Bobservations

Y’all know I’m childish, right? I mean, you may say child-like, but it’s really childish.

Case in point: after taking a long hike along the river last weekend, as we were driving home I was tormenting Carlos as a childish person does, and he … well, I posted this on my phone to remind me:

“On Saturday August 31, 2024, and I am going to spot him a half hour starting at 11AM, Carlos Divid Harris said he was not going to speak to me for twenty-four hours. I laughed and said he wouldn’t last twenty-four seconds. He said he would not speak again until 11AM on September 1, 2024. We’ll see how that goes; I am writing this down so that when he fails, and he will, I will have proof.”

Carlos began speaking at 11:35 AM which means, with the half-hour I spotted him, he stopped speaking for about 9 minutes. And to be fair, that was longer than the twenty-four seconds I thought he’d last.

This Tuxedo Memory is from May 2019 and is entitled: Another Scorcher In Smallville ... Tuxedo Has The Right Idea

That cat always picked the most interesting positions in which to nap … he was just a chalk outline away from playing the role of roadkill on some animal show!

Well, roadkill or some totally adorable boy!

Here’s proof that just because you’re a relatively slender model, it doesn’t mean you can have the most delightful cakes.

Melanie has unveiled the cover for her upcoming memoir and despite its minimalist design, some critics claim it's a blatant act of plagiarism.

What? Melanie? Plagiarize? Like Michelle Obama’s DNC speech years back?

Melanie's book cover is an all-black with simple white text reading 'MELANIA' in all caps … and looks suspiciously like the iconic Chanel Catwalk book.

I haven’t read it, and won’t read it, but I’m told it’s the story of Melanie’s life on Chicago’s South Side and working hard to attend both Harvard and Princeton before marrying the love of her life and giving birth to Sasha and Malia.

Just sayin’.

In Camden, as it is in many small towns across the state, we have an opera house. Of course, it fell into disuse many years ago and when we moved here only the ground floor was being used as a secondhand store. Sad, really, for such a beautiful building. And for years there was talk about recreating the opera house interior but then a couple of years ago the talk turned toward making  the opera house a boutique hotel, and that’s apparently going to happen.

That photo up there is the opera house and its clock tower that chimes on the hour and the quarter- and half-hours. And down there are the renderings of what the hotel will be: four floors and 50 rooms, with a restaurant in the lobby and called The Haigler Hotel, so named for a noble Catawba Chief who befriended Camden’s pioneers. The clock tower, though not seen in the renderings will remain and still chime the hours each day.

Our little town is growing but it’s keeping its sense of history, and I am here for that!

You’ve heard of Weekend at Bernie’s but this true story is more Weekend at Wells Fargo.

There’s an investigation underway in Tempe, Arizona after a Wells Fargo employee—and I won’t post her name so as not to embarrass her family—died while on the job and no one noticed.

A timeline released by police suggests her body was there for four days before being discovered.

How does that happen?

The Venice Film Festival has been going on for a couple of weeks and here are some style icons, clockwise in no particular order … Angelina Jolie, Cate Blanchett, Eva Green and Nicole Kidman. Stunning, but there’s always room for a thirst-seeker and this year’s was Eva Herzigova wearing … God Only Knows™.

Last week I mentioned that one school district in Oklahoma was refusing to follow the order of State Superintendent Ryan Walters and his demand for Bible Study in all public schools.

Now, out of about 540 public districts and charter schools in the state, 54 superintendents responded to the survey and, when asked if their district was requiring educators to teach on or from the Bible, 46 said ‘No’ and just two said ‘Yes;’ others were unclear on the guidelines.

Taking a stand … even in Oklahoma.

This is Stefano Tomadini—sounds like a Delicious pasta dish—an Italian model. But this isn’t about food or models, it’s about a simple question: Would You Hit It?

Tuesday Thought #4

Bobservations

Is Melania at it again?

Two years ago, Melania _____ apparently “copied” several lines in her RNC speech from a speech given by Michelle Obama in 2008. This week Melania announced her “new” anti-cyberbullying initiative—ironic given who her husband is and what he does on social media—and as a part of that initiative, the White House released a booklet that Melania said was intended to “help kids act thoughtfully and kindly” online.

Nice, except that it seems like the booklet was almost completely copied from a document released by the Federal Trade Commission in 2014 under President Obama. Right there is the cover and a page from each booklet …gosh, it’s like the 2014 version is looking in a mirror.

That kind of suggests that the booklet was blatantly plagiarized—like a Melania speech, perhaps—especially given that the official White House’s website claimed the booklet had been written “by” Melania _____ and the FTC, implying she had significant input other than making sure her name was spelled correctly.

Oh, but the nude First Lady centerfold was her idea.

The City of Del Rio … in Texas … elected Bruno Lozano, as its mayor, with 62% of the vote. The startling part is that, while Lozano is veteran of the U.S. Air Force, a Democrat and the youngest person ever to be elected mayor of Del Rio, he is also openly gay.

And yet his sexual orientation had little effect on his campaign—save the one Facebook post from a non-supporter who labeled him a “faggot with AIDS”—even including his marching in the town Veteran’s parade while wearing high heels!

Lozano served in the Air Force during Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and decided not to re-enlist because, “I am not ashamed of who I am . . . I kept going. I moved on with my life”:

“Stonewall happened because drag queens and a minority group stood up to animosity, and I had to go back in the closet [while in the Air Force] because of that same hatred. I know what that was like, and it translates to today’s campaign. I’m not going to bow down. I am who I am. Accept me or not.”

Bravo, sir.

The Snowflake-In-Chief is still butt-hurt that the press, other than those Fox News hacks, don’t kiss his ass and is now threatening to revoke the press credentials of any reporter who isn’t nice to him.

How very Hitler of him.

Now, a tale of a Republican mayor, Nick Isgro, of Waterville, Maine, who Tweeted an article about Fox News co-president Jack Abernethy standing by Laura Ingraham after she made fun of Parkland student David Hogg for receiving several college rejection letters. Isgro shared the article with this comment:

“Eat it, Hogg.”

Now, Isgro will face a recall vote because of that Tweet after a petition to remove him from office has received enough signatures to force a vote.

This follows on the heels of another Maine Republican, Leslie Gibson, referred to Parkland student and activist Emma González as a “skinhead lesbian.” 

Gibson was running uncontested as a GOP candidate for a state House seat but dropped out following the disparaging comments.

Good.Bye.

Ellen’s, a Dallas restaurant, informed its guests that while the NRA convention was going on in town, they’d be donating some of their profits from the business to Gun Control causes and, naturally, NRA members began threatening the owner and the staff of the restaurant for their right to Free Speech.

Sadly, for the NRA, most polls show more Americans share the restaurant’s view; and on Mother’s Day, Ellen’s owner Joe Groves will present a $15,000 check to the local chapter of Moms Demand Action, a national gun safety group.

And let’s not forget that, after Walmart and Dick’s Sporting Goods made public moves to pull back their gun sales, both stores enjoyed a spike of approval from consumers. More recently, Dick’s has taken the additional step of hiring a lobbyist to further advocate for gun safety initiatives.

As for Ellen’s, Groves thinks the gun group completely mishandled the situation.

“In the end, I think the NRA helped us, not only in allowing us to make this generous contribution, but ultimately to create the conversation we need to have.”

And responsible gun control legislation.

In more good news, because it claps back at Republicans, The Reverend Patrick J. Conroy, the House chaplain who announced his resignation under pressure from soon-to-quit House Speaker Paul Ryan after Conroy issued a House prayer that the GOP tax cuts result in “no winners and no losers” has changed his mind and rescinded his offer to resign.

In a two-page letter, Conroy informed Ryan that he gave in to pressure from the speaker’s staff when he agreed in mid-April to resign, believing that Ryan had the power to fire him, but the chaplain now believes he was pressured into the resignation for lack of cause.

“I have never been disciplined, nor reprimanded, nor have I ever heard a complaint about my ministry during my time as House chaplain.”

Ryan denied that the Jesuit priest’s political views played any role in the ouster and instead insisted he’d heard numerous complaints about Conroy’s lack of interaction with lawmakers.

Maybe just GOP lawmakers because, you know, hanging out with liars and supporters of sexual predators and rapist isn’t very Christ-like?

This week Republican … because, of course … Congressman Dan Donovan of New York introduced a bill that would require U.S Postal Service offices to hang pictures of President ______ and Vice President Pence in their buildings. Donovan said he decided to draft the proposal after a Staten Island resident said photos of former President Obama and Vice President Biden were hung up for years but pictures of _____ and Pence never went up.

Oh, stop yer bellyaching …soon pictures of _____ and Pence will go up on Post Office walls.

Along with the other eight Most Wanted.

And while we’re still waiting for _____to even say his name, Waffle House hero James Shaw Jr.'s campaign to help pay for funerals and hospital bill of the victims of last month’s shooting continue to pour in.

As of now, Shaw’s GoFundMe page has raised more than $231,000.

And not a single penny from Russia.

This week the Mormon Church announced it was severing its 100-year-old ties to Boy Scouts after the organization changed its name to Scouts BSA and began formally allowing girls to join:

“As a global church with millions of children and youth, we need to address diverse needs and fortify all children and youth with gospel-centered growth and learning experiences now more than ever.”

And girls in the Boy Scouts doesn’t fulfill that?

Some hotties … Starz has a couple of new half-hour shows airing now. 

Vida is the tale of two women who return to East LA following their mother’s death. Carlos Miranda plays an ex-boyfriend of one of the girls and, at least from that first episode, proves to be quite hot with a rather nice ass.

Sweetbitter, is the tale of a girl who moves to New York City and lands a restaurant gig. Evan Jonigkeit plays a hottie waiter, while Paul Sparks is the hunky restaurant owner. There is also 

Just sayin’.

That one made me laugh,and then this one did too, you know, cuz Deplorables, like their leader, cannot spell.

Hey Donny Junior? Don't Come For Obama Unless He Sends For You

As proof that the Stupid Apple doesn’t fall from the Stupid Tree … and when it does fall, it hits every Stupid Branch on the way down before it lands in a pile of other Stupid Apples called [t]Rumps, Little Donny [t]Rump Jr. has leveled a charge of plagiarism at the Democratic National Convention.

Oh, but it’s nothing like his Stepmother, Melania’s, blatant stealing from Michelle Obama that he’s crying about. No, Little Donny says he was plagiarized by none other than President Barack Obama!

Little Donny said, at the RNC:

“There’s so much work to do. We will not accept the current state of our country because it’s too hard to change. That’s not the America I know."

Well, at the DNC Barack Obama said:

“And that is not the America I know.”

All that caused Little Donny to take to Twitter, which is the place where Stupid Apples show off their stupidity, to say:

“I’m honored that POTUS would plagiarize a line from my speech last week. Where’s the outrage?”

Obviously it’s stupid.

George W. Bush used the exact phrase in a post-9/11 speech, oddly enough referring to the anti-Muslim sentiment that began growing in this country after the attack.

And, in the weeks before Little Donny Junior opened his yap at the Republican National Clusterf**k, another person used that same line at memorial for the slain Dallas police officers, and that man was … yup … President Barack Obama.

Luckily, because Stupid Apples like to share their stupidity on social media, Little Donny’s accusation was quickly scuttled by one Kyle Griffin on Twitter … because taking on a [t]Rumps is easier than falling out of a Stupid Apple Tree.

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The Funny Papers

David Horsey, Nate Beeler, Clay Bennett, Adam Zyglis, Bob Gorrell, John Cole, Nick Anderson

Random Musings

So, Speaker, er, Liar, of the House Paul Ryan shared this selfie to Instagram last week of him and a bunch of Capitol Hill interns.

Not a person of color in the bunch … take that for an indictment of the GOP if you will.

But some folks on social media gave Ryan a break, saying things like:

“Perhaps all the blacks are off camera on the far left?”

“This sums up the problem with the GOP. It’s like looking at 1950s America. I guess this is what making America Great Again looks like.”

“And people have said the GOP is the party of bigoted white guys. Now WHERE could anyone have gotten SUCH a strange idea?”

Huh.

Speaking of Old White Guys, and Old White Guys Who Wanna Be President and Lie Like It’s Nothing At All … on the opening night of the Republican National Clusterf**k Donald [t]Rump told Bill O’Reilly he was grateful it was held in Cleveland:

“I wanted it to be here, and we had lots of choices. I wanted it to be in Ohio. I recommended Ohio. And people fought very hard that it be in Ohio. It’s a tremendous economic development event, and you look at the way it’s going so far, it’s very impressive. I wanted it be here, the Republicans wanted it to be here.”

Um, but that’s a lie; there is no evidence that [t]Rump had anything to do with picking Cleveland, something the RNC did way back in January 2014.

No one, NO ONE, on the convention location selection committee recalls ever hearing from [t]Rump.

Just sayin’ … the man wouldn’t know the truth if it came notarized on a bankruptcy filing.

Carlos and I are enjoying Animal Kingdom on TNT—and it’s not a wildlife show, but a show about wild lives.

The show is based on a 2010 Australian film and is the story of a 17-year-old boy, who, after the death of his mother, moves in with the Codys, a criminal family clan governed by matriarch Smurf, played by the amazing Ellen Barkin.

Her sons and grandson are the Hotties this week … Finn Cody, top, plays the high school grandson, while Ben Robson, bottom left, is the adrenaline and heroin junkie Craig. Jake Weary, bottom right,  plays the closeted son, Deran. 

For TNT there is a lot of bare asses in the show, mostly that of Robson and Weary.

And they’re real, and they’re spectacular.

So … MelaniaGate … PlagiarismGate … when the story first broke that not-college-graduate Melania [t]Rump has, um, lifted, certain passages of her speech from that of one Michelle Obama, the campaign went into overdrive.

First, the speechwriters for Melania were to blame, though they swore they just used stories from her childhood … as a young black girl in Chicago … for the speech.

But then came footage of Melania telling Matt Lauer she wrote the speech herself.

Then [t]Rump campaign manager Paul Manafort blamed Hillary Clinton because the Clinton camp talked about the theft.

Then the blame was placed at the feet of an “unknown” friend of Melania’s who helped write the speech.

Finally,  Trump’s speechwriter, Meredith McIver, came forward and said she stole from Michelle Obama’s 2008 convention speech but she'll keep her job because ... liar.

The campaign doesn’t seem to think anyone will notice that they’ve come up with five different versions of how Melania [t]Rump came off sounding exactly like Michelle Obama … without the class, mind you, and the college education.

Lastly, more craziness from [t]Rump … it appears that Ohio Governor, and former rival, John Kasich, was offered the chance to be “most powerful VP in history” by the [t]Rump campaign.

Rumor has it Little Donny pitched the idea to Kasich for his Daddy and when Kasich asked what he might be doing as Veep, Little Donny told him he’d be in charge of foreign policy.

When Kasich asked what President [t]Rump would be in charge of, he was told:

“Making America great again.”

Yikes. Of course, Kasich turned it down and now the [t]Rump's are denying it ever happened.

Uh huh.