From "Trump’s Vision for ‘Garden of Heroes’ Keeps Getting Bigger and Higher in Cost/Plans for the project include formal gardens, reflecting pools and plazas alongside the statues of 250 notable Americans, according to documents obtained by The New York Times" (NYT).
Makes me think of that high-speed train in California. We don’t need to finish this. Maybe we should even take it down.
Anyway, here's the list of the 250 heroes for Trump's "garden," complete with bios seemingly presenting the argument for why they rank as the top heroes. They're organized by category, so, for example, you can see that there are 5 "jurists" (that is, Supreme Court Justices): Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Robert H. Jackson, Thurgood Marshall, William
Rehnquist, and Antonin Scalia.
Why is Rehnquist there and not John Marshall? Why not John Marshall Harlan? You can read the bio for Rehnquist and find that he "believed in the principle of federalism" and had "a sharp mind" and "took his duties to
the flag and the Constitution with the utmost seriousness."
But, what can I say? I don't want to get into arguments about the rankings of heroism. Should we even think of judges as heroes? They are performing structured work according to a well-recognized duty and they are protected by life tenure. What are they risking? Criticism?
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64 comments:
This story can’t be true. I heard that Trump is overwhelmingly focused on the Big Ballroom all week. Every democrat said so. Now I’m supposed to believe that pea brain is building a yuge garden with statuary? Bullshit. Next you’ll try and tell me there really is an arch going up.
It’s chaos. A chaos of improvement! Who demanded all this progress dammit.
"Garden of Heroes" — ridiculous!
While Trump thinks big - the left want to destroy our nation for their corrupt power, de-fund the police, homelessness INC. for dem money whoring, and Elizabeth Warren stupidity.
What do the judges risk? Lives, fortunes and sacred honor. Life: death threats and attempts. Fortunes: they give up earning potential just by taking the job; if they make unpopular rulings, they could have half or more of their retirement earning potential dry up. Sacred honor: they risk being ejected from polite society, and having their scholarship kept out of the prestigious law reviews. And I wouldn’t put it past their opposition to not only impeach/remove them, but also cook up theories to prosecute them - theories which a packed SCOTUS would rubber stamp. CC, jSM
Oh "Protestors" toppled the statues and vandalized Washington and Lincoln. Darn those "Protestors". I can imagine that if Conservatives toppled a statue of MLK or FDR the label would be quite different from the NYTs.
Does anyone doubt that any Future Democrat POTUS would destroy Trump's "Garden of Heroes" ? Or get together with Leftist historians and "prune" anyone they don't like? Goodbye R.E. Lee!
This is just a minor affair that illustrates a much larger struggle. The Left/liberal elite hates America 1.0 and is destroying it. Many people don't like that, but not enough to actually fight. So, Trump's "garden of heroes" is a nice rear-guard action, but wont exist 20 years from now. Happy?
Ann Althouse said...
"Garden of Heroes" — ridiculous!
Do you oppose the Garden or the heroes?
Intellectuals hate remembering people who actually did great things.
The legal profession is pretty damn hierarchical - it has to be. All those aggressive Type As who know they’re right, yet have to submit to someone else’s opinion. Always have to acknowledge everyone’s title.In a physics paper you can say “Newton tells us…,” or in a computer science paper you can say “According to Goedel,” but heaven forbid in legal writing you call a Peoria traffic court judge anything but “Judge Schmedlap” when citing him. Losing your position and respect as a career jurist must hurt almost as much as a black man being called boy. CC, JSM
The Medal of Honor section is 3,548 names short.
Halsey? The Halsey who almost blew the Leyte invasion (and the lives of thousands of sailors and Marines)? What about Ernest Evans (MoH) - or anyone in Taffy 3 - who saved us from that near-catastrophe?
Musicians and Performers - on an American Heroes list. It is to laugh... But then that can be said about a good part of this list.
The inevitable DEI entries are noted.
Alex Trebek? Really?
We could do this with this ridiculous list all day...
RCOCEAN II said...
Oh "Protestors" toppled the statues and vandalized Washington and Lincoln. Darn those "Protestors". I can imagine that if Conservatives toppled a statue of MLK or FDR the label would be quite different from the NYTs.
MLK is worth celebrating.
FDR was an evil human being. He should be remembered as part of our history and he was the figurehead during WWII. But I wonder how much of that was actually him. It seemed like he was jealous of Hitler rather than opposing him.
Let's meet the "expert" that the New York Times went to Pennsylvania to find for Trump-trashing. I wonder what professor Lum has ever produced of note or worth in his lifetime. I'm guessing nothing. Let me go check his artwork and see.... Holy shit, it's worse than I expected. This asswipe's "art", er, "sculptures" are mostly online memes and then there's modern art shit like a collection of strip mall signs... Plus, he's Chinese-Canadian. What a fucking asshole!
Seems like a Garden of Heros in DC isn't too much to ask for, seeing as we are treated daily to the Parade of Fools.
Dumb distraction. Again.
Out of all the basketball players they picked ____________.
(See if you can guess before you look it up.)
Also, Alex Trebek is from the country of _____________.
Honestly, I have no real objection to a sculpture garden. Just make it 40% less mockable.
What the left really objects to is the United States being honored in any way.
If there are American Heroes then that means America did something positive for the world.
These people hate America and therefore hate anyone that would be a hero here.
That is really what the "pride" flag is all about.
Narr said...
Dumb distraction. Again.
It is actually the core distinction between the sides.
Are you proud of the United States or not?
As Michael Fitzgerald pointed out above the problem is a class of worthless intellectuals who never contributed anything and are jealous and hateful of the people who did.
A list too long that thereby becomes not long enough. RBG, but not John Marshall? War heroes heavily weighted to World War 11, but Joshua Chamberlain as the only Civil War general, but not U. S. Grant or W. T. Sherman? Needless to say, no Confederates.
The USofA is the greatest country in the history of the world in my considered judgement as an historian. I spent my whole professional life working with others to preserve, interpret, and memorialize our past.
This is just a stupid mish-mash.
NYT is the prisoner's wife. #BabyLivesMatter
But, what can I say? I don't want to get into arguments about the rankings of heroism.
Me either. That’s why it’s a mistake in my mind.
Should we even think of judges as heroes? They are performing structured work according to a well-recognized duty and they are protected by life tenure. What are they risking? Criticism?
Thanks to the Lefties you love so much, Professor, Kavanaugh risked assassination.
Trump’s name and likeness are increasingly appearing on public institutions and symbols of the state—a form of self-aggrandizement once considered anathema to American leaders.
Trump’s personality cult did not build itself. Behind every gold statue, every fawning cabinet speech, every rebranded institution stands a willing participant. Narcissism requires an audience. The real question is not what Trump thinks of himself, but why so many have been so eager to agree.
Can’t wait for the Trump Midterms. That’ll pop the egregious, narcissistic golden balloon.
Yes i dont see why ginsburg would end up there
Let's celebrate the lives of the first 250 people in the Omaha phonebook. Or wait, let's save time and money and do nothing remotely like this.
Lots to debate there! No tennis players or golfers. Jack Nicklaus should be included. Tom Brady?
Kobe Bryant? No! Michael Jordan, yes!
I would add Warren Buffett.
IEE's 10:18 comment is ironically out of place in this post, isn't it? I mean, nobody would deny that Trump likes him some self-branding, but this is about 250 people who aren't Trump, unless I missed his being #250, or intending to name this display the Trump Garden of Heroes.
I argued in front of Rehnquist and Marshall. I didn’t notice the heroism.
George "Fentanyl" Floyd experienced breathing difficulties in custody prompting the premature exit from the police vehicle into the hostile crowd hindering authorized medical treatment. The second coroner's report may have had DEIst motives. To be sure, he died in custody, but was it negligence or Capitol punishment?
FYI, Begley, Kobe Bryant was a patriotic American who was outspokenly proud of playing for the USA and publicly chastised smug libtard prick Cris Collins Collinsworth for his dismissive attitude toward national pride.
Jordan is all about making money and gambling.
Bryant deserves the acclaim, not Jordan.
"As long as the roots are not severed, all is well and all will be well in the garden." - Chauncey Gardener
I was hoping I'd have made the list. I'll have to just work harder.
Also- I think it's not too early to have Elon Musk on that list. No one has done more and continues do to more to drag humanity, kicking and screaming, into the future. Hell...just buying and opening up X may have saved freedom of speech for a few more years. And NASA is making trips to the moon again. Think they'd have done that if SpaceX was not moving ahead so rapidly and successfully? Before SpaceX they were working on their reach-out programs to the Muslims around the world because...well...no one is quite sure. You'd have to ask Obama.
But all that said, I don't think this is a very good idea. You know it's just going to be changed out with each new Administration. One administration might pull Thomas Jefferson and replace him with Megan Thee Stallion. Another might pull Bruce Springsteen and replace him with Greg Gutfeld. That'll become the new game in DC. I don't think we're ready for it.
The Hall of Fame of Great Americans at what was once NYU's main campus in The Bronx was once a big deal. NYU moved back to Manhattan and the Hall fell into disuse and disrepair, but it wouldn't be a surprise if young Donnie had gone there on a school trip or at least read about the place.
They would probably put leonard peltier and angela davis in the gallery
…anything lefties don’t like they try to kill by crying about the cost. We know you no noting of economics and loathe finance- ridiculous!
George Floyd died of a self-administered drug overdose. Quite possibly the best decision he ever made.
This is what you get when you put Whoopi, Roger Goodell, Ted Nugent and Sarah Palin in a room and tell 'em to take turns picking.
A couple of those military guys gotta go. I'd add Curt LeMay and Billy Mitchell. Maybe even Joe Kittinger.
Where's Warren Spahn? Ernie Banks?
John Glenn - Seriously? Replace with Gene Kranz, immediately!
Was Willie Nelson on the list? Jimmy Buffett?
Can we put Elon on there? Vera Lynn?
I like a list but this one needs a lot of work. C'mon all of you big strong men (and Women) :-)
This comment thread shows why the Garden is a poor idea. Civil Rights leaders without Goodman, Schwerner, and Chaney? Nothing about the Freedom Riders? Or the marchers at Pettit Bridge?
Kobe is a great basketball player, but Eilt Chsmberlin snd Bill Russell were transforming the NBA when the conventional wisdom was that black men were congenitally incapable of playing basketball properly. Too undisciplined. And shooting jump shots — no one could reliably make jump shots. Yes, there was such a time, and men like Chamberlin and Russell, and others helped destroy it.
That’s just one person’s take on just two topics.
Almost no one goes to Sagrada Familia to worship today. They go as one goes to an art museum. It will be finished to be 90% an art installation, not a church.
To some people the statue of a hero is inspiration to live well. Others despise the hero because he is standing in their place.
Being in the garden is just getting a posthumous “Super Medal of Freedom”. But in stone.
250 seems like overkill. Should be able to see them all in 2 hrs max without rushing
Tom Wolfe, the novelist, should be included.
He invented many phrases. The Right Stuff. Masters of the Universe. The Me Decade. Social X-rays. Pushing the Envelope. Good Ol' Boy. Catching Flak.
I don't know if this garden is actually worth doing. After all, what does one do with groups of heroes? However I can't resist suggesting a few changes anyway. First, delete Alex Trebek because he doesn't make sense. Then add Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins grouped with Neil Armstrong. The whole Apollo 11 crew should be there. Also add Richard (Rick) Rescorla for his actions on September 11, 2001.
FYI, Begley, Kobe Bryant was a patriotic American who was outspokenly proud of playing for the USA and publicly chastised smug libtard prick Cris Collins Collinsworth for his dismissive attitude toward national pride.
Chris Collingsworth is a Republican, and makes no secret of it.
Kobe Bryant was a rapist. No secret there, either.
Charlie Kirk z''l needs to be in there. And Daniel Faulkner hyd. CC, JSM
Michael, Kobe, Kareem, Larry, Tim…and ‘the rest’…
Argggh.....he was colorful and grabbed a lot of headlines as a result, but William 'Bull' Halsey was not our best tactical naval commander in WWII. That honor belongs to Raymond Spruance
Dave Begley said...
Tom Wolfe, the novelist, should be included.
I'd also include Hunter S. Thompson.
"Civil Rights leaders without Goodman, Schwerner, and Chaney? Nothing about the Freedom Riders? Or the marchers at Pettit Bridge?"
LOL. They weren't leaders. How many black people we don't even know about suffered massively or were lynched from 1890-1965 in the name of Black rights. Probably thousands. We can't have 10 thousand statues, only a couple. MLK gave his life for Civil rights.
There's a good case to be made that 250 is too many. Like someone upthread said, I'd say 100 is enough.
When it comes to Confederates I'd only include two. R.E. Lee who was a great American before and after the war. And Joe Johnston, who disobeyed Jefferson davis' order to continue the war, and surrendered. On the Union side I'd include Lincoln, Grant, and Sherman.
How many black people we don't even know about suffered massively or were lynched from 1890-1965 in the name of Black rights. Probably thousands.
…probably by Democrats…
It's an interesting list, and controversial omissions and inclusions do much to make it interesting. One could say that some of the names are DEI inclusions, but it's unifying to have them come from Trump, rather than from a Democrat. Trump even includes some people who wouldn't have thought much of him (or his staffers included them). That's also unifying, and a reminder that Trump was a Democrat for much of his life.
There are already statues of many of these people.
Just have holographs of various Heroes so they can be rotated and then canceled easily.
Cesar Chavez is less popular than Robert E. Lee now.
Maybe a Garden of Losers would have appeal. We could put the Confederate Generals, Chavez, Weinstein, and Hillary there.
I saw an article on the "high speed" train in California today. The price has now swelled to $125 billion. To put things in perspective, that amounts to an average of $6000 per taxpayer in California...for a train that almost no one will ever ride. And is projected to lose money every year after it eventually opens, so the tax payers will have to subsidize its operation for decades.
Trump's Garden of Heroes will cost about $40 million; (Which averages to $0.26 per American taxpayer.) but, at least, lots of people will actually get to appreciate it.
Its nice that Trump is a unifier. Except the Left doesn't care.
George Floyd wasn't murdered. Derek Chauvin was martyred to the crowd. His prosecutors should be in jail.
Alfred Hitchcock
Hugo Black
Joe DiMaggio
Groucho Marx
Buster Keaton
Charlie Chaplin
Wyatt Earp
Joe Louis
Jeff Bezos
Cindy Sherman
I would kick out
John Jay
Grover Cleveland
William McKinley
William Rehnquist
Alex Trebek
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Shirley Temple
Sally Ride
Kobe Bryant
Norman Schwarzkopf
"Garden of Heroes" — ridiculous!
Is it?
To me, identifying heroes is an ancient idea, something out of Plato. It's elitist, to be sure. But people are naturally competitive. Instead of competing for money or beauty or power or celebrity, this is implicitly calling on people to be heroic.
In fact, what would be interesting to me is an attempt to find anonymous or little-known heroes and bring forth those stories. That would be inspiring. There are several people on the list who are not particularly famous.
I think a lot of these names are elite in their professions, as opposed to heroes. But a hall of heroes would be really interesting, in my opinon.
The HSR in California was approved by voters in 2008. All the future ridership numbers, construction costs, and funding were either made up or picked out of a hat.
It was sold as connecting SF to LA by rail. Completion was promised by 2020. Estimated cost $36 Billion.
Now the new route is between Madera and Bakersfield in the mostly rural Central Valley. New cost estimate is just north of $100 billion.
The ultimate "trust me, bro" type of project corrupt politicians are famous for.
Trump may gloat on a lot of things, but he knows how to get projects done.
Floyd died of an overdose according to the autopsy.
They should make it a virtual garden so every American can visit without having to travel.
The sculptures for the virtual garden could be created with AI, which would save a lot of money.
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