Headline: New York Times, 12/8/2025
Map: Eat Life
Of course, when celebrities go under the knife, we never see the surgery. Nor do we see the blood, bruising or scars. These aspects just get disappeared, before the eventual “reveal” of the transformation. This is why the honesty discourse around surgery is complicated: Think of it as a film with some segments edited out, making the transition seem magical, and free of any gruesome in-between stages. We have grown very accustomed to this process, happy to ignore unbeautiful reality in favor of the fantasy of painless and miraculous transformation.
But the photos of the East Wing demolition threaten our happy ignorance.
The Treasury Department has reportedly prohibited any further photos of the East Wing's demolition site — we must not see the patient on the operating table. Instead, as is so often the case in our world of magical before-and-afters, we are expected simply to wait and then admire the change, without thinking too much about what happened in between.
December 2025
Quote from Shalom Baranes, Trump's new White House ballroom architect: "My work would be impossible without my fellow immigrants". (12/7)
White House ballroom price tag: $200 million. $300 million. $350 million. Do I hear $400 million? (12/7)
White House Ballroom correction: This is not construction; its demolition and site preparation. (12/4)
November 2025
White House Ballroom oversight gaps emerge: Let us count the ways (Part 1: National Capital Planning Commission). (11/18)
What did Donald Trump know about the demolition of the East Wing of White House and when did he know it? (11/2)
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