Politics Plus

To be honest, after yesterday’s horrific mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, I really didn’t feel like posting what I had put together because it wasn’t appropriate. But it will keep.

But I did feel I just put up something, so it was back to my notes on ideas that I keep for “Friday Fun” possibilities to see what I could find.

Maybe kids can point the way to showing us grown-ups how to get along, because lord knows we’re doing a piss-poor job of it. So I thought a fitting tribute to honor the people of El Paso is to celebrate a recent event watching kids and their parents playing together on hot pink Teeter Totters.

But this playground was like no other, because these custom-built sees-saws are between the border wall slats separating Ciudad Juárez, Mexico and El Paso. So the Border Wall becomes the literal fulcrum joining people from Mexico and the USA.

Digging into this project I was surprised to learn that the concept actually began a decade ago when two professors (Ronald Rael, a professor of architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, and Virginia San Fratello, an associate professor of design at San José State University) came up with the idea.

Rael published a book called “Borderwall As Architecture”. In fact his concept drawings are part of the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York.

Rael said the event was about bringing “joy, excitement and togetherness at the border wall”. Adding it was also about finding “meaningful ways on both sides with the recognition that the actions that take place on one side have a direct consequence on the other side”.

Prof. San Fratello said that it is “also a place where people come together. We wanted to create scenarios that would celebrate togetherness. And also highlight the ridiculousness of the border wall.” She explained that the see-saws are made of light-weight steel and designed to be easily installed. “We could literally set [them] up in one minute.”

But unfortunately, they did not have permission. Surprisingly when the US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) arrived, they permitted the sharing of joy across the border, using the Wall as a literal fulcrum, to continue unimpeded for quite a while. Maybe laughter is truly infectious. We can hope!

But as is frequently the case, all good things must come to an end. Let’s close on an upbeat note enjoying the Instagrams Rael posted of the event – and hope it can be reprised on a much larger scale..

[Editor’s Note: Sorry, I don’t know how to resize Instagrams]

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The joy that was shared this day on both sides is something that will stay with me forever. #borderwallasarchitecture #raelsanfratello #teetertotterwall #seesaw #reunitefamilies @colectivo.chopeke #subibaja

A post shared by Ronald Rael (@rrael) on Jul 29, 2019 at 11:47pm PDT

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First ride! Great video by seesaw fabricator Saul Cordero of Taller Herreria in #Juarez! #raelsanfratello #borderwallasarchitecture #seesaw @colectivo.chopeke #teetertotterwall #subibaja

A post shared by Ronald Rael (@rrael) on Jul 31, 2019 at 9:34pm PDT

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One of the most incredible experiences of my and @vasfsf’s career bringing to life the conceptual drawings of the Teetertotter Wall from 2009 in an event filled with joy, excitement, and togetherness at the borderwall. The wall became a literal fulcrum for U.S. – Mexico relations and children and adults were connected in meaningful ways on both sides with the recognition that the actions that take place on one side have a direct consequence on the other side. Amazing thanks to everyone who made this event possible like Omar Rios @colectivo.chopeke for collaborating with us, the guys at Taller Herrería in #CiudadJuarez for their fine craftsmanship, @anateresafernandez for encouragement and support, and everyone who showed up on both sides including the beautiful families from Colonia Anapra, and @kerrydoyle2010, @kateggreen , @ersela_kripa , @stphn_mllr , @wakawaffles, @chris_inabox and many others (you know who you are). #raelsanfratello #borderwallasarchitecture #teetertotterwall #seesaw #subibaja

A post shared by Ronald Rael (@rrael) on Jul 28, 2019 at 11:22pm PDT

Meet the Resistance’s newest Hero responsible for creating that fake presidential seal Trump stood in front of the other day at a youth conference – Mr. Charles Leazott.

Mr.. Leazott is a former Republican who twice voted for George W. Bush, but the election of Trump pushed him over the edge and back into the land of Reality.

Leazott was so disgusted with Trump’s election that to take out his frustration as a graphic designer, he found it cathartic to create a new bespoke presidential seal for Trump. And his creation exceeded all expectations in the realm of Pranksterdom!

So let’s take a closer look at how Leazott changed the seal. Here’s an overview that we’ll zoom in on to highlight each feature. But it misses at least one, and possibly two.

Beginning at the very top, “some people are saying” that the thirteen clouds at the top in the real seal have been replaced with thirteen golf balls. It’s subtle – and I’ll let you decide – but they do look like they could have the dimples of a golf ball.

Working down, the Latin motto “E Pluribus Unum” (Out of Many, One) on the real seal has been replaced with a twofer Prank.  Not only is it insulting – but it’s insulting in Spanish: “45 ES UN TITERE” – “45 IS A PUPPET”! It was to honor Hillary Clinton, who famously referred to Trump as Putin’s puppet.

Next is the double-headed eagle, which is typically associated with empires – NOT with a democratic republic.

In fact, it has a striking resemblance to the Russian Federation Coat of Arms, which is based on the coat of arms used by czarist Russia.

Just below the eagles you’ll note that the shield, which is plain on the real seal, has now been emblazoned with a row of hammers & sickles – an easily recognized symbol of Russia.

Moving down and to the left, you can see that rather than the Eagle’s talon holding an olive branch, it’s clutching a wad of cash.

And finally, the eagle’s left talon (our right, looking at it) is holding thirteen golf clubs instead of thirteen arrows.

Truly a masterpiece mocking Trump! But how it actually got to be the backdrop for his appearance at the Hitler Jugend, err … Trump Jugend – I mean the right-wing youth group, Turning Point, gathering is still a bit of a mystery.

Leazott explains that it had a very limited audience. “I’m a graphic designer, it’s just something I tossed together. This was just a goofy thing for some people I knew. I had no idea it would blow up like this.”

A spokesman for Turning Point claims it was a fluke. That they were simply looking for a high-resolution Presidential Seal to use as a backdrop … at the last-minute. (Right!)

Leazott responds: “That’s a load of crap. You have to look for this. There’s no way this was an accident is all I’m saying.”

The sleuths at Washington Post, who were the first to report this Grade-A Prank-of-the-Year, chased its origin to an online marketplace, “One Term Donnie” at Inktale:

https://inktale.com/onetermdonnie

And the calls from media folks has been so crazy that he revived his own “One Term Donnie” website:

https://one-term-donnie.myshopify.com/

But the t-shirts have been sold out, although some tank-tops appear to be available. Which has made Leazott very happy. But he’s clearly has his eye on the bigger picture:

“It’s cool people are buying this, that’s great and all. But I’ve got to be honest, I am so tickled in the most petty way possible that the president of the United States, who I despise, stood up and gave a talk in front of this graphic. Whoever put that up is my absolute hero.”

But a spokesperson for the brown-shirt youth group, Turning Point, is sticking with their story:

“It was a last-minute A/V mistake—and I can’t figure out where the breakdown was. But it was a last-minute throw-up, and that’s all it was.”

 A “last-minute throw-up”, indeed.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: You would think by now I would know about changing horses in mid-stream – but you’d be wrong! But since this just developed in the past 12 hours (and the one I had ready is “timeless”), I changed course again.]

I usually don’t watch tennis. – but when I do, I watch Woody Harrelson watching tennis!

Yep, “Cheers” own beloved-but-wacky bartender, Woodrow Huckleberry Tiberius “Woody” Boyd, became a Meme at Wimbledon’s men’s doubles championship with his “lubricated” Emmy-Award winning antics – unbeknownst to him.

Harrelson eagerly watched the grueling match between partners Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah against Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin. The TV camera crews quickly realized what a treasure trove they had in Harrelson’s expressions (not to mention his frequent trips to the refreshment area) that were as entertaining as the match itself.

It all began when Mahut was unable to avoid a rocket-fired shot that struck him right on his forehead.

But it only got worse for Mahut – a whole lot worse. Later he was injured in a very vulnerable area … and dropped in agony. And Harrelson’s stunned look captured the universal male commiserating response of “OMG!”

And since this Tweet comes with sound, I’ll let you experience the crowd’s groin-groan (at least from the males) that I’m sure accompanied it.  So be sure to turn on the sound – and let me know if they groaned.

This is the most gruesome and violent tennis match I've seen in decades of watching the sport, and this is the least of it pic.twitter.com/zs6eAQkYAA

— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) July 13, 2019

Let’s go to the replay of Harrelson’s stunned OMG! look.

Is it any wonder that Woody decided he was in dire need of some liquid refreshment to settle him down? While Woody is an open admirer of the effects of THC, unfortunately for him the only grass available at Wimbledon was on Centre Court. So he made do with wine.

Judging from his difficulty navigating the steps, it looks like Woody stayed in the concession area for more than a few refills. When he returns to his seat the match had restarted, so he’s denied access. Making the best of it, Woody works on his wine.

Let’s enjoy that from a different angle focusing on the ever so subtle look of British disapproval.

I won’t cover every trip to the concession area, but you can see he’s gotten very friendly with the usher – and also treated himself to a fine fedora.

While those libation visits took their toll, at least it looks like that wine was lip-licking good!

And as Wimbledon is closing down for the day, we find Woody has just discovered he became the Meme du Jour and is seen enjoying the many Twitter Tweets featuring him! (Or maybe just nodding off. It’s hard to tell.)

There’s a wise old adage:

“Don’t change horses in midstream”

Interestingly enough this proverb is credited to Abraham Lincoln who, when aides wanted him to fire Gen. Grant for being a heavy whiskey drinker, Lincoln used one of his famous proverbs to guide his reply:

“An old Dutch farmer, who remarked to a companion once that it was not best to swap horses when crossing streams.”

So Lincoln, recognizing Gen. Grant’s extraordinary military wisdom and success, replied to the aides:

“But can you tell me where he gets his whiskey?”

“We cannot, Mr. President. But why do you desire to know?”

“Because, if I can only find out, I will send a barrel of this wonderful whiskey to every general in the army.”

Well, I’ve, yet again, decided to ignore that sage advice … and switched to a new meme for “Friday Fun” – which will now become a “Sunday Smile”.

Adding to the delay is that we recently received our annual Property Assessment from the county, and mine went up 15 percent!  So I’m going to appeal.

The County Assessor Office admits there  was a glitch in their calculation.  Currently there are about 25,000 other homeowners appealing.  I’ve got to get the paperwork done by Monday – and it obviously takes priority.