Reflecting pool drama

[Vod]

The OLD scandal was how Trump paid his buddy millions to repaint the pool.    The NEW scandal is the terrible job they did.    Who uses Alkaline paint in wet environments?     A nice latex coat would not be peeling up like that, nor causing Algae.

Now it's killing wildlife, and Trump is claiming it was vandalized.  The capital police are investigating he says.   

[o48o]

The OLD scandal was how Trump paid his buddy millions to repaint the pool.    The NEW scandal is the terrible job they did.    Who uses Alkaline paint in wet environments?     A nice latex coat would not be peeling up like that, nor causing Algae.

Now it's killing wildlife, and Trump is claiming it was vandalized.  The capital police are investigating he says.   

Serial failure president fails again. More at 8pm news. But seriously, this is so on brand that plan couldn't be more Trump if he tried.

1: Use tax payers money to overpay your corrupt criminal friend to do the job and except him to cut corners to get more money.
2: Take away the pool filters because of Obama
3: Ignore all the experts because of woke.
4: Blame others for your own incompetence, because that's Trump brand in a nut sell.
5: Hope that news cycle would be distracted from his corruption, declining mental health and redacting Epstein files
6: Profit.

[Lida93]

Now it's killing wildlife, and Trump is claiming it was vandalized.  The capital police are investigating he says.   

When I saw that news and scrolled down to where I read that green algae were forming while the painting of not more than a month were peeling off, I was rhetorically asking myself if it was the vandals that were peeling off all that paint. Is it that easy to be peeling of acrylic painting or is the POTUS just playing some third-world politics culture of awarding of contract to cronies and friends who do whatever Job quality they can with the taxpayers money and just get away with it, just to later look for where to send blame on.

[_Miracle]

I used to say we were in the Prequel to Idiocracy but...
We
Have
Arrived...


https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-drives-across-lincoln-memorial-reflecting-pool-to-inspect-blue-coating-hes-adding

(support PBS if you can ;-))

[Exitoral]

Waste of public funds. I don't know why all this keeps happening with no consequences. He just went straight ahead and said it's vandalism when the investigation hasn't been completed. Absurd. Funny enough, he pretends to care about wildlife. Just imagine. Who does he think he's fooling?

[_Miracle]

Waste of public funds. I don't know why all this keeps happening with no consequences. He just went straight ahead and said it's vandalism when the investigation hasn't been completed. Absurd. Funny enough, he pretends to care about wildlife. Just imagine. Who does he think he's fooling?

M.ake A.merica G.reat A.gain

All those who bought into the MAGA movement.

[Majestic-milf]

Waste of public funds. I don't know why all this keeps happening with no consequences. He just went straight ahead and said it's vandalism when the investigation hasn't been completed. Absurd. Funny enough, he pretends to care about wildlife. Just imagine. Who does he think he's fooling?

The ignorant, or should I say not ignorant but docile citizens who don't think to question anything but will readily pay their tax yo avoid trouble. I just don't understand how POTUS operates sometimes. Imagine this was another president that made this excuse, he would have swooped in like a knight in shining armor ready to defend the wellbeing of the masses from a corrupt and unaccountable ruler but he's the bad guy now and instead of being accountable, he's calling all the shots.

[caroasi]

The modern politicians mantra is:
1) Line Your Pockets
2) Reward Your Friends
3) Punish Your Enemies

The kind of people who think they can best solve problems with other people's money, including their own, and accomplish that with lots of violence for all kinds of purposes, are the kind of people who are attracted to the highest positions of power in government.

Yet most people reading this are statistically likely to trust the government over their own family and friends with the most important aspects of life like their children's education. The same way they waste money on the reflecting pools is the same way they waste money on the public schools the world over. In the USA, it was found that there is no correlation between education spending and the education results of any of it's students. We are own or own to fix problems, the government is there under modern government structure to take your money for their personal causes, not help you in any way, shape, or form. That is the way it was set up from it's foundation, including in the USA.

Ancient manuscripts show the foundation of government to be the concept of raiding neighboring populations to plunder resources at least as much as "protecting people". How did people ever got the idea modern government in general is there to help them in any way, shape, or form. Did any before and after study ever show that to be true? Did anyone bother looking to find out?

The USA 250th year is coming up, but each and every year since founding, those in government mostly asked what more powers and funding they could get out of the population. Did they ever blame anything on them selves and ask what they can UNDO? 250 years of more government burdens to each and every person almost every single year now resulting in about 10,000 criminal laws alone in most places, plus the untold hundreds of thousands of pages of other laws in the most "modern" countries. If you see a problem, it's your responsibility to solve it, not to try to pass the responsibility to an elected president.

We cannot have a government with a corrupt foundation expected to have uncorrupted leaders at the top. Yes, much of that was actually fixed with the Bill of Rights, but not nearly enough. Government must only take people's money in ways everyone else won't go to prison for doing them self!

[o48o]

The modern politicians mantra is:
1) Line Your Pockets
2) Reward Your Friends
3) Punish Your Enemies

The kind of people who think they can best solve problems with other people's money, including their own, and accomplish that with lots of violence for all kinds of purposes, are the kind of people who are attracted to the highest positions of power in government.

Yet most people reading this are statistically likely to trust the government over their own family and friends with the most important aspects of life like their children's education. The same way they waste money on the reflecting pools is the same way they waste money on the public schools the world over. In the USA, it was found that there is no correlation between education spending and the education results of any of it's students. We are own or own to fix problems, the government is there under modern government structure to take your money for their personal causes, not help you in any way, shape, or form. That is the way it was set up from it's foundation, including in the USA.

Ancient manuscripts show the foundation of government to be the concept of raiding neighboring populations to plunder resources at least as much as "protecting people". How did people ever got the idea modern government in general is there to help them in any way, shape, or form. Did any before and after study ever show that to be true? Did anyone bother looking to find out?

The USA 250th year is coming up, but each and every year since founding, those in government mostly asked what more powers and funding they could get out of the population. Did they ever blame anything on them selves and ask what they can UNDO? 250 years of more government burdens to each and every person almost every single year now resulting in about 10,000 criminal laws alone in most places, plus the untold hundreds of thousands of pages of other laws in the most "modern" countries. If you see a problem, it's your responsibility to solve it, not to try to pass the responsibility to an elected president.

We cannot have a government with a corrupt foundation expected to have uncorrupted leaders at the top. Yes, much of that was actually fixed with the Bill of Rights, but not nearly enough. Government must only take people's money in ways everyone else won't go to prison for doing them self!

Stop putting all politicians under something Trump has done. And if you have to go to read to "ancient manuscripts" to find anything comparable with this circus. Then maybe it should be taken as a hint that current US administration is corrupt on new level.

Also, now you are basically saying that people shouldn't except trump to do his job, because it wasn't his job to begin with, so he can do as he wishes? I haven't seen that kind of mental acrobatics for a long time.

And don't hold back when you explain specifically how you compare public schools with this, because what's happening now is provable corruption every day. Your insinuation on the other hand is just some vague ranting story about your feelings.

[AVE5]

Now it's killing wildlife, and Trump is claiming it was vandalized.  The capital police are investigating he says.   

When I saw that news and scrolled down to where I read that green algae were forming while the painting of not more than a month were peeling off, I was rhetorically asking myself if it was the vandals that were peeling off all that paint. Is it that easy to be peeling of acrylic painting or is the POTUS just playing some third-world politics culture of awarding of contract to cronies and friends who do whatever Job quality they can with the taxpayers money and just get away with it, just to later look for where to send blame on.

This is the reason why it's necessary to mobilize or institute monitoring or supervision teams who should oversee contracts and jobs issued by the authority for the contractors to execute.
The failed to keep surveillance to supervise the job after being awarded, the contractors could use inferior or less quality materials to process the job.
Reasons being why such bad jobs are done is because the contractors wants to make extra profits while standard quality of the job will cost more expenses.
It's not just about hiring monitoring teams to oversee the job's, you also need to consider the integrity of the individual teams you're hiring because some can still take bribes with one on one understanding to have their percentage from the contractors just to keep mouth shut up even after learning the quality of the job is substandard.
So I blame Trump or probably the supervisory team for the job for not keeping attentive as the job was ongoing before it was commissioned.

[_Miracle]

Now it's killing wildlife, and Trump is claiming it was vandalized.  The capital police are investigating he says.  

When I saw that news and scrolled down to where I read that green algae were forming while the painting of not more than a month were peeling off, I was rhetorically asking myself if it was the vandals that were peeling off all that paint. Is it that easy to be peeling of acrylic painting or is the POTUS just playing some third-world politics culture of awarding of contract to cronies and friends who do whatever Job quality they can with the taxpayers money and just get away with it, just to later look for where to send blame on.

This is the reason why it's necessary to mobilize or institute monitoring or supervision teams who should oversee contracts and jobs issued by the authority for the contractors to execute.
The failed to keep surveillance to supervise the job after being awarded, the contractors could use inferior or less quality materials to process the job.
Reasons being why such bad jobs are done is because the contractors wants to make extra profits while standard quality of the job will cost more expenses.
It's not just about hiring monitoring teams to oversee the job's, you also need to consider the integrity of the individual teams you're hiring because some can still take bribes with one on one understanding to have their percentage from the contractors just to keep mouth shut up even after learning the quality of the job is substandard.
So I blame Trump or probably the supervisory team for the job for not keeping attentive as the job was ongoing before it was commissioned.

The D.O.G.E fired those regulators in the name of "waste, fraud, and abuse". This includes regulatory agencies with oversight into Elon Musk's contracts.

If you watch congressional hearings and other sessions regarding contracts and budgets, you will see that the looting of America is being fought but that the process is sloooow.

Trump:
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-house-republicans-if-we-dont-win-midterms-i-will-get-impeached-2026-01-06/

Speaker Johnson at the "FAITH" and Freedom Coalition conference last week:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RD-hFMkkFvw

This one was actually interesting because it made me seriously look into the DSA (democratic socialists of America) and they have a few ideas that I agree with like: getting rid of the electoral collage, implementing ranked choice voting (https://fairvote.org) and moving away from corporate $ influence in politics. I still won't be joining any political parties but they are more aligned with policies I want implemented than Democrats who think we are voting ourselves out of this mess.

When our vice president says “If Watergate happened tomorrow, it would be like a 12-hour news story" he believes it ;-)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBjoirIXs7o

When Trump said our government was corrupt he KNEW it from inside experience. The Epstein files are outlasting the news cycle.

Maybe the Epstein class made a serious miscalculation when they started the sex trafficking conspiracy on 4chan before the 2016 election?

vjaybombs


For me Trump isn't the problem he is the result and excellent example. I also don't think it's just in American politics, it is a global awakening to how systems work.
Turning the national monument reflecting pool into a literal swamp right before our 250th birthday has got to be the perfect summation of his presidency.
https://cagle.com/cartoonist/rick-mckee/2026/06/19/308518/trump-algae-surrender

[Abcbitss]

I think two things need to be looked at separately here. If someone has really intentionally damaged the Reflecting Pool, then an investigation should be conducted and if there is evidence, legal action should be taken. But at the same time, it cannot be avoided that the coating has come off, algae has formed, and questions about wildlife have arisen within a short time after the completion of such a large-scale project—explaining these as vandalism alone does not make the whole issue clear.
The biggest question is the quality of work and transparency of the contract. If taxpayer money is used to work on such a historic place, there should be accountability for the contractor selection, costs, materials used, and maintenance plan. Trump or his supporters can say vandalism, but without evidence, it sounds like a political defense. Again, even if the opponents say corruption, they need evidence for that too.

[Christo123$]

Embezzlement of public funds, through allocation  for project without that are not completed well and also not supervised should strictly have a penalty or a charge to teach leaders and put the in the right path because most of them intentionally do these ack because they're benefits alot from the project and allocation, and they also contract these projects to their friends and family who do not have the record of the job, and the technical competence to deliver the job.

Policies should be mad and strictly followed to checkmate the activities of our leaders.

[Franklyn-wood]

Embezzlement of public funds, through allocation  for project without that are not completed well and also not supervised should strictly have a penalty or a charge to teach leaders and put the in the right path because most of them intentionally do these ack because they're benefits alot from the project and allocation, and they also contract these projects to their friends and family who do not have the record of the job, and the technical competence to deliver the job.

Policies should be mad and strictly followed to checkmate the activities of our leaders.

Implementing policies like this to control government officials who mismanage government funds due to lack of close monitoring and inspection, contracts are warded to people who can be loyal to this political leaders and behind the public declaration of the amount allocated to the project, they have there own cut of the total amount allocated to each of the project. So by the time the project begins there is little or nor money to complete the project, it becomes an abandoned project. This has become a normal thing eating deep that it is going out of hands. There should be a regulatory body that checkmates any project and make sure that they are completed as at the time it should be completed or would face what ever constituency due under law.

[programmer3666]

Embezzlement of public funds, through allocation  for project without that are not completed well and also not supervised should strictly have a penalty or a charge to teach leaders and put the in the right path because most of them intentionally do these ack because they're benefits alot from the project and allocation, and they also contract these projects to their friends and family who do not have the record of the job, and the technical competence to deliver the job.

Policies should be mad and strictly followed to checkmate the activities of our leaders.

Implementing policies like this to control government officials who mismanage government funds due to lack of close monitoring and inspection, contracts are warded to people who can be loyal to this political leaders and behind the public declaration of the amount allocated to the project, they have there own cut of the total amount allocated to each of the project. So by the time the project begins there is little or nor money to complete the project, it becomes an abandoned project. This has become a normal thing eating deep that it is going out of hands. There should be a regulatory body that checkmates any project and make sure that they are completed as at the time it should be completed or would face what ever constituency due under law.

Honestly, I think the problem is deeper than just bad policies. It is about the mindset of leaders who see public money as their personal inheritance. You can have all the rules in the world, but if the people enforcing them are the same ones breaking them, nothing will change. In most Asian countries, jail time and even death sentences are already being enforced for corruption and financial crimes. Maybe if other nations adopted similar standards, leaders would think twice before stealing public funds. Harsh penalties won't solve everything, but they would definitely send a strong message that no one is above the law.

[_Miracle]

Drained Reflecting Pool reveals Trump’s ‘American flag blue’ liner is now closer to gray
https://apnews.com/article/reflecting-pool-drained-washington-monument-trump-repairs-0745ba52bc7273ce411ef29880f71cf0

"The president at first suggested his renovations would cost $1.5 million, but the bill ballooned to more than $16 million by June.

Trump had said the repairs would last a century, but within days of the project’s initial completion last month, the water was beset by an algae bloom and pieces of the new coating appeared to be peeling off the bottom.

Ohio-based Green Water Solutions, also known as Greenwater Services, was given a $1.7 million contract to install a water-purification system in the Reflecting Pool, while Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings was awarded $14.7 million to repaint and waterproof the pool’s concrete floor.

Vandalism charges were levied against a former Olympic canoeist"







https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/white-trash-the-400-year-untold-history-of-class-in-america_nancy-isenberg/10757480/?srsltid=AfmBOoqycR-R6fVm1fXUft8AhgfbIbQc96OJpFN5lHFG9RcfGDggvNyo#edition=10208151&idiq=17002522


"Elect a clown expect a circus"





Selling us out in so many ways...

AI Overview                
Federal law strictly protects national monuments as public land, prohibiting their direct sale to private buyers.
While efforts to sell public lands to states or private entities have largely failed, presidents can use the Antiquities Act to shrink boundaries, effectively removing protections and allowing for commercial leasing or development.
For example, President Trump signed proclamations drastically shrinking the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah to open up the removed land for mining and fossil fuel extraction. Such changes frequently result in legal battles brought by conservation groups and Native American tribes who argue these actions threaten sacred lands and iconic landscapes.To track ongoing legal challenges or review the exact boundaries and protected status of U.S. monuments, consult the Earthjustice updates or the official White House fact sheets.

Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Modifies Two National Monuments, "Restoring Sensible Land Management"
The White House
July 13, 2026
https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2026/07/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-modifies-two-national-monuments-restoring-sensible-land-management/

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/trump-reduces-the-size-of-2-national-monuments-in-utah-as-republicans-reshape-land-management

[OgNasty]

Embezzlement of public funds, through allocation  for project without that are not completed well and also not supervised should strictly have a penalty or a charge to teach leaders and put the in the right path because most of them intentionally do these ack because they're benefits alot from the project and allocation, and they also contract these projects to their friends and family who do not have the record of the job, and the technical competence to deliver the job.

Policies should be mad and strictly followed to checkmate the activities of our leaders.

Implementing policies like this to control government officials who mismanage government funds due to lack of close monitoring and inspection, contracts are warded to people who can be loyal to this political leaders and behind the public declaration of the amount allocated to the project, they have there own cut of the total amount allocated to each of the project. So by the time the project begins there is little or nor money to complete the project, it becomes an abandoned project. This has become a normal thing eating deep that it is going out of hands. There should be a regulatory body that checkmates any project and make sure that they are completed as at the time it should be completed or would face what ever constituency due under law.

Honestly, I think the problem is deeper than just bad policies. It is about the mindset of leaders who see public money as their personal inheritance. You can have all the rules in the world, but if the people enforcing them are the same ones breaking them, nothing will change. In most Asian countries, jail time and even death sentences are already being enforced for corruption and financial crimes. Maybe if other nations adopted similar standards, leaders would think twice before stealing public funds. Harsh penalties won't solve everything, but they would definitely send a strong message that no one is above the law.

The mental gymnastics involved in blaming the people fixing this mess instead of the people who caused it is really quite shocking. I don’t know if it is the media brainwashing people, if some people are anti-American, or if this is just a thread full of trolls, but it is quite shocking how poor some people’s takes are.

[_Miracle]

Embezzlement of public funds, through allocation  for project without that are not completed well and also not supervised should strictly have a penalty or a charge to teach leaders and put the in the right path because most of them intentionally do these ack because they're benefits alot from the project and allocation, and they also contract these projects to their friends and family who do not have the record of the job, and the technical competence to deliver the job.

Policies should be mad and strictly followed to checkmate the activities of our leaders.

Implementing policies like this to control government officials who mismanage government funds due to lack of close monitoring and inspection, contracts are warded to people who can be loyal to this political leaders and behind the public declaration of the amount allocated to the project, they have there own cut of the total amount allocated to each of the project. So by the time the project begins there is little or nor money to complete the project, it becomes an abandoned project. This has become a normal thing eating deep that it is going out of hands. There should be a regulatory body that checkmates any project and make sure that they are completed as at the time it should be completed or would face what ever constituency due under law.

Honestly, I think the problem is deeper than just bad policies. It is about the mindset of leaders who see public money as their personal inheritance. You can have all the rules in the world, but if the people enforcing them are the same ones breaking them, nothing will change. In most Asian countries, jail time and even death sentences are already being enforced for corruption and financial crimes. Maybe if other nations adopted similar standards, leaders would think twice before stealing public funds. Harsh penalties won't solve everything, but they would definitely send a strong message that no one is above the law.

The mental gymnastics involved in blaming the people fixing this mess instead of the people who caused it is really quite shocking. I don’t know if it is the media brainwashing people, if some people are anti-American, or if this is just a thread full of trolls, but it is quite shocking how poor some people’s takes are.

I agree with you. The constant mental gymnastics our country has to go through on the daily IS brainwashing.

Disagreeing with this administration and holding government accountable is just about the most American thing a person can do.

Getting masked federal agents out of our streets, demanding that we stop the wars we were told that we are not in (I have loved ones deployed), demanding that our government follow our basic laws, demanding roll backs on the ever increasing surveillance state (to profit their donors), stop violating our amendments and stop spending our money to do it.

Leave it to an entitled draft dodger with almost every privilege available to man to:
create messes, take multiple tries to clean it up and then demand to be thanked and congratulated for trying.

The looting and control of our country by a wealthy few will always be the end result if we let them.
I love my country for all it said it stood for and I plan to do everything in my power to make us live up to our ideals.


OgNasty,
I no longer have to wonder how atrocities in history came about. People like you cheering for "your side" no matter what.
And the people who do nothing until it's at their door.

I think you are anti-American values and pro-tyranny [as long as it means others don't get the rights you have].

Humanity has been selling each other out cheaply (for their own sense of perceived status) for a very long time. Many are waking up to it.

The amount of effort it takes you to stay this sleepy (and proud of it) would be impressive if I wasn't sharing a country with you.

African Proverb (because integrating cultures is our culture)

                                                 "Until the lions have their own historians the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter"

You [we the 99%] are not the hunter, if you understood history you would see how easily you've been played [by the 1%].

[AVE5]

I think two things need to be looked at separately here. If someone has really intentionally damaged the Reflecting Pool, then an investigation should be conducted and if there is evidence, legal action should be taken. But at the same time, it cannot be avoided that the coating has come off, algae has formed, and questions about wildlife have arisen within a short time after the completion of such a large-scale project—explaining these as vandalism alone does not make the whole issue clear.
The biggest question is the quality of work and transparency of the contract. If taxpayer money is used to work on such a historic place, there should be accountability for the contractor selection, costs, materials used, and maintenance plan. Trump or his supporters can say vandalism, but without evidence, it sounds like a political defense. Again, even if the opponents say corruption, they need evidence for that too.

Another baffling thing there we that we can not take a side is the questionable if the pool was situated in a public or private environment, of course if in a public environment it should be expected that evidence of the perpetrators who commenced the vandalism should be provided. If in private location then who's in charge overseeing the environment should be hold responsibility.
I don't think Trump actually deserve the criticism knock and investing on what the matter was just the best he should have said.
Definitely on the process of the investigation it'll be identified if it was a poor quality paint or hoodlums that's responsible of the circumstances about the pool paints.

[_Miracle]

I think two things need to be looked at separately here. If someone has really intentionally damaged the Reflecting Pool, then an investigation should be conducted and if there is evidence, legal action should be taken. But at the same time, it cannot be avoided that the coating has come off, algae has formed, and questions about wildlife have arisen within a short time after the completion of such a large-scale project—explaining these as vandalism alone does not make the whole issue clear.
The biggest question is the quality of work and transparency of the contract. If taxpayer money is used to work on such a historic place, there should be accountability for the contractor selection, costs, materials used, and maintenance plan. Trump or his supporters can say vandalism, but without evidence, it sounds like a political defense. Again, even if the opponents say corruption, they need evidence for that too.

Another baffling thing there we that we can not take a side is the questionable if the pool was situated in a public or private environment, of course if in a public environment it should be expected that evidence of the perpetrators who commenced the vandalism should be provided. If in private location then who's in charge overseeing the environment should be hold responsibility.
I don't think Trump actually deserve the criticism knock and investing on what the matter was just the best he should have said.
Definitely on the process of the investigation it'll be identified if it was a poor quality paint or hoodlums that's responsible of the circumstances about the pool paints.

This is a before and after Trump moved in. Demolished the ballroom without permission (and while nobody is doing anything about it, it was not within norms)

For me this is an excellent example of how this administration is burning out our government, looting and trashing the place. This WILL BE his legacy.
I am not surprised that a selfish rich kid got ahold of power and didn't know what to do with it. My country is weaker in this moment than it has ever been.
What surprises me is how many boot lickers are just fine with the looter in chief (the one who said "you loot we shoot") during the occupy wall street and black lives matter protests.

Not enough is being done to investigate our government. Although it actually IS so everything he does is a lesson and further evidence.

For Now this is the least we can do :-)



You should have heard about Obama's Basketball court ;-)