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PaperclipPerfector  2d ago (text post)   9465 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of April 27, 2026

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The Department of Justice has filed a Rule 62.1 motion on behalf of the National Park Service, et al.1 asking the district court for an indicative ruling that it would dissolve its preliminary injunction against the White House ballroom construction project if the D.C. Circuit remands for that purpose. In other words, the DoJ says that the assassination attempt on Saturday shows that the district judge's analysis was clearly mistaken, and asks that the district judge formally state that he would lift his own injunction if the D.C. Circuit sent the case back to him for that purpose.

The motion opens:

The National Trust for Historic Preservation” is a beautiful name, but even their name is FAKE because when they add the words “in the United States” to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, it makes it sound like a Governmental Agency, which it is not. In fact, the United States refused to continue funding it in 2005 because they strongly disagreed with their mission and objectives. They are very bad for our Country. They stop many projects that are worthy, and hurt many others. In this case, they are trying to stop one that is vital to our National Security, and the Safety of all Presidents of the United States, both current and future, their families, staff, and Cabinet members. They were asked by the United States Military not to bring this suit because of the Top Secret nature of the important facility being built. They were shown detailed plans and specifications of this knitted, unified, and cohesive structure by Top Officers and Leaders in both the Military and Secret Service. But this did not deter them because they suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome, commonly referred to as TDS, as noted by Democrat Senator John Fetterman, of Pennsylvania, and are represented by the lawyer for Barack Hussein Obama, Gregory Craig.

Putting aside the bit where this looks like a Truth Social post rather than a legal filing, the legal strategy of the Trump Administration is interesting here - as far as I can tell, they are making the argument that because there is a legitimate security concern, they should be able to make these changes to the White House without having to go through the usual NCPC review, NEPA review, Congressional authorization, etc. This would

1 where the "et al." is the Executive Office of the President, the White House Chief of Staff, the Office of the Executive Residence, and the White House Chief Usher

It is fascinating how much resistance building grand buildings gets. Every year hordes of tourists visit palaces, cathedrals and other forms of monumental architecture. Last time I was there I could barely see the trevi fountain because of the tourist horde. GDP is higher than ever yet western civilization isn't producing wonders at nearly the same rate as we were in the 1890s. Western civilization should be outshining Versailles and the Vatican. We don't need to cargo cult and build copies of old styles. We need to make our own art and our own timeless architecture.

But do these monuments have to be taxpayer-funded? Private citizens can build their own monuments with their own money (1 2).

I think there are much better examples that prove you don't have to be a wealthy businessman to indulge in monument-building.

We have to have public buildings and monuments too.

They don't have to be taxpayer funded, but it is just about the best use for my tax dollars I can think of. Stripping some funding out of subsidizing food for obese Americans and building cool things instead is genuinely one of the absolute best policy changes I can imagine at the federal level and is absolutely what I voted for.

Have you seen the plans for the triumphal arch?. On the one hand, I'm excited to have a giant arch with eagles and lady liberty in DC. On the other hand, the location sucks (I assume because of all the building restrictions in DC) and a large part of the appeal of the Arc de Triomphe is the history and era in which it was built. Just as building an imitation of an antique with modern methods is viewed as tacky and tasteless, we might end up with the Trump Taj Mahal 2.0 in our capital rather than the Arc de Triomphe.

The location is decent because there's nothing there currently. It's a big ugly gaping hole with a very poorly-designed traffic circle around it. (If you don't know what you're doing it's very easy to accidentally be forced to cross the bridge from Virginia to DC, or to accidentally be forced to miss that very crossing.)

What I mean is, it's a giant void and someone was going to fill it eventually.

The location is decent because there's nothing there currently. It's a big ugly gaping hole

In that case, why don't we just put it in [insert hated state here].

The problem is that most tourists come to the mall around federal triangle or judiciary square. Assuming you want to see the Washington monument and Lincoln memorial, you'll have to choose between walking around the tidal basin to the Jefferson memorial and crossing the bridge to see the arch/Arlington cemetery. Or taking one of those shitty bus tours. Would be much better if they could get it somewhere with higher foot traffic around the mall, but again I assume the building regulations around DC screwed them...

It's close enough to Arlington Cemetery and it's serviced by metro. And I'd be in favor of spreading out the tourist monuments a little: the Mall is running out of space for building new monuments.

Would all be fine if we could develop more civilian infrastructure around DC's Monumental Core: restaurants and shops, apartments and office buildings, etc. If you want to get something near Arlington Cemetery you're rather hosed.

What I mean is, it's a giant void and someone was going to fill it eventually.

adjusts tie nervously

But hey, enough about my wife...

a large part of the appeal of the Arc de Triomphe is the history and era in which it was built.

I'm reminded of that proverb that the best time to plant a tree for shade is 20 years ago, but the second best time is now. If we want "public buildings and monuments" (a valid debate itself) we can just build them, but they won't be historical overnight.

Yeah, I think I share your inclination that there's a bit of a cargo cult aspect to the specific aesthetics. I actually do like the location, but I'm biased because I enjoy a run that loops around the monuments and pops out back to VA by crossing right there. Going under the arch on the way back to the Mount Vernon Trail would be pretty cool. I think on net I'd be willing to give up my aesthetic preference in the spirit of just building things and some of them will wind up being cool in the long run.

The parkway is my favorite drive "in the city" but sometimes I wonder what a waterfront we could have if it weren't filled with highways.

Just as building an imitation of an antique with modern methods is viewed as tacky and tasteless,

On the contrary, there's a long history of that with many beloved buildings being imitations of antiques.

Hell, the Arc de Triomphe itself is an imitation of the Roman triumphal arches, of which the Arch of Constantine is the most closely imitated by just about every triumphal arch you've ever seen.

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