Sample analysis: "'I don’t think it’s likely that we’ll see bulldozers around the Kennedy Center any time soon,' said Paul Edmondson, a lawyer who specializes in historic preservation law.... While the center’s leadership made assurances months ago that demolition was not being contemplated, Mr. Trump, who is chairman of the center’s board, went on to speak openly of the prospect. 'The president has a pattern of moving so fast that it’s difficult to catch up,' Mr. Edmondson said."
30 સપ્ટેમ્બર, 2026
Do you mean "May President Trump Demolish the Kennedy Center?"?
I wonder, reading "Can President Trump Demolish the Kennedy Center?" in the NYT. Subheadline: "The president has entertained the idea of tearing down the performing arts venue. Analysts say any plan would face multiple daunting challenges."
પોસ્ટ્સ
106 ટિપ્પણીઓ:
If Scott Adams of Dilbert fame was still alive, he'd explain that Trump has no intention of tearing down that building. Just like he never had any intent to invade Greenland.
By talking about a teardown, he's just preparing the battlefield for what he really wants to do.
"Can" or "may" aside, I don't think he should or ought.
Better to put his mark on DC by changing the system and the culture than by tearing down and building things.
The best thing is for Trump to start destroying the Center, and then demolish before a Far-Left judge stops him - which they will.
Gentrification.
Yes
Cultural appropriation.
Daddy, can I? Mommy, may I? Grammar differences.
It’s a great metaphor for our divided government. Trump may not renovate the Kennedy Center because leftists sued. Trump also may not demolish the Kennedy Center because leftists are suing. So the performing arts venue continues to decay and becomes even more unusable.
This in essence is the Left’s entire plan for governance: endless arguing while institutions crumble from neglect.
"The president has entertained the idea of tearing down the performing arts venue. Analysts say any plan would face multiple daunting challenges."
"The president has picked up his laser pointer. Analysts say the dot is intriguing."
We will not have progress.
Well - progress in the eyes of the left are homeless drug addicts ruing downtown Seattle and Downtown Portland and San Francisco and other blue cities. Crime is progress, to the left.
Progress to the left - is Walz using his own assassin to terminate the enemy inside the D party.
"ruining"
Progressives ironically are violently opposed to actual progress.
**'The president has a pattern of moving so fast that it’s difficult to catch up,' Mr. Edmondson said."**
Ah there’s the rub.
I think that "can" is correct. I don't think he cares very much to play mother may I.
It would make a great homeless shelter.
Shall he?
Neglecting maintenance is a fool’s economy. It always will end up costing more to correct a problem the longer you wait. It sounds like the folks who ran the Kennedy Center have neglected maintenance for a long time.
The question now is what to do about it. They can pretend nothing is wrong, kicking the can down the road. All that does is prolong the inevitable. They can perform the necessary maintenance now, except some stupid judge isn’t allowing that to happen. There comes a time when the necessary maintenance becomes so expensive that tearing it down and building a new building is the better choice. Are we there yet?
I guess he falls asleep at press conferences because he is awake all night thinking of stuff like this.
…Experts agree Republican Presidents are like constitutional monarchs with no real government power or authority…
Keep going with the court fights and publicize them. Issue a monthly update on the degrading condition of the KCPA, with photos, and updates on the court cases. Let it leak and molder. It's what they want ! But not in secret.
…the people in these agencies crawling out from under their rocks to get Trump are constructive in a way, exposing how much counterproductive garbage the is in the US budget. Helpful next time their leftie allies are whining about the money when Trump flys somewhere or wars or whatnot…
"By talking about a teardown, he's just preparing the battlefield for what he really wants to do."
And, just like with Greenland, showing off his dementia and losing more seats in the mid term.
I think he got exactly what he wanted in Greenland. If we decide to leave NATO, we will have the troops there to simply annex it, like Russia annexed Crimea, and like Ukraine annexed The Republic of Crimea prior to that.
Apparently we get kids to go into the military to defend their homeland and their kith and kin, but we end up using it to take other people's stuff.
jim-jim will always have Paris and Joe Bidet to cling to.
FFS… where would we be without “experts” and “analysts” /sarc
“ ‘The president has a pattern of moving so fast that it’s difficult to catch up,' Mr. Edmondson said."
Nothing wrong with that, is there?
Trump may not renovate the Kennedy Center because leftists sued.
Now, now, he decided against upkeep because Congress wouldn't let him put his name on the Center. Trump is a cunt. He would rather burn it down if it doesn't have his name on the building. Your hero!
And, I wouldn't be so sure that he won't try to tear it down. Remember when Trump didn't win the Nobel Peace Prize and then threated to start wars? What happened?
Never underestimate Trump capacity to do shitty despicable things when he doesn't get his way.
As someone who has attended many events at the Kennedy Center (and even performed there in my 20s), the Kennedy Center is a National Treasure. I would not expect stupid MAGA boomers and retarded rednecks to understand the importance of art. We shall agree to disagree.
Nothing wrong with that, is there?
Yes. Sometimes it fucking unconstitutional. Take for example, starting an unconstitutional war in Iran.
If it’s such a national treasure, why sue to stop the renovation? If it’s just because Trump wants his name on it, who cares? It’s a national treasure! Plus, Kennedy and Trump actually share the same politics at this point, after all. Also, why did the PTB on both sides let it get to this point? It appears the “national treasure” idea is not widely shared.
I still think it should be sold off at this point. We don’t need to own and operate a performing arts center. Trump could amass the cash from his donor friends to buy it, renovate it, and rename it. Wouldn’t that be a good idea? Or is Trump at all involved is just too off putting to save a fricking national treasure….? Such pettiness knows no bounds.
The Kennedy Center is just another shiny distraction from the growing list of things going wrong: Iran, gas and diesel prices, Epstein, and whatever fresh disaster is next.
But trust the plan. He may have no idea what he’s doing now, but give him time -- he’ll find the worst possible path eventually and march down it with absolute confidence.
Manufacture the crisis. Blame the Democrats. Socialize the consequences. Inconvenience your allies. Then, entirely by coincidence, of course, watch the well-connected insiders walk away richer.
Apparently, kleptocracy just needed a rebrand. Call it “8D chess,” and suddenly incompetence looks like strategy.
At least a dozen years of neglect and budget malfeasance with the roof leaking, moldy carpet, and the place falling apart, and yet somehow all this was managed in 2 years of Trump. Astounding, what that man can accomplish.
All of these stories should remind us that Trump didn’t merely risk scaring away Kennedy Center donors—he fired David Rubenstein as chairman, the Center’s largest individual donor in its history, who had personally contributed $111 million and raised millions more.
Even by Trump standards, firing the guy who had given and raised that much money for the institution is an extraordinary approach to fundraising. But apparently, when you’re playing 8D chess, chasing away the people writing the checks is part of the strategy.
" 'The president has a pattern of moving so fast that it’s difficult to catch up,' Mr. Edmondson said."
Bingo. Or what Begley said.
Yes a carlyle mandarin
"...he fired David Rubenstein as chairman, the Center’s largest individual donor in its history, who had personally contributed $111 million and raised millions more."
Anybody else see where the problem Trump is trying to fix might have arisen?
Mr President -- what is your favorite opera? Or symphonic work? How about chamber music, or maybe the ballet or the theater? Or do you prefer comparing different musicians’ interpretations of the same piece in recorded form? Which aspect of the fine arts do you really love the most?
The Alan Sanders Show 🇺🇸⚓️🐕
@AlanJSanders
How long have I been saying that the only people supporting the IRGC is the Democrat Party and their propaganda wing in the Legacy/mainstream media??
https://x.com/alanjsanders/status/2105282408996356450?s=46
There is a whole sub-genre of anti-Trump writing that focuses one what he could do.
𝘈𝘯𝘺𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘱 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘹 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘯?
Sure: apparently the problem was the guy who had personally donated $111 million—the largest individual contribution in the Center’s history and raised millions more.
If that was the problem, firing him was certainly an innovative solution: get rid of your biggest donor, then wonder why fundraising becomes harder.
The corksoakers in the Democrat Party, their media operatives, the IRGC, “judges”… all are working hand-in-hand to decimate the USA.
Aggie at 9:51 is the perfect factual refutation of triple d. In his world it’s always Trump’s fault.
Regardless whether Iman is off topic -- I'll bite....
Trump ‘very seriously’ considering diesel export ban as global supply crunch worsens ~ CNBC
“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘫𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺,” ~Tennessee Congress member Tim Burchett
“𝘞𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘪𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘵. 𝘞𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 — 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵,” added Burchett, who has proposed legislation to ban diesel exports.
Too little too late. Voters have already decided on:
• Cost of Living
• The Iran War
• A deeply unpopular Trump
The question is what he'll do if he loses both houses. I don't see him sitting back quietly as a lame duck president.
“ The president has a pattern of moving so fast that it’s difficult to catch up.”
Well, sure it is for the usual Washington DC crowd.
They all agree that the president of course should be free to act with all possible despatch. Which is why they recommend that the president propose a Standing Interdepartmental Steering Group, supported by a Technical Sub-Committee on Feasibility, a Legal Working Party on Viability, and a Treasury Liaison Panel on Affordability. Once they have reported, the president can consider whether a further inquiry is required to establish whether an inquiry should be done in full. Immediate action is precisely what Trump‘s opponents must avoid appearing to delay. They therefore recommend Trump announce an Immediate Action Review, to be completed after the usual interdepartmental clearances, the summer recess, and the circulation of a draft, a redraft, and a considered redraft of the redraft.
(HT to Sir H.A.)
Isydt quayle
"Trump has dementia"
"Trump falls asleep at meetings"
"Trump doesn't read/doesn't know the Arts"
Kinda pathetic that libtards still resort to these sophomoric, disproven taunts to vent their vicious frustrations at our president's excellence and successes in office.
Next they'll be whining that he watches the Gorilla Channel.
IM TAY Tay fails to understand security.
Same reason the corrupt left want to throw Taiwan under the bus.
“Historic preservation law?” Didn’t the center open in the 70s? Oh well. Call it “historic” if it’s to thwartTrump. The Democrats treated us to a POTUS for four years who couldn’t sign his name, but they continue mass hysteria over Trump who will be gone in a couple of years. It’s just another pretext, of course, for their imbecilic minions a few of whom infest here.
IEE (10:29): “Too little too late. Voters have already decided on:
• Cost of Living
• The Iran War
• A deeply unpopular Trump”
The DSA minion points out correctly that imbecilic Democrats whom he incorrectly characterizes generically as “voters”:
- Are ignorant about the robust condition of the US economy other than the debt,
- Don’t understand the difference between a war and a siege or the danger of a nuclear Iran,
- Are afflicted with TDS.
It is possible that “voters” still understand the danger that Democrats and their Islamic consorts are to the Republic. In that case IEE and other DSA minions will be disappointed.
'The president has a pattern of moving so fast that it’s difficult to catch up,' Mr. Edmondson said."
…Trump is superhuman in that regard but there’s no reason a handful of motivated Republicans can’t continue his work. If only we could find a handful of motivated Republicans. There’s that new Florida lady and…?
Aggie at 9:51 is the perfect factual refutation of triple d. In his world it’s always Trump’s fault.
You stupid fucks believe anything dumb thing Trump says and take it at face value. That's why we are stuck in another forever war, because stupid gullible losers like the Althouse readership believe anything Trump tells them.
Trump wanted his name on the Kennedy Center. He was slapped down. So, like the infected cunt he is, he imagine "important renovations" that would keep the Kennedy Center closed for two years requiring the cancelation of two years performance and events. <---- This is what he was sued for you stupid fuck.
Is the 6 weeks war over yet? Where are the Reflecting Pool vandals?
These are the lies that every person with a brain knew were lies but somehow caught MAGA boomers are retarded rednecks off-guard.
Surprise! Trump is lying again!
I hear Trump plans on turning the Kennedy center into a park. He plans on naming it the Grassy Knoll
"said Paul Edmondson, a lawyer who specializes in historic preservation law...."
The Kennedy Center opened in 1971. I hope that doesn't qualify as "historic" - it is younger than me!
The Kennedy Center is about 55 years old and the problem with old theaters is that theater technology has advanced a lot since that building was built. So if you're going to preserve it as a historical site, it will severely limit the kind of shows that you can put there.
Believe me, I speak from experience. The main theater we had at Knott's was built in 1971. Back in the 1970s and
80s, we had big shows in there all the time and even hosted the Academy of Country Music Awards TV broadcasts. We used to rent the venue out for big corporate events, trade shows, rock concerts, Vegas shows, ect. Now, our biggest rental of the year is a cheerleading competition. With the exception of the summer ice show and the Halloween show, which are both done 100% in house, the venue sits mostly unused now because it is just too outdated. All 2106 seats of it.
Ditto tommy
The Kennedy Center should be preserved as a monument to the hubris of our imperial age. That might count as a reason for wanting to tear it down now though.
"You stupid fucks believe anything dumb thing Trump says and take it at face value."
So instead we should take every dumb thing some anonymous commenter posts and that that at face value instead?
Indefinitely Extended Excursion™️ said...
"Mr President -- what is your favorite opera?"
Opera tenor Christopher Macchio frequently performs "Nessun Dorma" live at high-profile Donald Trump events, including the 2024 Republican National Convention and campaign rallies like the one at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.
D.D. Driver said...
"stupid gullible losers like the Althouse readership'
I think that someone needs to be put in time out.
D-D-Dear, take you pill, dahling. You're getting spittle on everybody's screen.
𝘾𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣: Both sides agree the 1971 building needs major repair. They disagree about how urgent it is, how it's being handled, and whether it's tied to the naming fight.
The board approved a $257 million overhaul in March 2026. It covers heating and cooling, chilled water, electrical systems, structural parts, service tunnels, waterproofing and fire/life-safety systems. The scope is close to replacing every building system rather than fixing individual items.
https://www.enr.com/articles/62694-kennedy-center-board-approves-257m-rehab-two-year-shutdown
On a public tour in April, officials showed heavy water damage, steel rusted until it felt like "tissue paper," and cooling equipment more than 30 years old. Important electrical equipment is exposed to leaking water, and fixing that will require digging out and resealing the exterior.
https://wjla.com/news/local/trump-john-f-kennedy-center-washington-dc-257-million-renovation-project-first-look-photos-videos-infrastructure-water-damage-aging-systems-electrical-vaults-landmark-venue-repairs
Around September 4, after severe storms, part of the Grand Foyer ceiling fell. The center said, "Decades of deferred maintenance made this inevitable".
https://people.com/kennedy-center-reveals-ceiling-collapsed-grand-foyer-photos-12109408
On September 15 the board closed the main building immediately. Its resolution said a consulting firm and the executive director both consider the building unsafe to occupy.
https://time.com/article/2026/09/15/kennedy-center-board-approves-immediate-2-year-building-closure/
Just the News, a conservative-leaning outlet, reports that two inspections early in the Biden administration found outdated fire-safety systems, rusted wiring that breaks code, and cracks in walls and roofs. And the list goes on and on and on.
“Can I go to the bathroom?”
“I don’t know, can you?”
"Just the News, a conservative-leaning outlet, reports that two inspections early in the Biden administration found outdated fire-safety systems, rusted wiring that breaks code, and cracks in walls and roofs. And the list goes on and on and on."
Everybody knows the Kennedy Center needs repair. No one, other than Donald Trump, has said the repairs cannot be done. This is a question of Trump's insistence that if he can't have his name on the building, then it is not going to get fixed. Nothing but his narcissism is preventing the renovation.
"The president has entertained the idea of tearing down the performing arts venue. Analysts say any plan would face multiple daunting challenges."
I’m sure those challenges can be overcome by the suitable application of high explosives.
The main building is shut for now, but officials described that as a temporary closure because of "acute risks to public safety." A court has still blocked the full two-year renovation shutdown.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/25/arts/music/kennedy-center-trump-renovations.html
Preservation groups have also sued to stop changes made without Congress's approval.
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/kennedy-center-officials-pledge-transparency-renovations-after-trump-takeover-2026-04-22/
Lawfare is its own reward sometimes.
Trump is a builder and wants to fix the building. If he makes a an uber significant renovation to the center, what’s the problem with his name being attached somehow? Liken it to a donor-named wing of a hospital building. There are more important things about which to get bees in one’s britches. Honestly.
"If he makes a an uber significant renovation to the center, what’s the problem with his name being attached somehow? Liken it to a donor-named wing of a hospital building."
Because it is not like wing of a hospital? The Center is the official Monument to President Kennedy. Only congress can change the name.
I guess you don't care (like Trump) what the law is, just feed his ego.
Fredo: “I guess you don't care (like Trump) what the law is, just feed his ego.” What law is that?
'... The Center is the official Monument to President Kennedy....'
I did not know that. Like the Washington Monument, or the Jefferson Memorial? Now... that's interesting. Such a hero of the Progressives, it's a wonder it got into its present state, then. I wonder how that happened.
“Such a hero of the Progressives, it's a wonder it got into its present state, then. I wonder how that happened.”
The Democrats have that “Fecal Touch”. Everything they touch, run, influence, etc. turns to shit. 💩
No, seriously. The Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Grant, FDR memorials are all in good shape, right? The living memorials, the Wilson, Reagan, and Madison buildings are all in good shape, right? What happened? The Kennedy Center is supposed to be prestigious, isn't it? What's been going on for the past 20 years?
All this focus on Trump and his name (which I have said, I think is stupid). And no comments at all about this appalling state, and how it got that way, ceilings caving in and so on?
I'll argue that the Kennedy Center name should be changed to include the names of all the women JFK and his brothers exploited and molested during their reign. 'The Kennedy and Paramours Center' with large sculptures or perhaps mosaics depicting their exploits. Would that not be the most fitting memorial for the man and his administration?
Without “appropriate recognition” — such as putting Trump’s name on the building — the Kennedy Center will be “a financially insolvent facility and a decrepit, dilapidated, crumbling building, that is bleeding hundreds of millions of dollars in losses and that continues to race toward physical and financial ruin,” according to the government.
Raise your hand if you believe the thing that is holding the back is "not having Trump's name on it." Sure, Jan.
"Was going to see the Magic Flute, but not if Trump's name isn't on the building!"
You guys are severely retarded, but you cannot honestly be that retarded. Even Meade has a couple more braincells than that.
This is about Trump's ego. He will knock down a national memorial to an assassinated president because he can put his mediocre non-assassinated ass named on the building. He is such a bitchy queen.
Congress has approved the money, and the board has approved the project. Is renovation progress being blocked by the courts, yes or no? It would seem the answer is 'yes'.
Sometimes lawfare is its own reward. The question that doesn't seem to be getting asked is 'how did it get in such a terrible state?' A 'national memorial to an assassinated president', but its condition seems to be in a class by itself, compared to other presidential memorials. Could it have been mismanaged, for a long period of time I wonder?
Also, John F. Kennedy was a decorated WWII combat veteran. (DYK that JFK swam in the ocean to fish out injured sailors?)
Trump is a pussy little draft dodger. Trump's name has no business next to JFK's name. It's just embarrassing.
JFK was certainly rich enough to find a podiatrist to write him up an excuse like Queen Donnie, but Kennedy did the honorable, patriotic thing. That's what courage looks like MAGA.
Is renovation progress being blocked by the courts, yes or no?
That is so fucking intellectually dishonest. The injunction is to stop Trump from closing the building for two years. It's not about "whether" to do renovations. Don't be such a stupid fucktard. You have a choice not to be a stupid fucktard. Start exercising that choice.
Can't proceed until the court case is cleared and the judge decides. Yes or no?
And the building has been declared unsafe for occupancy, and shuttered by the board, as recommended by their experts, sfter the ceiling collapsed. Yes or no?
I've said before that I think the insistence over the naming is stupid, and I still think so. But I wonder if this is a distraction. And if the budget is set for $200+ million and the budget preparers say it requires full closure for unrestricted access to accomplish the scope, then it would appear that an injunction filed in disagreement would need to be resolved, either by closing it or re-figuring the budget. It smells to me like somebody is scared of being embarrassed, afraid of scandal, but I don't think it's Trump.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Kennedy, an arch enemy of communism, is currently being “memorialized” with a building that looks like it actually exists within a communist country. Trump wants to flip that, Dems do not. Republican campaign ads could have a field day.
Why was it named Kennedy in the first place? Was he Patron of Arts?
"Was going to see the Magic Flute, but not if Trump's name isn't on the building!"
100% opposite of reality, which is: "Was going to see the magic Flute, but not if Trump's name is on the building."
"It doesn't matter, the artists refuse to perform, because Trump."
Fixed It For You.
what’s the problem with his name being attached somehow?
Need poll to select where to attach?!/
Kennedy was a patron of the arts in the form of actresses like Janet Leigh, Marilyn Monroe, Kim Novak, Rhonda Fleming, Marlene Dietrich, Jayne Mansfield, and Angie Dickinson. So very much a “patron” of the arts.
The Kennedy Center was too tricky a thing. It was meant to set Kennedy apart as a special high society blue blood president. No obelisk, no Greek columns, but a center of elite culture, not of the masses. And to preserve it, a board of trustees were set up to govern it.
If it is falling apart, it did not go from perfect to decrepit in 2025, so you wonder what was going on with it. Other memorials are taken care of by the Park Service, and they seem to be kept in good shape. So who knows about this one. Some presidents just have government buildings named for them and they are maintained by the GSA.
Whether he does is doubtful. But, architecturally speaking, it’s a ghastly building. The one last gasp of modernism’s inability to duplicate DC’s classical architecture before they threw in the towel and went full-bore Brutalism. See: HQ, FBI.
Aggie asks the pertinent question--How did it get into this appalling state?
IEE provides the answer: "All of these stories should remind us that Trump didn’t merely risk scaring away Kennedy Center donors—he fired David Rubenstein as CHAIRMAN, the Center’s largest individual donor in its history, who had personally contributed $111 million and raised millions more.
Even by Trump standards, firing the guy who had given and raised that much money for the institution is an extraordinary approach to fundraising. But apparently, when you’re playing 8D chess, chasing away the people writing the checks is part of the strategy."
Does former Chairman Rubenstein have an explanation for how the place became such a disaster under his "leadership?"
Note: Rubenstein was the longest serving chairman of the board, from 2010 through 2025, when Trump fired him. I.e., the guy who was in charge of the place during the specific period of time when the place fell into disrepair is who IEE thinks ought to have been kept on to run things. Because he was it's largest donor. The obvious truth--that he either has no idea what the hell he's doing or is running some sort of scam--is put aside because Trump! And you wonder why nothing ever gets accomplished in DC.
Would you invest in any company run by this Rubenstein guy?
There’s a fair question about the board’s stewardship under Rubenstein; GAO did identify shortcomings in capital planning and maintenance. But “therefore he was incompetent or running a scam” is speculation. GAO was documenting serious deterioration and repair backlogs as far back as 1990—20 years before Rubenstein became chairman.
You can question his stewardship without pretending he created the problem Trump inherited.
Hasn't the left done everything they could think of to delay/stop construction of the White House ballroom? Isn't that an extraordinary approach to fundraising, for something that was using private funding?
You are hopeless. The guy was the chairman for 14 years--longer than anybody else. In 1990 the building was less than 20 years old. If it was falling apart then, Rubenstein should have been well aware that it was falling apart when he took over as chairman. What the hell did Rubenstein do during his 14 years? Apparently nothing except blow through a whole lot of money, including his own.
It seems to me that as CHAIRMAN during the FOURTEEN YEARS when everyone agrees that the place was falling into disrepair, his primary obligation and duty as CHAIRMAN was to fix the problems.
Yes, it's a fair question about the Board's--Chairman Rubenstein's--stewardship. What other question is there?
Somebody needs a nap.
Gosh, Freder, there's a law that says altering the Kennedy center is a crime?
As ugly as it is, thousands of people, including my late mother, have contributed time & money to build & operate it for 50 odd years, and that should be respected and not swept away. Can't really change the casket shape, but maybe classical-proportioned colonnades around it instead of those awful toothpicks (once gold, now white) would make a difference.
I remember seeing water stains on the ceiling of the Grand Foyer in the late 70s. I suspect it wasn't engineered or built terribly well for DC weather. Flat roofs are a bad idea, even with big overhangs like the Roof Terrace has.
If you've ever lived in DC, you've experienced this sense of entitlement associated with the huge federal money spent on cultural events that purportedly serve a national interest and in fact serve the affluent college graduate cohorts of the DC metro area. The place is full of people living the Mandarin existence as rulers of the nation. I want our country to have a capitol city to be proud of. I don't want the capitol city to become its own pressure group demanding more and better free stuff.
"The place is full of people living the Mandarin existence as rulers of the nation."
I once met a couple who were friends of a friend. They lived in DC, worked in the government and spent the evening regaling us deplorables with tales of their accomplishments in "making a difference".
"Living the Mandarin existence as rulers of the nation" is as perfect a description as one could hope for.
@Mason G, people like that used to be my neighbors. It’s why I’m so contemptuous of people on the left. Write a new law? Who enforces it? Bureaucrats trying to climb the bureaucracy ladder into the ranks of the SES using the normal tools of the bureaucrat: backstabbing, taking credit for other people’s work, empire building, and defending your rice bowl. Stand up a new agency or enlarge an existing one? More of the same.
“You can question his stewardship without pretending he created the problem Trump inherited.”
Actually, no you can’t. You are defending people who demand authority but refuse responsibility. Washington is full of them.
"Bureaucrats trying to climb the bureaucracy ladder into the ranks of the SES using the normal tools of the bureaucrat"
Not to mention the condescension they exude for people who actually work at a job producing something of value in order to pay the taxes that provide the remoras with their inflated salaries/benefits.
All these fags that are sudden experts on the "stewerdship" of the Kennedy Center crack me up.
Sure, bro! 😉 Slapping Trump draft-dodging cunty name is the fix.
Seriously: fuck off. You cannot be that stupid. Not even Meade. You are just trolling.
I live in the same zip code as the KC. Some observations:
Rubenstein - he finances almost everything touching the arts here in the DC area. Unlike many rich donors, he puts his name on the stuff. His name was even on the outside of the KC - in smaller print, not over the main door, but there. He also had a huge oil portrait of himself inside. Another namesake is the WETA-PBS studio in Arlington, from which Washington Week emanates. He also gets very involved in the CSPAN-Library of Congress National Book Fair. So he is an ego-driven billionaire who uses his money to promote his sociopolitical view of the world. Sound familiar?
- Building condition: I used to go there at least once a week for free concerts, the cafeteria, gift shop, ATM, and sometimes fee-charging concerts. You could definitely tell it was built in the 70s and there were some threadbare parts. I didn't notice an about-to-fall ceiling, but I am not a building inspector.
- Who really closed the building? Trump at first announced a lot of changes, but closing the place was not one of them. Then so many acts decided to boycott the place. Guess he figured he had nothing to lose by closure at that point. If the acts had stayed, he might have come up with a way to renovate it while staying at least partially operational. Maybe redo one theatre at a time, run the AV out of trucks while the hardwired AV is reno'd, etc. The KC is currently keeping up a tiny tiny amount of activity, with events in and around its REACH addition which is only about 5 years old. Had the arts community been willing to work with Trump, maybe more could be going on.
- Both sides may be doing a Cloward-Piven here. CC, JSM
Rubenstein v Trump reminds me of the Plantagenet remnants v the Tudors. Waiting for the sheep thieves to lose the throne; just not understanding that the country has fundamentally changed. CC, JSM
Also, the KC planning got started by Eisenhower long before JFK ran for president, let alone got killed. Kennedy continued the process and was certainly not thinking of a cenotaph for himself. By all rights it should be called the Eisenhower Center, or maybe the Eleanor Roosevelt Center, since she promoted the initial germ of the idea. But it was ready to hand when people wanted a memorial for JFK and a way to dissociate the Dem party from that lying sumbitch Johnson. CC, JSM
Calm down, D.D. It's not like somebody is euthanizing a child.
Since parts of it are falling apart (acc. to media reports), perhaps the question is: Have the years of neglected maintenance so deteriorated the structure that it would be easier to start over than to repair? He always thinks like the construction guy that he is.
We don't have to guess to hard to know what happened to the money.
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