Thursday, September 10, 2020

"Unfind It!"

 Trump vs the National Historic Preservation Act (4 years or so ago):

    "You might wonder what a lowly archaeologist might have to do with the likes of one of the current Republican Party frontrunners.  Several years ago, one of my coworkers had the dubious honor of performing an archaeological survey on some of Trump’s land.

      In many places, in accordance with various laws and statutes an archaeological and environmental survey has to be performed before land can be developed - this is to protect historical and cultural resources, endangered species, and water and air quality.  To a lot of people (Trump included) it seems like a big waste of time, but this is how many thousands of people earn a living (myself included).

     “Several years ago, one of my coworkers had the dubious honor of performing an archaeological survey on some of Trump’s land...One day, while my coworker was leaving the field, a limo pulled up and a window rolled down.  A hand from inside the vehicle waved him over.  There was the Donald himself, wanting to know the progress of the excavation.
    “Find anything?” he asked.
     “Oh!  Yes-” Trump’s question is one you only want to ask an archaeologist if you have time to kill. We love to talk about the stuff we find, and my coworker made the mistake of thinking Trump actually cared because a few minutes later (Trump stated):
 “Unfind it.”
     No matter how many grumpy landowners and construction managers we deal with, a statement like this always comes as something of a shock, and in my coworker’s telling of the story, it took a moment to process. 
 “What?”
  “I said, Unfind it.”
      That was about the moment where he realized what exactly it was that Trump wanted him to do.  Not gonna lie, going through an attempted strong-arming from the man himself would be a little surreal, and my friend handled it better than I would have: “Oh!  Sir, we will ensure you are in compliance with all relevant laws and statutes.”
     “That’s not what I said-”
      “We’re here to ensure you are in compliance with all relevant laws and statutes, and that’s what we’ll do.”

      At this point, Trump must have told his driver to drive off in a huff, because the window rolled up and the limo pulled away...”
  
Condensed from:


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