The Sun Sets In the East

America's democratic and architectural heritage died with Trump's latest "remodeling" of the White House.

We all knew that he was going to add a ballroom to the White House, and that was bad enough.  Obscenely bad.  But we didn't know that Trump would be demolishing the White House's East Wing - where the First lady had her office and where tourists entered the building for tours.  Trump has made it plain that presidential spouses should no longer matter (since they're all destined to remain women) and that "the people" don't belong in the people's house.   The East Wing will strictly be a corridor to access the ballroom - which is not to be for public functions. 

Unless, of course, tech moguls are considered "the public." 

This is not going well with anyone.  The East Wing was built in 1902, but the colonnades were installed by President Thomas Jefferson a century earlier.  With two stories, it was practically a building onto itself, and it provided a stylish complement to the main building.  It may have even been classier than its western counterpart, which is mostly office space and the site of the press briefing room.

And people are really, really mad at Trump for tearing down the East Wing. 😁

Pundits such as Steve Schmidt and Al Hunt are hoping that the East Wing as it existed before this week will be restored and the ballroom will be demolished.  No.  As with Adolf Hitler's expansion of the Reich Chancellery in Berlin, the entire White House will have to be demolished because Trump will have done too much "remodeling" to it for it to ever be returned to its former state.  And by the way, I'm still advocating for the United States to become, like the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, a former state - or what we stamp collectors would call a "dead country."  It's time for the United States to break up into several counties, for the Union to be dissolved.  Washington, D.C., whether it remains a city or an urban Maryland county of smaller cities - yes, I'm for breaking up the District of Freakin' Columbia! - still will have a few government buildings that will be worth repurposing, of course, but even if it survives as a city, it should never again be the capital of anything or any place.