trump Tower’s construction timeline by two weeks. Baron also told the New York Times that he had no idea what happened to the ornate grillwork.

          https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaellisicky/2020/10/03/how-donald-trump-took-down-bonwit-teller-a-fifth-avenue-landmark/

        • otp@sh.itjust.works
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          1 day ago

          He smashed an historical building

          This immediately made me read your comment in a strong French accent

          (At least in my dialect, word-initial h’s are pronounced as a consonant. That means it would be “a historical” instead of “an”)

  • Melon Husk™@sh.itjust.worksBanned
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    2 days ago

    ah, the ‘just because i feel like it’ defense. truly inspiring architecture, really. imagine the white house tour: ‘and over here, we have the ballroom, built purely on a whim. truly a testament to… something.’

  • ameancow@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    The right and Trump’s own base really didn’t like him doing this. This will do as much if not more harm to him from his own side than the goddamn Epstein files.

    • tym@lemmy.world
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      2 hours ago

      That was true when you made this comment, but now that we know he gave bill clinton the ole gluck gluck 3000, his base is going to smoke at the ears trying to justify still supporting orange mussolini

    • Worx@lemmynsfw.com
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      1 day ago

      Eh, if you’re a pedo and your preacher is a pedo, it doesn’t really matter if your president is too

  • BigMacHole@sopuli.xyz
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    2 days ago

    Obama’s going to DESTROY the White House Trump is doing What NEEDS to be Done with the Old House!