Flags, Fireworks And Tanks, Cont. (UPDATED)

We've been tracking plans made by Putin puppet and would- be caudillo Donald "Rump" Trump to hijack the Fourth of July celebration in the nation's capital, including having military flyovers and a display of tanks to festoon his televised address.  Meanwhile, there seems to be no price too big to pay to further inflate the ego of this worthless dolt:

The National Park Service is diverting nearly $2.5 million in entrance and recreation fees primarily intended to improve parks across the country to cover costs associated with President Trump’s Independence Day celebration Thursday on the Mall, according to two individuals familiar with the arrangement. [snip]

The diverted park fees represent just a fraction of the extra costs the government faces as a result of the event, which will include displays of military hardware, flyovers by an array of jets including Air Force One, the deployment of tanks on the Mall and an extended pyrotechnics show. By comparison, according to former Park Service deputy director Denis P. Galvin, the entire Fourth of July celebration on the Mall typically costs the agency about $2 million.  (our emphasis)

So when you take your family to a national park this summer and you notice the results of an $11 billion backlog in maintenance and repair work, remember who's adding to that rather than fixing it, and for what purpose.

We await the final tally of the costs associated with this narcissist's paean to himself =cough= $20 million =cough=, but the sight of tanks in the streets of Washington, DC, as part of his ego trip reinforces the chilling message he's sent in the past -- that he considers the Armed Forces "my military."  So far, the brass has slow- walked but ultimately caved to Rump's demands, whether it was sending troops to the southern border or playing along with his = pewpewpew!= "Space Force, " etc.  (When democracy is truly on the line, as it may very well be after the 2020 election, we'll see if Rump's military is willing to obey an unlawful, treasonous order.)

For now, we can only hope the storms that are forecast for the 4th arrive just in time to rain on Rump's parade.  (A well- placed lightning bolt, and we might believe there is a God.)

UPDATE:

Very important perspective on Trump’s tank display, from a friend of a friend in the military: pic.twitter.com/oyqvLN84xc

— Seth Masket (@smotus) July 3, 2019

Two. Static. Tanks.  Bwahahaha!  Still two more than there should be, but good for whoever pushed back!

Flags, Fireworks and Tanks

Narcissist and would-be dictator Donald "Cadet Bone Spurs" Trump will get his banana republic style military parade on the Fourth of July in Washington, DC. Starry eyed over the Bastille Day parade that sly, ingratiating French President Emmanuel Macron invited him to in 2017, Trump saw that and the military-heavy parades put on by authoritarian states and thought what a great way to celebrate himself. Disregarding the spirit behind the Fourth of July, Trump is determined to use military jet flyovers and military hardware, including heavy tanks, around the the Mall as window dressing to his speech from the Lincoln Memorial. As we noted Sunday, the forecast is for rain and scattered thunderstorms, which we hope will dampen the spirits of the Trump's red cap cultists in attendance.

Cadet Bone Spurs, military genius that he is, had this to say about the equipment:

“You’ve got to be pretty careful with the tanks because the roads have a tendency not to like to carry heavy tanks,” he said. “So we have to put them in certain areas, but we have the brand new Sherman tanks and we have the brand new Abrams tanks.”

Sherman tanks were deployed in World War II and were taken out of service in 1957, but Trump thinks they're "brand new." The DC City Council had a slightly different take on the tanks:

We have said it before, and we’ll say it again: Tanks, but no tanks. (PS: The @DeptofDefense agrees, see highlighted area below) pic.twitter.com/ock2EORKNz

— Council of DC (@councilofdc) July 1, 2019

Not that Trump listens to his military advisors. George Conway, Twitter antagonist of Trump and husband of alternative facts generator Kellyanne Conway, commented on Trump's unquenchable need for glorification and attention:

Hard to understand why so many people seem to think that Trump may try to make Independence Day about himself. pic.twitter.com/VHYUHpGzck

— George Conway (@gtconway3d) July 2, 2019

Let's hope for rain, and lots of it, during Trump's self-glorification moment.