Bloggerlife.blog

10/24/2025

Today’s blog

Lynn Murphy Mark

A ballroom?

Who hasn’t seen the pictures of the wreckage of the East Wing of the White House? As I looked at the ragged edges of what used to be walls I felt a surge of anger mixed with sorrow. The building has been violated by a megalomaniac who wants nothing more than to build himself a monumental hall that will bear his name. In my imagination I see a medieval hall stretching from an entrance to a king’s throne, with people reverently approaching the man seated on the royal chair. 

It only took a few days to tear down the entire East Wing, proving that history can be modified with the swing of a wrecking ball. This is as dramatic a move as the 1948 restoration of the structural efficiency of the White House under Harry Truman. But in Truman’s case, his was an effort to strengthen the Executive Residence portion. It was facing imminent collapse and deemed unsafe for occupancy. For 3 years the White House was gutted, expanded and rebuilt. This was not an homage to Harry Truman – it was a necessary safety project of the “people’s house”.

The East Wing hasn’t drawn as much attention as the residence’s West Wing. It started as the East Terrace, built by Thomas Jefferson, demolished in 1866 and rebuilt in 1902 under Theodore Roosevelt’s renovations. Then in 1942, FDR commissioned a building to add more office space and conceal a large underground bunker. That was a controversial project, but at least it added space to an overcrowded building. Eleanor Roosevelt quickly moved in and created an office and meeting space. She was responsible for formalizing the role of the president’s wife into a working partnership with the elected president. She used the space as a place to practice her activism and meetings with a wide variety of groups.

It wasn’t until the 1970’s that Rosalynn Carter created the official Office of the First Lady. She understood that space in the White House means power, so she set off to demonstrate just what a First Lady was all about. She managed to turn the office into a place to promote agendas that include “projects and community liaison, press and research, schedule and advance, and social and personal” efforts. She was the first to hire a chief of staff. For a long time, First Ladies have been initiators of social causes. They are responsible for a good deal of the management of the White House. While it is not an official position within the U.S. government, it is one that garners press coverage for the First Lady’s efforts.

I could not find any information about where the First Lady will work from, going forward. The office itself has been temporarily relocated within the White House and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. I think it’s a very clear statement about the role of a woman in the presidential administration, since there’s been very little press about this drastic move.

Call me crazy, but I think it’s a slap in the faces of all of us women. All I know is this: our reproductive rights are being limited, DEI programs are dismantled and discounted, gender related language is changing, marginalization of racial and ethnic female groups is prevalent. 47 has said he will “take care of women, whether they like it or not”, or words to that effect. As if we need a sexual predator and denigrator of women to take care of us. Back off, you awful man.

Last night, driving home from picking up Jackie and the boys, the BBC hour started on NPR. The headliner? When asked about declaring war on drug cartels, 47 said we don’t need to declare war, “we will just kill people.” BBC played this quote at least three times. “We will just kill people who try to bring drugs into the country.” It gave me chills to hear his whispery voice proclaim his right to murder indiscriminately. Any doubt about where we’re headed?