Trump L’oeil – Political pundits and operatives for other campaigns have wondered why the normal rules of political gravity have not applied to the Presidential campaign of Donald Trump.  He moves from one apparently crippling controversy to another, without seemingly losing any of his support.  He offers colorful criticism of other candidates but only general policy positions of his own.  When pressed, he ducks and counters, never really answering the probing questions.  So does his unorthodox campaign style find its roots in boxing, or even professional wrestling, where he has seen firsthand how bombastic pronouncements and over-the-top accusations can work up a crowd?

These are strong possibilities, but he is actually following a technique from the world of art that has been around for centuries. Trompe L’oeil is defined as : “a style of painting in which things are painted in a way that makes them look like real objects” and “something that misleads or deceives the senses.”

“Artists have been practising it for centuries to create stunning illustrations and fool their audience.”  John Pugh, a practitioner of the technique, who produces intricate trompe l’oeil murals on buildings states that, “I have found that the ‘language’ of life-size illusions allow me to communicate with a very large audience.  It seems almost universal that people take delight in being visually tricked.”  Apparently, Trump realizes that large audiences delight in being tricked verbally as well.

Fashion Army More Powerful Than the Fashion Police – Hillary Clinton says, she is a big supporter of the army, but “I have to confess, I am not a big fan of the black berets.  It brings back a lot of bad memories.   I just hope they don’t start asking female soldiers to wear blue dresses!”

The Kardashian family recently hosted a baby shower for Christy Teigen.  Kris, Kim, Kourtney, and Khloe were all there, as was Erin Andrews.  Talk about drawing folks from opposite ends of the spectrum.  Kim & Kompany have made careers out of leaking sex tapes and trying to “break the internet” with ever more naked and revealing photos to help build their brand and fortunes.  Erin Andrews, in contrast, just won a $55 million verdict against a pervert who illegally videotaped her walking around naked in what she thought was the privacy of her hotel room, as well as the hotel whose employee apparently facilitated the pervert’s video surveillance.  Can you imagine Kim K. attempting to konverse with Erin?

“So, like, what was the problem with the whole world seeing a naked video of you  — you didn’t like that?”

“No, I found it creepy and humiliating.”

“That’s weird.  I guess we’re a lot alike though — we both made tens of millions off of videos that showed us naked.  And I have to give you credit for taking a different route to cash in.”

“I didn’t ‘cash in.’  I just tried to hold the perpetrator and his accomplices accountable for their actions.”

“Whatever.”

Geo-Political Potpourri: The U.S. – Israel Relationship – Israel styles itself as the best ally of the United States in the Middle East.  Never mind that a good ally would not sucker punch its patron, but Israel is actually more like a teenage child, telling the parents “Let me have the keys to the car, and can I have twenty bucks?”  but insisting, “Don’t tell me how to live my life!”  Also when they don’t get what they want from you, they try to put pressure on you by saying, “I’m gonna tell grandma and grandpa [the House and Senate] that you’re being mean to me!” when you don’t give them everything they want.  You still love them, but that doesn’t mean you find their attitude to be admirable.

Can we just agree that the Black Lives Matter movement is simply saying that Black Lives Matter, Too and that white lives and other lives that also matter are not in as great a need of specific attention because they have not been as commonly taken away at an early  age or otherwise disregarded?   That way we don’t miss the whole point.

A Man, a Plan, A Wall – Mexico!  Who knew, before this presidential campaign, that Mexico was cleaning our clock?  I guess that’s why tens of thousands of U.S. citizens are streaming into Mexico to start their lives anew.  As a result, Mexico is cleverly seeking to induce us to build a wall to stem the flow of illegal immigrants.  But instead of fighting over which country pays for it, wouldn’t you expect a corporate titan to opt for the free market solution?  Why not pay for it with naming rights and advertising — English on one side, and Spanish on the other!