September 1, 2015

Trump on Denali: "Great insult to Ohio. I will change back!"

That's Twitterese (in case you think his locutions have become even more brusque).

Nice concise politicization, taking offense on behalf of the important swing state.

IN THE COMMENTS: tim maguire said: "Do Ohioans care? This former Ohioan doesn't." That parallels my conversation with Meade, who lived in Ohio for about 30 years. Me: "Does Ohio care about McKinley?" Meade: "Ohio doesn't even care about Taft."

70 comments:

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

He had space to add "Cleveland rocks!"

tim maguire said...

Do Ohioans care? This former Ohioan doesn't. I care about Obama ruling by decree, of which this is yet another example, but I don't care that an Alaskan mountain is now named according to an Alaskan tradition instead of an Ohio president.

BarrySanders20 said...

Another reason why it's not ideal to do things by presidential order. The next president can undo it by pen stroke.

All while Obama wantonly destroys the glaciers through the burning of jet fuel. Oh the humanity.

What is the native Alaskan word for hypocrite?

MayBee said...

Maybe Obama wanted people talking about the renaming, rather than focusing on his stupid, hair-on-fire climate change speech for Tom Steyer cash..

Matt Sablan said...

This is exactly what the media wants people to focus on.

Denali has been more on people's minds than the hundreds of classified or worse emails on Clinton's home servers. ISIS has been knocked off the page by renaming a bleepin' mountain.

Nonapod said...

This whole thing doesn't even register on my Care-o-meter. They could rename the mountain Blippitybloopblop for all I care.

Renee said...

But McKinley was assassinated by a socialist/anarchist....

Laslo Spatula said...

I don't think the point for Trump is necessarily Ohio or a mountain: it is the act of swinging back at anything -- and everything -- that gets thrown over the plate.

You might foul a few off, but people notice the home runs.

I am Laslo.

traditionalguy said...

Great Trump thump of the Ohio haters. That moved earned him more votes than then low energy Bush has earned by calling Trump a jerker using communications skills as a partisan instead of as a sweet gentleman. But I doubt that the Redskins team name will be aided and abetted by Trump. Not enough votes there to move the needle.

Sebastian said...

"Does Ohio care about McKinley?"

Wrong question.

@Laslo: "it is the act of swinging back"

Exactly. Especially at distracting and phony PC posturing.

Big part of the Iowa swing, I suspect.

Humperdink said...

Trump can't change it back. Period, end of story.

"I mean in a way Obama’s standing above the country, above – above the world, he’s sort of God." (Evan Thomas, Newsweak 2009)

lgv said...

Although I think the name should be Denali, not McKinley, I am bothered by the change being a stroke of the pen by the President.

If I was Trump, I would have said the same thing, only with the adder, "....when Congress agrees to change it, it will then become Denali, not a minute before".

Ron said...

Maybe change it to Mt. Woody Hayes?

Laslo Spatula said...

"You might foul a few off, but people notice the home runs."

Trump as Mr. October, The Great Reggie Jackson: he struck out a lot, but that isn't held against him, when the home runs in the right moments are spectacular.

The Straw That Stirs The Drink: Jackson's quote about himself, but applicable to Trump.

Everyone else on the R side is just bunting.


I am Laslo.

Laslo Spatula said...

"Everyone else on the R side is just bunting."

Double connotation of 'bunting' intended.

I am Laslo.

tds said...

POTUS - mountain peak namer in chief

tds said...

the only person with power to rename geographical places in US is that fat guy in a cubicle on the 2nd floor, Google, Mountain View, CA

Anonymous said...

He didn't change it to Mt. F*cking Obama, for Pete's sake.

Denali is pretty good. Sounds pretty. Anyway, it's always Denali until the white men came. It's stupid of Trump to even mention about changing it back, as if voters would vote for him for the name change when the world was falling apart. Seems like Trump is as hollow as the one in the WH: no principles, no ideas.

MAJMike said...

The key, I think, is that the mountain was initially named via an Act of Congress. If, indeed, the name is to be changed, seems to me that another Act of Congress is required. I agree with the name change, but not with the method of the change.

rhhardin said...

"I'll change it to Trump" would have been good.

People like self-deprecation.

rhhardin said...

Change Obama's name to le stupide, once you get in, as well.

The orignal French for Obama.

rhhardin said...

Denali is Africa. It's probably one of the rituals in Kwanza too.

tim in vermont said...

I don't understand how Obama renamed it in the first place. Wasn't it named by an act of Congress? When did we become a dictatorship of the liberals?

Humperdink said...

elkh1 said: "....... Seems like Trump is as hollow as the one in the WH: no principles, no ideas."

Obama does not have principles or ideas? He does, in spades.

Just one example: why do you think he went to Alaska?

tim in vermont said...

So when does he give Alaska back to Putin on account of that deal Seward made wasn't really fair...

Hagar said...

Back in the 1930's Washington State re-named one of their mountains - not Rainier, but a respectable sized mountain - Mt. Ruud for the Ruud brothers.
It did not take.

traditionalguy said...

The issue is de-teutonicification of the European lands that were stolen from the King of England by his rogue subjects.

White men are condemned now under Obama and the non-white peoples simply declare that they now own that stolen area again.

Underneath the surface it is a game of thrones based on wealth.

William said...

Laslo's comments on this matter are pretty savvy.......I think Trump is annoying, but the people he annoys deserve to be annoyed for the most part......If the Dems carry the Eskimo vote, and the Republicans win Ohio this wll be counts as a huge mistake on Obama's part.

dbp said...

I don't care whether Ohio cares: I care that an act of Congress is being wiped away by a lawless president. Which is a bad precedent.

Etienne said...

Denali is a cooler name. Looks better on a T-shirt. Just saying...

Freeman Hunt said...

How about Mt. Romney to commemorate the best president we never had?

Big Mike said...

I agree with dbp; the proper response is to say that Obama is too addicted to doing things out of his hip pocket without consulting Congress, and that the President is rightly bound by the Constitution.

While I might prefer the things that Trump does by pulling things out of his hip pocket over the things Obama has done unilaterally, I think all in all it's not the right way for this country to go.

_____________
* The word "addicted" was carefully chosen.

Alexander said...

Too late - that's the way the country has already gone.

The only way to ever have a chance at going back is to show the other side you'll use the same weapons. Germany didn't gas London or Birmingham because they were sensitive and caring; they didn't because WWI showed that the other guy was willing and able to retaliate on Berlin and Hamburg.

tit-for-tat. And Obama is a great big tit.

Known Unknown said...

I prefer Denali.

Don't think of McKinley too much, but Ohio is practically the birthplace of Preezies. McKinley, Garfield, Taft, Hayes, Grant, Harrison, and Harding.


Ohioans only really care about Bernie Kosar and their World Champion Cleveland Browns!!!

David said...

Nor does Ohio care about Grant, Hayes, Sherman, Garfield or Harding, all major figures from Ohio. Or about Meade, for that matter. Ohio, the state that just does not care.

(The Hayes reference is Rutherford B. Hayes, not Woody. They care a lot about Woody.)

D.E. Cloutier said...

1. I find it interesting that Karl Rove has a new book coming out in November -- "The Triumph of William McKinley: Why the Election of 1896 Still Matters" -- and Obama suddenly changes the name of the mountain. Coincidence?

Link to book info:
http://books.simonandschuster.com/The-Triumph-of-William-McKinley/Karl-Rove/9781476752952

2. Coupe: "Denali is a cooler name. Looks better on a T-shirt."

I agree.

Sebastian said...

Clearly, it should be renamed Mount Meyer.

Good thing about Trump tweet is that he's aiming fire at O rather than GOP.

Known Unknown said...

While I might prefer the things that Trump does by pulling things out of his hip pocket over the things Obama has done unilaterally, I think all in all it's not the right way for this country to go.

This point is completely lost on progressives. That there may come a day when the pen and the phone belong to someone they despise.

Mr. D said...

Probably should rename the adjoining mountains Suburban and Escalade, just to make sure the complete product line is represented.

Anonymous said...

Has someone said this already?

Renaming the mountain after a tribe which most Americans know by the monicker of a particularly guzzly SUV seems counterproductive to a trip trying to shine a light on the rising sea levels and other broken (and forgotten) campaign promises...

But then again we are talking about The Man Who Can Do Anything.

JOB

Anonymous said...

By which The Man Who Can't Do Everything (moi) meant "after the original tribal word") Sorry to confuse.

Fritz said...

And we still have "Negro Mountain" in Maryland.

Anonymous said...

Blogger Big Mike said...
I agree with dbp; the proper response is to say that Obama is too addicted to doing things out of his hip pocket without consulting Congress, and that the President is rightly bound by the Constitution.

While I might prefer the things that Trump does by pulling things out of his hip pocket over the things Obama has done unilaterally, I think all in all it's not the right way for this country to go.


The best way to counter rule by Presidential fiat is to change it right back by Presidential fiat immediately upon taking office.

This would go a long way to show that such ruling is easily reversed and ultimately meaningless. It would discourage future rulings by Presidential fiat.

MathMom said...

As a former full-time Alaskan (and now part-time Alaskan), it's like the Secret Handshake to call Mt. McKinley Denali. You can tell a cheechako from a sourdough based on what they call The Mountain. I have called it Denali since I lived there, partly because I wanted to be known as a sourdough. From now on, I will call it Mt. McKinley.

Obama doesn't give an actual shit about tribal names or lands. He just likes to stir things up, and get everyone talking about this rather than his granting of the atomic bomb to Iran.

President Trump should threaten to rename it Mt. Palin. That would get the MSM to awaken from its torpor.

pm317 said...

People care to the extent that Trump is doing something that is good for their state -- it is all in the abstract. I am amazed at how well Trump is 'community organizing.' Brilliant!

pm317 said...

President Trump should threaten to rename it Mt. Palin.

LOL..

dmoelling said...

McKinley was a successful, well liked President who was assassinated by an Anarchist while in office. Renaming the highest mountain in US Territory was an understandable and reasonable thing to do. Note that Kennedy Island also known as Plum Pudding Island, though the correct local name is Kasolo Island is a small uninhabited island in the Solomon Islands that was named after John F. Kennedy. So shall we now start calling it Kasolo Island again? Although restoring the traditional native name to the RFK Bridge in NYC to the Triboro Bridge would be much better.

traditionalguy said...

I demand the NASA guys restore Cape Canaveral's God given name. They just do tequila shots and not moon shots there now anyway. And the Mythical Global warming must have flooded it out by now. So why honor JFK with a disaster area?

Known Unknown said...

I demand the NASA guys restore Cape Canaveral's God given name.

It is Cape Canaveral. There's the Kennedy Space Center, but it's at Cape Canaveral.

Gahrie said...

It is not what Obama did, it is how he did it that is objectionable.

tim in vermont said...

I guess this was on his "fuck it list" You know, the joyous two years of his presidency when he is unconstrained by any need to serve the people who elected him.

mtrobertslaw said...

On a Russian map dated 1839, name of the Mountain appears as "Tenada". According to James Kari, a linguist at the University of Alaska's Alaska Native Language Center, the word "Denali" means "high" or "tall". The word never meant "The Great One."
But since Obama has now decreed that this is what the word means, I guess it does.

MayBee said...

Trump is pragmatic.

SomeoneHasToSayIt said...

Here's how self deluded Obama and his minions are. He intends to act unilaterally, on many fronts, over the next 15-16 months.

And yet every action just gives an additional boost to whichever Republican candidate gets dibs on promising to reverse it, Day One.

So by all means, act, Obama, act!

Fernandinande said...

elkh1 said...
Anyway, it's always Denali until the white men came.


No, the Eskimos got there not long before whites did, and exterminated the original human population.

"Analyses of these genomes indicate that the Arctic was colonized 6000 years ago by a migration separate from the one that gave rise to other Native American populations. Furthermore, the original paleo-inhabitants of the Arctic appear to have been completely replaced approximately 700 years ago."

Left Bank of the Charles said...

Maybe Ohio should change it's name to McKinley. Better still, rename Miami University McKinley University. That name has always been confusing.

TestTube said...

The Donald could solve the whole McKinley/Denali imbroglio with Solomonic wisdom by pledging to name the thing "Mount Trump"

Going further, many of our national landmarks would be improved by being brought under the Trump brand -- provides just that dose of class that so many of our geographical features lack.

Grand Canyon? Hot, dusty ditch. Trump Canyon? Come for the view, stay for the rollercoaster!

Yosemite? a bunch of rocks. Yo-so-mighty-Trump National Park? Enjoy the view from the new casino, the granite canyon accentuated all night by tastefully tinted high-power spotlights.

Yellowstone? Smelly, unpredictable geysers. Trumpstone National Park will get ensure a quality recreational experience, including regularly scheduled geysers and animatronic singing buffalo.

The "famous" fourteeners of Colorado? Jeez, good luck getting that John Denver Song out of your head. But the Trump-teeners (including Trump Mountain, Trump's Peak, "The Mountain! -- by Donald Trump") will be feature Atlantic City-style shows, with full orchestras and beautiful girls.

tim in vermont said...

I think the suggestion by a Twitter wag to rename it "Canyonero" was first rate.

tim in vermont said...

Better joke came along. By renaming the mountain "High One" he is secretly naming it after himself.

tim in vermont said...

How are they going to tow it to the GMC dealer every few months to fix this or that ten cent part that stops the mountain from running?

tim in vermont said...

That was a pot joke, BTW, about the "high one" I should have made that more clear.

Meade said...

When I get elected president I'm renaming it after my favorite basketball player of all time -- Rick Mount.

tim in vermont said...

By calling the mountain "The high one" it pretty clearly seems that they didn't actually name it.

Will they go back and rename Althouse's blog "The blonde one" some day?

ken in tx said...

There is an official process for changing geographical names in the US. The process is managed by the US Board of Geographical Names, as set up by federal law. This change was done in accordance with the law. Obama had nothing to do with it, except by announcing it he seems to be trying to take credit for it. He didn't propose it, or approve it, he just announced it. Trump can't change it back. He can only announce it if the board changes it again. Part of the process of changing a geographical name is getting local voters to approve it. Alaskan voters have already approved this change. Again, Obama had nothing to with it.

Balfegor said...

Not really on topic, but of all the American presidents, Taft seems like he had by far the most interesting career in public service. His career arc was like nothing else in US history -- judge, Governor General of the Philippines, Governor of Cuba, President, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Does anyone know of a decent biography of the man?

Unknown said...

Cincinnati is only 'loosely affiliated ' with OHIO. OHIO begins north of Montgomery, OHIO. Cincinnati is really the largest city in Kintuckey.

The trouble with McKinely is that the was president for such a short time. The same is true with Garfield. Actually, the mountain should have been named after U.S. Grant. Ohioans understand and respect Grant. He was a winner. He and Sherman kicked the Confederacy's buttocks. Its like they whooped the SEC. Ohioans love whooping folks from the south. We just did so last year in NOLA. Heck, we like whooping Bucky Badger too, but not as much as we like whooping 'Bama and the Tide fans.

jaydub said...

Denali Mountain in Denali Park may lead to confusion. Maybe congress should rename the park "McKinley Park."

Rusty said...

Meade said...
When I get elected president I'm renaming it after my favorite basketball player of all time -- Rick Mount.


Bill Clinton wanted to name it-- Dick Mount.


But he didn't have the balls.

richardsson said...

I think the Democrats have more to lose on this than Obama imagines. I remember well how people reacted when LBJ renamed their town to Cape Kennedy. They eventually got the decision reversed. The dumbest thing is the renaming of streets. It causes all kinds of useless chaos. If you drive down Avenida Cesar Chavez in East Los Angeles, after all these years you'll still see the Brooklyn Hardware Store, Farmacia Brooklyn and other references to the former name of the street. Cesar Chavez was a humble man, I don't think he would have cared about that "honor." Another stupid street rename is the Santa Monica Freeway. In one place it is "The Christopher Columbus Interstate Highway" and in another place it is the Rosa Parks Freeway. Rosa Parks? Fine and courageous woman, but what the hell does she have to do with Santa Monica or Freeways. She was trying to remain sitting in the front of a bus in Alabama. It makes no difference, everyone still calls it the Santa Monica Freeway. I'd make it a rule that you can't rename public facilities of any kind after anyone until after the person has been dead for 200 years. That way, the politicians would most likely just forget about it.

Abdul Abulbul Amir said...

McKinley is a dead white Republican honored by an act of Congress. Obama hit all the bases.