Tradition on the 4th of July

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Happy July 4th. I hope everyone gets to do something traditional, like eat hot dogs, watch a baseball game, or go see fireworks. Of course, they didn’t have hot dogs and baseball in 1776, but “tradition” is an ever-changing thing.

And then there’s the abomination that will play out this evening in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Dahlia Lithwick explains all the many ways Trumpalooza could turn into an illegal act.

While the president himself is not bound by the [Hatch] act, the July 4 event turns into a taxpayer-funded Trump campaign rally if any of the following happens:

• Trump uses one of his campaign slogans: “Make America Great Again” or “Keep America Great.”
• Trump mentions the election, his reelection, or a desire to stay in office.
• Trump mentions election polling, his approval rating, or his fundraising efforts.
• Trump mentions a candidate vying for a rival party’s nomination for president.
• Trump mentions his political party or a rival political party.
• Volunteers hand out campaign signs, banners, or flyers.
• Other speakers onstage mention Trump’s campaign, reelection, or a desire for Trump to remain in office.
• Other speakers on the stage mention one of Trump’s political rivals, Trump’s political party, or a rival political party.
• Trump campaign officials are present at the event.
• any other indicia of political activity

Also, too:

Also of note is the fact that there will be a VIP section in front of the Lincoln Memorial, with tickets distributed by the White House and the Republican National Committee. As HuffPost reported this past week, the RNC is offering major donors tickets, as are political appointees at the White House, but the Democratic National Committee was not given any tickets to give away. HuffPost further reports that on Tuesday, the Trump campaign sent an email to its list inviting supporters to the event that included the following phrases: “We believe this is an important way to reach our grassroots supporters with the most up-to-date information regarding the efforts of Donald J. Trump for President, Inc., and we’re glad you’re on our team. It’s because of grassroots supporters like you that we will Make America Great Again, and we appreciate your support.
Thank you for all that you do!”

None of what Trump plans is traditional. Well, unless you consider avarice to be traditional. Rooms at Trump’s Washington hotel are sold out at twice a standard rate, Lithwick says. Those profits go straight into the pockets of the Trump family.

I’ve been in Washington on the 4th. Beside being hot as blazes, normally there’s an open air concert on the West Lawn. Was there a parade? I remember seeing the Old Guard fife and drum corps march down Constitution Avenue, which was cool. The mall is kind of a permanent, stationary parade, what with all the monuments and museums, and putting a lot of whoop-dee-doo on the street seems extraneous to me. And then there was a fireworks display at night, which was quite good, although nothing like Macy’s on the East River. But there were no roped-off VIP areas on the mall when I was there. You just sat where you found an open spot. Bring your own blankets or lawn chairs.

“You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism.” –Erma Bombeck

Whatever Trump does is never patriotism.

Update: I’m just hearing that most of the mall around the Lincoln Memorial has been fenced off.

The Lincoln. Memorial. Is. Closed. to. the. Public. Anyone visiting DC right now can’t get anywhere close to it, unless you are a Trump crony gifted with a ticket to the VIP area.

21 thoughts on “Tradition on the 4th of July”

  1. Apparently, it didn't rain hard enough to stop tRUMP's "Ode To the 4th OF ME!!!!!" celebration!

    Where's f'in "God" and his lightning bolts?

     And you ask why I don't believe in a"God? "

    'Nuff said.

  2. Trump's military parade and fly over is a major flop. What a disappointment! With all the hype of power and performance I'm beginning to understand what Stormy Daniels was talking about when she described her sexual encounter with Donald Trump. He talks a big game…but just can't deliver.

      • uncledad…After seeing Trump standing behind a rain drenched wall of bullet proof glass I felt an immense sense of satisfaction. The visual was perfect in illustrating a separation between decent patriotic Americans and the bag of shit who was running at the mouth on the other side of that wall. It had a silence of the lambs flavor to it.

  3. I learned something from tRUMP yesterday:

    Our soldiers in the Revolution captured all of the Brit's airports!

    Who knew?

    The "fake news" history books never taught me that!!!

    The depth of tRUMP's knowledge never stops impressing me!!!!!

    Oy……………..

  4. I've never seen tRUMP without a shirt on.

    But there he is, on the front row in that photo.

    He's even fatter than I thought!!!

    I guess the fatter you are, the more KKKlan and Nazi tatts you can have inscribed on your hideeous acre-wide hide!

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  5. Of the parts I saw live streamed, this was one of the most boring presentations of its kind I've ever seen.  The MAGA swamp rats in the VIP sections were clamoring for the usual Trump stupid and hate; instead getting President Numbskull's deadpanned reading of historical events he obviously had no knowledge of, and the applause was polite at best when he got it.

    Fourth of July celebrations on the Mall, as I remember them, were wide open and irreverent free for all celebrations of food, drink and family.  People just having a good time.  This was not that.  Everything this man touches turns to shyte.

  6. Trump did stay on script and of course was very boring.  However, I do confess to enjoying the flyovers. Glad to see it rained on his parade but would have preferred a little thunder and lightning.  

    1

  7. uncledad, 

    If there was a God, it would have rained toads – followed by several plagues of locusts

    1

  9. Walling off half the National Mall for a partisan event is a problem to me. When I say "partisan", Trump controlled all the tickets to the event – none were distributed to (or by) Democrats from Congress. That's SOP for an inauguration – everybody is invited to participate. (I got two tickets to the Trump inauguration but wasn't allowed by the court to attend. However, my tickets were used by two folks who spelled out "EA" of IMPEACH.) 

    Trump has every right to control tickets to an event he's paying for. This wasn't and the chain-link and ticket distribution should (but won't) result in the Trump Re-election Campaign footing the bill for renting half the National Mall and paying for all preparations. 

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  10. Well I'm not really one for the 4th, seeing all sorts of people wearing the flag as a summer-time clothing accessory sort of makes me ill. This year many of the the tea-tards incorporated assault rifle images in their red-white and blue t-shirt and flags, How the hell is that Patriotic? Anyway we did go to see some fireworks here in northwest Indiana, Michigan City, (a small city right on the Lake Michigan) had a fireworks barge out on the lake, it was a pretty impressive display for a small city. I did see some asshole (not the guy in this picture) with this nice t-shirt! What an asshole!

    https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/mt/2018/10/GettyImages_847974850/lead_720_405.jpg?mod=1539184235

     

     

    • Oh, that's GOOD – a double hit. "Blame it on the Rain" is a perfect match and it's by the lip-synch fake artists "Mili Vanili. 

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  13. I must have been sleeping on the job…So can somebody please tell me when we made the transition from Make America Great Again to Keep America Great?

    And if anybody has a background in political science maybe they can tell me what the gestation period is for Greatness.

    1

    • " the gestation period is for Greatness "

      Well Swami that varies. Greatness is difficult if not impossible to achieve when Democrats control congress and the White House. If a person of color sits in the white house greatness is completely out of the question, it simply cannot be achieved If however a draft-dodging, bankrupt, sexual assaulting, big bag of shit, conman sits in the white house Greatness can be achieved by a simple executive fiat! It can be difficult to grasp the transformation unless one is willing to suspend all cognitive thought processes. If you didn't witness the spectacular renewal, well then your just not trying hard enough!

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpHgG4jILa0

       

      • Oh, I never considered the melanin factor! It makes sense to me now. Trump is the closest president to the Pillsbury doughboy we've ever had, so naturally greatness would come to be.

  14. Was the tradition to drink the fifth on the forth or save the fifth for the fifth?  Well I tried both and my head still hurts.  I had weird dreams of Betsy Ross in an airport sewing on flag.  She kept asking me how many colonies we had and what in the hell a rampart was.  It was so twisted, and the TSA guy took away her thimble and needles.  No wonder they call it the DTs, just initials like that should give everyone the shakes. I should be better in a few days.  

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