About that White House ballroom and the East Wing
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I think Andrew has already refused to be interviewed by the FBI but don't remember the details.
Fergie's "title" is a courtesy title in the style of a divorced peeress. Diana's title after the divorce was too.
Both outcomes were a result of a Letters Patent signed by the Queen.
It's not a royal title. I don't know how a courtesy title would be stripped.
It's just my opinion but I think Parliament should definitely strip the royal titles from Andrew, Harry and Markle.
Or more precisely I think Parliament should strip the royal titles from Harry, and especially from Andrew, and from Markle.
I haven't been a Markle fan for a long time but her fake tear (and I can prove it) at the Queen's funeral is was when I got off the train.
Andrew should be in prison for the rest of his life.
said in About that White House ballroom and the East Wing:
I think Andrew has already refused to be interviewed by the FBI but don't remember the details.
Fergie's "title" is a courtesy title in the style of a divorced peeress. Diana's title after the divorce was too.
Both outcomes were a result of a Letters Patent signed by the Queen.
It's not a royal title. I don't know how a courtesy title would be stripped.
It's just my opinion but I think Parliament should definitely strip the royal titles from Andrew, Harry and Markle.
Or more precisely I think Parliament should strip the royal titles from Harry, and especially from Andrew, and from Markle.
I haven't been a Markle fan for a long time but her fake tear (and I can prove it) at the Queen's funeral is was when I got off the train.
Andrew should be in prison for the rest of his life.
Update: Charles has stripped Andrew of his prince and duke titles and all honors, de facto. This is according to an official announcement.
He has also required Andrew to vacate his residence and move to a different property. He has required Andrew's ex-wife to provide her own residence.
He is now Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
Queen Elizabeth left Charles to deal with the problem of his brother. History is likely to repeat itself with Charles leaving William to deal with the the problem of his brother. I think the outcome is likely to be similar. William (and Catherine) have taken a hard line.
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There is a certain amount of gray area in the matter of Andrew's status. And it's complicated! This is a good explanation...
Link to video
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All honors derive from the Sovereign, or I should say-- all honours derive from the Sovereign.
The marriage of Charles and Camilla is all kinds of unlawful because it violated Parliamentary law.
My view is this doesn't make his marriage illegitimate. It was performed through legal process. It's not illegitimate.
But there will be in asterisk next to it when historians consider it. And I have no doubt there is much to consider.
I think Charles making the changes defacto was his high water mark so far. His "action man" persona wasn't ready for prime time. Everyone's a critic.
It reminded me of the myth about a rope nobody can untie. The hero breaks it in two with his sword.
William will get what he wants from Parliament, if necessary.
There is no other person who could be the next king without the monarchy falling. imo.
I think a lot will be made of the fact he is a new generation, confidence inspiring, whatever.
He can't stand Andrew. They have some negative family history.
Andrew and and Markle are persons he thinks about while being in his "ruthless prince" mode. Catherine shares his opinion.
It doesn't look good for the dastardly duos.
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Just in case he forgets where/what it is.
A new sign was spotted adorning the White House this week, prompting backlash from lawmakers who have noted that Donald Trump is quite literally gilding the White House during a government shutdown.
Trump has been remaking the White House in his own image with the recent dramatic demolition of the East Wing and active construction of a new ballroom, doing so with plenty of gold. Written in cursive gold script, a sign identifying the Oval Office is now affixed beside the office鈥檚 door.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/05/trump-oval-office-sign
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Looks like it's on paper, perhaps waiting for a signwriter to attend?
Whether you like the script or not, some things are unnecessary. -
@AndyD said in About that White House ballroom and the East Wing:
some things are unnecessary
Including the gold monstrosity over the doorway....
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Next up: The Reflecting Pool?
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5623734-trump-burgum-fix-lincoln-pool/
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@AndyD said in About that White House ballroom and the East Wing:
Corporate Trump I'm afraid. His taste appears to be extreme 'new money'.
I guess you had to be there but in '80's New York there were a group of new money families who were venerated to the nth degree.
Reagan came into office and the country was inundated with the myth of getting what you earned no matter who you were or how you started.
And, likewise, being to blame for any lack of opportunity or misfortune you might suffer.
None of these families lasted very long as others have in the past. Note Trump's multiple bankruptcies. Of course, Trump got nowhere on his own merits.
He grew up in an upper-middle class neighborhood in Queens. You can hear his Queens accent, but any notion of class clearly went over his head.
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NATIONAL SECURITY!!!!!
Trump administration says White House ballroom construction is a matter of national security
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Not directly related to the ballroom but...Do we see a theme emerging??
WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION!!!!!
President Trump on Monday signed an executive order designating t>
"The manufacture and distribution of fentanyl, primarily performed by organized criminal networks, threatens our national security and fuels lawlessness in our hemisphere and at our borders," the order declared.During an event in the Oval Office, Trump said the carnage fentanyl has caused in American families is worse than U.S. deaths in many wars.
"Two to three hundred thousand people die every year, that we know of, so we're formally classifying fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction," Trump said.
In fact, Trump's numbers are wildly inflated. According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fentanyl killed roughly 48 thousand people in the U-S last year - a 27 percent drop from the year before.
Experts also say fentanyl would be difficult to use as a weapon of mass destruction. There is only one documented incident worldwide, in 2002, where the Russian government weaponized fentanyl in gas form. There have been no cases reported in the U.S.
"It is not evident that there is any basis or need for, or net benefit to, officially designating fentanyl compounds as weapons of mass destruction," concluded a 2019 report by the Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction at the National Defense University.
https://www.npr.org/2025/12/15/nx-s1-5645149/wmd-fentanyl-trump-cartels
Maybe Trump is taking a page from the former South Korean president:
South Korea鈥檚 ousted conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol plotted for over a year to impose martial law to eliminate his political rivals and monopolize power, investigators concluded Monday.
Yoon鈥檚 martial law decree in December 2024 lasted only several hours and resulted in his rapid downfall.
Independent counsel Cho Eun-suk, who announced the six-month probe鈥檚 result, also accused the former president and his military allies of ordering operations against North Korea, in a deliberate bid to stoke tensions and justify his plans to declare martial law.
Despite the lack of a serious response from North Korea, Cho said that Yoon declared martial law by branding the liberal-controlled
